Never Been Touched

So tomorrow begins a New Year...never been touched and full of hopes and dreams. I hope each and every one of you gets treated well by 2024.

2023 I have had a few issues with, but amongst all the pain and sadness we welcomed a granddaughter and saw our youngest get married.

The weather really is frightful, but our fire is so delightful so I have enjoyed an afternoon cup of tea with a slice of rather good if I do say so myself Christmas Cake.

Feeling rather thirsty I made my tea in a breakfast cup!

This evening we are gathering with some very dear friends and I am very much looking forward to it...along with a cheeky Chinese takeaway.

Happy New Year Everyone,

Blessings, J. x

Merry Christmas One And All

 What it says on the tin really...wishing all the dear souls who read my ramblings a Very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Things are predictably rather hectic here today and I can't see that changing for a day or two...just how I like it to be though!!

I would say I'll be thinking of you whilst enjoying a glass of baileys or sherry, however I'm currently on a second course of antibiotics so it may have to wait for a few more days yet. There is a lot of January to get through though!

And so... From Our House To Yours

Good Health!

Blessings, J. x

Finally

So pleased to finish these earlier this afternoon.

One each for the boys. A note in the magic tin revealed not an edible treat, but the place to find them. 

A photo shoot followed. My goodness...the end of the school day...nativity this morning, excitement and well two little boys were quite difficult to capture...well capturing them was easy, but getting a photo you would want on your wall was rather elusive!

My plans for December have changed somewhat. A poorly relative has been in need of much help, so help I have been doing, which has left me with much less time to prepare for the upcoming festivities. I'm not overly worried by this though. What really needs doing will get done, the rest can be forgotten. Needs must at the moment.

So once again a big apology for not commenting on your blogs. Hopefully I will be a little more back in the game again now. I have made 2lb of sweet pastry this evening so that after my care duties in the morning I can crack on and make a load of mince pies. On Saturday we are hosting an outdoor carol service for the village and whoever they wish to invite. I am making mince pies and sausage rolls for the occasion. Some people are also coming in afterwards to play bingo. We know how to party in North Devon! I guess this means I need to have a good clean and tidy too!!

We have had all kinds of weather since I was last writing in this space. Rain, wind, sun, snow, mainly rain though. Here's hoping it dries up for Saturday evening.

Much to do, so for now...

Blessings, J. x

In Case You Were Wondering

Life has thrown a few yucky bits at us in the past few weeks. Hubby's Auntie passed away at the care home I work at, followed a few weeks later by her husband, also a resident at the home. This afternoon is his funeral. I am feeling so sad. Not having them there has altered the dynamics totally for both the staff and other residents. To top it all another of hubby's Aunties has been taken to hospital with sepsis at the weekend and transferred to a more specialist unit. It feels as though the whole generation is falling away from us.

My body has succumbed to the stresses and I currently have swollen glands and ache like there is no tomorrow. The little people were the same at the weekend...felling absolutely rotten on Saturday, but there is hope as by Sunday they were back to their usual bouncy selves. As mine started three parts of the way through a hospital shift yesterday with a dry feeling in my throat and quickly progressed I am hoping that for me too the ailment is short lived. 

Some good news to impart though...all being well our two blue little ones next door shall either become three blue ones or a mixed bunch early next May! Daughter had been feeling very yucky, but seems to be improving as the pregnancy progresses.

At home I have been redecorating the dining hall. The walls are done, but I've also been stripping the oak furniture...what a time consuming mucky job that is. Certainly a true labour of love. We are going to raise up up the top part of the dresser...that has in itself been a story! No photos just yet...I want to wait until it is all done.

Anyway, time to rest.

Blessings, J. x

Halloweenish Happenings

It's about that time again...I have been letting the cobwebs grow and generally neglecting the housework. All for a purpose you must understand. We have little ones to scare entertain.  So last night was that night. I unearthed all the decorations and set about making the house as spooky as deemed necessary. By the time the fake cobwebs needed to go up I had run out of puff so called next door for son in law to assist. Phew...

In the morning I had had two little helpers make a spooky pumpkin patch scene with me out of a cat pouch box...

Not a bad effort thanks to my lovely Cricut doing the intricate cuts. They were happy with the glue sticks and plastic needle to thread the hanging witches and bats up then stick with masking tape to hold in place on top of the box. The late addition of a couple of battery tea lights really lit up the scene. Next stop either a firework display or if too busy next weekend it will be onto a Christmas scene. Either way I'm sure Kitty and Wilbur won't mind eating more pouches to empty the boxes!

The children, and strangely the adults were eager to try the dehydrated snails (popcorn) and fly juice (water). For the main meal we had witches fingers (sausages), baked toad, (potatoes), newt brains, (baked beans), and breaded frog legs, (southern fried chicken). Dessert was fallen clouds, (meringues) and spookily decorated cakes.

After tea one child nearly fell asleep until the main lights, which had remained off before tea suddenly came on and were red...very strange. The young wizard was able to use his wand and magically change the colour of the lights...we had orange, blue, green, purple...I must say the lights which I bought last year and are colour changing ones and come with a remote control have been a big hit both years. I hope to get many more years of fun out of them before someone cottons on to the fact that I am using a remote to do the changing!

Last night' spooky dining hall. If you look carefully you may just make out skeleton Sid on the rocking chair!

Blessings, J. x

One Lucky Girl

We headed off to a farm sale last weekend...someone we used to know really well is finally retiring in his 80's and after losing his wife a few years ago. I must say I found picking through their belongings a bit awkward as I have many fond memories of them in the years gone by. However hubby asked if I had looked at the furniture for sale, I don't need anything so hadn't until he pointed me to the right shed. I spotted a lovely set of drawers, but not needing any decided that was that. The hubby said he'd seen a lovely set of drawers that he thought would be great for my crafting/sewing things and yes it was the same set. We bought them. Then up for sale was their old snooker table that several years ago they had converted into a side table, with the addition of a huge slab of we think mahogany on the top. Hubby said did I want it. I didn't have a clue what we would do with it, but surely one of the children could make use of it if the price was right. Nobody else bid...we paid £5. 

That afternoon we re-jigged my crafting space where our bathroom used to be. We did have the wedding cart set up there but it wasn't the ideal surface to work on. I now have a lovely dedicated crafting area and have ordered some new crafting mats so the little people can come and make things and not totally destroy the lovely table!

I can just get my legs in under the table and the children will have no trouble...poor hubby would have to stand or sit sideways though...he will not be permitted to cut out leg holes!

Weather's been a bit naff so the dreaded tumble has been on today...stew for tea bubbling away on the woodturner...what's not to love!

Blessings, J. x

So How Did We Do?

The sun shone brightly after a misty start on ploughing match day. The turnout was good and the charities benefiting should soon be sent their much needed boost.

Hubby did rather well with his vegetables, getting first prize for both potatoes and beetroot. Second for carrots and onions and third for runner beans.

My, turn yourself into a gonk hat won first prize and my bag and card both won second places.

Not a bad little haul between us!

In the evening I headed to our local carnival with eldest and the two boys...her hubby was taking out a group of students on a D of E weekend walk so couldn't be with us, and hubby stayed put at the ploughing match. It was for me the best carnival I'd ever seen in Bideford, and afterwards the massed pipes and drums played on the quay...such a beautifully stirring sight and sound. We left part way through though as both boys were trying to lie down and go to sleep. Short of carrying them back to the car which they are now too heavy for us to manage we decided to go whilst they were still 10% awake! Sadly we didn't stay to watch the fireworks, however I dropped them off at home and then returned to the ploughing match and collected hubby after catching up with a few people. 

During the night we had tremendous thunder storms and downpours which messed up the plan to take down all the marquees in the morning, but by early evening things had dried off enough to get the fields almost clear. 

So that was that!

The week has mainly passed in a blur...I have been suffering with labrynthitis shortly after being given my live MMR vaccine...I'm due the second one next week so am holding out to push for antibiotics if needed until after then. I've been checked and the ear is inflamed...the leaflet says one in ten people get a middle ear infection after the vaccine but they are reluctant to prescribe antibiotics at the moment. I do wish I could get rid of the rushing sound in my ear though at the moment my balance is OK after I did the Epley Manoeuvre. Such trials I tell you!

Our weather can only be described as miserable at the moment. The fire was lit yesterday, but I'm hoping to keep moving enough this morning not to need it. Work looks as though it could be a soggy affair later.

Right the clock has been ticking with me sat here and my job list for the day needs some attention!

Blessings, J. x

May I Present...

 My show entries...

My bag...made this morning...and which has some bits I'm not totally happy with...however it is a bag...which is lined and ta da da...interlined with a cotton bump...

A New Home card...complete with verse inside...

A knitted hat which is guaranteed to turn the wearer into a gonk...but gonks are fashionable right?!

Finally photos of a farmer at work and a resting Kitty.

As hubby is still out in the fields preparing for tomorrow I have been tasked with picking his vegetables and choosing which to exhibit. I still need to pick the tomatoes, but everything else will have to take its chance. The beetroot and carrots I've yet to wash, but the potatoes, onions and apples are good to go. I've left most of it outside as being rather damp I hope it will stay in fairly good condition...better than indoors anyway.

Now I'm determined not to take my sewing machine and Cricut back upstairs until their respective work stations are readied. Both the sewing table and cart were used for the wedding, and I need each of these back in place in order to sort everything out...(AGAIN)!

Oh well...

Blessings, J. x

Wilting...

Now I really really should be still catching up on the paperwork...I mean computer stuff...however my mind keeps wandering to different things than it really should...like whether it would be cool enough to go along the lane and pick blackberries...guess what...it wasn't and I found it really draining just collecting a few. Oh well...there is at times a bit of a breeze...but not all the time and boy I'm fit to melt!

Arthur the budgie has spent yet another day outdoors, taking a welcome shower earlier. He's looking very pleased with himself...protected from the worst of the rays of sun beneath a rather overgrown clematis.

Sleeping is proving difficult...hubby stores a lot of heat and seems to come further over my side when it's hot...I've warned him not to touch me!!

I've literally just poured myself a cold glass of larger shandy...after all it must be five o'clock somewhere as the late Jimmy Buffett sang.

Hubby will be off getting things ready for the local ploughing match this evening...it's a busy week so I have a few evenings to myself. I've opted out of doing any of the cookery classes this year, though I won the cup last time...in this heat the food will not fare well in the tent I fear! I have however knitted a cable hat and added a bobble. It has turned out rather large...oh well it is supposed to be for an adult and every head is a different size! I actually like the sizing ...it will keep my ears lovely and warm this coming Winter. Not overly sure what the judges will think though. I'm also needing to make a bag...before Saturday...and a New Home card...other than a couple of photo entries that's my lot for this year.

Motivation...that's what I need, and I need to find it right now...

This photo I'm entering in the cat or dog at work rest or play class

 And this is the hat, part way through being sewn up...and inside out!

Well enough of this...now to watch a reminder tutorial on how to make a lined bag...I know I can do them...I have done them before...just not recently!

Blessings, J. x

Of Mellow Mists And Fruitfulness

 I'd never make it as a serious blogger that's for sure...But my life has been full of all sorts of goings on of late...Though it seems to have been mainly work there have been other doings as well...Such as bringing in the harvests...

 

Of both food...

 

 

And fuel... 

I have yet to make any jams or chutney, but this week hopefully should see the first jars being produced.

We took the grandchildren and their parents (that live next door) to a mill for a visit the weekend before last...

Realising that the Mini Run was taking place we made a stop on the way to see them pass...

Which for a time I thought might have been a mistake as we were then stuck in the traffic that 200 plus Minis caused!

However just as I was beginning to get frustrated I reminded myself that it was all for a good cause...The local Children's Hospice South West.

Sadly the mill wasn't in operation the day we visited...we did however enjoy the treat of a sumptuous cream tea...though we were visited by the Millers' bees as well as some local wasps, all eager to share our sweet treat.

Our weather appears to have cheered up drastically and rather shamefully I found myself complaining about the heat over the past couple of days more than once...Whereas only last week I was berating the fact it was so cold and miserable I had lit the fire...can't win either way I suppose. 

The morning has dawned rather overcast, however the forecast remains set for wall to wall sunshine.

After tea last evening I started the mammoth task of cutting back the garden...making a start on one side of the steps, there is such a pile of cuttings that I'm not quite sure what to do with it all just yet. The choices being, chip it up for compost, or lay out some of the woodier bits to dry and then use as fuel. Son in law said he has seen a second hand wood chipper for sale locally and he was going to ask if it was still available. I'm feeling rather lazy today and have to work later so the pile may well stay as just that for today at least.

Have just had notification from Wilbur's tracker so I'd better see if he needs breakfast.

Blessings, J. x

Snap Happy

Today has been all about restful pursuits...as in soaking up some vitamin D...

Some tentative attempts at dehydrating...

Pegging out...

Taking a woodland walk...

Tea by the beach... 

Now some feet up time on the sofa...

Bliss..

Japanese Anemones in the garden...

Elderberries ripening there too...

Down the lane I found this little beauty...

And this one...

Looking up...

And around...

Didn't manage to pick many blackberries on my walk though...

Think this may be a wild rose burr...

I always feel at home in this part of the woodland...I believe the stone used to make our cottage was from this place 200 years ago...

Finally the sun over the water...not a bad place to eat fish and chips...

Blessings, J. x

The Deed Has Been Done

Well how time flies...youngest married her caveman nearly two weeks ago and had a party to celebrate just over one week ago...we are still in clear up and recovery mode.

Both events were plagued by rather unseasonal weather...standing on a cliff top trying to beat the next shower in strong winds really made that visit to the hairdresser a bit of a waste of time...even so both days turned out to be lovely seeing family and friends and celebrating with the newlyweds.

One newly married young lady!

Daughter in law to be made and assembled the cake... son made the flowers! Not the traditional cake decoration...but very apt for the couple...

Flowers from our garden adorned the tables...

 The first welcome drinks ready to go...

And then we partied...and I unashamedly changed into a pair of comfortable trainers and danced the night away!!

Hope to be back soon...but life is very hectic at the moment and quite frankly I'm shattered!

Blessings, J. x

Just Messing

 

Wedding Preparations

It's how many weeks left until the big day...please don't tell me...not enough for all the things we want to achieve beforehand. However just like Christmas the day will come and the day will go and what shall be shall be. The shed has a roof, walls, a floor, windows and a door. The band and disco are booked. The catering is booked. Photography sorted. Invites all out and replied to. Well some didn't bother! My dress is hopefully being delivered today. Not the dress I had thought of wearing. I decided that the one I had I'd be too comfortable getting the groceries in. Not acceptable for a Mother of the Bride role. Pretty bits...under construction. Flowers, what the slugs haven't eaten and the wind hasn't wrecked will have to do. Table cloths...some to make. Dishes to take to the caterer. Some ingredients also to take to her. Cart to be painted. Paint arriving today. Marquee to erect...not yet and depending upon the weather how close to the event it gets put up. The toilets...posh ones...should be arriving the day before the party. Only electricity needed. I hope they provide toilet rolls...they're costing an absolute fortune. Some comfortable chairs and sofas...begged borrowed and stolen from various places to go into the marquee for the people who want to relax away from the noise in the shed.

And breathe...

Last evening I used the pressure element of my pressure canner for the very first time. Before I have just done things that had enough acid content to water bath can. I admit to being a little scared, however am pleased to report that nothing blew up! We now hopefully have some shelf stable Runner and French beans.

Venting before popping on the pressure weight...

Pressure weight on!..

Beans cooling...

And relax...this rose smells lovely...

Blessings, J. x

Blessed Fruit Flies

 How time has flown. We have been lucky enough to have been blessed with decent crops of broad beans, peas, sugar snap peas, lettuce, strawberries and now tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries. The french beans are not too far behind, and we've just finished our first row of potatoes.

Lovely, but it is rather time consuming picking, podding and hulling each day. It feels good to have been eating so much fresh produce from our own garden and stashing the rest away for a rainy day...after the children have bagged what they want.

The grandchildren seem to be growing like weeds, and the eldest saw fit to cut his own fringe the other day...a mere six weeks before his Aunties' wedding!

Suffice to say it's all been a bit hectic around here...lovely but hectic.

Haven't had much time...well any time for photography, but did snap some of the current blooms in the garden a day or two ago.

Hopefully there will be something to pick for our daughters' wedding in a few weeks time...

I think I will be able to say yes to the dress I bought in a knock down sale some time ago. I really like it but at the time it didn't fit. Thanks to a few weeks of cutting out the crap from my diet I can now get it on. I could do with losing a few more pounds which would certainly help the dress fit better and so I intend to continue to eat copious amounts of healthy foods...not a single calorie has been counted, but crisps, cake and bread have been off the menu!!

Oh yes fruit flies...pesky little blighters...we have been inundated with them this past week. I have placed some mango peel and water in a pint glass and covered it with cling film, then made a small hole in the top. Have so far caught literally dozens. Yuck.

Blessings, J. x

Enjoying the Sunshine

One way and another we have enjoyed the fine weather that has been with us for the past couple of weeks, despite the regular appearance of an East/North East wind. Now our garden is beginning to mature there are some places to sit away from such inconveniences!

The moon rose with splendour on Saturday evening...

Kitty bird watching I think....

This Weigela is a self seeded beauty...possibly crossing from Bristol Ruby and a variegated form I have...

Rose Iceberg makes a perfect partner...

Taken from a lovely spot to sit...

Anyway...the above probably explains why our home is less than guest ready at the moment. I really don't enjoy being in when it is so lovely outside. Once a week I do a twelve and a half hour shift at the hospital, and kind of hope that it will be not quite such good weather that day! I have made myself a list of jobs needing doing for each day I'm home this week. However I moved our old patio (heavy) set from the garden to the patio and the newer smaller (lighter) set up to the garden...all apart from the table going up the steps...hubby was engrossed in his vegetable patch and to be fair I hadn't asked for his help. So today I'm feeling in touch with some muscles I've not noticed existed for a quite a while!

Miss Kitty helped herself to some grasses that I'd put in Arthurs' cage for him and one must have become lodged somewhere. On Friday evening she was gagging, then she managed to bring up two of the seeds with some food. I was going to take her to the vet on Saturday morning, however she was purring, ate a huge bowl of food and drunk well so I just kept an eye and thankfully she seems recovered...maybe with not an ounce more sense than before, but recovered none the less.

Hope life is treating you all well...I will catch up in due course, however today I really must clean our bedroom and kitchen windows...they are quite a disgrace!

Blessings. J. x