Unbought Delicacies: O sapientia

Tuesday 16 December 2008

O sapientia

December 16th is known as O Sapientia (I read in my much loved Maypoles, Martyrs and Mayhem), after the anthem traditionally sung today. It heralds, apparently, the start of the Mince Pie Season (to everything there is a season..........LOL).

Listen to the Gregorian chant here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S6zaiZxJIpU

Foundn thisi interesting, as had never heard of it before; lovely to listen to, albeit very short. Will therefore be making mince pies today :)

2 comments:

lizziedripping said...: Dear MrsL,
I have just received the beautiful quilt from last months giveaway and I want to thank you, it is SO gorgous! I wish my quilting was half as neat!! I will definatly be snuggling up later with it on my lap and a mince pie to hand!! Thank you. While I am here can I ask you roughly how long do you leave your cottage cider after straining? Mine is beautifully clear and appley but seems very young.
With warm wishes this yule,

Lizziedripping; 16 December 2008 at 19:57
MrsL said...: Ah, glad it arrived safely, and even gladder that you like it! You're very welcome. :)

I strain the cider from the bucket into a demi-john and leave it to settle for a few weeks, then siphon or pour it, either into another demi-john or individual bottles. This can be drunk young, in a couple of months or so; but go easy, it's quite deceptively strong! It makes an excellent apply mulled cider at this time of year too. I'm doing more today, I still have half an apple mountain by the back door! LOL

MrsL

xx; 17 December 2008 at 07:57

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 16 December 2008

O sapientia

2 comments: