I have always loved the simple pleasure of a nice cracker. I always have them around, and I’m always snacking on them, though. Something a friend pointed out to me, though, while they were round the other day, was that I never share them with my cockatiel, despite the famous “Polly want a cracker?” line. … Read more

I have always gone out to the store for my groceries, but for once I thought I would try getting them delivered. I did a big shop and it went pretty well, on time and they had most of what I needed. However, I did order a big bag of mixed nuts for my cockatiel. … Read more

I was cooking a pasta sauce the other day, and as I always do when I’m cooking pretty much anything, I went way overboard on the garlic. Who doesn’t love garlic, after all? It makes everything taste better. As is often the case, though, I was being shadowed by my cockatiel, who was very interested … Read more

With the festive season around the corner, I’ve been stocking up on one of my seasonal favorites: walnuts. I’ve always loved walnuts but I only tend to eat them around this time of year—I think it keeps them more special this way. In any case, this year will be the first time we are joined … Read more

A rather eccentric neighbor of mine came round the other day to offer me a big bag of sunflower seeds as a gift. He grew sunflowers on his big allotment a few miles away, but he was just overwhelmed with the size of the most recent harvest. I told him I would definitely take them, … Read more

A friend of mine has an allotment, and is always bringing us the jams and preserves he makes from what he grows. It has been a particularly good year, though, and he recently brought us two pots of jam as well as big bunch of raspberries. We were, naturally, thrilled—freshly grown raspberries are always welcome … Read more