A Silent Scream

 

I went to my Spinning and Weaving group yesterday and met a lovely group of people.  They helped me with my spinning wheel, which needs fettling - I have the number of a chap Ystradgynlais way who will sort it for me.  The wheel isn't running true.  I suspect when we moved house, it was crammed in as the uprights seem a bit loose now too.  I went out in the hall and stood and practiced my drop spindling and it came back to me, though I need to practice a lot more.  Knitting - well, go back and do it on DPNs I was advised.  Rats!  Would have preferred the circular needle but the one I have is too long in the loop for the number of stitches I have.  Perhaps if I cast on looser . . .

Above is the fabulous view of Pen y Fan and Crybyn from the lane half a mile down from Llandew village hall, where the group meets.

I didn't stay until the end as the weather was luring me back to do a couple of hours in the garden.  I planted my white Foxglove in a small planter, and weeded a couple of others (weeds round the roses), watered recent plantings, planted the half a dozen strawberry plants I got in B&M Bargains,  trimmed the old growth on my Kilmarnock willow, and generally did a bit of weeding and tidying up.  Baby trees soon spring up if overlooked . . .

In the evening I rewatched the last episode of Outlander, but at the end I suddenly fell apart when Fergus unexpectedly dies in the fire at the print shop, and Marsali says she has no body to hold and grieve for, there are only ashes.  I looked across at Keith's ashes, in their lovely willow casket, and cried, screaming internally at my loss.  I guess it is the same for so many widows, on their own and missing the partner of a lifetime so greatly.  

When I went to bed, my cold had reached my larynx and I felt like I was going to suffocate, and I kept trying to clear my throat to no avail.  I was scared to go to sleep in case I woke up desperate for air, as I did the other night.  It was gone midnight before I finally drifted off, and I was ok.  

I'm off to Tam's in a minute, so they can get some jobs done which need two of them - I being the Rosie minder.  Enjoy your weekend.

Sunshine and crafting

 I have woken up to the most gorgeous clear blue skies and 10/10ths sunshine.  Today is the day when I go along to the Spinning/Weaving/Dyeing group so I am looking forward to that very much.  I shall take my bobble hat knitting (I'm stuck), drop spindle and my spinning wheel, as it needs oiling and generally getting ready to use again as I haven't touched it since we've been here.

This is now the work in progress with my needle, a Victorian Baby's Block throw/wall hanging.  I bought it about 11 years ago and began work on the repairs necessary, but . . .

. . . it is not easy to work on.  The star above all needs replacing so I can sew up a new one from the velvets I have (luckily found a sample book at a car boot sale).  Even unpicking the stitching is difficult - it took me half an hour to remove one badly frayed blue diamond last night.  You have to be careful or the fabric rips where it is so old.

Right, onwards and upwards.  Have a good Friday and a great weekend.

It is to be sold, of course, as that was the intention when I bought it.  I have the big Fair on the showground on the horizon, so I need to get a move on.  It is quite collectable . . .

The first job yesterday was making a loaf of bread - a half and half one granary/white flour.  I prefer my loaves crusty so brought it up to dough in the bread maker and then popped it in a hot oven for half an hour.  Yummy.

I finally planted two of the 4 Blackcurrant bushes (twigs!) I was given by my neighbour, and I am hoping they will grow well.  I will add the other two on Sunday. Most of the Raspberries I put in have put out growth but I am still hopeful that the 3 that haven't will do so.  I have been watering them and they have plenty of muck around them.  I need to get up there with my little strimmer and take away the grass behind them, before it grows taller than the Raspberry canes!  I need to beg some more muck heap from my horsey neighbour.  Most of it will go on the bed Tam has earmarked for her squashes.

Girding my loins

 Tidying up doesn't do itself.  Nor does housework,  Nor does preparing for a Fair.  I have the Builtn Antiques Fair in early May, so need to get organized.  The Library is forever a dumping ground.  I knew where things were, but books, craft items etc etc kept landing up on the table and it was driving me mad.  ALL the books have now been tidied away, in the places where they belong. I had a sort out in the stables, found a box full of china in the teal blue/turquoise I am short of, and sorted out a couple of other boxes to go, plus brought in a deep empty box to fill with stuff from the table.  A job well done.

The table, btw, is freeform Yew, and the holes in it are from the original tree growth.  Keith and I loved it and I still do.  Glad it's not covered in junk now.  

Here is last night's stirfy, with Pak Choi, Spring Onions, Courgettes, Orange Pepper and Mushrooms, and some Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil.  It was delicious.

I finally got to make the Scandivian Apple Cake, which is nice, but ideally needs ice cream with it :)

Tonight I have defrosted some chicken pieces from the last roast we had (probably months ago as I can't afford a joint very often).  I will do a chicken risotto with that for tonight's meal.  I like my rice dishes.

I had a long chat with the vet about the best way forward for L. Whale and his toe and she is just going to take off the very last digit (and not the whole toe) and make sure that there is obviously no nail left to grow into his pad any more.  He's booked in for Monday, poor chap.  

I've watered the plants outside which needed it (new Hellebore, the big one, had gone floppy in the flower department).  Also the new Blackcurrants.  Most seem to be putting out shoots but the first couple or 3 are slow to do that.  Watered round in the greenhouse too.  

Now I shall sit down with my book for half an hour.

NOT at my best

 I have - unsurprisingly - acquired the cold that Gabby had on holiday.  Not a bad one - a bit of a sore throat, a bit of a sniffle - until yesterday when I came back from my walk and suddenly felt chilled.  I retired to the sofa with a hotty botty and a woollen blanket, but that wasn't enough and I had to turn the central heating on for a while.  I even put my electric blanket on before I went to bed AND took up a hotty botty.  I woke in the night from a nightmare where I was struggling to breath, to find out that yes, I was struggling to breath and think this may be the start of a chest infection.  

A bank of Violets.  I have lots in my garden too - they were just in the lawn but are now in the gravel stretch beside the lawn too.

I shall rest up today, and be glad that I made the most of yestrerday's sunshine.  We are back to overcast and chilly this morning. I pottered around yesterday but managed to achieve this: 

1.  Cleared kitchen table.  Books put away, pile of paperwork sorted.

2.  Started sorting out proper compost heap.  Took outer printed skin off ancient banana boxes put out to recycle, and tore up inner card for compost. Added contents of sewing room bin.  Added more water.

3.  Topped up planters with soil from planter than the roofers managed to drop something on and smashed the edge, and planted a pack of mixed colour Nasturtiums.  Did some weeding around roses in the front.

4.  Did a load of washing.

5.  Sorted out a box of old stock in stables and checked through two others.  Need to further sort out and put some stuff for charity shop. Put all china cats in same box.

6.  Emptied a Tamzin Box from attic, some stuff for her, some to chuck, and repurposed it for sewing things in the craft room.

7. Went for a walk.

I was going to bake Norwegian Apple Cake from one of the Library Books, but ran out of energy so will do that after breakfast today.  I may make some cookies too, as the lovely Debbie from deepest Pembrokeshire, sent me some Betty Crocker Cookie magazines.  Bless you Debbie.

My wonderful Copper Beech just coming into leaf.

Not sure quite what to make of the latest (and last) season of Outlander.  Claire and Jamie both seem to be more irritable, or perhaps I mean less tolerant.  I was NOT expecting what happened to Fergus as it departed totally from the book.  Does anyone else follow it?  I have all her novels, and most of them on Audible too, though I find some of the details hard to cope with since Keith's death, as elements bring it all back and I am driving along crying.  I have to say as a love story, and historically accurate series, it is brilliant.  Is anyone else a fan and been following every word?

I shall have a sofa morning and carry on reading Elly Griffiths The Night Hawks which I got from the Charity Shelf in Tesco's.  It bears re-reading. I read Marram by Leonie Charlton, whilst I was away on holiday.  It was a birthday present (along with two others).  It tells of an ambitious ride on Highland ponies the length of the Outer Hebrides.  Well worth reading.  I am debating about starting The Dovekeepers next.

I have never noticed this before - Dog's Mercury after pollination.

A lovely spring day

 

My little scarlet Tulips burst into bloom whilst I was away.  Just about all my orchard trees are in bloom - one of the Pears spectacularly - and the grass and weeds have shot up in my absence.  I got out in the garden yesterday afternoon and weeded some more of the cobbles, planted 3 Lupins in a triangle on the far end of the bank, sowed the White Lady runner beans as so few of my saved seed Scarlet Emperor runner beans have germinated.  The Salvia Nemerosa (overwintered) needed potting on and I also planted the three Aubretia's a friend gave me for my birthday.  

Today I will do some tidying up in the Library - so many boxes of stock and they could do with consolidating.  I will adjust some prices too and try and clear out some of the older stock at my next Fair at Builth, early next month.  I have just had to cough up £225 for my pitch - they have shoved up the price from £185 (new company have taken over).  I hope I have lots of customers . . .

Due to the cost of fuel, I am considering what outings are now scratched off the list of days out.  Wonderwool (held next weekend on the showground) is now off, as I can't afford it, although obviously it is a negligable fuel charge.  I still have wool I bought two years ago, to knit up, so no real need for more!  I have decided not to go to either of the Quilt Festivals at Malvern either, as I am going with my quilting group to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham in July.  That's £22.20 to get in (advance ticket to be bought) and then the transport taking us, and then spending money on the day.  

I am about to go down and speak to the vet's about L. Whale's treatment as the sliver of nail is still there.  Surely they can give a pain killing injection just to clip it, rather than me paying £420 to have his toe amputated?  (On top of the £143 in Feb for the nail stripping, which I also had to have done last year too).  I am NOT made of money although obviously I don't want him to suffer.  Update: Just checked it again and it appears to be healing well - he is licking it a lot - and so I will keep my eye on it.  

Here is last night's meal which was a bit tastless - needs some curry powder or Smoked Paprika to give it some oomph.  Lots of it, which will be frozen for instant meals when I need them.

Vets - and then some work . . .

An unexpected guest in our suitcase . . .

 

I don't know how it happened, but we did finish our packing in the living room (we were sharing a suitcase as only away a few days.)  Somehow the DVD remote had a little holiday too!!!

Our hotel room overlooked the Tivoli Gardens - NO WAY would I have gone on this ride!  When we walked past earlier, they were screaming blue murder!!

I have lovely memories of the special meals we had (though tbh, nothing could beat the meal in Resto, the Italian restaurant, on the first night.  This was  our meal for the last night, at Pate Pate, a restaurant Tam had researched.  YUM!

 

My meal, which was large prawns in a Vodka and Chilli sauce. 

This was Gabby's - can't remember what it was though.

Safely back home and all my holiday clothes washed (and now dry).  I went to Llandod for fresh food shopping and have decided to try lots more veggie recipes to save on money.  I got two books from the Library - Miguel Barclay's Meat-Free One Pound Meals,and Pinch of Nom Budget, then found The Australian Women's Weekly fast fresh Vegetarian recipe book on the charity shelves.

I bought Courgettes, Pak Choi, Lettuce,Spring Onions, a pack of Sweet Peppers, Mushrooms, plus fruit (apples, strawberries and a couple of bananas).  Passata, lasagna sheets, a can of caramel (I want to try and recreate the amazing salted caramel bun I had in Copenhagen), yeast, a stir fry sauce, live yoghurt, Mango chutney, Sesame Oil (haven't had that for years), Peanuts for protein,  houmous and coleslaw.  

I have to clean out the deep corner cupboard in the kitchen today but in having a brief fossick yesterday, I found the spiralizer that Danny bought me years ago and I had never used so will give that a try today.  Handy for prepping courgettes etc for stir fries.  The cupboard and contents will be better for a good scrub down.  First job after breakfast.

I had a walk up to see my horsey neighbour Chris and had horsey cuddles with Cas, lots of kisses for his soft mushroom grey nose.  It was good to have a natter again.  Good to be home to and to sleep in my own bed, in a room which wasn't at 24 deg (we turned it down but 20 was as low as it could go) and with winter weight feather duvets (all best quality - the final hotel had only been open a month).  

I waited for 56 years to meet him . . . Bog Bodies of the Jutland Peninsula

 

You have this photo of Gabby and I eating a lovely meal (still at the bread and Olive Oil stage) at Pate Pate restaurant on the last night (back in Copenhagen).  Just in case you don't want to see Bog Body photos which start 9 or 10 photos down.  Here is our hotel too - very modern and swish.

It was round like these other buildings.  We were on the 8th floor.

In Silkeborg, we had to walk into the town to reach the Museum - poor Gabby hauling the heavy suitcase.  These houses were typical of the older style of property and many houses had the steep pitched rooves.

We crossed a bridge over this lake and saw a sign for (what was left I assume) of Silkeborg castle.

What they think Tollund Man looked like in life.  

The contents of his last meal.

These figures were also put in the bog at Bakkegarten near Krageland.  Similar abstract figures have also been found in bogs in the Netherlands and Germany, and were possible markers for a safe route through the wetlands.

Elling Woman, who was found not that far away some 12 years earlier.

Rendswuhrenmanden Man 220 - 320 AD.

Damendorf Man, or at least his skin.  290 - 360 AD.

Sometimes only skulls were found.  The acidic bog turns the hair red.

Various hair styles.

He just looked like he was asleep . . .

It was well worth the wait to meet him.  I have 8% Danish blood (Gabby too) from my mum's side of the DNA.  I was glad to pay my respects.