Juniper vs the Great Outdoors 🌳

Hello again! I hope you are all enjoying some sunshine today like I am...it feels like the first time I've seen a blue sky in months and it's so nice and still and warm 🌞 

 

Last week I got randomly selected to take a covid test which got sent to me in the post, it turned out I didn't have covid (unsurprising) but honestly it was just exciting to get some post and have to follow the instructions and book the courier...any change up of the routine is fun at the moment isn't it!? Meanwhile, Ed and I whizzed through all 9 seasons of The Office US in January and are already rewatching it again, so not much has changed around here lol. We are also enjoying Incredible Journeys with Simon Reeve and have decided we want to go to Costa Rica one day.

Over the past couple of weeks we have been introducing sweet Juniper to the outside world in her smart little harness and it has been so fun! At first she was quite uncertain and rightfully a bit suspicious of the rain but her curiosity won and she enjoys herself now, sniffing around and even eating some grass. We saw a bee buzzing around the primroses and she was very interested in that, she decided not to catch it though after I told her that the bees are important and we need to look after them.

Look at her handsome uniform 😍

Tentative first steps...

I finished my third pair of socks this week. These ones were for my mum and thankfully I finished them just in time for her birthday! I really like this colour scheme, I've got some leftover wool so I think I'll have to incorporate it into another pair for myself one day, made up of scraps of different wool 🎨 

(If you wonder whether Juniper likes her harness or not, just look at this photo...she clearly finds it very comfortable 😆)

Two more sourdough loafs to share with you - 

I randomly decided to scatter some oats into the banetton to give this first one an interesting crust! And for the second one we used semolina as I had read about how it's good for stopping the dough from sticking, it worked a treat 🍞

It has been very exciting leaving work at 5.30pm whilst it's still light. I am so looking forward to warm summer evening walks, not long now!

Last week we planted out some garlic in the garden, the first inhabitants of our raised beds! We've started sowing seeds indoors as well...leeks, chillies, tomatoes, strawberries, and a few different flowers 🍓🌱🍅🌿🌼 the dahlias are amazing, they sprouted up in just a few days! We were very surprised.

Now time for some more Juniper as there is a never ending supply of cat photos around here!

Sunbathing 😎

A very yum cheesy, broccoli and leek pasta + wearing our knitted socks to church last week!

Juniper has finally gained the ability to reach the kitchen worktops.......which means she can parkour up onto the fridge, onto the microwave, and finally all the way up to the top cupboards 😆 here she is before I rescued her from the cooker hood lol. And her calm, elegant alter-ego in her new favourite sleep spot.

A cool pic of popcorn kernels.

I'll finish off with a meme I saw this morning which I found very relatable 😂🍃 

xxxx

The first half of February ⛄

Hello and welcome to another instalment of Bethany, Ed and Juniper's life. Before we begin I would like to make an announcement: SPRING IS COMING! That is all.

Witch hazel and hellebores.

Firstly, here are some pics from a lovely garden centre trip at the end of January. It was nice and quiet and we had some vouchers to spend so it was peak garden centre shopping conditions...we came home with these three colourful primroses, as well as seeds, compost and other bits and bobs.

A few weeks ago we watched Marley and Me (Ed hadn't seen it so I wanted to introduce him), and Juniper spent the whole film asleep on my legs, stretched out on her back like a little human. 👇

A mizzly grey sky, I like the calmness of this photo above. And below, a perfect rainbow circle on the road.

Juniper curled up on the windowsill for the first time recently and it was precious (as you can tell, we get excited about every new thing she does). Plus a photo of her and her boyfriend Bart Simpson.

Ed got on a cinnamon bun hype and made two batches in two weeks...

...and we made samosas one evening! Folding them into triangles was fun, like food origami.

An out-of-focus photo of our first snowdrop which popped up in the front garden! And a final photo of our jewel orchid in all its glory before all the flowers die off.

The newest member of the houseplant family is this polka dotty begonia maculata. The leaves are red on the underside, it's such a cool plant! I've been keeping an eye out for one for ages so when we got some in at work I snapped one up right away.

😍😍😍

Ed and I both read The Birds by Daphne du Maurier recently so we decided to watch the Hitchcock film afterwards. Juniper was so interested and sat up close to the tv watching the birds, and I chose some relevant mugs for the event.

Check out this beautiful loaf:

We have been training Juniper to wear a harness so that we can take her out in the garden, and maybe for walks if she enjoys it! She seems to quite like wearing it but it has been so cold and wet recently that she hasn't had her first exploration yet and has just been out riding on my shoulder. 

    Oh look! Another loaf of bread 😯 are my blog posts getting boring yet?

This one was a bit of a flat blob (either I didn't knead it for long enough or I proved it for too long 🤔) but it was nice and soft, and as usual it made great toast.

On Tuesday we went for a walk in the snow, but you can't tell that it's snowing in these pics because it was so light and powdery. I still get so excited for snow, a small part of me thinks about the adult responsibilities of being able to get to work but mostly I just want snoooow!!!

Crocs and pjs to see the snow in the garden, and another colourful combination:

Ta da! I finished Ed's socks a few days ago and they fit perfectly 👍 Bonus fun fact: this wool is Dragon Dance by Opal which I chose because Ed likes dragons.

Some more cute Juniper...she has started sleeping on the rocking chair which is so sweet.

That's a wrap! I'll finish off with a photo of Juniper helping me to write this blog post...I'll let you into a little secret - she is actually the brains behind these posts, she tells me what to say and I just help her with the typing.

xoxo