Company's Coming!

Hello Friends!

I hope you had a blessed Easter, however you celebrate.  For some reason, it's taking me a while to get back into this week, and every day feels like Monday. 

I have a question for you.  Now, I never thought this would ever be something I would ask.  Next week, I host my first guests in over fourteen months.  The strict safety guidelines must still apply, just two guests {I can have up to six outside my Bubble} and we will be socially distanced, wrapped up warmly, outside in the garden.  No hugging, not indoors, not even sitting close, and they are even bringing their own chairs.  We are all vaccinated, but we must not let things slip now, these guidelines must continue until we kick Covid's butt.  So, here's my etiquette question.

Is it good or bad manners to place a pump of hand sanitiser on the refreshments table?  I feel, although an odd thing, it's good manners and lets your guests feel a little more secure, knowing you are doing your very best to take care of their safety.  What do you think?

So, instead of that old familiar situation of getting more cleaning done in the thirty minutes before your guests arrive, I'm mowing the garden and pulling weeds instead of vacuum cleaning and dusting malarkey!  I'm not ready to share garden photos just yet, still ashamed of the mess, and there's a long way to go. My "befores" are waiting, though, ready to go when I am ready.  It's not very nice out at the moment, cold and windy, and this is making me hold off, partly as I don't want to be out in the cold which plays havoc with my arthritis, and partly because I have nowhere that is protected enough to bring anything on by way of seeds and young plants.  It is warming up, though, next week ~ Company's Coming!

Speaking of arthritis, I feel compelled to share this with you. I have suffered with arthritis for some time, mainly in my legs and spine, but spreading.  Anyone who suffers with this knows how painful and unpredictable it can be, in my case particularly at night.  I follow a vegetarian diet, and love cheese, although I don't drink milk. I heard that milk and milk products can inflame arthritis, so although giving up cheese is my worst food nightmare, I have given it a go. Anything made with, or containing milk is out of my diet.  It didn't take long for my night time pain and discomfort to ease considerably, and I noticed I can now lead with my right leg when going up steps, something that has been painful and difficult for a long, long time now.  Then we had Easter.  I thought I could risk a little milk, milk products, just for one day.  So, I ate my milk chocolate eggs, spread unsalted butter lavishly on my Hot Cross Buns, made my richly creamy mushroom dish for Easter dinner, and treated myself to a small trifle with custard and cream.  After the following night, it turns out that may have been milk overload.  My legs burned all night, uncomfortably painful, sleep depriving pain keeping me awake.  So, that's it.  From now on, not even the smallest break from a milk free diet.  Much as I adore cheese, I dislike pain more.  I can still enjoy chocolate, just 70% dark or greater.

Having said that, there's a tad of butter to finish, and I cannot resist having a tiny amount on a slice of still warm, fresh~from~the~oven, Irish Soda bread.  If I suffer, I know what I am doing wrong.

I was recently given a couple of bags of snowdrops in the green, so have popped them into some holding pots until I know where they will go.  All of my previous snowdrops have disappeared.  Where? Why? I cannot answer.  Mice? Who knows?  I don't.  My neighbour has lost all hers too. 

Our weather, both sides of  The Pond, is bizarre.  Frankly, I'm a little fed up and more than a little disconcerted to see many on Social Media branding it as "quirky" and making jokes, when in reality it is very serious.  This is the reality of Climate Change.

Meanwhile, the garden is springing back to life.  Brambles continue to be chopped, an ongoing task, and I am frankly amazed at how much the lawn has shot up since I mowed it for the first time this year, not two weeks ago!  This year, it is actually green instead of the usual spring time yellow, and full of daisies and dandelions too.

While I watch the garden grow, from my living room, I have been painting.  I confess, I did not draw these images, but used stamps.  This first one I used some for Easter cards.

and this one is my favourite flower, a scene made using about eight or nine scene builder stamps.  I have shown it as I build it up.

Which led me to another scene, this time using stamps from two different scene builder sets, done twice on  different paper using Inktense paint pans

Easter did not go overlooked by my little helper, who was delighted with his chocolate egg

Meanwhile, back in the garden, I have discovered these, several plants that I believe are white comfrey plants.  The bees love them, so they're keepers indeed.

Before I go, I shall leave you with this quote

‘We have come as far as we have because we are the cleverest creatures to have ever lived on Earth. But if we are to continue to exist, we will require more than intelligence. We will require wisdom.’

Sir David Attenborough

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well.

Easter Baking

Hello Friends!

Easter heralds the start of many things, new beginnings, and for some the easing of lockdown so that a socially distanced and responsible gathering of friends outside can happen as the weather {hopefully}  improves, although we are getting a properly Arctic blast for Easter Monday.

image source: Wikipedia

I grew up with the tradition of Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday, we always had them toasted as a breakfast treat. I used the Doves Farm recipe this year, which was not without it's problems.  The dough rose absolutely perfectly, it could not have been better.

Normally, I make my crosses using marzipan.  However, not having any to hand, I followed the flour and water paste method in the recipe. Despite my best attempt, after baking, the crosses had disappeared entirely, so I panicked!  Hot Cross Buns without a cross are just buns.  Oh, dear.  Then I suddenly remembered seeing someone make water icing and using that.  So, that's what I did.  I made a thick drizzle and although not perfect by any means, my Hot Cross Buns now have crosses.

Cross~less buns, hot from the oven

and after the iced crosses are drizzled on

Probably my best effort.

I did try one, for quality control purposes, you understand, hot from the oven, before the crosses were added, but my favourite way to eat them is lightly toasted and thickly slathered in unsalted Welsh butter.  Deee~licious, even if a little rustic looking.

When is a Hot Cross Bun not a Hot Cross Bun?
When it's scone {gone}

I didn't bake a huge amount, just enough for me for the weekend, but happily shared with a neighbour. It was lovely to see her for the first time in oh! so many months, and have a socially distanced doorstep visit, so much missed, although we speak often on the phone.

Here's my chocolate and vanilla Easter Egg Cake, rich, dark, chocolatey goodness indeed.  One of my favourite things to bake for Easter Day Afternoon Tea.  I now have three killer ingredients, secret of course, for my chocolate cake!

With the weather being decidedly chilly, I won't be risking any gardening for a few days, and Easter Monday is predicted to bring a cold, Arctic blast to us, so later today I shall be doing more baking, keeping warm and snug in my cosy cottage kitchen baking Irish Soda Bread and Cherry Scones {which are new to me}.  I'll let you know how I get on, as scones are not my forte.

Until next time

Stay Safe, Stay Well

Have a Joyful, Blessed Easter Day

A Song Parody

Hello Friends!

Enter, stage right, rural gardener with fork, wheelbarrow and hoe. Cue music and 🎵 sing 🎶 {tune: The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music}

"My short run of Spring has come to an end I know

The winds and the clouds have told me it's time to go

But deep from the darkening rain clouds

The raindrops do fall pitter pat

And the earth 'neath my feet starts to darken

As raindrops fall and bring the earth to life

And seeds start to grow ~~~

The Garden's Alive with the Sound of Raindrops

A sound we have known for a million years

The rain fills my heart with the sound of growing

My heart wants to pick every flower that grows

My heart wants to dance on the grass, on the cool wet grass

Where the sweet daisies grow

My heart wants to sing with the garden birds

Who are all in the know

My gardening is stopped at the sound of raindrops

But the growing begins

My garden is blessed with the sound of raindrops

And will grow once more ~~~

Yes, my friends, the weather has changed. Although it's been chilly, it's been dry. I have spent hours clearing the brambles, and am making progress. The lawn is mowed for the first time this year. A mini heatwave is forecast for the coming week, we may reach 20℃ which will feel hot when juxtaposed to these cooler days. However, I awoke this morning with my cottage sitting under a heavy blanket of wild Welsh wind whipped grey cloud from horizon to horizon and everything is wet from the rain last night. As I write, patches of blue sky emerge, fighting their way, stoically, through the clouds, but rain is winning the battle ~ a double edged sword ~ for we need the rain to swell and nourish the seeds into growth, but so will grow the weeds, and although, when I next return to the garden, it will again be weed covered, for they will have grasped their opportunity and already started to fill in the dark, bare ground that I have spent days clearing ~~~

~~~"A Gardener's Work is Never Done"~~~

Won't it be wonderful to see Red Kites hovering over my cottage again? I took this one a few years ago.

A few photos of what's flowering right now, or preparing to make it's return in a few weeks.

Happily, my favourite Pulsitilla has reappeared again this year

Finally, my Rosa Rugosa was getting very sparse on the bottom, and no flowers until you got to the top, over six feet tall, with lots of leaves in the middle and few flowers, so a few months ago, I hard pruned it back by half, chopping off the top completely. So, I am delighted to show you that, all along the lower stems, shoots, and lovely strong ones at that, have begun to appear. I am hoping, as any gardener always hopes, that the Summer months will bring a good display of flowers at a much better height for viewing and sniffing.

Until next time

Stay Safe, Stay Well

Change {part two}

 Hello Friends!

In a recent blog entry I wrote about change, and went a little deep; change has always been a part of our existence; we may not like change, for we are creatures of habit, at least I am, and some change is for the good, but it is all around us and, for better or worse, change is mostly unavoidable.  

Change is the one constant force in all our lives.

I know several of you will know what I am talking about when I say Facebook Daily Memories.  They're something from the archives that pop up daily.  I always enjoyed them, but no longer. I used to look back fondly at the days out with family or friends; or time spent at a crowded theatre or concert; events in public places; going to a café for lunch, or a coffee and cake break; a day out on a packed bus; and I would smile, laugh, and reminisce;  but now, underlying the happy emotions of the reminders lurks a deep sense of sadness and longing, the hiraeth for what may never be the same again.  Will we ever be able to do some of those things in complete safety, or will there now always be risk attached, and some things we took for granted we may just have to let go? Even once we've all been fully vaccinated; even now as our third lockdown is slowly eased another wave appears on the horizon from Europe. Will we have to learn to live with the current, unwelcome changes for ever?  I cannot dwell on this, I have to try and change my mindset, or be engulfed by darkness, yet I think I may be doing nothing more than saying what many of us are thinking in these days of unfamiliar life. 

Like many now, I have had my first vaccine, and hope it will help me look forward to some changes that will allow me a little more freedom.  Despite the vaccine, I think the change of Hands, Face, Space is set to be with us for a very, very long time to come.  At least with Summer coming, we can have socially responsible garden meet ups.  I don't even think meeting up indoors with people outside your Bubble is a consideration yet, and I know I am not alone with my fear that many will think the vaccine makes them invincible and give the green light for socialising at close quarters.

Quoting from a BBC News article:

The link between infections and serious illness or death has been "severely weakened", says diseases expert Prof Mark Woolhouse, of Edinburgh University.

But if infection levels rise high enough the virus "will find those" who are unvaccinated and those for whom the vaccine hasn't worked, he says.

We must not forget that the virus is constantly changing, mutating, too.  Hands; Face; Space  is set to be with us for a long, long time to come.

A very positive thing to counterbalance the changes brought by the virus is that Hands, Face, Space has caused seasonal 'flu cases in Wales plummet from 1657 last 'flu season, to just 18, so far, this 'flu season.  I am not undermining the severity of Covid 19, and none of us asked for it to happen, but if we take these figures we can see how important some simple changes can be.

An interesting read.

As creatures of habit, how many of us actually welcome change? I think it probably depends on what it is that is changing, and what those changes are.  Three words that put fear into my heart are "New and Improved" or "New Recipe" on a favourite, often much loved product I am accustomed to, and want it to remain exactly as it is.  I recall when Galaxy chocolate said it was now a new, even smoother, bar.  I bought one, half went in the bin.  I have not bought it since.

This is a little gem of a quaint and curious film made in 1958 by the Esso Refinery to promote Pembrokeshire reflects some of the many changes over sixty years to an ancient shire.  Charming in it's vintage style, the music at times reminiscent of an old movie, it epitomises a time gone by ~~~ changed forever ~~~ and many of the industries portrayed within are now no longer practised, or have been mechanised, or become a rare craft or skill practised only by a small minority, whereas once they were the skills by which every day life was made possible ~~~

* it is about 30 minutes, so go and make a pot of tea, raid your cake tin, and settle into a comfy chair ~~~

Change is everywhere in my village these days, even without the virus which has brought challenges of it's own, and little of it for the better, as the Post Office, banks, newsagents, community facilities, and several shops close their doors forever. It saddens me to watch the thriving local community that once had such heart and purpose, shrivel and wither at the hands of people who do not even live in the county. I will speak no more on this.

I have lived most of my life in this one, small village, and I must now put up my hand and say I am guilty of taking it for granted.  Who amongst us ever thought to take photographs of the streets, houses and hostelries, the green fields that surround us, that wall over there, or the gate at the end of the path closed off, a front garden turned into off road parking space? Small, and little by little, some of these things have changed, nibble by unnoticeable nibble, but now a different landscape sits before me, forever different, forever changed.  Who remembers what they looked like ten, twenty, or fifty years ago?

One change I wish had happened decades ago is the advent of digital photography.  Since going digital I have hundreds of thousands of photos, but something else has changed.  I hardly ever print them off.

Even this simple and beautiful view along my drive is now changed, for the neighbours on both sides, to whom the trees belonged, have cut the branches right back, even removing the trees completely. It makes me sad to see such butchered branches, but I have immense joy and gratitude that I captured their beauty before the changes took place ~~~

“Not forever does the bulbul sing

In balmy shades of bowers,

Not forever lasts the spring

Nor ever blossom the flowers.

Not forever reigneth joy,

Sets the sun on days of bliss,

Friendships not forever last,

They know not life, who know not this.”

 Khushwant Singh, Train to Pakistan

Even the seeming constancy of the sun and moon changes  ~~~ Did you know that the reason we see a perfectly aligned solar eclipse is because, right now, the moon is the perfect distance between the Earth and the Earth is just the right distance from the sun, and that the sun's diameter is just right at the current distance to create a perfectly aligned, total eclipse?  Come back in a few thousand years and the distances will all be changed and the moon will no longer block out the sun, but make a smaller, dark circle within the blinding light of the sun.  

The night was clear and cold and the light of the moon was bright and bold

Magical clouds created a magical backdrop

Spooky branches and scudding clouds that change the scene again

Something else has changed, very gradually, over more than forty years since my first grey hair appeared.  More than a few trips to the salon, and more than a few home disasters, my hair is now changed completely from blonde, by way of mouse, and salt and pepper, to grey, or silver as I prefer to call it.

That is actually one change welcomed with open arms!

When I wrote about change in my last blog, it's triggered a huge avalanche of thought and idea in this poor old Pooh Bear brain of mine.  Acceptance of change, reflecting on change and looking back at how change makes us what we are.  Not all change is bad, and maybe we just need to learn to be more embracing of change, less ready to reject it simply because we are creatures of habit, and we don't like to adjust?  Maybe this is a lesson we can learn, to behove, for our improvement, from the pandemic? I know that my habits of a lifetime are now changed forever, and I will move on more quickly if I agree with myself to accept the changes over which I have no control.

Oh, and ugh! The clocks spring forward this weekend, one change I don't like at all, although once my body clock gets over it, I will welcome that extra hour of daylight in the evening for gardening, and sitting out if the weather ever improves!

I think I have rambled on enough for one blog.  Next time, all change, back to the garden!

 

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well

Daffodil Solution Found!

Hello Friends!

Jumping back a short while now, and as promised a quick little update on the vase of top heavy daffodils that kept on lying down for a rest. You can read about it here.  I feel I should say that, despite the original difficulties, now that a solution is found, they are very definitely worth the effort, as they are so very pretty.

Thank you to everyone, on here and Instagram, for your suggestions to cut the stems and put in a different vase.  However, as this has happened before, I know that is not a solution as the bend just reoccurs further up until there's no stem left to bend.

I found an empty passata jar, recently thrown in the recycling bin, which looks rather like a quaint, old fashioned glass milk bottle, and I had an idea.  I put the daffodils on the counter, shaping the big, double blooms into a pompom, tied them securely together, but not too snuggly, with some garden twine, trimmed the stems, and put them in the passata jar with plenty of fresh, clean water.  Four days later and they still look fresh as a daisy, well, daffodils, not daisies, but you know what I mean!

They were still beautifully fresh on Mothering Sunday to sit alongside this photo of my lovely mother, taken for her twenty first birthday.  Thanks to Covid, this is the first year every I did not buy special flowers, but I think she would have loved these just as much, and I know that, as she watches over me, she understands.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well