How I love the quiet January days, the frost tipped trees & having time to sit & knit after the business of Christmas time.
The weather has been kind to us in this part of England, yes it is cold but the sun is shinning & we have had some beautiful January days.
You can see glimpses of Spring all around us with daffodils popping up through the hard ground. Forsythia & Spring Snowflakes are flowering so very early in the year in the garden.
As I sit & write the birds are in full chorus, they have been enjoying the strings of cranberries left over from Christmas.
~
I have started a wonderfully simple 1930's Bow Scarf pattern that came in the post the other day.
This one is for myself then I will make two smaller ones for the twins.
I can see this pattern being used again & again.
I love the feminine style of it.
~
There was a little mincemeat left over from Christmas so I added some diced cooking apple & made sweet pinwheels for Saturday tea.
~
A sprinkling of icing sugar over the top.
They tasted like danish pastries.
~
I love books & found this lovely book Crafts of the Countryside in a charity shop in our nearby market town. It is full of things to do, the girls & I would like to make some corn dollies in the Autumn, they have a step to step guide inside to make them.
I finished Cranford & really enjoyed it, the characters are wonderful.
I am now reading A Country Calender by Flora Thompson. The book starts out with a life story about Flora written by Margaret Lane.
Once again I am transported back by Flora, she has a special gentle way of writing & describing all the countryside around her in such detail.
~
Kitty playing with her sewing boards which George finds such fun.
~
Warm fruit pudding with custard.
My parents brought over a large amount of blackcurrants last year which I froze.
They had such an abundance last year, too much for them to use.
Along with some of our raspberries from the freezer & two cooking apples I made a fruit pudding for Sunday dinner.
The blackcurrants gave such a wonderful flavour, I will be making this again.
I use the same sponge recipe for most things, fairy cakes, sponge cakes, tray bakes & so much more.
Just spread it over the fruit & sugar & bake for around 50 minutes.
2 ozs Margarine
2 ozs Sugar
Beat together
2 ozs Self Raising flour
1 egg
a little milk
Beat all these together & use as wished.
I trebled the recipe for the fruit pudding.
~
All bubbly & ready to be served.
~
After our Sunday dinner we went for a lovely walk over the fields.
It was a truly beautiful day.
~
Early snowflakes flowering.
~
The field waiting for the sheep in the Spring.
~
Finding bare beauty in the trees.
~
Little Mary.
I love the way little ones find such happiness in so many things.
~
A patched up field gate, we have so many interesting gates & hedgerows around us.
~
Looking for Peter Rabbit.
~
A pretty little stream that flows in to a river in our nearby town.
I love the way the ivy blankets this old tree this time of year.
~
Thank you my dear readers for all your kind words & your New Year wishes.
May 2015 be a happy & healthy one for us all.
Fondly Michelle
~
