Sunday 19 July 2020

Photo diary: week 29, project 366

All the excitement about the last week was it being the end of the strange school year. I sighed with relief that we don't have to do home lessons for several weeks. On the other hand, it will be more upsetting for Sasha, who likes his school routine. He has another couple of days at school, and then we're all officially school-free until September, and then who knows?!

I was trying to find a jar of vanilla paste in the baking section in Waitrose, when I spotted a new product - an Italian cake mix for Torta Caprese (basically, an almond cake). The cake mix inside includes roughly chopped almonds, to which you need to add butter and eggs, and a bit of milk. It was utterly uncooked by the suggested time, so I left it in the oven for longer.
It tasted better the next day. I'm glad I've tried it, but I won't rush to buy it again, unless it's on offer, and then I will add some ingredients to it, to make the texture less coarse and grainy. As a cake mix, it has potential.

Chez Maximka, Italian cake

I'm cheating with the next photo, as it's pinched from a WhatsApp's chat.
My brother and his family spent Sunday in Ust'-Kachka, by the river Kama, an hour's drive away from the city where I was born and lived until my mid-20s. This photo made me quite nostalgic, as I haven't visited those parts of the world for many-many years.

Chez Maximka

There are not that many flowers in the garden at the moment, apart from a few phloxes, hollyhocks and echinacea. Almost all the roses are gone, though you can see several white roses up high in the branches of the plum tree (the rose has climbed up the plum).

Chez Maximka, English garden in summer

The wild plum is laden with fruit which is still super sour. I'm not sure which variety of the plum that is, but it's not a sloe. I don't know whether to keep the fruit on the tree until it's ripe and then pick it up, or pick it now and let it ripen in the bowl at home, so that the squirrel thugs won't destroy it. Last year they ruined most of my plums, they just bite the fruit off and drop on the ground.

Chez Maximka, English garden

One of the last school tasks on Thursday was a story of Mary Anning. You had to watch a video about her, answer a short questionnaire and do four drawings, based on the fossils she has found, imagining what they would look like. Eddie spent two days, drawing four creatures, but of course, Friday was the last day, so nobody bothered to actually check what he has done. That's a disappointment.

Chez Maximka

I needed to pop to M&S to return a belt I bought the day earlier for Sash, as it was too short. Got the next size, and it's huge, and I need to add more holes. Not sure how I'm going to do that, worried that the knife will make ugly cuts rather than neat holes. Eddie was doing his best ninja impersonation.

Have you seen today's shit-storm on Twitter, caused by some journo from The Times, who compared the obligatory wearing of the masks to Nazism. How can she equate masks to gas chambers?!

I don't like wearing a mask, I don't think anyone does, and as a parent of a son with severe autism, I appreciate that not everyone is capable of wearing one, as it might cause a bout of stress.

Chez Maximka

Passing by one of the shops in High Street, I took a snap of the mannequin, wearing a skirt and top which I really like. I'm very tempted to buy them (minus the scarf, as I have plenty of those). They are rather plain, but I could style them with lots of other bits and pieces.



You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

17 comments:

  1. I am so glad it's the school holidays and the home schooling can stop.
    That cake does look good. It's a shame you weren't too keen. Adding your own ingredients sounds like a good idea.
    Those plums look amazing. It is hard to know when to pick things like that.
    Ohh! I do like that outfit in the shop window. I could really imagine you wearing it. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I read a book based around Mary Anning's story a few years back - very interesting. Hope you can find a new routine that works for everyone over the holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The cake looks great. I'd love to try it, but not with a cake mix, as I find them a bit too sweet and overpriced in general.
    I am amazed by what stupid things I heard about masks. It's not difficult for most of us to wear them. Today I went to the shops and realized after 10 minutes of walking back home that I still had my mask on. Of course, there are some people who would struggle, but the majority should have no issues.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cake in theory sounds delicious. Always disappointing when they don't deliver what you think there'll be.
    People seem to be so against masks. Someone on twitter had a right go at me for saying that as only 1 of 2 people in our local shop not wearing a mask, it was becoming the norm, so next time I'd wear one. Couldn't believe how riled they were at me saying masks would become the norm at this point.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the photo of your brother's. Can understand why it made you nostalgic. I laughed at the squirrels eating your plums, because I remembered how we had the same problem with birds, wasps and apples at our old house. From a tree with hundreds of apples, we used to get about two edible ones a year! The top and skirt look pretty good value. I would be tempted by them if I was you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That cake sounds amazing. Such a lovely photo of your brothers. I do love the sound of that top and skirt, great value x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love the skirt and top and having now met you, I think it would really suit you. Hope the holidays aren't too long for Sasha. Can't believe some of the fear that journalists are spreading through the media, it drives me med

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yay, great for you all to be on holiday now :) Love the look of the cake - I often jazz up cake mixes with extra ingredients, so I definitely think that has potential. Eddie's work looks great. I missed the twitter shit-storm but I can't believe all the arguing about masks in England. I've been wearing them at work every day for about the last two months and the kids automatically put them on every time we go out without me even asking them. It really wasn't an issue when they were made compulsory in France - it just seemed common sense. We've just been travelling in Belgium for ten days and had enough masks for about three days, so we had to keep washing them and leaving them to dry for the next time we needed them. Not really an issue, especially if it helps keep us safe. Love the skirt and top - go on, treat yourself ! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. maybe time to go and visit where you grew up?
    you should treat yourself.
    Bob would never cope with a mask with his autism either. But then DD1 is not letting him anywhere he would need one due to his medical conditions.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can't understand the mask refusers :( Almond cakes are usually light so what a shame that the mix didn't live up to expectations #project366

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ooh that’s a lot of plums. Hope you can manage to pick them before the squirrels get them. Love the photo from your brother – what a beautiful place. That skirt and top are lovely. Love Eddie’s drawing. #project366

    ReplyDelete
  12. I hate it when cake mixes don't turn out as they should, but you did a good job getting it to work. I really don't understand mask refusers either. It's mad.
    Those plumbs would make lots of yummy jam
    #p365

    ReplyDelete
  13. The plums look lovely shame they are so sour. Bless him shame he spent so long and it wasn't checked. I think it looks fab! I hope to still see his drawings now school has finished.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I really don't approve of the all the bad press about masks. It is just making a bad situation worse. Hope the Summer is kind to you and Sasha is okay out of the school routine. I love plums so I would be taking them off the tree to make jam with. I like the skirt and top. Maybe it is time for a treat? xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. My daughter is obsessed with Mary Anning and fossils. I need to book us on another fossil hunting trip......that is a great picture of an ammonite :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. My parents had a plum tree but it didn't do too well so they ended up pulling it out.

    Wow can't believe someone compared it to nazism!

    ReplyDelete
  17. My college will open in September too. The cake looks good. Lovely flower and view of the river. That's a disappointment because that looks like a cool drawing. Wow, people express stupidity so freely. The outfit does look great

    ReplyDelete