Lindsey and I went into town on Thursday morning.  She dropped me off and went on to Tai chi and then her piano lesson.  I went into the Honda Hospital and picked up UIW, now with a new alternator and new starter motor but not a new battery, which they had managed to re-charge.  Then UIW and I went back to Hill House.

I had a culinary disaster on Thursday evening.  My potatoes and leeks, intended for mash, turned into mush!!!  They were ready before the chicken kievs and mushrooms were, so I turned them off and left them to keep warm.  When I came back the potatoes had gone all mushy in the hot water.  So I blitzed them up into soup and added a larger dollop of butter. I put the soup into big soup bowls and decorated the soup with slices of kiev and lots of crispy garlic mushrooms.  We had it with a chunky salad on the side.  It tasted lovely!  I had assumed it was because I left the potatoes in hot water to wait until the kievs were ready, but I am coming to think it might be the kind of potato.  We haven't had them before (they're called Bliss) and they are much inclined to go from rock hard to mush in water unless you keep a close eye on them. They make very excellent chips and roasties, though.

The weather in the latter part of last week was warm and very windy.  Perfect for drying the clothes. Not so perfect for drying the bed sheet which made a bid for freedom and tried to fly to Bacchus Marsh. Fortunately a bush near the washing line captured it and I brought it in to finish drying inside. Then the weekend arrived and with it arrived cold, wet, misty weather.  No wind, but there was no point trying to do anything outside.

So Jim and I stayed inside, up at Hill House, with Rupert and Hugo. Lindsey and Ian were in Sydney. It was a pleasant, quiet weekend in which very little happened. A soup and toast sort of weekend.