Ali visit

My good friend Ali came up to stay at her mum's new house so I went over to see her with my mum too. She took some photos of Martha with my mum - really cute ones! It was lovely to catch up with them all - Ali, the kids, her parents, see their new house and her sister Lisa too. We had tea and cake and the afternoon flew by.

August Visit

My parents came to stay for a visit and helped us lots with feeds and cuddles for Martha and also watched her while we chose tiles and bathroom and kitchen stuff for the new house - this was super-useful as it look a l-o-n-g time.
We had a few little trips too...into Kenilworth for coffee and walking around, to St Nicholas Park in Warwick where we watched the boat races on a sunny day and we also had a BBQ on a warm evening before they travelled home again.

Tomato Tart

This is an adaption from a Delia recipe...I think from her Vegetarian cookbook. I've been making it for a few months now and it's easy - cheaty really as it uses bought pastry. If I keep a roll of puff pastry in the freezer then I can throw this together anytime.

Ingredients...
One roll of puff pastry
2 small tubs of goats cheese ( or use one and use with grated cheddar cheese)
a clove of garlic chopped finely
Thyme if you have it or chives or other if you have them in the garden
Fresh tomatoes (we get given ours from our neighbour as all our tomatoes failed due to blight this year - all 4 gro-bags and 2 hanging baskets - oh and a huge tub...all wasted - I was very upset! so I think our neighbour feels sorry for us)

Lay out the pastry on a large baking sheet - 10" by 12" and then run a knife around the edge of it to mark the pastry - about a centimetre in from the edge
Mix the goats cheese with the garlic and add thyme and salt and pepper - spoon the mixture onto the pastry
Cut the tomatoes and lay over the top of the cheese mix
(if using, add the grated cheddar on top)
Place in the oven at 160/180 for around 30 minutes.
Keep a watch on it though.

Hey presto, easy dinner....serve it with a salad and bread and you're done!

Visitors

My friend Kirstie came over with her family to meet Martha. We worked together for a few years (both Scots working amongst the English!) but I hadn't seen her for ages since her kids were little.
They are all doing great and her kids were delightful.
It was a lovely day and another old work colleague popped in to surprise her too which was lovely. We have all since escaped that line of work and none of us miss it one little bit!

7th Birthday

Our niece celebrated her 7th Birthday while we were in Wales...it has been a fast year. She got her Nintendo DS lite (pink of course) and was thrilled and we had dinner all together and yummy cake.

A Special Birthday

My mum celebrates a milestone birthday today (I think every birthday should be classed as a milestone birthday really)

Happy Birthday Mum and Granny!
We are very thankful for you.

Barmouth

We gatecrashed a family holiday in Wales. Mike's parents had booked 2 separate weeks at this house by the sea. Hopefully we are going for the whole 2nd week but we decided to go for the weekend with the first group. The weather was great and the water was warm for paddling and some went swimming. The town was a bit busy as it is school holiday time but hopefully when we go back it will be much quieter.

Mike with his brother Andy.


Alice has her first ice lolly with Grandma.

We stayed in one of these houses overlooking the beach. It was great to sit in the bay window in the early mornings when nobody was about and look out at a few people wandering alone or with dogs on the beach as the mists rose and the sun began to shine.

Walking Around Town

We have made the most of walking around town this summer. It's probably our last living in this house at "the castle end" of town and I will really miss the quaint cottages, the fairy garden round the corner from our house, our lovely mixture of neighbours, the garden produce for sale on a cart nearby, the sunsets that filter through the gaps in the castle at the end of our road and the geese honking overhead.
We will still be living in the town but more in suburbia near the primary school, the play centre, our church, a shop that stays open late - convenient and normal rather than quirky and delightful.

French Cousin Lizzy

Mike's cousin Lizzy came up to meet Martha this month. We call her "French Cousin Lizzy" because Mike has 2 cousins called Lizzy and Lissie from each side of his family and although this Lizzy is not French but English, she gets that name because until recently she lived in France, near enough to drive into Paris to pick up bread and coffee and see new films...how divine!
I have only met Lizzy a few times but we really got on and so we love to see her and we hope that Martha will have a special relationship with her Aunty Lizzy.