The Old Ways - A little Bit of Magic - And a Little Accident

Today started on a very positive note dear reader, as I languished in bed with a cup of tea and one of my favourite books of all time. I felt entirely removed from the nagging fear of covid 19. The book in question?

It's the kind of story that gives you a warm feeling when you read it. A nostalgic magical tale of friendship and hope. I read it many years ago and remembered that I loved it to bits, but as luck would have it failed to remember the full story line. (You know that feeling surely?)

The making of magical charms, potions and the wine of the book title, woven through the lives of the characters in the book, is immensely evocative and heart warming.

I would heartily recommend it, as I'm sure there are lots of us reading and re-reading books at the moment, such an escape from the relentless news.

If you fancy something a little bit more creative, I would like to share a crafty idea from an Australian blogger Pip Lincolne, she writes a very upbeat blog full of interesting ideas and projects.

At the moment there is a free pattern and instructions on making an Easy Peasy crochet blanket. I think even if you have never crocheted before, you could give this a go and meet with success.

After breakfast, feeling tippity top, I popped out to pick up a prescription for a friend who has torn a ligament in her leg. No sooner had I returned from said mercy dash, and after commiserating with my chum at length about suffering additional pain at this worrying time, what did I do? Tripped over some large wires in our dishelleved garden  and am now suffering similar aches. Ah me, just when you think things are going well. What a bloomin nuisance.

Keep safe dear reader.

Hand Sanitiser Blues

                                                             

I haven't seen hand sanitiser in the shops since the chaos began. It is a worry. I'm only leaving the house once a week to get food and having some sanitiser is one of the things that can take some of the stress out of the trip.

My son who is staying with us for the duration suggested we make some. Wow, it hadn't occured to me that could be a possibility. I did some research and apparently you need three things. Surgical spirit, which I managed to order on line, aloe vera gel and lavender oil, which I already had. I dug out some blue glass bottles that I also had and set to making up a batch.

Now I'm not putting a recipe on here as I can't guarantee it would be as effective as a shop bought product, and I don't want to put myself in the firing line, the information is there for you to find on line if you want to, but for me I figure hand made sanitiser has to be better than none at all.

Has anyone else made their own?

Mr & Mrs. Van Eyck

My chum Prof and I were very lucky to have managed a short break in Bruges at the beginning of March. Returning on the 12th, just a day before all the cafes, bars and restaurants closed. With the museums following swiftly behind. I had never been before and I was totally charmed by the place.

We had booked a modest hotel with rave reviews, but just before we left Blighty a very nice email from the hotel informed us that due to some building work we would have to stay at their sister hotel instead. They said they would include breakfast free of charge because of the inconvenience. OMG what a place, one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in, and they upgraded our rooms too. Somebody was looking after us.

Our Hotel The Duke's Palace in Bruges.

We had such a super time exploring the city, eating wonderful food and immersing ourselves in the culture. The Groeninge Museum is quite small but has some sensational Flemish art. In Particular Van Eyck and Hieronymus Bosch.

Sad to think that this little city and all it's delights are now closed. Hopefully it will not be too long before we can all go out into the world again. Keep safe my friends.

Something For The Girls

I especially love The Cabin in The Cotton clip. Ah sweet youth.

Soothing Art From Duck End

This new at home art series presented by Philip Mould is bringing me a lot of joy at the moment. I follow him on Twitter where you can find the rest of the series as it's released on a daily basis.

Can I Remember How To Do This? We'll See.

I've continued to follow all my favourite bloggers over the last few years even though I have not been posting myself. A lot of my bookmarked blogs by folk who started up at the same time as me have given up the ghost now, which is a shame. But you know, busy lives etc

Reading blog posts is always a source of joy to me and I have to admit there are some bloggers who, if they don't post leave me bereft.

So whilst we are all cocooning I thought I would like to get back in the swing of posting a few little shiny pearls of interest. Communication and community being really important to everyone now, for obvious reasons.

I thought I would start with a thrifty recipe, you must remember how I like to save the pennies.  Yesterday, whilst out on my only excursion into the world this week, buying provisions, I decided I would buy an extra net of onions to make an onion soup, A strange choice for me as I have never eaten it before.

Our son is staying with us for the duration and I asked him to make some bread yesterday, just from a packet mix which has been sitting in my cupboard for months. Sliced thickly and toasted with some grated cheese on top it was delicious plonked on the soup. Bistro rustic :) No pictures of that I'm afraid, but I'll try and do better next time.

As I usually do when making something new, I googled a number of recipes, then mashed them together to suit my available ingredients and my palate.

500g mixed onion thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves crushed
Dried sage (my new best friend)
1 tin cider
500mls vegetable stock
A little butter and olive oil to fry off onions

If you want to make some, fry off the onions for about 25/30 minutes, stirring regularly. Put a lid on the pan but leave it with a slight gap. Once the onions are cooked down nicely add and mix in the garlic stirring for about 5 minutes.

Some S&P and dried sage to taste, top up with the hot stock and cider. Bring to the boil then simmer for another 30 minutes.

It was truthfully bloomin delicious. Let me know if you try it.

A Little Update

It's not quite a palace yet, but I'm super pleased with the progress in the house, albeit there has been a small lull due to a wee visit to bonnie Scotland with some very good friends. My friend and I both celebrating a very important birthday.

I WILL be getting back to the tasks this weekend, if I delay too long I shall loose momentum and the house will still be a wreck this time next year.

The gardens of course are another kettle of fish and remain very scary. Huge amounts to do and growing like billy-o. My lovely husband assures me everything will eventually get done and all will be wonderful. Who am I to question his optimism? He hasn't let me down yet :)

As always funding is at the heart of the matter, so we do as much as we can ourselves. I'm chief painter and decorator, it's a good job walls don't really have ears, otherwise the wallpaper in the bedroom and hall might have spontaneously combusted with all the expletives I hurled at it.

Post moving in, I have been culling unwanted and unnecessary items, (this is the third sweep), to sell on. The money raised will be spent on getting help with the garden.

Anyhoo some 'after' pics as promised, kitchen, hallway, master bedroom, en suite, view from the bedroom and the old puss Pendragon reclining on her favourite sheepskin rug.

Btw my shower cap above, was found, new, still with its tags, in a charity shop. I had seen the exact same thing on the tellybox and wanted one desperately, you know I have delusions of grandeur. Lo and behold there it was. I must try concentrating on my need to win a large sum of money, to see if the same thing happens.