Grey.

Summer holidays bring to mind long, lazy sunny days but the reality is more like today, grey with intermittent showers. At least it has been warm and I was able to get some work done outside. There is plenty to be done here and so that I don't get too much into the holiday spirit I've gone back to writing a daily list of things that need to be done. Today I worked through my whole list which either means that I slaved away or that I kept my list manageable. A bit of both I think though I didn't stop all day until Peter came home. I'd rather keep working steadily than have to go into a mad rush when deadlines loom.

As well as the usual weeding and sawing I picked several pounds of blackcurrants as I will be making jam this year. This lot has gone into the freezer as there are still plenty more blackcurrants on the bush. There are a few raspberries ripening too but the birds tend to steal most of those so I look on them as a garden snack rather than a fruit crop.

Another of my tasks was to bake cakes for Peter to take to work tomorrow. This is the last lot I shall be making as he finishes next Friday and they usually have cake from the canteen when somebody retires. I made chocolate ganache for the chocolate cup cakes and used the left overs on some of my first batch of lemon cakes some of which sank in the middle and others overflowed which is why I made a second batch. I made fondant flowers to top the lemon drizzle cakes as I still had some fondant in the freezer.

Out in the garden I was very pleased to spot this darker double hardy geranium. I've got the paler one growing in the propagating beds but I thought this one was lost. I'll split this one once it has finished flowering.