A little pause.

I want to use the time between Christmas and New Year as a pause. Although we have done very little during the last week or so, we are both tired....a series of bad nights and one or two minor health concerns....

So I'm quietly gathering up some sewing and a few books, tidying up the decorations and the remains of Christmas, and just 'being' for a little while. I think I'm not alone in this as I have seen one or two friends taking time out.

Let's all come back reefreshed!

 

Christmas.

 I  wish you all a truly peaceful and blessed Christmas.

         

My Angel.

The fourth candle. ( a memory)

It's called The Angel Candle, and symbolizes Peace.   

Many years ago we spent Christmas in a little mountain village near Salzburg in Austria. Here, there was no emphasis on shopping, no bright lights, no advertisements demanding that you buy, buy, buy.

Instead, a peaceful village, with trees covered in white lights. Little inns from which Christmas hymns were heard, A church where, at the end of the Christmas Eve Mass, the trumpeters played Silent Night from the spire gallery.

After the Christmas meal in our Inn the owner gathered us all round in a circle. Not speaking German we had little idea of what was happening. But when she brought out a big family Bible, and started to read, we knew we were hearing the beautiful Christmas story despite it being in another language. The visitors sat silently throughout, listening. What an unexpected and delightful surprise.

After the reading a present was given to each person. This was ours, this lovely little ceramic Angel. 

How we have treasured her as a reminder of that beautiful evening.

Books, a bit of nonsense.

 I read A Lot. My primary school teacher used to drag me out of the library corner and force me to go out to play. So unkind.

Because I can't now slip off to the Library in Truro, and because the mobile library comes only once a month, I have to rely on  my Kindle. Yes, I know it isn't the same as holding a 'real' book, breathing in its pages, peeking at the end, flipping back over the pages, feeling the weight of it in your hands.

But it's practical, and I can call up titles that I might not otherwise see. Naturally as it's Christmas I am reading the much loved Winter Solstice. Again. In proper book form too.

But reading some of the 'light', very, fiction recently and being horrified at the lack of grammatical editing, (example 'Her and Mike drove off to the market'), I got to the point of (almost) hurling the Kindle across the room and bellowing 'I could write this rubbish!)'

 To compete, my book  would have to have the following.

Girl, maybe in her thirties, starting a new life after divorce/break up........ 

A house, left to her by a grandparent/great aunt/godmother, maybe in France/Tuscany.., needing some repair. 

Her best friend who visits and tries to match her up with every available man. 

Kindly elderly neighbour  lady ready to provide advice and listening ear. 

A builder who obviously isnt a cross elderly man, but is good looking, well built, and generally attractive. And can speak perfect French. Of course. Available immediately to do the repairs.  None of your waiting three months for a start date.

Lots of baking, 'cookies' a speciality. Work magically completed so Girl can open up a Bed and Breakfast. Has anyone thought about the rules and regulations that accompany this in another country?

Girl and builder fall in love. Then she hears him on the phone to 'Another' so sends him on his way, not interested in his explanations that he was talking to his sister/grandmother/dog..... Eventually , with intervention from best friend and/or neighbour , all is resolved. Happy Ending.

Will it sell?

Do forgive me for being a touch cynical. Have you come across similar 'light fiction'? Maybe it just shows how poor my reading tastes are at the minute. Or maybe I've had too many  free titles on Kindle.

Going quietly off to the kitchen to make some mince pies.

Third Advent Candle

Arriving a bit late to Angela's' Pause in Advent. 

The third candle is pink.

It's known as the Gaudete (Rejoice) candle.

There is a lovely medieval Carol called Gaudete, which we were listening to on Sunday, and thinking a bit about Rejoicing.

 Although this year hasnt been one that held much rejoicing, there are things we can still be joyful for. This awful pandemic seems to have swept so many thousands of people away. We can rejoice in being alive. Rejoice in seeing and hearing the lovely things around us, the kindness of friends, the unexpected moments of joy.

Rejoice in the knowledge that we have a Saviour by our side throughout.

A bit of decorating.

Somehow it's been hard to find enthusiasm for decorating this year. Whether it's because we are all tired, or whether we dont want to shop, I dont know. Normally I would be walking the lane finding all sorts of greenery and berries, but this year I have just foraged in the garden.

A little wreath hangs on the front door. Made of natural greenery, holly berries, dried orange slices and with some tiny lights attached, it makes a welcoming entrance. 

Feeling underwhelmed by the thought of creativity this year, I just gathered up a trug full of baubles and placed my angels and candles either side. 

This patchwork comes out every year. Made many years ago in France, it was a 'goal' for me while my husband was in rehab following a stroke.

I received a surprise yesterday from the Care Agency whose Carers look after my husband.This beautiful table centre arrived at my door, delivered by the Manager, with Christmas wishes. Wasn't that kind!

I added the candle to it.

 Following Angela's 'not quite pause in Advent'.

Lighting the second candle on my Advent wreath today. 

It's sometimes known as the Bethlehem candle, to represent the journey taken by Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

What a journey. Would we walk almost ninety miles today? In the cold. 

It made me think about the journey we have all been on this year, unwanted, unexpected and very frightening. Both Mary and Joseph must have felt those emotions as they travelled through territories that were less than friendly. Not knowing where they would sleep, not knowing how close they were to having their baby.

It made me realise just how many of my journeys are not necessary, and how much easier it has been to stay at home this year

 HELP!

I need a tutorial. New Blogger is so much harder to cope with.

I can't get a new background on the blog, the old method seems to have disappeared.

I would like to have a blog list on the side of blogs that I enjoy, one that comes up with new posts. I see so many of you have this.

Please help this pathetic untechnologically minded lady!!

Update.

I've managed to add a background. Now I need to change other colours on the page. It used to be very easy previously and I wish I hadn't changed anything!

 Advent, at home.

'preparing for Advent in unparallelled times.'

I'm taking part in Angela's annual Advent 'pause'. Only this year it isn't a pause , as we are all probably moving very slowly and carefully , and lives are paused already.

So, thinking about the preparations one makes for this season, and food comes to mind. Not the tins of chocolates/packets of fancy biscuits type of food. More the preparing of things that will go into the freezer, ready for when needed. 

This is what I bought from our lovely local farm shop this week. The owners have turned their business around, and opened a shop in a large marquee, in their field. They sell vegetables, flowers, plants, local honey and bakery items. When you enter there is a feeling of airiness and of space, and of course we all keep to the social distancing rules.

Most of the produce is grown by the family and I have rarely found such freshness. Cauliflower, leeks for soup, carrots (my husband calls them 'proper' carrots with the tops on, a loaf of bread, eggs and a sprout 'tree'. Soup is already made, ready for cold evenings when we just want something warm and comforting while listening to a Christmas choir.

This week there is a Christmassy feel to the shop, as the avenue has been lined with Christmas trees and fairy lights. There's an awning covering a display of Christmas wreaths, all handmade with local holly and fir by one of the family. I've chosen mine for the door but it won't go up till 9th December.

For me, this feeling of home made, home grown preparation comes close to what I want to feel abour Christmas. Less glitter, more Nature.

What do you think?

Stir up Sunday

In England the last Sunday before Advent has the traditional name of Stir up Sunday.

The Victorians took a phrase from the collect of the day ...' Stir up we beseech thee Lord, the wills of thy faithful people'.......and a tradition was born. It became the day on which families gathered together to prepare their Christmas puddings.

When my three children were little we had a fun day when all ingredients were gathered, little aprons found, tall stools squeezed round the kitchen table and off we went.It took a long time to do all the little bits, chopping up nuts, squeezing lemons and oranges, weighing and measuring...and a bit of tasting now and then!

Of course, the most important thing was to make a wish as you stirred the pudding, and didnt tell anyone what you wished for.

How delicious it all smelt as it was stirred together. Then packed into bowls and steamed for several hours, scenting the whole house with Christmas.

I don't know if many people do this now. Marks and Spencers does make a very good pudding. But our way created so many memories.

Tulip planting. 

This week it was time for Tulip planting.

I had bought some bulbs from Sarah Raven, as I have done in the past. I've always found them to be good value. This is the Venetian collection.

In went the first layer.

Then a layer of compost, followed by another layer of bulbs. Sarah calls this  'the Lasagne method'

They are covered up and will stay there till Spring.

The colours should be quite lovely.

I'm having a bit of fun, a little competition, with a friend in Herefordshire, an avid gardener. They have half of the pack of bulbs and planted them on the same day as mine. We're going to see whose come up first. As they have already had frosts hard enough to attack their Dahlias, I wonder if mine might be the first to appear?

Thank you for the many enquiries about my medical tests. The Covid was negative, and I'm waiting for the results of the other pulmonary related ones. No news is good news!

 Autumn leaves

It's the last bit of colour in  the garden now, just a few brave leaves clinging on to the Cherry Tree branches. The wind blows them hither and thither, some fall, some cling.

Leaves lie on the lawn drifting with the wind. Each one a colour of Autumn.

The gardener rakes them up each week, and they will provide compost next year.

 Little clutches of Cyclamen liven up a small area. Their colourful faces give me joy as they relentlessly battle through rain and wind and come up smiling.

Leaves and flowers together.

It's the end of another season in the garden.

Now there is planning to do.

A lesson learned.

Our village shop had bags of pears, reduced in price yesterday. I bought a bag and thought how nice it would be to caramelise them.

So peeled and sliced , the pears went into a heavy pan with butter and sugar.

Of course ,we all know the first lesson when you are caramelising anything. 

You Do Not step away from the pan. Even for one minute.

Otherwise you end up, as did I, with a very burnt pan and no caramelised pears. What a waste.

I blame the postman ,who was in a chatty mood.

Today I bought two more bags (50p each) 

They will be delicately poached. Very carefully.

The Test. 

Today I had a completely new experience.

I was tested for Coronavirus. Imagine, a year ago we wouldnt even have known what that meant.

The tests were held at a Scout hut outside Truro so I didnt have to go far. The staff were masked and gowned but still managed to be kind and sympathetic.

Next week I have to go to the local hospital for breathing tests linked to Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Apparently all the systems are rigidly in place, but that doesn't mean I won't worry.

It is mandatory to have the covid test before any procedure in hospital.

So that was this week's very new, and not the most comfortable, experience.

 'Beautiful Soup, so rich and green....'

So wrote Charles Dodgson (Lewis Caroll) in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

It's that season, don't you think? When Autumn chills make you long
for a hearty bowl of soup. So when I saw bunches of fresh leeks at the
Farm shop, I couldn't resist.

Leek and potato soup, with a little swirl of cream.

What could be more comforting?

(Why oh why does Blogger put a white background round some words???)

Photo 

Just to show you that my camera and I worked it out!

Thanks for helpful advice.

Dahlia today

Autumn gardening

 I so wish I was a clever technological person.

My new camera arrived, just a simple Canon Ixus, and is all set up and ready to go. Despite my laptop grumpily telling me that it didnt recognice this device, it is actually on there. However, the last step eludes me, the transferring of photos to laptop. Every time I try, there is a blank screen before me, and I can feel the laptop shrugging and saying 'told you so'.

What I need is my clever son, but visiting isn't sensible right now. So I shall go on trying to make sense of the Canon instruction handbook and wishing they didn't use such long words.

This week in the garden has been one of cutting back and digging up.

This is a photo from June this year, when I had just planted the pots. The Geraniums grew, the Petunias tumbled over the edges and it looked beautiful.

Now my lovely Summer flowering pots are empty. The Geraniums are tucked up in the greenhouse, and the Petunias are finished. Pots of flowering plants have been a continuing joy.

Climbing roses have been pruned, not too heavily just yet, but enough to deter them from clambering over the fence into next door's garden.

Perennials are fading now. Annuals have been pulled out.But still my Dahlias are blooming enthusiastically and give so much pleasure. Watching Gardeners World last night I admired Monty's huge clumps of Dahlias, and wondered if mine would ever grow up to be so beautiful.

There is always so much to do in the garden this season, if only the weather would help.

Bedtime.

My mother's call...'Bedtime!' was never a problem for me.  I couldnt wait to take my book and settle in to my fluffy blankets. Wearing a lovely flowy seersucker nightie made by mum, I felt like a princess! I was tucked up ,often with Elizabeth Goudge, safe and sound, in my own little world.

Even now, at the end of a long and busy day, I can feel that sense of relief as I head towards my bed (probably not in a seersucker nightie but always with a book).

Because it is such a necessary place of rest for me, I like to have beautiful linen and still have my French sheets from the Vosges mountains. They are heavy cotton and just go on and on. Every time I slip into them I feel calmed.

catalogue photo.

Travelling round France, as we sometimes did, we slept in beds in  farmhouses, Bed and breakfasts, and in Chateaux.

The photo below is typical of some of the chateaux bedrooms...very grand!

 In fact one of the best night's sleep was in a Farmhouse, where the rooms opened off a courtyard where goats  and chickens roamed. The bedlinens were probably old 'metis' fabric kept lovingly in the farmer's wife's armoire. Breakfast was served in the farmer's kitchen, just a simple bowl of coffee , and bread.

I do like cushions, in USA known as pillows. I have kept some of my lovely antique white lace pillowcases, and then pile smaller cushions on top...so quite a lot to move before I can get into bed. It looks pretty during the daytime.

Sadly I am having to use stock photos as my camera died and Amazon have managed to lose the order for a new one, telling me it has been delivered to my neighbour next door. 

It hasn't.

And they have now run out of the model I ordered.

I really do not like Amazon.

Return!

It seems to have been an age since I have written anything, but here I am back again after a double dose of antibiotics. Thank you for the many kind comments wishing me well on my last post.

My husband has had two weeks in a very nice Nursing home to enable me to have a good rest, and sadly no visitors were allowed due to restrictions. 

Life was just rest and more rest. But I did manage two trips out with a close friend. One was to Trelissick, our NT garden, where we enjoyed a coffee sitting outside. It was a lovely sunny day and there were not too many people around as we went early. To go to an NT place now you have to reserve a parking slot the day before.

About a mile away from our house is a sweet little tea room nestling in a tree filled garden.

This  is Linden Hey. Although there is an indoor room, this is not being used, and a large marquee has been erected in the garden, with tables socially distanced.

It was again a sunny morning when I went with a friend, and we sat at a table and chatted over coffee and a delicious home made scone.

 My husband came home yesterday and is happy to be back in a 'normal' routine.

It seems as though we are back to Square One as far as the Virus is concerned and it is frightening to see the rise in the number of cases.

All we can do is be a sensible as possible and do everything to protect ourselves and our families. We pray for our nation , pray that people might realise the seriousness of this and try to live to the Government guidelines.

It's good to be back!

A break.

I'm taking some time off.

This week I've been hit by acute diverticulitis and have been quite unwell. I managed to avoid going in to hospital, but am on two strong antibiotics.

So, resting gently in bed for a few days.

The joys of Moonpig!

I'm really not sure why Moonpig gave themselves that odd name, but it doesnt really matter too much.

Moonpig has a website which allows one to personalise cards which they then print and send to the recipient.

My eldest son, living in Australia, is 60 this month and I wanted to send him a special card, so found some old photos, scanned them, (that's another story!) and filled in the card provided by Moonpig.

So there he is, my funny little boy, as a baby, as a toddler, and with his siblings. So glad I kept these photos.

He is now a father of two lovely girls and enjoying his life in Sydney so much.

I'd love to don wings and be with them all.

Apples.Kindnesses.

Almost September. Already the leaves are dropping from our apple tree. So are the apples. I think the wind has been too much for them.Waste not etc, I gathered a basket of windfalls and chopped them up trying hard to disregard the odd buggy bits. I now have four boxes of stewed apples for the freezer.

My camera has finally died, so I'm using stock photos until I can replace it.

On to lovely kindnesses.
Over the last few weeks I have received in the mail, out of the blue as it were, some pretty cards and notes from kind blog friends, just asking how I am doing and sending words of encouragement. A postcard from Lourdes arrived yesterday. The sender knows how I long to return there.
Thank you to my friends from far away, it means more than you can imagine..

I was also sent the gift of a super book, 
'Miss, what does incomprehensible mean?' by Fran Hill.

When I saw the book mentioned on Lesley's blog 
'Nearly Martha again', I knew it was one that I would enjoy reading. I was very touched to find it sent in the mail by Lesley a few days later.
If you have a teaching background you will enjoy it, but even without that it is still a very well written book. In diary form, it's a day by day account of her experiences in teaching. It's funny but has also a serious side, dwelling on the backgrounds of some of the children, and relating to her own childhood.
Thank you Lesley.

Whilst we see here in Cornwall, sadly,  some of the most rude and unpleasant tourists that we have ever known, I am so heartened to find glimpses of kindness and goodness.
Thank you so much.

In praise of Godetia.

Tissue paper -like petals seem to float from this pot, moving gently every time I pass.

Godetia is one of the loveliest old fashioned garden flowers.

When I sowed the seeds there were some Clarkia amongst them, but none of them came up, sadly.

The plants are native to California, I believe, and were discovered and classified by a  Swiss naturalist, C.H Godet, in the 19th century.

I wonder how it feels to make such a discovery.

 My large pot is full of the plants and I have watched the different colours emerging over the days.

When the sun shines through the silky petals it looks magical.

Garden produce.

Windfall apples are dropping.

Some are usable, some are too far gone.

Soon I will be preparing  apple slices and stewed apples for the freezer.

Today I made a 'French Apple Cake' which is deliciously light.It is good warm (with cream!)or cold.

Then this morning I finished making the Crab Apple jelly that I started yesterday.

Some of you may remember that this is an annual event from way back when we had a large tree.

Now I just have a newish tree which nevertheless gave me two and a half pounds of apples.

That has made five little jars of jelly which we shall enjoy so much through the Winter.

The next project is looming. The Marmande tomatoes are beginning to ripen.

One of them weighed over a pound!

They make wonderful tomato sauce for the freezer, skinned and chopped, with shallots, a little garlic and basil,

tomato paste and a little water.

We have only just finished the last block from the freezer, delicious with pasta.

Quite a productive week.

I love having our own produce to store. Was I a squirrel in a former life?

Best birthday present!

My lovely daughter knows how much I would love a cat, but equally how impossible it is in the light of my husband's blindness etc.

So here is Poppy.

She miaows, she purrs and she rolls around.

Almost as good as a 'real' one!

I have been inundated with so many bunches of lovely flowers, and so many cards.

In the middle of taking a photo of them all, my camera died, and I think it may be terminal as the lens will not go back. Looking on Youtube it seems that there are ways of fixing it but with potential damage to the camera.

I'll have to think about it..

Update on the camera,

Having read all sorts of scholarly websites on repairing a camera, I went with the advice to....'if all else fails give it a thump with your hand.'

It worked!

Bits of a day.

Blogger has changed my format to the new one, which was a bit of a surprise. So far there have been no major problems, but I'm sure, reading some of your posts, that there may well be.

Here's the first one....

I tried to upload a photo of Alexa, but it has disappeared.

So has she, sadly, as she died this week. Well, more a drowning actually , as she received a dose of orange juice when a mug fell over. She didn't recover.

We now have a new one.....with an American accent!

Here's a photo of Cafe au Lait, measuring nine inches across.

Amazing.

I saw a beautiful Peacock butterfly in the garden yesterday.

I have so many bees and feel very happy that wildlife thrives here.

Sweet peas have been a little disappointing this year. It could be that I used a free packet of seeds. There aren't as many flowers on the stems as usual, but the scent is still amazing. They are planted just by the sunroom door so the perfume drifts in.

. 

You can maybe just see the little bench outside the door, where I sit with a morning cup of coffee. Just a moment for me while the Carers are busy with my husband.

I think that's all my ramblings for today.