Wedding In The Woods

Despite the rain in the morning, it was clear and sunny in the afternoon. The whole event was beautiful. We've been asked not to post pictures of the ceremony yet. But here is the canopy under the trees where it happened

At the end, the groom's 7 year old nephew read the blessing

I will post more pictures next week 

Thistle Do Nicely

Today we are at Robin and Gillian's wedding. Bob has turned a bowl for them. Wanting to reflect the fact the the bride has Scottish heritage, and the groom has spent half his life north of the border, the bowl is inset with a special coin. Commemorating the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, the design features a Saltire and a thistle. 

I think it's gorgeous! 

Of Punches And Paddington

Bob found me a brilliant bargain in a CS recently- a Martha Stewart Punch for £3, which produces beautiful lilies. It punches, and embosses, and there is a ring of 7 holes in the centre. I made a birthday card and a thankyou card. For Ruth's card, I actually stitched the centres in contrasting thread, and also stitched a circle of card with her name. Some flowers went flat onto the card, others were slightly raised with foam stickers, to give a 'dimensional feel' 

I found a square card in my box, but not the envelope - so I made one using my WRMK punch board
which I bought cheaply 2nd hand in Ferndown. It was for someone who was leaving a secretarial job, so the typewriter paper seemed appropriate, and I cut a circle of pink for the label [it was hand delivered]

I had problems with Robin and Gillian's wedding card - I could not find my folder of large dies anywhere. After much hunting**, I gave up and made a card with a star shaped pinwheel on the front, using smaller dies **I had a nasty shock when I was on my knees searching the bottom shelf of a deep cupboard. I took out a large box and saw...

The cardboard Queen mask, which Rosie had at the village Jubilee picnic in June. Very Spooky! 

On the subject of Royal Spooks..

I don't want to offend anyone - but honestly, what is it with all these pictures of our late Queen and Paddington which continue to show up on Social Media?

Drawn at the time of the Jubilee, it went viral within days of her death, Is this the bear taking HM to the Pearly Gates? Is he St Peter's little helper? 

Worse still, we drove through a quiet Norfolk village last Sunday and were confronted with a large representation of this image [rather in the manner of those Silent Soldier Silhouettes showing WW1 troops in tin helmets, who lurk in churchyards and on roundabouts]

But on the artwork we saw, Paddington was in his usual cheerful red and blue - and the Queen was painted entirely in a spectral sort of shimmering white. 

Ghostly, and ghastly, imho.

The Tree Of Life

 Kirsten's latest addition to the Postcard Project is utterly stunning. Taking her inspiration from Revelation 22:2 ['the leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations'] she has stitched this amazing tree.

The leaves on this stylised tree have all been filled in using different, regular stitch patterns. This technique, using counting threads on evenweave fabric has been known in Britain since the time of Geoffrey Chaucer 600 years ago, and is popularly known as blackwork. [although not exclusively stitched in black - other colours, especially red, were often used] Kirsten's use of different shades of green works particularly well. 

This stitching has an interesting Royal connection. Although it had been in use for over 100 years, it became incredibly fashionable at the start of the 16th century because of Henry VIII's first wife, Katharine of Aragon. She was very fond of this embroidery as a trimming on her garments, and it was referred to as 'Spanish work' in her honour. However after Henry divorced her, it was called Blackwork again. 

I've been fascinated by blackwork for years, but never got round to trying it. I'm thrilled Kirsten has added it to our Project. 

My "royal" stitching has been a simple announcement of the change of monarch - incorporating the old and the new Royal Cypher. 

Now I am working on my October stitching. The quilting activity is on the back burner [again!] 

Window Dressing

When the autumn sun is low in the sky, all the dirty windows - and that 'Sahara Dust' really look bad. What a pane! This could get a girl down.

It is uplifting to realise that now I live in a bungalow, with my squeegee/sponge gizmo, I can easily reach to clean all the windows, inside and out.

Now everything is sparkling again - the plain windows, the frosted panes in the bathroom and front door, and the Rennie Mackintosh panel in the Futility Room. It all seems so much fresher. 

There is a lovely quote about windows from the Swiss-American Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler Ross

The Indians Have Reservations*

Then the joyous Hiawatha

Cried aloud and spake in this wise:

"Beautiful is the sun, O strangers,

When you come so far to see us!

All our town in peace awaits you,

All our doors stand open for you;

You shall enter all our wigwams,

For the heart's right hand we give you.

Yes, my nephew and his fiancée get married this Saturday in Scotland, and this is the unusual DIY invitation card. The venue is "down a farm track" and dress code is "Outdoor Scottish Wedding in October". I am giving Serious Consideration to what I shall wear! Footwear will definitely be my motorcycle boots- they are warm, waterproof and extremely comfortable for standing around for long periods in a field [or dancing the night away, if my verruca allows it] 

*these Playmobil figures came in a huge bag of stuff for only 50p at a Yard Sale in the summer. Rosie is aware that 'Indians' is an outdated and incorrect term, and we always refer to them as 'the Native Americans'. At her request, all the rifles have been put away. The bows and arrows remain as she knows this is their method of hunting food. But like Liz and myself, she is very anti-guns.

Ang Has Cold Feet!

 It is nine years since Disney brought this to our screens

It was the highest grossing film of 2013 - and the highest animated film of all time. [ the sequel in 2019 was the second highest grossing animated film of all time.] 

The podiatrist has been treating a rather painful verruca on my right foot - and on Friday afternoon it was, indeed, frozen! 

I was a little nervous before the procedure - which proceeded very efficiently. But he did warn me it would hurt afterwards [take a couple of Paracetamol before bed] and that after a couple of days a blister would form [keep it covered, do not pick at it] 

I'm not too good with pain - Friday night it throbbed incessantly and I didn't get much sleep till gone 5am [hence the late post on Saturday morning] I have been humming Let It Go! for much of the weekend. I wish my own special Frozen princess could be here to sing to me and make me feel better. 

But I'm confident I'll be on my feet again very soon... 

Small Things, Great Love

When I was tidying up, I found the tiny doll's basket on the bookshelf. Inside were a few scraps of paper. Another of Rosie's "Craft Projects " I thought.

Then I turned them over - four said "Love" and the smallest had a heart drawn on it.

A simple little thing, but it really lifted my spirits. When she next visits I shall ask her about it. These are Rosie's "small things, prepared with great love."

Nobody is sure who first counselled "Do small things with great love"

Certainly Mother Teresa was fond of saying it, and she is credited with it on plaques, teatowels and coffee mugs the world over. But I understand that both our late Queen, and also Martin Luther King used the phrase - and as far back as the end of the 19th Century, St Therese of Lisieux said something very similar [in French, au naturellement]

Whoever coined it first, the principle holds.

I cannot change the whole world, but I can make a tiny difference in my little corner of it, if I work with love and commitment. And so can you. We used to sing a song in Sunday School when I was extremely little...

Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light

Like a little candle, burning in the night

In this world is darkness

So we must shine

You in your small corner, and I in mine.

Keep on shining, keep on loving - together we can change things!

No Egyptians [Due To The Vikings]

We had Wednesday all planned out. 

1. Off early to a local farmshop to buy a birthday gift [and have breakfast] 
2. on to the University for the Visions of Ancient Egypt Exhibition
3. followed by visiting some newly opened shops at Earlham House [and have coffee]
4. finally a supermarket shop at Sainsburys on the way home.

The Goat Shed at Honingham are very proud of their new Kids Playground

And the kids [as well as the older goats] really seem to enjoy it. Sadly, none of the goats were climbing when I took my pictures..I bought a selection of locally produced goods [apple juice, marmalade, fudge etc] to make up a Norfolk Hamper to take to a 90th birthday lunch tomorrow.

The Egyptian thing - never quite happened. We got to UEA, picked up a [free] parking permit for the Sainsbury Centre, then I tried to buy two tickets. The girl on reception said "I'm really sorry, but the exhibition is closed for a private viewing. The regular exhibits and sculpture trail are both open" I said we'd done them before, and it was the Egyptian thing we had come to see - could we come back in the afternoon? No it was closed all day "Who is the special visitor? Is it the King or somebody?" I asked. "No it's erm..VI-king, the sponsors. It does say on the website" I said I should have checked, my fault. She said in all the years she has worked there, she's never known a closure like this.  I smiled, meandered round the gift shop and we left...meanwhile a lot of very indignant people were milling round reception getting very cross because they had come from all across East Anglia to see this display. 

I didn't feel they needed to be so loud, and so abusive - it was hardly the fault of the three pleasant young women at the desk. But after we drove away I looked on the website- and I couldn't find anything saying Closed Today...We will try again sometime.

On to the Earlham House Shops. This little parade is in the middle of Norwich's "Golden Triangle" - so named by Estate Agents 40 years ago as our city's equivalent to London's Notting Hill. There are two great charity shops, a wonderful green grocer [also serving food]  a fair sized Co-op and more...

Liz had alerted me to HandStand, a new craft & gift shop which has just opened. Lottie, the owner [and artist] was very friendly. There were prints, cards, jewellery, pots, plants...all locally made.

Very attractive stuff, but a little bit more than I'd like to pay. 

I was very taken with a plant, in a plain ceramic pot with a simple leather hanger - until I saw it cost £50. A couple of doors down the street, the Post Office has re-opened. Martin and Beverly, who have run the PO since 1995, retired in August.

Adam has taken over, and there has been a "five-figure revamp"

As well as the Post Office, which offers around 160 different services, he tells me, there are other goods on sale; Books, toys, cards and stationery. [I didn't like to point out that their sign said stationary] Decent quality at very good prices. I treated myself to another Hairy Maclary book. If you have young grandchildren, I can really recommend HM books!

I posted Rosie's parcel. "For security, can I ask what is in this?" said the assistant. "This jumper" I said, showing her a picture. She said she'd like one for herself!

I found a Boden teeshirt for £1 in a CS. We sat in the sunshine and had coffee with pasteis de nata in Dyrrah.

Then Sainsburys and home. The weather turned wet and windy, we were very glad to be inside in the warm.

Just Chillin'

I'm a naturally busy sort of person. Always happy pottering about. But sometimes it is good to have an excuse to do very little. Like yesterday - I needed to wait at someone else's house for a workman's visit. 

Bob dropped me off en route to his Chaplaincy session at the Hospice, which meant I had about 3 hours all to myself. 

I took milk [to make tea for myself, the workman, and Bob on his return] and a bag of little crafty tasks.

I darned my holey socks, did some work on the Postcard Project, and made a start on a small Christmas gift. And I sat and sewed, and watched TV and it was so peaceful.

Steph took Jacob to his first Baby Sensory Class yesterday. 

I think he was even more chilled out than me 

The workman was very efficient and cheerful. Here's a little song about workmen to make you smile [if clip won't load try this link] 

Super Chunky, Super Swift

This has to be one of the fastest jumpers I've ever knitted! Twelve hours from start to finish. This the the super chunky yarn Marion gave me. It's Swiftknit by Stylecraft. I bought the pattern from Etsy and downloaded it Saturday afternoon. It was really easy to knit up. I like the Moss stitch hem, cuffs and collar. I hope Rosie likes it too... 

Preserving Under Pressure

When I have a glut of produce, I do feel a sense of pressure to deal with it before it becomes unusable. Our apple tree gave a good crop this year, and I blanched and froze much of it. So when Marion kindly gave me some more apples, I thought I should make preserves rather than take up more freezer space. These were eaters, not cookers- but all quite small. 

I found lovely old MP recipe [see below] which looked interesting. The apples were safely on racks in the garage, but I had hardly any jars. Friends at chapel and in the village were able to help out, and I am well stocked now! Mrs Patten was a WW2 cook, and so recognises the need for frugality, and 'using what you have'. 

I was able to use up the odds and ends of sugars [demerara, soft brown, granulated etc] in my big glass storage jars. They are all empty and sparkling now, so I can buy fresh stuff for the Christmas baking. Ditto the vinegars, and the sultanas. I used 'naked ginger' from Grape Tree as it is more economical than Opies [plus it is dry, you don't have the messiness of draining the syrup, and chopping is much easier]

Margeurite's recipe is started off in the pressure cooker, which saves time and energy. I had a lot of apples [4.5 kg], so scaled up the recipe, and made three huge batches. The first cooking was done in the PC, then I transferred to my big maslin pan to finish off before bottling.

There are now lots of jars sitting happily maturing till Christmas- waiting for fancy hats and labels. I've kept a list of the empty-jar-donors, and they will all get a full jar as a thank-you. A special gift has gone to Judy, who lent me her apple peeler. 

What a fab gadget this is! You retract the handle, put the apple on the prongs and turn. In less than a minute, your apple is peeled, cored and sliced. What a timesaver. And it is such fun to use! Thanks Judy.

Marguerite Patten’s Apple and Ginger Chutney
Pressure cooking time 10 mins. Makes nearly 2kg (4lb).
340g (12oz) onions
450g (2lb) cooking apples (weight after peeling)
280ml (½ pint) brown or white malt vinegar
½–1 teaspoon salt
1–2 teaspoons mixed pickling spice
1-2 teaspoons ground ginger
340g (12oz) sugar (any sort- white , brown etc)
100g (4oz) chopped preserved ginger
170–225 g (6–8 oz) sultanas
1. Peel the onions and apples,
2. Chop the vegetables and fruit and put into the pressure cooker.
3. Add the vinegar, the salt, and the pickling spice tied securely in muslin.
4. Fix the cover and bring to H/15 lb pressure.
5. Cook for 10 minutes, and then cool under cold water.
6. Remove the cover, add the sugar, ginger and dried fruit and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved; remove the bag of spice.
7. Boil steadily in the open pan until the consistency of a thick purée, stir from time to time.
8. Spoon into hot jars and cover.

[recipe from here]

In Loving Memory

Please continue to remember Barbara and her family in your prayers. Malcolm died earlier today (Details) Thankyou.

May he rest in peace, and rise in glory 

Autumn Days

...when the grass is jewelled

And the silk inside a chestnut shell

Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled

All these things I love so well

Clouds that look like familiar faces

And a winter’s moon with frosted rings

Smell of bacon as I fasten up my laces

And the song the milkman sings.

Whipped-up spray that is rainbow-scattered

And a swallow curving in the sky

Shoes so comfy though they’re worn out and they’re battered

And the taste of apple pie.

Scent of gardens when the rain’s been falling

And a minnow darting down a stream

Picked-up engine that’s been stuttering and stalling

And a win for my home team.

So I mustn’t forget

No, I mustn’t forget

To say a great big thank you

I mustn’t forget.

[by Estelle White 1925-2011]

Did you sing this hymn in school assembly? My 'autumn days' this week have included

A gift of apples, which will make fine chutney

Some shiny conkers in my wooden bowl

A bag of onions to go with the apples

And a basket of chunky green wool

The wool was part of a WIP which my SIL has abandoned, and kindly passed the yarn on to me. Its soft greeny brown hues seem appropriate to October weather. These are the apples she gave me - and I have bought some onions to make a big batch of chutney.

'Amor vincit omnia' said Bob, wittily, as I picked up the conkers on the churchyard. I have no use for them, they are just glossy and brown and lovely to hold.

What autumnal things are you saying thank-you for this week?

The Tooth, The Whole Tooth...

...and nothing but the tooth.

When Rosie was here for the weekend a fortnight ago, she was very anxious about her wobbly tooth. It was her first, and she was concerned about the Tooth Fairy. Yes, her best friend had lost a tooth, and she had been visited by the TF - so I said I was sure that when the time came, 

it would all be fine.

On the morning of the Queen's Funeral, I set up the sewing machine in front of the TV, and hastily produced a tiny little bag.

When we began our journey back to London, I presented it to her- and explained that when the tooth came out, she should put it under her pillow.

"And when the TF sees the ribbon, she will know there is a tooth for her to collect" You would have thought that nothing could go wrong. Ha! ha!

Rosie went for her swimming lesson - and when she got out of the water, discovered her wobbly tooth had gone - washed away in the pool. 

She put a letter in the purse, explaining why there was no tooth. The TF dutifully paid up anyway, leaving a note saying that was OK, and she hoped Rosie had fun with the money.

Which was all good. Then her second wobbly tooth came out at a meal time, and she swallowed it by mistake. Yet another apologetic note went in the purse. 

I hope tooth #3 makes it into the little purse...The TF may suspect Rosie is working some kind of hustle here! "To lose one tooth may be regarded as misfortune, to lose two  looks like carelessness" as Oscar Wilde almost said. 

On an unrelated note - I see that the new King's cypher has been released. Does that mean that the Royal Mail will change its name to C3PO??

Just Keep Going...

Many people are really struggling with life right now, for all sorts of different reasons. I found lots of images for this anonymous quote. I really liked this one, for its autumnal colours, and because it says 'us' and 'we' - this is something we are doing together.

I was about to hit 'publish' and then I saw the typo at the end of the quote.

"strom" is a Viking word, meaning a strong tidal stream. Maybe it is not a typo after all. As Isaiah 43 says

Don’t be afraid…you’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I WILL be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will NOT go down. 

Winter Weeds?

 

Despite the title, this is not another gardening post. There is an old English expression, "winter-gewēode" which I found in my Word Hord book. It means winter weeds and refers to the clothes worn in winter time. As a child, I remember people using the expression widow's weeds, when a woman wore black clothes following the death of her husband. 

It seemed strange- why were these clothes weedy? As I learned from Hana Videen's book, there are two very similar words in Old English...

wǣd [pronouned wadd] meaning clothing, and

wēod [pronounced way-dd] a useless plant or weed

The term winter-weeds  was around at the time of the Battle of Hastings [but widow's weeds are not recorded until around 500 years later, in the Middle English Old Testament, Genesis 38;14]
It is the first of October, and the nights are getting longer, the weather is getting cooler - so I shall sort out my wardrobe - lighter summer dresses will be put away, warm woollen skirts unpacked. This system has worked well for me for many years - and it is a good opportunity to cull the clothes.

There are some summer garments I have not worn since retiring, and they will be sent off to the CS if they are saleable, recycled if not. And the wonderful vacpac bags will compress the remainder. 

The downsizing/decluttering continues.

And I am not sure that I have really regretted getting rid of anything yet - although I did say to Bob that I might have used my Palm Tree in the Nativity Tableau. Then I realised I couldn't have put it in the stable, and it is not weatherproof or strong enough to stand outside! The October page on my calendar is definitely an encouragement in this respect.

So today will definitely be a day for weeding out my wardrobe.

Or as the Old English would put it
Time to wēod out the wǣds

IMPORTANT MESSAGE For My Friends

This is a special post on behalf of my friend. I know many of you reading this will also be followers of ElizabethD [Barbara] at "Small Moments". She lives in Cornwall and for some years now has been primary carer for her husband. She messaged me this morning to say he is now reaching the end of his life. She is being supported by family and friends- but she has asked for your prayers.

Many of us have grown very fond of this wise and gracious lady - Bob and I were privileged to visit her and her dear husband in their home, two years ago. 

I don't want to say any more right now - just to pass on her request, at this sad time. Thank you. 

In Which Ang Becomes A Stripper

The latest Memory Bear has just been completed - this time with only three shirts, not the usual four. It is for the mother of a young man who died too soon - and lived mostly in teeshirts and jeans. So I used some denim to make the backpack. I always ask if the family would like any leftover fabric returned - they usually say "No, you can keep it"

So I have a bag of shirt bits in the loft. I got it down this week, and sorted and ironed everything. Buttons [and interesting labels] were removed and stored - and then I cut off cuffs and collars, and separated the pieces into fronts, backs, sleeves and yokes. 

I cut every piece into a rectangle, and put large trimmings into a rag bag for Bob's workshop, small pieces into the bin. I ironed all the rectangles, and got out my BigShot Die Cutter, and my fancy new dies.

The instructions say you can cut up to eight 

layers - and if you fold the fabric carefully, make strips 5 yards long!

However my strips are mostly around 24" long, which is the length of the die - and about the length of a shirt back. It did not take me very long to produce hundreds of neat strips 2½" wide.

I have another carrier bag of shirt bits to 'strip', and then I am going to start planning my quilt. I borrowed this book from the library for inspiration.

It is full of quilts made using Moda 'Jelly Roll' packs, but I want to create my quilt using Memory Bear Strips. Once I have all my strips, I shall play around with them, and see what ideas I come up with.

But Kirsten has just sent me a package- so the next instalment of The Postcard Project has to be done first.

Off The Beat, On The Box

There are fewer 'bobbies on the beat' these days. But there are still plenty of 'bobbies on the box'. I quite like Police/Crime Dramas on TV - British ones, 'Eurocrime' and shows from the USA. With the autumn setting in, and evenings growing darker, the TV schedules are adapting...

Perez [Dougie Henshall] has finally flown south from Shetland [in search of a new electric razor?] and left Tosh and Sandy to run the police station.

The ending felt a bit unsatisfactory - is his mate Duncan [Mark Bonnar] still in prison?

Ridley [Adrian Dunbar] has finished his blues number, shut the lid of the piano and shuffled away into the night. Is he embarking on travels with his wee donkey? 

I have yet to watch Bloodlands [with James Nesbitt] - I didn't see series 1, and so won't start on series 2. It has not had good reviews.Does anyone have any comments on this one?

I did watch Crossfire during an ironing marathon. Keeley Hawes was a policewoman in Line of Duty, and plays an ex copper in this one. Her spouse is Lee Ingleby [who was George Gently's sidekick for years] This one was rubbish - I ended up not really liking any of the characters [apart from one particularly thoughtful couple, who were less self-centred than all the others]  At least the ironing got done!

Ben Miller is back as Professor T [having stopped being a policeman in Death in Paradise, where he got stabbed to death] It's fun - almost as good as the original Belgian series. And Frances De La Tour continues to delight, at the ripe old age of 78, as she plays his eccentric mother.

A new series, which began on Sunday, I found really enjoyable, and thought provoking. It is set in St Andrews- a beautiful Scottish town where I have had two lovely holidays. 

And based on a book by Val McDermidd [whose crime novels are always well written] with the screen play developed by Emer Kenny [Bunty from 'Father Brown']

There are two more episodes to go, and Bob and I have been discussing whodunnit and why. KP is refreshingly 'normal' - none of the inner angst which besets too many TV cops. Lauren Lyle plays the title character in a totally believable way. I have not read Val D's KP series [yet] but I understand there have been significant changes for the TV show. Not least the decades when things happen. 

Did you watch any of these shows? How did you rate them? 

Bob is now talking about visiting Scotland for a holiday sometime. St Andrews, rather than Shetland, I suspect.