BABIES TO FREECYCLE!!

Hi folks - just a quickie!!!!

Just an excuse really to rave about Freecycle! If you haven't tried it, try it - if you don't know about it find out! Its world wide as far as I know. www.freecycle.org/

I was a very emotional day today, when I had to part with some of my baby trees. I have a number of different trees in large tubs (which they are desperate to get out of, and into the garden) - I have grown them from seeds and cuttings, so I have nurtured them for a good while - all along hoping I would find somewhere to plant them!

Who was I kidding! no way could I fit another tree in my small space.

So I have had to bite the bullet and re-home them! I Offered them on our local Freecycle scheme - what a response I had!! I could have re-homed them tree times over! In the end I just put names in a hat - and what nice people they were - so nice to meet new people, and hear all about their gardens and what they wanted the trees for. Some to screen off the rugby pitch, others were going to a school gardening project, others to grace local gardens.

A wonderful thing too for sourcing odd bits and pieces - I asked if anyone had any off cuts of shed felt (poor little summerhouse has sprung a leak) - I got a email within the hour, a nice man said he had some part rolls, and we would be doing him a favour taking it away! So everyone is happy!!

Babies in assorted junky pots and buckets!

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Update on the Money Making Schemes!!!

I have always got pots of little cuttings and seedlings (which have decided they like it in the vegetable bed rather than the flower beds!) - I have a special little nursery corner. I usually give them away, and the last couple of weeks took some to sell at the Car Boot Sale - But! - covering all possible sales opportunities and venues!! I put a table out by the gate and stuck a few plants out there!

Well - I thought! - years ago when you travelled the lanes there were always bits and bobs outside cottages and farm gates. I can only give it a try!
And guess what!! First sale today! I'm only charging a £1 a pot - but many a mickle makes a muckle!
I am full of optimism! - we shall come through the beastly Credit Crunch!!

I lifted my Horseradish plant today and harvested some of the root, I'm looking for receipts for horseradish sauce to bottle (which will keep for a few months ). The ones I have found include fresh cream - sound delish - but are designed to use immediately, will not keep. Anyone got any ideas?
Just need to find some roast beef now - Credit Crunch beef ?

Ta ra for now xxx

MONEY MONEY MONEY!!

Hi there folks!!

As the title suggests this post is about Money - I know its a rather vulgar topic and genteel ladies sipping tea wouldn't dream of bringing the topic into the conversation! - But! ask yourselves! are they faced with the complexities of the Credit Crunch!! -- and impending Dooooooooooom!! Not that I am worried! - there are no cries of 'Don't Panic, Don't Panic !' in the manner of Dads Army - not yet anyway.

Its just that I feel I should be prepared should we encounter difficulties - and have a little salted away for a Rainy Day (I know we've had plenty of those - but you know what I mean!).

Thus - Money making schemes!!

I have messed about on Ebay for a while - how better to idle away hours by trawling through lists of goodies that you shouldn't even consider buying! So I decided to 'Get Serious' - 'Be Tough' and start selling some of the mountains of stuff I have collected (most of it sits in boxes, not looked at for months on end!), and maybe look for items to sell - to sell to people who appreciate pretty vintage finds, who perhaps don't have the great fortune, as some of us do, to trawl through boot sales and charity shops.

I might be rubbish at it but I can give it a go, I have just discovered (techno wiz that I am!) that if you go to Community on Ebay you can easily search for listings by individuals if you have their ID - maybe I am teaching 'Grannie to suck eggs' here, but its all new to me! My ID is Anglesey_Allsorts - no surprise there then! Should you want to have a peek!

Speaking of finds, I picked this up at the Car Boot on Sunday - again the box intrigued me!

Box was a bit dusty and shabby looking but in good order, and when I lifted the lid I found this!

I had expected just a box of the usual transfers, and they were transfers (for embroidery etc) but how wonderful! All 'Letter' transfers, all different fonts - Gothic, floral and whatnot, and all in their own little alphabetical compartment.

Some had their original wrappings on - never been opened. I have been through the box looked lovingly at all the beautiful designs - folded then neatly and put them back - Hubby P thinks I am mad! - spending the best part of a evening - taking out - looking - Ahhhing - refolding and putting back in box! But what can I say - He's a man! - how can he possibly begin to understand!
However! working to the new Strict, Strong - Firm with myself - criteria - what would I do with it! - put it on a shelf? So I don't know yet - it maybe Ebay bound!







Anyone remember Granny with one of these? Found at Tuesday Car Boot! Its called (the label says) a Gaybag! I thought it rather cute - harking back to Grannies stood in the grocers, hair curlers covered with a headscarf - havin a good ol' gossip!

Another Money Making scheme -
why not have a stall at the Car Boot, after all we go every week, it just needed a bit of organisation - and an injection of effort - the getting up early was possibly the hardest part! Its amazing how much stuff you can find if you go through the house with a box - and determination! Hubby P at work - one hurdle out of the way! hes like a hamster wanting to hoard things away - although I must admit its one of my weaknesses - but not now Strict, Firm , Strong - Credit Crunch - its like a mantra!!





Anyway I made some of this scrummy Apple Mint Jelly, from the apples from the tree and mint from the garden. It really is fragrant scrumminess - we eat it by the bucketful! So some for us and a pot or two for the Car Boot stall! I even bagged up some fresh from the garden spuds and sold them! People do appreciate fresh food.

Just couple of garden pics!

I have been collecting these old pottery bottles and whatnot, I think they give a little interest to the foliage, this big one came from the Recycling centre - one of Hubby P's finds!

The fennel is looking really lovely - a bright splash of golden yellow!

Ta Ta for now xxx

APPLE HARVEST!!!

Hello there!!!!!!

What busy week again!

As you can see we have been harvesting our apples - all of 1 tree! but what a lot of fruit - the tree went mad this year - lots and lots of good clean apples!

In fact I was so impressed I just had to weigh them to see just how much! -- 47lbs, not bad from one little tree!

Charlie the cat was there to supervise!






Then a fit young man ( son Will ) climbed into the tree to prune it, its what he does for a living - so I left him to it! - its just not nice seeing great lumps being cut off my lovely tree!! He assures me it will do wonders for the tree and next years fruit! I gave it a good big feed afterwards to help it recover from the shock!






Apples everywhere!
Because we have nowhere suitable for storing them as they are, and lots of freezer space in the new freezer - that's where they ended up! Hubby P and I sat and peeled all 47lb of them, chopped, bagged and in the freezer. All ready for lots of scrummy apple crumble, jams and jellies, I usually make a really nice apple mint jelly - wonderful with cheese or meat!
Hubby P did moan a bit at the peeling -said it was like peelin spuds in prison! - but as I pointed out all the peelings would make a great Apple wine! We have just finished the last from last year!





We put all the peelings and cores in a big tub to 'stew' for a few days then I will strain off the juice and add sugar and yeast and leave to ferment into lovely fragrant wine!

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In between the showers - when the sun shines! I have been collecting flower seed and putting it to dry. Hopefully lots of baby plants for next year!






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Car booty goodies!
Just look at all this wonderful lace! It was the old Christmassy box that caught my eye, and when I opened it up - wow! Lots and lots of of neatly folded and stacked in the box - and all for just £2!!!!





This lace collar is particularly lovely - it would look just great on a dark velvet dress/gown around Christmas time!

And how about these butterflies drifting across a pretty flowing skirt! Or used to pretty up a little purse or cushion!

So many wonderful possibilities!

I found this pretty hand embroidered tablecloth (50p) - the hand work is just so perfect, so well done! And the cloth is in such good order - it will look great on my table, especially when my new dining room is finished - not that there is any pressure on Hubby P!!!!

And I must just say a big Thank You to Twiggy (TheworldofTwiggypeasticks) for my Award!

I need to Blog it another time - It needs Links n' stuff - and I can't get my head together for that just now!

Ta ra for now xxxxxxxxx

WHAT A BUSY WEEK!!

Hello there!!

I hadn't realised till' just now its been a whole week since I blogged - sorry if I've been neglecting you! Its just - we've been Soooooooo busy pulling the house to bits and what not!

Well - the big woodshed is finished, I know it looks a tip, because I have just shoved all the old timber we have ripped out of the house in there! Hubby P will cut it up for the fire - nothings wasted!!!

But as you can see, we do have some - what Hubby P calls 'Posh wood' (logs) in there, and his ambition is to fill the whole shed with posh wood for the winter - a big task - its a big shed!

I don't care what wood it is as long as it keeps us warm this winter!

Exciting Finds!!!

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Just as we had finished building the woodshed, Hubby P took all the offcuts of old tin and whatnot to the tip (Recycling centre nowadays!) - What lucky timing! Someone had not long before dropped a whole load of polycarb 'stuff' - you know - the stuff you use for green house roofing. The lads there are very good and you can take whatever you like, so long as you don't climb in the skip! So of course he rescued it from the crusher. WELL!!!! HOW EXCITING - it means I have got my greenhouse roof!

No greenhouse yet of course - its got to be built, but I have the roof Part 1. I found Part 2 at the carboot on Tuesday - I bought a huge box of nails (21lbs in weight - of course I weighed them! I had to be sure I got a bargain!) for £2.50p! Of course Hubby P was thrilled !?!**! - not that there is any pressure being put on him to build this greenhouse! But I am on the lookout for Part 3!

Again Hubby P came home with a surprise for me! (until I exclaimed 'Oh how wonderful - you are thoughtful' - his intention was ebay focused I think!) I just love browsing through books like these, the photos are wonderful, I find it a fascinating era - it must have been so hard for the people - yet it really brought people and communities together. Pity it didn't last, some of the incidents you hear of in the News are just unbelievable.

I found these at the carboot, a little old man was selling them for 20p a packet, How could I resist! I have not had much luck with sweet peas in the past, but I will try again. This time I will sow in the autumn and overwinter - hopefully in my new greenhouse! - no pressure Hubby P - but sweetpeas would look and smell so nice next year!

In the Garden!
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I as so pleased with this - it may not look much - but I have been nurturing it for 2 years. Its an Elcampane plant. Elcampane is an old wild herb, Culpepper writes of its virtues - being used to aid 'windy stomachs' and the root being used to help coughs and chesty complaints. I had never seen this growing in the wild - until last week! It has huge leaves and sunflower-y type flowers.

Just had to show you this, its so delightful, growing away by the gate - welcoming visitors! Will (my son ) planted this chestnut from a seed he picked up off the forest floor - someplace he was working (hes a tree surgeon). Its doing very well!

So too are these little beauties, these are Carob trees, grown from seed. I don't know much about them other than they grow in warm countries (Cyprus and the like) I have a feeling they may grow a bit like a weed there! I am hoping I can keep them going - maybe one day get a fruiting tree!

Not much craft work to show you I'm afraid!

Just this little bracelet, from felt and gem stones, I put together whilst watching Foyles War!

Is everyone so busy as me!!!? Don't seem to have a minute!

Bye for now XXX

FIRST BLACKBERRIES OF THE YEAR!!

Hi You! Just a little short post! Just wanted to share these with you!

First blackberries of the year! This evening Hubby P and I had a little wander up the lane - just to have a look see how the blackberries were coming along. They are doing nicely, another few days of sunshine and we should be picking well!

We managed to gather a few - enough for a nice crumble, together with a few windfall apples!

The hedgerows are looking really pretty at the moment, lots of flowers and the drying seedpods of past flowering beauties! I gathered a bit of Foxglove seed, and sprinkled it in a pot, try and get some babies for the garden.

I saw this pretty pretty blue scabious and couldn't resist a few stems! But they do look just perfect snuggled in the hedgerow - I should remember to take the camera!

What a nice little wander we had, and right outside our back door! So often we think , to have a good time we have to get in the car.
Really its just a case of slowing down, and looking around us - the little things!




'For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed'
Kahil Gibran.

Bye for now xx