Happy New Year My Chums

 

Never known a bloomin year like it. 

I hope Covid is chased away as quickly as possible in 2021 so we can all share some joy in our lives again. 

Lots of us have lost loved ones and we grieve for them, but with the new year comes hope. Wishing all of my blogging chums, health and happiness.

A Simple Wish

 

A simple wish for all my blogging chums,  I hope you all manage to find some joy and peace at the end of this most terrible year, the likes of which I sincerely hope we never see again.

I know we will all be hunkering down to send this year on it's way, looking forward to a fresh start in 2021.

 My dearest friend of many years who had been ill throughout November, passed away on December 12th. For years she has been my shadow, she is already greatly missed.

 This is us in 2015 at a Salute to the 40s event at Chatham Docks. Me a land army girl and her a factory worker. She was an extraordinary women in so many ways.

 

Wee Gifts On A Budget

 

I do love a twinkly light and these gorgeous lanterns where such a surprise when I happened upon them at our local Chatsworth Gardens. So pretty, I found myself smiling from ear to ear. 

Now I've finished all the DIY jobs in the house and I'm furloughed for another couple of weeks, I've had time to make a few little things. I made some lavender bags, a few for us to stop the pesky moth babies from eating our clothes, plus a few for friends as little extra stocking presents. I had bought a big bag of lavender from a visit to Burghley House last year and happily have now made use of it.

The fabric was purchased in a little bundle of mixed fabrics, half price in January and the blue velvet ribbon was in my stash.

I also planted up these fancy Welsh Gaudy Ware teacups with dainty house leeks. The cups themselves were a chazza shop purchase £3.00 each, but they are early 19th century and the house leeks I picked up from Freecycle. I'm keeping one and gifting the other two. I think they look smashing.

I'll be back soon to show you my latest project which I collected this morning and the dearest little bobble hat make.

Feeling Cheesed Orff?

 Get a wiggle on.

A Walk in the Rain

 

Went for a wee walk in the Mizzle today with The Mister. We visited the gardens of the Elizabethan house that is 'more glass than wall', Hardwick Hall. Extremely foggy, the house had a strange and eerie feel. Loved it. Only sorry we couldn't go in.

Home for a pot of tea and a lush plate of Inverawe smoked salmon with scrambled egg. I ventured to buy a packet of the 'by Royal appointment' salmon after a work colleague recommended it. I only bought trimmings mind, well, it was the best smoked salmon we've ever tasted. I shall be purchasing some more for my new freezer.

Keep well everyone.

Behind The Scenes at Hill Top, Home of Beatrix Potter

 Just had an email from The National Trust which included this gorgeous and gentle video, I thought I would like to share it with you my lovely blogging chums.

I have visited the garden shown but haven't managed to visit the house. I particularly liked the dolls house featured as the Mister has just bought me a dolls house shop for my birthday, which I plan to turn into Mister Raymond's apothecary shop from 'Outlander'. Fans of the show will know what I'm talking about. I guess those who don't will see my efforts in due course.

We did stay at Beatrix Potter's old tea room a few years ago, which is very similar to her own house.

 

The Mitford Sisters-Such Fun

 

I suspect that nearly everyone has heard of the Mitford family and in particular the six sisters. They were part of an endlessly fascinating aristocratic English family. The celebrated sisters were quite a scandalous group of 'gels'. If you have never heard their intriguing stories I urge you to pop to your local library and find out all about them. Mary Lovell's book is top notch.

The picture above shows a Q&A small article with Nancy Mitford, the eldest sister talking about herself. I'm sorry about the quality as I nabbed it from my phone, but I'm sure you will get the flavour of her. I especially like her response to 'But what would you really like to do?'.

A New Cellar On A Budget

 

Followers of old will remember we've spent the best part of three years renovating our house, but somehow we've never been able to spare the time to clean out and spruce up the cellar. Not until now that is. In my last post you saw this corner in its 'before' state, this is the same corner after lots of deep filler, sweepings and lashings of a rather lush paint called, aptly, Victorian White.

I hope you like my pantry cupboard, I'm thrilled with it. It is a 1930s wardrobe that was gifted to us via Freecycle. When the Mister went to pick it up, the rather nice gentlemen who was in his 70s, said he'd had it since he was a boy. And now after a lick of Annie Sloane paint it will be good for another 70 years. Inside are small compartments with such labels as, Sundries and Underwear. These now house my excess tins of food and jars, perfect for Christmas and making a good deal of space in our kitchen.

I'm afraid I neglected to take a bigger picture of the 'after' door, but you can just see it in the right of the picture, now a gorgeous shade of Farrow & Ball calamine pink. And who is this lady you might ask? Well she is the keeper of the cellar, Lady Daphne Agincourt, you will see she has her beady eyes on the stairs to the cellar, making sure nobody but me gets their little mitts on the Champagne.

All the paint used for the revamp apart from the white paint I already had, the mouse and cheese shelf trim was in my stash, purchased God knows where and when. So the whole job has cost peanuts, which dear reader is just how I like it. Improvising and using up bits and bobs around the house.

Another small 'improvement' yesterday was implemented after the Mister hit his head yet again on one of the four low door frames in the Victorian part of the house.

Again a nice piece of haberdashery from my stash. Pom pom trim which can be seen from both sides of the door. If this doesn't work I'll have to get some, 'Duck or Grouse' signs made.

Happy weekend all.

Gifts From The Garden

 

Last few things to harvest from the garden including some dried Hydrangeas, I'm loving the greeny blue ones. Found a few raspberries too, although the weather has been misty, damp and cold, but I think they will be the last for this year. I'm not complaining mind as we've had HUGE amounts of raspberries all through the late Summer, saving lots of money. I usually buy blueberries for our breakfast at £3.00 a pack but raspberries have been a great alternative.

I've been busy of late looking after a dear friend who has been admitted to hospital, she is very unwell but we're hoping for some good news next week when she meets with some specialists. Then we can plan a way forward. I have also been intrusted to look after her adorable ginger cat, Hettie, who is missing her Mum.

In between hospital visits this week I will be revamping our cellar, which is under the Victorian part of the house. It will be the last 'room' in the house to receive a makeover. Until now we have kept all the decorating materials in there for easy access, but we have moved them into the garage. The cellar will be our wine and food store, with a smallish freezer for batch cooking and food bargains, a wine rack and an upcycled 1930s wardrobe which will be a little pantry. Is is silly to be excited about it? 

This is the cellar cleared before we start to remove lose paint etc. I will post some updates as I go along.

Keep safe my blogging chums. Love from me and the fat Welsh kitty.
 

Amazing Fruitylicious Cake, Costs almost Nowt & Is Fit For A Duchess

 Well my lovely blogging chums you are in for a few treats today. That is if I can get the hang of posting with the new blogger system, let's see.

I have had this recipe for a while, can't even remember where I found it, but it is the Duchess of Cornwall's fruit cake recipe. It is a wonderfully moist and absolutely delicious cake, REALLY easy to make and very economical too. It doesn't have any butter in it and only one egg, so I was reluctant to make it, thinking it would suffer because of that. But oh no dear ones, it's gorgeous.

I did tinker with the ingredients and method a bit but as it worked so well I will tell you what I did.

Ingredients

1 mug freshly brewed tea. (I used a big mug and 2 x Earl Grey teabags)

500 gs Sainsbury's mixed fruit. (Green and white packet £1.70)

250 gs soft brown sugar (any sugar will do and you could use less if you want, the fruit is very sweet)

250gs SR flour 

Butter to grease loaf tin

1 Beaten egg.

Method

Pour tea and bags into large bowl and stir in fruit and sugar. Original recipe said leave overnight but I soaked it for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 130 Fan. Grease and line 2lb loaf tin.

Remove teabags and slowly stir in sifted flour.

Mix in beaten egg.

Bake for 1hr 30m, if starts to look dry (mine didn't) cover with foil. Mine was cooked in 1hr 20 mins.

Check cake cooked through by inserting a skewer, if clean, cake is done. Allow to cool in tin for a few minutes before turning out.

I shall be making this on a regular basis from now on. Fruit cake is one of my husband's favourites and I really enjoyed it too.

This growing season we have had more time on our hands and so have managed to grow and harvest a lot more fruit and veg. Our raspberry canes have been fruiting all Summer and are just now starting to slow down with the cold and wet weather. For the first time we have grown onions, and we are super pleased with them.

These beauties are hanging up in our garage. Trust me when I tell you they are bloomin enormous. So fresh they are almost juicy and will last us a long time hopefully.

I've also been catching up with a few tasks around the house in the last couple of weeks, you know getting sorted before the Winter sets in. I've had this tray for quite some time. The Mister made it a few years ago at a night class he went to. I finally got around to making it look a bit prettier, inspired by Julie's delightful blog My Threadbear Life 

 

 

And finally I purchased at auction this week a painting I knew to be quite large, but actually is gigantic.

I will fit it in somewhere, as I already love it.

Opera Singing Cockatiel

 I saw this on an email I get from Classic FM. Thought sharing it would raise the spirits. Such a dear little thing.

Current Mood Optimistic

 

When the dreaded Covid is no longer a danger to us all, this is how I'm gonna dance. Oh and I'll be drinking LOTS of Mumm Cordon Rouge.

Beetroot and Guest Rooms On A Budget

I had to get a new phone recently as my other one died on me and generally I'm very pleased with it but it seems to be doing strange things to my photos, turning them into teeny tiny films, even though I have selected photo not video. Unfortunately I know this is my own technological ineptness and not a fault on the phone. This is exactly what happened this morning when I very proudly attempted to take a picture of our very first home grown artichoke and some home grown beetroot before I most deliciously roasted it with some olive oil and salt and pepper. So no pics I'm afraid. Bad me.

So perhaps you might like to see some pics of our guest room instead, this room is in the Victorian part of our house. As always with me it was refurbished on a budget. The wallpaper was full price, shock horror, I know, but it's from The Escape to The Chateau range, and I'm a huge fan. The dark blue floral curtains covering the wardrobe area were recycled from the dining room and came with the house. I quite like the clash of patterns.

The ladderback rocking chair with needlepoint cushion was only £10 on Ebay and I painted it with some left over paint. The sweet rabbit complete with growler, sat in his natty green knitted waistcoat was from our local antiques centre.

This gorgeous pot cupboard was another Ebay purchase with the vintage teapot lamps from a junk shop in Bridlington. The shades look very smart and were a steal from Wilkos.

The blinds were again already here when we bought the house. In very good condition so I saw no need to replace them. My Liberty print faux plant was a birthday present a couple of years ago.

The armoire I've had for years, purchased for £10, an ex-display item at laura Ashley. The toile bedspread again an Ebay purchase. Lamp stand and picture were from our local boot fair and cost £5 and £2 respectively. I did chalk paint both of them and I love the colour against the wallpaper.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour. I'll leave you with a recent pic of Morgana, who is growing fast and has quite the little tum on her now.

Have a good week all.

Raspberries & Roger Moore

I have been spending more time on line through the lockdown and happily have returned to the blogger world to reconnect with old chums and to 'meet' new ones. In spending longer on line I find so many interesting things on other folk's blogs, which can result in me making a few purchases.

The day before yesterday I discovered an amazing folksy CD on www.thecrankycrow.blogspot.com she has a little gizmo on the bottom of her blog which plays some lovely tunes. Said CD was £30, ouch, but I couldn't help myself. Today I almost bought a rather lush book all about plant medicines, I resisted, just as well as I do have rather a number of similar books in the library here.

Instead after reading Martin Lewis's newsletter this morning I was straight over to the Boots website and ordered some skin care on special offer. And so this is how the money goes, tra la la.

I have also been watching episodes of The Saint starring Roger Moore. I absolutely love it, because it reminds me of when I was a child of about 6, watching Sunday evenings before bedtime. The episodes are naturally dated but that is part of the charm. I can see now where I got my lofty ideas of glamour, travel and expensive living. Also dear reader I now have a bit of a crush on Roger Moore, OMG the voice, the hair the twinkly blue eyes. Of course this had led me to another rather swoon worthy purchase.

In defending my numerous purchases may I say that I have had a bit of a mini lockdown within the lockdown because I broke my ankle at the beginning of June and it has been a long time mending. Small parcels of delight have kept my chin up.

I'm now able to get down a little way into our terribly sloping garden and managing to pick some fruits.

I'll leave you today dear friends with a picture of Morgana Mittens administering some kitty healing.

Mushroom Surprise

The surprise is you can make a delicious mushroom soup from a packet of semi manky mushrooms.

The excess and unused mushrooms were in the fridge because as I was purchasing a big brown bag of mixed mushrooms from the Farmers Market, the mister was picking up a pack from Sainsburys.
We ate the FM ones pretty quickly but the pack stayed in the fridge for way too long. I was going to throw them away but thought if I peeled them they may still be useful and safe to eat :)

Well, I googled a recipe as I've never made mushroom soup before and it turned out wonderfully. The mister on finishing his bowl said "I'd pay good money for that in a restaurant", which says it all really.

Ingredients serves 2

Large knob of butter or olive oil
1 medium finely chopped onion
Pack of mushrooms sliced
Dried sage to taste
1 large clove garlic crushed
500ml veg stock
100ml milk
Chopped fresh parsley

Method

Fry onions gently for approx 5 minutes to soften, not brown.
Add mushrooms and sage cook 10 minutes stirring all the while.
Add garlic and cook for a minute or so.
Remove a few mushrooms for garnish and set aside on a plate.
Pour in stock bring to boil remove from heat and blend with a hand blender, (be careful if still really hot).
Add milk heat through, garnish with parsley and saved mushrooms and serve.

Let me know if you gve it a try.

DUH!

Mint on left with two bunches of Cretan Oregano.

For a girl who's normally very thrifty and on the ball, I can't think for the life of me why I have never before dried the wonderfully fragrant mint that grows in our garden. We have heaps of the stuff. I'm very fond of grabbing a big bunch of leaves and making a delicious herbal tea, which incidentally is also very soothing for the stomach if needed.

Last year I purchased an electric dehydrator, because I thought I would like to dry some of our home grown chillies and some lemon peel. I had mixed success with it and so it has languished in the cupboard since.

The mister popped up from the garden last weekend and said he had made a herbal discovery, we have a large patch of Cretan Oregano, you what? says I, never heard of it. Obviously planted by the last house owners and we've never noticed it before. It's absolutely gorgeous and by the looks of things expensive to buy.

Whilst cutting the Oregano I had a light bulb moment and thought I should cut some mint as well. All herbs are happily drying in our scullery and will be used throughout the winter months to flavour our food.

Now I've got the bug I think I will be drying more and more, with a view to gifting some too, I'll let you know how it all works out.

A very warm welcome to my two new followers :)

Home At Last

Sorry it has taken me a while to post some pics of the new family member, but she's so full of mischief I can't take my eyes off her. We are absolutely bowled over by her. She has the sweetest nature, I hope she stays like that. Our last puss Pendragon was the most grumpiest cat in the world, we loved her still.

Diego's High Sex Drive Saves The Day.

Image from NY Times

Finally some good news, it made me smile, so although a bit random I thought his achievement deserves a mention.

This sprightly Hood Isand Giant Tortoise has just been retired from a breeding programme that saw his species number grow from 15 to 2000. This wonderful tortoise is now 110 years old, and was responsible for 40% of the 2000 born. Fortunately for us, he has/had, a very high sex drive.

I believe that he has been returned to an uninhabited island in one of the oldest part of the Galapagos. Presumably with many of his children. What a legend.

Morgana Mittens

Hopefully less than two weeks till we collect our girl, lockdown restrictions allowing.

I have finished her little knitted blanket with a nice crochet shell edging in a very pretty green. And today postie has brought me a free box of goodies from Royal Canin for her, organised by her lovely breeder Sian.

Our son went back to the big city on Sunday after many months and surprisingly I'm experiencing empty nest syndrome all over again. It's been wonderful to have him home. He is sad to be missing Morgana's arrival, but I hope they get to meet before too long.

Bargain Garden Furniture

I don't shop for my food at Asda but I always look at their website, amongst others when I'm looking for household items, as we all know quality isn't always determined by what you pay anymore. When I was a child you could pretty much guarantee that if you paid more for something the quality increased, not anymore, that's why I always do my research before I buy.

Last year or was it the year before? I bought a really nice woven based, glass topped garden table from Asda just as their sale started, It has weathered extremely well and still looks like new. So when I decided I wanted a small patio set for the back terrace of the house I went straight to Asda.

I'm super pleased with it, £49 including delivery. I got the cushions from Debenhams online (another shop I never actually go in) in their sale for £16 for the two including delivery. Such good value even comparing to Ebay and Etsy. I've gone a bit mad on this Coral colour and I have now noticed Monty Don has the same type and colour table in his garden, which pleases me.  Although my love of this shade has been with me since I painted my dining room Coral last year. Our lovely son has been painting the fence behind in Cuprinol's Shades range, the colour is Willow.

We picked some strawberries from the garden last night, not many, but bloomin delicious with salted caramel ice cream.

Syd & Daisy Brown - A World War 1 Love Story.

Over thirty years ago now I had an elderly neighbour called Vera, who was, shall we say a little bit eccentric. A hoarder of sorts, but one that loved to dabble in the buying and selling of collectable and antique items. She lived alone, although she did have family, and every single day she would be out with her bus pass looking for the extraordinary to purchase. The idea being to sell said found items. In truth a small proportion did get sold but most were 'stored'.

I happened to be visiting her one day when she produced a large cache of letters, bills and post cards that she had bought from a house clearance. Over a cuppa I sat with Vera and looked through the box of ephemera with her.  And oh my what a story of love and life spoke to me from the past.

The box contained a lifetime of receipts, family documents, letters and postcards, all relating to the Brown family of New Eltham, Kent. On reading through with her I discovered the wartime correspondence between a couple, Syd and Daisy Brown. Now, Vera had already decided that she would separate all the items and sell them off individually to maximise her profits.

Dear reader, I couldn't let that happen, so I managed to purchase, ten postcards that detailed their lives apart during the war, their hopes and dreams of being reunited, Syd's eventual return to Blighty in 1919 and most happily the birth of a son Ken.  I suspect it must have been Ken's house that was being cleared when the items came up for sale.

I have had these cards tied up in a ribbon ever since, but I think it is time to sell them on to someone who will keep them together, but who will enjoy them and value them for their content, so I will list them today on Ebay.

I thought I would post about this story and show you some of the cards. The embroidered anniversary card is especially poignant , sent August 1918, celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary. Syd has added a note to this card at the top in April 1961.

It reads, "Dear Daisy died suddenly 11.15pm Wed 4th February 1959. Now as I write this, 20th April 1961, I miss her more than I can tell. I know we shall all meet again in God's everlasting kingdom". Syd.

Anniversary card front

Anniversary card back.

Mabel Lucie Attwell birthday card for Ken 1926 front.

Ken's birthday card back

1894 School Board award to Daisy front

Daisy's School Board award back.