Saturday morning this and that

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Rainy Day


Ahh . . . here we are . . . Tis Saturday and it is raining. I suppose one shouldn't really complain as we had a beautifully gorgeous week of sunshine and warmth. As a child a bit of rain would not have kept us indoors unless it was really pouring down. Rainy Saturdays back then could be quite boring. I can remember sitting by the window and looking out into the garden with longing, willing the rain to stop so that we could go out and play. Our mother once let us go out and play in the rain in our swimsuits. What a magical time that was! (I expect that she had gotten tired of our "I'm bored" moans and groans!



The gardens need the rain. We did a lot of container gardening this year. We get so many rabbits here that to plant anything tasty on the ground is a wasted effort. We have potatoes, tomatoes, two types of beans, radishes, beetroots and carrots growing, not to mention a variety of herbs. Everything seems to be doing quite well thus far! There is something quite satisfying about growing your own vegetables. When we were at Alfreston last weekend, we checked out the Clergy house there, which was the very first National Trust property in this country. They had a raised vegetable garden and I said to Todd, that might be an idea for us to use perhaps next year. I doubt a bunny rabbit could hop up into one of those and we could grow a lot more.



Last night was our month to host our scripture study group. A couple of years ago now a handful of us from my church decided that we wanted to get together once a month and form a study group. There are six of us and each month we meet together at a different one's home for some time of study, contemplation and good eats. It's a lot of fun! We decided at the outset that we were going to study our basic Gospel Doctrines book. All of us are converts and this was the book we first learned from when we joined the church. We thought it would be fun to go through it again with all the understanding and perspective we have now and it has been really wonderful. The best part of all is getting together with like minded people in a social situation and just spending quality time together. Of course we always see each other on Sunday mornings at church, but this is a special time together and we all really enjoy it. It's great talking about things and bouncing our thoughts off of each other the way we do.



A few weeks back, the people at Robinsons sent me some fruit squashes to try out. For those of you who don't know, Squash is a fruit drink concentrate that we have over here in England. You mix it with water. There's tons of different varieties and brands, but I confess that I have always been quite partial to Robinson's, so I jumped at the chance to try out their new product. These new ones, the Be Natural line, is made from only naturally sourced ingredients. There are no artificial colours, sweeteners or preservatives in them, and they come in three delicious flavours . . . Orange & Passion fruit, Blackcurrant & Pear, and Apple & Strawberry. Last night was the perfect night to crack them open and give them a try. We did have a really hard time un-screwing the lid, but that could just be because we are getting older now and things like lids always give us a hard time! (especially on pill bottles!) Anyways, I have to say that we all really enjoyed them and found them to be quite tasty. My favourite is the Blackcurrant & Pear, but those just happen to be two of my favourite fruits! If you want to know more about these delicious drinks hop on over to the Robinson's Be Natural page and check them out. They have all sorts of prizes and competitions going as well. It's really quite a beautiful page, very English country gardin-ee. You'll see what I mean.



We all gave these drinks "Two Thumbs Up!"

You can't have a get-together without lots of nummies and goodies. Last night was no exception. Because I had to work in the early part of the evening I didn't do anything too dramatic. We had mostly dips and crisps, cheese and crackers. I did make some of my Olive Poppers though, (which I yet again didn't get a picture of) a Victorian Sponge, and then these tasty Peanut Blossom Cookies. I think peanut butter cookies have to be my all time favourite cookies of all, but when you top them with a chocolate Hershey's kiss, they are even more wonderful. Chocolate kisses are hard to come by over here, but don't fret, they work really well with Rollo's as well! Imagine that . . . a crisp sugary peanut butter cookie with a tasty Rollo in the centre . . . yummm . . .




*Peanut Blossom Cookies*
Makes 48
Printable Recipe

This is a recipe that I have adapted from the Land O' Lakes website. We love peanut butter cookies here at Oak Cottage, and when they are topped with a delicious bit of chocolate we love them even more. You don't have to use chocolate kisses on top of these, you can use Rollo's, Whoppers, Chocolate buttons (both milk and white chocolate ones) chocolate chips, etc. Let your imagination take you away!

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light soft brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter (I like to use crunchy for the extra texture)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
a large pinch of salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
To finish:
1/4 cup white sugar
48 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/375*F.

Cream the butter and peanut butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in both 1/2 cups of sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla until all incorporated. Whisk together the flour, salt and soda. Stir this into the creamed mixture to make a soft dough and incorporating everything.

Shape the dough into balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Place the rest of the sugar into a bowl and roll the balls in this. Place 2 inches apart on un-greased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and press a candy kiss into the centre of each one immediately. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.