The Urbexing Crew come to Marshall

Saturday turned into a beautiful day with sunshine and little humidity. I woke up and started baking meringues, my first attempt. Unfortunately I still had to use a small hand whisk so it took over an hour to get them whisked to peaks. In between bouts of frantic whisking I'd stop and have a dance to some music and then once my arms had recovered I'd have another power surge with the whisk again. Finally they were ready for the oven and while they cooked I knocked up some more lemon tarts and mincemeat pies.

I made a coffee butter cream to sandwich the meringues together, marinaded some chicken, made a salsa dip and I was ready for guests. Rob turned up first from his family reunion in New York and then Steve arrived with his poor foot in a support, a result of a pot hole calamity. Rob had brought me back a whisk with a handle so my next batch of meringues will be much easier to make, oh thankful joy. Then Barb drove up so it was time to sit and have a few beers.

 Kota took a seat too and Steve had a beer discussion with him, after which Kota chose a Miller Lite.

Emily and Jason turned up soon after and what a cheerful time we seemed to be having. Look at those faces!

Once again the boys monopolized the BBQ, what is that all about? But I was happy not to have to be involved in the meat cooking. I've realized that I don't even know how to turn the BBQ on because every time it's used, it's my guests who do the cooking. Isn't that grand?

This series of photos cracked me up. Rob couldn't get his thumb up in time for the first photo and Barb was too involved with her chicken drumstick to take any notice. Rob got his thumb up in time for the second shot but Barb's still not letting go of her chicken. So Rob meets her halfway, let's have a drumstick salute!

The pastries went down a treat for dessert with icecream and who ended up with the task of cleaning out the tub?

A happy volunteer! We sat for ages outside chatting with candles for lighting and thankfully no bugs. Then we went indoors. Which turned out to be eventful as the bell hornets were still around and a few got indoors so it was fun and games catching them, and keeping them prisoner inside upturned glasses. Even Kota helped and managed to ground one in the hallway. Emily took many photos of the black and yellow captives and we had glasses dotted around the living area before we managed to group them all in one buzzing glass.

Jason pulled the last Christmas cracker in the house and sported his hat while proudly showing off his new change purse that he'd found inside it.

Kota in a perfect pose by the candles, I think he thought it was a birthday cake.
Then it was a quick clear up and time to get out Emily's air mattress as they were staying the night. 

Kota immediately jumped on board and refused to get off as it started inflating. He really does like to be the center of attention. A goodnight from everyone and then we crashed.
The next morning I cooked up eggs, bacon, beans, home fries and toast for us with big mugs of tea and we watched as a storm rolled around outside. We just relaxed and chatted and waited for the skies to clear so we could go and pick some peaches. We finally got over to the orchards to find bare trees, trees bereft of fruit, no bloody peaches. Disappointed Rob and I sat on the porch of the house but Jason and Emily persevered in their hunt for the golden globes and when they didn't show up we went in search of them. 

They had found a row of trees which were still yielding some fruit, small but still sweet.

The boys had to reach up high to grab the last peaches of the season and Jason even climbed up in the branches, determined not to leave without a full bag.

We were successful in filling our bags, woo hoo! and returned to Meadow House. Emily and Jason soon left to head back to DC with a stop first in Marshall to check out the IGA store and Rob left to go home and unpack from his trip. I tidied up the house and then treated myself to a wonderful drink.

I threw 4 chopped peaches into the blender with a handful of ice and then 2,3 or maybe 4 shots of Bacardi rum. Delicious!

Kota and I went for a little walk and then flopped onto the sofa for the rest of the evening, with me already looking forward to next weekend. We'd discussed an urbexing trip up to PA and so next Saturday we'll be exploring an abandoned lace factory. Hooray!