Sorry no post yesterday - I was just too tired. I find at the moment that anything different that I do tends to make me very tired. But I soldier on. It was my day for going up to Ripon to have my hearing aids serviced. I should have gone a month ago but I was in hospital after a fall and by the time I could go my hearing aid specialist had caught covid.
I rarely go out these days unless friends S and T take me or I have a taxi. J, my taxi driver, and I have known one another for many years and we always enjoy the drive together. Yesterday was exceptional- the countrside was so beautiful, On the way between here and Ripon there are some very pretty villages and every village seemed to be full of Horse Chestnut trees and I really don't think I have ever seen so much blossom - each tree was laden with 'candles' - mostly the creamy white ones but here and there a pink one. The creamy ones are without doubt the stronger ones but a pink one here and there is pretty.
We always find plenty to chat about. She has lived in the village where she lives now all her life. She knows everyone so we can always catch up on any village gossip. Coming back we talked food all the way and she made me quite sad not to be making meals now because she told me some very tasty meals to eat on toast for tea.
But I got home and I was so tired I had a sleep before attempting food. I was aw akened by the door bell, My gardeners had arrived to pot up my pots for Summer. Together we put the plants in the two pots by the front door and two more pots to be put in the back garden. Very good jobs done. In the evening I watched Rick Stein driving round France, looking at the scenery (vineyards!) sampling the food both in restaurants and with friends and then cooking recipes (and to some extent adapting them to English food). He is one of my favourite cooks on TV and although I have seen this series before I am enjoying it just as much second time round.
Dropped off in front of TV,dragged myself off to bed and slept like a log. So here I am at 1pm putting on a blog. A rather tasty beef pie sits in the fridge for my lunch, courtesy of my cleaner but as I had a Tesco order which included a Maple and Pecan slice I am not ready for my lunch yet . See you tomorrow.
You lead a life full of people and interest. Long may it last!
ReplyDeleteWe’ve been given two Rick Stein meal vouchers - ordered online to be eaten at home.
Perhaps the people around you (carer, cleaner, gardener, taxi driver,friends) make you tired.
ReplyDeleteI know I would be.
It's a lovely time of year to be driven around the countryside isn't it. Everything is in that wonderful first flush of growth and colour. I love it ... almost as much as Autumn.
ReplyDeleteI love watching travel/foodie type programmes and have quite a few recorded for when I just want to relax into a programme and not have to try and figure out 'who did it' on all the detective type shows.
I love exploring your life...the springtime blooms are behind ours, but your time of day is 5 hours ahead of mine. So it's 9:30 in the morning here, and you've already spoken of 1 pm. Soon I'll meet a friend for lunch (after all your talk of food, I'm thinking what I'll have) and you'll enjoy tea time (Which I don't do ever.) Have a great rest of your day!
ReplyDeleteYou sounds as if you burnt your candle at both ends today. I have enjoyed the light!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have friends to drive you places, including your long-time friend the cab driver! It's clear you're a friendly person! It's extra wonderful with the scenery is lovely.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the fatigue. A friend and I both have lupus and have commiserated that by the time we each have showered before going somewhere, we're too tired to go. Lupus fatigue is a major annoyance.
I hope we can find Rick Stein on one of our streaming channels. We loved his show, too, and have a couple of his cookbooks.
Hugs!
You have a wonderful life!
ReplyDeleteYour drive through the countryside and seeing the chestnut trees in full flower sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteI also like Rick Stein. I like the way he weaves in literature - though I do wish he would finish his mouthful of food before commenting!
ReplyDeleteThis year has been an exceptional year for all blossoms, the frosts we had obviously timed themselves just right. I am also enjoying Rick Stein in France again.
ReplyDeleteAnne Bee - Lucky you!!
ReplyDeleteDo the pink / red conker candles come from a different species?
ReplyDeleteSo happy your gardeners came round and sorted out the pots.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how beautiful your drive must have been! It was good that the gardeners came by as I know you've been waiting for them. Your garden must be getting prettier by the day!
ReplyDeleteMy hometown is famous for its many horse chestnut trees, and I like it that we also call the blossoms candles in German. As in your area, most of them are white, but there are pink ones here, too.
ReplyDeleteThat lovely drive you had to Ripon made me look forward to my Yorkshire holiday even more! In a mere 8 weeks, my sister and I will move into "our" beloved cottage in Ripon again.
The pink ones are non-native to Europe hybrids.
ReplyDeleteThis time of year (celebrated by Jack Hargreaves' theme tune - remember him?) is the greenest it is ever going to get and the air is full of scent. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI remember the rather wonderful houses of Essex, and someone had painted their Essex plastered home the exact colour of the pink blossom of the horse chestnut, which was in flower when I saw it.
ReplyDeleteRachel is dead right.
ReplyDeleteApparently the red horse chestnut is a cross between Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) from North America and the Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastamum) from Europe.
That sounds like a wonderful drive into Ripon. How nice to have a taxi driver that you've known for years... someone who is warm, chatty and interesting. It would certainly make something as unexciting as a hearing aid appointment turn into a fun event. We don't have any horse chestnut trees nearby. I had to google them to see what kind of flower they produce. They must be gorgeous when so many are blooming at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone - wish I could send you a video of that journey.
ReplyDeleteLibrarian - I do hope that this time you might find time to just pop in on me in Leyburn for a cup of tea and a slice of Cocketts tea cake. Then you could go on to Hawes for a visit to the Creamery.