I woke up today, pulled the curtains and I do believe I saw an old friend.
There he was - the prodigal sun.
About time too.
No, I won't kill the fatted calf and indulge you Sunny Jim, you should have been here for the last three weeks.
Please stay this time and ripen my tomatoes, sweeten my corn and plump my courgettes. I won't moan about the heat or complain about you ever again. If you'll just stay. Please.
The only good thing about the last few weeks of miserable weather is the fact that I've been less grumpy about all the work I've been doing. Often, just the thought of being office bound when the garden is beckoning is enough to turn a happy Lotte into a sour faced old bag!
I've been run off my feet, it's been great (I love working and being busy) and I've not missed out on the sun.
This is the reason I haven't blogged in ages - all my writing has been going in another direction - my cookery book.
It's being published in Spring 2010 by Absolute Press and I am so excited about it. I'm really enjoying the process and looking forward to the next photograpy day.
This will involve me, food, wine, a fire pit and lots of friends. It's happening next sunday - so I really am doing a sun dance in the hope that it is fine.
Fire pits don't usually stay alight for long in the rain!
I've also been to Dublin for a research trip and an amazing thirteith birthday party - with my wonderful, wonderful friends The Brownes. Always fun and usually messy! The research was for another project I'm working on - bit of a secret at the moment, but all will be revealed soon.
In the last few weeks I've also been writing recipes for Prestige (I do the recipes for their twice yearly customer magazine - Eat Drink Live!), and I did the food photograpy for it last friday.
I've recorded radio interviews with a lovely chap called John Clowes - gardening consultant for Miracle Gro.(see photograph) We spent a day locked in a recording booth together talking about the new website. www.lovethegarden.com
Brilliant for gardening tips.
Have to say, couldn't think of a nicer person to be locked into a booth with!
I also had a fabulous lunch at The Angel Restaurant. www.angelrestaurant.co.uk
The owner, the lovely Trevor Bosch asked me and Marcia Waters, (master of wine www.mw2wines.com) my friend to develop a lunch and wine menu (theme PINK, of course!) for some ladies. He regularly holds these Ladies Lunches and they are a great success.
Guess what - it absolutely poured with rain and crashed with thunder on the day, but it was great fun and the food and wine went down a treat. Pink wines with pink food.
(Apologies for the photo of this day - off my phone - forgot my proper camera - duh! I did have more of them, but managed to delete them - double duh!
In between the work I've dressed up as Doris Day, and attended a party escorted Wonder Woman where I cuddled Captain Scarlett. As you do.
So, rain aside - it's not actually been a bad few weeks. Hope you are enjoying your summer too.
