Enjoying the Weekend Sunshine

Yesterday saw the first visit of the year to our second-closest National Trust property, Mottisfont, near Romsey in Hampshire. The sun was shining brilliantly and the flowers in the gardens were just beautiful. The magnolia trees were out in an amazing display and there were some stunning bright yellow tulips in the walled garden which in early June (just in time for my birthday) will become one of the most fragrant and charming rose gardens you could ever want to visit.

We rounded off the visit with a locally made ice creams (or in my case an elderflower sorbet) and a trip to the gift shop to buy a very gentle bag of National Trust wholemeal flour, ground at neighbouring property, Winchester City Mill. I've since turned a pound of it into a lovely little loaf for this week's sandwiches. Gentle!

This afternoon was spent delightfully in the Cathedral Close, relaxing in the sunshine on a blanket reading (with a chocolate ice cream!). Beads, Boys and Bangles by Sohpia Bennett is the sequel/second in a series, following on from Threads, a very stylish YA novel, which won last year's Times/Chicken House prize for an unpublished author.

Knitting-wise, there's not a great deal going on on the needles, as I'm still finishing up favours for the wedding next weekend. Luckily they're pretty much all done now (just a few more names to come in) and I'm looking forward to a wonderful day!

I did have a little bit of time to spend on Folksy, where I came across the most fabulous Lego stitch-markers from The Bothered Owl. I couldn't resist and ended up buying a set each of flowers and owls! Check out the whole range that Alex and Sarah have created, it's just brilliant!