2013 here we come!

It only seems like a couple of years ago, that we were looking forward to the new millenium. Now here we are, on the eve of 2013! Time really does fly. Have you made any resolutions? I don't really make them, but I do tell myself that I will try to do certain things differently or more efficiently. I don't look back, that's not the way I'm going. I hope the New Year has some wonderful things in store for all of us! All I want is to be happy and healthy, and I wish everyone of you the same too!

Here's to 2013!!!

Happy Holidays to One and All!

In my own time!

It will be two years this month that I had to give up my job. After working for almost 40 years in the retail and banking industries , both full and part time, it made quite a difference to me being at home all the time. It wasn't something which was planned. I'd had a fall on my way home, and had damaged my knee. I ended up using these....

...until they could decide on my treatment. Well, two years down the line my knee is better than it was, but I still have problems. But I'm working on it, slowly. It was because of this accident which led me down the path I now take, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Don't get me wrong, I have loved every job which I've had,(and that's not something which everyone can say) and whilst the children were small I always believed I had the best of both worlds, because I managed to have a part time job which fitted in with Mick's full time one. So apart from the few occasions where there was a clash of hours, my lovely mum and dad stepped in to keep the children occupied. Once the children got older I managed more hours and longer days and still had my precious home time to cook, sew, make and play. But now I'm at home all the time, and it's wonderful! I do have one or two friends who would find themselves at a loose end, as they wouldn't know what to do with themselves all day. Well I can say quite honestly, that I can fill my days quite easily and still have enough left over to fill some more! I still don't have enough hours in the days, but one thing I do have is my own "time zone".....

...What I mean by this, is that I do what I want, whenever I want, unless, of course, there is somewhere to go on a specific day or time. But usually it's all as and when. This suits me down to the ground. because if I decide that I want to stay up until three in the morning to work on a project, well I can. In the new year ( hopefully) Mick will be taking early retirement and so he too will be governed by his own time zone. Exciting times for us! I recently saw someone who I hadn't seen for quite a few years, ( our children were at primary school together) and when I told her I was at home, her answer to me was " aren't you the lucky one! Mind you, you do still live in your old house don't you!" What she meant by this, is that we have lived in our house for over 36 years, and that we didn't chose to move to something larger ( like she did) because everyone was buying bigger at the time. We have always been happy here so why move? She and her family have in fact moved about seven times in about twenty years, each time, something bigger with more space ( and a lot more money to pay back) and now she complains because she's "probably still be working at 70 to pay for it"!! Well, it's all down to choice, isn't it! Do I miss the rushing around all day, the queueing up for the bus, the crowded streets...

..especially this time of the year..... no, I certainly don't. I still have contact with my lovely friends and workmates. But everything else I don't miss at all. I loved it and enjoyed it for almost forty years, but now I'll stick my own time zone, very happy and very contented!

Is this the way of the world?

For the life of me I can't understand what is wrong with some people these days. It doesn't matter if you're watching tv, browsing on the internet, or listening to the radio, there seems to be a certain amount of people who spend their lives insulting and criticizing other people. The sad thing is, that in most cases, the people who are making these awful comments have never even met the people who they are insulting or making awful comments about! For instance, in one of today's papers a well known celebrity has just given birth to a baby. Apparently within minutes of this news going out into the world, via internet, radio, Twitter, Facebook etc, it seems the trolls were leaving hurtful and spiteful comments. Why?? This is one of just many instances which I've heard of over the last week, and it's made me wonder just why they feel they have to do it. The first thing I thought of is jealousy.

They say, (whoever "they" are) that there is jealousy in all of us. Well, I can honestly say that I have never been jealous of anyone or anything. Unless you count when I was a teenager, and I wished I'd had a figure like this...

....and I also wanted never ending legs....

..well that was never going to happen, being 5'2" was it? I don't dream of winning the lottery, because I never do it. I know, " you've got to be in it to win it", but I don't want to spend my money on the lottery, bingo or anything else. My choice. Ah, choice! I was taught at a very early age that destiny is the choices you make not the chances you take. I believe this wholeheartedly. We don't always make the correct choices but we all have it in our power to do something about it should or if they go wrong. That brings me to the "p" word, power. Do people make these remarks because they feel it gives them power? If I am invited to make a comment on any subject, whether it be face to face, on paper, by phone, internet, whatever, I would never and have never made it anonymously, I have no reason to. We don't all like the same things, want the same things, that's what makes the world so interesting. Nothing is perfect. But what is perfect?

What's perfect for me, may not be for someone else. People spend their lives looking for "perfection" in many things.

So, are these people who make these comments and statements unhappy with their lives and want to spread their lot to others and they don't care who? Or do they just get some sort of, high, on the fact that they've made a comment on something, or someone and they want everyone to see it, and it makes them feel clever and superior, even though they've done it anonymously? I really don't know. But one thing I think they ought to do, is stand in front of a full length mirror and take a good hard look at themselves. They might learn something, hopefully!

Preserving and baking

There are just a few raspberries and blackberries left to pick and I'll do that tomorrow. There won't be enough for a pie so they'll be eaten for breakfast with some home made yoghurt and cereal. The house is beginning to smell like Nellie Pledge's Pickle Factory again. How quickly that year's flown by! Anyway, the first batch of pickled onions is finished....

....I usually do five or six jars at one time. I don't do as many as I used to. I used to do a 5 kilo bag at one time. Nowadays I do about a dozen jars at the most, some for us and some for family. A lovely neighbour of ours brings us bags of apples and pears this time of year too, so most of these will be made into chutney with some leftover for pies or tarts which I'll freeze. As for drying herbs, well I don't bother. I don't think it's worth it. I do collect the parsley and fennel from the garden, it's bagged up and goes straight into the freezer. When I need some I just squeeze the bag of frozen parsley/fennel and spoon out what I need. No mess! I do pot up a root of mint early September. This is the left on the kitchen windowsill all winter. The warmth from the kitchen keeps it growing ( slowly) but I usually get enough from it for a few meals. I also freeze mint leaves too, as a standby. For Rosemary and sage, well I don't see the need for drying or freezing these. They're evergreens and so can be picked from the garden at any time and you can't beat fresh herbs. I have an abundance of these two herbs, they'll have to be thinned out when we sort the garden out. I haven't made any mincemeat yet. Although there is one jar left from last year. I'm very much looking forward to pumpkin again. I'm trying to find a good recipe for canning fresh pumpkin, so I can use it throughout the winter. After Halloween nowhere seems to stock it. ( A crime in my book!) I'm hoping to spend tomorrow baking. I have a few family favourites to make.......

...Bailey's cream cake......

...coconut cake....

...apple cake (this one went to work with Mick!)....

....lemon tart! These are just a few family favourites. I can think of many more to keep me busy! If anyone is wondering who Nellie Pledge was, then you can see here.

The greenest of men!

We had a long weekend away last week, to visit family. We also stayed one night at Ye Old Ferrie Inn, on the banks of the beautiful river Wye. it was a lovely stay, good accommodation, great food. This was the view from our window.

....it was wonderful, and one night wasn't enough, but it was all the time we had. Anyway we did a round trip of the places we love which we hadn't visited for a few years. One of the places was Tintern Abbey, a beautiful tranquil place. Whilst there we went into the studio of The Spirit of The Green Man. Now I have a passion for green men, I only have had two which I'd bought a few years ago. This was the first one I bought....

...I bought him from a wonderful shop in Hawes, a couple of years ago. He stands about 18" tall. he graces our patio all year round. The second one we bought in Dorset about a year ago.....

..He's a wall hanging, I bought him in his "raw" state, he was just plain terracotta. I painted him with Plaid outdoor paint and gave him a few extra touches with gold paint. But now I have two more. The first one is Orrik....

....he is a wall hanging man, and to accompany him is Bat

....they are both waiting to be hung in their places. They are just wonderful. I know there are people out there who are not keen on these types of garden decoration, but I adore them and wouldn't want anything else. BUT, I also love dragons, witches and fairies. I do have a wooden dragon chime in the garden.

I'm sure that I shall be adding to my collection again at some point. Now that autumn is here there are so many wonderful things to enjoy. I love autumn and all that it brings. But more on that another time. I have a huge pile of ironing waiting for me ( I knew I shouldn't have left it for so long) and then it's time for some autumn baking!

Changing Seasons

You can feel it in the air, the changing of the season. It seems to get dark quite quite early now. The stormy weather hasn't helped. The last couple of days the air has been so heavy. We were out on Sunday when the sky went so black. I think everyone was hoping for a good storm to freshen the air, but all we had was a very slight shower, then all the dark clouds were burned off by the hot sun. The garden is still flourishing, although the invasion of slugs and snails has been a complete pain. I haven't seen so may at once for years, and since the farmer harvested the crop of rape seed from his field adjacent to us we've had quite a few large spiders in the house too! It always happens but usually it's mid September before that happens. Luckily I don't mind them and can safely extricate them from the house, ( I'm sure they laugh at me and return the next day!) We're having a bumper crop of berries and dwarf beans, and there are some lovely juicy apples on the tree, ( keeping an eye out for little pests though) there'll be plenty for the grandchildren this year. The roses are just wonderful, there are still plenty of buds, I just hope that we don't get torrential rain when they're about to open, or they'll end up soggy. The Heuchera are just lovely.....

........I love the colour combinations.....

.....they do well every year, but this year they seem more vibrant.....

....I have my eye on a lime green one from the local nursery and I have a spot in the garden to put it! This is the first year for our hydrangea.....

....and we're more than happy with it. I'm doing my dad's trick of mixing some dried tea leaves around the base of the plant. It seems to love it. I love the colour and texture of leaves.....

....it's not just about the flowers......

....we've only have a small back garden but we like to pack in as much as we can ....

....in fact we're planning a few more changes, for next year, hopefully. But while we still have plenty of colour....

....we'll just enjoy it..

...after all, that's what we grew them for!

...enjoy your garden too!

More summer bounty

One thing's for sure, we still have some glorious colour in the garden. This is a picture of one of the roses on our patio....

...and here's another......

...and they just keep coming! Last week we went to visit our daughter in Wiltshire for the weekend. One the way back home on the Monday we did a detour and stopped of at Hidcote. I did post a couple of pictures on my last post, but here are a few more...

..it doesn't matter what time of year you visit, there's always something beautiful to see...

...I don't just mean bright vivid colours....

...I love the textures.....

....and shapes....

.....the hot......

...and the cool colours....

.....not to mention the scent......

...and this was at Hidcote Lavender farm....

...It was absolutely wonderful!

Summer colour!

Now that summer has finally arrived, I thought I'd share some summer colour with you. Some shots are from our garden and some are when we have been out and about over the last week. Enjoy!

.....

......

.....

......

....

......

Our new arrival

It's been a very exciting time for us because of this little girl...

...Laylah Faith was safely delivered on 15th July weighing in at 6lbs 15 oz. Mum and baby are doing very well. Now we have six gorgeous grand children!