The Cottage Smallholder

It’s quite fitting that the last day in the year should end with the final monthly instalment of Flowers from the Garden. This was a challenge that I set myself in January 2007. Having been an extravagant flower buyer for over 20 years I decided not to buy flowers for the house from a shop Read More »

“Come on over. We are having goose risotto.” “What sort of goose?” Gilbert’s tone was wary. “A free range Gressingham goose. Cost a fortune but it was a present from my Mum as our Christmas Day treat.” There was no response so I added: “A goose that’s had a happy life in a goosey sort Read More »

I love watching telly. It’s seductive. We don’t have cable telly or a digi box, so it’s just the five UK terrestrial channels. A year or so ago Danny set up a sideline business and I started writing this blog. How would we create the time to accommodate these ventures? The simple answer was to Read More »

Shortly before Christmas, Mildred sent me this recipe for these “little light muffins which were so easy to do . . .the recipe was from my friend, Sylvia. You don’t need a mixer, thinking about it I expect they would be fun for children to make! They are yummy, and look so nice!” Baking with Read More »

“Holly is at a premium this year. Especially holly with berries.” Alistair was laying branches of holly on the lawn of the house where I was working last week. All the holly that was removed was to be given to me. David, the owner of the house, had left detailed instructions for Alistair. Our eyes Read More »

We always buy a ham at Christmas to keep the goose company in the fridge and provide us with endless meals. Starting with ham sandwiches on Christmas day and hot ham with a fresh parsley sauce on Boxing Day. The latter is eaten on trays as we indulge in an afternoon of horse racing on Read More »

I used to pull out all the stops for Christmas and decorate the house from top to bottom. I loved doing this but it took weeks to set up and there was always a scramble to get everything down before twelfth night. Christmas is a now a quieter celebration in every way. I bought this Read More »

“‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;” Clement Clarke Moore (1779 – 1863) Except me and a small Min Pin companion who had discovered a plate of delicious crumbs when taking a midnight stroll in the sitting room. Happy Christmas everyone.

I finally found cranberries in the Cambridge Sainsbury’s store on Friday. I wanted to whoop with joy and run around the store waving them over my head. Instead I quickly grabbed two packs and quietly popped them into my basket. I’ve been looking for cranberries for weeks and was beginning to worry that we wouldn’t Read More »

Christmas and Easter are flagged as reorganisation opportunities here in the cottage. No matter how frenetic our lives and projects are, we always take a few days off. Treasured days. On the run up to the holidays I politely explain to my client that they will not be seeing me for a couple of days Read More »