Mother's Day
Minky is in the kitchen saying "no, no, no, no" when she hears me approaching with my empty tea cup. She rushes out beaming, "I'll do that, go back to bed, happy mother's day!" And the dogs and I beat our retreat. I've opened up all the windows in the bedroom to let in the birdsong and the summer.
Today J & I will trail ride. His new horse, Coaster, whom I found in Temecula where he had belonged to a little girl in his younger days, is a great success. He's sturdy like a bull-dog, handsome, and not too big. He lollops along with pricked ears and a happy expression on his face. Very sweet. Jumby hates the name Coaster and fails to see the humor in it. He wants to call him Caspar.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mammas.
I made a version of Bell Inn Smokies last night, with boil-in-a-bag smoked haddock from the English Shop, some peeled tomatoes, mushrooms and cream. Yum. It's that time of year when you start dreaming of the smell of freshly cut lawns, new jersey potatoes with mint, runner beans (the kind with the orange/red flowers) and the lazy buzz of insects. Oh, and fresh dover sole. I didn't use to care. But now, just thinking about English summer makes me comically melancholy. The lady who washes the horse blankets, I think her name is Gloria, made me homesick this week. She's lovely, about 75 or 80, blonde in a Diana Dors way, was married to a big American football player, and now runs a horse laundry and bespoke horse clothing shop, grew up near Welwyn Garden City. She'd been following the Queen's visit and particularly the food she was served -- the cold vichysoisse topped with lavendar, the dover sole ; "lovely grub." But the best tip ever was her secret for egg salad (egg mayonnaise) -- use salad cream!
Minky has brought me a happy mother's day plate of strawberries and banana:
Posted by misswhistle
at 08:02 PDT
Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2007 08:17 PDT