Busy baking

This morning's sunrise - red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning . . .

I am glad to say we have only had a couple of short snow-showers, and it as warmed up enough to melt the frost on trees and hedgerows and  on the front path.  Let's hope it continues to thaw.  I haven't been out today - just up the garden a couple of times to top up the bird-feeders.

Straight after breakfast I made a big pan of soup.  Onion; mixed veg from a stew pack and frozen; a portion of ratatouille from the freezer; red lentils; half a tin of baked beans and a tin of Taco beans for flavour.  It made for a tasty hearty soup, and I have lunch for the week I think!

Then I set to baking and made Choc-Chip Applesauce Cookies, from a Canadian apple recipe cookbook sent by a penpal back in 1985.  I have referred to it regularly down the years and had to have it rebound eventually, as the cover had had it (spiral gone).

Though I had gone off the boil by the time the 3rd tray of cookies came out of the oven, I wanted to make use of the hot oven, so quickly knocked up my Manderin Orange Cake - just fancied it today.   Keith and I had a piece mid-afternoon, still warm, and although the manderins had sunk to the bottom, it still tasted great.

    Then I gave myself a couple of hours off and watched a nature programme filmed in Germany and read a few chapters of A Fenland Smallholding by Pam Ferrers, which I bought after reading about it on Farms on My Bookshelf (see sidebar).  The babies were sleeping - Lulu on the top of the sofa, and Pippi under a quilt on my lap.  She was like a little hot water bottle.  Alfie and Ghengis were beside me and L. Whale on a chair in the kitchen.  He isn't limping quite so much today, I'm glad to say.

Keith and I had intended to go to the Fleamarket on Carmarthen Showground tomorrow, but it sounds like the roads will be shocking tomorrow (very icy after the bit of rain we had this afternoon), and we know from experience just how cold it will be in the farm shed the indoor stalls are in from when we used to stand at this Fair in the past.  Warmer outdoors than in . . .

Tomorrow I shall venture up to the attic and find some more Christmas stuff I think.  Keep warm everyone.  Please send some healing thoughts to Tam, who has come down with Covid (that'll teach her to go on holiday - Copenhagen, so flights were involved).  As mum, I am of course in worry mode though she doesn't sound too bad this evening, her fever broke this afternoon.

    

A Snow Moon

 

This is apparently a Snow Moon - the brown ring around it is formed from ice crystals, signifying snow is on the way.  I'm glad I went to Llandod for a few extras yesterday (kitten food, milk etc), although I do keep a very good store cupboard on our food front.  Apparently it is snowing steadily in Tregaron, which is about 30 miles West of us.  I have pulled the wooden shutters across our bedroom window (they are on the inside) as that keeps the worst of the cold at bay.  We've had the heating on all day - far too cold not to, as Keith would soon suffer.  I feel very sorry for the people who hardly dare have heating on - at least in the past, when I was growing up, we had open fires and could hole up in the one warm room in the house.

A hard frost here this morning. It was -4 when I came down.

Did anyone watch the programme about the winter of '63 the other night (Wednesday).  I remember it well, but was still surprised at the depth of snow in some places, and how badly the West Country had it.  There was a Great Blizzard in Devon in March 1891 in which 200 people and 6,000 animals died.  The snowdrifts were up to 15 feet high then.  I think in some places it wasn't that far behind in '63 and for much longer too.

The orchard and the gigantic pine tree.

I have been snuggled in the warm today, and finally finished the binding on the quilt, after another complete muck-up of the last corner.  Hopefully it will go unnoticed.  The general finish looks good.

Of course, little kittens don't know what cold means yet . . .

Keep warm and safe everyone.

A little breath of Christmas

 

Some photos to prove I made it to the Old Railway Line Garden Centre, which always has an amazing array of Christmas goodies each year.  (Note to self: go back in January when the Sale's on!!)  These reindeer moved a little (well more like twitched actually!)

Two fat donkeys - part of the animals in petting pens.  Along with pygmy goats and alpacas in different "loose boxes".

If pink is "your" colour this year, look no further. Not sure if Roses in Christmas trees is the right seasonal combo though.

All sorts of meeces, feathery angel meeces, feathery reindeer . ..

Then resin pieces.  I couldn't bring myself to pay those prices though.  Skinflint!

I thought the Mouse (Christmas RAT?!!) in the middle with the bobble hat was something I could make from salt dough . . .

If feathers aren't your thing, there was a good choice of hairy Gonks, Hairy Reindeer etc.

Bigger Gonks for shelves.

I would have loved several of these hanging decorations, but wasn't going to fork out £17.99 or so for a dozen pine cones and a few bits of greenery.

I'd have liked a needle-felted mouse, but they were quite pricy too - £7.99 or more.  I have always been a make-it-yourself sort of person.

The same goes for these lovely arrangements.  I need to get the dehydrator going with some orange slices. Even a bag of the dried fruit slices to make your own was £15.99 . . . .

There were moving parts on this.  Not as good as the one in Charlies in Carmarthen though, as that has a moving train going round the set.

What I bought - £1.99, £1.99 and £2.99.  To go on my wreath. I didn't have to go far for the Willow as I realized the Kilmarnock willow (which is a weeping tree) had put out long shoots this year and in cutting them back (necessary) I have the base for the wreath.  Those are in the hall, and I'll start making the wreath base tomorrow.

And Mathilda Mouse.  I missed out on buying a long legged shelf Mouse last year as no longer near TK-Maxx, where I used to find them.  This was £9.99 so made up for not having one last year.

Now, Shhhhhhh, the babies are sleeping so I will creep into the living room and sew the quilt binding.

Slowly getting oganized

 My cards are all written and posted now.  I dropped them at the PO before leaving the car to be mended.  I had to walk home - it's uphill nearly all the way and didn't expect to collect it until this afternoon, but I'd only been back an hour when they phoned to say come and collect, so it was walking shoes back on and a walk in the opposite direction (just one steep hill that way).  Another chunk of money out out - it's been an expensive year for motoring this year, with all the repairs, and more due out in January as it needs two new front tyres and brake pads.  Yeesh. It goes like that sometimes though, and it is an old car.

Sleeping kittens.

Whilst the babies were Zzzzzzzzzzzzing, I managed to finish the machine stitching on the binding of the lap quilt which is going as a gift to a friend.  Then I sewed two sides on the back (slip stitching) whilst we re-watched The Witcher on Netflix, as a new 6 part series starts on Christmas Day, so it would be good to be up to date again.

A rather gloomy photo of a little bit of the Pineapple Log Cabin block surrounds on the lap quilt.  All hand-quilted, as usual. 

Right, I need to make myself an edible curry sauce to go with the virtually inedible beef and tomato curry I made in the pressure cooker last night. It ended up really watery and tasteless.  These days  I have gone right off cooking evening meals.

Death of Daniel y Merched (age 97)

 DEATH OF DANIEL Y MERCHED AGED 97 (1902)

"A noted Carmarthen character has passed away in the person of Daniel Jones, better known as Daniel y Merched, who died at the Carmarthen Workhouse  on Wednesday afternoon. Daniel was a native of Pontynyswen, in the parish of Llanegwad and was born in the year 1805.  He is said to have earned his soubriquet (which being interpreted is the girls' Daniel) by the fact that he was bought up by two maiden aunts.  At any rate, he was never known by any other name and many Carmarthen people who knew him 3 score years never knew his legal name.  The most wonderful stories were told of his great age and Carmarthen men aver they remembered Daniel 60 years ago as old and grey as he was this year.  However, we believe that he was only 97 years of age.  He was a tailor by trade, but had led a very unsettled Bohemian way of life; since he was a boy he would spend the whole of the summer and the autumn fishing.  He had also served in the Militia.  He was one of the best trout fishermen in the whole of the Three Counties.  There really seemed to be something almost diabolical in his luck, for he could bring 12 or 15 pounds of trout, when the best fancy anglers in the district could not take six ounces.   He always fished with a worm, and it is said his success is due to his treating the bait with saliva in a manner which would not appeal to the fastidious.  Until within the last fortnight, he looked as well as ever, and was popularly believed to be immortal.  He was a prime favourite with angling gentlemen, as he had a skill in making flies coax the shyest fish onto a hook.  He had latterly spent his winters in the workhouse, and his summers wandering about the brooks and streams of the country with his rod and line.  On Saturday the 21st inst., he entered the workhouse in a general state of breakdown, and passed peacefully away on Wednesday the 4th June."

My daughter sent me this clip  from the Carmarthen Weekly Reporter newspaper of 1902.  I can't find him in the Workhouse, I can't find an obvious one that is HIM in the census records, there are lots of marriages for a Daniel Jones, but I doubt he ever married, if he was so footloose and fancy free. I don't know where he lived in Pontynyswen - and I have the census records printed off.  He may have been living in a bender or a barn somewhere.  He was certainly a  fascinating character - they've thrown the mould away of folk like him.

Obligatory kittens photo - they have just been yelled at for turning my legs to ribbons again, little wretches, attacking me from both sides at once!  They're only good when they're fast asleep!!

A somewhat disappointing morning out

 We had planned a day out today - to visit a little Antiques/Vintage Fair at Crickhowell, and then to go on to Llwyn Celyn to see it decorated for Christmas.  Well, the 2nd part (which I was looking forward to the most) had to be cancelled because the work wasn't done on the car.  Which left the Vintage Fair.  Well, my gut feeling said it wasn't going to be our sort of stuff, and on the whole, it wasn't.   Some nice things offered by dealers, and some craft stalls as it was before Christmas, but only one stall interested us and Keith bought two Moroccan style lamps there.  The other stalls I just wheeled him past as he's not interested in jewellery, or knitted goods!  I noticed a lovely Labradorite pendant but sadly it had been broken in half, as the honest dealer pointed out.  Such a shame as it was lovely.

I have to say, access was a bit awkward though - we followed the wheelchair access signs, but couldn't open the white side doors into the building, and had to go around the front, where Keith walked up four stairs and I managed to get the wheelchair up them.

This must have looked stunning in the summer - still some colour there now, in December.  I had a quick look round the charity shop and bought a bowl for £3, then went to look for a Pie for tea in the butcher's but the small ones were £5 each and so I just bought some Russet apples.  I had hoped Keith might fancy  a pub lunch but he didn't seem the least bit interested, so I didn't pursue it.  He's not a great one for food in general, and eating out isn't high on his list of things to do.

This was the church I wanted to go in - I checked my watch.  I'd left Keith in the car for more than 20 minutes and it wasn't very warm.  I will have to visit it on another day.  A shame as it has the memorial to Lady Sybil Pauncefoot, who had her hand cut off and sent it as ransom for her husband's release, after he had  been captured in the Crusades.  They lived in Crickhowell Castle.

I had hoped to get us a nice lunch to take out but couldn't find anywhere that wasn't sit-down in the town (perhaps I didn't look hard enough).  I didn't have time to go into the shop which stocks good local ciders and beers either. Another time.

So, all in all, the day didn't pan out as planned.  As I am virtually as housebound as Keith now, as I don't like to leave him for long, I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself now.  Ah well, can't be helped. When the weather is better, I shall hopefully get to see a few churches again. 

A plain little Welsh church - St Afan's, Llanfechan

 

I have passed this little church, set back from the A483 on what was probably the "old" road before they upgraded the A483, many times, but decided I would actually go and visit - it's not very far from here.  It dates back to the 13th or 14th C, although it was pretty well flattened and rebuilt in 1866.  I imagine this huge programme of rebuilding/renovating old churches in Victorian times was probably deemed necessary by their perilous state.

At first I thought it was locked, as the door wouldn't budge.  But a farmer moving sheep (this church has a farm to one side and farmyard in front of it) said it wouldn't be locked and jumped up the wall into the churchyard and put his shoulder mightily to the door which, though swelled with damp at the apex, finally gave into to his weight and allowed me through.

Judging by the age of this Yew tree, I would say that this was a very early Christian site.  The church is situated on a mound, though it's not that obvious in the photos and immediately beneath the church could well be the rubble from the earlier demolished church.  The churchyard is also circular, another pointer to antiquity.  This church, Llanafan Fechan (the lesser) and its neighbour Llanafan Fawr (the greater) a few miles Northwards, are dedicated to the Celtic Bishop Afan, who was usually named Afan Buallt, showing a close link with Builth Wells. He was a 5th or 6th C Bishop, so an early site indeed.

The view Northwards.

The 14th C font was very plain.

Indeed the church was plain and utalitarian. Its size echoed that of that Medieval church which had preceded it.  If there had been any obviously medieval parts, those were long gone.  The modernization was carried out by Charles Buckeridge, who also carried out the work at Llanlleonfel Church, the other side of Garth, which I also visited earlier in the year.

        What I missed, I now discover, is an early stone in the churchyard marked AVANIUS EPISCOPIS. Bishop Afan . . . So I will have to return and seek it out.

        Well, I have had to re-schedule the car repair as it became clear it wouldn't be done this morning (I got it down their for 8.45 too) but might be done before they shut this teatime.  Since leaving it there involved walking the 2 miles to and from home each way in freezing fog, and then again this afternoon even further across to Pam's to let her dog out for his ablutions whilst she was out for the afternoon, I thought it was better to leave it till I had a clear day.

        So, back to binding the lap quilt, now that I have buttoned everything together.  Heaven knows what tea is going to be - I had better look in the freezer for some inspiration.  

        The garage said we should be ok to drive to Crickhowell and back tomorrow, but I think we will have to cancel Llwyn Celyn as that adds another 30 miles to the journey.  Ah well, it will still be there next year.