Unbought Delicacies: 27/02/2011

Tuesday, 1 March 2011

All done!

Well, the move went very well, amd settling in already. Everything arrived safely I think, but haven't unpacked much yet, so much to do. I have a nice Polish builder assembling bookcases for me in the bedroom, then I can unpack some books; when that's done, I'll be able to get into the wee room, which is going to be my craft/workroom/studio place - room to leave the sewing machine out, and the iron, and room for the wheel and loom too. The garden has a lovely feel, and I got taken out to a local nursery on Sunday - now have rhubarb, blackcurrant and gooseberry bushes, golden and red raspberries, rosemary, wallflowers, a dogwood, hellebore and a bucket load of new seeds. I brought a few bits with me - snowdrops, oxlips, cowslips, one black and one white hellebore, comfrey (essential for an organic garden), my Forest Pansy tree (still in its pot) and my Chinese green rose. However, I seem to have managed to leave behind my fork, spade and rake lol Hey ho........
The garden faces south, with a lovely view of the castle, and has a friendly neighbourhood tabby cat playing there. There are some plants there - at least two beds of irises, plus a saxifrage London Pride planted sprawlingly (is that a word?) over a low wall - one plant I could never get going in Dorset. It'll be interesting to see what else might appear. There is one apple tree too, which fruits well apparently, and I'll be putting up the bird feeders this week. I brought my metal table and chairs with me, and my rather gorgeous rose covered parasol. William Lobb and my auriculas should be arriving from Dorset through the post this week too.
So, although there is obviously a lot going on emotionally at the moment, I'm very optimistic, and have taken to the town readily, it has lots going on, lots to offer and some very friendly people so far.
I'm looking forward to getting back into the Unbought Delicacies swing of things, although, ofcourse, the knitting never stopped! lol
Hope all are well, and thanks for your kind words and support over the past weeks and months :)

xx

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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 March 2011

All done!