Unbought Delicacies: 26/02/2012

Saturday, 3 March 2012

To Have Succeeded

To laugh often and love much:
To win respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give one's self;
To leave the world a little better,
Whether by a healthy child,
A garden patch,
Or redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm
And sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived...
This is to have succeeded

Attributed to RWE

Friday, 2 March 2012

The hugely inspiring Andrew Harvey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hBSTzLWM8A

This littlepiggy stays at home.........

- as a rule; I rarely go anywhere much at the moment, but if/when I do, I shall be ready with my new lunch bag lol. Couldn't resist it!

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Latest crochet project

I've just made a start on this:

- from the lovely Attic24 blog http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/ I love her crochet, so vibrant and lively.
In that pic there, I love the wee blocks used for the cushion beside the frilly one too, might have to give that a go too.
As you can see in the top photo, I've made a start; I now have to go up to the cabin and see what else I have in the lind of double knitting, whilst waiting for a mixed pack of wool from e-bay for this one. Can recommend her tutorials - plenty of photos and very clearly written.
I want and need more colour in my home, so am going for it! lol

Random pictures for a new month

My favourite handwhisk - the kitchen equivalent of a hand mower :)

Cake for a friend's visit - butter sponge with passion fruit and mango conserve filling

Bob and Elsie go walk about lol

Caught in the act - this is Dude, the hen I hatched the year before last; she's a lovely hen, very feisty, loves people :)

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Take 4 minutes..............

........... and watch this

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xHkq1edcbk4?rel=0

Encouraging story for a grey Wednesday

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/28/in-praise-of-community-energy?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038

Could this be the new treehugging? lol

Monday, 27 February 2012

Ribbett!

Knitted for the grandson of a friend - a happy wee frog :)

http://www.spudandchloe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ribbit-11.pdf

Sheeple

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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