Very small hats

I'm going to knit teeny tiny hats!

This is a brilliant idea, from AgeUK, who support older people (like us) with help and advice and more.

Linking with Innocent drinks, they ask people to knit little hats for bottles. Really.

In November the bottles will be available instore to buy, and for every one sold 25p will be given to the Charity.

Last year £115,000 was raised. During the last ten years £1.3 million

has been raised just from the sale of these little hats!

Knitting needles poised.

See also Tracing Rainbows 

and Violet White.

Quiche for lunch.

I like to have family for lunch, now that we are back 'home'.

Today my son and daughter in law came over, and it was warm enough to sit in the garden with a glass of Elderflower cordial before lunch.

I took this recipe, and photo, from the BBC food site. Their recipes are always good, but I didn't follow this completely as it had a lot of nuts in the pastry, and some of us are not so keen on nuts.

It is a very simple Spinach quiche, using shallots, spinach, eggs, creme fraiche, and mascarpone cheese.

Salad from the garden and Pommes gratin Dauphinoise made for a light and tasty lunch.

My grandson is in Greece at the moment, so it was good to hear about his conservation work with turtles out there. He starts his second Uni year soon. Time goes by too fast.

Busy bees.

How doth the little busy bee

Improve each shining hour

She gathers honey all the day

From every open flower.

(Isaac Watts)

I have never seen quite so many bees as there are in the garden this year. I read an article about their colour preferences, and apparently purple is a favourite.

 They love the large white cosmos, and I can't get too near the plants, so covered in bees are they.

I think the brightness of this Coreopsis must attract them too.

But the favourites are the purple mallows, No photo, sorry.

Beans, beans.....

All of a sudden, it's all about Runner beans.

Friends come to the door desperately waving a bag of beans...'wouldn't you like them?'

You may see from the photo that we have a small tower of runner beans, both red and white flowered.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

 These are our favourites. The white beans seem to be more tender than the red. But how they hide! I pick and pick, give away, and freeze. They grow more every day.

Hunting for new ways to serve them I came upon Hugh F.W;s recipe from River Cottage.

Simply steam or boil the beans till tender. Fry shallots gently in butter and add 1 tsp of brown sugar and 1 tbsp of wine vinegar. Let it bubble for  few moments and then stir in to the beans.

I'm going to try it tomorrow....with the next armful of beans.

Contentment.

There are days when I feel peace, happiness, deep in my heart.

For no particular reason, today is one of them. I'm not a very 'revealing' person, so it's not easy to write my feelings.

This last year has had its swings and roundabouts. Moving from one country to another, selling a large house, buying a much smaller house, realising that my adored husband is only getting frailer...but also being near family and friends,  being able to make alterations to house and garden to make them 'ours'.

I stood in the garden this morning (admiring my lines of washing!) and knew that I was not longing for my huge house and garden in France, but was content with all I have here.

My garden is the place where I can create, where I can see the blossoming of plants and plans.

There is huge therapy in it. It's small, but almost perfect. The produce we are now harvesting, runner beans, tomatoes, courgettes, new potatoes will all keep us fed during Winter months. That's so satisfying.

I have so much to thank God for.

Kitchen windows.

Thank you for your kind comments on our recent celebrations.

We're coming down to earth now!

I thought I would show you the blinds that a friend has made for my new kitchen.

The fabric is from good old Laura Ashley, but the price they would have charged me to make blinds was somewhat astronomical. I'm fortunate to know someone who could do it.

I think the soft blue and white check gives a real lift to the white kitchen.

And there is enough fabric left over to make cushion (pillow?) covers for each chair.

A glimpse through the window shows you that my Cosmos has got completely out of hand and is bullying all the smaller plants to get out of its way. But, it is full of bees all day so I can't cut it back yet.

Celebrations.

My day began early, (7 am) decorating the kitchen with bunting and photos of my husband at various stages of his life, sailing in Sydney Harbour, relaxing in the French garden, playing with grandchildren, and so on.

Phone calls from family around the world came throughout the day, a son and grand daughters in Australia, a daughter in Canada, a son locally, daughter in Manchester, all wanting to say 'Happy birthday!'

We had invited seven of our oldest friends for lunch and had hoped to have it in the garden, but the weather didn't look too hopeful, so we just had welcome drinks outside. Thanks, Angela, (Tracing rainbows) for the tip about freezing lemon and lime quarters, they made a non alcoholic punch very cool and tasty.

 Lunch , indoors, began with a chilled Lettuce, pea and mint soup ( I cheated and took this photo later)

It was delicious, thanks to dear St Delia, and used up all our own lettuces.

The main course was a very special treat, but when one gets to 80, one deserves that.

Cornish lobsters, served with our own new potatoes, dug the day before, and a big salad. Lots of crusty French bread, Hollandaise sauce, and another choice for the three that didn't eat shellfish.

You can see my husband at the end of the table...very involved with his crustacean!

I forgot to take photos of the dessert, which was a lemon and lime mousse topped with local raspberries, just right after a rich main course.

But then there was the birthday cake, coffee and walnut!

And champagne, and a toast to a wonderful, kind and Godly man.

And that's all the cake that is left!

We wandered back into the garden, where the sun had come out, to have coffee and chat.

It was a perfect day.

A quick note.

Still busy, making bunting, framing photos, hiding cards and parcels, freezing things for lunch on Wednesday.

But I did find time to go to the 'Pick-your-own' farm nearby to pick a couple of kilos of these gorgeous 

Blackcurrants.

Frozen now ready for Winter pies.

Short break.

Next week it is my husband's 80th birthday.

I have things to do, as you can imagine!

So, I won't be around for a few days.

From my window.

It isn't the most marvellous photo, but it is one that gives me pleasure.

It's what I see from my bedroom window at the moment.

The rose 'Dancing Queen' has crept up the wall, and is nodding coyly at my window.

By next Summer she may be at roof level!

Cards!

Aren't I blessed by my family and friends.

Birthdays.

August is a month of birthdays in our family.

Today  our grandaughter is 25, busily working and studying for a Masters degree.

Saturday is my birthday (25?)

Then comes my s/daughter's day, followed by a grand daughter in Australia.

The big one, as many of you guessed, is to be my husband's 80th in the middle of the month.

We also celebrate another grandaughter, about to startt he third Uni year, who will be 21!

and a sister in law who will reach the grand age of 90.

Somewhere amongst that there is a wedding anniversary for my son and his wife.

What a month!

My very nice next door neighbour who, as one of the pastoral team in our church, never stops looking after people, will be 70 this week, so I have made her a little cushion (pillow). She loves the colour pink so I found all my prettiest bits of fabric.

September follows with birthdays for both my son and my daughter.

Do you ever have months like this?!