Oh those sloes

Well, as I write, with a chilled nip of umeshu (plum wine) beside my laptop, Japanese Granny is cooking up a storm in the kitchen. She is making croquets for her last night here. We are spoiled.

We have had a whirlwind of time with her. On Saturday we went to London to see Ava, bearing gifts of raspberry cake, flowers and biscuits from Japan. How gorgeous can a baby be?

We then all trooped to LIBERTY to oooh and aaah over the delights inside as well as the building. Japanese Granny bought a dashing pair of Liberty wellies, which the good old British weather gave her the opportunity to try out before taking them home!

On Sunday, all those keen were up early for the Pease Pottage Boot Fair, which was CANCELLED, so we traipsed across to Horley's version, which is smaller, but because we were all up early to get to a Boot Fair we had to get to at least one!

Em bought BUNTING for her newly painted room.

The girls looked after her on Monday and as you know, we went blackberrying in the evening, so on Tuesday Japanese Granny made jam.

Today Japanese Granny and I went to Tunbridge Wells and did all the kitchen shops. I had a plan, a plan to buy a bottle, a bottle for SLOE GIN. Also to buy small loaf tin shaped disposable cake moulds. Success on two counts.

We then raced home and grabbed bags for fruit picking and went in search of SLOES. I got a tip from someone at work that this season is a good one and in a certain part of the town, sloes are abundant. It took some time to find them, it took a great deal of dexterity to dangle over a stream, the bank waist high in brambles and nettles, to gather the first few. But then we got the bug and before long we were in ditches, over gates and under hedgerows. We got a few more blackberries too.

But this is some of the sloe haul

Got the gin, got the sugar, looks like it might be a very merry (hic) Christmas!