h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Time goes by.

Yesterday was our 40th wedding anniversary. As it was Easter Sunday, we didn't really celebrate it - quite honestly, I wouldn't know how to. My sister-in-law came for Sunday lunch. Not even her boyfriend could join us because he is a carer in a private company and had a shift on Sunday afternoon. And, of course, the kids didn't even realise it was our anniversary.

Just the three of us. It was nice to just cook a proper Sunday meal, which we all enjoyed.

The starter was a BBC recipe - a simple salad of blanched green asparagus, peas, chopped mint, chopped feta and a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. The peas were supposed to be freshly podded but I didn't have any, so I just poured some hot water, then cold, over some frozen peas and they were jut right.

The main course was lamb, with braised carrots, spring onions, and creamed celeriac. I couldn't find the right vinegar to make the mint sauce in my cupboard, but I did eventually find a raspberry/balsamic vinegar concoction right at the back and it was fine. Gravy and roast potatoes, too.

Then I did a palate-cleansing sorbet of rhubarb and ginger - unfortunately, although I had put it in the freezer on Saturday evening, it still wasn't the right consistency - more of a slush than a sorbet!

Pudding was profiteroles with melted chocolate drizzled over. Meant to garnish them with strawberries, but forgot.

The table decoration was pink - pink roses and serviettes. And a tempranillo rosado from Argentina, which set it off aesthetically and was just right to complement the meal. I even had two glasses!

The afternoon was spent digesting that lot! It's turned cold again, but unfortunately, we couldn't sit by the fire...

Hubbie is off on the second half of his Camino tour tomorrow. By bike from here to Santiago. He and his friend got to Toulouse a couple of years ago and now comes the difficult part. Difficult enough crossing the Pyrenees by bike, but Spain is not very bike-friendly altogether. They still haven't decided how they are going to get home, provided they even make the whole outward journey! No cycles on trains in Spain, a flight home is probably not feasible, as they don't know when and from where they will be flying so they would have to pay a horrendous price for a last-minute booking.

Anyway, because he may be away anything up to 6 weeks and because the weather was so beautifully warm a couple of weeks ago, he has dismantled, cleaned and generally decommissioned the fireplace for this summer, so that's why we couldn't light a fire in it.

He is spending the day inducting me in the intricacies of the heating system, the PV system, and there's probably more to come. He's done it all before, but I think he doesn't trust me.

While, of course, hoping that things go well (after two aborted attempts, he is losing the will to do this pilgrimage) I really am looking forward to having the house to myself for a few days.

He'll be back.

As time goes by.

can they sell their bikes in Spain?

congratulations - 40 years is no mean feat!

Congratulations!

I've cycled in Spain; not over the Pyrenees but over the Picos de Europa and down into Portugal. I never found it bike-unfriendly anywhere except for Portuguese potholes, and there were enough other bikes on the road to keep drivers aware of the needs of cyclists. Altogether a great experience.

Happy ruby anniversary

Deb

Rhubarb slush?

Thanks for the reassurance that cycling in Spain isn't so bad, R. I'm sure once they actually get there, they'll find that, too.

However, last thing last night, the news came through that the pass they intend to cross will be snowed up exactly on the day they are due there.

They are not very flexible, but in their position I would have added another day to the north of the Pyrenees, to wait for the snow to slither away. Perhaps not in Lourdes, where they are planning a stopover, just to say they've been there. My sister-in-law says it's awful and incredibly overrun.

It was very cold here this morning, when he left at 7:15. A friend is driving them to Strasbourg station, whence they will do the train journey to Toulouse in reverse from their last trip. With an overnight stay in Lyon, this takes 2 days (no bikes on the TGV either, so they have to take local trains and change lots)

I really wish the best of luck to them!
How bad is the snow likely to be at this time of year?

That does sound like an excellent meal for a 40th anniversary

It is my parents' 40th this year, and they're not sure how to celebrate it either, but a celebratory meal is a good idea if nothing else

Belted, but nonetheless heartfelt, congratulations.

Interesting typo there

Thank you. Did rather cause my brow to furrow at first!

Phone call early this morning. He has back pains and is breaking the trip off.

I thought this would happen. So much for my few weeks alone.

They hadn't even got to Lourdes! (Where he might have found a miracle cure!)

Anyway, they've got to work out how to get back now. His friend has said he will take a TGV back home and drive down to fetch him in the car. Hairbrained idea. Apart from which, sitting in a car right across France won't be good for a bad back either.

I'll know more this evening.

In the meantime, I have my youngest's bachelor thesis to proofread. It's jolly good so far and it's about something I've been enthusiastic about since school - organic chemistry.

Organic chemistry... makes me think of Breaking Bad

I have yet to watch that. I keep meaning to get the box set of at least the first series to see what all the fuss is (was) about.

As I worked with sewage plants for many years, learning about the difference between anionic and cationic colloids, aerobic and anaerobic sludge, organic chemistry means all sorts of things to me, and I urged my kids to look to studying something in that field at the time. If you'll pardon the pun, it looks my urgings fell at least in part on fertile ground.

Starting with those long polymers we caught a glimpse of when doing O level chemistry at school.