Developing our own recipes
I enjoy playing with recipes and developing our own. Today I was poised to introduce our apple mint jelly to the world. I made it, changed it, tweaked it and eventually when it didn’t taste quite right took a small teaspoon up to Danny who was in the Rat Room, bemoaning Sunderland’s loss. I’m a football widow and am expected to mourn too. That done he was keen to taste the jelly. “It tastes like tea. Perhaps the flavours will develop?” I slunk down to the kitchen and eyed the jars. The set was perfect. The mint was held in...
read moreWell shod for winter
I’ve had a great pair of winter boots for about 8 years now and they are just starting to look a bit tatty. So I was browsing online for some new ones and suddenly remembered that I had a pair of boots – right at the back of the wardrobe – that hadn’t been worn for over 20 years. These are the traditional handmade boots that I mentioned in this post. Why had I hardly worn this free gift from the universe? Well let me divulge a secret. They were not a matching pair. One boot was size 5 and the other 4.5. Most people have one foot...
read moreShould we turn the clocks back?
My ex husband B used to start fretting in August about the shorter days in Winter. The grizzling drove me nuts and spoilt the summer for us both. “I can’t bear the thought of tramping round a muddy field with Fly under a cold grey sky.” “But what about the good things about winter? Roaring fires, Christmas, crumpets and snow.” “It’s January and February that are the worst.” He’d gloom. After we split up I heard that he’d invested in a SAD Lightbox. 18 years ago they cost a few hundred pounds – luckily they have...
read moreDressing the larder
“What’s this word on the bottom of the list?” I peered over Danny’s shoulder. I’ve always had ‘doctor’s writing’ and sometimes even I find it hard to read. “Doilies.” “Those silly round paper things people put cakes on?” “Yes.” “What on earth do you want those for?” “Wait and see.” “Well you’ll have to go shopping. I wouldn’t be seen dead buying doilies.” Between you and me I’d never, ever bought a doilie. I’m not a lacy sort of lady and generally have an aversion to frills. But I was on a...
read moreOn birthdays
The first birthday that I can remember was when I was two. Sitting in my wooden high chair at the kitchen table of our Devon cottage. The sun glimpsing through the small windows – the table full of people. There was suddenly a commotion at the door. A parcel had arrived for me. Someone unwrapped the parcel and placed the contents on the tray of my high chair. A baby doll lay in a cardboard box staring up at me through the cellophane window in the lid. It was a present from my godmother, sent from America. I was overwhelmed as much by the...
read moreBirthday Treasure Hunt
Danny usually doesn’t want things for his birthday as he prefers an experience. This could be a party, a trip to the coast, a meal out, even a bottle of whisky. But this year he announced months ago, “I would like a new pair of shoes for my birthday. These ones are worn out.” So the experience part of his present had to be a bit of a budget affair. If cash is tight, then a treasure hunt with a prize every two clues or so usually goes down well. I reckon that adults enjoy them even more than children. I’ve never before organised...
read moreLynn Keddies visit: Slugs, snails and a tripod that lost its tail
“Have you got any slugs?” “There should be some under here.” I lifted a large stone to reveal some dormant slugs. “They are way too small. I want a great big chunky slug.” We were searching for a slug model for Lynn’s shoot. Eventually we found one under a large pot. It wasn’t a great performer. Just hunched itself into a ball and looked like a nut. Later on we found a snail and tried working with that. But it clearly didn’t understand our instructions and raced away from the camera and tripod at alarming speed. Lynn...
read moreApologies for the break in transmission
Yesterday morning I pottered downstairs to fetch a cup of tea and befuddled with sleep had forgotten that the sitting room had been cleaned and cleared. It was a wonderful shock. Yes, Jean and I are still sorting and clearing. We’ve moved into the garden now. Smart Wife used to ‘clean’ her tiny Chelsea garden – and now I understand what she means. Little piles of pots seem to breed into bigger piles of pots. Shaggy hedging and lawn edging make a garden look messy. Stray bags of compost have attracted other bags. Weeds have popped up...
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