Thursday With Friends

For the first time since our arrival in Ripon, we saw a bit of rain on Thursday (25.07.2024). It wasn‘t more than a drizzle in the morning and didn’t last long.

We went to the market for a good look around but only bought cheese from the Wensleydale stall and a loaf of sourdough from a baker‘s stall. 

Late morning we were expected for tea/coffee at Sheila‘s house, and happily sat in her beautiful garden with our mugs and biscuits, joined by her husband and Tabs, the sweet little tabby cat she‘d rescued a couple of years ago.

Hollyhocks in Sheila‘s front garden

Back at the cottage, we had a light lunch of the bread and cheese we‘d bought earlier from the market, followed by a brief rest.

Next, we went on a short tour of some of our favourite shops, The Little Ripon Bookshop being a firm ‚must go to‘ on our list. As usual, we did not leave without making a purchase.

We were ready for coffee/tea at the cottage after that, and then I had plenty of time for blogging and catching up with other bloggers‘ posts.

Our former landlady and previous owner of the row of cottages that comprise Box Tree and Matchbox cottage had invited us for dinner at her place. We spent a most pleasant evening at her beautiful house, enjoying her company and the fabulous food she‘d prepared - a cheese soufflé that looked like a picture in a cook book, and tasted just as great as it looked. I was very impressed, since I‘ve never attempted making a soufflé myself.

It was late-ish by the time we had walked back to the cottage, but O.K. and I had not spoken in a few days, only exchanged text messages, and so we ended the day with a facetime call, which was lovely.