How many?!!

- erm.............quite a few LOL. These three beauties are awaiting various bits of TLC to get them up and running well again, so have hauled them out to get them cleaned up and sorted. They really are beautiful machines, not much to go worng with them, apart from several perished rubber bits that need replaced, but I should be able to find them. Then a good clean and an oil, new needles, and they're ready to go. Bean ha s a 1940s Jones machine (hand) and I have a rather lovely Singer treadle awaiting its new belt. I have an eleectic machine too, but that is being moved on once it's mended as I'd mush rather have the hand cranked ones. Wouldn't you?

Hot off the needles yesterday, handspun socks for me, for bedsocks for the winter. Hope it gets cold enough to wear them - they're thick and cosy!





Very wet here this morning, and thunder through last night. Hopefully it will top the water butts up really well, and give the garden a good soak through, much needed. I've just the greenhouses to do this morning now. Everything grows much better with rainwater than tapwater I've concluded, so try to keep tap water on the garden to a minimum, especially the edibles. I have an inkling of what's in our water, but I'm sure I don't know the half of it.............

Poor man's weather glass

- is another name for the Scarlet Pimpernel (anagalis arvensis). There was a tiny one of these in the front garden when we moved here, but since re-doing the whole front borders earlier this year, it's appeared with a vengeance. Seen by some as a weed no doubt, but I think it's rather pretty - very delicate. Its looks belie its properties, apparently poisonous to man, dogs and horses if ingested.
The flowers open in the morning, and close again mid afternoon;they close up if it gets damp, or rain is on the way, hend the poor man's weather glass tag. Tehre is an annual anagalis too, with blue flowers. I grew that once, but seeds aren't easy to come by. I believe it was used as a medicianl herb in the past.
It's a nice addition to the garden, I think, and I'm happy to have this little "weed" play its part.

More poppies...........

Sorry - can't resist them! The dark pink one is an annual, self sown in the veg garden; the other two are perennial (aka Oriental) poppies in the front. They were just planted a few months back, so should bulk up well for even more flowers next year. :)

Gooseberry jam/gooseberry and elderflower jam

One of my favourite harvests of the year. I picked a very respectable 11lbs of gooseberries eysterday - my arms bear witness to this feat! There's no way around the scratches and scrapes, but the results are well worth it. There are goosberries all over the kitchen today, so I need to get on and Do Things With Gooseberries LOL
First off will be jam; it turns a beautiful shade of pinky brown, and is a lovely jam, well worth making. This is the recipe I use:

4lbs green gooseberries
5 lbs sugar
1 1/4 pints water

Simmer berries int he water slowly, cooking gently until the skins are very soft. Stir in the warmed sugar, dissolve it slowly, then bring to a fast boil and boil until setting point is reached. Test often for setting, as this jam sets quickly. Pot up in warm jars and label, etc as usual.

To add a lovley seasonal extra, tie 5 heads of elderflowers in a square of muslin and place in pan; remove as jam thickens. Gives a lovely flavour.

The rest of the gooseberries will be bottled, and some will be made into wine.

Another lesson in patience and faith from Mother Nature

I've always wanted these opium poppies to self-seed around the garden - filling spaces in their unique way, and always looking just right. I've scattered seeds, I've sown in pots and transplanted, all sorts of ruses, but although they flowered, none had set seed with any vigour - until this year, when they semm to be popping up all over the place. Thrilled to bits.
More on the way too:

Garden visitor

This was one of the visitors to the garden today*; I was in the middle of a meeting (held it outdoors, as it was such a nice day), when this little visitor was seen raiding the tayberry bush; I didn't mind, it was lovely to see a mistle thrush in the garden.

*this isn't one of my own pcitures, but from Google.

Scenes from a kitchen............

Thought I'd wield the camera whilst it's tidy!! LOL The mantle piece is now repainted courtesy of MrL and ready to be put back up tonight, above the stove; we are now about 3/4 of the way roudn with the green - you can see one wall, plus the bit behind the dresser still need doing, and you can admire my just wonderful original retro 1970's wallpaper...........bleurch! We're getting there, the problem being that we have nowhere else to move furniture etc into whilst we paint and decorate, so we have had to do a bit at a time. We still need a ceiling, though..............LOL