Time in the garden and a light bite

Hello my blog land friends. How are you all doing? Here we are at the end of week 10 and entering into week 11 and well there seems to have been a lot of changes over the last few days with some schools returning and some non essential shops being allowed to open.

At the beginning of lockdown I was thinking of all the projects I could get working on and all those I would potentially have finished by the end of the twelve weeks.  Then of course scrubs bags became a big thing in my house and very little else has been completed.  I have now made 100 scrubs bags and will be sending the final batch off to John Scott today and I think as things are starting to settled it's probably time to stop making them now for the time being at least.

One little project I did manage to finish was this little cross stitch for a friend's birthday this week. The kit is Churchgate Gardening Heritage Sampler. It was a gift from another friends for Christmas a couple of years ago and has been patiently waiting in the pile of projects to work on.  When I pulled it out of my project box I had completely forgotten the saying attached to this one.  As soon as I saw it I thought it was just about right in this current climate and I knew that the lady it is intended for is also going to love it. 

The kit comes with two charts, two pieces of aida, a needle and clear instructions and all the silks you need to complete both projects. It also comes with a hoop which you can use to work on your cross stitch but also use as a frame. I added the ribbon and bow and a small white bead to hold it in place.  As there is only one hoop I decided to work on just the one project and save the second one for another time and possibly for another birthday gift. 

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We have been spending time in the garden not only enjoying the glorious weather but also having a sort out of flower beds and trying to decide what to do next. Its a very big garden and at times I feel a little overwhelmed by the task but it's nice to see that plants have taken to their surroundings and the bees are getting to enjoy our efforts. 

After my mum died thirty years ago I planted a climbing white rose in the back garden of the house we lived in and I have continued to plant a white climbing rose in every garden of every house we have lived in since.  I also have two very closes friends from school whose mother's played a big part in my life and after they passed away I planted a yellow and pink rose in  memory of them too.  All three are almost in bloom and the smell of the scent from the yellow and pink one is exquisite.

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I always thought of myself as a bit of a foodie before lockdown but I have come to realise that I am governed much more by stomach than I would of believed.  It was whilst I was talking to my daughter one afternoon and neither of us could decide what to have to eat she after her shift at work and me after a shift of working in the garden.  We decided to take a look in our respective cupboards and come up with something.  The result was a tuna melt.  We both love tuna fish and invariably have some sort of salad and cheese in the fridge and it takes next to no time to pull together and hit just the right spot after a hard day's weeding and digging.

Prep time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 5 minutes, Serves: 2

Ingredients from your store cupboard and fridge

100g can of tuna, drained and flaked

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1-2 spring onions , finely copped

2 thin strips of a bell pepper (a mixture of red, yellow or orange) diced

1 tablespoon of chopped chives

Freshly ground black pepper

Softened butter/margarine

4 slices of white or brown bread

50g grated cheese

• place the tuna, mayonnaise, spring onions, diced peppers and chives ina small bowl and mix together.
• Spread the butter/margarine over one side of each slice of bread
• Spread the tuna mixture over each slice of bread butter side up
• Place under the medium hot grill for 1-2 minutes.
• remove from under the grill and add the cheese to the top of the tuna mixture and place back under the grill for 1-2 minutes until the cheese has started to melt. 
• Now place the second slice of bread butter side down on top of the tuna and cheese mixture. 
• Lightly butter the top of the sandwich and place back under the grill until the bread is lightly browned. 
• Turn the sandwich over and butter the top of the sandwich again and place back under the grill until this side is lightly browned. 
• Serve with salad or chips or just on it's own or may be have all three. 

Of course I am not advocating lunchtime drinking but if it is past the yard arm, as my dad used to say, the glass of white it not essential to the recipe but is definitely well deserved. 

Have you learned anything about yourself over the last 11 weeks? The one thing I have learned about myself is just how  much I touch my face without giving it a second thought. I had never realised just how much until we were told not to and as with everybody else I have been making a conscious effort not to do so.   As we all emerge into our new world over the coming weeks I think we will see a very different one to that of three months ago. I think the one thing that is certain is that this isn't over and we will all still have to continue to be vigilant about our hand washing and social distancing. Its been incredibly hard not to see my big children and not be able to give them a hug when one of us have needed it.  I get updates on my little grandson too and he seems to suddenly be growing up so fast and is going for long walks with his mummy and daddy for his daily exercise. I will see such a big difference in him when I finally get to see them all again.  

Well that's me for now, I best get off to the post office and get my parcels on their way.  Stay safe everyone. 

Mx