Bits & Pieces

There has been much talk in blogland about homemade cleaning products. Some talk of being 'greener' and with some it is a cost issue. At the same time though I have read a few bloggers comment that they could not use homemade washing products because they cannot believe it cleans as well as bought box powders, or that they like a fragrance. Well this is what I have used for ages, it's cheaper, convenient - and it works!

The M27 rootstock apple I planted earlier this year has given me 7 apples this year which I am very pleased with, hopefully it will go bananas next year (not literally!) It is 'James Grieves' and a very nice apple to pick of the tree as I walk past.

Last night tea was delayed as I caught a glimpse of a balloon coming very close to the house. We get them all summer but this one was close. The photos are taken after they have skimmed over our house - over the hills and far away.

At last a couple of days of warm (even hot!) sunshine. I took my cup of tea out into the garden this morning and spent a couple of hours weeding and cutting back. I am slowly clearing a bed so that I can put in some dwarf apple trees and David Austen roses.



When it got too hot I came in bringing these beauties with me.

I have over the years accumulated a few things that were starting to clutter my kitchen, so I have recently bought a cupboard which fits perfectly behind the back door in the utility room and all my 'stuff' is organised on it. The two recent additions are a new-to-me Kenwood, the previous one blew up trying to knead bread dough! and a Kenwood slicer, I love this! I can bake 4 loaves, slice and bag them and put them in the freezer, or slow cook a ham, slice and freeze for sandwiches, hash or ham with parsley sauce.




Efficient but not pretty! So here is a picture of one of my favourite things. This little dairy cow sat on my mums butter dish until it got smashed.

I decided to have a blogging break and it lasted a little longer than I had anticipated.



Life carried on, children to see to ~(even though teenagers now they still need parents in so many ways) GCSEs and broken hearts. 86 year old mum to ferry to and from hospital and do things for. Paid work to endure (!) and the endless tasks that go with trying to live a simple life.



Such as:-



Growing flowers - beautiful and productive










Knitting - several things, including trying out the extreme variety

Home entertainment - my beloved Jericho, bought for me by my daughter, using money I had given her to go shopping to treat herself.

More photos of bales!!! Taken by husband just over the road from our house. Spending time in our local environment more as petrol costs rise.

Looking after the tomatoes in the greenhouse, polytunnel, veg patch and dotted in and amongst the flower beds. I have never seen so many flowers on my tomato plants before. I am feeding them with Black Jack which is a labour of love as the smell is foul!

Picking fruit, fruit and more fruit. I labelled my jam this morning and have so far made 28lbs this year. It is stored away in a spare coolbox at the back of the pantry, for judicious use over the coming year.

Strawberry jam - my favourite.

Learning to make sausages, this being our first attempt. Plain pork are these but the next will be spiced. This was soooo much fun too, a very good, fun and cheap evening entertainment.

Getting my Warrens, they were bought 4 weeks ago as POLs and this morning one of them laid an egg! They are much smaller than my Marans were and are VERY tame. They have the run of the garden some of each day but spend most of that time trying to get into the house whenever the door is left open.

I have also spent alot of time researching on the internet and reading of text books. I do not like the way that the economic situation is playing out one little bit. I know there have always been economic downturns and cycles but this time it feels different. I read somewhere that this is not the end of the world, but the end of a world. This feels true to me so I am endeavouring to learn and hone my skills so as to be prepared for what life throws our way.

I bought a little frame from the local charity shop, when I took it apart this little watercolour posy came out from the back, I don't think it is that well done but someone took some time over it and I cannot bring myself to get rid of it so there it sits, on a shelf.

No craft work done this past fortnight, instead some minor alterations and some decorating, I always feel like a change at this time of year as I am sure lots of us do. Anyway my lovely fireplace has gone from this:-

To this:-

We have oil fired central heating and the oil is getting far too expensive now. So we decided to have a log burner to help conserve our oil. We can keep it in all day and night, I like the fact that I can go to work and leave the fire in! In case anyone is wondering it is a Clearview Stove - Pioneer 400. Manufactured in Shropshire - yay!! We have decorated the bedroom, but that is for another post!

An exciting (for me!) thing to happen this past week was to 'win' an old kenwood Chef off Freecycle. I had tried twice before so it was third time lucky for me. It came with lots of attachments and is in good working order. I want to make sausages and mill grain as well and I have found a chap who can supply these attachments too. I have passed several things on through Freecycle but this is the first time I have got something for myself.

My good friend Cath has a B&B in a lovely old farmhouse, she does wonderful cooking with her own hens, eggs, pigs etc , sometimes she shares one of her pigs with me, hence the need for a sausage maker and mincer. I have just thought that maybe I will take my camera next time and show you around her place. There are so many things at the moment that I think would make a good post.

Corners of my home

Being as nosey as I am I have really enjoyed seeing bloggers homes in 'corners of my home' posts, so I thought it only right that I did one myself. This is the plate rack in my dining room, it was made for me by a young local man. I am not sure about the black and green teacups and saucers being on there but they were left to my mil by an elderly aunt of hers. She has passed them on to me now and for the time being they ought to be on display - if you know what I mean! I have already posted about the pretty little lamp. There is a brass utility lamp on there as well, made during WWII, it is designed to not topple over and cause a fire - there were toys like that weren't there? Wibble wobble men or something.

The plate top left with the 'frill' round it was made by yours truly. I used to belong to a ceramics club on a military base and made soooo much stuff (most of which is packed away in the attic - including a full tea set with pink roses which I shall never use).

It's my birthday today, am I spending it in a lovely way? No, work all day, and this evening I am taking my daughter to the fair to meet her beau (14 - first boyfriend - both so innocent and very sweet) It's too far to come home so I shall be sauntering the street, chips perhaps, and some candyfloss definitely if I can go to the fair without her spotting me! Then back to the car to sew crochet hexagons together till it's too dark to see (would I look daft with a lamp? mmm......)

How's This?

I grew up in a farmhouse, one day my brother came in, having spent some time poking around by the old muck heaps, (as little boys will given half the chance) with this little gem of a lamp. Of course we didn't know it was a gem because it was covered in yuck. After a thorough clean we presented it to our mum for Mothers Day. She has given it back to me and I treasure it. The wonder of the thing is how it survived in a muck heap intact - including the glass.

How's this? Many thanks for the tips, I really appreciate the help (and will get better at this one day!)

Help!!!....

Could anyone tell me if these photo is big enough, and if they can click on it to enlarge? And if the answer is 'no' let me know how to post bigger ones?

I grew up in a farmhouse, one day my brother came in, having spent some time poking around by the old muck heaps, (as little boys will given half the chance) with this little gem of a lamp. Of course we didn't know it was a gem because it was covered in yuck. After a thorough clean we presented it to our mum for Mothers Day. She has given it back to me and I treasure it. The wonder of the thing is how it survived in a muck heap intact - including the glass.

Decisions

I had a wonderful Easter break with visits to garden centres, farm shops and car boots - I managed to find time to get in the garden, and I finished painting my shelves as you can see.

I have had some time to think as well and I have decided that I must stop trying to be a superwoman and accept that I can no longer do as much as I could. Two years ago this May I had major surgery (and a dreadful few months). The energy has not come back as I had hoped it would, so somethings have got to give. I have reduced my working hours, (by changing my job) and I have come to the reluctant decision to give up my allotment and also grass over my vegetable garden at home. Hopefully one day I will feel better, who knows? In the meantime I must be kinder to myself rather than beat myself up about it all.

On a more cheerful note, here are two photos of all the things I have bought from my local hospice charity shop in the last month. I boiled the pillowcase which was very grubby and yellow, it came up snowy white but as you can see I had not ironed it yet! (20p), likewise I boiled the table cloth, it is so pretty (50p), a paperweight which I altered (50p), a lovely 'scoop' (what are they called??) for sweeping the table (£2). The picture was £2. I will take photos of this weekends car boot finds for the next post.

Daffodils

Another beautiful spring day here in Shropshire, our Easter daffodil Cross is looking splendid, although the photo is a little hazy and does not do it justice. On Saturday I bought the collected works of John Clare for 50p. I love his poetry and a school friend of mine married a descendent of his. Whilst browsing through the book I found these few lines.

The Sunshine bathes in clouds of many hues

And mornings feet are gemmed with early dews

Warm Daffodils about the garden beds

Peep thro their pale slim leaves their golden heads

He was writing in the first part of the 19th Century, and this poem is entitled 'MAY' !!! How the seasons have changed, poor John Clare would not recognise our weather patterns now.