In Raiment Bright She Comes Again ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ do you feel it? Do you see it? Autumn is slowly seeping into the world once more.  For the last four years, she seems to be sweeping in, wearing her golden cloak with highlights of orange, red, and rust, earlier and earlier. For weeks now, I have sensed her magical presence.  Having been deprived {thankfully} of the searing heat of Summer, I welcome her with open arms {although some small vestige of Summer would have been both useful and welcomed}

Across the Shire, farmers are bringing in the crops; ancient farmsteads stand with full fields of baled hay awaiting Winter storage ~~~

Across the Fields to Farmsteads and Baled Hay

The sun is noticeably lower in the sky, and although Autumn is not officially meant to arrive for a few more weeks, we are now eight weeks past the Summer Solstice and the changes are felt. The nights are drawing in and the days are shorter, the evenings longer. Curtains are drawn across the west facing window of my cottage earlier than a few short weeks ago, closing out the darkening skies and sealing in the cosiness.  More books are being read and already I feel the need to eat more hearty soups and stews than the lighter salads of Summer. The clouds that scatter and scud occasionally give glorious sunsets at which I marvel in their diversity ~~~

how quickly they shift and change in colour ~~~

Red Sky At Night ~~~ Shepherd's Delight

and in a moment, the blaze is quenched as the sun sinks into the wide Atlantic deep.

The bounty of the garden and the hedgerows is shifting up a gear ~~~

Ruby Red Apples Ripen in the Warm Sunshine of Late Summer Days

and we are all out foraging and feeding from the bounty we are given ~~~

My Fierce Competition!

Soon there will be blackberries, for the brambles are sprawling and bursting forth ~ the flowers nearly spent and green berries waiting to turn to those juicy, deep purple berries of deliciousness ~~~

Tight buds taken a few weeks ago

How delicate the petals and the colours.

Each sprig of blooms promises of many berries to come.

I'm ready for my close up now.

Gorgeous colours!

The "Arty" Shot!

A lone berry ripens, but soon many more will follow.

Earlier, I forgot to share the Angel's Fishing Rod Dierama pulcherrimum
photographs, so here is one now ~~~ gently bobbing in the breeze and all dripping with early morning dew ~~~

One of my favourite flowers in the garden are the Japanese Wind Anemones. This is the time of year they begin to fill the borders where the Summer flowers are faded past their best and the ruby red hips of roses have not yet reached their glory ~~~ Here are some of the early flowers {this year I have observed that there are, sadly, not as many blooms as normal, but the plants are nearly six feet in height. They have never been so tall, so I wonder what is going on?} ~~~

The Whirling Dervish

So, Dear Friends, I sign off this lovely, gently sunny Sunday morning, for there are things to be done today that I must not put off ~~~ and it is such a lovely day it will be hard to put my mind to tasks at hand ~~~ oh! fiddle~dee~dee! ~~~ the weather is too fine to spend indoors, so the garden wins today ~~~

Until next time ~~~
Sincerely yours
Deborah 

GBBO is Back, so More Cake ~~~ and more books too ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ There is always room for one more book {or two} and cake. Last week saw the very welcome return of Great British Bake Off .  Has it really been just less than a year since Nancy Birtwhistle won?  Do you remember 'bingate'? Are we really now on Series 6? How time flies when you are having fun.

Have you watched it? What do you think so far?  I think they made the correct decision with who went home at the end of Episode 1, but was so shocked at the end of Episode 2. From Star Baker to going home in less than a week!  Such a shock, I guess no one knows which way the judges will call.

I had never made a Madeira Cake before, so decided to set to in the kitchen, where Emily is always ready to help.  I used my trusty Mary Berry's Baking Bible recipe and this is what we got ~~~ one Madeira Cake complete with the requisite crack in the centre {apparently, this crack is a signature of a good Madeira Cake} ~~~

Deeply Cracked Madeira Cake

Cracked Across the Perfectly Risen Top

If you are interested, Lakeland Ltd have brought out a range of GBBO products, but I'm quite happy with how my kitchen is stocked, so won't be taking them up on any of their tempting offers.

So, we have our cake, let's put the kettle on because there are more books to think about this week. We have a new postman, and so far he has delivered five parcels of books to my cottage since he started this round just over a week ago! Poor man, trudging up our drive with heavy parcels!  Never one to be able to resist a bargain, how could I possibly say no to two books in like new condition by one of my favourite illustrators, Mary Engelbreit, were made available to me for the princely sum of just 24 pence {plus nominal postage charges} for the two!  So, here they are, just arrived, Mary Engelbreit's "Autumn", and her "Christmas Companion". Bargains or what? Sometimes I think that vendors don't know what they have on their hands! My good luck on that one then.  I also secured a copy of Mary's "Winter" and that is on the way.  One man's rubbish, another man's treasure and all that ~~~

Books by Mary Engelbreit, Illustrator

So, if you will excuse me, there is cake to eat, tea to sip, and books to be read ~~~ until the next time ~~~ when I promise I will try to return to the garden ~~~

Sincerely yours
Deborah

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String ~~~

~~~ these are a few of my favourite things ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ are you singing too? Oh, I do love a parcel in the post, especially when it is tied up with string! Of course, Post Office rules and regulations no longer permit string on the outside {spoilsports} so the best one can hope for these days is that once you have torn off the bubble~wrap envelope, something exciting awaits inside ~~~

Today, that very thing happened, as it so often does when I order from the wonderful Much Ado Books ~~~ I saw this book on one of their Instagram pictures ~~~

Bought from Much Ado Books

~~~ and just had to have it.

Being the thoughtful people they are, they'd baked up a batch of the most delicious looking peanut butter brownies to share with customers, and along side sat this book. Now, my eye was not drawn immediately to the book, you understand.  Some things, such as peanut butter cookies, can distract even the most avid reader's attention away from books. However, once I'd got over the brownies and regained my composure, I knew I just had to get a copy because, not only does it sound a jolly good read, I just love the cover ~~~ which is probably the most crazy mad reason to buy a book, but this is how it is sometimes in the madness that is my world ~~~

Now, as I don't live near, I can't nip over and help them demolish the brownies, so the next best thing is how the book actually arrives ~~~ they always take such care, and pride, in how they send your purchases out ~~~ each book is lovingly wrapped up, tied with string, and a sweet, hand made tag and hand written message. A tea bag or two is always tucked inside, for they know that good reading must always be accompanied by some tea ~~~

 ~~~ Brown Paper Package, Tied Up With String ~~~

Isn't that pomegranate print that has a lovely, hand written note on the back, just so creative and thoughtful? I might frame it.

I hope to start the book this evening, so I'll be letting you know soon how I'm enjoying it ~~~ and as I munch my way through the pages, I'll imagine I'm munching on peanut butter brownies too ~~~

Sincerely yours
Deborah xoxo

Five Minute Butter Bean Salad Recipe

Gentle Reader ~~~ I was stuck with a Fridge Raid supper tonight, and came up with this little gem of a recipe using a can of butter beans from my store cupboard, a few bits and bobs from the salad bin, and seasonings that I always have on hand, so here it is, Five Minute Butter Bean Salad with a Hemp Oil and Minted Lemon dressing ~~~

Ingredients {approx two servings}
1 can Butter Beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 large red pepper {diced small}
4 spring onions {scallions, salad onions} cleaned and snipped into small pieces
1/2 a ripe avocado {diced small}
2 teaspoons Hemp oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
Chiffonade of 4 or 5 mint leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the vegetables; rinse and drain the beans. Put everything in a mixing bowl and drizzle with Hemp oil and lemon juice. Toss gently to coat and dress the ingredients. Sprinkle with the mint. Check seasoning and adjust to taste. Chill for half an hour before serving.

This was so simple, nutritious, and very tasty. Of course, you can switch things around ~ chives or red onion instead of the spring onions, olive oil instead of Hemp, basil instead of mint.  I think I will add some tomatoes to the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch!

Buon Appetit!

Slipping into Autumn ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ a very quick dip in and out today ~~~ and a warm welcome to all the new followers who have joined in the last two weeks! I hope you enjoy my ramblings, and help yourself to tea and cake ~of course, all cake is calorie free here~

Here in The Shire Summer simply has not happened, and is more like a damp squib. Until a fortnight or so ago it was more Spring~like, and even then not as warm as Spring should be. The truth is, I am still having the heating on very first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening ~~~ yes, it is that chilly!  Sturdy breezes and stiff winds have blown almost every day, so there has been no respite from my hair flying about my face each time I step outside my cottage door. One major benefit, though, is the winds dry lines full of laundry in record time! Hurrah!

Vintage Table Linens Blowing Dry on an Early Spring Day at the Cottage

Here is a video of the sounds of the relentless winds blowing around the shrubs trees in a neighbouring garden to the Cottage ~~~

{isn't that buddleia magnificent?}

So, for the past fortnight or so, as the sun now sinks noticeably lower in the sky, the evenings already draw in, and the lights are switched on an hour earlier now than a month ago, my thoughts turn to Autumn. Each morning, as I step outside, the air is cooler, the light is softer, and there is that certain feeling to the air that words cannot describe, but my heart knows that Autumn is a knocking at the door, gently reminding Summer that her days are nearly over for another year {but Summer went on holiday, didn't she? So, Autumn, come on in!}

The bees are buzzing lazily about the garden, flitting from bloom to bloom, gathering the pollen for the hive ~~~ and I find I cannot wait a moment longer to begin unpacking my Autumn boxes ~~~ so away to Spider Village I go {the attic} and bring down the first one, the one that contains the Autumn mugs.  I will hold off for another month before I decorate, for I know it is too much for some ~ and the mugs are a subtle introduction that make me happy, and few will realise that I'm slipping into Autumn mode today {~~~shhh! it is our little secret}

Here they are, I now have four Emma Bridgewater mugs of Autumn theme, so it was bye bye to Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny, and Rose and Bee, my Summer mugs, and welcome Autumn patterns ~~~

~~~ Pumpkins, Foliage, Sunflowers ~~~
and a limited edition {centre front} sold to raise funds for The Woodland Trust

While I was washing them, I thought I'd take a photo of some of the marks that are put on the base to identify them as by Emma Bridgewater.  Look how many different ones there are ~~~ apparently, she designs different ones for each collection, and changed them every year! My goodness ~ there must be hundreds of different ones to know ~~~

Potter's Marks over the years

Do you decorate for Autumn? Do you have any special things you use, recipes, ornaments, traditions?  It is a time for many things I love ~ pumpkins, hot chocolate, reading, bonfires on the beach {wrap up warm, Thermos of hot soup} but here is a bonfire on the beach in August on Martha's Vineyard, for this is the August image for my Susan Branch 2015 wall calendar.

Summer on Martha's Vineyard  ©Susan Branch 

Soon there will be a new book too, by Susan Branch, "The Fairy Tale Girl" available for pre~order here.  I hope to have my copy in time for Christmas.

Well, Dear Friends, I did say this was a quick dip in and out today, and I have already overstayed my time! Until the next time ~~~

Sincerely yours
Deborah

Getting the Tea and Cake in Order ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ The weather in The Shire, in fact across much of the British Isles, today is appalling, so it is a day for taking my mind off the winds that howl around the cottage in their most unseasonal manner, accompanied by heavy rains of the same ilk ~~~ To the kitchen I go for a spot of comfort and distraction by baking cakes for the freezer.  Before I go, shall I reflect for a moment upon that most British traditional supplementary repast ~~~ Tea and Cake?

A gardener, or a crafter, or anyone who simply appreciates Elevenses as that most sacred of mid~morning rituals of refreshment, must get their priorities in order ~~~ ensuring a proper and constant supply of tea and cake.

To this end, last week, it was with shock and horror I realised that my tea chest was starting to resemble the cupboard of Old Mother Hubbard ~~~ looking rather bare ~~~

~~~ so I hastily put in an order to Twinings for more supplies, which thankfully arrived quickly ~~~

and now all is well, the tea chest is full to overflowing once more, with plenty of boxes in store {but I am sure they will not last that long, are you?} There are plenty of my favourites, Gingerbread Green Tea, Apple and Cinnamon Black Tea, as well as a new flavour, Cherry Bakewell ~~~ I'll let you know!

There, doesn't this look better?

In celebration of approaching Autumn, I treated myself to a new 'Autumn' mug {I buy one every year} in the Emma Bridgewater Summer Sale ~~~ the Sunflower half pint; Oh! My! while I was shopping, a Rose and Bee teacup somehow slipped into my cart as well ~~~ but I think it is just the perfect shape for hot chocolate in the cooler months ahead, don't you?

To the Most Important Matter of Cake ~~~ some considerable time ago, I came across a Delia Smith recipe that I wished to try, but could not find one of the key ingredients, Coconut Milk Powder. I then espied it on a well known online retail shop {I refuse to speak the name out loud} at an exorbitant price for a rather absurdly large quantity of a kilogram, when all I needed was three tablespoons! Well, that was no good so the wait was on.  I put on my Patience Hat.  Then, one day, as if by magic, the ingredient drifted on to my computer screen while I was looking for something else ~~~ a reasonable quantity at an acceptable price, so I snapped it up!  Cake baking ~~~ here we come!

So, today I can make the Fresh Lime and Coconut Cake ~~~ courtesy of Delia Smith's recipe here.  Off to the kitchen I go ~~~ Emily is ready to help ~~~

~~~ time passes ~~~~

The result is that it made an oddly shallow sponge which did not rise at all. Comparing it to the image in the book, Delia's Cakes, {below} Delia's didn't rise either ~~~ so I think it is how it is meant to be ~~~

Anyway, here it is ~~~

As you can see, I ran out of limes, and frankly it did not appeal to me to have raw lime zest, or wedges of pure, unsweetened limes decorating the cake ~~~ bit too tart, I think, so if I bake this again I will devise something more acceptable to my palette for decoration ~~~ I also made the icing slightly thicker as I did not want it running off the cake as Delias does ~~~

If I make it again, I will be making some serious tweaks to the recipe, not least increasing the eggs, flour, sugar, and butter to give a fatter sponge!

Even though it's a bit too fresh to cut, I could not resist temptation, so I took a small slice to test it ~ someone has to do it!  Frankly, it is disappointingly bland considering there are three fresh limes therein! Maybe it will improve after a day or two, so I'll let you know next time how it tastes.

Until next time,
Sincerely yours,
Deborah

Did Somebody Say Summer?

Gentle Reader ~~~ Can you feel it? Do you smell it? There ~~~ just a fleeting glimpse and it is gone for a moment, but will be here again shortly ~~~ of course, I am talking about Autumn, for I can barely contain my excitement that my favourite season of them all is nearly with us once more ~~~

Summer has barely appeared in the west, our temperatures struggled to break into the 60's and the wind has blown and the rain has rained ~~~ and most days the heating is on, especially in the late evenings, as the days begin to shorten and jewelled sunset, cloud~filled skies bedeck the horizon, with soft, rose~gold light welcoming the evening, bidding the day a fond farewell, and slipping into the rich, velvety purple of a moonlight night ~~~

I am not complaining! I cannot take the heat so this cooler, more tempered weather has suited me well, although a little less wind and rain would not have gone amiss ~~~

Regrettably, I did not complete the ICAD challenge this year.  I was unwell, then Mum was unwell, and over a week went by, and I fell so far behind in the daily challenge that it suddenly became catchup and a chore. Art is not about being a chore, it is all about pleasure, and that is why I'm not taking part for the remainder, but who knows what I will get up to next?  Thank you all for your very kind comments and encouragement, and maybe next year some of you will take part too?

So, how does my garden grow?  With all the rain it grows rather well, despite the lack of warming sun, it is quite lush and verdant, and as we might expect the weeds are doing exceptionally well ~~~ {insert hysterical laughter here} I even managed to miss one week of putting out the fortnightly garden waste collection, so shame on me!

Nature is quite a miracle, she keeps things ticking over, even during periods of neglect ~~~ here are some pictures of what flowered ~~~

The firey orange of the Crocosmia Lucifer which has done particularly well
this year ~~~

with the purple beauty of the dwarf clematis ~~~

The gentle, innocent, and daisy~like flowers of Feverfew ~~~

and the delicate pink of a cultivated Verbascum ~~~

or the feathery blue of a Nigella ~~~ Love in a Mist ~~~

a patch of borage, perfect to garnish your Pimms or G&T ~~~

Lots of different grasses bring interest, movement, and neutral colour to the garden ~~~

and my favourite, native Mullein {Verbascum}

Now I have a conundrum {yet again!} and we must wait and see ~~~ I discovered a beautiful, peachy pink poppy growing on the side of the drive ~~~ it has all the attributes of the wild field poppies that are strewn over my entire garden, yet it is this pretty, and very unusual colour.

At first, I thought a bloom had bleached out in the sun, but then successive flowers opened in the same colour, so I have tied raffia around the stem to mark it out and will harvest the seed heads separately in the hopes that it will come true again in the future. Fingers Crossed ~~~ I would love to know if you have any suggestions or thoughts on this too ~~~

Here is the sunset that graced our westering skies last evening ~~~

Can you see the animal {be it cat, dog, or maybe even a unicorn?} galloping across the evening sky?  Remember, don't look too hard at my garden, just see all the beautiful blooms, the raindrops, and the sunsets ~~~ and ignore the weeds!

Until next time ~~~
Sincerely yours ~~~ Deborah

ICAD Week Six and We're On A Roll

Gentle Reader ~~~ yes, we are on a roll, literally, this week for the prompts all week long are for games ~ not all involve dice as you will see ~~~ and the media prompt is a colour palette of your choice daily, any medium.~~~ so ~~~

***edit*** this has only three of the seven daily prompts. I have been ill in bed for most of the week and have not felt like standing {or sitting} to work on anything ~~~ I have even missed three of the Wimbledon finals, but am making certain not to miss the Men's Final this afternoon. So, here is my 'short' week. I do not know yet if I will try to play catch up on the missed ones, or just carry on from here ~~~

Day 36 {yes, we really are on day 36} brought a prompt of Backgammon.

One of the oldest games known in the world, but all the boards I've seen are neutral and masculine, so I decided to use a pink palette making it a bit girly adding some pink pearly Nuvo Drops accents.  The wording I used, Acey Deucey, is because many years ago I frequently played this variation on the rules.  I used mixed scrap papers and cut the wording out using my Brother Scan n' Cut and squiggled some scribbles around the edges with a Fine Liner ~~~

One day, the prompt was Monopoly {I lost count while in bed}
I used to love playing Monopoly. I was ruthless! This is made up of street names coloured and written using Spectrum Noir alcohol pens and Fine Liners. I think the colours really look like I cut out rectangles from my old board ~~~

Today, I think it might be 42, the prompt is Scrabble. This took me less than five minutes as I am still very shaky and not good at doing much else other than sitting in my arm chair {I have a bowl of Haagen Dazs Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream in lieu of berries and cream to fortify me while watching Wimbledon}, so it is not much of a muchness but, although rough it sums up my feelings on art ~~~ well, just a little ~~~ it isn't easy when you haven't any hwyl as we say in Wales ~~~

I did promise a small garden update, but obviously that has not happened either, and there is a small excitement to share too, so I hope to catch up on that during the coming week ~~~

Until next time ~~~

We're Over Half Way Now!

Gentle Reader ~~~

Week Five brings a fresh variety of prompts and suggested media too. Up until now I am using predominantly what I have to hand as I do not want this to turn into an expensive project buying yet more materials to add to my collection ~ it is time I used some of what I have!

The prompt for Day 29 was Ice Cream ~~~ okay, shush! I know, we all scream for ice cream!  I did a layered hand dyed tissue sea/sky with a pearlescent golden sand for my background.  The wood cut style stamp can be waves on the sea, or hills against the sky, depending which way your traditional deck chairs are facing. The chairs and gull ~ with his beady eye waiting for that scoop of vanilla ice cream to fall from the crunchy cone ~ are stamped images, coloured by hand and cut out then stuck to the scene with foam pads giving a 3:d effect ~~~

Day 30 and the prompt was Telephone. Okay, self confessed Whovian alert ~~~ I couldn't pass this one up without a reference to my favourite Time Lord, could I?

I had a lot of fun planning this one. It is not meant to be a great work of art, I wanted to keep it more graphic style and simple to let the humour and the geek speak for themselves ~~~

Day 31 Trivia ~~~ okay, I went a bit off piste with this, but stick with me ~~~
Not one to take things at face value, and not wanting to go down the route of finding some obscure fact to portray, off I went to Google.
Trivia has it's roots in Latin, two words, tri {three} and via {road} In Roman days, this was the name for the point where one road divided and became two, or the point where three roads converged. People would often gather for short periods of time to pass the time of day and chat about snippets of information ~ which is how the definition of trivia as we know it today, snippets of information, came about.  If you are interested, it might be worth a Google, because I was quite surprised at the origins and other things I learned just by researching "Trivia"

So, I thought, gathering of people needs food, so let's have a picnic. A rough sketch in gouache, with type written text using my late Daddy's vintage Imperial typewriter and my own home made carbon paper using an oil pastel ~~~ Tea with that sandwich, dah~ling?

My late Daddy's vintage Imperial Typewriter ~~~

Day 32 the prompt was Weather ~~~ woha boy! could go over board on this, what with all the different types of weather, rainbows, weather songs, list goes on, but in the end I settled for a jolly yellow sun with a few raindrops that are not going to rain on the parade ~~~ because I don't care what the weather man says ~~~

hand dyed tissue; typewritten text with home made carbon paper on tissue; Spectrum Noir sun on water colour paper {cut out and stuck on}; pearlescent ink raindrops ~~~

Day 32 the prompts were either Mad Men or I Love Lucy. I have never heard of Mad Men, and know very little about I Love Lucy so I went off prompt with a set of Hobby Art stamps of sunflowers and coloured them in by hand using Spectrum Noir products from Crafter's Companion.

I long to visit Provence to see the sunflowers in the fields, and lavender in long purple row upon row under endless blue skies ~~~

Day 34 the prompt was Flag.  Naturally, I did a little interpretation of the Welsh flag, and it was a lone Welsh flag in a sea of Star Spangled Banners, so here it is ~~~ I used a sticker of the Red Dragon and included a small group of daffodils as they are the national flower of Wales ~~~

The final day of Week 5, Day 35, was Portrait. Struggled a bit, but then the muse descended and Saint Anthony helped me find a small envelope of old postage stamps I'd saved for just this very moment. As he was helping me find them, we came across a packet with a perfect image of the Mona Lisa on the front! Yay ~~~ exactly what was needed to help fill the card! A couple of other found bits and bobs and Robert's Your Mother's Brother ~~~ {or Bob's your Uncle}

Onwards and Upwards, as they say, to Week 6.  Do stop by mid week as I'm hoping to put up a wee entry on the garden!