Longer days

The sinking sun looked beautiful this evening

We're at the end of February and the days are noticeably longer.  It's getting lighter earlier in the morning, and the days are really stretching out.  It's still light at 5 o'clock and if it's been a bright day rather than overcast and grey, I don't look to pull the curtains before 5.30pm.  It makes such a difference and I'm sure everyone feels better having more daylight.


We had some good news yesterday - 2 of our extended 'brood' should be offered permanent employment tomorrow, so we are very happy about that.  A really positive bit of news that should alleviate quite a few financial problems!  The kids have proved themselves hard, willing workers, and they'll do well.

Today we had some news that reminded us (if we needed the reminder) just why buying and selling houses can be so fraught - the house we saw a couple of weeks ago is now under offer.  We couldn't make an offer ourselves as we don't have a buyer for our property.  *Sigh*  I guess that's the way it goes sometimes.  N and I both believe that if something is meant to be, then it will happen.  But it's a waiting game.

Anyway, lots of preparations today as we are off to visit N's dad 'up north'.

We're taking a jar of marmalade, and another date and walnut loaf (I will get around to baking a different sort of cake soon!), and we made our own granary rolls for lunch on the train tomorrow.  It'll be good to spend some time with G and the rest of N's family.

Rather than buying new books, I try to support the local library.  Here's the latest selection I have on my bedside table.  I love Agatha Christie, especially the Miss Marple books; the rather old-fashioned language evokes an era gone by.  The Hamish MacBeth series provide a good, quick read, and again I'm working my way through them.  The Rain Tree looks like an interesting autobiography, but the book I was really pleased to find was Walden, by Henry Thoreau.  I've seen it mentioned in several blogs and I am interested to find out if it's as fascinating as many people say.  I'm taking it away with me this weekend. 

 

Here's a sneak preview of the latest woodworking project.  It's in it's early stages, but looks set to be another triumph.  And if you think there's something familiar about the design, check out my profile photo ;)

 

Finally, I've been meaning to get a photo of this for a while.  Several weeks ago we bought a 25kg bag of potatoes from a feed merchant about a mile down the road.  I was delighted to find the spuds were from a very local farmer, in fact, I know exactly which field they were grown in!  OK, so the potatoes are not washed clean, they are not perfect - they have lumps of mud on them and some gouges in them.  They may not be 'pretty' but my goodness, we are so pleased to have found such a local supplier.  We feel this is one of our successful 'small steps', and will buy here again until our own potatoes are ready later this year.

We can't always get connection 'up north', so it may be a few days before I post again.

Thinking positively

I'm feeling in a much more positive frame of mind today.  I've done a lot of unpicking and cutting up of old clothes; had a brain-wave (in the middle of the night, no less!) about recycling a couple of N's old polo shirts; altered a pair of trousers for myself (the days of flared trousers are long-since gone), and we managed to get into the garden today to cut down the remains of a very old, gnarled clematis that had got way out of hand and was looking a mess.

This morning we had a really honest and useful talk about financing the house move, and finances in general, and I finally moved some money around that I needed to do but had been putting off.  Of course, now it's done, I don't know why I shied away from getting it sorted - I hadn't realised how much it was weighing on my mind.  I guess that's like so many problems, we spend so much time worrying about them instead of just dealing with them.  I am a fine one to talk (LOL) - I am a worrier!  And talking of problems, I have made progress with the very thorny problem that has been getting me down recently.  Having had several (more) sleepless nights over this, in the early hours of this morning a couple of things fell into place, and whilst the problem is not solved, I am able to look at it in a different way.  It will at least allow me to move forward with it a little, rather than allowing it to take over.  Small steps, I think.  But progress.

Lat night's meal deserved a picture, it was so delicious!  Salmon in hollandaise sauce, a selection of vegetables, and potato, leek and onion cakes with a little square of brie cheese hiding in the middle.  So tasty, and a fraction of what it would cost at a restaurant.  This, as I told N, is why we don't go out - we don't need to.  I am thankful every day for his way with food and the lovely meals he is able to produce for us.

We're doing really well with this month's budget for food.  We had a quick check this afternoon, and we have come in well under the figure we had allowed.  We've both bought into the idea of writing down what we spend, and we have been surprised that there is still money left over.  We certainly haven't gone without, or had to scrimp.  It's very encouraging. 

Finally, we were watching the magpies building their nest this morning.  We were amazed at the size of twigs they were flying around with - 2 or 3 times their body length at least.  At one point, this bird dropped his twig so had to fly down to the ground to retrieve it.  I managed to get a quick photo before he flew off again.  (I've enlarged the photo because I couldn't zoom in from such a distance.)

Catching up

Isn't it annoying when you're 'off kilter' and can't quite get back on track?  N and I have both been feeling like this for a couple of days; perhaps it's something to do with the uncertainty of putting the flat on the market, I'm not sure.  However, I thought I would try to focus on what we managed to do yesterday and today, rather than what we didn't!

Yesterday we both had a sort out of our wardrobes, and here's the first pile of clothes we will be donating to a charity shop.

 There's more waiting to be washed (I cannot hand dirty clothes over), so I'll wait until it's all ready before I take a trip into town.

I've kept a couple of t-shirts and tops that are really past their best, and they will be cut up for cloths.  I've also acquired a small pile of clothes that need altering/mending, and I shall work my way through these over the next couple of weeks.

This dress was first in line.  It originally had some gathering on one side, and I was never terribly happy with how it looked on - I have a feeling it was designed for someone about six inches taller than me, so the fullness draped in the wrong places.  I unpicked the side seam , removed the excess fabric, undid the neck edge, recut the crossover, and put it all back together again.  And I'm really pleased with the result.  This is now a dress I shall wear with confidence.

This afternoon, while N was engrossed in the 6-nations rugby matches (he's an ex-rugby player, and thoroughly enjoys watching internationals), I made a batch of Melting Moments (I think someone had made off with a few before I took a photo ;) )  These are a favourite of ours.  Here's the recipe:

4 oz margarine

3 oz castor sugar

4 oz SR flour

1 oz oats

1/2 beaten egg

cherries to decorate

Cream margarine and sugar together.  Add flour and egg and beat well.  Take about a teaspoonful of mixture and roll in oats (it's a bit messy here; I put the oats in a bowl, drop the mixture in and use a spoon to cover the dough with oats).  Place the covered dough balls on a greased baking tray, well spaced out as they will spread during cooking.  Pop half a glace cherry on each biscuit.  Bake at approx 150C until golden brown.  Cool on wire tray.

I mentioned I had bought some oxygen bleach (Astonish Oxy Bleach), and I tried it our on some tea towels.  Although the photo doesn't really show the difference, the yellow towel is brilliant white now in comparison with the pink one.  I was quite impressed and will certainly use it in future.  I'd certainly prefer this to using bleach.  BTW, I hung the tea-towels outside yesterday (it was very cold but quite windy) and when I came to get them off the line, they had frozen like cardboard!! 

Finally, some sky photos.  This was yesterday, about 5 in the afternoon.  The clouds were very dark and threatening (we'd had flurries of snow on and off), and against the blue of the sky, looked quite dramatic.

Where did that day go?

Why is it that some days just seem to disappear and you have to think hard if you've actually achieved anything?  

N and I started off today with a big discussion about financing our prospective house move.  We are very good at talking things through, and this is quite a 'biggie' so deserved to have some quality time spent on it.  We've obviously spent a fair amount of time discussing finances for this already, but it never hurts to mull things over again!  We often joke that no-one could ever accuse us of not looking at all aspects of a problem - we spend hours going over and over something, looking at all possibilities (and quite a few improbabilities, too!).  Later we had another phone call from the estate agent to tell us the people who had booked to view our flat have now cancelled :(.  Not so good, but it's early days and we need to be philosophic about the whole process.  It's not always easy being in a situation which you have little control over - we just have to sit tight and trust that if we are meant to move, then the right buyer will come along.  Sometimes easier said than done, but a good lesson in patience.

However, what have we achieved today?  Well, the kitchen walls are now all painted, and the paint is back in the shed.  The 3 chicken carcasses have been boiled up, the liquid saved for stock cubes, and the meat stripped from the bones (there was enough scraps to make 2 chicken and leek pies - we had one this evening and it was very tasty).  We took a walk into town, well wrapped up against the cold, and I bought some oxygen bleach to try out on the tea-towels.  I've also found somewhere I can get cotton yarn for dishcloths - that's a future project.  I made bread this morning, and used a silicone loaf tin our neighbour lent us to try out - it worked very well, no sticking to the sides.  It made a smaller loaf than I normally do, so I used the rest of the dough to make some rolls which we had for lunch.  Oh, and I managed to upload a photo on my Blogger profile (I know, a very small achievement, but it's a start!) 

Railfence quilt finished

I finally finished off the quilt today.  The last thing to do was remove all the washable marker pen I had used to mark the quilt design.  I just used a wet cloth and then left the quilt to dry in the sun on the dining room table.  

I'm pleased with how it's turned out, especially after the problems I had with the tension for the machine quilting.  It's spread over the back of the sofa in the lounge at present, and really adds a splash of vibrant colour.  And I smile when I see it, as it now not only reminds of the fact that my son M patiently stitched in together all those years ago on an old hand-cranked Singer sewing-machine, but that right now, he and J are enjoying their holiday as a newly-engaged couple!  I haven't stopped grinning to myself :)

We've had quite a busy day, providing transport for one of the brood who had a hospital appointment on the mainland, painting another wall in the kitchen, a trip to Tesco (where we got 3 free-range chickens greatly reduced in price on the 'cheapie shelf'), and getting an important letter sent off in the post.  And we have also had news from our estate agent ...  we await developments.

I finally got around to ordering a book about Google Blogger, as I sorely need help with customising this blog (there're things I would like to do with it but don't know how to at the moment), and it's now been sitting on the table waiting to be read for several days.  I need to set time aside to begin reading it and I'm hoping all things will become clear.

On a different subject completely, for some time N and I have been thinking about our ex-colleagues, following the announcement of the imminent closure of part of our old workplace.  We understand that a financial package is on offer, but we know that it will be a desperately difficult and stressful time for many.  Yet again, we are so thankful that we were both in a position to leave when we did.  We have proved to ourselves that we can live very well on a reduced income, and are content with our simple lifestyle.  We no longer need convincing that we made the right choice.

  

Completed woodwork project ... and some exciting news!

N has finished his latest project.  He has made me a miniature set of drawers, beautifully veneered and lined.  It sits on the chest of drawers in our bedroom, and is such a pleasure to look at.  All my make-up, handcream, hairbrush etc fits inside; everything tidy and in one place.  I'm chuffed to bits with it, and N is happy with his handiwork.

We've had the survey for the Energy Performance Certificate for the flat completed today; this has to be undertaken when a house is put on the market for sale.  There's not much N and I can do now, we just have to sit and wait, and hope that we get some viewings.  I know N is finding this quite difficult at the moment.  I started painting the kitchen walls today - I would have done it even if we had not been moving - and it's certainly freshened the room up a little.  

We had quite an eventful start to the day this morning, when we opened the bedroom curtains to find a fire-engine outside attending to a vehicle that had caught alight.  Thankfully, no injuries at all, and the fire was extinguished quickly.  It was interesting, and reassuring, to see how swiftly and competently the incident was dealt with, with firefighters, police and highways engineers all involved.  

And now for the exciting news!  My son M is currently on holiday in New Zealand with his girlfriend J.  I had a text from him this evening to say they're having an amazing time .... and that he has 'popped the question' to J!!!  Oh, I am so thrilled for them both, they are a lovely couple and clearly very happy together.  My daughter phoned shortly after to check I'd heard - she's excited, too!

Now, is a hat obligatory for the mother of the groom?!!

A walk in the woods

Yesterday was another beautiful day, bright sunshine albeit a bit cold.  Although we both had things to occupy us, N felt that we really shouldn't waste such a lovely day, so we wrapped up warm and drove to Firestone Copse, an expanse of woodland maintained by the Forestry Commission.  It's a very popular place for ramblers and dog-walkers, but as it was Sunday lunchtime, we had the place almost to ourselves.  It was a bit muddy in places, and very muddy in others :), but we had a lovely time, seeing signs of Spring and enjoying just being outdoors.

Wellies were definitely the best footwear!

Catkins shining in the sun

Furry willow buds just breaking

A wonderful 'staircase' of conifer roots

The sun piercing through the shade of the trees

The previous day (Saturday) we had considered going out for a belated Valentine's meal.  The first question, as always, was 'where?'  We used to enjoy going out for a meal, but over the last few months we've gone out less and less because, as we told ourselves yet again on Saturday, we eat better at home and for far, far less.  N cooked up a delicious prawn and mushroom linguine which went down very well with a bottle of bubbly.  Had we gone to a restaurant it would have cost us probably about £70 for a 3-course meal and bottle of wine.  Our meal at home cost a fraction of that, and we enjoyed it much more.  

We were talking about this again this evening, when N commented on just how little we actually spend now, compared to when we were at work, but we both agreed that we don't feel the need to spend, and to be honest, I'm not sure what I'd buy if I did want to spend money.  We have what we want, we have no desire to surround ourselves with 'stuff' and 'things', we don't feel the need to follow the latest trends (we wouldn't know what the latest trends are, truth be told!) and fortunately neither of us succumbs to the ad-man's temptations.  The horse-meat scandal that has hit the UK food industry over the past few days has brought home to us the benefit of cooking from scratch, of knowing exactly what is going into the food we eat, and has highlighted the concerns of convenience meals.  We acknowledge that we ourselves now have more time to prepare meals from scratch, but the scandal has made us realise how much we as a society have come to rely on everything being done for us.  It seems we have lost a degree of self-reliance and that's a bit scary.  If you'll pardon the pun, it's food for thought.