Friday, 6 February 2009

Little green shoots............





Despite the whirling snow outside, these little green shoots continue upwards and onwards - won't be long until spring now. The potatoes are chitting away by themselves on the front kitchen windowsill; the little seedlings are parsley - sown only a couple of weeks ago,but already well on their way. I've sorted out tomato and chilli/pepper seeds in readiness, but it's still a bit on the cold side here, even to start them off in the kitchen, and the light levels are low too. The sweetpeas seem to be OK in the greenhouse, but the pots the broad beans went into were frozen on Wednesday, so I hope they'll survive and come up too - all in their own good time, I know; you can't hurry Mother Nature.

The prettiest plate of all...................


I have a lot of lovely plates, but this one is definitely the prettiest, with its wavy edgedness and little floral print. I managed to find 4 of them, sadly a fifth one was broken, but four was fine................ I have no idea of the date of manufacture, but I suspect it is quite old. They're (almost) too pretty to use, but would look so nice with a slice of cake on LOL. I'd like to find out the date, so will do a bit of research into it.

Wednesday, 4 February 2009

New projects.............




I really should get on with things started, but sometimes I can't resist making a start on something else! These are a couple of knitting projects; poppies waistcoat started yesterday, slippers this afternoon. Progress can be followed on my knitting blog here:
http://figheade.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, 3 February 2009

Even more snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking up the hill towards the church:



The barn in the farmyard next door:



Our cottage in the snow:




Looking east towards the Vale:





Couldn't resist taking some more photos, from around the village where we live

February Giveway - treat your feet!


This month's giveaway is to pamper your feet! A pair of handknitted 100% alpaca socks, in a very beautiful shade of sage green. Will fit UK size 6-7, very soft and luxurious, but handwash only............Would make very nice bedsocks for the winter!
Leave a message somewhere, or e-mail me on Julian.Dean1@btinternet.com
Good luck!

Home made bath salts

I made these yesterday, based on a recipe from an old magazine. Very easy to make, and you can "flavour" them with your favourite oil. My favourite is rose geranium, but I think I'd like some lavender ones too.

Into a bowl:

200g sea salt
200g soda crystals
100g bicarbonate of soda
oil/s of your choice

Mix everything well, adding about 50 - 60 drops of essential oil/s of your choice. Put into a jar with a well-fitting lid, and leave to mature for about a week or so, shaking occasionally.
Put a good handful into a warm bath and relax...............................:)

Would make a lovely present at any time of the year; you could also add dried herbs/rose petals, oatmeal, powdered milk, etc to jazz it up a bit.

My jar is an authentic Mason jar, the legendary American canning jar. I can't get them over here, and I only have one - this one - which I found at the tip a few years back. It's a lovely jar. :)

More snow











Indulge me here - we don't get much down here in the balmy south of England LOL We've ended up here with almost 4", the countryside looks so lovely, and it's quiet - oh, so quiet............how I imagine our little village was before so many had vehicles.
People get so cross when they get a bit inconvenienced by the snow. I know there are real emergencies, accidents, no power, etc, but that's not what I mean. There was one man on the news last night bemoaning the fact the road near him hadn't been gritted and was shouting how it was "..like a third world country!!!!" Er, no. No, it isn't. It's one bit of road that isn't gritted. Walk to where you're going, or if you can't walk, then stay at home or wherever you are. It won't last long (relatively), and very soon things will be back to normal. Some people are unable or unwilling to cope when something like this comes along. Stay sensible and keep things in proportion is what I say. If you really do need help, then someone will be able to get to you hoepfully. I take my hat off to all the workers who have to be out in it - gritting lorry drivers, emergency services, breakdown trucks, they deserve the praise.
Bean is at home today as I'd be surprised if the college is open; they shut yesterday lunchtime to allow those who take buses to get home. I'd be even more surprised if the wee bus got up and around the lanes to our village. So - she's still in bed:)
There - that was a wee snow rant......................LOL