Birthday Cake

 

It's my birthday, but instead of a conventional cake, I've made a batch of Swedish Semlor Buns. These are definitely my best yet. The Cornerstones oven is better than the one in Dorset for bread, I think. I am finding hard to realise just how old I am - it's two years since I became an OAP, we retired, and I got my bus pass! But still young at heart

For the last week, I've been singing this song from Holiday Club and dancing in the kitchen like a seven year old. [Please note, this is NOT me on the video. She's a youth worker from Wakefield] But I think the joy of this song is so infectious. The children have really enjoyed the tune and the actions. I hope you enjoy it too. 

Easter Sunday

One of my favourite Easter hymns - the story of how it came to be written [by Gloria and Bill Gaither]  is here. Do check it out. 

May God bless you, and your loved ones, with a Happy Easter!

Easter Saturday

I love the way my computer offers me random pictures or videos, with titles like "On this day three years ago" "Special moments with Rosie" "Highlights of Manchester". This one just came up, labelled Easter 2018

This was a few weeks before Steph and Gaz got married- and when Rosie [then 2] was our only grandchild. Bob was still in ministry in Dorset, and I was still supply teaching occasionally. 

Someone said to me this week "Easter is a time for families". I'm so grateful for my family - this lot, the three younger grandchildren, and our siblings and niblings further away. To be surrounded by such love and care is a privilege and a joy.

Good Friday

 

Resting!

These five little owls were part of Wednesday morning's crafting. I love the way the children arranged the wings in different ways, and made each bird their own individual creation.

Wednesday evening we had over 60 attending the Family and Friends Evening. It was quite brilliant. The adults were so appreciative. The team were given chocolates to share. I'm so grateful to have had the chance to work together with such a lovely crowd of people.

Bob and I were thanked at the evening session, and presented with a plant, and also a bag of freshly baked croissants to have a lazy breakfast on Thursday morning! How incredibly thoughtful.

 

One Day More...

Holiday Club has been going really well. The team are working so hard, the children are lovely, the parents are appreciative...and it is more exhausting than ever! I love doing it, but I accept that I do not have the energy I had twenty years ago. I haven't taken any photos like I usually do, of the children's crafts.

Fortunately we have Rosie staying with us this week, so she kindly posed with her makes...she says that she is enjoying the club.

A little house, a dancing girl and a little purse. All made from recycled items [old Xmas cards, milk bottle tops, CDs and cotton reels, and empty milk cartons] 

This is the final day, and as well as this morning's session, this evening is Family and Friends Night. 

I may spend Thursday in my PJs.

At The Repair Café

Repair is definitely the theme for this week. Sunday I posted a prayer to repair the world, yesterday I introduced The Repair Shop  The Restoration Station. And On Sunday I spent four hours at the Village Hall where I go for my craft group, at the Repair Café.

I was at the mending table - I worked on 3 aprons which needed longer ties, and then did an invisible darn on this argyll pattern sweater.

It was quite a busy time- I never got round to taking photographs outside, in the sunshine where people were mending tools and bikes, and sharpening blades. My friend's husband came in wielding a huge axe!

One of my blue quilts was on display, draped over the unsightly [non-working] electric organ - but I didn't snap that either.

The cakes were amazing, and the filled rolls delicious.

Jane sold lots of her seed packets for peace[raising money for Amnesty]

Bob had some positive conversations about the Men's Shed Project. 

It was lovely to see the community coming together, collaborating in such a positive way.

UPDATE; Monday morning's Holiday Club was brilliant. 29 children booked in, everything ran very smoothly. Thank you for all the encouraging messages!

We've Been Here Before! Welcome home!

We'll be up at the crack of dawn in order to get the final bits ready for Holiday Club. The title is Restoration Station - and we are looking at three incidents in the life of Jesus where he restored people to wholeness.[We can't call it The Repair Shop, because that name belongs to the BBC]

Bob and I have been doing Children's Holiday Clubs together for over forty years. We have some really great memories. 

Especially from our two decades in Kirby Muxloe - and I've been thinking so much about friends there as I have prepared for this club. 

The year we went to Kirby [1995] was also the year Gary Lineker came back home to Leicester to live, having retired from playing professional football. He was 33, and had never received a red or yellow card in any game - an all-round good bloke. He became the ad-man for a local company. This was the commercial which started it all.

Watching it makes me a bit homesick for Leicestershire - but also so very glad that 28 years later Gary Lineker still IS "Mr Nice Guy" . I'm so glad he is not afraid to speak out for those who really need it, and tell the politicians their behaviour is unacceptable. God bless you, Gary. [and please God, bless our little Holiday Club too...]

To Repair The World

From my friend Jim's wonderful blog, I learned the Hebrew phrase tikkun olam which means to repair the world. As well as being a gifted theologian and preacher, Jim is also skilled in tapestry 

Jim has written this simple, beautiful prayer, which I share with you today

Tikkun Olam.

Spirit of God repair our world,

repair our hopes,

repair our communities,

repair our humanity,

repair our hearts,

Tikkun Olam.

Tell Me, Where Is Fancy Bread?

... as the Bard almost said

I've been reading up on braided bread recently - which exists in many European cultures. 

The Czechs and Bohemians use golden raisins and condensed milk in their recipe and call it houska.

Polish housewives make chalka - with or without dried fruit. It is very popular at Eastertime. And if any is left over, it is turned into makowki - a bread pudding sprinkled with poppyseeds.

Swiss Butterzopf is a special Sunday treat in many families, particularly at Easter

From the Vendée region of France [on the Atlantic coast] we get Brioche Vendéenne, which is flavoured with brandy or orange blossom water.

From Hungary comes the round kolach  loaf. However, I suppose the most well known braided loaf is the challah, of the Ashkenazy Jews,

particularly popular at the start of the Jewish New Year [Rosh Hashanah] There are many stories about the size and shape of the challah loaves, often very ornate.

Braided ones, which may have three, four, or six strands, are the most common, and because they look like arms intertwined, symbolize love. Three braids symbolize truth, peace, and justice. Twelve humps from two small or one large braided bread recall the miracle of the 12 loaves for the 12 tribes of Israel.

Braids,ropes, plaits, twists - there are so many different variations on the theme.This weekend, if you fancy one of these plaited treats, I suggest you pop down to your local European Supermarket, where there may be a special offer on Aldi's Ropy Loaf

Heartsease

Having abandoned snowdrop stitching in favour of Oxburgh last month, I was determined to do something floral for March in our CCC. We invited a friend for a meal whilst his wife was away - and he bought me a lovely bowl of violas. Violas have been growing in the wild here in the UK for centuries - and from them we have the cultivars which we can buy in the garden centre and they are also the forerunners of the larger pansies. 

He advised that I should keep the bowl inside till the frosts had passed, so there they were, on the coffee table, bringing much joy.The blooms were so delicate and tiny, some barely one centimetre across. I looked into their story.Throughout history the viola has had many names, including heartsease, love-lies-bleeding, Johnny-jump-up, and pansy.

An old Herbal I read says It was formerly in much repute as a remedy for epilepsy, asthma and numerous other complaints, and the flowers were considered cordial and good in diseases of the heart, from which may have arisen its popular name of Heartsease as much as from belief in it as a love potion.

The name love lies bleeding is said to refer to the inseparability of the pain of living and the love of Christ. The poet Christina Rosetti speaks of this in her poem Balm in Gilead - she is struggling with growing older, with the awareness of the stuff that is wrong in her life, and realises that divine love, and the Good Friday/Easter story brings her heartsease, and peace of mind, 

Heartsease I found

where love-lies-bleeding

empurpled all the ground

I ignored my computer stitch programme, and just drew out a picture of one bloom and did everything 'the old way' with pencil and paper. I enlarged it to fit one of the sections of the fabric. And I restricted myself to a handful of five colours.

Kirsten and I have marked out our sections with running stitch borders. I counted wrongly, as I thought the horizontal green line was the top of the section. 

I'd completed three petals when I realised my mistake! The green lines were edges and the centre line. I shortened the stem of the bloom, and added four rows of stitching above and below to 'balance out' the flower in the centre of the section. I used running stitch, chain, feather stitch and herringbone.

These rows remind me of the sampler in my school needlework book. I must try and find that, I am sure it is here somewhere! 

Shakespeare was fond of violas- in Midsummer night's dream, they are used in Puck's love potion, and Ophelia in Hamlet refers to Pansies for thoughts [a pun on the French pensees]

Waiting with great anticipation for Kirsten's parcel...

What I've Been Doing On Tuesdays...

Since February I have been volunteering at a nearby library. I was in the main library in Norwich back in November when I saw a poster asking for volunteers. Aylsham Library [15 miles away] wanted someone to run a Craft and Chat Group. I contacted them for details and put in my application. It took weeks to be processed [and the form for my referees was rather long and complicated] but I got the job. I think I was the only applicant!

Attendance has not been brilliant-just two women. There was a craft group pre-covid but the leader has moved on, and former members not returned. 

We've made Kusudama Flowers. And cards

We are not meeting in the Easter Holidays, and someone has suggested we do cards again when we resume on April 17th. 

The Library Staff are really encouraging, and say that numbers will improve. I do hope so

Of Poo And Porn

Warning; ranting to follow

Why is it that on the day when you unwittingly step in dog mess outside and then enter your home

1- you are wearing shoes with most ridges in the soles

2- your sense of smell is haywire so you don't notice

3- your beloved is far behind you, and you get all the way to the bedroom and pack before you see the awful footprints?

Why can't some people clear up the mess their dogs leave on the pavement? [thank you Steph for the Top Tip of scrubbing soles with lemon juice and bicarb to remove the stink]

Steph and I saw this statue in Florence, many years ago, when she was studying art at A level. We found it amazing, and beautiful, and marveled that Michelangelo could create such a thing out of a piece of marble, with chisels and a hammer. 

But apparently a parent in Florida complained to the school board that her 12 year old child had been shown pornographic pictures when the class were studying art.[David, and also Botticelli's 'Birth Of Venus'] 

The principal of the college has had to resign [well, she was given the choice, "resign or we terminate your contract"]

Now I know the media do not always present all the facts...but I found this interview with the chair of the school board quite disturbing. 

Given the choice, I would much rather spend time with my family in an art gallery looking at classical paintings and sculpture than seeing the hideous, ghoulish Hallowe'en costumes parading through the streets each October. 

Steph had that beautiful Botticelli print in her bedroom throughout her teens - Liz worked at Tate Britain when she first graduated - and Rosie adores art galleries. I think our family have a pretty good relationship with art...

The dictionary defines pornography as "printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual excitement". This is not that. 

I am strongly opposed to pornography, and the stuff which demeans women [or men], normalises violent or aggressive sexual activity, or besmirches loving relationships. This is not that.

I am honestly glad right now that I have retired from school teaching [don't even get me started on what I think of Ofsted]

It's In Her Genes...

 Jess never met her great-great-aunt, but she appears to have inherited Peggy's secretarial skills...

Jess enjoys being in the office!

Thank you everyone for your kind words in recent days. The thanksgiving service went well. People were very appreciative of my 'Family Memories' and Bob's tribute. It was so good to see all the cousins together. And the church friends laid on a lovely spread afterwards. 

For Peggy

This is one of my favourite photos of Auntie Peggy, it was taken at a firend's wedding [by Uncle Ron, I think] She was so happy and full of joy. That is how I shall remember her. The service today will include music and hymns she loved. Ralph McTell's "Streets of London" - because she loved going up to the City. For years she worked there, and she enjoyed going to the markets and shops with Gill - but she was also sad by the poverty she saw. In her later, housebound years, she asked her daily carers to put this track on her CD player. How could she claim to be lonely, she said - she had daily carers, a loving family, and God was always with her - think of those who are much worse off, out there on the streets, she'd say.

We'll sing "How Great Thou Art" [as we did for her beloved Ron in 2005, and then for Gill] and "I will sing the wondrous story, of the Christ who died for me" - and "The Old Rugged Cross". This last one, a special favourite, will be sung using a track which Bob has taken from a vinyl LP. It is "The 7th Festival of Evangelical Choirs" recorded at the Albert Hall in 1979, and Peggy is there, along with others from the Cranbrook Baptist Choir. There cannot be many people who get to sing at their own funeral!

He Who Steals My Purse...

Today it's my turn to teach the children's group at church. We're looking at the ten commandments, and we are at "Do not steal". I have been struggling for inspiration - these are all lovely youngsters from caring families. All the lesson plans I've found seem to be about eschewing bank robbery, burglary and shoplifting - none of which would be a temptation for this bunch! So I decided we will look at different ways in which we could steal

• You can steal someone's stuff [their purse, their car etc] 
• Or their time [wasting it, or causing them to have to fix your problem] 
• Or their good name [damaging a person's reputation] 
• You can steal their work [copying or cheating, or claiming it as your own] 
• And you can steal their confidence [`gaslighting' or bullying] 

I won't mention the Iago quote about stealing my purse vs. filching my good name, or using the term "gaslighting" - but I do want to get across the idea that stealing is so much more than just robbing a bank.We will make dice, and play a game. Whichever face comes up, we can talk about examples and situations which relate to that type of stealing. And why and when we might be tempted to steal. 

For "confidence" I found an image of the Superman pose [hands on hips, shoulders back] Apparently scientists have now shown that maintaining this stance for 2 minutes will boost your confidence in  a stressful situation! 

I have prepared the 'nets' ready to be coloured and stuck. I already had the outline template on the computer, I've just added words and pictures. One of these days maybe I should put all these ideas into a book! 

But I'm happy to share them freely here. So no need to steal my lesson plan, I'm giving it away. 

Dinner Is On Me - Literally!

In the difficult days while my aunt was in hospital, and afterwards, my lovely daughters were eager to help however they could. "Please keep sending me pictures of the children to cheer me up!" I said. And bless them, they did! The cheeriest baby in Manchester is weaning now. For sometime he has been very interested in his brother's food. 

But he is really enjoying his own menus, and certainly makes mealtimes a whole-body experience!

Not TikTok, But Chesstok

 

At the beginning of the month I posted about trousers. Steph had passed on a pair of jeans, described online as 'ripped Mom jeans'. The dictionary tells me that "ripped" can mean torn, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or possessing good muscle tone. I am not a 'ripped mom' [Steph has good muscle tone though...] How was I going to repair the eight rips on the thighs and right shin?

Visible, creative mending is very 'on trend' at the moment. I considered Japanese techniques [sashiko and boro] and the Indian kantha, [more patching and embroidery, using rags] And then my search ended up just 3 miles from Steph's front door, with the discovery of A & E Chesstok's "Speed-weve, Lancashire's smallest loom" How did I not know about this little miracle before?

In 1963, when I joined the Brownies, we had to learn to darn - we even had the original WW2 leaflets which showed us how to do it. Stitch round the hole, make a series of vertical 'warp' threads, then weave your 'weft' across to cover the hole. Well, it turns out that the Chesstok brothers had developed a gadget to make this process much easier - creating very even darns. These were made in Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, in their factory in The Trocadero Buildings [which sadly burned down in the 1970s]

Here's the instruction leaflet. I learned how a darning loom has two parts: a wooden disc onto which you place your fabric, and a metal loom. The wooden disc has a groove around the side so you can attach the loom to the disc and fabric using 

an elastic band. Run your fingers across the chain of hooks at the top to make the metal hooks flip one way and the other. This alternates the height of the warp/vertical threads so you can quickly and accurately weave over and under

I discovered dozens of YouTube clips about the Speedweve, ways to darn on different fabrics, methods of varying the colours, and threading the wefts to produce stripes, and houndstooth checks and more. 

I sent off for one. And from the moment I got it out of the packet, I was literally 'hooked'. I found a scrap of woollen fabric and tried out different yarns, thick and thin.

The packet contained a wooden disc, elastic bands, a varied selection of needles, some plastic clips, an instruction sheet - and the little metal loom itself.

First attempt - rather over ambitious. I used about 20 different colours and the weaving in on the back was far too messy. But it had a certain quirky charm

I tried fine crochet yarn - the holes were too big. Then soft cotton-a-broder, with blue warp and brown weft. That was a lot neater. I realised that drawing out a rectangle with my marking pen made it much easier to keep to a neat shape.  I looked at the eight rips in the jeans - none was more than 2" long, and not too wide.

I decided on 6 strands of embroidery floss, and chose a selection of the variegated threads from my stash. I darned in the ends neatly and backed each darn with a patch of lightweight iron on interfacing for added security.

I now have some pretty summer jeans, which will remind me of my Manchester family whenever I wear them...[thanks again Steph]  

This site is a good place to start, although I bought a less expensive loom online which is working fine. And here's an American video showing the method,

Three Years On...

Is it really three years today since we began the first lockdown? Time has played tricks with my brain, I find it hard to remember what happened and when. We didn't have covid tests back then, but I was displaying symptoms so this sign was already up in our front porch

We came through it OK, though Bob was pretty ill soon after. Sadly a number of our friends caught covid and did not recover. Others struggled with separation from loved ones - particularly those living in care homes. Isolation brought distress and confusion to elderly folk, and others with health issues.

Covid has not gone away - it is still claiming lives [including Auntie Peggy] I was sad to hear people on the bus mocking folk who were still wearing masks. That was unnecessary and unkind, and they were words spoken in ignorance.

But this graphic from March 2020 still holds true. Peggy knew this truth, and it gives me comfort too. 

The Dementia Darnings - Stitched With Love

The exhibition I went to on Monday with Nicky was called "The Dementia Darnings". We both found it incredibly moving. Jennifer Dutton, an artist, spent a number of years caring for her mother, who had dementia. To cope with her mum's decline, she started turning photographs into pieces of textile art. Her mum died in 2015. The exhibition has been touring internationally since!

We were both quite blown away by these images. From a personal point of view, it was really poignant. From a technical point of view, I was amazed by the skill and execution of the portraits. 

Jenni said she'd never really worked with stitches before. Here's herself portrait. 

In the way that an artist might use strokes of a crayon to build up colour on the page, she used thousands of strands of fine wool to form a picture on a net backing. 

From a distance, these really looked like photos - but close up the stitching was visible. I found an online interview with Jenni [from the People's Friend magazine, here] which explains all this. I also found a YouTube clip from an earlier exhibition somewhere else. [See below] Here are some of the pictures I took with Nicky.

Child, bride and mother

Picture and detail of stitching

Nicky! 

Thank you Nicky for suggesting we went together. Do look out for this exhibition - definitely worth a visit.