A day well spent

I started today (after getting kids up, making three lunches, doing the washing, sorting out the dishes etc etc) with a lovely walk around the nature reserve in Glen of the Downs, County Wicklow. My friend Sally took me there after I had admitted to never having been there. It was a place she went to frequently with her family when she was a young girl. We walked for an hour and a half, it was a beautiful morning with the sun shining and it was warm for this time of year.



Of course we were busy chatting on the way up but when we came down we noticed many things we had missed, such as the many varieties of mushrooms growing in the woods



and the beautiful cobwebs glistening in the morning sun.



After our walk it was time for a sit down, refreshment and more chat. We went to Marc Michel's organic farm. A first time visit for both of us, although I had heard about it from Marie my mother-in-law and Mollie who had been there on two school trips returning with lovely organic fruit and vegetables. It is a large working farm with one large greenhouse adapted into a shop and cafe. We opted for the cafe section and ordered coffee for Sally and a peppermint tea for me along with a scone each. The tea had the most esquisite flavour better than other organic brands I have tried and we both agreed the scone, although huge, was light and very moorish; unfortunately we were given a huge butter each (wasteful) and tiny jam (beautiful flavour, just not enough). Overall our snack was delicious and much better value for money than our usual haunt. We read the lunch menu and agreed that we'd love to go back and sample it one day.

The shop sold many different seasonal fruit and vegetables along with a large range of organic foods including nuts, seeds and cereals. I came home with kiwi fruit, potatoes, a cuecumber and the most delicious looking lettuce. I can't wait to eat them all!



I rushed back from my morning out to help at the cake sale. It was a great success, my packaging was much admired and everything was sold. I came home with a lemon cake, chocolate brownies, fudge and flapjacks (as requested by Dillon). The only thing Ben would buy was a pack of my cookies and Mollie requested I buy one of my chocolate cakes (I refrained as I can bake another one easily enough)!