Saturday 7th November

I am still getting used to the time change especially for dog walking and invariably this week I have been walking the dogs in the dark instead of daylight!  It has been really damp all week and the leaves have been piling up on the pathways and I am conscious of skidding on wet leaves, so I make sure to wear sensible shoes as I tore a ligament in my right knee earlier this year wearing the wrong shoes when it was wet.  We have had an abundance of fireworks going off all this week starting as early as 5 pm and as late as 1 am.  My hounds have not been too bad this year as fireworks really send them bonkers and they either shudder with fear or bark until they are hoarse! 

I have had a run of cooked breakfasts this week and one lovely guest told me that he would have the Chef’s special and make it a surprise which of course I obliged. I made him creamy scrambled eggs with Scottish smoked salmon served on a muffin and our special dill sauce!

This morning I was asked the same again but by a different guest this time I cooked him bacon and a fried egg with the extra touch  of a triangle of fried bread in the bacon fat.  It reminded me of the breakfasts my mum cooked me in the winter time when I was at junior school.

 I had  an abundance of fruit leftover this week so mid-week I made a banana and blueberry loaf as well as a banana and raspberry one. I gave one to a neighbour who I go dog walking with and the other we tucked into the same afternoon it was made with a cup of fruit tea in between working and waiting for the new set of guests to arrive. 

I was at the supermarkets yesterday and spotted the Harrogate Fruit Teas and bought several as they seem to be my most popular fruit teas with the guests at the moment. I had forgotten my bags as it was an unplanned trip – so I purchased a few bags for 10p each and they are called ‘bags for life’ when they wear out, they replace them for free if you return them, which seems fair to me.  

Chris returned from San Francisco bearing gifts of all kinds,  he bought me a bag that I can carry around with me if I unexpectedly decide to shop and to avoid the 5p charge. They are called ChicoBag‘s and they are great! They come in a small casing, they are waterproof and they fit nicely into my handbag. He stocked up on a few of them and plans to give them as presents at Christmas.