What £7.50 bought me at the greengrocery warehouse

 Well, I am sick of driving now.  Not to mention packing and unpacking.  Bar yesterday, I have done nothing else, daily, for nearly a week.  I am giving myself tomorrow off!  Anyway, Unit looking a bit more exciting and full of different things.  Hopefully some folk will find them of interest.  Of course, what sells is militaria.  I need to try and use what little knowledge I have, to try and find some more bits.  

I stopped at Chris Thomas's greengrocery warehouse again - where we used to always get our fruit and veg from.  Tuesday is a better day to go, as that's when fresh stock comes in so there are always some really good £1 boxes of stuff then.  Next time I go that way . . .

The lemons were enormous - 3 for £1.30.  The peppers 2 for £1.  4 good plums for £1.  Raspberries £1.  Strawberries £1.50.  Apples £1 the bag.  I think the very fresh (still had ice on it!) Broccoli (well, Calabrese) was about 70p.  

I may just have treated myself too, having earned enough to top up fuel for the week (£40) at the Fair, with £5 left over.  Tee magazine, a new one, was £5.99.  It will stay in my collection for several years I suspect.

Plus it came with free seeds.

The Tesco shop had a large bag of the cat biscuits I buy, as they were on special offer so £4.25 cheaper than usual. It's cheaper to buy the big bag. The cat sachets (40) were also reduced and on offer, from £12 to £10.75.  I would have needed both next week anyway.  I got my lunch there too - a meal deal - and a few other things.  £48.74.  I remembered the black eye pencil - the dark brown one I bought on line goes on far too ginger! I went to Lidl for eye makeup remover pads (dry ones) as they were £1.80 in Tesco.  In Lidl I got a double pack for the same money.  It pays to shop around.

Now I must quickly water round as it was cool and overcast here first thing, and pots still looked damp.  Now they are definitely NOT!

St Michael and all Angels, Eaton Bishop

 You will have to forgive me for not going into the detail I would like to with the amazing glass in this church, but I have had a hectic three days in a row, lots of driving, packing and unpacking and not much time to unwind and relax.

The tower is Norman, with a broach spire and what were formerly windows possibly ante-dating 1870 when Sir Stephen Glynne visited the church, but did not mention them.

The arcades are Early English, having circular piers and octagonal capitals.  The font is 13th C with a later - Victorian - bowl.

15th/16th C (perhaps earlier) memorial for one of the great and good in the parish.

The glass was donated in 1330 and came from the same workshop as that at Moccas and Madley, both nearby, as well as examples  much further away in Tewkesbury, Ludlow and even Bristol.

 

I think this was the East window, which shows such amazing detail.

This tonsured figure may be Adam, son of the Munmouth family.

St Michael weighing souls.

Sorry these aren't very clear - you will need to click on them to enlarge them and read them more easily.

Sadly the camera on my phone is not a good one and close ups can, like this, be dire.

Now, away I must to pack the car once again for a long road trip tomorrow to finish setting up.

Lots of driving . . .

 . . . yesterday, but what a joy to see beautiful views in places (see new header photo) and the wild flowers were stunning.  Meadowsweet, the lovely purple-blue Meadow Cranesbill, Musk Mallow, Common Mallow, masses of my favourite wildflower, Purple Tufted Vetch. (I must get some seeds and sow it here in my wild flower patch).  Knapweed, Honeysuckle, Agrimony, yellow Kidney Vetch, pink and white Clovers, Rosebay Willowherb, Betony, Yarrow and Umbellifers.  Just glorious.

I need to go with another car load to the Unit, as I have more room than I remember.  I will try and go on Monday morning.  I have room for paintings on the walls so will need to get some nails up to hang them from.  That will clear a corner of the Library!!

I stopped in Tesco to get some lunch on the way home, and some Magnesium tablets as nearly out of them, and they do help sleep, as well as heart function.  Part of my lunch I had at tea - a little tray of pre-cut Mango, which went down very well.

I stopped at Chris Thomas, the greengrocery warehouse, in Abergwili too, but didn't buy much because my time was spoken for over the next few days.  Just some raspberries (one tray in the freezer and one to bake Raspberry Muffins with today - £1 per tray), two huge cooking apples at 20p each, and 4 luscious Nectarines.  

Back at home, Pam came round to off load health worries, and we sorted out the loose leg/stretcher on the little chair - it was the one I glued the other day - clearly not well enough.  Then after tea (Kedgeree), I oiled the little thing on wheels.  I was researching this online and they were a "thing" - though not sure of their actual purpose yet, but possibly a service trolley, though this appears to have been upholstered at some point in its life!  A little one with a wooden top with a triangulated end was listed for £225 on line!! Mine will seem a real bargain :)  I need to set to and Bri-wax it after breakfast.  

I will get my walk in early and then pack the car, before finally potting on the blardy tomatoes which are looking distinctly peaky in their too small pots.

Friends and neighbours

 The two lads from the end cottage had a request yesterday.  There's no tv there and they wanted to watch the England vs Congo match.  Could we all watch it together?  It's not something I'd have bothered to watch, but it was unepectedly enjoyable.  I used to watch the occasional Man. City match with Keith, and the big Rugby 6 Nations games too.  It certainly made a change from what I usually watch, and nice to have company too!

I spent the morning getting the car loaded to go and set up at the Unit.  I had to pack around the bookcase to stop it from falling over.  Hopefully this venture will work out for me, but I have to give it 3 months before I can come out, and then it's a months' notice.  We'll see.  I am selling some personal possessions: some of Keith's specialist Militaria books, as books are such slow sellers on Ebay and these being specialist, even slower.  Other pieces from the house are going there - a couple of chairs surplus to requirements although I couldn't fit the old "Grandfather chair" - a standard splat back Windsor chair Keith bought a few years back to repair - in the car this time.  My Verwood Pottery "Dorset Owl" costrel is going too.  I have enjoyed it for many years, but now it's someone else's turn to love it.  

The little child's Windsor has had it's final polish with  bit of Bri-Wax but having glued a couple of very slightly loose legs in, imagine my dismay when it was still not right and I have to do another this morning.  There's not even any room to get glue IN as the leg isn't loose enough to move it.  Ah well, I will see if I can get a knife blade in to make a little opening.  Dratted dip tanks.  It's much easier when the leg is completely loose and you can remove it, fill the hole with wood glue and then replace the leg and wipe it all down, fasten it in place until glue set.

 I made good progress with the greenhouse the other day and have most of the Cucumbers and all of the Cantaloupe Melons up in the greenhouse.  I need to pot on tomatoes when I get back later on.  They will stay down in the greenhouse. 

I will certainly need to put diesel in when I see it cheapest (probably Llandovery), as today's trip and then two trips to Llandeilo on Friday and Saturday willmore than use up the 3/4 tank currently in there.  

I am still waiting on my Temu delivery (3 days, as if!) of fabrics before I can do some more blocks on the quilt.  

Tomorrow will be spent sorting and packing for the Fair on Saturday.  No peace for the wicked. 

A day for dead-heading

 

There you go.  The first 50 blocks done and sewn up to plain white squares.  Hopefully I am over halfway there now.  I think I need to order more white though.  Quite pleased with myself.

Accurately pieced too. (For once!!)

Today I must crack on out in the garden, dead heading roses, weeding, potting on tomatoes and taking either tomatoes or cucumbers up to the polytunnel to carry on flowering/fruiting as too many in the greenhouse.  Perhaps cucumbers would be best up there as they need stringing up and more room in the polytunnel.  Tam's Cantaloupe melons need to go up there too.

I had an invitation from my neighbour to come up for tea, to meet his family who had come down for a couple of days and were staying in an Air b'n'b just up the road.  That was a lovely evening (I had baked them a Chocolate Apple cake). Lots of chatting and great admiration for the wonderful wool embroidered picture his mum was making.  It was gone 8.30 when I returned - no Pippi.  Called and called.  No Pippi.  9 p.m. she finally decided to come home.  Little ratbag.  She is NOT allowed out at night - nor is Lulu who is fairly gormless as she is an Upstairs House Cat only - until she decides to disappear in the bushes on the bank which she did the night before, and she would NOT come out.  I had to stop playing "the game" and came in and then she gave up as it's no fun playing hide and seek with no one to try and find you!

Butter wouldn't melt . . .

As I had woken at 3.20, got up after lieing awake for an hour, had a nap later, I am surprised I managed anything at all yesterday.  Today I had a lie-in - till 5.30 . . .

Progress with the chairs.  The one on the right is nearly finished.  I gave it a 3rd coat of Boiled Linseed Oil yesterday.  Now it just needs a little polish with some wax.  The one on the left slurped up the oil - being in a dip tank is the worst possible fate for wood.  I am waiting to hear from my carpenter about the back splat, having sent him dimensions and a pattern.  I need him to show me how to fix the top bow too as in order to try and glue the upright in, someone sawed a notch to the bow to do so and now the upright has come unglued and the top is unsightly.  I Bri-waxed the stripped shelves on the bookcase I am sorting out too.  

3/4 way through The Mechanical Devil by Kate Ellis, and have been listening to some excellent podcasts on The Three Ravens, especially the long one about Cardiganshire.

Two GREAT Sundays in a row

 

Here you go.  Hereford Racecourse.  This is the route (up the Roman Road) I always use to get into Hereford for shopping/hospital, and of course drive right on past on the way to Malvern.  Back in the day, Keith used to parachute onto the centre of the racecourse (in his Army days).

I wanted to see if it was one worth doing (answer probably no), but it was lovely to have a busman's holiday, and just wander round at my leisure, under no pressure, and look at what was on offer.  A couple of nice stalls, but most of it not what appeals to me.  This would take some moving on . . .

Ammonites - but they look to be concrete . . .

A lovely big bushel corn measure and part of our agricultural history.  A rare survivor.  I liked that, but not the price, and that would take up a LOT of room on any stand.

This I took a photo of as Tam and I were talking about them only a couple of days ago.  She said Jon was always on the look out for such things. I said I had honestly never seen one except on Antiques Roadshow!  Until today!!

From the Antiques Fair - it only took me about 40 mins to walk very slowly round and then once around outside again -  I went into Hereford and sat outside of Dunelm and Hobbycraft, waiting for them to open (not until 10.30).  I thought I would go in Hobbycraft first and check out what batting they had.  I managed to get some without breaking the bank, in sufficient thickness, plus another bag marked £3 which appeared to be batting of a similar thickness.  This is for the pink quilt I mended.  Then as I needed some different DMC colour-changing embroidery floss, I browsed slowly and bought 4 I liked the colours of, plus four of their Perle embroidery threads.  At least there was plenty of choice there.  The little wool shop in Llandod has a very basic selection - just plain embroidery floss and no multi coloured ones.  

Now, I would swear I have just turned that in Edit so it's the right way up.  This was my jewel of the day - for just £1 at the Antiques Fair.  It is a brilliant book.  I checked out churches on the route to Madley, and visited two.  Clehonger was sadly shut (padlocked door), but Eaton Bishop wasn't.  Just wait till you see the Medieval stained glass - it is internationally important.  Another post . . .

Not a very clear photo as if my camera does distance shots, or if it does, damned if I know where to find out where to alter the distance to take them.  That anyway, is a couple of acres of Meadowsweet on the Common.  Breathtaking.

As I sat in the queue to park at the car boot sale I took a photo of this pretty little cottage.

Nothing for me at the boot sale, but I did get some lovely fresh runner beans (first picking of the season) for £2 a big bag, and for just £2.20 (not like the £5 a different ice cream vendor was charging at Malvern last week) I got a mile-high Mr Whippee ice cream.  Oh I did enjoy that!  Shan't bother with this car boot again.  Whilst dozens and dozens of people were waiting to be let in, I could see dealers (who had paid the £8 to get in and sell but actually just to park and shop early) walking round dragging camping trolleys. Plus sellers there to get rid of their stuff, having a wander round.  No wonder it was picked clean by the time they finally let us in.  

I had a lovely drive home.  The wild flowers are SO beautiful at the moment.  Verges with millions of tiny pink or white bindweed wher the verge met the tarmac.  Lots of Common purple Mallow, pink Musk Mallow, purple Meadow Cranesbill, stately Rosebay Willowherb (Fireweed to those of you in USA/Canada) nodding as cars passed it, Meadowsweet by the acre near Eaton Bishop, Purple Tufted Vetch in the hedgerows, Honeysuckle.   Despite my limited knowledge of architecture I could roughly date houses and cottages as I passed - some lovely black and white half-timbered ones included.  Memories too - places Keith and I had been together (that boot sale included), Bredwardine where we tried so hard to buy the old schoolhouse which wasn't meant for us, Bredwardine church where Kilvert is buried.  A gentle, healing, happiness just in that landscape . . .

So now I am going to have a quiet evening with my new-to-me book and a glass of wine.  Tea is runner beans (of course) and a piece of my home made pizza from the freezer.  I had a quick shop in Asda as I was about to head out on the A465, and got my shopping for the week.  Meals to be courtesy of my freezer and storecupboard. Tomorrow night is going to be pork chop cut up for a stir fry.  I have some nice stir fry veg in the freezer.  Only thing I would have liked with it is beanshoots but you can't have everything.

Cooler?

 I blardy hope so.  Falling out of love with sleeping on the sofa.  Was awake 2 hrs in the middle of the night before it was cool enough upstairs to go to bed and then I didn't wait until 8.30 so such a late start to my day (which has been 5.30ish for the past few weeks).  There is at least a good breeze today and some clouds.  18 deg at present.  I can cope with that. Humidity 83% though.  Not so good.  We seem to have missed the lively theatre of storms and wowzer lightening which went through Thursday night/early hours Friday morning.  No rain either.

I didn't go to the monthly Friday meeting of the Spinners/Weavers/Dyers as I can't drive when it's that hot and so I hid indoors again.  Tbh, I don't think it's for me as they are all so passionate about it all and I just wanted to learn a few things.  One lady had been going 6 mths and hadn't a clue how to spin, so I assume they aren't terribly helpful.  Instead I put some Boiled Linseed oil on one of the little chairs and it is greatly improved already, having been in the dipping tank which does no wood any good whatsoever.  Another coat today and tomorrow and then some wax polish to finish it off.  

Meadowsweet.  Plant of the ancients and traces of pollen found in Bell Beaker burials - inside Bell Beaker cups, apparently used to flavour a milk drink, along with honey.  A drink to take into the afterlife.  

I now have 42 blocks sewn.  I intended to do a few more yesterday but got sidetracked by other jobs which needed doing.  One thing I couldn't face was potting on tomatoes nor moving cucumbers (I have lots!) or Tam's Cantaloupe melons up to the polytunnel, which I cleared out recently.  Perhaps today.  Happy to work in RAIN today!!

I finished reading Kate Ellis' book The Funeral Boat.  Now I'm on The Mechanical Devil which is set on Dartmoor.  Nice light reading.  I did a bit of stitching on my Intuitive Stitching panel last night, just making up a design as I went long, as kj Turner does.

I'll show some more from the top row tomorrow.

Now I had better get a return slip for the absolutely crappy "2 oz" batting I bought on Amazon.  They show a roll and then it comes as probably pulled out of a pillow.  Now, you think I would have learned my lesson before . . .  Will HAVE to go to Doughtys for the batting for two quilts.