It is raining here.......

Well, hello from a very wet Casa de la Rocking Chair. It is raining. I can confirm that rain is indeed wet, because I have been out in the garden doing my road runner impressions chasing squirrels, who were upending my pots of baby seedlings in an attempt to bury walnuts. My neighbour feeds them nuts. I have tried to explain that squirrel are vermin, and that they depart her take-away cafe for squirrels and arrive in my garden and search for digging places to store their nuts because THEY ARE NOT HUNGRY IN SPRING.

Sigh.

It doesn't work.

So my garden is the burial ground for walnuts. More specifically, newly filled pots, because the earth is easy to dig. But enough is enough, so, in the rain, I have netted every pot with anything growing in it. I look like the Bride of Frankenstein. My hair is sticking out in all directions, but as I have no intention of going anywhere, it can stay like that. (This is probably the point I will return to later, if, by any chance, half the village chooses to pop in today.)

Yesterday was lovely, and it all went beautifully. If you ignore the fact that I let the carrots almost burn, the water in the steamer boil away, and charred the roast potatoes and roast parsnips. And forgot to switch of the gas burner. In a room full of people, who were the ones to suggest I check the potatoes etc etc etc. Groan. If ever I needed witnesses to the state of my inability to do ANYTHING right, I have 4.

But, even after all that, we had a lovely Easter lunch together, everyone ate plenty and everyone had a great time. There was a lot of laughter and chatter and Kate crocheted away in the rocking chair, and all was good.

Earlier in the day - at dark o' clock, I got up to put the lamb in the slow cooker. It was a triumph. Just NEVER believe that you need to add 2 tablespoons of water, because you will check a couple of hours later, and you may well discover, as I did to my horror,  that you are boiling your roast. So I bailed it out, and popped the juices in the fridge. By the time we got back from church, it was easy to scrape off the fat and use the rest for the gravy. Slow cookers are wonderful.

Church was simply beautiful. Jean and I were there early to unpack the mountain of food, and set up for coffee after the service. The church was packed, and I stayed in for the singing, because I HAD to be there to sing out Thine be the glory at the top of my voice with everyone else. It nearly raised the roof. But oh, Lord, it hurt. So I was a bit of a gibbering wreck for the rest of the service, but breathing helped a little. My decision to stay. My decision to take the consequences.

The sermon was wonderful. One of the best I have ever heard Adrian preach, and all in all, everything about the service just emphasised the celebration of Easter. Then the coffee. The little cheese straw crosses and bunnies were a huge hit. In fact everything was. I even took 2 of my Easter rabbits as decoration. Jean asked now and then how long the queue was, and for an hour, I could not see the end. That long. That good. I love how people stay after church and that is largely down to the fact that tea and coffee are served right there. In the church, so everyone stays and chats.

Then home to start the other cooking (see above for catastrophes) and once everyone had gone, to skype with my family all over the place. Good times were had by everyone. Then I crashed. By 6 I could hardly move. And it wasn't late by the time I fell asleep on the couch. I woke at 1am.

Remember the little cookie cutters I said I had discovered in my kitchen paraphernalia drawer? Here is the box. Don't you just love the "Made of Metal"? Heaven knows how old they are. My mother denies all knowledge of them, I have no memory of buying them, so they must have come from one of the grandmothers, perhaps. The box to me says 1950s. Pre-thetimewheneverysinglethinghadtobelisted for Health and Safety Issues.

And look at them. Perfect condition, not a mark on the "metal" and the box even has an idiot proof guide for fitting them back inside! (I needed it. Say no more.) We used the 2 smaller bunnies and the cross. They worked amazingly well. So finally, after who knows how many years, these little cutters have established their place in my kitchen.

I am off to try and do something with the hair. It is annoying me. Have a lovely day!