Better?

- or not lol  Tis hard work, I keep forgetting to do things and it all just disappears lol

Bit of a radical departure...........

The last changes I did elicited a few comments about how it had become harder to read what was written here because of the colours, so I've spent most of this morning shouting at the computer (did you hear me? lol) trying to make amends.  Once I'd worked out how to get back to the beginning again if I didnt like something, I tried all sorts of options and much more by accident than design I stumbled on this. I like it - it's clean and fresh and uncluttered - all the wee pictures and things are still there down the right hand side if you hover your cursor over them, and a list of recent posts appears on the lefthand side. I think you can change the layout of thee, by clicking on the word at the top of the ist,so you can view the posts/pics in various ways. I hope I haven't lost anything vital in the process lol  Will see how it goes, but I felt the 'shabby chic' theme was a bit jaded and it was time for something new :) So - what do you think - love it or hate it?

Frugal Friday flamingo

I am in the process of re-decorating my wee bedroom; walls are painted, I have new curtains to put up, a new beside lamp and a couple of nice pieces of furniture to put in. It's all been done fairly cheaply so far, under £100 including Fired Earth paint - don;t usually buy anything that pricey, but the colour (duck egg blue and it really is ) was exactly the one I wanted. New bedding was from e-bay, so that was reasonable too. When Bean is home from university I want her to be comfortable in there too, and warm , so have opted for lined curtains. They need shortening, so will have left over fabric for cushions etc I hope, maybe incorporate it into a patchwork project of some sort. A good few years ago now i bought an Indian cotton rag rug at the tip, aka recycling centre, for a few pennies; it's done well but is looking very jaded now, so instead of buying new, I invest  another£3.99 in a pack of machine dye to brighten it up - which it will, being  bright flamingo pink!  I think it will add a lovely splash of colour with the blue walls and dark floorboards. A nice crochet blanket is about to be started too, and I'll buy a couple of plants for the windowsill as someone managed to kill my wee rubber plant (that takes some doing!) Will take a pic when the room is done.

Smokey chilli beans

This is a very versatile base for a meal, quick, easy and cheap. Once the base is made, you can add in anything you like - cooked or raw meat (pork is particularly good),vegetables, boiled eggs, pulses, anything really; or you can just go with the beans as they are :) 1 medium onion sunflower oil 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1 tin baked beans Worcester sauce smoked paprika chilli powder gravygarnule if required Chop the onion (not too fine) and fry in oil until just softening; add tomatoes and baked beans, Worcester sauce and a good pinch of smoked paprika. Add chilli powder to taste, stir well, cover and leave to simmer on a lowish heat. If it requires thickening, add in a tsp gravy granules for a thicker sauce, boil until it thickens, thne lower heat and simmer intil onios cooked through and everything well mied in. Then add in any extras, make sure is piping hot; serve with baked potatoes, rice, on its own, good bread,etc. Leftovers can be put through the blender for a soup base, or use it as a curry base, or just keep adding in more beans, meat etc

Harris tweed

This is a wonderful blog post, written by a weaver who produces the real Harris tweed - have a read and be thankful that people have taken such care and love of the  fibre over the years to ensure it's continued prodcution http://www.trakke.co.uk/article/november-19-2012--warp--weft--weave

Winter celebrations

I no longer 'do' the whole Christmas  thing here now; the children are grown and I have little interest in the religious parts of Christmas to be honest. Each to their own,and everyone celebrate or not as to their interests and  wishes is how I look at it. We have instead a feast on the winter Solstice night. Today I got my copy of the December Country Living magazine and it has inspired me to make more of actually decorating the house for the winter season - I usually have the greenery and lots of it, but due to illness and circumstance last year, not much was done. This year will be different, and I there are a lot of things I would like to make, but non-traditional Christmas things that reflect the winter and teh winter solstce, the gifts of Mother Nature at this time of year - that sort of thing. Am fired up with enthusiasm, and longing to get started, but it's a wee bit early I feel!  I think a large-leafed notebook will help here,for putting pictures and inspiring bits an dpieces in - like a storyboard in a book. Watch this space :)

Take ten minutes...........

Earth prayer This is beautiful, stop what you're doing and just take ten or so minutes just being and hearing :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C-FF4_28jM image from : devozine.upperroom.org