Tatton

Today we headed out for a picnic. This was slightly rash as the weather wasn't that kindly, but we did get away without a soaking, so we score that as a victory.

We went to Tatton Park, one of my favourite places of all time. The flag irises by the mere were particularly lovely. Millie wasn't too keen on the ducks, other walkers, their dogs or their cycles. Otherwise, everyone enjoyed the outing.

Walk to Walkden

On Tuesday I wandered down the road with Millie to Walkden Gardens which is just at the end of our road and has had quite a lot of work done over the past couple of years. The red circle on the map below is the location of the gardens and we live on the road straight down from there.

We had a lovely walk around and, as usual, Millie liked all the bits underneath the plants, trees and benches better than those silly flowers her lady likes so much. However, and rather to my amazement, we also found that there is a wisteria arch now, within Walkden Gardens and that it is in full flower.

Now Lou would argue that I should have had my camera there. But I am not that organsied, so I had to go home to get it and return yesterday to take some pictures. In fact the weather was grumpy on Tuesday but beautiful yesterday, so this was not such a bad plan. It also meant Millie got to go back under some plants yesterday, so she was fairly happy with that.

Then last night I attempted to upload some pictures but this computer was playing up. It has a tendency to forget all about all of its drives, late on in the day, presumably when hot and tired. It then needs a reboot to remind it where it left said drives. But I was a little hot and tired myself, so it has taken all the time till now for me to finally get some pictures up. But I hope you'll agree, worth the wait.

Pets

We got to talking about having a second dog today. Goodness knows, this must be some form of madness, given how busy the lil one keeps us, but we have the fancy that another dog could be a hobby for her. We do know of a terrier who has a Golden Retriever that it keeps organised. So we can hope ....

Meanwhile, our neighbours over the road have finally lost their old blind cat, Oliver. For the past two years or so, they had to keep Oliver in the back of the house as he'd just follow a wall and keep heading on out into the road, if he got out front. So, we only know the cat has died as they sent a message through my Mum. (Golf club network, doncha know).

Right, next then - what is the right card to mark the passing of a cat? Is "In Sympathy" too much? These things are not easy. We aren't even sure how long ago the cat passed, so that's another point. We're heading out on foot tonight, to a local pub, for dinner. So we're putting a ("Left blank, for your own message") card through their door on the way (we're the only folks round here with a mailbox). And yes, this gives us pause in our plans for another pet.

Another jolly day in Sale then! Well, Millie has been out on 3 walks, so she's had fun and her itching doesn't seem too bad today so far. (It has rained, so I had wondered whether she'd be better, if this is airborne allergies). Annie has been to do her voluntary work. And I've had another headache! Hey ho, better now, so off out for dinner. I'll take pics if there's anything pretty!

Say, "Cheese!"

Well, that cheesecake! That's a recipe to use again. Definitely a keeper.



Mind you, incredibly rich too - so much mascarpone and cream cheese! I'm not sure Annie and I should really be left with those leftovers. We did give some to Mum to take home though, and she did seem to enjoy the meal. Despite our wee devil dog having a go at biting her! Oh boy.



Lil Millie is really having a tough time with her allergies at the moment and that seems to make everything hard work for her. So Mum goes to walk past Millie's bed and BANG out pops the wee sprite to have a quick gnash on the old lady leg ... *sigh*.



Lunch and the wine seemed to cheer Mum but left me with a nasty headache. This made me realise though that: (a) I need to worry less about Millie; and (b) I probably need a light week to get over the current rash of headaches. So let's see if I can hang onto this realisation .....

Lemon Cheesecake

This is a new venture and hasn't been tasted yet. The cake is for tomorrow, when my Mum comes over for Bank Holiday lunch. Here in England this weekend is Spring Bank Holiday (which we used to call Whitsun, but that's another story). The recipe for the cheesecake is from my favourite cookery writer, Nigel Slater, so I have high hopes that it will be good.

The blog is a more tenuous idea, but seems worth a spin. It was inspired by another of my favourite artists, and she knows who she is.

25th May

This is not the happiest day in our home, since it is the anniversary of my Dad's death. Maybe that's why it's a good time to start a blog? Or maybe this will be a venture that doesn't go far. Time will tell.

We went to the crematorium today and read the Remembrance entry in Dad's memory. My Mum wrote it and it isn't what I would have said, but nonetheless it was a teary moment. The picture shows Dad, with Mum and me, when I graduated college a few years ago. I was so full of myself then that I can't even tell you now whether I really appreciated having them both with me or not. I surely wish there were both still here now.

I'm thinking about Dad a lot at the moment, because of the anniversary, but also because of some other things going on right now. I have a little book coming out in a month or so, and it is dedicated to his memory. The book is about another part of my life altogether, so has little to do with Dad, except that he was sick whilst my friend and I were working on it, so he became a part of the process, in a major way.

The book is an attempt to write about the rape crisis movement here in England and I'm not sure right now how well it will go down. Will anyone read it and if so, will they be generous? There is something rather daunting about going into print in this way, so perhaps that is part of the reason for writing this blog. Here's another publication, a way of trying out the process maybe?

I wonder if there is a way to spell-check these things before they go up? If not, and if I do keep writing it is only a matter of time, as I am such a scrappy reviewer!