Spring, soup and puppies

It's hard to think about much else rather than our sweet little puppies at the moment. I find myself passing through the dining room and pausing to give mum a stroke then before I know it, time has passed by while I've been sat just gazing at those small dark bundles, watching them crawl all over each other looking for a warm place to cuddle in, sleeping or crawling into their mother's furry tummy to sniff out her milk.

It looked like 4 black pups when they arrived, but now it appears to be 2 black and 2 brown and black ones.

Mollie is able to leave them for a little longer now as they sleep for longer between feeding. She's a very good mother though, never too far away and not letting poor dad get a look in.

They've grown so much already, it's amazing.

Look at that teeny mouth... OK... is this too many puppy photos! You can just see the paler markings above one of the puppy's eyes - just like his dad!

Meanwhile, more life is happening outside. Imogen planted lots of bulbs in the Autumn, and we are now seeing them strong and true, reaching up to the sun.

I can see these shoots from my kitchen window, and can't wait to see them all grown and in flower. Imogen planted so many, I can't remember what's there!

What else have I been up to? Soup... I love making my own soup. I've never tried French Onion soup, so thought I'd try making some.

It was the easiest soup I've made. Chopping lots of onion, and caramelising them with some butter, olive oil and a pinch of brown sugar.

I also added some garlic, well it is so good for you - yum! All that was left was to stir in my vegetable stock and a couple of table spoons of flour to thicken.

Best served with homemade bread, toasted with cheese.

Take care
xxx