How to make green willow wreaths for Christmas
I’ve been ogling simple wreaths for weeks now. They are quite expensive but could be good for Christmas – small ones on the tree and a large decorated one on the door. But how were they made? A few weeks ago I cut some green willow from our tree and fashioned a little circle within minutes. I know that most things made with green willow split and bend in unconventional ways so I buried this little treasure in the spice bowl that is nurturing our pomanders. It is a seasoning and drying mix after all. Since then I’ve twigged that to...
read moreHot spiced plum chutney recipe
I had a yearning for a new plum chutney. Something fruity, spicy and hot. A chutney that could accompany roast pork, lamb or duck and be good with cheese sandwiches. A chutney that would inspire me to find infinite ways to use it. We have a plum tree in our garden. It has large dark skinned plums. This year the harvest is enormous and during the recent high winds plums rained down on the driveway. Damaged windfall plums are perfect for making jam or chutney. I made a batch of our plum and tamarind chutney and then came up with this...
read moreAn infestation of mice
We have mice in the chicken run, mice in the garden, mice in the larder, the kitchen, the bedrooms. In fact there are mice everywhere. Looking ultra cute and messing up our cottage big time. Something had to be done. I tackled the larder first. Trapped one within minutes and no more came. Just one mouse had created havoc in there. QD had a great deal on Tala Le Parfait style jars so I invested in loads of them. Now nothing in our larder is contained in a box or a bag. It looks pretty too. “Catching mice is easy peasy.” I thought as I...
read moreBirthday Treasure Hunt
Danny usually doesn’t want things for his birthday as he prefers an experience. This could be a party, a trip to the coast, a meal out, even a bottle of whisky. But this year he announced months ago, “I would like a new pair of shoes for my birthday. These ones are worn out.” So the experience part of his present had to be a bit of a budget affair. If cash is tight, then a treasure hunt with a prize every two clues or so usually goes down well. I reckon that adults enjoy them even more than children. I’ve never before organised...
read moreThe potpourri project: urgent update on fixatives
I haven’t has time to make as much potpourri as I would like to – which is lucky as I’ve discovered that I’m allergic to orris root. Up until this week I’ve used a spoon to mix the potpourri and ladle it in and out of jars so I had no idea. It was only when I was working with Lynn that I scooped some rose potpourri into a pretty bowl for her to photograph. I stirred it with my hand and within seconds my palm was burning. The agony was quickly flushed away with cold water. If Shill hadn’t mentioned that some people are...
read moreLynn Keddies visit: Slugs, snails and a tripod that lost its tail
“Have you got any slugs?” “There should be some under here.” I lifted a large stone to reveal some dormant slugs. “They are way too small. I want a great big chunky slug.” We were searching for a slug model for Lynn’s shoot. Eventually we found one under a large pot. It wasn’t a great performer. Just hunched itself into a ball and looked like a nut. Later on we found a snail and tried working with that. But it clearly didn’t understand our instructions and raced away from the camera and tripod at alarming speed. Lynn...
read moreApologies for the break in transmission
Yesterday morning I pottered downstairs to fetch a cup of tea and befuddled with sleep had forgotten that the sitting room had been cleaned and cleared. It was a wonderful shock. Yes, Jean and I are still sorting and clearing. We’ve moved into the garden now. Smart Wife used to ‘clean’ her tiny Chelsea garden – and now I understand what she means. Little piles of pots seem to breed into bigger piles of pots. Shaggy hedging and lawn edging make a garden look messy. Stray bags of compost have attracted other bags. Weeds have popped up...
read moreClear and clean up
I’m exhausted. Our messy cottage had turned into a series of piles with a warren of little passages that led to the bathroom, bedrooms and kitchen. So many things had been lost. The avalanches were a daily hazard. It was depressing and somewhat akin to a bijou cottage version of Miss Havisham’s house in Dicken’s Great Expectations. Something had to be done. And when my friend Jean offered to help, I jumped at the chance and wondered whether the friendship would survive such a choppy and shark infested sea. Jean’s mantra is “Put...
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