Day Dreaming

I'm sitting having breakfast and thinking how nice it would be to be walking on a beach . Perhaps living in a cottage with a bus stop nearby to go to market . Ah well ! that's what reading Country Living magazines does .

Onward with the day , I have trousers to alter for a friend and wool ends to weave in on a blanket . Hopefully  a bit of piecing on patchwork but nothing will get done while blogging .

I'm off .

Well after I wrote  this missive yesterday I went outside to do something , the sun was shining and the day was glorious . Too nice to be inside thought I so out came the garden tools . I did 3 hrs,. cutting down and removing brambles . Today I am suffering . I have no energy and feel dreadful .
I have stayed indoors .
Today
I made 3 bread and butter puddings , 1 for the old gentleman who brings me blackberries , 1 for my friends who live opposite and 1 for myself .
I must admit , mine was delicious so the others must have been too . I used 5 eggs to make the custard that the bread soaks in  . I usually use 2 eggs when making just one pudding for myself so 5 eggs seemed about right for 3 puddings .
Bye for now .

Getting ready for Spring

You cannot start too early getting bulbs for spring planting .
This is a selection I bought today . If all goes well my garden will give lots of pleasure .
I can visualise even now the Tulips . I am always amazed at the beautiful glob of colour on top of a slender green stem .
I have Daffodils and anemones too . I also bought hyacinths for the pots and 2 pks,. of snowdrops .I don't expect a carpet of white this winter , it takes a long time for snowdrops to naturalise . I had such a measly few blooms last year . I know its best to buy them in the green , but lets see what comes through .
I bought 4 cyclamen for a pot of instant colour .

Yesterday the weather was glorious . I cleaned both fish ponds and the pumps so the fish looked swimmingly happy this morning .

I did a little weeding and scraping stuff growing in between the paths so all in all a good and satisfying day.

281 Flowers

I just have to show you my finished crochet hexie blanket

I sat in my dressing gown this morning finishing it . It will be out of my possession in the next few days .

I cannot wait to start another

 

I'm off to feed the fish now and then the last cuppa of the day.

Bye

The last posy

I wonder will this be the last little bunch of flowers . The weather is turning to Autumn . I picked these from bluebells garden while waiting for her .

We have been to the fabric guild this morning .

At present I'm listening to Tango music while waiting for my dinner to cook . I love Latin American music . I like most music really . it sure makes my world go round .

I have had a very busy week sewing . I look forward to doing some of my own relaxing stuff . I have been altering trousers for a neighbour .

Parcel post

My shoes arrived yesterday . A mail order purchase  not my usual style of shopping but they are cheap and cheerful . Leather moccasins . £9,50 per pair plus £3,95 p0stage .   Not a bad purchase £22,95 complete purchase .

They look better than slippers and o'k for nipping to our almost useless village co,op shop .

 

I really must do sewing that's landed from neighbours . We are a helpful community . Someone always seems to need a stitch in something .

Sunday

I rarely have visitors on Sunday . That suits me fine .

knowing I would be undisturbed I set up my Juki machine . I love using this machine it is just a straight stitch .

I bought it to do machine quilting , it has a lovely big throat space but is also very fast .

Last time Silver Sewer came to see me she gave me a pre cut quilt , just the thing . No measuring or cutting I can just sew along quietly .

 

My cup still runneth over with stuff from friends gardens .  Yesterday I was give 3lb of blackberries which is 2 ice cream boxes . This neighbour tells me I have had 12 boxes up to now .  Sh !!! I have shared .

Another friend bought 2 bramley apples and Victoria plums and kidney beans . I do a bit of swapping with home made cake . I'm not just a taker .  I have to make a pair of armchair caps for the fruit and veg person , fair enough , roundabouts and swings .

I shall be doing blackberry jelly today . Sometime this week I must pick the crab apples . I think that will be the last of my preserving .

I might make a special bottle of something for Christmas .

 

My crochet hexies are looking good and I have a fair sized blanket but I need to do a few more rows to square it . I'd like to think I can do that by the end of the week .

 

Off for a coffee before I sew.

I just could not believe the tomato stuff I baked and blitzed is better than any I have bought in the past . I gave away lots of my own tomatoes  . Never again .

I have red onion chutney in these two jars , I was disappointed with that . It's alright but too sweet . That recipe was in the Asda book . I can improve on that . I bottled my blackberry vinegar this morning . That is good .I also have egg custard here waiting to go in the oven .

I still have lots of blackberries so I shall be making crumble this afternoon .

 

I was hoping to make a trip into town but I have to stay home and wait for a parcel . I ordered 2 pr,. of loafer shoes from the Daily Mail . If I am not home they will take the parcel back to the sorting office ,

 

Bluebell rang to say get the washing in , it's going to rain at 4o'clock ,and it did. Very clever that bluebell.

I was a late starter today . Last night I fell asleep while sewing and watching t,v .Have you ever nodded off and found yourself waking up with your hand poised ready to sew . Of course after a short cat nap I wasn't so tired . I changed over to crochet and didn't go to bed till 1,30 .

I was tired this morning but woke at my usual 6 , had a cuppa and went back to bed .

When I opened my front door there was a bag of tomatoes on the step .

I knew I had to start cooking  , so , this is my concoction .

Tomatoes , onion, garlic, red pepper , celery, mustard seeds , olive oil . a good shake of cumin , chilli flakes , sea salt , black pepper , then I had to go into spider territory for rosemary and thyme .

The result after roasting is to be blitzed and put in the freezer . It will be used for a pasta dressing .

 

I have been to our sewing group this afternoon . The final total for the little quilt exhibition was £275 . very rewarding .

 

Tonight I have to bottle my blackberry vinegar . I sterilised the bottles and left them in the hot oven when I took out the tomato mix up .

The kitchen smells good . My dinner tonight is black eye beans and courgettes , and a few sauté potatoes . I'm not a vegetarian , far from it but a veggie dinner goes down well once a week .

Now the weather is cooler it's nice to sew with a quilt draped on my knees .

Does anyone have a recipe for using more tomatoes > I don't want pickle or chutney . I've done that .

Off I go , it's been a good day .

Busy morning

Sunny but cold .I bought a new silk scarf from Accessorize . I'm a scarf person , a silk scarf is just the thing . If my neck is warm I'm warm all over .

 

Also the time for making pickle . I was disappointed with the red onion chutney I made using a recipe from asda magazine , It was far too sweet. I'll concoct my own recipe next time.

 

I have had a very busy morning .I made pastry this morning , I left it to rest . When it was time to get rolling I had a visitor .Although my visitor distracted the time table for the morning I didn't really mind .

He came bearing gifts of Bramley apples , Victoria plums .leeks, and runner beans and pears , all from his garden .

It's a rainy day now but I don't mind about that either . I won't be tempted to go into the garden . I have cleaned the kitchen after my baking and now the day is all mine . I intend to sew .

 

I have offered to knit a couple of childrens jumpers for charity . A bit more of my time spoken for but another good cause .There are so many needy children , I try to do my bit .

 

I see so many wonderful quilts on the blogs and wish I had more time, but!!

 

On Thursday afternoons bluebell and myself sew at a friends house . Last week our friend Ann had a show of quilts at her house. She didn't charge an entrance fee but left a dish for a donation ,the donated funds were for the recreation room at her church . She raised £250. I think that was a wonderful effort . You can also read about it on the blog of Tracing Rainbows .Angela of Tracing Rainbows is a minister of the free church where the proceeds of quilt show went .

 

Well it is now raining heavily , I shall sit with one of my small bakewell tarts and a cup of tea . I know my tarts should have icing on top but

perhaps too much happiness .

Sunrise , Sunset

I see beautiful sunsets where I live , and the dawn sky is equally as lovely .In the early morning as the sun is coming up the vapour trails from the airplanes are pink and red across the sky . I live close or not far away from two airports so there are always quite a few planes arriving early morning . You cannot hear the air traffic , the planes are still high at approx. 35 miles from the airport . As I look at the vapour trails emerging they remind me of the pretty dyed fabric I have in my stash . I love the  hand dyed fabric I buy at the big quilt shows .

No complaints about the weather this summer it has been glorious . A long time coming perhaps but worth waiting for .

I've had a bountiful harvest of friends and neighbours bringing their surplus veg to me . Home grown tomatoes are always much nicer than shop bought  .

I enjoy sitting with the doors and windows open at night when the sun is going down , only problem is when I do decide to retreat inside I find moths and allsorts of little horrors sitting on the ceiling . Ugh !!! .