Bonjour, tout le monde!

  This week at school is French week. Yesterday we experienced a French Breakfast [hot chocolate in bowls, croissants, pain au chocolate etc] and played petanque, and learned to sing Dix-En-Lit and Enroulez-Le-Fil [that's "10-in-a-bed", and "Wind-the-Bobbin"]

Today we worked on designing our own Breton bowls, using 24p 'motto' ones from IKEA  and permanent OHP pens.Left overnight the ink will dry [although it is not impervious to hot soapy water or abrasives - so we have said it is purely for decorative purposes!] The children worked really hard and produced some lovely  pieces.

Tomorrow we have a celebration assembly, when we will sing the songs and display the stuff we have produced. Apparently some of the older children have decorated tiles, and others have made a scale model of Paris!

Not sure I would have wanted to be in the class which was sampling different cheeses, pate and SNAILS!!

 We also spent a bit of time this afternoon looking at the photos Bob and I took on our French holiday in 2006 [data projectors are so useful sometimes!] but I am afraid some of the boys were less interested in La Vie Francaise, and more fascinated by the Honda Pan European.

A few of the girls were most concerned about the concept of sleeping in a tiny tent and not having room to take many clothes or buy lots of souvenirs. Even at 8 years old, fashion and shopping feature high upon their list of priorities!

French phrases I have not taught my class [Miles Kington, we miss you]

pas de deux = father of twins

moi aussi = I am an Australian

j'y suis, j'y reste = I'm Swiss and I'm staying

tour de force = policemen's excursion

coup de grace =  lawnmower

maison d'etre =  beehive

We learned french at school in the 1960s with an audio-visual scheme [I got to operate the Tape Recorder - technically minded even then] and I am sure some of the class learned just 4 words

Ecoutez et repetez...beep!

Tonight's Connexion group has just been cancelled due to snow. Oh dear, looks like Bob and I will have to eat the cupcakes by ourselves...

Pyjama Party

The girls at Sewing Club wanted to make garments. We decided that first they should learn techniques [zips, buttonholes, casings for elastic etc] and that after that, make something which would NOT be seen in public! After all, they have to spend money on the fabric [or at least, their Mums do] and we didn't want them to waste time and effort on unworn items. So we have decided to make pyjamas. At least, we will make shorts, and then applique something on a pre-made vest to make a 'set'.

I found a good [free] pattern on the Internet last week. I was going to post a link - but it appears to have been removed  just in the last few days!! I photocopied it, and the girls turned up tonight with an assortment of fabrics - here they are pinning and tacking...

They did the thing that everybody seems to do when they make their first pair of trousers - first they put them together 'upside down' not realising the curved seam is the bit that goes round the body - and then they find it hard to accept you need that much fabric! Susan and I explained about hems and seam allowances and stuff - but I am not sure they will believe it till the things are finished!

Bethany missed last week,so spent this week finishing off her sponge bag.

This was a really cute design, dreamed up by Susan, who had some green gingham in her stash! The girls tell me that if you pull up the drawstring, "You can make the fishes kiss!"

Tomorrow I have a Connexion meeting here, which has been advertised as a "Coffee and Cake" event. Not sure how many will turn up,as usual - but I have made some muffins from a recipe on the Nutella Day site. They have come out generously sized. As suggested, I used an icecream scoop which did make exactly 12 muffins - next time, I'll use fairycake cases and make them smaller!

SELF-FROSTING NUTELLA MUFFINS

140g butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp vanilla
200 g sifted plain flour
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
12tsp Nutella

Preheat oven to 160˚C. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. [They should be 3/4 full, if you’re not using a scoop]. Top each cake with 1tsp Nutella.

Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the Nutella.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12.

Enigma Variation

  This tatty looking shed is Hut 6, at Bletchley Park. It is in a dreadful state of repair, as are many of the buildings on the site.

Bletchley Park was one of the key locations of British Intelligence work during the Second World War. The website says "Thousands of people worked at Bletchley Park during WW2 to decode messages that the German forces transmitted, most notably by Hitler to the German high command. The cracking of the codes used, the use of the intelligence gained and the subsequent related actions of the Allies is said to have shortened World War Two by two years possibly saving 22 million lives. The critical importance of Bletchley Park in world history cannot be denied.

Bletchley Park is also the birthplace of the computer. The world's first programmable, digital, electronic computer: Colossus was invented and built at Bletchley Park during World War Two to speed the reading of encrypted German messages.

Bletchley Park is unique. It combines a key role in modern history along with being the birthplace of the computer. Unless the Government supports the plan to save Bletchley Park, it will not be around for future generations to visit, appreciate and understand."

Here's the Big House - round which the Huts were sited.

There is an official petition on the PM's website,and I have just signed it [the No 10 Downing Street Site] I admit to a vested interest - my Mum worked as a Codebreaker there 65 years ago. She never ever talked about it  - because she had signed the Official Secrets Act for King and Country and as far as she was concerned that meant for life. But I am proud of her - and one day [if I ever have any] I should like to take my grandchildren to see where she worked.

How can the government waste money on other stuff, when it would take relatively little to preserve this piece of heritage?

Smile at the Storm!

Second Sunday in the month, so another Family Service today.Bob worked incredibly hard yesterday producing a wonderful visual aid - then discovered part of it was too big to go in the car, so he had to walk to church carrying it!

We were looking at the storm on the lake and the disciples' response.

Early on in the service, some of the children/YP came out with me to make a collage representing "When I'm afraid I..."

I asked the children what they did when they were afraid,and they came up with answers, which we wrote out in bubble writing, then did some cartoons of the answers. They suggested...

Hide, run away, want a hug, call Mum, go quiet, pray

For speed, and lack of mess,we painted them with some "Color & Co Magic Sticks" which I found in John Lewis. They are sponge sticks with solid blocks of colour inside, which are activated by dipping in water. These were easy and effective,although some of the colours were fairly pale [I think some children forgot to blot off excess water] However the result looks good and the kids were very proud of their efforts.

We took it back in, and explained it to the congregation

Also in the service, Sarah and Ryan did Bible Readings, and Sarah shared the animated Bible Story [Jesus in the Temple] which she had presented at Kirby Fried last Sunday.

Bob's Visual Aid was most impressive [more details of the elaborate engineering and theology on his blog!]

And of course we had to sing "With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the Storm". Hands up if you remember the old days, when it was "Christ in the Vessel"!!

Andy and Steve [veterans of United Beach Missions] came out to help with the actions/missing out of words [cool new glasses, Steve!]

Today is Autism and Asperger's Day of Prayer, Education Sunday, and also [appropriately, considering the story] Sea Sunday.

So all of those things were mentioned in our Prayers of Intercession.

In our fellowship, we have a number of families affecting by A&A and lots of teachers/education workers too. However Leicestershire is a long,long way from the sea!]

This afternoon, one of the mums rang to tell us her child was going to play with the boy-next-door. "I'll walk round with you" said his Dad. "I'm not afraid, Daddy - Jesus is with me" came the rapid response. Would that everybody in the congregation took in the message of the sermon that well!!!

And now it is snowing again...

Oh Dear, I Missed It!!

In all the excitement of having a Snow Day on Thursday, I completely forgot to celebrate World Nutella Day!

You can read all about it on the Nutella Day Website. 
Nutella®, in its original form, was first created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, cocoa was in short supply because of rationing due to
World War II, so chocolate was very limited. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy [northwest] to extend the chocolate supply. Nutella actually outsells sales of peanut butter worldwide! There are some great recipes on the website. Nutella has a low GI so is a good treat for someone who is on a diet! On a cold day, it is especially comforting spread on wholemeal toast, with a banana sliced on top.

Every Little Helps!

  A few months ago,I foolishly put my phone in the back pocket of my trousers and went off to do some housework. Whilst in the bathroom, I turned round rather quickly and the phone shot out and baptised itself in the loo![Is this a sign I should do less housework??]

The memory card etc was ok, but the screen was severely water damaged.It was only a cheap pay-as-you-go Nokia, and I replaced it promptly at the Carphone Warehouse. All the discounts/up front credit/etc meant it cost less than a tenner to get a new one. The old one has been sitting on a shelf ever since. I read about one company which recycles old phones, and will pay for them - but they only accept working ones. Then I found FoneBanker [http://www.fonebank.com/] which appears to take mobiles in any condition.

I typed in my model number, and the website told me the value of my phone working/non-working. I popped it in a jiffybag to the Freepost address - and today got a cheque for £4. All very quick and easy. If you use them, could you put "Rra9SY" in the "recommendations" box, please? Then if they send me £3 for suggesting you, I promise to pass that on to charity!

 

 

 

 

Let it snow...

We had a snow day today- so at 6.38am I got a phone call from a colleague telling me school was shut. The five minutes later another friend called, in case I'd been overlooked because I am a mere Supply Teacher. So that meant I was free to go to Thursday Coffee Drop In at the Church,and then to a local Care Home with Bob for a Communion Service. "See, I take you out for a morning of drinking and singing - don't say I don't know how to show a girl a good time!" he said.

The BBC Leicester website has some great pictures of snowy scenes. This one is Bradgate House - the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey. It snowed again this afternoon but seems cold and clear now. Unfortunately we have had to cancel our Ladies Group,as the speaker cannot get here. I shall go down to the church [once "The Archers" has finished!] just in case anybody turns up.

You may have heard about Caroline Petrie, the nurse who has been suspended [without pay] from her job, because she offered to pray for a patient. I would ask you to pray for Caroline- you can read more details on Nigel Coles' blog. Nigel is one of our Baptist Regional Ministers, and a good friend from College Days. Bob has also blogged about this too- so I don't think I need to add any more to their wise words.

Now I must put on my trusty  Hein Gericke biker boots and toddle off up the hill...

As Captain Oates said "I am just going out gentlemen, I may be some time..."

 

They certainly keep my feet incredibly toasty warm even if they are not the most glamorous footwear on the planet!

Matthew 25:40

It is very cold - the snow is still on the ground and many pavements remain treacherous.

At yesterday's Ladies Fellowship we had 14 present - about 75% of our usual turnout - they are a tough bunch, even though most are aged 75+ [only 2 of us under 60!] Our speaker was a representative of The Bridge- a project in Leicester which gives out soup and warm clothes to the homeless and rough sleepers.

Keith spoke very movingly about the work they do, and how their concern is not just to provide hot food and warm gear- but also the good news of Jesus. He said many of these people are relatively young, having left home as teenagers due to breakdowns in relationships, and he talked about "Bringing Home The Prodigals"

I think that one of the things I found hardest to deal with was the information that our local City Council will only open up emergency cold weather provision for rough sleepers WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPS BELOW MINUS 4°CENTIGRADE! That is unbelievably cold- way colder than my fridge.

Right now, when the major news topic is the cold weather, let us do what we can to support groups like The Bridge, and Street Pastors - who are out there demonstrating practical Christian love.

If you are reading this, then you are probably in a warm home, in front of a PC, and have had a meal this evening, and have a bed to climb into later. Steph and I were discussing faith & works the other night. Here is Peterson's translation of James 2.

You come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast! You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

In The Bleak Midwinter

I cleared the snow off my car and drove to Sainsbury's to get some groceries this morning. The car park was almost empty - a highly unusual situation on a day when the shop is open. We have not had any more snow for the last few hours, but even more schools are closed today [including the one in the village, which was open yesterday, and the school where I am due to be teaching tomorrow] Staff said it was even quieter in the shop yesterday. I hoped that meant there might be a few bargains in the 'fresh' section, but couldn't find any. However I did get some laundry tablets half price. I was quite taken with "Almond - Milk & Honey"...somehow strangely biblical,and with my name on them!

Sainsbury's have repackaged all their vitamins and mineral supplements- and now they have titles with exclamations marks. I found this quite amusing - you can choose between an amazing selection

I noted on the shelves that they now stock the following...

balance! defend! digest! joints! heart & mind! revive! bend & flex! and oomph!

"I'm just popping down to Sainsbury's, dear, to pick up a few joints! for the weekend"

"I can't find my heart&mind! anywhere, I've looked all over the kitchen"

"I definitely need some more oomph!"

The other day, Liz sent me a whole load of wonderfully nerdy jokes for mathematicians. I do not want to bore you if you hate maths - but here are just two which amused me

F(x)= sin(x) walks into a restaurant and orders some soup. The waiter replies, "Sorry but we don't cater for functions here."

An infinite number of mathematicians go into a bar. One asks for a pint of beer, the next asks for a half. The third asks for a quarter of a pint, and the fourth asks for an eighth of a pint....The barman pours two pints and says "Just sort it out among yourselves".

Going to the Ladies Fellowship now - hoping that the weather has not put off too many of our regulars.

We're Walking In The Air...

The family next door have built a tremendous snowman. Bob helped lift the head on, and I contributed a carrot and two lumps of barbecue charcoal for the facial features [I like looking at snow, but not so keen on the physical effort of building with it!] The snow continues to fall, and I have decided to stay in the warm and not go to Knitting Group tonight.

Stage one - Freddie by basic snowman

Stage two - the family with complete, dressed "Frosty"

If it is going to snow, then I think we should make the most of it and build lots of snowmen. I am a little surprised by the number of schools in Leicester which closed today, though. I don't remember schools closing quite so easily in the winters of my youth [and I was at school in the winter of 62-63 which they were citing on the Radio today as even worse than 1991]

Roast Pork and Cold Weather!

Another busy Sunday - helping with Kirby Fried Church this morning [our monthly 'youth church' thing] and then this evening Bob went off to our church and I went to the next village [in the snow] to take the service at the chapel there. I love going to Desford to preach - the congregation, although small, are always so receptive and there is always such a good atmosphere in worship.

Home by 7.30pm [that's one advantage of a 6pm service] so I watched a Jamie Oliver programme about cooking with eggs - and then we watched "Jamie Saves our Bacon" which I'd taped earlier in the week.

I appreciate his passion and enthusiasm [read Bob's excellent post here about Jamie's Ministry of Food and evangelism] and his commitment to improving life for pigs and pig farmers. I believe we have a responsibility to be good stewards of Creation, and to care for God's creatures.

I try to support compassion in farming, happy chickens, and contented pigs. To that end, I attempt to buy my meat and eggs from supermarkets that follow the same principles. Certain supermarkets were conspicuously absent from Jamie's programme!

It has been snowing on and off since midday here. Marion emailed this afternoon and said they had snow flurries in Norfolk. Liz texted this evening to say there was a wonderful snowball fight going on, in the street where she lives in Elephant and Castle.

The Met Office has issued extreme weather warnings. We will have to wrap up warm tomorrow.  As my grandmother would say "Winter Drawers On"

Folk Night for Africa Aid

Our friend Dave Ford runs Africa Aid - a charity devoted to helping poor people in Africa [including taking medical supplies to a maternity hospital in Morocco] He hosts an annual fund-raiser in the form of a Folk Night, at Quorn Village Hall, and Bob does the PA for it. So last night we were out from 5pm till gone midnight [the event itself was 7.30-11ish] Dave is an ebullient, enthusiastic, in-yer-face sort of Christian, and it was good to see 100+ people there,  supporting him and raising funds for the cause. Julie, his wife made some superb refreshments -platters of sandwiches, cakes and fresh fruit, plus assorted drinks were available.

 

The MC was a delightfully eccentric chap [sorry, have forgotten his name] who also does charity work [but in Eastern Europe] He  played his accordion and brought along 2 girls who did gypsy dancing.

They were really enthusiastic - and in view of the limited space, did some amazing moves!

There were loads of acts, including The Daze [Ian, from church is in this. I like their stuff] Doreen and John [who come from Walsall, and she writes her own stuff, which is beautiful] Eric The Turtle [he finished with a singalong to "Gordon Is a Moron"] Sheila - who sang a capella, with a wonderfully melodic voice which reminded me of Maddie Prior, and The Desperate Dogs. This lady [name forgotten again,sorry!] sung "Streets of London"

   Have you seen the old man
In the closed-down market
Kicking up the paper,
with his worn out shoes?
In his eyes you see no pride
And held loosely at his side
Yesterday's paper telling yesterday's news

    So how can you tell me you're lonely,
And say for you that the sun don't shine?
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London, I'll show you something to make you change your mind

    Have you seen the old girl
Who walks the streets of London
Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags?
She's no time for talking,
She just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home in two carrier bags.
    In the all night cafe
At a quarter past eleven,
Same old man is sitting there on his own
Looking at the world
Over the rim of his tea-cup,
Each tea last an hour
Then he wanders home alone
    And have you seen the old man
Outside the seaman's mission
Memory fading with
The medal ribbons that he wears.
In our winter city,
The rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotten hero
And a world that doesn't care

Isn't is sad that Ralph McTell wrote that song forty years ago - and you can still see these characters in our capital?

As you can see, Bob was concentrating intently - some of the performers required complicated arrangements of microphones etc.

Here he is just before we started, prior to the lights being dimmed.

One act I wasn't too keen on was the George Formby Tribute. I just feel GF was a Dirty Old Man who is best forgotten!

Here's a picture of him, with accomplices, singing "Swimmin with Wimmin"

The night before the event, Dave had a last-minute phone call from someone offering to perform. He said his twin loves were Africa, and folk music.

So we enjoyed listening to "The High Commissioner to the Cameroon". No, seriously! that's not his stage name - Syd Maddicott IS Her Majesty's representative to those people!

He sings very well.

Here's a picture of him last night - and the official website shot

                                                                 I wrote a note on Bob's Clipboard "Where is the Cameroon?" and he scribbled back "It is a sort of biscuit!" [I have since looked on a map - it is central west Africa, between Nigerian and Congo]

By the end of the evening, everyone was very relaxed and full of food and drink. Quorn Village Hall has recently got new chairs [very comfortable] stage lighting, and excellent new toilet facilities - but is still remarkably cheap to hire for an evening.

Dave sang "Amazing Grace" and spoke about his work, and his Saviour - and challenged us all to respond to the claims of Christ - on our lives, our time and our bank accounts! The the final act - called Bohemian Repair Company, or something similar, did some good songs.The group featured Nigel The Harmonica Player, an amazingly tall thin guy, all in red [he was teased for coming dressed as a stick of rhubarb] Compare his height to that of the bearded guy on his right!! We sang John Denver's "Country Roads", and the Beach Boys "Sloop John B" with gusto.

The we packed up all the gear and came home. I got into bed 19 hours after I got out of it.

She feeds you tea and oranges...

It feels cold and wintry today - and according to Amanda Ursell [the nutritionist in The Times] "January is not a month for surviving on crispbreads and lettuce!" So although I made a healthy chicken salad for lunch, I decided to follow it with a Proper Pudding. Extreme busy-ness this week hasn't left much time for "faffin' in the kitchen" so this morning I put on a pretty pinny and made a proper pudding.

I did make a chicken salad for first course - and dressed it with an improvised mustard&maple syrup dressing. [I roasted some cubes of potato, dusted with salt and smoked paprika, in the oven whilst cooking the pudding, to give a little warmth to the salad]

The pudding was a variation on a recipe from the paper a couple of week's back.Yet another 'magic' pudding with a sponge top and sauce beneath.

I halved the quantities and served it with natural yogurt.

SEVILLE MAGIC PUDDING

This pud mystically produces its own puddle of zesty sauce below a light, soufflé-ish sponge [from a recipe by Lucas Hollweg ]

Serves 2

- 75g butter, plus a blob for greasing

- Finely grated zest of 1 orange

- 90g caster sugar

- 2 eggs, separated

- Juice of 1 orange made up to 200ml with milk

- 25g self-raising flour

- Icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a round 18cm ovenproof dish. Cream together the butter, zest and sugar with a wooden spoon until it forms a coherent mass, then beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until well incorporated. Mix in the juice and milk. Finally, fold in the flour. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks when you lift the whisk, then gently fold into the mixture. Tip into the greased dish and place the dish in a roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin around the dish so it comes about halfway up the sides. Bake for 40 minutes until the top is firm and golden. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with cream or natural yogurt.

It looked really good in my blue enamel bowl - and it tasted satisfyingly warming! I am drinking lots of tea too, that always helps to keep me warm. I am enjoying the Redbush Tea which Liz had here at Christmas. I hope Bob feels duly fortified, now he has gone out for an afternoon of Pastoral Visiting.

Once I have done all the other things which need to be sorted, I shall try and unload [from Bobs' camera] the photos taken last night. We went to a Folk Evening and had lots of fun, fund-raising. But we did not get to sing "Whose Pigs are These" unfortunately.

Romans 16:16

Rachel sent me this today. I had heard Richard Stilgoe sing it before, but not seen the YouTube version. I suspect that there are probably Mrs Beamish characters in our village [so I pray for our Rector, in case they go to the Parish Church!]

Those Were The Days...

Continuing to enjoy "The Victorian Farm" very much. Tonight's episode showed Ruth learning to use a Treadle Singer machine and make herself clothes from a Victorian pattern. I am grateful for my modern Janome Electric machine!

We saw the Gloucester Old Spot piglets [cute] and Ruth made Shropshire Fidget Pie and brawn from one of the pigs which had been slaughtered. Not so sure about the cooked brains and eyeballs! Fidget is apparently a dialect word - from 'fitched' meaning 5-sided.

Then they had their May Day party, and sang for the pig. Bob and I particularly appreciated the Folk Singer - as he played his squeezebox and sang a traditional song which we both knew - and so we joined in

Whose pigs are these?

Whose pigs are these?

Oh they are John Stott's

You can tell 'em by the spots

And they come from the Vicarage Garden!

People who were on holiday at Baptist Missionary Summer Schools in the 60's and 70's may remember that one too. Actually the original version was "John Pott's" - but in deference to the eminent Anglican, we Baptists preferred to sing "John Stott's"!!

At the end of a long hard day in the classroom, with some particularly challenging children, I need a bit of Victorian Silliness. I could do with a mug of tea and a slice of Fidget Pie too...

Keeping the Heat In!

An unspeakably long day - school, then a lesson-planning meeting, home for 45minutes to grab food, then back to church for Sewing Club, and now home again to get more school preparation done. Feeling guilty that I am not at the Church Meeting, but then I very rarely miss one, so I shouldn't feel too bad...

Just had to have a five minute break for a cuppa and a bit of blogging though, in order to post this splendid cartoon which Carole sent me

"The Knitting Circle are playing their part in our Heating Efficiency Programme"

Tonight at Sewing Club we had yet another new girl - plus a load more fabric which someone has donated. My contribution to Heating Efficiency is insulating the loft with lots of bags of fabric!!

Right - relaxation over - now back to preparing school work and picking hymns for the service I am taking on Sunday night!

Lady in Red

We had a really lovely evening yesterday - went for a meal to my friend Lesley's home. She and I have become great friends through the Knitting Group - but this was the first time our husbands had met up. We had a superb meal - Lesley had made a lovely chicken and tarragon casserole and I supplied dessert [Aldi Continental Plum Tart and cream] and we had great fun discussing the merits of Thrift and Aldi Shopping. Ant was pleased to demonstrate his new Espresso Machine [also from Aldi!] Then L&I retired to the other room, where she showed me the progress of her quilt. I was annoyed with myself for not having a camera. The red quilt is utterly beautiful.

Lesley's target was to make a quilt in a year - and this one was started in Feb 08. I think she will get there! It was cut with scissors [not a rotary cutter] and stitched by hand. It is all in splendid shades of red, and her daughter Emily [who has claimed the quilt for her own once it is completed] says it reminds her of the colours of jams [strawberry, raspberry, cherry...] In view of the patches of red and white gingham, I suggested it should be called the Bonne Maman Quilt, as Lesley is definitely a very good mother!!

We returned to the table to find the men chatting like they had been friends forever -mostly about coffee, church PA and Billy Graham's hat.

Apparently Billy Graham has done the Presidential Inauguration Prayer for years, and this year sent the hat which he always wears to Rick Warren, to keep his head warm! I think this must fall into the category of Elijah's Mantle [I Kings 19 - So he ...found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing...and Elijah cast his mantle upon him.] I tried to find a picture of Rick in Billy's hat, but I couldn't. I think it is this hat though.

I am concerned that Rick's head may be bigger than Billy's [do you mean physically or metaphorically? said Bob!]

Back to Lesley's quilt. It is based on one in Jane Brocket's book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity [which Lesley has kindly lent me] I have been looking through the book. JB is a gifted writer and photographer - but her world is miles away from the one inhabited by people like Lesley and myself. She used to work for Sanderson, and her quilts appear to be made of wonderfully expensive pieces. I actually prefer Lesley's 'thrifted' quilt because it is stitched with memories and treasured scraps.

The basic template for the blocks is this one, and the whole thing is 8 rows of 10, so that's eighty blocks of lovely handstitching.

I came home inspired, and eager to make another quilt myself. But I am sure if I do, it will be a machined one, not handsewn. But that will have to go on to the list of "projects I will do sometime when I am not too busy..." I think. Today I have to prepare for tomorrow's school and sewing club.

Speaking of being busy - how will that lady in Los Angeles cope with octuplets? I hope and pray she gets plenty of support. I think Lesley and I are both quite content to each be the mothers of just TWO children who arrived one-at-a-time!

Steph texted this morning to say she has being doing some market research for a hair dye product. And now her hair is rather redder than it used to be! I am waiting for a photo, but will probably not put it on the blog. Some things are best kept within the family!