Marie's Sunday Six

Happy May Day and welcome to my first Sunday Six post for the month of May 2011!! My goodness but the year is speeding by, it is hard to believe but next month we will be halfway through the year already! I thought it would be fun today to share with you some of the things from Tatton Park yesterday that we enjoyed and that made us smile! We are National Trust members so we normally get to go to these National Trust Homes and Gardens for free . . . yesterday though, we had to pay an extra £5 just to get our car into the park! That did not make us smile, but thankfully we had £5 in change in my purse! We were hungry and thirsty when we got there too, so we decided to have a small lunch in the restaurant. We had two cold drinks, two sandwiches, a piece of cake and a piece of pie. a £20 bill did not make us smile either. I thought it was quite outrageous! We are not talking table service here. We are talking canteen/help yourself, sandwich in plastic box service here! I was too embarassed to say I didn't want it once it tallied up in the register, but if we ever go again, we'll bring our own sandwiches! But enough of that, on to the smiles!! The grounds and gardens were absolutely gorgeous!



The sight and smell of thousands of blooming rhododendrons made us smile big time! Every where we looked the gravel paths were lined with almost every colour imaginable of bloooming rhododendrons! The scent was heavenly and the colours, so very beautiful! That made us smile!



This Japanese Handkerchief made me smile! Have you ever seen anything like it??? I had not. Imagine a whole tree covered in these paperlike blooms, fluttering in the wind, each one centred with a hairy cherry shaped ball! Fabulous, and so unusual. It made me think of our Temple Dedications and the Hosannah Shout! All those waving white handkerchiefs! It was just beautiful!



Ivy covered castle-like turretts make me smile. Aren't they just so beautiful?? They make me think of Kings and Queens, Medieval Princes and Princesses . . . Dragon slayers and Druids, Greensleeves and mandolines . . . Romance and intrigue. I just love them!



This beautiful pond made me smile. If you look really closely you will see a bird in the lower middle part of the pond. This is called a Koot. That really made me smile . . . if you are fond of calling your other half an Old Koot, then this will make you smile too! A Koot is just a bird with a pointed head and a long sharp beak. Not so bad after all!



I don't know what these are called, but for a second there I thought we had stumbled into Jurassic Park! Very odd rhubarb leaf resembling trees! I felt as if at any moment some prehistoric man eating creature was going to come growling through the bushes gnashing it's teeth at us!! Most unsual!



Hidden Japanese Pagodas and dainty bridges over quiet streams make me smile. It's like being in another secret, hidden world. A world of quiet black laquer haired women, on dainty wooden shoed feet . . . tea ceremonies . . . paper fans . . . and paper houses. Cherry blossomed trees and flower rain, tinkling chimes . . . so very beautiful.



Coming upon little bamboo water baskets hidden amongst the ferns . . . that made me smile. A reminder of a simple life and time . . . so quaint and beautiful . . .



Long legged Iron Cranes standing as sentinals amongs the ferns and greenery, alongside a babbling brook made me smile as well. How very beautiful and ethereal . . .



And of course the old British Bald Headed Koot always makes me smile too!! Posing beneath the Wysteria Arches in bloom . . . I love that I get to share these beautiful things and my life with this wonderful man. That makes me smile the biggest smile of all! I do love him so!!

We had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and I was thrilled that I managed to be able to walk through all the gardens and the Mansion house as well . . . although towards the end it was debatable as to whether I would be able to make it back to the car or not . . . I DID . . . another smile!

Lura continues to improve with each day that passes. I am so grateful for this and for all of your continued prayers and love for her. That also makes me smile! Please continue to visit her page and leave your messages of encouragement. It's been over 37 days now since she has been in hospital. Hard to believe. Your love, prayers and messages are helping to carry her through this very difficult time and we both appreciate them so very much!

Here's a nice salad for these warm days that are coming up. In the summer months I always have a bowl of hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator. They come in ever so handy for quick snacks and sandwiches, and salads, especially this tasty one here today!



*Caesar Salad with Boiled Eggs*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

If you have boiled eggs on hand in the fridge you always have a light supper in the making.

1/2 baguette, sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 20 slices)
4 TBS extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
the juice of 2 fat lemons
2 TBS of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more, shaved with a vegetable peeler
2 TBS light mayonnaise
2 anchovy filets
1 clove of garlic, peeled
8 hard cooked eggs, peeled
(Reserve 4 yolks, cut the remaining whites and eggs into bite sized pieces
2 heads of Cos lettuce (Romaine) cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Lay the baguette slices on a large rimmed baking sheet. Brush on both sides with 2 TBS of the olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown, turning over halfway through the baking time, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet.

Combine the lemon juice, grated Parmesan, mayonnaise, anchovies, garlic, 4 reserved egg yolks and remaining 2 TBS of olive oil in a blender, along with some salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.

Toss the lettuce, croutons, dressing, shaved Parmesan and remaining egg whites and eggs together in a large bowl. Serve immediately.




A delicious low fat dessert in The English Kitchen today, Toffee Apples with Vanilla Mascarpone.