We've had a busy few days of things, with the local Fleamarket at the weekend and now I have a list of jobs to do as long as my arm.  It was fine here yesterday, so after doing the grocery shopping and banking, we set to on outside jobs.  First the guttering, as the strip down above the Old Dairy flat was blocked with leaves, and the front of house low guttering needed clearing too.  There is a piece of backboard behind the guttering on the corner of the bay window which needs replacing, so that is a job for the next dry day.

I had cooked a chicken at the weekend, so I got some Campbells Condensed Chicken Soup as the base for a pie, and topped it with cheese scones.  This is something I have cooked many times down the years.  However, a couple of years ago Campbells decided to have a "low fat" Cond. Chicken soup option - we tried it once and it was tasteless.  It disappeared from the market but now the only Cond. Chicken soup on offer appears to be made using that low fat and utterly tasteless recipe.  I am not a great one for complaining to companies about their products, but I have just sent them an e-mail to this effect.  On principal!  I bought two tins of it as well (price now £1 a can - I can remember when it cost half that, and not that long ago either).  I shall donate that to the food bank for charity in Tesco.

When we were at our patchwork class last week, our teacher had been given dozens of out-of-date material pattern books to use for projects.  They were very high end curtain fabrics (although most seem to have been made in India!)  We were given the chance of taking the ones which appealed to us, and there is going to be a bag-making session on the next wet day. 

I thought I would make a couple as gifts, and then start making shopping bags to sell on my stand in aid of the Pyramid Horses in Cairo charity I support, which is called Prince Fluffy Kareem.  If you have a moment, please go to their website and see what they do, although beware, some of the photos show animals that are bought to their premises are in a dreadful state with open wounds, gigantic abscesses, hugely overgrown and distorted hooves and sometimes broken limbs (although there is only one answer for these poor creatures, and the charity has to try and purchase the horse or donkey in order to give it a few hours of love and good food before the inevitable euthanasia).  If you could make a donation to them, I guarantee every penny would be wisely spent - these people work MIRACLES!  I have a standing order to make a monthly donation and send extra when I can.

Below: I have decided to "live for the day" bookwise, and these are two which have come my way in the last week.  The other sewing group I am a member of (organized by my friend Dawn) is making this wonderful Home Sweet Home sewing box (it has all sorts of home-made and embroidered little extras inside too).  We have a year to do it.

The Wild Dyer is a book that was mentioned in the Weekend Telegraph recently, and it is right up my street.  It is more practical for me to dye cloth than spin fleece to dye, as I am more likely to use the fabric.  This is a lovely book and I am reminded of my friend Kim, now in France, who will be doing the same with wool in her new life out there.

I still have a ton of apples here although I am giving them away as soon as I find victims!  I have several patchwork projects I'm working on, lace making, another Fair next weekend, and then I am off down to Southampton for a couple of days.  Yesterday, as it was dry, I carried on with the garden tidy up but there is SO much to do out there and I think I need cloning!  I definitely need a smaller easy to maintain garden when we do eventually move . . .

I need to get back to the redecorating, as my office is still awaiting the wallpaper, but since my sewing machine and a pile of material and cutting aids are all over the kitchen table, those will have to get moved first.

It has got colder - we changed the summer duvet to the winter one yesterday.  It is a feather and down duvet and SO snug.  It says 4 tog - HAH.  More like 40!!