It would seem that the kitchen sink in our new house is the perfect size to bath me in.  I had found something particularly interesting which had subsequently dried on.  When I climbed onto a convenient lap I was informed that my coat was stuck together and that I absolutely honked -some people have no subtlety.  A quick once over with a wet wipe was clearly not going to cut the mustard, so in the sink I went.  I soon dried off am are now my usual pristine gleaming little self. 

Mum was commenting that it is going to be another good crop of lavender.  Aunty Biscuit is mooting using some of that iron on hemming tape to make some lavender bags she picked a load of it up in a sale somewhere.  The debate is whether this is cheating or convenience.  Sadly I missed the answer as I needed to chase a spuggie off the premises.

The helicopter seat has been modified slightly with the aid of a bungee strap.  This takes up some of the energy when Harrier leaps off it.  I've been very brave and had a go myself albeit without his elan.  We have concluded that the best idea is to forbid Aunty Biscuit to use it.  She has a chair that she can sit and knit in so she's fine with that.  The white cotton bag was interrupted by shed activities butwork is expected to resume shortly. 

Having recently moved house I now have a conservatory to spend time in and I'm loving it.  Its light airy and warm.  It also simplifies my job of supervising Mum as I can just sit in a chair and peer out of the appropriate window if its showery or overcast.  As the house and grounds need some work I can see I'm going to be busy.  This morning for instance Aunty Biscuit has called, I have been sat on her lap to ensure she isn't tempted to overdo it by helping Mum paint the outside gate.  The colour is supposedly dark oak it just looks brown to me. I then had to woof at an itinerant sparrow, check on what the horses were up to and check nobody painted my squeaky toy all without putting a paw outside the conservatory, marvelous!  Harrier meanwhile shirks these onerous duties as he alternates between what he declares to be patrolling the ledge of the conservatory base wall and guarding the helicopter and associated manoeurvres.  The "patrolling" consists ...

Aunty Biscuit has a new shed.  It was ordered a few weeks ago but has now arrived and been put up. It has an area for sitting in at one end.  In the intervening time she had been looking at benches with Mum.  One they looked at was quite a red shade so Mum asked her what colour the shed was, the reply was shed coloured -helpful,  Anyway the next thing is some curtains for it.  I know  she has some fabric she plans to use, I think she ought to contract the curtain making to Mum or Aunty Marie. 

Aunty Biscuit is having a grand clear out and rearrangement, she apparently does this on a regular basis of every 10 years or so.  She has found a piece of cross stitch fabric with about 20 stitches done in three different shades of grey, no threads or pattern with it.  She has absolutely no idea what it is supposed to be or where the rest of it is.  Any suggestions are welcome.  First prize is a secondhand piece of cross stitch fabric, slightly used.

Its the last Sunday in June so Aunty & Granny Biscuit have been  off to the craft fayre at Middleton with Grannys knitting.  Most of the regulars were there; Richard and Claire (both photograph based products), Shirley who does stained glass and has recently diversified into wood turning and needle felting, the lady with the labrador and recently acquired spaniel who does needlework amongst them.  Aunty Biscuit loves going as it is a small venue with a lovely atmosphere it also provides a much needed day out for Granny Biscuit.  

Aunty Biscuit has bought us a present of some on offer pink salmon from the local freezer shop (12 packets of it at 99p each- I kid you not - bargain and gluten free.).  I'm not sure what mum is going to say when she discovers that we have taken over the freezer but we may allow her some of it.  Apparently it can be cooked in a dishwasher! Bizarre! I'll get Aunty Biscuit to coos it for us in a cooker.  She also has some salmon pink wool which is a peachy pinky colour and quite pretty but it isn't ear marked for a project yet.  Maybe she should knit a salmon?

Following the mint supervision I've been checking out the other collective herbs.  We seem to have rosemary (that's the plant not a person), basil (likewise), oregano, parsley, coriander, horseradish, thyme, sage and lemon balm as well as the aforementioned mint.  These will be harvested and dried or frozen for later use.  Some of them will be combined to make bouquet garni, very french sounding. I suspect one or the other of them may be experimenting with herb jellies this year.  The herbs are also used fresh but more sparingly as the flavour is a lot stronger but the aroma is wonderful.

I have been intermittently supervising mint leaf collecting and processing.  It is one of the various culinary plants that Mum and Aunty Biscuit have at their establishments. Left to its own devices it runs riot so Aunty Biscuits has  recently moved from remnants an old chimney pot into the mortal remains of a clay pot inset into the ground whereas Mums is in a proper pot. I don't think that it is used for making dyes although I could check on woofapedia.  At a base level you sling a sprig in with some new potatoes, boil them and eat the potatoes.  You can also make mint tea.  In this instance though they were making a base stock for mint sauce.  This seemed to involve stripping leaves from the stalks (presumably they had been cleaned, probably whilst I was checking the pond for frogs), chopping the leaves up, packing them into steriised jars and adding pickling vinegar.  They use pickling vinegar as its stronger.  At time of use some of this sto ...