Now That Was a Good Weekend.

It's cold and drizzly but that's ok. We've had a lovely two days. Saturday morning, we heading down to the market. First stop was the Albion for mushrooms on toast and the best coffee and hot chocolate in town. It's run by a wonderful couple who greet every patron like an old friend, and really do know half of their customers by name. Mari and I sat in the warmth and, well looked at an anatomy book actually, while James and Rosa ducked in the swarming market for some fruit & vegies. After that, I went shopping in peace, then in the afternoon we did some gardening and tidied up before our very good friends Dan & Melinda arrived for dinner with Dan's sons Ambriel and Zephyr, two of the most charming and polite lads I've even met. They're 13 and 11 (I think) and if I had boys would want them to grow up just like that. So, after unwrapping some cheese and cracking a bottle or two, we sank in to a lovely evening of food and wine.

Sunday morning James took the girls to the park for a hour or so, while I spent some time being unashamedly lazy. They returned keen for more adventure so off we went to a nearby pine forest - such wonderful colour after all this rain, and mushroom and toadstools everywhere! We found what must be a scout outpost, complete with climbing web. After a winnie-the-pooh like expotition, we scavenged a bag of pine cones and headed home for an unexpected nap (for me!) which inspired me to cook up a batch of wintry minestrone and chive flat bread. The house was full of warmth and the smell of soup.