Nice haul...............

Quick tip trip this morning yielded these two lovelies for 50p each. I think the teapot dates for WW2, possibly a bit before; the crock is a really useful size, holding 4 pints. Well - I couldn't leave them there, could I? lol

Pink elderflower wine

I have a cultivated black elder in the front garden here, and it has pink flowers in early summer - very, very pretty. Also rather lovely is the colour of the wine it produces, tasting just like the white elderflower, but just look at the stunning rose colour of this:

The Case for Working With Your Hands

This is a new book, and my copy arrived this morning; really looking forward to reading it. By, Matthew Crawford, it is subtitled '- or why the office is bad for us and fixing things feels good'
From the cover:

'A beautiful little book about human excellence' - NYT

'A deep exploration of craftsmanship by someone with real hands-on knowledge. Quirky, surprising and moving' - Richard Sennett

'A superb combination of testimony and reflection, and you can't put it down' - Harvey mansfield

'A stunning indicment of the modern workplace... Crawford points in the direction of a richer, more fulfilling way of life. This is a book that will endure' - Reihan Salam

'A masterpiece filled with surprises' - Dallas Morning News

'No-one who cares aboutt he future of human work can afford to ignore this book' - Jackson Lears

'The best self-help book that I've ver read. Kind of like Heidigger and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' - Slate

Will report back when I've read it - can't wait to get started :)

Thought for a Monday

'Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt'

(Lincoln)

Wish some people who use the net would heed this particular nugget .......

Inside out.............

One of the joys of good weather, and summer in general is being able to take jobs outside and do them, either in the sun or in the shade, but out in the fresh air anyway. Jobs seem to take on their own leisurely pace - maybe it's because you're not indoors seeing everything else that needs doing as well lol.
Yesterday I sorted a rather nice fleece for spinning, a Cheviot x, got from a local country show; I chose the sheep and she was shorn in front of me - cost - one British pound. The wool is rather nice, very soft and a good creamy colour.
This morning's job was strigging blackcurrants under the parasol at the garden table - spent an hour doing that, watching butterflies and listening to the birds and bees - the occasional quack, cluck and bleat thrown in for good measure...........:))

Lemon balm wine

This one of my favourite wines of all time; the plant grows brilliantly in my garden, so there's always a lot to harvest over the sumer. The best time to pick for wine is before the plant flowers, and in the middle of the day when the leaves are quite dry and the heat has maximised the volatile oils. It's a lovely job on a hot ummer day for the scent alone :)

1 pint of balm leaves, no stalk
1 gallon hot water (not boiling)
1 lemon, sliced thinly
1 teabag
2 1/2/lbs sugar
1 good tbsp of your chosen yeast - I use dried yeast

Place everything in a bucket, stir to dissolve sugar; cover and leave in a warm place for 4 -5 days, then strain, put into a demi-john and ferment out. Bottle and leave at least six months. Drink very cold.

Playing gooseberry.............

Gooseberry time here - I topped and tailed about 4 -5 lbs yesterday morning. I grow three varieties - one yellow, one green and one red, about 6 bushes in all. Very generous with their harvests, they're one of my favourite fruits for bottling - ready for straight into the pie or crumble dish; sweet, tart, delicious and full of goodness all at once. I still have a couple of pounds or so left to pick, so some gooseberry wine might be made too, and some gooseberry curd, which is really good.
I might need to sort out some more room in the garden to put in a couple more varieties - search out some of the old ones that need to be kept going; I remember reading about societies that held gooseberry competitions, where huge fruits were pitted against each other for prizes and glory. I think this still hapeens further up the country, I'll need to do a bit of research and find out I think - would be lovely to re-instate more things like that, make people proud of what they grow and eat :)