Sunrise with cats . . . and appt. update

 

This morning's sunrise a few minutes ago.  Such a pretty light shone through the old locked Georgian door into the kitchen and I shot upstairs with my camera to catch this.  As you can see, my hedge needs cutting, but the gardener will be here in the next week to do the Autumn tidy up for me.

Lulu helping me make the bed this week . . .  I thought I had managed to escape their attention, but no, the moment I started stuffing the duvet in its cover, Someone turned up to help!

I was going to use the heated throw the other evening, but didn't have the heart to chuck Pippi off . . .

I know, I'm a softie.

Must be Autumn - Little Whale back on my sewing room bed - which is where he spends the winter months . . .

This is Alfie's favourite chair.

My next job.  Giving these a little polish up before the next Fair.  Both are from Northern India.  On the left, a little zinc and iron churn for beating up small amounts of ghee or perhaps pounding spices?  It has a wooden lining which the metal cover is attached to and the wooden base has a hole in it.  The other unusual item is a spice grinder and has a pretty star-shaped hole in the bottom to allow the spices to trickle out when ground.  You know me and unusual things . . .

Planning a quilt binding afternoon, and this morning it will be more Crab Apple Jelly making, and I have gifted courgettes to use up so will make a Chocolate Courgette Cake.

I also have to get a Chiro appt. sorted for my shoulder, which is not improving with keeping (and the Physio dept haven't been in touch following my request).  It makes sleeping and driving long distances painful and the thought of sitting on a plane for 24 hours with it this sore is NOT a cheerful prospect.  I am torn between trying to get an appt. with the lovely Chiro I have used this last 20 + years (but is in Carmarthen and it will be weeks to get booked in as he is so much in demand) or trying one in Brecon which has a good review.  

Right, this won't do.  Have a good day.

Update: Well, I decided rather than drive 110 mile round trip to my old (but brilliant) chiro, I would book one more locally, which I did.  BUT - I would have to wait over a fortnight and attend a 2nd appt. as well, so twice the cost.  I thought about it, and this afternoon phoned my old chiro, just in case they could fit me in (Peter always used to be SO busy that there was a long wait).  Well, they got me in for next Tuesday.  Hooray.  So I cancelled the other more local one.  Then I had a call from the Heart and Lungs Dept at Hereford Hospital about my ECG.  That is now booked for middle of the month too.  Then I had Physio on the phone - can I come along on Friday?  I thought, nothing to be lost and they may ease it over the weekend and they will give me an exercise sheet, so going along to that too.  

The weather for the end of the week (Thurs, Fri and Sat) is starting to look "troubled" and there are predictions of 60 - 80 mph gales, and heavy rain.   Hmmm, guess who has a Fair . . . So, I will have to play it by ear.  Last time the weather warning was dire, the Fair got cancelled anyway, which would be a relief, nice though it would have been to see my antiques Tribe.

I had a lovely - if tiring - off piste walk this afternoon . . .

Splat!!

 

I read that if your bananas were getting over-ripe, then freeze them and use them for Banana Bread later.  I got this one (to add to some non-frozen ones) from the freezer and gave it a little while on defrost in the popty-ping.  In removing it, the top fell off and it smashed on the floor.  What a mess!  Fortunately 3 did the work of 4 . . .  I shan't bother freezing them again . . .

A couple of jars of not the clearest Scroggs Jelly (crab apple).  I won't simmer them for quite so long next time as too much juice evaporated.

And if you are curious what might have come back from the auction with me, it was just this rather large and splendiferous pre-1918 Austrian amphora vase.  I can find only one thing like it using Lens, which has Tulips rather than these pretty yellow flowers, and that is listed by a hopeful seller for £799!!!  I think they will have a long wait to sell that - anyone would think they were on 1st Dibs and not Ebay! 

I have had a lovely visit from my cousin Lynne today (saw her sister Sally a fortnight ago).  She is also recently widowed so we had much to share, including lots of tears and hugs.  She bought me lovely flowers and I sent her home with Banana Loaf and some Very Berry Jam.  

I decided as over half the day was gone I would do the grocery shop, and then that would leave tomorrow completely free.  I also treated myself to a recipe and advice book on Diverticulosis/itis, downloaded to my Kindle for speed and money-saving.  By the sound of things I should go back a step with what I am eating - next stage up from a liquid diet - but I will read it properly and see how I am doing.  

Castle bothering - Grosmont

 

Sorry - I missed out the map which was shown above this.

I couldn't climb up the stairs as there were two couples and their dogs further up on a walkway, and the whole atmosphere of the castle would have been lost.

How's that for a chimney?

The moat was pretty impressive too.

HERE is the Wikipedia entry for the history of the castle.  Skenfrith is nearby, White Castle a goodly walk away (there is a 3 castles walk).

Sorry to be short on words, but this is another of those middle-of-the-night postings, so it's just photos.

Over the county border - Orcop Church

 I decided to have a scoot into Herefordshire yesterday.  Only very rarely do I go to an auction these days.  I have knocked the little Monday one on the head as just nothing in it of interest - pretty dire tbh. Plus it doesn't start until 3 p.m. and I don't enjoy driving home in the dark once the evenings have properly drawn in.  Yesterday's auction was house clearance, not an exciting one, but I thought I would check it out to see if it was a good outlet for anything I needed to pass on in the future.  They do get good house clearance stuff too, and had their star sales on a wall in the hall as you go in.  One was clearly a "sleeper" until it was picked up on line.  A carved bust of a woman, beautifully executed, sold for . . . wait for it . . . £52,000!  Gosh, I bet the vendor was delighted!  It was good to see what things were making - though the Arts & Crafts carved stand I loved sold very strongly, for several hundred.  The two Art Deco vases with Swallows on looked good on line, but in the flesh the decoration was chalky and had rubbed off in places.  There was a spinning wheel but that too, failed in the flesh as it was poorly made.  

I arrived far too early, and after sitting for half an hour, decided to go and bother Orcop Church, which Keith and I had once checked out when house hunting in the area.  Driving along, I passed the sign for Kilpeck (fabulous church, which I've written about before), and Garway Hill - Garway has a Knight's Templar church which Keith and I visited when we got here.

St John the Baptist, Orcop

Next door is a lovely house, with a quiet outlook . . .

Keith and I had been interested by the preaching cross, which has a stoop built in for the Priest to use.

I believe this is the church of St John the Baptist, although Pevsner calls it St Mary's . . .

The church has 12th C roots, but - like SO many - had reached such a stage of disrepair by Victorian times, that it had a makeover.  The 16th C bell tower (a ring of 5 bells) has a truncated pyramid roof, and internally, very big scissor braces which I noted but failed to photograph . . .

I think, looking at the pews to the right, there is a slight subsidence problem . . .

The font would appear to have been replaced in the Victorian upgrade.  I thought the discarded basket on the top gave it a homely feel.  I had a lovely chat with Margaret, the Church warden, who said that the congregation was down to just a few - elderly - parishioners now, although the funeral of a local estate agent recently had 400 mourners, so that must have had them packed inside the church and out and hanging from the rafters!

A parishioner had gone to the trouble of sewing a nice patchwork altar front.  The stained glass window at the top was made to celebrate the Millennium, on the theme of Light.

T Nicholson was responsible for the 1860 revamp, and this pulpit would date from that time.

As would the King and Queen terminal carvings.

This is the real thing though - a Medieval carving - perhaps a Corbel? Or is this the "top of a Norman pillar piscina" that Pevsner mentions?

Pierced heart on the vaulted roof .

The bell tower, internally.

This is known as the Poet's Church, as poet Francis Horovitz is buried here.  I looked for his gravestone at the back of the church, but couldn't find an obvious candidate, though I did note a strange stone with a metal cross stuck in the side of it.  Apparently that was it.

Then it was back to the auction for a bit.

A lovely foraging walk

 

85% Crab Apples and 15% green Wildings.  Both will go to make Crab Apple jelly shortly.  The result of foraging whilst on a walk down by the river today.  Tree after tree of Crab Apples (so I don't need to raid the one I saw in the grounds of what used to be Builth Castle (just the motte, moat and bailey remain.  No stone in sight!  These were all taken to rebuild the town after a disastrous fire in the 1690, though probably robbed for building prior to that too.

A Crab Apple tree with tiny yellowy fruit on the river bank.

The river down by the rocks, fuming and swirling.

Calmer waters.

Not very clear, but this is a Wilding tree, grown from a discarded apple core and true to one of its parents.  This would be just as good cooked up as a jelly.  Fortunately I had about 20 crab apple trees to choose from!

As you can see, I had a lovely walk with my friend Pam and her dog, and glad she loaned me a big canvas bag to put the apples in.

I spent a goodly while this morning carefully clipping the binding into place on the quilt, only to look properly at it and realized I'd clipped it to the wrong side . . .  Put that right after our walk.  

I've been fighting with myself about putting the central heating on, but it WAS only 15 degrees in here and my hands were like blocks of ice.  I am about to go in the living room (warmer anyway) and drape myself in the heated blanket, which will stay switched on so I can turn the heating off.  Electric blanket to be switched on tonight too.  Yet - until the sun went down it was lovely and warm out.  After the frosts, I've been pulling the curtain and pulling down the blind in the kitchen, but that still leaves the window over the sink uncovered, so I must do something about that before winter is here. Should have done it when we first moved in in fact.

Keep warm.

A satisfying day

 

I was away early yesterday to go and see my friend Pam, and take her a cake as she was doing me some lunch before I went off to my Quilting group.  It was good to catch up and as Pam's not been out much this year - various family hospitalisations, her included.  They're all back on an even keel again now.

It was a full house at my quilting group.  I arrived early as I needed to spread my Baltimore quilt out to trim the edges, and then put a neat backing on it.  Alex saw me getting my quilting safety pins out and waved me to stop, whilst she produced a quilt basting spray which did the trick in no time!  Then I cut the binding, so it's all ready to go.  I will try and crack on with that this morning after breakfast.  Lots of jobs to do here, including painting the final window (big kitchen window with a dozen panes) but onwards and upwards.

Before I forget, a good wildlife count recently. On my way to Malvern the other morning, a Stoat shot across the road.  A pair of Green Woodpeckers by the field (two fields away) which is covered in Yellow Meadow Ant nests (red ants to you and I).  The Swallows left around August, the last few House Martins seem to have joined them now so my skies are quiet again.  Last week I saw a pair of the tiny moths I photographed last month, on their wedding flight by the look of things.  Lots of bees/insects still along my holly hedge, which also has a lot of a tiny pink flowered shrub in it (very invasive) which they seem to love.  

Right, hair washing to be done, then the binding . . .

An "EEEK" moment when shopping . . .

From my walk yesterday - I hate the thought of Aberedw hill being covered in a gigantic wind farm and huge metal pylons marching through Wales, and the destruction of the landscape and wildlife and everything that goes with it. . .  However, since not only have the Welsh assembly got their pension pot invested in this debacle, but apparently a serving Welsh politician is now on the board of Bute Energy.  No vested interests there then . . .

 I went to Llandod today and after walking round the charity shops (only two now as the 3rd - Red Cross was it? - has now shut), I looked at my shopping list and there was nothing I needed to go to Aldi for.  I got fuel at Tesco and then ventured into the Tesco store.  Cat food was high on my priorities - I needed to try and ring the changes again but didn't want to buy a 40 pack of Whiskas and find they were still "off" it.  They had boxes of 12 pouches at buy 4 get one free.  I got two different brands.  The same applied to the Purina cat biscuits, so I stocked up on those as well - over a month's supply there. At least they all eat those. A big chunk spent there but several weeks' cat food is now in the Utility.  

Their jam sugar, at £2.80, was much cheaper than Co-op which is the only place I've been able to source it recently.  I bought two.  Their Activia gut health yoghurt also on a special offer, so bought 2 x 4.  The Shampoo I use was also half price - £4 instead of £8, so that went in the trolley too. The chocolate bars I was going to buy were also reduced by 35p each pack.  Two of those.  Jaffa easy peelers also reduced from £2.00 to £1.29 and I had oranges on my list, as I want to see how my gut reacts to those as I haven't been able to eat oranges this past year.

Some turkey mince was reduced and in the clearance chiller, as were some nice strawberries. I also spotted a Chicken Chow Mein which I have just eaten as my "treat" meal.  It was always a Madras curry in the past, but need to side step strong chilli flavours now.  I've had several cheap weeks, and with a £29.60 reduction on my shop, it wasn't so painful.  I have plenty of main meal components in the freezer, so back to v. frugal next week.

I have taken the plaster off my cut finger now and it is healing nicely, so hopefully it won't need a plaster on, although I have my quilting class tomorrow, so may put one on because of all the driving and having to cut the binding fabric.

So, not a lot happening.  I need to have a sort out in the greenhouse and get the dead cucumber plants out and on the compost heap.  They did me well this year.  I shan't grow cherry tomatoes next year - they were overly sweet and I prefer the Alicante type of tomato for salads or Black Russian when I can get them.  I hope I can rekindle my enthusiasm for the garden next year, as it went into hibernation this summer, with the heat week on week.

I am reading (well, re-reading) an old book of Phil Rickman's, writing under his pseudonum of Will Kingdom.  This is The Cold Calling, and there is another of his, both featuring Shaman Cindy Mars-Lewis, a cross-dressing Shaman, which I have on my Kindle.  Spooky but good reads and set along the Marches with Mean Spirit starting in the New Forest.  Both areas I know well.  Upstairs reading (a smaller book for a poorly finger- is S J Parris's Prophecy. All her books are unputdownable/amazing listening (have several on Audible).