Holidays begin ...

... and what a beginning!

A wonderful lunch with my sister, her husband and my niece ... a "proper" Sunday dinner!  It was a glorious sunny afternoon too.
There we were ... enjoying the shade of an umbrella and looking around the garden ... magnificent colours and textures everywhere ... from the Baked Bean Vase with garden flowers

to the sundial, naked lady and stone rabbits!  So much to photograph!
This was the perfect way to feel that holidays had begun ...

As for the meal ... roast beef and Yorkshire pudding ... what could be more traditional?
The beef came with its pedigree from a butcher in Killinchy (I think) and was melt-in-the-mouth gorgeous.

Then the vegetables ... the dishes kept coming and coming ... roast potatoes, peas, carrots, roast parsnips, cauliflower cheese, Dauphinoise potatoes, cabbage ... have I forgotten anything?  It's the sort of stuff you'll get in heaven!

 I did forget about the gravy ... so rich and tasty ... the topping to a superb meal!
Well ... how do you follow that?
Strawberries and cream, of course!

I'm afraid we chickened out of the cheese and biscuits ... that would have been just too much, too much!

 Summer has arrived ... holidays have started ... and the sun is shining!

Eliot, of course, takes it all in his stride ... curling up in MY chair when he has the opportunity ...

wandering around our own garden as he checks out the fresh overnight smells ...

and no doubt he'll enjoy a good dose of beach and mountain over the next few weeks.