Photos of York - I hope!

Right, many thanks to Mac n' Janet for suggesting Flickr to store my photos on.  I see I have limited storage on there each month too, so I may load some on Flickr and some on Photobucket, and see if I can manage that way!

Anyway, here is one of the Fairground rides at York recently - the Gallopers.

York Minster from the front - the best I could do without getting run over!

And in slightly more close-up.  Sorry they aren't very sharp, but that's because I have enlarged them.

The ruins of St Mary's Abbey in the York Castle Museum gardens (the Museum we couldn't afford to go in . . .)

The 14th C Lendal Tower by the River Ouse is a partner to the Barker Tower on the opposite bank, and a chain used to be hung between the two, so that a toll could be extracted by boats wishing to pass.

Our beautiful eldest daughter T, whose birthday treat this outing was.

Part of the market in York.

Above: Barley Hall, York.  Below: Day to day Medieval living inside the Barley Hall   We  visited there for the Medieval Craft Fair, and I bought a present for my husband - a candle holder made using part of old (oak) farm machinery, and some thrifted (!) beach-combed Amber chips (drilled for jewellery) from a Dutch beach, which my clever daughter turned into earrings for me when we got back to her flat.

Preparing for Christmas

Well, the wreath is done.  I have managed a photograph by wiping some earlier ones.   

As for the new blog, I am not sure how many of you will be able to access me if I go over to Wordpress permanently.  Can we have a headcount?  Morning AJ says it won't let her in.  Are there many more of you?

Anyway, I am quite happy with this year's wreath which is a variation on the standard hedgerow-garnered wreath we always make.  T and I that is, but as she is not here until next Sunday, I had to make it alone this time.  I only had to walk as far as our front gate for the ingredients - bendy Pussy Willow wands, long ribbons of ivy which scramble over the front wall, and then I dived into the Christmas decoration boxes and came up with some lovely clear-glass faceted baubles on a silver wire, and for contrast, a long length of gold balls.  The Willow made the interwoven frame, covered with festoons of ivy strands, then the baubles and gold balls.  Underneath hangs a weather-proof silver tree decoration like a star-shaped snowflake.  It looks really pretty (says she modestly).

Today we got 3 bottles of wine for the Christmas meals (our offspring have promised more) and we drove down to Eynons at St Clears (an award-winning butcher) for the meaty part of the Christmas feast - salt-marsh lamb for Christmas Day, casserole venison and  pheasant breast to go towards the Boxing Day Game Pie, and two lovely thick succulent venison steaks to go between three of us when T arrives next weekend.  I have 2 brace of partridges already in the freezer, and a goose which is going in the oven on Christmas Eve and just need to get a game pack from our more local butcher.

Theo'dorable is on the mend and now that his tummy is better, he was allowed out of the kitchen today and chose to snuggle up next to me on the sofa.

Off for a hot bath now, as my fingers are dropping off with cold.

Moving blog to WordPress. . .

HERE is the link to my new blog, which will be a work in progress for some time to come, by the look of things, but I will gradually move across there.  Here it is again in case you want to cut and paste: http://codlinsandcream3.wordpress.com/?p=6&preview=true

I haven't the foggiest how to get my side bar friends across, but I dare say I will find out in the fullness of time . . .

Bear with me, as I shall probably post on both blogs until I have the hang of WordPress, but at least you will see my photos.

December gloom

I am trying to get myself organized for Christmas, but am fast running out of time.  I shall breath a sigh of relief when I have all the cards and letters written and the last present posted . . .  I'm nearly there.

I have already had my Christmas present from my husband, as we just happened to be looking round The Works on Saturday (a remaindered mainly-books shop, for those of you not in UK).  I had been very good and stayed my hand over various craft magazines earlier - mainly because at £5 a time, they don't represent very good value for money unless there is more than one thing in them that I want to make!  So even though I keep them forever and a day, I put them back on the shelf.  Imagine my delight when I found a good book on Christmas projects for just £2.99 in The Works, and then when I was rummaging amongst the Kirstie's Homemade books, trying not to get drawn in, I found a different one on Granny Chic which I picked up.  I have to say, not all Granny Chic style appeals to me.  Some of the projects I've seen just look a mess!  However, this particular book had enough appeal and fresh ideas, and it DID have how to make a particular sort of circular cushion cover which I had just seen in the Liberty Vintage book, and at £5.99 was cheap enough, so my OH bought me Granny Chic for Christmas and I have to confess, I am enjoying it NOW and not waiting until Christmas Day!

Now that winter has really arrived (and apparently it is going to REALLY get cold this week), I finally took down the summer curtains and hung the winter ones, which I added wool linings to last year.  I have decided that the summer curtains which are Laura Ashley material, but SO faded after nearly 25 years use, need upgrading, and that I am going to use some of my fabric stash to make up patchwork "fronts" for them, so I have been looking out lengths of material to do this with, though I probably won't start until the New Year now.  I need to finish my Christmas gift crafting first . . .  But at least I have started looking out for suitable material at the Car Boot Sale and came home with a pretty cotton skirt yesterday which I am currently unpicking (takes forever!).  No point looking in Charity Shops as they only have expensive clothing on their racks - I want things which are deemed suitable for the rag bag.  I may ask in one of them . . .

Little poorly Theo is slowly mending from his nasty cold and chest infection, but had to go back to the Vet's on Friday for a long-lasting anti-biotic jab AND an anti-inflammatory for his tummy as the oral anti- biotics I was having to give him just turned him inside out, poor little chap.  The kitchen was not a pleasant place to be if you had any sense of smell and I had to cover everywhere with newspaper.  He looks brighter now and his tummy is mending too, but he's still a bit sniffly.

I really MUST try and get some Christmas baking done (and in the freezer) and I realize I have not even made any Mincemeat this year (still have some from last year though) and I really MUST get the onions pickled . . .  I am finding it hard to motivate myself though - so fed up with winter already and it's only just started.

I am thoroughly fed up with Blogger and seriously thinking of changing - probably to Wordpress.  I know it will take a big chunk of my day to get it sorted out, but bear with me.  I shall make sure I have a good link across, and bring all my favourite friends with me in the sidebar.  So - watch this space.

Safely home again

I am glad to report that I am home safely from my travels, although the coach back from Birmingham was delayed an hour overall because of traffic problems on the roads (I believe both the bridges across the River Severn were closed) - we had to go via Ross-on-Wye to get to Newport.

I had an absolutely wonderful time up with my daughter, celebrating her birthday.  We went to York, and visited the Quilt Museum and the Medieval Christmas Market at the Barley Hall where I made some purchases - a present for my husband which is a candle holder made from recycled oak from a defunct piece of farm machinery (which will please him as he hates waste and we always try to recycle old things here).  It has a cast iron holder set into the oak.  I also bought some beach-combed-in-Holland chips of amber, which T made up into earrings for me, bless her.  Unfortunately, it was too expensive to go into the York Museum (£7.50 a head) so we turned around and came back out, and it would have been £9 and £8 for us to go into York Minster, so we had to forgo our visit there too.   I feel that you should not have to pay to go into a place of worship (although I did pay several years ago to go into the Minster), even if it does help with restoration and running costs.  In fact, the whole "York experience" seemed to be out to make a maximum profit from tourists and visitors, and we looked long and hard before we found somewhere for lunch which offered value for money, and had soup and sandwiches for £5.95.  Elsewhere they were charging that for sandwiches alone, or even a pound or more again.  Greggs and the pasty shop were doing a roaring trade . . .

In the evening we had her birthday meal with friends, and I had my first-ever cocktails: a Lemon Sherbet, and then a Lavender Haze (mostly rum and pineapple juice).  We both chose the partridge with bramble and beetroot sauce, on a bed of crushed new potatoes.  Scrummy!  We had a lovely evening, although the music was SO loud no-one could carry on a conversation, even if we shouted!

T had to work the middle part of the next day, so I did the rounds of the local charity shops, taking my time and thoroughly enjoying myself.  I bought two books: Alison Weir's "Innocent Traitor" about Lady Jane Grey, and Michel Faber's "The Crimson Petal and the White" about prostitution in Victorian England. Both were read once and only 50p each.  In the same charity shop I also found a lovely old brown Victorian stoneware jar (pre-1892) with "Cadbury" on it and a beautiful tree design in white.  It has a slight chip on the pouring lip, but I can live with that.

After work, we walked across the city to the old steelworks quarter at Kelham island.  T wanted to show me a vintage and collectables outlet (various sellers) and we bought a couple of things for presents, once again.  I even found another piece for my Torquay pottery collection - a little scent bottle which had once held lavender scent.  Then we went to the Fat Cat pub (one of T's favourites) but it was choc-a-bloc with people who had been to the nearby Christmas market.  Around the corner, the Kelham island tavern had a bit more room and we took advantage of its CAMRA listing and had some Herefordshire perry from the keg.  Supper for us was an M&S dine in for £10 offer and very good it was too!  Moroccan chicken and potato rosti, then tart au citron, washed down with a good white wine.

Sunday saw us heading for the Peak District in Derbyshire, Castleton to be precise.  It was a bright and sunny day, though cold.  We took lots of photographs, both on the bus and once we arrived, and the scenery was wonderful.  LOTS of walkers out, and hang-gliders, rock-climbers - all sorts of folk enjoying the countryside.  We went in just about every shop, greatly enjoyed the Christmas Tree Festival in the church, had chips for lunch, and a swift half of cider in one of the pubs before heading home.

I took about 66 photos, but some weren't up to much.  As soon as I have wiped some more off my old blog posts and made room, I'll post as many as I can.

Back soon.

Off on my travels

You will have to bear with me a while as I am off on my travels tomorrow, journeying (by coach) up to see our eldest daughter in Sheffield, and to celebrate her birthday.  We are to have a day out in York, so I will have to try and clear lots of old photos off my early blog so I can post photos of York and York Minster on my return.

Whilst the West Country, North Wales and the Midlands are practically floating away with the dreadful floods, for once our neck of the woods escaped lightly.  I feel for the families and folk who have lost so much in the flooding.  It is hard to imagine until it happens to you, and I hope I will never experience it.

I am half-dreading the journey, because I am lugging a heavy suitcase with me (half full of presents - but then think how light it will be on the return journey next Monday!)  There is only one change of coach, so that is bearable, and I shall pack a good book and my crochet.  (I am making cushion covers and currently doing the first of two backs). I hope I get a window seat . . .

In the meantime I have been listing a few more things on eBay, to try and raise a bit more money towards Christmas, but I had a very unhappy experience on there recently with the Buyer from Hell, and although the case has just been closed and I have not been found liable (so my money apparently refunded - it had been "held" pending the result),   I keep expecting to hear a mistake has been made, and I will have to forfeit my money after all AND the buyer gets to keep the article in question.  However, just reading about it again has made me feel so sick, as I was completely innocent and the Buyer from Hell lied and lied.  Now with everything I sell, I half-expect someone to come and tell lies and say it wasn't as described, and say they sent me emails when they certainly didn't.  Stupid, I know, but when someone is lieing and calling YOU a liar, and making things up that you cannot prove or disprove, it is a horrid feeling.  The total INJUSTICE of it.  I know this will strike a bell with one or two of my readers on here, and it brings to mind our own family problems in recent times.

Anyway, I am hoping that York won't get flooded as we arrive although I think it is pretty damp up there.  I'll be back Monday evening.  In the meantime, keep safe, dry and warm.

Support your local shops

A miserable Saturday out there - grey and monotone, and with the only colour seen from my window a splash of cerise from some foolhardy rambler roses who insist it is still mild enough to put out the last few flowers. The first of the promised rain has arrived and the wind will doubtless follow (strong gales predicted and torrential rain).

This morning my OH and I went to have a poke around the auction and mart at Ffairfach.  We used to go quite regularly and have had a few bargains from there in the past, but it had very little to tempt us today.  The things under cover included very undesirable pieces of mid-20th C furniture, occasional boxes of odds (only one worth bidding on as it had a couple of pieces of T G Green blue and white striped china) and private sellers of things that the largely farmer clientele might one day need including an assortment of ill-worked crochet throws which had used up oddments of utalitarian-coloured wools (think colours that don't show the dirt!).  The deadstock outside was dire - sodden pieces of wood, empty plastic feed buckets which had once contained ruminant fodder, and farm bits and pieces - didn't encourage us to linger.  The poultry were interesting - I fell in love with some Bluebells and Silver-laced Wyandottes and Sebrights have long been on my wish-list if we ever have poultry again.  My husband prefers the ducks and there were a good selection on offer.  We didn't hang around to find out what prices they were going for as it was too chill and damp.

We lingered outside only long enough to haggle for and buy an old steen (a part glazed earthenware container wider at the top than the bottom - they come in various sizes) which will go by the Hergom.

Earlier in the week we spent a couple of hours shopping in individual (as opposed to multi-national) shops in Carmarthen.  We had need of the Craft Shop (for batting for upholstery), the Market - to price foam for upholstering some chairs and to buy wool; the £1 shop in King Street (more wool for crocheting gifts), butcher (sausages) etc. We also visited the curtain shop and bought material for upholstery and another bargain which is a gift, so I daren't mention it here. We only had to resort to T*sco for cheap gin for Sloe Gin (using the big plump Fiddleford sloes from last year, which I had in the freezer) and because they had a 3 for 2 on Cod Liver Oil which my husband needed.

This afternoon may see me in the kitchen with my upholstery tools as I have four drop-in seats for Victorian balloon-backs to deal with.  Himself is watching the Rugby and our son is back for 2 nights and a day (he needs an early lift to work in the morning and no trains running from his new digs).

Right, soup-time.  Keep warm, dry and safe.