Yesterday we had a very nice Saturday, in a wholesome sort of way. After a decent sleep-in, we biked to the library along the riverbank.

I rode Chloe's bike, and had a bit of trouble since it was my first time on a bike in years. Yes, you don't forget how, the riding part was fine - but swinging my leg over the basket was trickier than anticipated! I actually fell off once while dismounting, which was a bit embarrassing in a busy public place...

Riding is lovely though, especially when you get a decent stretch of people-free ground ahead of you and can speed up a bit. I'll need to get my own bike when the time comes to give this one back.


After we got home and had a tea-and-a-sit break, we went food shopping and picked up some ingredients for making pickles, which I've been wanting to do for ages. We ended up making 'bread and butter' pickles, which are amazing with cheese on toast:


It's a very easy and fairly economical recipe - mostly sliced cucumbers and onions, with vinegar, sugar, and spices. Willie did the chopping (sparing me from the dreaded onion-eyes) and I did the cooking part. I got the recipe from my Ladies a Plate book, and it's on the website too: Bread and Butter Pickles. The great thing about it is that you don't need to stand over a simmering pot for ages, you just bring it to the boil and you're done. :)

For some reason, preserving jars are hard to find in Australia - we had to buy a set online in the end. Next I'd quite like to try these Herb Jellies (when I'm up to a bit more of a challenge). I've successfully managed marmalade in the past, so why not?