A visit to Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire

 This glorious Abbey began life in the 7th Century in the Saxon period 635 - 1066 and today fragments of this time remain within the body of the building.

I was there for a seminar on the care of church buildings and what a wonderful venue for this meeting this was.

The village of Dorchester on Thames is a charming old world destination, very well worth a visit.

Driving to the Abbey, I passed through the village of Nuneham Courtenay where there is a wonderful arboretum to visit.


And the two villages of Marsh Baldon and Toot Baldon, collectively known as The Baldons of Oxfordshire.












I have to confess to feelings of near panic at the thought of driving in the snow but the route was all along main roads and motorways, which were all completely clear of snow.  I was so relieved!

We have more snowy weather forecast for tomorrow...ah well, it's the season for bad weather and we must just cope with the prevailing conditions.


Daisy

Bother ....it's snowing again!!

We've begun to get just a little bit fed up with this dratted snow, well, you know what I mean, don't you?

And yes I do agree with you, saying we really don't get so very much snow each year, that we should be able to cope with this fleeting, annual snow fall, that is our lot, generally speaking.  Of course, all the children, and the young at heart, are thoroughly enjoying the snow and all the fun associated with its presence and even we have thrown the odd snow ball at each other and Alice has simply romped through its crunchy-powdery glory, returning home with snow all over her coat and with snowy paws.

However, its presence is now beginning to make life difficult in many ways and I've seen and heard of folk who really struggle to cope in snowy conditions. Why, today, as we were driving down  the road, I saw a frail old lady making her way very gingerly along the pavement, and holding a long-handled garden fork as a walking stick to steady her gait.  But of course, bravo to her for getting up and outside to get some fresh air and exercise; I did wonder if the lady had anyone to help with her shopping - I do hope so!

Well, it's supposed to be warmer at the weekend and the snow has been thawing but then last night it snowed again, very slowly and gently, and completely managed to cover my car again.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to go out for a church seminar with lunch but it all depends on what the weather does tonight?

And here's Alice, Me and Poppy on a warm summer day off for our daily walk....Happy times!

Ah well, we shall see!

Daisy

Holiday Hong Kong snaps - my smashing holiday

busy people 

harbour boats, cars and roads

the City sleeps

Harbour view

Cars buildings lights

Taxis

Daisy xxx

Our snow's still around....

Hi there,  we've just been Skyping with my son and daughter-in-law in Australia, which was just all pure joy.

Don't you just have to agree with me when I say how absolutely wonderful it is, this ability to hear and see the far away and sadly missed presence of kith and kin?

Our loved ones have to follow their dreams and we must sit and wait out their absence with understanding and patience..........so it's just wonderful that now, with brilliant technology, we can keep in close-faced contact with them; and chat away almost as if they were right here in the same room, on the sofa and all together?

On my return journey home from Australia in 2010, I had a two-day stay in Hong Kong, which was just so terribly exciting.  Perhaps you might care to see some of my photos from that trip?  And I think they would make a nice change  from my recent snowy ones?

We shall see?

Daisy

A Snowy Oxfordshire

SNOW

It was falling when we took our first walk at 8.30 am this morning, soft little flakes that couldn't possible settle, or so we thought!!

But they did, and settle well, and by the time
we took our second walk at 1.20 p.m  there were four inches of nicely powdered snow, in thick drifts, just longing for one's footstep  to be imprinted upon their brilliant whiteness!

But the snow's depth concealed  kerb-stones and dips and holes along our pathway and we nearly tumbled on occasion, but we extricated ourselves with great care, and enjoyed our walk.

Alice was positively drenched with snow flakes, her paws deeply encrusted, and her coal-black nose, shiny wet.

Her tail wagged continuously!

Branches littered and bending....

Pretty trees silhouetted against buildings

"How lovely the trees look" quipped a perfect strange and he was so right......

So I thought you might like to see how we've fared today......









and very lightly indeed, compared to South Wales.

Goodness knows, how slippery the pathways will be for Alice's walk tomorrow, after the predicted frosted conditions we are to have tonight.






So now Alice and I have been out for three good-ish walks today, and the dear SO has just gone out again, for a short spell, before it gets too late.  But it's stopped snowing, it's 9.45 pm and we sitting comfortably on the sofa watching Sense and Sensibility on the TV.  Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet star in the version we're watching and I must tell you, it's a firm favourite of mine

Just love Jane Austen's works...........


Daisy

PS the dear SO has just declared that out of our eighteen coat hooks, he has but two for his own use.....silly man.  I cannot imagine that he  is correct, can you?

Snow-time.....

Well here we are, all primed and ready for the snow we've been advised is coming our way in the wee small hours of tomorrow morning, its fall-varying degrees depending on geographical position

We've just been out for our evening walk, Alice and me and, right now, the snow is soft and powdery under foot.  It's collected into small drifts, lying thickly on path and grass verge where it crunches beneath  the foot fall.  Where it lays on the path, it appears as a thick sprinkling of icing sugar/confectioners sugar, soft and yielding.

This afternoon, before the snow began to fall again, the residue of earlier snow, glittered with  night time frost, which so swiftly follows the swirling, falling snow flake.  Beneath this layer of innocent whiteness, lay hid the little patches of compacted ice which trip the unguarded foot, causing the heart to flutter.    Anticipation slows the careful pedestrian, anxious not to slip or skid, for a fall could certainly bring bruises or strained limbs, possibly even a damaged hip, so the careful walker treads with more watchfulness, once winter's snowy days have returned  again to plague the adult population.

For the child, and the inner child, falling snowflakes bring an added frisson to winter's season, and the possible excitement of snowball fights, sledging, tobogganing and the building of snowmen, with their eyes and mouth of coal or stones, to grace the garden until the thaw.

Snowy country fields and lanes sparkle in the clear morning sunshine, and the town looks brighter with its
trees and roof tops graced by snowy crystals clinging to their structure.

Walking over the crisp morning snow, scuffing it into little heaps along the way, its collection on paw and boot delighted us with its presence.


Now we've all shopped at our favourite food store for adequate supplies, against the threat of being cut-off from nearby civilisation, for village and hamlet, in the event of overwhelming snow falls and drifts.  And we townsfolk too, have garnered extra stores against tomorrow's hiatus, when the snow has settled upon us and our gardens.

Drifting snowflakes, twirling and dancing down from leaden skies above, are so pretty and joyful, floating about on the breeze, without a care for tomorrow, at which we gaze with a mixture of awe and trepidation.  Who knows what road or rail journeys we may have to make tomorrow, the expectation of which might bring a sense of angst to even the stoutest heart?

Yet we'll cope, one way or another; children will rush out into their snowy playground, excitedly throwing
snow-balls at friend or foe, travellers will either stay or go, depending on the urgency of their journey and happy stay-at-homers will discover a need to venture outside, just to check on a hose a fence or shed, and carelessly trail a pathway on virgin snow, or caress a snow-burdened leaf or twig.  It's magical presence a re-discovered joy, despite the beleaguered traveller's qualms.

Most probably our snow-filled days will not endure for long, yet we have experienced awful snowy conditions, lasting for weeks, and oh how well, I remember college days, made difficult by frozen pipes and chilly morning dashes to get to lessons on time, when frosty snow lay about for almost three months

At school, how late I always was, the last to return to afternoon classes, ruddy cheeked and bright of eye, lingering by desire outside, hands numb with cold.  Lucky for me, our music teacher was always amused by my late appearance!

Well, we shall see,  tomorrow morning, what nature has thrown our way, what sights to enjoy or fears to surmount, and what plans to make for this winter's snow-sundered days.

Other places mostly fare far more harshly than we, normally, ever do.  Their snow-ploughs, vehicles and peoples, acclimatised to winter's yearly burdens, survive and flourish so well, but so will we and who knows, it could be fun!

My dear SO can't wait to get out in my Mazda and slip and slide through the snow-bound stretches round-about, and Alice will be beside herself, tail up and nose down, snuffling over snow-powdered walks.

Oh happy, happy days for the young-at-heart!


Daisy xxx

Dressing up and going out........

Isn't it amazing how easily one can forget just what effort it takes to get oneself dressed to kill and looking gorgeous?

To some of us it's a matter of course, which they take in their stride, dressing up beautifully, with a calm and ease to belie all the effort the rest of us have to give to every glorious occasion; dressing to go partying, being   dishy and attractive, and drop-dead gorgeous.

When one has everything to hand, like matching bags and party shoes, your evening jewellery, the box of lace-edged handkerchiefs redolent of lavender or hyacinth, one's best set of lace under-pinnings, sheer black tights and black patent pumps or black 3" killer heels (and perhaps even higher for today's glamorous belles), your favourite LBD, Cashmere wrap or Pashmina, and your best evening beauty box all ready and waiting; and of course, your hair looking its glossy best, its all so pleasurably easy.

However, unless you're very lucky and well organised, by the time you've added two or three score years to your mean average, it's a matter of collecting all the disparate bits of your partying paraphernalia, shaking out the creases and folds, unravelling or stretching your best under-pinnings, removing the crisp tissue rolls from  your toe caps, and checking on the possibilities of what you're hoping to achieve, then it's a fine balance of taste, discernment and good luck/management to get yourself all dolled-up and ready for the off.  And please do give yourself an extra thirty minutes just for yourself, because, believe me, it's awfully easy to run out-of-time when your previously well-honed-skills are just a teenie-weenie but rusty!

However, don't be discouraged by the time and effort consumed, for it's all worth it, and you'll love every minute of your wonderful evening out, be it a birthday, the birth of a grandchild, down-sizing, up-grading, new romance or a long-lost friend re-discovered.

We've been out tonight for our joint birthday celebration, my girlfriend and me, for our birthdays are exactly two week's apart for the same birth year and, being kindred spirits, we fizzed and bubbled off each other all evening long, with our loved ones happily encouraging and joining in.

So do keep up the good work, your party tool-kit and all your special effect bits and pieces, and keep practising away for as long as you possibly can.  Life's too short and precious to waste a single opportunity for fun and enjoyment, high-town sophistication and good old-fashioned star-lit romancing.

And...... 

paying the piper!!

Happy days.....Daisy

Ah ha, a kitchen upgrade....

For the last year we have been cooking with a friend's pressure cooker and loving the fact that meals, and very nice ones, could be produced in double quick time and with very little fuss!

So, with our new home, we decided we simply must have a pressure cooker for ourselves!  And we went to buy one at our local auction sale, and we nearly got it, too, but then, at the last minute, we were out-bid!  Ah the acute sense of deprivation, as somebody else carried away our promised salvation.

Now I truly love to cook and I really have to tell you,  my dear SO is extremely good at producing a very decent meal, and both of us are happy in the kitchen and with the clearing up.  But.....and it's a very big but, with Him re-doing our new property and me assisting, but also wanting to get on with my own work...the writing and blogging, walking Alice, my family history research, my own lovely children and their children....well, as you can see, there really isn't much time for cooking.

There is an  alternative plan, of course, which is to eat out all the time..but.nope, that's just too expensive, and quite frankly, there's not enough reasonably priced restaurants round-about to visit on a regular time-scale, with sufficient date-intervals for menu variety.  And lets face it, sometimes you don't want to eat out, let alone go out; I mean, isn't it lovely sometimes just to curl up on your sofa, having eating a smashing and tasty home-cooked meal, and watch your favourite TV programme, or read your latest book?

We have another difficulty in common, and where food is concerned, which is that we are both almost biologically incapable of cooking just enough for one meal at a time.  I've always produced too much cooked food, even when a professional chef, so I could always feed however many hungry people we numbered that day.  And as for the dear SO, he is totally and utterly and completely bad at only cooking for those present for any meal.

You can tell, I'm quite sure, where this is all leading us too, hey?  Well, of course, we very quickly got used to eating comforting and enormous meals, and particularly when I arrived home in my British Green Mazda, stressed and tired, and having cooked for others all day, and finding I was tremendously famished and desirous of  eating every tasty morsel put before me.

So we had a three-fold problem on our hands.  We needed to cook but eat less, needing to cook and freeze the extra portions, for the saving of time and for the sake of our, sadly, increasing waistlines, and wanting to spend more time on our own particular jobs and interests, yet needing to have good food ready to hand, so that we didn't have to make too many supermarket dashes to pick up ready prepared food, just longing to be microwaved and consumed.

Do you know, I even sent for Delia Smith's "One Is Fun" to help me cook less; but the realisation quickly dawned, that we could continue to cook our larger meals, in less time, with a pressure cooker, and by spreading the total amount over more than one meal, having the added advantage of filling several small containers to feed our empty freezer, and our future hungry selves?.

We shall use Delia's splendid book, for variety and diversion, and the new cream lidded casserole I bought Him for Christmas, but our new Prestige Pressure Cooker will reign supreme for some considerable time to come; and that will be sweet bliss!!


Plenty of good food to hand, without the constant cooking or the tempting lefts-overs, just longing to be gobbled up in times of stress or greed!!

Happy living dear reader - Daisy xxx

Green stuff talks!

Eucalyptus

Did you know, this greenery makes the most glorious Christmas decorations, which keep and store very well.  I didn't use them this year because, well, the box they were in, was right at the very bottom of a huge stack of heavy boxes and, well, I just couldn't get them unstacked.

So.........the dear SO bought some different ones and.......they were OK but not Me......do you know what I mean?   They looked really quite good on our little Christmas tree but, when we draped two new sets of white Christmas lights over everything, wow our tree looked super.

OK  - so eucalyptus isn't just for Christmas but also for whenever you get a whim to decorate, when its lovely curly and wavy stems, all bedecked with kinda semi-heart shaped petals, are just absolutely perfect in your tallest vase, full of clear, sparklingly fresh and crystal clean water.

And I like to add my glass flower weights, just for good measure; they look rather pretty too, and I guess they do what they're supposed to do, keep the plant stems in place!

By themselves they look charming, but add sparkly or pretty, elegant or sleek, and you have the most attractive and gorgeous and natural decorative addition for your home.  And what could be nicer, hey???

So here you have it, my vase of newly purchased eucalyptus stems, bought from our local market today and, well, I just thought you might like to see my creation?

I do hope you like it?

Byeeeeeee  -  Daisy

Hello there....

Life huh, it's kind of funny, kinda sad, "mad, bad and dangerous to know" sometimes, don't you think?

But it's all we've got and I guess we've just to make the best of it - and thank goodness - we can, and most of us do just that, at least most of the time.  And for the rest, well, we just do what we can to survive and hope for the best.  That black demon gets to all of us, at times,  and then we just  have to work it out for ourselves, somehow, and mostly, we come out of it, more-or-less intact?

Thank goodness!!

dining out at a local Pie place

This week's birthdays, to date, have included too many of course to recall altogether, but, notably, David Bowie and the Duchess of Cambridge, long lost friends and family and, mine too.  Usually I find this week very trying, personally; expectation, excitement and disappointment filling my hours with equal intensity.  But this year it's been different.  A sense of wholeness and completeness has filled my hours.  Actually, Christmas was like that too.   Instead of the usual, seemingly, fleeting experience of good cheer, reverence, holiness, familial things, presents, food, wine and the glory of Christmas decorations and our beautiful Christmas trees, that same sense of joy unbounded and completeness has been all mine to enjoy and experience, and there's been no feeling of bereft-ness, no desperately holding onto those swiftly passing hours, no angst or sadness for the parting from kith and kin.  Instead, a definite and total sensation of a new beginning, of hope for the future just ahead, and for distant future yet to be known.

I have no detailed reasons for these feelings, which I have known and experienced this year, and why this year;  however it's happened, it's not important and I'm not fretting over the whys and wherefores right now, just thankful it's been so.

I hope you too, dear reader, have experienced the good things which Christmas brings to us, one way or the other, and the good feelings which remain with us because of Christmas.

Happy New Year .......

Daisy

Shelf duty.......

It's not a pretty set-up as yet, just a corner shelf running along connecting walls, on which I've quickly dumped some box files, a basket, a small Elizabeth Arden make-up case and two small coloured filing trays, but it's a start.

Each container bears a labelled legend stating what it contains and you know,  I'm so pleased to be able to use these labels, for I've been storing them now for a long time, since being given them at least ten years ago, so hey ho, I'm using antique labels.  How about that?

And my new bookcase now holds more books and box files, diaries and day books, family history folders and cookery books.

I've undressed the Christmas tree and put the Christmas cards and lists and letters into a yellow box file, and found more of my CD's; but I'm still missing others and, for the moment, I cannot think where the rest of my music could possibly be?

And I'm desperate to locate a Van Morrison CD; you see, I put it somewhere safe, BUT where??

Why do things become lost, I mean what is it that we do to lose things we treasure?  Are we careless, forgetful or just plain silly, so that we cannot keep track of our possessions, even when we really endeavour to do so?  I'm not sure what it is we do, or don't do, but I should love to know how to stop losing things, hey?

Yet there'll be no shelving of responsibilities, and I'll go on boxing and labelling and sorting, keeping diaries and day books, and making lists of all my possessions and finally, draw everything together, and.....well, we'll see, shall we?

Don't you think that could be an excellent thing to do, you know, make a positive life collection of detail and pictures, and give it to yourself as a very special birthday or Christmas present and then share it with your loved ones?

Cheerio,

Daisy

No lack of shelving going on!

Up and on to our computers, then housework - phew - but needs must I suppose?  And He went off to help with shelf fittings for his daughter, a stool to be put together so that his granddaughter could indulge in water play at the kitchen sink and photos taken - all good for the memory bank.

Lunch - and I used half a pot of my turkey Rillettes with my gluten free pasta plus sweetcorn and lots of freshly ground black pepper and sea salt; it was jolly nice.

My lovely Christmas skirt from Boden needed hanging loops sewn on, which I did while having coffee after my smashing lunch and then Alice got me to take her out for a good walk along the canal side, which we both enjoyed.

Back home, the dear SO suggested we dash off to buy wood for my shelves and on our way his son rang to say we were all going out for dinner and to meet at The Red Lion at 6.45pm.  So a very quick shop at B & Q for my wood and brackets and off back home.

A quick change and we're off and I'm going in my own car, with Alice, for I'd arranged to Skype with my son in Australia, and here I am waiting for our order to arrive; and by the way, The Red Lion was full so we had to dash off to another village and here we are, again, happily waiting for our order to arrive.  Full of expectation for it's a Pie restaurant, they only make the most marvellous pies and actually rather yummy puddings but....we were simply too well fed for anything else.  A lovely evening and here I am

before dashing home, with Alice, to Skype with my son.

And we'll be doing my desk shelves tomorrow - yippee!!!

Cheerio - Daisy

Organisational delights?

We had a hall cupboard that was entirely taken up by an old boiler which no longer worked, and hadn't done for some time.  Today, the dear SO decided to remove it - good thing to do - and use the cleared space for something else.

Now I have a very great number of boxes and baskets full of papers and calendars, diaries and notebooks, plus countless other things that are entirely necessary to me, and my earlier days but which, now, need to be properly organised, recorded and sorted, to complete a picture of my life.   I mean, that is what you want to do when you are endeavouring to keep an interesting and readable record of your life; and recording your family history also demands that you keep details of your own life, for you don't want an incomplete record, which is what you'd have without your own life story.

So, over the years, I've kept all sorts of details which now must be put into order and, by doing this, I hope to enable myself to conjure up other stories; but first of all, I must clear the decks and give myself room to manoeuvre.

Thus this newly cleared cupboard has allowed Him to create a space for his tools and bits and pieces, which He definitely deserves to have and this will then allow space in the kitchen cupboard, where the hot water tank is, to hold various kitchen bits and pieces, thereby clearing the kitchen of clutter and giving us a tidier work space.

Are you still with me?  You see when we arrived, we just put things anywhere and now we're having to re-organise ourselves as we eliminate various things we no longer think are right - phew.

So He's creating shelves in his new cupboard and in the process, using up his wood supply, which will help us decide what to buy for future shelving requirements.  And I need shelves over my desk and in the bedroom and...........well, I'm not sure where else yet but we'll see?

You know the situation I'm sure; you know where you want to end up and with what, so you have to go back from that position to the beginning and work out what you need to do first of all, to get to your desired end position, hey ho!

And once He's got his shelves, He will be happy to do mine, well more of mine, and that's what I'm working on right now; and when my new shelves are up and utilised, I'll have a clear desk on which to work.  And that will be just great.

And today I've been looking at various ready-made shelving ideas but I guess we'll end up by buying new pine shelves and brackets and nails, and creating own design items, for He's very good at building and creating things....and it's all very exciting!

Daisy

New Year pause........

I don't know about you, of course, but I'm now catching up with myself and all the things left undone in the Christmas rush; also with hobbies put aside for the flat renovation,  And also still sorting out the figures for the renovation.

Isn't it interesting how figures tell a story, and not just one but several, depending on the questions asked of them.  Now I don't really enjoy doing figure work but, if one thing is going to get me worrying and waking up too early in the morning, because of that worry-mode I've fallen in to, it's figure work.  And I do passionately believe that if you don't like doing something, then it's something you should push yourself to do until you can do it without any delay, or sense of dread!

I also attempt to keep a sensible spending diary, well mostly, and I keep all my receipts for simply ages past; some I now can't even decipher because of the faded ink!!  And keeping records of any sort is a good thing to do, if a little tedious at times, but most certainly helpful when trying to back-track your life.

For at times, one  simply must look back on earlier activities, spendings and various details, just to ascertain how one is doing now and perhaps, more importantly, how well one might do in the future?  And without figures and details to jog the memory, how can one possibly recall activities of an earlier date?

Also necessary to my way of thinking, a comfortable chair, some lovely dark chocolate, a cup of tea and peace and quiet......"with loved ones far away".  Now I believe that's a quote from someone I read somewhere, possibly a book of poetry I believe, which I must look up, when I've unpacked all my books, and let you know.  Do you know, we've been trying to give away our books, for both of us have so many, but it's such a difficult thing to do, especially a collection of cooking books.  And don't you just find the moment you've given something away, you need it yourself?  Last weekend, when I was converting my turkey meat into Confit and Rillettes, I was able to turn instantly to my collection of favourite books for tips and hints.  Now if I'd given them away, how lost I should have been?

Hey ho, one is busier now than when working and why, because the clock doesn't seem to tick so loudly or incessantly; of course, the other cause is the delay one allows to happen because you're working to your own time table with no-one pushing you to get their work actioned.

Actually, of course, ones own time is every bit as important as another's time, so really one should be even more punctilious about keeping time, for it's your own time your wasting.....now that's a good thought to end on, hey?

One other thing I must say....silly me, for there I was thinking I was older this year than I'm going to be, so in a way, I've gained a whole year, that I'm absolutely determined to make every minute count and do all sorts of things I've delayed because of that sense of a  terrible lack of time.

But, I must just get my figures sorted out first of all!!

Daisy

New Year....2013

A bright shiny day, crisp, sunny and cold.  In short, a beautiful New Year's day, which I do hope all of you were able to enjoy.

After walking Alice out in Daeda's Wood, I settled down to my box emptying again and becoming so involved and busy, was surprised to find it was early evening before stopping for a while.

Joyfully, I discovered a picture of a beautiful country cottage I'd removed from a magazine back in 1988, kept because I'd decided this was where I should have loved to live, given half a chance; and there it was, nestling amongst a batch of papers.  Surprisingly I also found a new picture frame and oh boy, my cottage fitted perfectly.  The magazine was the January issue of Homes and Gardens 1988 and the featured home, The Old Vicarage, Old Walden, Bedfordshire; the photographer was Jerry Young of whom I know not a thing.   I must see if  I can track down more of his work.

Well, whilst unpacking, we've watched the film of Lawrence of Arabia and now we have Russell Crowe in the film of Robin Hood and it's very good, so a brilliant evening for us.

So, as I've been rather pre-occupied today, may I leave you with a poem of mine and published last Christmas as a Kindle Book?

Mid-winter

On the cusp of bleak winter spring gives direction
The shortest day beckons summer's sweet inspiration
No heed icy blasts or snowfall caked roads
Thoughts of summer joyfully well bodes
Winter's necessity we have to go through
To get to the summer we love, don't you?
Mid-winter's season is a time to be merry
To dress the house with bough and berry
Candles and incense loved ones and gifts
For pleasure and joy and healing small rifts
The season of feasting merrymaking and praise
As men come together on winter-bleak days


Enjoy the new year

Daisy xxx

well hello there....

Happy New Year to all of you out there, wherever you are and what ever timing zone you find yourself in right now.

Lets hope we all have a marvellous New Year ahead of us, good friends, good connections, good health and much good fortune..

We had a lovely family Christmas and we were all as excited as my grandchildren were and I do hope your Christmas was as good as mine.

Wherever you were and with whom you spent your Christmas with, I sincerely hope you enjoyed a peaceful and happy time........and now good wishes for a Very Happy New Year and peace and prosperity and good luck in all you attempt in 2013.


Daisy xxx

Preserving the bird...!

Well, it's done?  I've turned my left over turkey into turkey and bacon rillettes and turkey confit.  And half of the carcass is now being cooked to produce a soup base to which I shall add some of the meat and new fresh vegetables, for I do so love home made soup served with warm crusty bread.

I used some lovely new Kilner jars and a few of my ramekins for the preserved meat and an old stoneware marmalade pot for the cooked belly pork.  I'm not sure how I'll use this last item yet but there is sure to be a way.

It's simply ages since I've done such cooking and I'd forgotten how concentrated an effort it could  be, still it was all managed and, even the dear SO said it was all handled very well  indeed!

But that was only half of it, as you might well imagine, for the kitchen was pretty well sabotaged by cooking pots and utensils and saucepans and the hot smell of butter and meat but mostly the lard used to finally seal the contents in the jars and pots.  That was the worst aspect of the scenery.  Of course, most of us now have not generally cooked with lard for quite a long spell and the once well-known and pungent smell, rather assaulted the senses.  I really had entirely forgotten the sensation and it was all rather shocking.

However, after liberal application of hot water, elbow grease and cleaning fluid, my kitchen was restored to its usual state of good order, and all was finally well again!!

We shall have to wait for at least a week to try one of the pots of rillette, with warm crusty bread and perhaps a pickled walnut or some red cabbage, and a glass of red wine, which will be something to look forward too.

And then I'll let you know how it was?

And here's some lovely roses and lilies sent to me by my children and aren't they just gorgeous, and seen to perfection here against my red gingham cafe  curtains?

My kitchen is all pine and cream and the scarlet just lifted the whole area into another entity altogether.

Red, and this particular scarlet,  has long been a firm favourite, worn as Laura Ashley dresses, wraps and scarves and, somehow, I've always felt the shade conveyed an extra degree of brightness  and style to any occasion, and indeed, the happy wearer.

Daisy

Turkey-bites!

Oh my, our lovely turkey was delicious...what's more, we now have quite a large amount of turkey meat to eat up, and soon, and without recourse to our small freezer!

It's my belief that cooked turkey meat should be fit to be turned into a confit item and preserved in a Kilner preserving jar, and stored in a cool place until ready to be used for all sorts of dishes.

So I have my turkey and some butter and oil, a few onions, carrots, plus some other ingredients such as black peppercorns, a bay leaf or two, sea salt and...........well, we shall see when I get going.

I think I'll cook my vegetables and spices in a good mix of olive oil and butter, a gentle saute, until the mix has gently collapsed and then I think I'll strain the hot fat over the meat, leave it to cool and then spoon the mixture into warmed preserving jars.

Then water bath my filled jars for the required time.

I think the mix will be delicious which I shall use in all kinds of different ways!

Happy cooking.....

Daisy

Festive After-glow

Well, that was fun, hey, and more than that, absolutely lovely to be with the Family at this time, for where else would one be by choice?

Television has not been absolutely  brilliant but flashes of inspiration and good humour and good timing have been available and things have been recorded for future watching, so all bodes well for all futures.

Christmas is a wonderful season but it can be difficult in all kinds of ways, for many people.  We have such high expectations of The Day, itself, let alone the rest of the holiday period so it's hardly surprising things fail to come up to our ideals.  The build-up begins too early and the crescendo hits us at our lowest ebb, when we're sure we'll not get everything done in time, so much so, we believe our own worst fears.

And of course, the shopping is a huge chore, especially if it has to be left to the last minute, so for those poor souls, that's the nightmare of the season.  Luckily most folk are able to organise their needs and wants to a higher level, and cope well with demands on their time and, quite frankly, if you do find you've forgotten something, its probably too late to do anything about it anyway, and you'll probably cope without whatever it was you'd forgotten!

I noticed our television chefs were all very keen on telling their viewers to prepare things early, as much as possible well in advance, to save that awful last minute hassle, endeavouring perfection for each and every Brussels sprout and every pig in blanket ever attempted.

So I do hope your Christmas was as super as mine was and you loved being with your family, and you're now still talking to each other and if you are, well done.  If not, forgive yourself and your loved ones, and keep in touch, and things will be well, in due time.

Daisy

Christmas count down, day one

It's late afternoon on Christmas Eve and we're all gently mellowing into the festive season.

The family are busy in the kitchen making more mince pies and some yummy-looking chocolate crunchy things.  Thankfully the boiler has now been mended, which means we shall have both hot water and warmth, for their engineer came today to fix it, and now it works again.

We had the leg of lamb for lunch, roasted to perfection, and with Yorkshire Puddings, roast vegetables and gravy, we had a glorious lunch; followed by cheese and biscuits, dried figs and dates and sugared ginger, plus wine and coffee and chocolates! I think we've got off to a jolly good start?

A nice afternoon of family activities then before bath time, we hang the boys stockings by the fireplace,  putting out a mince pie and glass of sherry for Father Christmas and a carrot for Rudolph. Traditional pleasures to be enjoyed and repeated throughout our children's' lives, they enrich and cultivate deep emotional feelings for childhood's golden age, to be held dear by the grown-up child.

Modern childhood can be so short a state in today's society, with little tots of three year's old, going on thirteen, kitted out in modish style, with their play-phones, jewellery and precocious ways.  Or for those destined to be part of their world's particular war-torn state, harsh drought conditions, disease or homelessness

Let children be children for as long as possible, whenever possible; and for those forced into adulthood before-time, sympathy and empathy and practical assistance, to help them cope with the world they're forced to live in.

We're having a very quiet evening with just a small supper for we've eaten very well today.  Tomorrow will begin early and be noisy and exciting all day long, for all of us, grown-ups and children alike, and it will be glorious.  A day to treasure all year long.

May all of you enjoy a truly memorable and magical Christmas Day, wherever you are, and with whom you are with.


Merry Christmas

Daisy

Don't you just love...........?

shopping, especially with your best loyalty card?  This was me today, shopping in Sainsbury's, for our Christmas food; buying the favourite pickled walnuts, crisps and snacks, mince pies and Battenberg cake.

And onto Boots the chemists, for holiday bits and pieces for my sponge bag and a bright pink shower cap, just for fun.  Then onto Cargo Home Stores for some special fun Christmas presents and....did you guess, they presented me with their loyalty card; what points will I get from my purchases in 2013?

A neat and tidy house, with knick-knacks under control, everything in its place and a place for everything to be stored in?

My shopping trip  also garnered wicker laundry baskets, two plastic laundry tubs, a towel rail and a wall storage unit for the bathroom and some rather cute hooks and decorative heart shapes for the kitchen.

I had hoped to buy new net curtains for the sitting room but I simply ran out of time but managed to find a new bright red dustpan and brush which I hope will be more efficient than the one we already had, which annoyingly, allowed dust particles to escape and remain on the floor!

Housework - a necessary chore we can never escape, so good tools are essential.

A few Christmas cards to hand deliver, then home to wrap up the last presents, supper with TV and then preparations for going away for Christmas with my daughter and her lovely family.

Phew!

And tomorrow a family party on my way to London....it's going to be a busy day.  Rain is forecast, and heavy in the West Country and elsewhere,  and folk are being warned about unnecessary travel, so things could be difficult for many,  Hopefully my drive will be OK but I'll take a flask of hot coffee and things like my torch, a small rug and boots, just in case of problems; you know, just in case of an emergency.  You can never tell what might occur?

And I must take my computer and camera, the turkey and lamb joint, fresh country eggs and, oh joy, my special treat - Croissants for holiday breakfasts!!!

Hey ho, bedtime I think???

Daisy xxx

Boxes.....

Still unpacking, sorting, some emptying but more than not, searching, re-sealing and finding somewhere to put the newly re-sealed, re-numbered and sorted box.   And luckily , the dear SO has been putting up shelves in the second bedroom for the boxes, which gives us a greater carpet space to walk on and Hoover.

And with the newly created floor space, we were able to tidy up His collection of pictures, enabling me to get to my Welsh dresser and its cupboard space, only to find the space was completely taken up with sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers, plus a few odds and ends.

Now the dear man has a clever device to squash into plastic bags, extra material household items, which wonderfully reduces another pile of things into a better manageable size and shape and thus things are getting sorted and organised and tidied up....Phew!!

The downside of unpacking was the discovery of broken kitchen items, scratched furniture and the non-discovery, so far, of the family chess board which my son is particularly anxious for me to find.

On the upside, however, I've rediscovered a rather good leather satchel-handbag I'd forgotten owning, my son's first collection of stones found on an early geological field trip, and still bearing scraps of the identification labels he'd so laboriously attached, favourite books and an entire box of shoe polishes, dusters and Marigold gloves.  Plus two feather dusters.

Life is full of odd mixtures of things, isn't it?

And boxes cleared and re-settled certainly give ones spatial awareness a boost and a lift to the senses!
I'm terribly good at gathering stuff and clutter which, becoming important to me, is awfully difficult to clear.  And what I've found, when you do dispose of things, it's an almost sure-fire certainty that five minutes later, or sometimes days, you'll be absolutely needing the very thing you've only just thrown out.  And more spending!!!

Our Christmas tree is almost dressed, the presents are almost all wrapped up and my cards sent and all we have to do now is a little more food shopping and then we're ready for our Christmas festivities, which is just great.

I hope you too are ready for however and wherever you will be spending the Christmas season and, gathered together with family and friends, will enjoy a happy and peaceful few days.

Goodnight,

Daisy

Awareness, spatial or not...!

Parking....why is it that sometimes one can't?  Out shopping today, meeting a girlfriend who was waiting to give me a book, mine which she'd borrowed for our book club, and I was trying to park..

So I parked, and then realised my car was skewed and trying to straighten it, I realised things were getting worse.

So what did I do, I locked my car and walked away.  And it was only a little bit skew-whiff, so I left it and just hoped it would all work out well for my car by the time I got back to it; when I'd done my shopping, after seeing my girlfriend, and when the owner of the car next to mine had driven away.

There was plenty of space for the other car to drive away and I just didn't want to make things worse.

The more I drive I now realise how easy it is not to be perfect and to make mistakes or to just get it wrong.

According to my dictionary and research, spatial awareness is a person's ability to fix their position with that of things close by.

Now you standing anywhere can easily see how external things correspond with yourself but it's my contention that, put into an external thing, like a car say, then what you have is a body within a box, trying to manoeuvre both objects as one thing, within the sphere of another spatial notion.

We all want our own space to develop ourselves and grow but movement can be tricky, at the best of times, and today was not the best of time for me.  So I stepped away from a situation I put myself into today and actually think I grew a little bit, which is kinda pleasing.

I shall do better next time.

Daisy

Time.....

is running away with me.  I wrote all my Christmas cards on Sunday, and now I've heard from someone I've not sent one to, so I must  buy more tomorrow.

And I've still one more family present to buy, and a few little things for the dear SO, and I need to buy a planter dish to stand our Christmas tree on.

Then I need to dash off to the butcher to buy a leg of lamb, festive foodie items for the turkey He is going to cook when I'm away...and the lights for the tree have still to arrive.

And the flat is still knee deep in packing boxes, there are piles of books to be sorted out, and some given away and I'm aching with all the exercising dog activities I'm doing to get myself energised for our forthcoming hectic family get-together.

Not to mention the chocolates I need to wrap up for my sisters!!

phew ....Christmas ...don't you just love it???

Daisy

Mince Pies

"'Tis the season to be eating mince pies".....

And don't we just love to but...if you have any problem with wheat gluten, such eating will be hazardous.

I remember trying so hard to produce a good gluten free mince pie but, pastry without gluten is just hard and unpleasant.  So in the end I gave up trying and used a Pate Sucre or sugar paste and simply restricted my consumption; or rather made tiny cocktail sized pies which made it possible for me to eat more!  I have to admit to being rather greedy for mince pies well, I mean, they're so delicious and more-ish, how can one resist them.

In one busy working kitchen, when I was required to bake several hundred pies each year, it was my chore to watch over my newly-baked pies to make sure not too many disappeared, for freshly baked mince pies are just so tempting!  My then boss was most particular that I should bake, cool and store as quickly as possible - and I was making hundreds!!!

So last Saturday I treated myself to some gluten free mince pies,  hoping they would be delicious, and they were not.  A great pity for myself and for the very ardent and keen artisan bakers. Ah well, back to the drawing board.

My son and I had a smashing Skype and we too talked mince pies and pastry recipes, cutters and home made mincemeat and I was able to send him two of my special baking trays and some pastry cutters; and also some very tiny star cutters, a crimping tool for his Australian Cornish Pasties and a new orange  pastry brush, all of which I was able to find in my very good local kitchen equipment shop.

They also sell smashing Emma Bridgewater mugs,, which we all love!

Daisy

Settling in...

that's what we've been doing since my return from London!

Boxes and boxes of china and books (so many) and things; things stored away and some not quite recalled with any exactitude.  Like opening Christmas boxes for the home; rediscovering objects and precious stuff stashed away for the move from one home to another.  Stored against another day's coming, another  home-coming, a new place to make your home, create and enhance with favourite possessions and fill with your favourite people and share with love.

We're not there yet, well, not quite, and it will take a few more days before we can begin to feel at home, here in our new abode, as we did in our previous home, a large and enlarged family home.

So yes, we've down-sized, which means less housework to be done but then less space to move about in, which will take some time to become accustomed too.  Yet we will.  It's nice inside, with all our favourite goodies about us, and with less time used up by chores there's more time for writing and reading, walking Alice and generally doing the things we've both put aside for family commitments.

All will be well, in due time, and the spirit of Christmas will certainly take hold, within and without, and life will be OK again.

And the view from our kitchen window.....I'm just longing to see our tree dressed in snow, very soon now!

Cheery-bye

Daisy

Granny's Grumble...

Pushchairs!!!

They seem to be so tricky to manage.  Almost impossible.  So I've practised hard these last two days to get a hold on things and I'm happy to report I now can.  But oh gosh, it's been a struggle!

Every lever,  clip and device is so stiff and difficult to manoeuvre and it's a matter of brute force to get the thing together, let alone use the foot brake with any ease!

Of course, our grown-up children use them daily and know all about their kids pushchairs and their little ways, and very kindly tell us how to work them, but it's not until you simply have to work the chair yourself, that you begin to master its difficulties.

Brute force and common sense, that's it.

Humour is such a redeeming tool, don't you agree?

Daisy

Guess what......?

I've just seen a fox in the garden!  I was standing by the opened 'fridge when, freezing on the spot, found a fox staring hard at me thru' the patio door.  Bright black eyes scanned the interior as I held my breath, waiting to see what he would do next, wishing him not to run away.  He was very lean and his brush quite deflated and he was obviously cold and hungry, desperately looking for food.  He moved away from the window out of my sight and I thought I'd lost him.

I crept cautiously towards the door and there he was, pacing about the patio, past the window again, onto the grass, looking carefully about and sniffing the cold breeze.  He raised his head towards the sky, seeking direction perhaps or scanning the clouds for snowflakes, for it was so cold.

Then, with a sudden leap, he was onto the garden seat and focusing on the fence, and with one graceful bound he was up and over, and away.

My visitor had departed and of course, my camera had not been to hand.  What a stunning photo that would have made and, what's more, it would have looked good beside the  photo of the strutting pheasant taken by the dear SO in his garden!

I know the urban fox is well documented but isn't it exciting when you see him for yourself, in your own space?

Daisy

Sunday, sweet Sunday...

A smashing day which had a somewhat unfortunate start in that I woke up very suddenly at 5.15 worrying about facts and figures and things not quite organised!!

Such as Christmas shopping, our monthly accounting and a list as long as two arms, of chores still to be organised and done before Christmas, notwithstanding the fact that I'm going away again to London tomorrow afternoon.  This time I'll be supporting my daughter and my darling grandchildren while my son-in-law is away on business, and mostly doing the morning and afternoon nursery run, keeping things running smoothly for all the family and trying to sort out my blogging facility; making it more user-friendly, accessible, colourful and connective.

Wish me luck?

Now today, my sweet Sunday.  After my too early wake-up, I returned to sleep-mode and enjoyed two peculiar dreams which, now I come to think of them, find they have simply evaporated from my mind!  But let me assure you, they were very fascinating, while they ran amok through my sub-conscious entity!

Finally when I awoke at a sensible hour at 8.20 am, I catapulted myself into action because I'd promised to attend church in our previous home village a few miles away, and my hair had to be washed.  Now I simply hate washing my hair because when I do, it often looks awful for a few days, nice for two days, and then it begins to look awful again and in dire need of more shampoo and conditioner, and to be dried, dressed and finished off!  Phew!

So taking myself firmly in hand, I dived into the shower and did what was necessary and suddenly it was 9.20 am and I needed to get going; and rather surprisingly, to me at any rate, I thought I looked quite presentable!!

And I did get to church on time, and the Service was very enjoyable, and I was very pleased to be in church.
It's something I do because I like to do it, and I'm telling you that I go to church, because that's what I like to do, in my life.  I truly believe ones religious identity is a personal and innermost conscious decision, based on family background, history and connections with the world one has been immersed in since birth.  It's an own fact and that's that.

After church I called on friends to deliver a birthday present and stayed for breakfast with them - mmmmm lovely hot porridge and coffee and much good chatting and laughter; plus an invitation to their grandson's third birthday tea party later on, which was most agreeable.  Now I'm really being very careful NOT to eat too much, and certainly no chocolate or cake, before Christmas time, you know, to give myself a little breathing space before the glory of the season's festive food bursts upon us all, and we surrender to its potent persuasion!

Dashing home to carry on with my determined efforts to sort out my boxed possessions brought out of our store place yesterday, I managed to do some good work before changing and hurrying off with Alice, much to her absolute delight, to rejoin my friends and their family.  And I decided to wear a new skirt, just to remind myself and everyone else, that I do indeed have legs; for you see, I am now so very often in trousers, one does sort of forget about ones legs, clad in a variety of different fabrics, even jeans, and totally hidden from view!!

Well, the tea, party was a delight  and we gave the birthday boy a teddy bear and to his new baby twin sisters, each one a teddy bear; one called Marmaduke and the other, Henry.  Now all these bears had originally belonged to me and won at festive work functions and had languished, until recently, in store boxes with my other belongings, whilst we searched, bought and renovated our new home.  And regretfully I decided that I really must find new homes for my lovely bears because they totally deserved to be cherished and loved by new owners.  It's as if I'm almost becoming a a recycling-bear facility, for I've already given two bears to new homes, and I still have another two bears to give away.  One is going to my youngest grandson, and then I'll have just one more to give to another new owner.  I just seem to collect teddy bears somehow, don't you?

Well we stayed rather  longer than intended, for I was allowed to feed one of the twins, and oh my goodness, they are absolutely perfect in every way, and utterly adorable.  Tearing ourselves away, we arrived home with time to continue my box sort out, walk Alice, sample a smashing home-made vegetarian Lasagne  made by the dear SO's son, do my accounting and....write up my busy day's activities!!

And now it's bedtime....goodnight,

Daisy

PS - in my younger days, I was always in frocks, and often Laura Ashley, which was so very nice.
And going out without having eaten breakfast....well, there simply wasn't time to eat anything at all, which is not a thing  I usually allow to happen.  But, well, today, it did just happen!

Ironing....and who does it? Do you??

Well, I do sometimes, and actually much more than my daughter, who loves to iron her duvet covers and pillowcases.  A girlfriend only irons cuffs and collars of her shirts, I mean the bits which show, and of course, all of her husband's clothes; but very, very quickly, so that she doesn't use too much electricity.

They are terribly conscious of not ever using too much energy for household things and always use their washing machine and dishwasher at night time to catch the Economy 7 rate, and I applaud their efforts to be cost effective.  However, even though my friend irons very quickly, she still manages to make the finished item look beautifully smooth and finished to perfection.  She also has an absolutely wonderful steam iron and a very wide ironing board, neither of which I currently possess.

Now my daughter actually has some of her ironing done each week by her cleaning lady, because both she and my son-in-law work have very busy jobs,  and I think it's mostly my son-in-law's shirts which are done, and possibly some of my daughter's work shirts too,  the duvet covers and pillowcases.  Of course, with today's modern fabrics and advances in technology. many clothes don't require ironing, being washed and tumbled dried almost to perfection, which is a great boon to many of us; especially those of us who have to  "do" for themselves, so as to speak, or who simply cannot bear to wear non-ironed items of clothing.  Like me!  I simply cannot stand wearing clothes which are wrinkled and creased.

Unless of course, one is wearing seersucker fabric made into shirts and children's' frocks, but I think I'm being a little old-fashioned, suggesting still the use of this particular cloth, as I'm not sure if it's still used.  Of course, I do know they can now use certain chemicals to produce a wrinkled finished product, and I've heard that the use of this chemical can produce very unpleasant side-effects for the workers involved in its production.  So perhaps fashionably wrinkled clothes are not really on?

So ironing is either a chore you love or hate.  Some people earn an income from its activity and another girlfriend of mine did just that; even I, in my younger, yummy mummy days, succumbed to the temptation of home enterprise earnings by ironing for others.  But not for long, oh no, not me, just too much hard work, and the deadline, just too inconvenient for family life.  Then another lady I know absolutely refused to do any ironing at all, even for her children, and now her son positively ridicules my sometime, passionate determination, to have beautifully smooth and wrinkle-free garments to wear.

So there you have it, or not, as the question goes.  To iron, or not to iron, is the question I have in mind right now, and it would be absolutely splendid to hear from you, or anyone out there, just what you think about the pressing matter of crumpled clothes?

Happy steaming........Daisy

Friday again...

Another week almost done and everyone's looking forward to the weekend.  I've loved being in London with my family, and taking care of my youngest grandchild has been pure joy.  Poor little darling still has conjunctivitis so his mummy and daddy will take him to their local walk-in surgery tomorrow morning, for he should be better by now.   It's so contagious and thus so easily spread from one eye to the other eye; it's a real problem for little ones who simply hate having their eyes washed out, and drops are a perfect nightmare for them.

And snow this week, the first of the season for London but none in Oxfordshire the other day; in fact they had a bright crisp and sunny day.

It's raining right now and windy but we're going out for a little walk soon for I simply have to get out for some exercise, and my little grandson is cooing to himself in his cot which is a good sign.  He's slept for about an hour in the mornings until today, so I think he is getting better, hurrah!

I shall go home this evening for tomorrow morning there's more clearing out of our store unit to be done.  We still have many boxes and books to bring home, plus my Welsh dresser and even more clothes, which I really need to have with me.

Doesn't it take simply ages to get oneself organised and properly set-up in a new home?  Hopefully by next weekend I shall be more at home with myself??

And as Christmas is almost upon us, that's a good idea, hey?  Of course, the trouble with getting most presents wrapped up in November somehow makes it harder to get on with the second wave, and the cards too, which often get left until it's almost too late for them to reach their destination before Christmas Eve.  It's puzzling, like living near somewhere, yet always being late!

Now it's Saturday morning, I'm back home, having driven back last night; but I nearly didn't, and this Post has not been published?  And Friday has whizzed past.  It was a lovely busy day, looking after my youngest grandson, taking him to see the family doctor and playing with him in the afternoon; after lunch and his post-nap snooze.  Then I finally decided I must  drive home rather than Saturday morning, for there are many things to do this weekend - more settling in, you understand.  The drive home would be exciting for I'm still new to London driving, and it's like a new experience every drive; the journey is never the same, and I do so love driving! It's sooooooo thrilling and I have masses of opportunities to catch up with.  My only worry about going was getting my car out of the wonderfully small space my dear son-in-law had manoeuvred my Mazda into earlier in the week, and he was off to a post-work leaving-do  Now I am getting better at this parking lark but the only empty space opposite their house was, to my way of thinking, just a little too small and frankly I was scared stiff of bumping into the cars in front and behind of me as I endeavoured to fit into the available space.  So what did I do, well I chickened-out and my dear son-in-law parked for me?  A brilliant solution it was, until of course, I had to leave!!

In the end, it was not a problem driving away, for the owner of the car that had been in front, had obviously decided he needed to be elsewhere, and his removal left a few more inches for me to use and, hey presto, I was able to extricate myself, all by myself!  And the homeward journey was perfectly trouble-free, if a little windy in places which caused me to slow down, for my little car very easily and freely moves sideways in the wake of a good stiff wind.  Ah well, I like to vary my speed and to move across into the slowest lane for a while is very conducive to my peace of mind.  I do like speed driving but being a fairly new driver, I'm very conscious of the effect this forward motion has on me!

So here I am, at my keyboard again, and eating my breakfast with regular milk instead of my lacto-free milk which, in the rush to leave London, I left behind.  Bother, must go shopping after we've gone to the auction where I'm hoping to find a shelf unit or small coffee table.

And the ironing needs doing!!!

Cheerio
Daisy
ps have you seen my extra pages?

Off to London again....

well, we did construct my Ikea wardrobe again today, at least most of it, now just the doors, two more drawers and more shelving to add; which should all be in place tomorrow - hopefully?

And of course, I've already hung up and folded up all or most of my coats, jackets, frocks, trousers and woollen, and things, into the waiting spaces and we'll collect and empty out my travelling cardboard wardrobe later on this week - and then all my wardrobe items will be gathered together again

Our book club meeting was great for we were discussing Charles Dickens and then reading our favourite portions from his various books.  So a most enjoyable and jolly evening which we kicked off with glasses of mulled  wine - delicious and so in season. Ho ho ho!

I'm off again tomorrow to look after my youngest grandchild who now also has conjunctivitis and we're all hoping he will have recovered before the end of the week and be able to go to nursery on Friday, for I've booked onto another walking tour of London, to view some of her City churches, which will be most fascinating to visit.  So I'm keeping my fingers tightly crossed that my darling grandson will be well enough to go to nursery on Friday?

Have you noticed my new look blog which I hope you like.  I think there's a missing link for you to use which I've not set up yet, which should enable you to comment on my content; I shall hope to sort this out soon.

And I want to add some pictures and other bits and bobs too so keeping watching this space, won't you?

Also, I had a double-negative in my notes recently - did you spot it - what a blunder!  Must be more aware of what I'm trying to say, hey!

Good night,

Daisy

Now where was I???

Ah yes, I was telling you all about my week.......OK so I've got on this walking tour of some of the churches of the City of London which I'm sure is going to be jolly interesting.  It was such a last minute booking - I was reading the previous weekend's Daily Telegraph, as you do, and the author was describing  this tour and absolutely on the off-chance I contacted the tour guide and, unbelievably, she said - "join us" !!!

And the tour is this coming Friday, so that means I can't see my girlfriend this week either; she can only be in town on Friday.  The dear girl doesn't drive, well, even I only learnt to drive two years ago; so she has to rely on her friend to get her to town.  And you know, I'm still meeting young women who cannot drive which saddens but not really surprises me, for it takes an awful lot of determination and effort to keep going out in your little car, with a good friend or instructor beside you, to get the necessary skills.  My dear SO was absolutely brilliant and my driving instructor very patient and helpful.  I was also able to drive into Oxford every  day which meant I had a great deal of driving experience before I took my test.  Phew, was I glad to pass that day?

Today, ah today, well a good walk on a nearby airfield, with Alice capering about and sky-divers floating down through the crisp morning air.  Do you know, they squeeze ten people into a small plane before soaring  high up into the atmosphere and disgorging them over the fields below.  And one chap was obviously making his descent last as long as he possibly could, and I bet once you get over the initial horror of falling out into a huge open space, it must be an enormously thrilling experience - floating downwards from the high blue yonder?  Somehow I don't imagine it's something I'm probably not going to try!

Then it was the dear SO's daughter's birthday and she wanted to visit a nearby Christmas market, so off we went and I think the cold weather must have kept stallholders away, for it was all rather quiet.  Luckily a chap was selling scrumptious toasties, which we eagerly sampled before we visited this super French Bistro, and here we  fell on a mix of ham and cheese baguettes, leek soup and chocolate eclairs, and mugs of hot latte, of course!

Now quite stupidly of me I'd left my 'phone at home and so missed an important call; and getting into the car earlier I  dropped my favourite woollen hat, that I didn't notice until we returned from our walk by which time it had disappeared - goodness knows where - so disappointing, for a good friend had given it to me for a birthday present many years ago - oh dear!

And I still had plants for a friends garden to put in, when we  returned home, by which time it was very cold and quite dark - almost gardening by moonlight, hey?  Goodness knows how many times I had to do this when my children were little?  And of course, the earth was frozen and I still had not enough  compost to bed in the plants,  so will have to finish things off next week.

Ah but to morrow, tomorrow, we shall build my wardrobe and tidy my desk and possibly even do some of my ironing; it's good to get settled in - nesting I think it's called, and I'm all for it.  What say you?

Daisy xxx

Are we really here.......?

Well I guess so, but it doesn't really feel like it yet.

Three weeks in and I still don't have my wardrobe up, so my clothes are still hanging about in suit and dress carriers and my shoes are in boxes beneath the bed.  Now my wardrobe is a huge Ikea model with different hanging areas, wire baskets and wooden sliding drawers beneath a middle section for hanging shorter items.

I can even store linen and towels if I need too, which is super - everything  in one huge space.  But, it's not here yet, so my daily life is almost on hold.  The ironing has not been done, for there's nowhere to store it carefully, and I can 't find anything.

You see, the dear SO has been recovering from the kitchen build - resting you see - and last week I was in London with my daughter and her family, one of whom was suffering with an attack of conjunctivitis; and when I returned, there was paperwork to be dealt with.  I had intended to visit a girlfriend in Sussex but had to postpone that, for various reasons, and now I cannot see her this week for somehow I've got myself onto another City tour of London this coming Friday.  I simply didn't think I