Friday 26 March 2010

Deep in Tennessee
















I spent last weekend in Walland, Tennessee. Where you ask? Well I asked the same question. It's just outside of Knoxville and I had to look up both Knoxville and Tennessee on a map, my grasp of the geography of the centre of the USA is very weak. The US border official said " that's too bad, why do you have to go there?" He'd not heard of Blackberry Farm and neither had I until I was invited to visit this oasis of calm, comfort and elegance in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains.

Thursday 18 March 2010

Cheese and Rabbits


What is better than a grilled cheese sandwich? Almost nothing. I've eaten this every day for lunch this week. I have alternated the cheese, cheddar and Cheshire two great English cheeses, although cheddar is made everywhere and so cheddar refers to a style of cheese rather than the cheese from the town Cheddar. It is Cheshire, which is the choice cheese for Welsh Rabbit. Yes that is rabbit not rarebit. Check here. I would have made Welsh rabbit but you need a knife and fork to eat it and the sandwich can be easily enjoyed on the deck in the wonderful sunshine 18C today amazing.

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Summer time and summer dreams


Yes I know it's not officially spring yet, but we have switched to summer time and the weather here is glorious. It's warm, 15 C and everyone has emerged onto the streets. Neighbours are cleaning up their gardens and we've even hauled our plants outside to give them some fresh air. The fig tree has woken up to the longer hours of sunlight and is sprouting leaves. It is still cool at night but if it stays above freezing we'll leave it, the bay trees, the olive and the lemon out on the deck. The forecast for the rest of the week is good, so all of us who are stuck in Toronto are not complaining. We're happy we didn't spend the money to fly to south for spring break.

Monday 8 March 2010

Distracted by false spring

We've had several days of beautiful weather. Clear blue skies and lots of sunshine with "warm" temperatures, it went all the way up 12C today. I am always amazed how warm that feels after a long winter.  This false spring won't last, so when I have a spare moment I rush outside and soak in the vitamin D instead of blogging.