Things Mums find on their phones - v1

Bits and bobs of pandemic parenting

Dress for success with your daughter

Have a hoot playing long board games but not too many of Seb's super-complicated ones.

Getting to grips with cleaning the house - who, how, how often, etc.

Random bits of lockdown life

Since we can't try things on at the stores, we have to do that at home. It's a bit hit or miss on the sizes and fabric but the two dresses on the left will pop up in Summer 2020 snaps. The darker one on Sophie and the bright blue & white on Jo (in fact, I am wearing it as I type!)

Not a fan of police per se but it is kinda cool when they pass your house on horseback

When chatting with Brighton, I decided to show them "our beach"

Dear dawg and his somewhat strange poses

The joy of getting not one but 3!!! pieces of mail and none are bills!

Enjoying the fireplace with my trusty companion when the May weather is miserable.

Food, glorious food!

The last two months have been full of all sorts of delicious (often sweet...) foods. Below is a little round-up to make your mouth water.

A lovely friend in Nairobi managed to order these from Mabel's bakery and have them delivered!

Preparing a little breakfast for my big son

Stocking up on basics and more at the start of the lockdown

Friends brought so much to our porch this last month

The yummy savoury muffins that I have been perfecting week on week

Lining up outside our local No Frills: between 30-50 minutes of queuing but then none at the cash register

Homemade crab cakes

More kindness from friends

Savoury strudel

Trying to eat on the porch - fresh o.j. for some added sunshine

Healthy muffins made less so by the addition of homemade jam (no, not our home)

marinated salmon that got the thumbs up from Seb (who is now vegetarian but eating loads of fish)

Our afternoon tea/picnic with muffins, egg salad sandwiches, asiago cheese crackers

Prosecco and oj

More crabcakes (and more tulips!)

OK a store-bought coffee cake

Brunch on my own, pulled up by the fireplace

The inimitable Mary-Margaret repeated her gorgeous rosewater and pistachio cake for us

Rhubarb - just rhubarb (and a little sugar)

Bagels and berries and muffins - oh my!

pizza

Faux Thai

The best jam this year! Sophie and I bought this on the way back from Kingston last year. Back roads = a tasty road trip

Frittata and loaf (which loaf was this again?)

Inspiration!

Just want to clarify that there was only one left when the lockdown started...

And yes, some of this

Scrambled eggs made fancy

Simple but solid meals happen too

Sometimes we don't have the correct ingredients, so we improvise (no chocolate chips? just smash up old Easter eggs!)

Leftovers!

There is always bagel and lox if I am lucky

We probably sit down to more meals together than recent months - no evening gymnastics or ballet or late work etc.

An abundance of flowers

Our garden is coming into peak flowers - tulips, 1 daffodil, end of the hyacinths, lilac starting to bloom, and the peonies shooting up tall.

I snagged a box of pansies left for the taking at the side of the road. Christine next door lent me the blue pot & Heather traded a slice of cake for some potting soil!

My spiky faves

Aren't they glorious!!

These in the backyard seem to have been in a mud slide (where are the stems and leaves?!)

And then there is the magnificent magnolia next door

Not all the flowers are outside (and isn't MMJ's cake gorgeous!)

Every room should have flowers

Some of the flower beds along the lake