Life goes on

A Herefordshire view from last weekend.


Although I grieve deeply for my friend, life still goes on of course.  It helps to keep busy.  Though NOT in the middle of the night!  My husband has been sleeping restlessly this week, and had a nightmare on Tuesday, where he was doing battle using one of the swords from his collection (which had seen plenty of battle, having been used in the Anglo-Indian wars.  I can't hold it, for I pick up on its bloody past and within seconds my arm aches as if I have been fighting for my life for hours . . .) Anyway, in this fight, my husband said he decapitated his rival, and although there was a red mark around his neck, it was his legs that fell off!  The next morning, he had managed to strain a wrist, so vigorously was he fighting in that dream.  The same happened last night, though he didn't remember the dream when I poked him and said "oi, oi, oi" as he was flailing about and kicking out and woke me.  That was 2.30 a.m. and I was still awake 3 hours later, although I had come downstairs to read a book (I am re-reading the Poldark novels at present, which I find very comforting).

I am sure you are enjoying the new series of Poldark on a Sunday night, and Mr Ross Poldark is very fetching indeed!  When I was feeling low earlier in the week, I will confess to going on-line and ordering the DVDs of the first two series (books) from the 1970s, with Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees.  I will follow up with the other two next month I think.

Here was a job which has needed doing a long time - sorting out the books in the Junk Room.  This was mainly the Overspill bookcase and we have gone through this and packet several boxes with titles we are unlikely to read or look at again.  I will have a try at selling a few in the Unit and at a few car boot sales this summer, and what doesn't sell can go to the Charity Shops.

Further along that wall in the Junk Room, a double book case awaits our attention, although there will be very few books being shed from this one.  The wooden frame in the centre was once the main entrance to the house when it was an L-shaped hall-house.  On the other side of this there is a lovely arched recess, where we have a dresser and china.  This was done, we think, around 1817 when the house was "modernized".  There is a plaque over the door telling us this and that is was done at the charge of Thomas Lewis, who lived there then.

This was today's indulgence, after we had been to the very wet Car Boot Sale at Ffairfach - which also hosts a largely poor house clearance type of auction under-cover, a deadstock auction out in the field, and a poultry and occasional livestock auction also under cover.  We were up late because of sleeping poorly, and set out half an hour later than planned last night, by which time the light drizzle had turned into lashing rain.  The few stalls of the car boot sale outside, were soon done and dusted and we went under cover to see what was on offer inside, and came out with two axe handles we needed and a replacement tyre/wheel for my wheelbarrow.  The rain was still lashing down sideways and I was blinking furiously after rubbing a wet eye and getting mascara and an eyelash in it.  Yuk.

We needed bread, so I made this Multi-Seeded Wholemeal loaf from a recipe in the magazine.  Slap hands though BBC, whoever is doing your proof reading made some schoolboy errors and whoever worked out the recipe for this loaf MUST know that 250 ml and over 500g of flour does NOT mix.  Admittedly the recipe did reluctantly say that you could add more water a spoonful at a time if the 250ml wasn't enough but since the original amount was meant to be a moist dough, I'd hate to see what a dry one looked like!  I should imagine it would bring a newbie baker up short cutting their teeth on this recipe.

Between a death and a funeral is a time of limbo and I felt I needed distraction this week.  Over on Facebook I have been following the pages of Southampton Memories, and it was been good workout for my mind, trying to remember places as they were when I knew them, and see the changes since earlier photos and postcards.  During my clearout today, I came across this book from 1980, when I went back to live in Southampton after my dad's death.  Some things don't change, like God's House Tower above, which is now a good little Museum.  Or it was last time I visited.  It was strangely comforting to go back in time, even though a lot of the photos were well before my time . . . .

Mindless crochet has helped too and I have finished the very simple border on a throw for middle daughter G, which has been abandoned for a year now.  Then I picked up this book with a view to trying out some new designs, but these require concentration, so Poldark it is then . . .