celebrations & events – Page 5 – where the journey takes me 2

May 21, 2023

dear diary ~ a productive week at last

The weather is just how I like it ….for gardening, dry and sunny but not too hot and if I could order a little rain for late evening or overnight to avoid having to water then all the better. In fact it did rain overnight on Thursday and nicely refreshed the garden.

By last Wednesday, we had already stocked the pantry with fresh fruit and veg and the freezer with more home baked quiches so there was little food shopping we needed to do but we did have a few errands to attend to out of town. So mid morning, when there was still no sign of the ‘new arrival’ coming, we decided to pack a flask and sandwiches as we knew we would be out for about 4 hours and wanted to be on our way home before the school rush at coming out time. We began by going up nearly to Emley Moor (where the famous TV mast is) to the garden centre which is now Dobbies. I had a £5.50 voucher and knew what I might buy with it. We also took up a pile of empty compost bags and a few plastic plant pots for their recycling bins. It was good to have another job off the list and gain more space in the shed. The voucher part paid for a little hand rake – the small one that Kent and Stowe do that helps you manoeuvre between the plants in a border.

I was astounded to find a display of lupins all at £25 per pot….really…..they were established and in flower and quite beautiful but they are just a perennial and easy to grow from seed. I used to grow a lot but for some reason they attract the green and black fly and get eaten to the ground in the hot summers so I gave up on them.

Although Dobbies have a cafe it can be noisy and expensive and we need to save money where we can so we lunched in their carpark with our picnic where, if you park in the right place, you have the same wonderful view way across the valley looking towards Upper and Lower Cumberworth as in the cafe.

Our next port of call was near to town at B&Q. I dislike going here – so many products that are potential future waste and landfill. We needed a piece of wood. We often need a piece of wood even though we have many odd pieces in the garage….guess what …..it is never the right size/ weight /shape or kind for the project of the moment. DH is going to put up some more tool hooks in the shed for me to hang the metal cloche hoops and for this he first need to put a strip of wood in place to screw the hooks to. That will be one of his jobs today.

We found said piece of wood in correct size, weight and shape and luckily it fit inside the car (as DH had not packed his saw just in case) then moved on to one of the local hospice charity shops to deposit the four bags of daughters clothes from her recent house clear out. She had some beautiful items but sadly only two of them fit me (and they are now in my wardrobe for summer) as she was size 8-10 until her recent pregnancies.

We then called in at another garden centre where we get our bags of compost. I noticed that what was previously offered at 3 for £xxx are now only 2 for £xxx no doubt due to all this inflation. We bought our two bags and a new hand trowel so we don’t squabble over the only one we have and finally made our way home.

Thursday we spent in the garden – there is always plenty to do and we concentrated on pruning back the berberis in the front border….quite dramatically – it looks a shadow of its former self but will recover and be a better shape. Plenty of snacks were needed and I have recently had a bit of a craving for these toasted teacakes spread with melting butter (whilst we can still just about afford butter!).

On Friday we had Master Freddie for the day again to relieve a very heavily pregnant mum. So all I managed was a few little jobs around the house. Once he had gone home at 6 o’clock I dashed around the house with a duster and the vac whilst DH made a pasta bake for our tea. We then collapsed in front of the TV and watched Astrid: Murders in Paris (the last in this series) and went to bed at 10pm.

A number of small improvements were made over the week

bought car seat for grandchildren to use
washed a pile of plantpots and trays for reuse
got rid of the pile of logs and old compost bags which freed up some space
with the help of DH I completed the huge ironing pile and put everything away
bought the piece of wood to put up more hooks which will create more floor space and better circulation area in the shed
took the bags of charity clothes creating more space in our spare room
scanned on some waiting paperwork to file on computer and shredded papers

and I was quite satisfied with our productivity – each little task has gained us valuable space in the house or shed or, like the car seat, will be such a help when the grandchildren come giving us more flexibility.

Update: Since preparing this post I am now able to announce the birth on Sunday 21st May of another grandson – a little brother for Master Freddie and as yet baby no-name! I am relieved both mum and baby are doing well – Freddie is now fast asleep (I hope) in our spare bed and DH and I hope to see our new little cherub very soon. It has been an even bigger productive week than I thought!

Have a good week everyone.x

May 7, 2023

feasting ~ the Coronation celebration

Did your Coronation day go well?

Our Saturday morning began much like any other but an hour earlier than usual as we had to prepare for little Freddie coming at 9am. Once he steps over our threshold it is full on as he whizzes around from one game to another….and we try to keep up. Never having had a boy of my own I am not used to playing at diggers and Paw Patrol and I feel much more at home when he turns his attentions to the Sindy kitchen cafe that we still have from the 80’s that my two girls played with.

Being an important day, like Christmas and Easter day, I refrained from doing any washing – not that I haven’t still got a few loads to do from our Scotland visit but I do like to keep some days sacred. It doesn’t bother me that other people do theirs but I do like to keep the weekend free of those kind of chores if I can – it makes it more special like a Sunday dinner.

As we played the Peppa Pig Monolpoly game for the umpteenth time this year (it is a big favourite and well worth the £8 I paid at Christmas to amuse all the grandchildren) we had the TV on to try and see some of the Coronation – what a shame about the rain – it was dry outside here. I love the whole pageantry and spectacle and enjoyed the bits I saw – it was so British and for some a once in a life time event – it is what we do well – I would have been terrified myself on show with the whole world looking on. I am sure Charles will be good king – I hope he gets chance to continue with his favourite pastimes of gardening and painting now his role will be much more demanding. Kate as always looked so natural and poised as if she had been born into the role.

I did manage at last to get the seeds sown the day before – now fingers crossed they germinate quickly. I have trays of cosmos and zinnias in different varieties and also calendula and petunia and I started off the courgettes and basil. I never have much luck with the basil but you never know.

Just before lunch the sun came out and Freddie and I went into the garden – whilst I checked and watered the seed trays he watered the outdoor tubs with a little watering can (not that they needed water but he does like to be helpful). The garden is looking much more passable now but there is still more than a few afternoon’s work to be done – but that will be another time.

After lunch and the Royal Family had made their appearance on the balcony we had a walk to the village and that is when it did rain here and we had to shelter in the local Co-op with our ice-creams until the worst had passed.

Once home DH entertained Freddie whilst I made the filling for the individual quiche bases I had baked blind the day before and popped them in the oven. I sprinkled the top with a little parmesan cheese and added half a cherry tomato for colour. (Neither were in the recipe)

We then decorated the tray bake sponge cake I had also baked previously. I can’t think of any child that doesn’t like to bake and decorate and Freddie did his half with chocolate and sprinkles and much serious concentration whilst I spread the cherry curd on the top of mine and then coated this with coconut. The cherry curd is quite tart which I prefer to using jam and goes so well with the sweetness of the coconut.

I had decided against making a trifle or any scones in the end and instead made a simple fresh fruit salad – well DH did all the chopping – both green and black grapes, oranges, apple and strawberries.

Meanwhile, Freddie helped me lay the table and we went out to gather a few fresh flowers from the garden for the little jug – he chose forget me nots, wallflower, grape hyacinths and some dandelions and then arranged them to his satisfaction! All I did was cut some of the long stalks down.

He carried all the dishes of salads to the table and then suddenly remembered that when we had the Easter family tea he had made little place cards with his cousins Little L and Sweetie and wanted to make some more – there was no time to make new ones but luckily I had kept the ones they had made at Easter so he was happy to use those. So we had an Easter Coronation table but Freddie was happy with that!!

Finally, mummy and daddy arrived and we all sat down to tea and admired his handiwork. We all agreed the individual Coronation quiches were delicious, I served them with shredded little gem lettuce, homemade coleslaw, beetroot, cherry tomatoes and new potatoes topped with butter. I will definitely be making the recipe again – as you know I substituted watercress in place of the spinach and added a few chopped spring onions. The tarragon flavour certainly came through and wasn’t overpowering -I didn’t have fresh which might have been better so I was careful not to go overboard with the dried.

After mummy and daddy and a very tired little Freddie had gone home we just collapsed on the sofa and watched a few of the highlights of the procession that we had missed. I did wonder if behind the palace facade last night when the media presence had all packed up and gone if the Royals were all having a really good knees up and letting their hair down.

Today we will be recovering and if the weather holds going for a walk.

April 12, 2023

dear diary ~ holiday almost over

I am writing this in a few snatched moments of peace while daughter and granddaughters are out for a wee while. The quiet and calm is just what I need for an hour or two to recharge.

On Easter Sunday we had all the family for tea and the sun managed to come out for a while so the grandchildren could enjoy the Egg Hunt around the garden. Of course we had to make sure each of them found a similar amount of eggs so I hid some quite well so they were not so easily spotted.

The chicken casserole went down a treat and I got the thumbs up from my younger daughter who was chief taster during the cooking process – being vegetarian I never get to taste what I cook if it contains meat. Whilst dinner was cooking the children made me some lovely Easter name cards for the table using a sheet of stickers I found in our local post office and crayons.

They also helped with some of the decorations – I had bought some of those white chalk marker pens for glass and let the grandchildren loose drawing patterns on my windows – they thought it great fun….and yes it does wash off.

Little Freddie was far too excited to eat very much, being an only child (though not for long now) he likes nothing better than having Little L and Sweetie to play with him and didn’t really want to stop for tea. DH played hide and seek with them and at one point Sweetie came to say that they had searched the house and could not find grandad anywhere – which is surprising as our house is not that big and DH not that small!

Yesterday we took all the grandchildren and their mums out to Portland Basin Museum in Ashton-under-Lyne. They have a lovely old fashioned indoor street of shops, a doctors, schoolroom, pub and chapel complete with dummy people dressed in appropriate costumes. They can seem a little creepy at times as they are so life like a bit like the wax works.

How many people remember £, shillings and pence.

There is plenty to see and do for little ones including a craft session making paper bunnies and mice – the museum is completely free and the craft sessions only £1.30 a child – so very reasonable in price for a lot of entertainment.

We had to eat our packed lunches in the car though as it was bucketing down with rain just as we arrived. Luckily, the museum is mostly indoors with a picnic area outside by the canal and being the holidays they were running boat trips on the canal. There was a big queue for the boat but we decided against a trip in the rain – perhaps another day.

I was a bit worried that the boat might have been this old wreck by the notice….luckily not…it was an old barge and you sat inside out of the rain but seeing through the steamed up windows wasn’t easy according to the people getting off the boat.

Tonight’s tea will probably be pizza with sweetcorn – finding meal combinations that fit everyone’s likes and dislikes is not getting any easier – though surprisingly there is never a problem with puddings – they can be too hot, cold, crunchy, sweet, sour or full of bits but they still eat them with no complaints!

Today was our last day with the grandchildren and tomorrow, if I have any energy left, it will be all hands to the deck to try and get ready for Scotland. The weather here has turned Siberian cold with an overcast sky and outbreaks of rain all day so no washing was done because I couldn’t guarantee I would be able to get it out on the line to dry and there is no space inside at the moment. I was too tired to go into the garden too so there will be jobs to finish before we go if we can. It suddenly occurred to me that I won’t be able to sow any seeds until we get back from Scotland as there will be no-one around to water them and they will probably need doing almost daily in the greenhouse if I cannot open the ventilator – so it would be a big ask of my neighbour who generally steps in and does a little watering whilst we are away. Oh well I will just have to hope they germinate quickly when we get back.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter holiday xx

April 9, 2023

feasting ~ Easter Sunday

Happy Easter everyone – the church bells are ringing out in the village here to proclaim that the Lord is risen indeed. The sky is thick with cloud but no sign of rain and I am hoping the sun will shine through mid-morning as it did yesterday.

I should be in the kitchen doing the preparations for our Easter family feast tonight rather than typing on my blog but there is not a lot left to do. I have the Easter hunt to set up in the garden in readiness for Little L, Sweetie and Freddie this afternoon and the cake to assemble – I at least remembered to take it out of the freezer last night but I did forget I need to do some jelly – granny’s jelly is always a favourite especially if I do it in the old glass jelly mould. I keep thinking I will make a blancmange as the grandchildren have never seen or tasted one – old fashioned puddings these days like semolina, rice pudding and blancmange are never on the menu, not even at school. Many schools now just serve a yoghurt or something like flapjack as a pudding.

No matter how long I spend in the garden at the moment (and it has to be in short bursts of an hour) it is never enough during April when everything is bursting forth in the sunshine and the lighter days. Yesterday I pruned one of the Buddleias it must now be over 35 years old and showing its age – like me! But I will persevere with it otherwise it will leave a big hole and the removal of the giant cherry tree did that last year.

There is not a lot of colour in the garden yet – the tulips are still only in bud and the daffodils faded. There are a few primula dotted around and thank goodness for the strong blue of the grape hyacinth to cheer up the borders until everything gets going.