At the end of the year

I had planned to make the last post of 2013 a reflective, philosophical, meaningful resume of the year, with grand resolutions for 2014.  However, like a lot of ideas recently, that hasn't quite materialised ;)

Instead, here are the latest quilt photos!

A close-up of the border quilting pattern

The weather continues to tease us; one minute it's fine, the next we're dodging a downpour.  The clouds that came over the flat this afternoon didn't leave anything to the imagination:

So what of 2014?  No New Years resolutions this year, I think.  Just the hope for good health and simple pleasures.  We have a wedding to look forward to and hopefully a house move (or two!) for various family members.  I intend to see the positives, focus on that which is good and accept that on occasions, I cannot change some things, no matter how much I may wish to.  The quilt will be finished, I will learn to make soap.  We will take each day as it comes and be thankful for it.

2014 - bring it on!

After the talking comes action

Gosh, yesterday's post was a bit glum, wasn't it?  I think the sheer expectation that seems to surround Christmas these days simply overwhelmed me for some reason this year.  I think N felt the same, although maybe not quite so forcefully.

Today we talked; we're very good at that!  But our talking generally enables us to make progress with whatever it is that needs discussing, and that was the case today.  We worked out one of the reasons we are unsettled here (it's an issue of autonomy, of not being in sole control of things as part of a 'flat community'), we've been doing some financial calculations, and we came to realise that the next house move doesn't have to be the final house move - if it doesn't work out, we can sell and move on.  

We're going to see another property.  One step at a time.  Maybe it will be 'New Year, new start'.

The weather is still keeping us on our toes; another front, pouring rain, very blustery winds, then clearing up to a bright but very cold afternoon.  I put the washing out but it was almost just as wet when N brought it back in again.  The garden is squelchy underfoot and everywhere has a slightly windswept look about it.

This afternoon I made some decisions about the quilting on the borders of the quilt.  I had tried to machine quilt some hearts in-between the feather patterns but I unpicked every single one - none of them looked any good at all.  I was really disappointed with my efforts.  Then I had the idea of hand quilting the hearts (using the same thread doubled), and it looks fine.  Problem finally solved.  I did all six hearts this evening, and hopefully tomorrow I may pin the border to the top.

I happened to glance out of the window this afternoon and caught the final rays of the sun from behind the clouds, and for some reason it lifted my spirits.

I marvel at the beauty of the sky.  It has the power to uplift, sooth, inspire and I have become more aware of the simple pleasure of looking at it through this year, whether from my lounge window or the sweeping landscape of Orkney.  There is a promise of tomorrow, another day, new possibilities.

So that was Christmas . . .

Our visitor has returned to the big city (it was lovely to see her for a few days), the turkey and ham has been eaten (roasted, cold, in sarnies and in curry - entertaining nine hungry family members on Friday was a great way to use up all that food we bought 'just in case'!), the decorations have been taken down and packed away for another year and we're back to just the two of us.  

The early frost this morning cleared to a beautiful day, bright and clear but rather chilly.  We wrapped up and went for a walk along the front.  The railway line is being cleared and I think the trains may be running again by tomorrow.

We walked to the end of the pier and saw the catamaran leaving for Portsmouth

and soon after the hovercraft left en route for Southsea

I found Christmas a bit of a struggle this year.  It seems to have got bogged down in a spending frenzy, an obligation to buy stuff for the sake of it and to eat and drink to excess.   My Christmas spirit was sadly lacking and try as I could, I just didn't seem able to shed the feeling of sadness that threatened to engulf me on and off through the day.  We're not on Facebook, which meant we didn't do all the sharing of 'opening presents under the tree' photos on mobiles that seemed to continue all through the morning - that's something else that sets us apart from so many people, we don't have electronic devices in our hands constantly!  I worry sometimes that we are actually distancing ourselves from mainstream society but I just don't 'get' this compulsion to live life via social media.  Is it me?

On our walk this afternoon, N and I tried to find the answers to some questions that have been on our minds for a while.  Some of the problems are concerned with family issues that I choose not to discuss here, but they do, nevertheless, have a profound impact on our lives.  Then there are the perennial questions that raise their heads on a regular basis, usually beginning with "shall we move house?"
There is no doubt we are unsettled but we don't really know why.  However what is certain is that we need to do something.  Our lives have changed since we left work, and in many ways we could not foresee - not everything seems to suit as well as it did.  We need to find the answers, or at least have the courage to make changes, take risks and make decisions.  Life is too short not to.

Christmas floods

Floods are never good at any time, but at Christmas they are really not welcome.  Judging by the pictures we've seen on the television over the past few days, many folk have had a rough time of it, with flooded homes and no electricity over the festivities.  I feel for them.

Here, the weather all day Monday and into the early hours of Christmas Eve morning was as wet and windy as I can remember, and come daylight on Tuesday, the flooding and damage was plain for all to see.  Roads were closed, trees down, and buildings flooded.  

Brading marshes - usually green fields but on Christmas Eve completely under water (and still flooded today)

We have one stretch of railway line on the Island, from Shanklin to the end of the pier at Ryde.  On the final leg, the line passes through a tunnel approaching Ryde Esplande.  This is what it looked like on Christmas Eve:

Photo by Sara Richardson

And this is what the flood waters left behind when we were there today:

It's a terrible mess, and I don't think the trains will be running for a while!

N and I went for a walk along the seafront this afternoon - a glorious day just made for walking - and this is the aftermath of the clear-up operation.  A huge channel has been gouged in the sand down to the sea where all the flood waters were pumped away over the sea wall.  That's my shadow, so you get an idea of the scale.

I carried on walking along the sea wall to Seaview, and Apply Sands has a new feature - a shingle bank stretching, I guess, about half a mile along the beach and several feet in width.  All this used to be sand until Monday evening!  The storm had dredged up loads of old oyster shells; some of them were quite a size, about 5 or 6 inches in diameter.

I had to drive into Sandown Christmas Eve and again today.  The flooding between Brading and Sandown had closed the road, so a detour took us through Yaverland and along the sea road.  It was covered in sand, blown up over the wall.  I've not seen that before, and made for interesting driving!

Sandown Bay looking towards Shanklin on Christmas Eve

and today

From the same place (Yaverland) looking the opposite direction towards Culver Cliff on Christmas Eve:

and again this morning - lots of people making the most of good weather on Boxing Day to get out and about.

There's another storm brewing out in the Atlantic, heading our way tomorrow.  We'll have to wait to see what it has in store for us.

A tad wet and windy!

Through the lounge window this afternoon!

Goodness, we've had a bit of weather here today.  From mid-morning onwards, it has poured with rain and howled a gale non-stop, and is still wet and breezy even now.  At some point during the afternoon, we had the strongest winds (I think about 72mph) which is pretty strong for us.  I was tempted to don the waterproofs and go down to the beach to get some photos but two rather more sensible people advised me against it so I had to content myself with looking out the window.

The weather is supposed to quieten down a little over Christmas but come back with force on Friday.  I do feel for those people trying to travel to family for the festivites - trains and ferries are disrupted making travelling difficult.  Luckily my daughter got down to the island without much delay yesterday although she did say the ferry crossing was a little bumpy, and the pilot had a spot of bother berthing at the pier.

This is the view of the Solent from our bedroom window yesterday afternoon- the weather was beginning to close in already

The weather today was in such a contrast to yesterday - dry, clear blue skies - I even had washing on the line!  

Darker clouds building later in the afternoon

Here are the daffodil shoots; a little early, methinks, just hope they survive for a good show in the spring:

And finally, our finished Christmas cake, with slightly wonky icing, but that what it's all about.

Grafting on the shortest day!

It's the shortest day of the year today.  There were Winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, and here it rained and blew hard all day.  Damp, grey and dismal, but in my mind I can look forward to the days ahead getting longer, even if it is only by a few minutes each day.  And when I was in the garden yesterday, I caught sight of a daffodil shoot just breaking the surface of the soil - in December, for goodness sake!  But it is yet another little ray of hope that Spring follows the dark days of Winter.  We also give a thought to our 'second' home of Orkney, where the daylight is even less.  

So, onto the 'grafting'.  Hard work?  Well, yes, for me, as I'd not done this before.  I've finally reached the point of dealing with the shoulder seams of N's jumper, and as the body was done in the round, I felt the shoulder seams should be grafted, not sewn with a seam.  I had to look this method up, and after a couple of false starts (I really do need to pay attention!), I got the hang of it and have ended up with two grafted shoulder seams I am happy with.

I want the sleeves to be knitted up in the round too, but at the moment I'm trying to decide how many stitches to pick up around the armhole.  It's all very trial and error, as the whole jumper has been, and I think in future I ought to stick with a printed pattern; I'm finding the whole uncertainty surrounding the project rather unnerving =:o

We had a lovely time yesterday with friends, enjoying their hospitality and good food.  We seem to be on the same 'wavelength' about many things which is probably why we get on so well.  Without going into details, our get-together yesterday did all of us a lot of good - a bit of a kick-start that we were all looking for but had yet to quite find.  N and I so appreciated the effort that our friends had gone to - the decorations and attention to detail on the dinner table were beautiful, and made us realise that those little touches are important, and really do make a difference.  We both felt that is something we want to make more effort with at home.  It started us thinking about quite a few ideas and we feel that we will start the new year with many positives to take forward.  We have our friends to thank for that.  

We had Grandson No 1 with us this afternoon; he did a sterling job of keeping the two of us entertained!  Several rounds of I-Spy, Ludo (although that seems to go by a different name these days), a bit of footie on the television, and the afternoon whizzed by.  

We're keeping fingers crossed regarding the weather for tomorrow as my daughter is travelling to us for Christmas.  We'll check the ferry websites for any cancellations, but hopefully we'll see her tomorrow afternoon :))

Little shoots in the wet garden

The greenhouse thermometer records the 'high' (57.9F) and 'low' (32.4)

 

Puddles in the garden!

The weathermen are delighting in forecasting a succession of storms for the UK at the moment - there always seems to be another lurking in the Atlantic, heading our way!  It's howling a hoolie and pouring with rain as I type this evening, and further north (so that's basically the rest of the country, really!) it's a lot worse.

The winter greens selection looking good - and wet!

During the brief dry spells, we headed down the garden to check on things and were delighted to see lots and lots of little green shoots in the garlic beds.

New shoots coming through

This is the garlic that germinated a couple of weeks ago

It's always encouraging to see signs of new growth, especially in the dismal days of winter (and we're only a couple of days away from the shortest day now), so to see so many little shoots emerging raised the spirits.  We've both been feeling a little down for a few days, for a number of reasons, and this small ray of hope has perked us up.

The seedling on the left is not looking too happy

Lavender cuttings - and a weed!

I also checked on things in the greenhouse - not a huge amount going on, to be honest, but the lavender cuttings are still looking OK, and one of the two apple seedlings seems to be fine, and has put on a couple more leaves.  The other seedling doesn't seem to have survived, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for the other.

We had to buy a new hard-drive today.  The laptop I use is becoming more and more slow and unpredictable, and we have been worried for some time that we may lose the files and photos that are currently saved on it, so action had to be taken before a disaster hit.  We'll download all the files we want to keep, and then spend some time sorting through everything - maybe a job for next year.  

We met up with a friend yesterday and went for lunch at the Propellor Inn, beside the little airfield in Bembridge.  The meal was lovely, and sat in front of the wood-burning stove, chatting and eating, was a very pleasant way to spend time indeed.  We shall be returning there again!

An afternoon of festive concert music

It must be Christmas soon, the weather is now grey, wet and windy!  I know some places further north may well see a bit of snow over the holidays, but it seems that 'damp and overcast' is the norm for here.  I'll keep fingers crossed for snow in the new year - the shiny new snow-ploughs we saw back in September need to be put to proper work!

N and I enjoyed a wonderful festive concert on Sunday, performed by the Isle of Wight Youth Concert Band, a very talented and accomplished group of young musicians who have a huge following locally.  I have attended several of their concerts in the past, but this was N's first, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.  The programme was seasonal, with lots of opportunities for the audience to singalong with carols and Christmassy favourites.  

The senior band performed some wonderful pieces - the selection of music from 'The Nutcracker Suite' was particularly impressive, and I also really enjoyed the theme from the film 'The Polar Express'.  

In addition to the seniors (those at high school and of grade 5 proficiency and above), the concert band also has a junior section, and they took to the stage to do a couple of numbers by themselves.  They looked so tiny compared to the older teenagers; a little trombonist was actually shorter than his trombone; a tuba player who put a lot of puff into his playing; and a very talented percussionist who  was barely visible over the drum kit - the conductor couldn't see the lad over the music stand so that had to be rectified before the show could continue!  They all played with lots of enthusiasm, in fact it was obvious that everyone on stage was having a good time, as well as the audience.  The encore (a bit of a tradition, by all accounts) was 'Sleigh Ride', with seniors and juniors all together, and it was a fitting and rousing finale to a great afternoon of musical entertainment.  

On the sewing front, I am pleased to report that all reindeer have been made and are on their way to their new homes (and trees), and I have started machine quilting the borders to the quilt.  Progress is being made at last.

Christmas shouldn't have to break the bank

We have an angel for the tree-top!  A bit of card, gold pen, wadding, paper clips and some wired ribbon left over from a bouquet of flowers (yes, I keep all those bits and pieces; you never know when they might come in useful), and the top of the tree doesn't look quite so bare.  Things like that are great fun to make, and proof, yet again, that it isn't necessary to spend a fortune on decorating the house.  

Reindeer production is also in full swing - two have been sent by post to children living away, and hopefully the others will be finding new homes (and maybe trees!) in the next couple of days.

I spent much of yesterday focussing on the quilt borders, marking the pattern in preparation for machine quilting.  I've had to use a home-made stencil and white chalk pencil to mark the fabric, and got a crick in the neck for my troubles.  But the two short sides are fully marked, and I want to start quilting those tomorrow.  I didn't have enough backing fabric, as I suspected, so I've had to rummage through my stash to find something suitable, and it will just have to be pieced.  Ah well, a pieced back as well as a patchwork front! 

In amongst all this crafting, I have been ticking lots of odd jobs off the never-ending list.  I keep telling myself things are getting done but there always seems to be a certain panic around Christmas and the New Year season that's difficult to avoid.  I'd like to clear my head, if only for a short time, and spend some time in reflection of the past year and give some thought to the year to come (well, there's a wedding, for a start :-) ).  I think I must deliberately take some time out over the next few days to do just that.

We have quite a busy week ahead, friends to visit and share meals with, places to be and appointments to keep.  We may even buy a present or two - neither of us have actually bought anything yet, although certain things have been decided, just not paid for yet.  We have never succumbed whole-heartedly to the consumerist hype surrounding Christmas; that has meant, on occasions, that our small gifts have been overwhelmed by others more lavish and expensive.  I do believe it is important to stick to your principles rather than feel obligated to spend money you don't have on presents that aren't wanted.  That's just my view; for other people, the presents are an integral part of the Christmas celebrations and maybe they have it right.  But it's not for me.  I don't think Christmas needs to be a time to max out the credit card; it's more than possible to have a great time without spending a small fortune.  Home-made decorations are cheap and fun to make (and haven't been mass-produced in China), and home/hand-made gifts that someone has taken time and effort over should be cherished and appreciated every bit as much as the latest must-have gadget.  Enough said.

Festive season fast approaching

Christmas decorations are finally up but we seem to be minus something for the top of the tree so I shall have to come up with an idea, sooner rather than later.  Ah dear, another thing for the 'to do' list.  

And cards - the ones that need posting, well, need posting!  How come there seemed to be enough time, and now, all of a sudden, there isn't?  How does that happen?  Can you sense the panic that's rising here?!

However, I did finish cleaning all the windows this morning, and I must say they do look so much better for a bit of effort.  It's one of the household tasks I would like to build into a cleaning routine for next year.  I've been making mental notes of tasks, like the windows, for a while now, thinking that if I could get into the habit of doing them on a weekly, monthly, quarterly (or whatever) basis, I'd feel far more in control of the housework.  This last few months I've actually quite enjoyed cleaning and looking after our home, more so than for a long time (and I guess that has something to do with having/making more time, and slowing down to appreciate what I am doing, and why) and it makes sense to me to think a little more about establishing a routine for those tasks which need doing through the seasons, but not necessarily every week.  During the rest of December, I shall try  to jot down all those additional cleaning jobs and tasks and see if I can fit them into a schedule for next year.  Might as well start off with good intentions because I know it will make sense.

I managed to spend some time on the quilt borders this afternoon; long straight seams rather than matching lots of squares together :)).  The fabric I bought in Manchester was a remnant - I had no idea what length it was but miraculously I have managed to cut everything from it that I needed to.  It was obviously made to measure, for which I am very thankful.  The quilting fairies must have taken pity on me!!  So now it's just a quilt to finish, a jumper to finish, 6 reindeer ornaments to make . . . and now a fairy for the Christmas tree to make.  Just remind me, how many days to Christmas?

NTS   IW Marfona spuds make excellent jacket potatoes!

Cleaning the 'family silver'

Perhaps I should begin by qualifying 'family silver'.  There are no heirloom Georgian candelabras, or candlesticks or teasets or canteen of cutlery, so thankfully minimal cleaning required ;-)

Our family silver consists of a matching pair of small vases, left to me by 'Auntie' Sybil, a very special and dear lady who used to look after me when I was little. 

Yesterday I decided to clean them (and I must get into the habit of cleaning them on a regular basis, not just when they are tarnished) and was keen to try an idea I'd read about in Rhonda's Down to Earth blog.  She suggests a method using aluminium foil, bicarb soda and salt which sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a go.  I tore off some kitchen foil and used it to line the sink.  I added a teaspoon each of bicarb soda and salt, added boiling water, and stood the vases in the sink.  In theory, the reaction between the aluminium and bicarb attracts the dirt and tarnish off the silver, but unfortunately nothing very exciting happened in my sink.  In the end I had to abandon my little experiment and go back to messy silver cleaner and lots of rags.  A little research later that day and I've concluded that not all kitchen foil is actually made of aluminium - I suspect the cheaper stuff is not the 'real deal'.  I found some brands stated their foil was aluminium, but the description of the one I have is simply 'kitchen foil' - goodness knows what it is.  I think I may invest in some proper foil because I really want to see if it cleans silver as easily as I'm led to believe.

Anyway, once the vases were cleaned and polished, I took a closer look at the hallmarks.  I've never really been interested in them before but curiosity led me to do a little bit of internet research.

Here are the hallmarks:

There are four marks, from left to right they are:

• Maker's mark
• Standard mark
• City mark
• Date mark

There are some very helpful websites, like this one, which I used to identify the marks on my vases.

The Standard Mark (the lion) denotes the quality of silver used, in this case it is Sterling .925.

The City Mark (the shield on it's side) is the mark of the City of Chester.  Knowing which city the item was made in helps when looking for the Marker's Mark.  This mark is not very clear on either of the vases, but N and I both studied the list of possible marks very carefully, and we are fairly confident that the mark is that of Stokes and Ireland Ltd (William Henry Stokes and Arthur George Ireland).  The final mark denotes the date the item was made; looking at the date chart, we think it is 1896.

It was really interesting researching this - I've often wondered what hallmarks actually mean.  

Today I continued my cleaning mission.  A window-cleaner does the outside windows to all the flats once a month.  That was yesterday, and today, with the sun shining through, I was shamed by the marks and streaks on the inside of our windows :o(   I decided to tackle them with the old-fashioned method of vinegar and newspaper . . . and a fair amount of elbow grease!  Hard work, but the end result was sparkling clean windows.  I was pretty impressed.

I can't remember how long ago I made the tree skirt, but it's put to good use every year

And finally, we decided we ought to embrace the festive season, so the decorations have been brought down from the loft.  For the last 3 or 4 years we haven't bothered with a tree - space is a big issue in the lounge - but this year we felt we should try to make an effort so this morning found us trying to solve the perennial problem.  We had an artificial tree (dating back many, many years) which we've never used here because it is too tall.  After much head-scratching, we finally came up with the idea of simply reducing the height of the tree to fit the space.  Easy, really!  Having found the solution, N set to with a variety of tools and, after several trips to the shed, produced the finished (and shortened) article.  We're very happy with the result, and tomorrow we'll decorate it.  

Gourmet burgers at home

This post was supposed to have a photo, but the picture came out too blurry to be used, sadly.  However, I can report that N and I enjoyed delicious home-made turkey burgers this evening, in home-made soft rolls with fried winter-greens (fresh from the garden and into the pan) and onions on the side, and they were far better than any gourmet burger that we have eaten out (not that we do that very often nowadays).  The burgers, made with turkey mince, sage from the garden, cranberry sauce, seasoning and an egg to bind, then formed in our newly-acquired (but second-hand) burger press and grilled, really were lovely.  The ones we have had out have tended to be on the dry side, and the rolls past their best, but our homemade burgers were moist, tasty and best of all, we knew exactly what had gone into them.  Very yummy!  We're now on the look-out for other recipes we can use in a similar way - I've found a couple of chickpea and lentil based options that I shall try soon.

I'm now into production with Christmas reindeer - they are a bit fiddly to cut out - and I also had a couple of hours working out the borders for the 30th birthday quilt, which involved lots of scribblings on the back of old envelopes until N came over and came up with a much simpler solution.  I really should have asked him to begin with, he's far better with figures than I am.  Hopefully photos will follow tomorrow.

Finished sewing projects, and a Christmas decoration

Well, not only did I have a 'screen-free' Sunday, but Saturday as well!  Not really intentional, but there was just a lot going on and I couldn't justify spending time with the laptop.

We spent some time over the weekend with friends, enjoying a lovely meal together, chatting and relaxing.  It was good to take time out from the inevitable busyness that seems to overtake everyone in the run-up to Christmas.

N has been busy in the kitchen, playing with a new gadget we brought back from Manchester (where it had been gathering dust in the back of a cupboard for many years!).  We now have a burger press, and some festive turkey mince and cranberry burgers:

Waiting to be frozen; greaseproof discs top and bottom

We'll be trying them tomorrow, with home-made rolls.

In amongst visiting, cleaning, washing and shredding, I've been frantically trying to finish some sewing projects.  Why is it when you are in a hurry, things seem to take twice as long?  I had taken some hand sewing with me for the train journey to Manchester and back, so that was the first things to finish off when I returned home.  Having cleaned the vases on the lounge window sill, and sorted all the shells and stones out, I knew they would only get covered in dust again if they remained uncovered, so I have been busy with some little covers.

They are just a square/circle of cotton fabric, with a crocheted edging, and weights, in the form of stones with holes in them, or shells with holes drilled in them.

I have embroidered the top of each cover with a shell design; very simple but quite effective, and at least it keeps the dust out of the vases!

Next on the list was a 'New Home' card for M and J - it's fun working on a small scale - but it took longer than I anticipated.  Ah well, patience and perseverance needed in equal amounts ;)

I've also begun sewing for this year's Christmas ornament for the family.  This 'tradition' seemed to start last year almost by accident - I went into production with patchwork Santas - and I thought I would try to do something this year, too.  Plenty of time, I told myself!  LOL.  Anyway, the prototype is on it's way to M&J, and tomorrow I shall cut out some more for the rest of the family (that's the four children, and N has asked for a couple for the lounge, too).

I'm sure I saw the pattern or a photo of this reindeer on the internet but I can't remember where, apologies.  If I can find the link, I'll put it up.  No cost involved at all, just a few scraps of felt, wadding, embroidery thread, buttons and ribbon was all that was needed.  I now wondering if it should have had a tail or not . . .