This morning's baking

The forecast for the day was blustery, cool and intermittently wet. So I planned an indoors morning, starting with a baking session. 

The sourdough was first in the oven, followed by the cheesy courgette and tomato flan, the components of which I prepared last night but which I decided to actually cook this morning.

The advantage of prepping and leaving the flan overnight is that the pastry dough was super-cooled having been in the fridge for 12 hours. I'm sure that's why the crust is particularly good this time. I had a slice for lunch: it passed the Mima test 10/10.

The rain has been very fleeting once more and I've managed to get more jobs done outside than I expected, with only one outstanding until tomorrow. 

There certainly hasn't been enough rain to save me watering the outdoor beds, so the squashes, beans, roots and rhubarb all had a good soak today.

I saw that the rhubarb was looking a bit neglected yesterday evening when Bean and I had our regular perambulation around the property before sinking into the sofa. So this morning I cleared away all the dead stalks and leaves, removed any stalks which looked damaged and gave it a deep drink. 

I have entered the class in the A&P Show for '3 stalks of rhubarb', and it needs to perk up a bit before then. 

The paintings that I created for my brothers' birthdays last month are now dry enough to pack and post to them. The boys have seen the pictures via emailed photos, and both seemed happy. (They would say that though!) I'll blip them before they get wrapped up. 

I've been working on a series of art cards today. All oil on small pieces of canvas. As well as completing half a dozen by sticking them onto card, I have started another six, and I progressed six more which are about half-way complete. It's a satisfying production line at the moment, which will give me a stack of cards ready to give people as needed.

While painting I rediscovered some CDs from the back of the music drawer by a couple of Canadian bands I first heard when I was backpacking in BC in 1995: Hemingway Corner and The Paperboys. 

The music took me straight back to walking all over Vancouver Island and travelling by ferry to Haida Gwaii. That was some trip: the first time I really stepped out overseas on my own. It gave me the bug, and one way or anther it brought me here.

It's funny how life turns out. And who knows where it has yet to take me...