Unbought Delicacies: July.................

Tuesday, 1 July 2008

July.................

....here it is, first day of July. Anglo-Saxon names for the month include Heymonath or Maedmonath, referring respectively to haymaking and the flowering of the meadows; looking forward to some lovely summer weather, today is glorious out there, off out in a bit. This month we have St Swithin's day (15th) and the Tolpuddle FEstival, which I would love to go to, we'll see.

CROP CIRCLES

Apparently, July is THE month for crop circles..........a phenomenon dating from the 1970s. Who makes them? Extraterrestrials? Underlying energy fields? Freak weather conditions? Pranksters? I really don't know, but my Muscovy ducks did a good rendition of one in th middle of my wheat................:0)

4 comments:

Goosey said...: I've been enjoying reading your blog...I'm a no-shop shopper and have been for about 2 years now. I haven't darkened the door of any of the major supermarkets although I have been known to pop into Waitrose which is local to me...but no big shops any more, hand basket only. I can honestly say that it's cheaper, the veggies come via a box scheme, meat from the butcher, make my own bread or a bakery if I'm short of time ( like you I'm a nurse and shifts are rubbish for organisation!!)so I admire what you are trying to do. will keep an eye on your blog BW Goosey; 1 July 2008 at 17:55
MrsL said...: Thanks Goosey! I'm not a nurse, though...........
Waitrose is the most tempting of the big shops, I agree........:0); 1 July 2008 at 20:02
Goosey said...: Sorry about the mistake...I can only plead that I wrote after a long night shift!!!!Am still enjoying reading back in your blog now I have found you. TC Goosey; 2 July 2008 at 11:14
MrsL said...: As a mother, though, I am a part-time occasional nurse I suppose........ :0)
Glad you're enjoying the blog - I enjoy writing it, helps me get my brain sort of organised for a short time.....; 2 July 2008 at 11:30

I have found such joy

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through the door.
I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.
Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things- old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.

~ Grace Noll Crowell

Ideas for handmade gifts

Small knitteds - gloves, scarves, hot water bottle covers, hats, tea cosies, phone covers, little toys,,cushion covers, bags. Some of these can be felted/fulled for extra interest.
Edibles - chutneys and jams, pickles, nice teas in a vintage/retro tin, sweeties, toffees, mustard, home made wine and liqueurs, home dried fruits, ketchups.
For the home - trimmed tea towels, handknitted dishcloths, quilted wallhangings, small samplers, restored picture frames, pot pourri, lavender bags, covered coathangers, little scented bags for hanging on handles, framed photos of family,etc you've taken yourself, pincushion,needle book, scissor keeper, book of promises (eg babysitting, 1 hour's housework, the ironing, etc)
Bathtime - homemade soap, bath oils, bath salts, knitted washcloths, herbal bags for the bath, hand sewn toilet bags, trimmed hand towels, homemade lotions and potions packed in pretty jars and bottles.
For the garden - home saved seed in handmade decorated packets; homemade handcream, exfoliating soap, wheat bag for those digger's aches and pains!

Handmade books, personalised printed notepaper and envelopes.
Hamper of bits and bobs from the above lists, packed in a pretty lined basket.

I'll add some more as and when I think of them; These can be used all year round and easily tailored to the recipient - everyone loves a homemade gift. :)

Inspiring thoughts.............

I saw a man, an old Cilician, who occupied an acre or two of land that no one wanted.
A patch not worth the ploughing, unrewarding for flocks, unfit for vineyards;
he, however, by planting here and there among the scrub cabbages or white lilies and verbena and flimsy poppies, fancied himself a king in wealth, and coming home late in the evening, loaded his board with unbought delicacies.
Virgil

I had no theories to prove. I merely wanted to try living by my own hands, independently as far as possible from a system of division of labour in which the participant loses most of the pleasure of making and growing things for himself. I wanted to bring in my own fuel and smell its sweet smell as it burned in the hearth I had made. I wanted to grow my own food, or forage after it. In short I wanted to do as much as I could for myself, because I had already realised from partial experience the inexpressible joy of doing so.

Harlan Hubbard, Shantyboat: A River Way of Life

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Tuesday, 1 July 2008

July.................

4 comments: