At home

Gavin and I had a long walk with Xena this morning, about 8km and ended it at our local café for an excellent oat milk cappuccino.

After lunch I started preparing the food for our picnic supper at Glyndebourne tomorrow. I made my usual quinoa salad - with pomegranate, herbs, vegan feta cheese, pepperdew peppers - and then a chicken coronation salad. It took some time to prepare all that and then clean up afterwards, and I also washed the kitchen floor as it had got messy from all the food preparation.

We seem to have lost all our picnic gear - yesterday we searched the house high and low for our picnic rugs but could not find them, so I ended up ordering a new one on Amazon which was delivered today. While I was preparing the food Gavin went out to buy some folding chairs as we had one left, the others had broken some time ago. He could not find any so I went onto the Argos website and found some there, to be collected tomorrow morning.

Luke and Meriel arrived, so I took a photo of them as it seems like ages since I took one of them. Adam and Pip and Tommy and Inca are arriving later and then we will all be together again, its been a while since we were all together.

I am very pleased with my new squirrel proof feeders. Another blipper (AnnieAndChris) told me about the Roamwild seed feeder which I ordered, and I was worried as the birds did not seem to know how to use it - they have to sit on the lever operated perch to access the food. However today I noticed they are now doing so. The squirrels cannot get at the food and the seed is lasting much longer.

Tonight we are having a simple BBQ for supper, after preparing food all afternoon I did not feel like cooking anything complicated. We will toast Luke with some bubbly for his new job