My talented lad!

EJ took this photo yesterday, and I think it is really very good. I got him to print one out for me for framing. Not bad for 14!


(He can play it as well!)

Coffee wine

This is a good, inexpensive and easy wine to make, when there's not much fresh stuff about for the brew bucket. Beware, though, it's deceptively pokey!!

4 tablespoons good isntant coffee

1 gallon hot water

2 1/2 lbs granulated sugar

1 lemon

1 tablespoon activated dried yeast

Dissolve the coffee in a little boiling water and stir, then pour inot brewing vessel. Add warm water, sliced lemon and sugar, stir well to dissolve the sugar. When cooled to blood heat, add the yeast, cover and leave for 24 hours in a warm place. Strain out the lemon and put into a demi-john and ferment out; rack after 6 weeks, then leave for 6 months before bottling. Improves with a year's keeping.

Mine looked a bit scary this morning - I hope it was just the yeast working :0 LOL

Quote for a wet Wednesday

"To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive"

R L Stevenson

Had to show you this!

I made this yesterday - who could resist it? LOL

How to turn a collar

Quite often with men's shirts, the collar will wear through before the body of the shirt. I turn the collars on MrL's shirts, and usually get at least another year or so out of them, office, work and casual shirts.

Carefully undo the seaming where the collar is sewn into the neck.

Turn it over, ready to be reinserted into the opening made when you removed it

Pop it back in, and pin in place, through all thicknesses

Tack securely in place ready for sewing, remove the pins

Sew securely, remove tacking, and press well.

"New" collar, ready to go

Sheep and marmalade................

I got six jars of marmalade made, which I felt was enough for now. We still have a couple left from last year, and I got a pot in a present at Christmas too. I like trying other recipes, but a good Seville marmalade really is hard to beat. I've put the remaining half dozen oranges into the freezer "just in case " LOL Marmalade making is one of the great seasonal delights for me; this batch was done by hand, but I have an antique cast iron shredder specifically for marmalade oranges, which I do use. These days, people tend to like multi-funtional equipment (eg food processors, etc), but I tend towards a specific piece of equipment for a specific job. It makes the job more enjoyable and more complete for me, if a tad more washing up and storing! I treated myself to some posh tops and labels for this lot, but the jars are all recycled, some of them several times now. I don't think I've ever actually *bought* a jam jar in my life!

I did this litle cloth as I just couldn't resist the pattern! Even *I* think this one might be too nice to use :)



Link to pattern:http://www.knittingknonsense.com/bobbles_sheep.html

How to make haggis

Here you go, should you wish, on this great day, the birthday of Rabbie Burns, the greatest of the Scottish poets.

http://creativeliving.10.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=675

Something, too, to ponder upon today:



"Oh that God the giftie gie us,

Tae see oorsels as ithers see us"




(Burns)

Burns at Ellisland:

http://www.ellislandfarm.co.uk/

This was his house in Dumfries: