Rainy Friday

Today has been the most delicious of days. When I left our little flat this morning, to walk into town to meet my Mum, it was cool but the skies were bright. The pavements were dark with rain puddles, and the day had that bright scoured-fresh feeling. Bliss! Mum and I had a wander about town, just meandering and drifting, which was lovely. She bought a bunch of rhubarb from the market, as it is much cheaper than in the shops. I bought some yesterday and am going to make a rhubarb crumble for tea tonight.

We had lunch in a lovely little place; downstairs they make sandwiches to order and sell jams and so on, whilst upstairs they serve lunch in a little tea room. Unusually, we both fancied coffee, so we each ordered a different kind (Indian Mysore and Turkish Cream) so we could try both. The sky darkened while we were sipping our coffee, and the little square window pains started to spot with rain, but happily by the time we had finished, so had the rain.

I have been keeping my eye out for Lily of the Valley, but had not spotted any. Mum used to buy her Mum a plant every year, and I like to do the same. Mum spotted some on a stall in the Farmers Market, so we bought one for each other which was nice. Then she caught the bus back to Maldon, and I went to wait for the bus back home. As I got on the bus, the sky darkened once again, and rain came pelting down. Happily, as the bus drew up to my stop, it lightened, and just spat while I scurried home. Once I shut the front door, it came down full tilt again.

In the dark rainy-afternoon light, our little flat seems extra cosy. I made a pot of tea, and sat down with the post- a lovely note and cd from Tash- thanks Tash, I can't wait to listen to it, what a lovely idea- and then switched on the laptop. What do I find, but lovely comments from kindly blog friends? I am so lucky. Then, I made a batch of peppermint creams, just because I felt like it, and sat down to watch 'I Capture The Castle'. It gives me the same feeling that I had when I read 'The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets'- I didn't want it to end. Have you seen it yet? I suspect you have, I think I have discovered it late indeed, but in case not, do try it!

I am going to make a chicken stew with dumplings for tea, then retreat to the bathroom. I am going to scent my bath with lavender bubble bath from Cath Kidston (thanks Anna!) and light my teacup-candle, and read 'The Kalahari Typing School For Men'. What a lovely evening to look forward to.

If you are looking for something delicious to read on a rainy April afternoon, then I cannot recommend this highly enough: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16389 Make yourself a pot of your favourite tea, and enjoy...