I popped down to the sea to watch the 2026 eclipse…..it was lovely to gather with locals and holiday makers to witness the phenomena. Plus, a thank you.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
At the end of the first week of August…..and after weeks of heat and drought….I’m checking how things are doing in my garden. I’m already making plans for a few tweaks next year. Please note….towards the end I erroneously say ‘Strelizia’ when showing the Sisyrinchium.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
Today I’m cooking with some of the gorgeous mushrooms I bought with the gift voucher. It’s a beautiful day so I’m going to do as much of it as possible outside. Two tasty toast toppers: one mushroom based plus my broad bean ‘hummus’.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
In the Kitchen: Tasty Toast Toppers – Cooking ‘en plein air’.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve only been doing watering and harvesting because other parts of life have gone a bit wonky. Today I want to address some overdue jobs and get back on track. Plus……at the end, I want to share some of the gorgeous wildlife (insects) who visit my garden.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
It’s carnival time in Swanage! I hope you can join me for some of the fun. For those with pets pleases note….there are fireworks at the end.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
Thank you to Joanne and Ian for the wonderful gift voucher to spend at my local greengrocer/deli. Time to go shopping!
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
Taking a breather from a chaotic time and chatting about all sorts….including; a bit of research into fuel prices which left me shocked, Swanage carnival, a robot companion, an unexpected refund….and a man in a wedding dress!
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
Oh how I love this time of year in the garden…..between the rush of spring and all that work that went into getting the garden planted…..and before the days of big harvests and therefore hours in the kitchen spent preserving. I call it the sweet time. Come and hang out in the cottage garden for some lovely relaxing jobs on the slow.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
I’m chatting as I cook today…..reflecting on how my cooking has changed since giving up my allotment, the surprise of being self-sufficient in one ingredient from my tiny cottage garden, how I use recipe books etc…..as I make a gorgeous sun-dried tomato and sweet pepper risotto. The perfect nod to the slow cooking movement that started in Italy.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
In the Kitchen: Chatting and Cooking – sun-dried tomato and sweet pepper risotto
When work makes it even hotter. Phew…I’m giving myself a sauna! The book I briefly mentioned is Clare Hunter’s ‘Threads of Life’ which I reviewed in my video ‘Good news, bad news’ which I’ve posted the link for on the end of this video.
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Living a simple, mindful life by the sea in rural England (Dorset).
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