Early February

Rooks are back in the rookery at the end of our cottage garden.

We have a lovely little spinney of fir trees where they nest each year, I love the noise & business of the birds making their nests.

They are such a chatty bunch, it is almost like they are having a good gossip while doing their work.

The garden is slowly coming back to life, the little blue tits are hopping about giving much amusement to George through the window.

One little animal has disappeared from the garden, all the squirrels must be nestled down somewhere warm.

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Ginger Snap Biscuits to take with us to a friend for afternoon tea.

Kitty & I had a lovely morning making them, she does like to bake.

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These are the girls favourite biscuits.

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George wanting to come with us shopping.

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Some fabric for patchwork.

I am working on some little Easter gifts for the twins.

We have bought the girls their first little set of knitting needles, some pretty rainbow wool & a learn to knit Ladybird book so I am making little knitting bags for them.

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Tomato Relish.

I made the relish that Rhonda made on Down to Earth , the recipe was simple to make & smelt wonderful.

Instead of the curry powder & chilli I added paprika & mustard powder, the little ones do not like strong flavours. This way we will use it instead of Tomato Sauce, it has so much less sugar.

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Six lovely jars for the pantry shelves.

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Making a birthday card for someone special.

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The pans in there new home.

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The girls love making & decorating cakes.

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Making Date Bread.

This is just a variation to the Tea Bread  recipe but with all dates.

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Studying The Diary of an Edwardian Lady for home school.

The month of January.

Kitty painting Blue Tits & Great Tits.

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Tuesday was a beautiful crisp day.

We took a short walk around the church yard, it was so sunny & warm on the face.

These are the graves that back on to our garden. They are very old graves so not visited which makes it a wonderful place for wildlife, we can often hear the pheasants calling.

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The sun was so beautiful.

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Flowers appearing, there are so many signs that Spring is on it's way.

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Snowdrops on the edge of the church yard.

The church & our garden are full of them.

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This is the old vicarage next to the church which you can see peeping out from behind the tall fir tree.

I do feel a little like Miss Marple some days with our garden hedge next to the church & the Vicarage next door.

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Another pretty Spring flower.

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The first crocus we have seen.

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An old cast drain pipe added t the church in 1876

The church has so many beautiful features.

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The side gate from the church in to the old vicarage.

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This is the side door to the church which faces our cottage.

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More early flowers.

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Catkins in our garden.

They are so pretty with a silvery sheen.

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Some of the hens enjoying the sunny day.

They have started laying a couple more eggs a day, sunshine is a wonderful thing.

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The girls with their finished bow scarves.

I made myself one in a lovely teal colour which was slightly larger than the pattern. The pattern came up small around the neck so I made another navy blue one.

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Victoria Sponge Cake for tea.

A family favourite.

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Thank you dear readers for all your lovely comments.

I really enjoy reading them & hearing from you.

Fondly Michelle

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Early Flowers & a Few Finds

The garden is starting to be awakened here at the cottage, the earth no longer seems asleep & young shoots are pushing their way through the hard ground. Winter has been kind to us so far & the first flowers are starting to bloom. Tiny little delicate flowers, white & pure like snow. 

All along our garden hedge next to the church the snowdrops hang their pure little heads, daring the damp, cold, wintery weather. They bring such joy to watch them flower in the cold days of late Winter. This little flower is the first sign that Spring will soon be upon us & it will not be long before we hear the birds singing & the garden will be an abundance of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils & crocus's.

I love watching the garden come back to life after it's long sleep with the promise of all the good things our Mother earth gives to us.

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A close up of the Early Snowflakes.

I do love these delicate little flowers, they always look like fairy skirts to me.

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We found this lovely set of antique copper pans in a antique centre not far away. They need a polish & then I think I will add more hooks to the scullery shelves to hang them.

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A Georgian miniature I bought with some Christmas money from my parent's.

I saw her before Christmas & fell in love with her painted blue bonnet, so we popped back to the Antique Centre near us after Christmas.

Mary thinks she needs a husband so we are on the hunt for one for her.

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Snowdrops appearing in the garden.

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The rhubarb is popping up it's head,

I can't wait to pick the first stems of the year.

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Snow is in the air.

The old Walnut tree stands stark against the wintery sky.

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Butterfly cakes with home made apple & blackcurrant jam for Saturday tea.

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& chocolate cake.

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I love to collect vintage recipe booklet & have a whole drawer full of them.

Kitty & I chose a cherry cake recipe from a 1930's Brown & Polson recipe booklet & spent Sunday afternoon baking.

The recipe called for an ingredient called raisley powder which I have never heard of before & would love to hear if anyone has heard of it.

At the back of the book there is an advert for Raisley that calls it a raising powder so I used baking powder.

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All ready for Sunday tea & it was very nice, very similar to a Madeira Cake.

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Olde Fashioned Pumpkin Preserves.

I had a small pumpkin stored away in our pantry so when Faye from The Blessed Hearth made some pumpkin preserves I thought that is what the little pumpkin was waiting for.

I replaced the ginger with cinnamon & halved the recipe as the pumpkin was only little. Next year I will make a big batch.

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We found these DVDs in a charity shop in our small town.

We loved the early River Cottage programmes when they were all filmed in the small cottage in Dorset.

I think my eldest Son might be borrowing these.

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This is where you will find sweet George when I am knitting.

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A visit to the wool shop.

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Some finds from our lovely second hand book shop.

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The cottage book is full of inspiration with old cottages all over England.

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So many idea's

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Just settling down now for an evening of knitting & a cuddle from George.

Thank you my dear readers for all your kind words, they all are read & appreciated.

Fondly Michelle

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Early Flowers at the Cottage

Quiet January Days

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.

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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.

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There was a little mincemeat left over from Christmas so I added some diced cooking apple & made sweet pinwheels for Saturday tea.

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A sprinkling of icing sugar over the top.

They tasted like danish pastries.

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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.

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Kitty playing with her sewing boards which George finds such fun.

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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.

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All bubbly & ready to be served.

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After our Sunday dinner we went for a lovely walk over the fields.

It was a truly beautiful day.

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Early snowflakes flowering.

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The field waiting for the sheep in the Spring.

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Finding bare beauty in the trees.

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Little Mary.

I love the way little ones find such happiness in so many things.

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A patched up field gate, we have so many interesting gates & hedgerows around us.

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Looking for Peter Rabbit.

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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.

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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

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