Monday and Me - First day out since Christmas

As I write Mr M is in bed, having gone to work and then come home sick!! I can't remember him ever doing this before so it is a bit scary . We went out for our first little ride since before Christmas. Misty Black Mountains, grey and soggy Herefordshire and the Jo's Place for lunch. 

We needed bacon you see. Mr M bought a packet of sauce mix for Chicken and Bacon Pie and I thought I would try it. I have always done all my cooking from scratch so it is really strange to be using packets for sauces. I even use pre-packed pastry! If it's good enough for James Martin it's good enough for me.

We like Oakchurch bacon so we decided to go there and get some - and a few other things we were sure to desperately need. We went up via Abergavenny, Talgarth and the Wye Valley - not the narrow gorge between Monmouth and Chepstow, oh no, the proper wide open much more beautiful one around Hay on Wye. We love that route and never tire of seeing it in the different seasons, even when the sky has that If-It-Was-Two-Degrees-Colder-I-Would-Snow look about it. The cloud was so low it was getting it's bottom ripped by the tops of the mountains and the air had that slightly yellow flavour

Black Mountains looking decidedly grey

 We arrived at Oakchurch, which has become know as the Harrods of Herefordshire apparently. Paused to take a picture of their big turkey and then bought bacon, a quarter of lamb, some suet blocks for the birdies, a savoy cabbage for Sunday dinner and a couple of different potato peelers because our favourite one broke and nothing we have tried since has been as good

Big Turkey!

 Then we went to Jo's PLace at Whitchurch, just outside Ross on Wye for lunch. We talk so much about so many subjects when we are in the car on our own. I just love this special time. For various reasons - mostly because we don't share a taste in TV programmes - we tend to sit in different rooms to watch TV. Another reason being that as soon as Mr M sits in his chair in the front room he goes to sleep so watching TV with him is like watching on my own but with added snoring. I can't sit at the table for too long without my ankles swelling so I have to elevate my legs - sitting in the car is different because he concentrates on driving and we talk. No chance of the phone ringing or the doorbell just us. Absolute heaven!

Each table has its own cruet set and they are cleaned and changed so every time we go there is a different one on the table. This time we had piggies