A Stay at Home Bank Holiday Weekend

This Bank Holiday weekend we stayed at home for the entire weekend.  The main reason was that our daughter was not feeling too well on account of having had her MMR jab last week.  I don't like to see her feeling unwell, but console myself with the thought that at least she was not suffering from the full blown measles, which was a risk that we have now hopefully minimised, albeit a lot later than many parents.

Anyway, the traffic in London was pretty horrendous at the beginning of the weekend.  I made the mistake of going up to Asda on  morning to get some ingredients for some Tiffin for the school fundraising stall at the market on Sunday, and was stuck nose to tail in traffic for almost an hour.  (Asda is 10 minutes up the road!).  I wasn't going to make that mistake again.

I made the Tiffin to a recipe given to me by my partner's sister.  It is the first time I've made it myself, although I have eaten hers quite a few times and always enjoy it.  It turned out like this.

 

 

The recipe and the instructions for making this are very simple (although a bit of a cheat and quite expensive although it does go a long way as you can cut it into small pieces as it is so rich) and as follows:

 

Half a packet of Digestive biscuits

Half a packet of Rich Tea biscuits

A tin of Evapourated Milk

4oz of Butter

2 large bars of Chocolate

 

You can make it slightly more healthy by adding dried fruit, nuts, etc.  (Okay, not that healthy, but sometimes an indulgence is just what the doctor ordered).  You could also use white or dark chocolate if you prefer, or other biscuits of choice such as ginger nuts or whatever you have to hand.



To make it you melt two thirds of the chocolate and the butter over hot water being careful not to overheat it.  Crush up the biscuits.  I just put them in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin, but don't crush them up too small as they need to give a bit of a crunch so some small chunks are okay.

Mix the biscuits into the chocolate along with as much evapourated milk as required to get the right consistency for it all to stick together but still set.  I didn't actually use much. 

When it is all mixed in and fully coated with chocolate, spread it out in a baking tray and cover with the remainder of the chocolate melted and spread over the top.  Then leave to set.  I didn't put it in the fridge as it can make the chocolate discolour.

Sunday morning I  cut it up into squares and lifted them out of the tray and took them up to the market.  I'm hoping it will help raise some money for my daughter's school trip later this year and makes a pleasant change from making decorated buns.

I also took a few plants I had left over from potting up and some other bits and pieces of clothing, books, etc.  I was told by one of the mums that they had raised £120 which was pretty good and will be put to good use.

Most of the rest of the weekend has been spent gardening.  On Saturday, my partner replanted and mulched with bark, what was left of the front garden after the basement lightwell was built last year.  It is nice to finally have it looking tidy.  We just need to wait for the plants to grow a little now.  Here's a couple of pictures of it as it stands.

 

 

There's a honeysuckle which we hope to grow up the iron railing (we are adding wires to train it when they arrive) and will hopefully smell nice as you come out of the front door.  There's a clematis on the back fence and a passionflower which I'm hoping will grow up the back of the wall along with several ivies which have also been placed around the lightwell and will hopefully hang over and soften the look of the concrete.

 

Sunday was spent on the back garden, my partner re-laying and weatherproofing the decking down the side of the house where the builders put in all the drainage and me working on the remaining border that needs attention.  I've been pulling out some of the old shrubs that had become very woody and were overhanging our small lawn and generally clearing ivy and weeds that had taken over the border.  I'm hoping to inject a bit of interest with some new plants, but haven't decided what yet.  I'll post a picture when it is completed.  I've given up for now as my brown bin is full and I have nowhere to put the green waste for the moment, so will have to continue next weekend or during the week, weather allowing.  It feels good to get started anyway.

We also started to remulch under the trampoline, but ran out of bark.  The trampoline itself has finally given up the ghost with a huge tear in the base, so we need to buy a new one.  We've had this a good few years now and it has seen quite a lot of action as my daughter and her friends love to play on it when the weather is good.  Working out at £20/25 per year for useage I think this is great value for the exercise and fun it has provided.  We're going to order one on line and get it delivered after we've done a bit of research.  Luckily next weekend heralds the arrival of the communal skip so hopefully we will be able to dispense with the non-metal parts of the trampoline in here and the metal parts will be left out for the metal collectors that come around regularly and who accidentally took our step ladders the other day!  (They were broken and had been left in the lightwell at the front unfortunately, so I can't blame them.)

Sunday evening we treated ourselves to a lovely meal at our local pub on the canal, which was very enjoyable, more so because I didn't have to cook it.

Bank Holiday Monday was a day for cleaning inside the house.  I swept and mopped through the downstairs, cleaned the cloakroom and did some washing, drying it on the line.  I also aired the dog bed and washed her blankets and toys. (I don't know if she liked this as much as I did!)  I felt much better once it was all done.  I did a bit of painting and spruced up these shelves for the greenhouse. (I needed more space for seedlings). 

I was going to bring it in the house and use it in my bedroom (the shelves that is) but as it has stood outside for a few years now it is starting to rot at the bottom and I didn't want to risk that rot spreading to floorboards, furniture, etc. 

I also managed a cycle ride to the allotment on Monday evening to weed and water my plot after the warm spell we've been having.  I harvested a few sticks of rhubarb as the plant had gone a bit mad in the last few weeks.  When I got back we finished the weekend with  a lovely Lamb roast dinner and an evening getting ready for the week ahead.

All told we've had a very productive Bank Holiday Weekend at home, we've not spent too much money or had to face the crowds and I now feel rested and ready to face the coming week.  How was your Bank Holiday weekend?