Run, run the chickens are coming...

 We have had so many visitors during the first half of this year that I have been neglecting my poor kitchen hutch.

 I normally change the display every three months of so, just to keep things interesting.

 Afterall what is the point of collecting china if it lies hidden in your cupboards all the time.

 My spaghetti poddles are safely packed away until it is their turn to be on display again.

 This lovely trio was given to me by a dear friend of mine - Royal Albert 'Old Country Rose'.

 Here it is! All white, a bit of a change. I used to have an all white hutch in Brisbane but was wooed by UK Ebay into accumulating a large patterned china collection so the all white isn't on show often. My chicken collection seems to be growing.

 Little Victorian chicken salt and a hobnail sugar bowl, possibly Fenton but I'm not sure.

 I have a bit of thing for chickens :)

 We are going to be remodelling our entire kitchen in the next few months as it is literally falling to pieces. Three drawers have collapsed so far. This was a better way of accessing the cutlery than having the broken drawer just sitting on the bench. I kept thinking I was going to come home and find Tilly curled up amongst the cutlery.

 Op shopped lemon squeezer. I think it cost 40p.

 Hen and rooster salt and pepper shakers.

One of my best friends from Australia and her family came to stay recently and she gave me this 'Thankyou' angel from Willow as a gift.

 She also gave me one set of these matryoshka  Russian nesting doll measuring cups. Unbeknowst to her my Mum had already given me a set of these for my birthday a few months earlier. They both know me so well - great minds thinks alike. I think both sets on the hutch balance the display nicely.

One more chicken, for good luck.

I am linking to Faded Charm's White Wednesday party.

Buddleja and roses

 I went Op Shopping last week and was fortunate enough to come across this Stuart crystal vase for only £5.00. 

 I didn't buy it straight away. I actually walked out of the shop and came back and got it on the way back to the car. Don't ask me what I was thinking!

 I only say it is Stuart crystal as it said so on the price sticker. It might not be Stuart but it is definitely crystal. It is in perfect condition, with no chips anywhere.

 I imagine it was very special to someone as it was so well looked after. Unfortunately the vase it cloudy at the bottom. I did a bit of research and I will buy some soft scrub cleanser and mix this with a little bleach. Apparently this will do the trick - I hope.

The buddleja and roses are from my front garden. The buddleja bush is heavy with hundreds of white blooms which are all literally buzzing due to the hive full of bees who visit each day.

The rose is called Deep Secret and it a truly outstanding performer. It produces masses of highly scented blooms with long stems which are perfect for picking. There scent wafts into the house each time the front door is opened. This bunch have filled the kitchen with the most heady aroma.

Onion Harvesting

I don't know if it is the correct time of year to be harvesting onions but the vegetable garden was a disaster zone so Mr Bee gave it a good clear out.

These onions were two different varieties that were supposed to grow over autumn and winter. While they did grow there wasn't really much action until the warmer weather arrived.

We harvested five kilograms of onions but only three sad little garlic :(

We have tried growing garlic before with varied success. I think we will give it one more try and if it doesn't work this time we won't bother again. Does anyone have any tips for growing garlic in the UK?

The onions won't fit in the fridge so they are gracing my benchtop at the moment. I think I will have to come up with a few onion recipes tout de suite!

Sunday Morning Deliveries

There was a knock at the door early Sunday morning and we opened it to be presented with this:

A good friend of ours had been out fishing at 5.00am and caught this beautiful Bass. He said it was a bit small (which I find very hard to believe!) but he thought we might like it. I am glad it was 'small' or it would not have fit in our oven.

I used a Rick Stein recipe and it was delicious!

Thanks Mr DLM :)

PTA BBQ Cakes

It was our annual PTA Summer BBQ this week. A few years ago we sold approximately 140 tickets, now we usually sell nearly 210; that is alot of hungry people to feed.

Last year we were rained out and had to have all the tables and chairs in the school hall. This year the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky so everyone was able to sit outside and soak up the sunshine.

My kids didn't want to go home when the time came which is a good sign. They didn't win any of the competitions or prizes but they did not seem to mind; I suppose they were having such a whale of a time it really didn't matter.

We had lots of games and things to do to keep little people happy; a swim in the school pool, a Fancy Hat competition, chalk drawing, colouring-in competition, Hook-a-Boat, Lucky Lollypop, Name the Toy, sandpit play, football, all the climbing frames in the school grounds and a quiz, meat raffle and a cake raffle for the bigger people present.
All the PTA pitch in; they cook the food, serve the food, run the stalls and clean up afterwards. It was a very long day, lots of hard work but it was great fun and the children all have such a wonderful time. There is something special about a party at school.

I made these two cakes for the dessert table. There was none left so I guess they tasted ok :)

Well done to the PTA for another fabulous BBQ!