Heroes, Villains And The Village Bike

Hello friends

How was your bank holiday week end? Do anything exciting?

Yesterday we had a family day out and went to a village called Wray, on the other side of Lancaster, to visit their Heroes and Villains scarecrow festival. It was our first visit and was absolutely brilliant and hope to go again next year. It was more popular than we realised with fields being used for visitors to park. Afterwards we made our way to another village, Scorton, for their Bicycles and Barrows festival. There were less participants here than in Wray but the talent and imagination was just as brilliant. I will leave you with a few of the many photos that we took.

Please click on the picture to make them bigger for easier viewing

Hope you enjoyed them

Carolx

Mum's Virtual Spring Fair

Hello friends

I'm liking up with Mum with her Virtual Spring Fair. Thanks for organising it again this year.
Welcome and come on in. We are inside today as the sun is not shining and the breeze is bitter cold.

Would you like a cup if tea?

or some non alcoholic sparkling wine?  

We have some little orange flavoured cakes. Don't worry there are plenty, I've been baking all morning. (Note to self - must borrow my mum's cake stand next time)

Or how about some chocolate scones. Plenty of these too but they are going fast so might have to whip up some more. Recipe at the end of the blog if you like them.

The little bunch of flowers you can see are wild garlic and bluebells, both from our garden.

We have a few visitors in the garden today. Some are a little shy and some are on guard.

I hope you have enjoyed yourselves and please visit the other stall holders and don't forget your recipe on your way out.

Carolx

Chocolate Scones - makes 4 large or 6 small

8 oz (225g) Self Raising Flour
pinch of salt
2 oz (50g) Butter or Margarine
2 oz (50g) Caster Sugar
1 Medium Egg with milk to make 1/4 (150ml) of Liquid
instead of using milk you can use chocolate custard, chocolate milk, drinking chocolate (and use less sugar)

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and grease a baking tray.
Mix the flour and salt and rub in the fat.
Stir in the sugar and mix to a soft dough with the egg and milk mix. Reserving a little milk mix to brush the tops.
Press lightly on a floured board and either divide or use a cutter to make 4 or 6 scones.
Place on a baking tray and brush with the egg milk mixture and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

To decorate I split the scones and spread with chocolate spread and topped with whipped cream and then added a chocolate button. If you have any fruit that would be nice too.

Hot and Cold

Hello friends

How are you this weekend? The weather here has been ok, A bit of sun, some cloud, a cool wind and a little bit of rain in the evening.

HOT

chilli sauce

Saturday Morning we went into Blackpool for the second annual Chilli Festival. I rally don't like chillies but M does so we went along to see what it was all about.

chilli honey

Radio Wave

There were lots of stalls selling various sauces, chutneys, mustards, even honey, any many other accompaniments of varying degrees of heat. We were told that the lighter the colour the milder the heat and the darker, the hotter. I tried a couple of mild sauces but they were much too hot for me. M tried a super hot one and then had to go and buy a bottle of milk to cool down the burn.
The local radio station was there and later in the afternoon were doing a chilli eating contest (don't know how it went because we had left by then).
A couple of stalls that were cooking some foods using chillies.  The aroma was so good.
Once you'd had your fill you could wash it all down with some chilli cider.  We were going to give this stand a miss but we spotted M's younger brother there with his partner (J and D) so we popped over for a chat. J gave us a taste of his cider. It was quite unpleasant and I like cider.
L and I felt that there was one stall missing, an ice cream stall to cool the burn.  Will we go again next year? probably not.

COLD
This morning I decided that our chest freezer needed defrosting and reorganising. I emptied everything out into cardboard boxes and cool bags and covered them up with blankets. M came along wearing his thick gloves and carrying a scraper (my cool hero). He scraped off all the frost. Look how thick it is. It's been about three years since I did it last and it took hours for the frost to melt then (man with scraper was working) and my arms are just not quite long enough to reach the bottom.

Once it was all nice and clean and dry I sorted the contents and had to throw some items away because they had freezer burn. I then put all the loose bags of individual items into a larger bag. For example all the veg went into one bag, chicken into another, chips, waffles etc. went into another and so on. I don't know how long it will stay like this but one thing for sure we don't need any sausages for a few weeks. I have enough red fruit to make some jam/jelly. I just need a chicken to cut up and some bread for my freezer shop this week. I have enough bones to make some good stock (Tues afternoon Job). I want to use up some of the freezer stock over the next couple of weeks now that I know what is in there.

I've just enough time to watch the end of Jurassic Park before I start making tea. Thank you for dropping by it's lovely to read your comments and I always look forward to them.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend

Carolx

Twiddles

Hello friends

I'm back. I've been dealing with some personal stuff and I'm starting to come through it now.

I've made another twiddle muff for mum because we want to wash the one we gave her for Christmas. It's been a huge success. Sometimes she will sit for hours straightening all the bits on it. This passed weekend mum was in hospital (she collapsed at day care but is ok and back home now) and dad and I took her old muff in. The ward sister was well impressed and watched mum twiddling with it and thought it was a great idea and has asked me if I could make some for the ward. I have given this some thought and will put this to the craft club I go to as they are looking for a new charity project. The craft club is actually called Craft and Chat and is held at my local library.

In Lancashire most of libraries have a craft and chat group so I'm hoping I can get some of the other groups involved. It is such a simple idea but so affective in keeping dementia patients calm and busy, it also keeps their hand and finger joints mobile.
The first one I made I embroidered a little pillow and attached it to the muff but mum doesn't bother with it so I've not included it in the second one. I have however included button, beads, ribbons and lots of other bits to create interest. I have to give credit and thank you to Warrington Hospital who printed the basic knitting pattern on their website which I came across through the Alzheimer's Society.

Will be back soon and look forward to reading your lovely comments

Carolx

Tad-dah To My WIPs

Hello friends

I've been determined to get my WIPs finished. I've been inspired by the bloggers who've been joining in with the 52 project. It's a great idea to get things done. Anyway this is my first. I started this crochet blanket about two and half to three years ago. I've had a few breaks in between where I've got fed up with it and did other things then came back to it. I have to give credit to The Art of Crochet, which was a weekly magazine that had a square to crochet and embroider (I did my own designs) each week with a ball of yarn. Also in the magazine were other crochet projects to do. I didn't like the back, thought it looked messy and when chatting with my MIL she came up with a fleece she had stashed away and just the right colour. I hand stitched it around the edge and used some buttons to secure the middle.
Before I could finish this blanket I had to change the cream buttons on my black coat for some nice black ones and then I used the cream buttons on the blanket. A couple of  pictures of  individual squares. You can click on the pictures to make them larger if you want to see them in more detail.
We have a floor cushion that I made many years ago and the cover was looking quite sad so using some of the left over yarn I crochet a top for it. In order for me to finish the top for the cushion I had to finish the blanket because all my safety pins were in use holding the backing in place. So, here are the before and after shots of the floor cushion.

I have one more crochet WIP to finish. I have just realised that I've not picked it up for at least 10 years. It's an Irish crocheted jacket and I've only about 4-5 inches left to do around the sleeve. My Grandma inspired me to do some Irish crochet when she made herself a dress (she was in her 80's). Sadly she is no longer with us but she would be disappointed in me for not finishing it. I promise myself that I WILL this year.

I feel better for getting them out of the way.
Well I need to get some chores done. I hate chores but needs must.
It was lovely of you to drop by and I do enjoy reading your commets.

Carolx

A Recycling Hobby

Hello friends

A belated welcome to new follower Thrifty Deluxe. Hope you enjoy my intermittent ramblings about things we get up to.

Today I thought I would share with you one of L's hobbies. We enjoy going round car boot sales seeing what bargains we can pick up, even though I'm trying desperately to declutter and get rid of lots of things we don't need or use. Anyway L looks for old jewellery (beads on chains) that she can take apart and refashion into something else and never pays more than £1 for an item.
Here are a few examples of some of the things she's made.
L has made many key rings/bag charms and sold them to her friends at school and will be dong a workshop, at guides, in a couple of weeks making key rings for Mothers Day.
Everything she makes are a one off because it's all down to what she can get.

L has done a couple of craft fairs and the most successful one she did was when she made lettered key rings whilst the customer waited.

A while ago a dear friend's mum died and gave L all her jewellery making bits and pieces and that's how she has made the earrings. The only thing we've bought new was her pliers and pincers, so daddy could have his back and stretch cord for beaded bracelets.

I had a go a jewellery
making a few years ago but didn't enjoy it as much as L is doing.

I'm off to enjoy a bit more of today's sunshine in the garden before the school run.

Thank you for dropping by, it was lovely to see you.

                                                                        Carolx

Hearts, Stars and Arrows

Hello friends

Hope you are all having a good weekend.

Yesterday the weather was lovely and L and her friend decided to do some street art, with chalk, in the back garden, It was mostly themed around One Direction.  Afterwards they had a game of stars and hearts.  Looks like it was a draw.
It rained last night and all the chalk has now washed away.

 It's a bit dark miserable and cold today but that has not bothered M and L because they had their first archer lesson at the local sport centre. The lessons are two hours long and is a six week course. Both enjoyed it and it's a good bonding activity between father and daughter (they don't do much together) The class is  made up of both adults and children but L was the only girl. After the six weeks they can continue going each week at a later time to just enjoy their new sport.

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon

Carolx