"With Pomp, Power & Glory the world beckons vainly, In chase of such vanities why should I roam?While Peace & Content bless my little thatched cottage,And warm my own hearth with the Treasures of Home."*Beatrix Potter

Thursday 11 September 2014

The Comfort's of Home

What a lovely few days we have had, the sun has been shining & all in our little corner of the world is happy & contented.
This week has been full of so many beautiful moment's.
I do love being at home just doing simple pleasures like baking, gardening, knitting & just living our simple life.
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 A traditional corn dolly made at harvest time for a sweet heart.
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Glimpses of home.
 
We live in a mud & stud cottage built before 1741, it is a timber framed building with thatched roof & tiles.
This is our hall with original brick flooring.
Some of the timbers are older than the cottage, I never stop looking at the beauty of these old beams.
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A corner of the kitchen.
The brick floors run through the cottage.
They were covered up when we bought the cottage, what a surprise they were.
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Old cast iron range in the hall.
This is one of Bobby's places to lay down, sunshine in the morning & a soft rug.
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Old timber leading in to the kitchen.
Some are still stuffed with Georgian & Victorian newspaper's, I haven't the heart to remove them or the old paint.
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Old lime paint.
With our solid fuel cooker it is a great area for drying flowers & herbs.
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I found a beautiful old cookbook in an antique book shop the other day & baked Fat Rascal's from it. Each recipe gives the history of the food & it said Fat Rascal's were handed out in Yorkshire Inns.
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They were enjoyed for Sunday tea.
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A beautiful old book by Louisa May Alcott that I found in the same book shop as the cookery book.
I love old books & love to read them.
I found the Georgian china teacup & saucer in our small market too.
Our town is full of antique shop's, the cup cost an amazing 50p & the cup & saucer £1, how could I not bring them home to add to my other one's.
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Hanging out the laundry this beautiful morning I spotted this butterfly enjoying the sun.
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It stayed so still for me & was still there when I got the wash in.
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This is our scullery with old sink.
We have a very simple kitchen & do most things by hand.
The little window would have been an outside wall many years ago. In the Victorian period they put a little pantry extension on, I am so pleased they did.
The glass & lead in the window is so old, all hand blown & one piece has been signed with initial's & our village's name.
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We found this beautiful old baker's cabinet a long time ago.
At some point someone brought it over the sea from America.
The large square timber in the wall is one end of the huge beam that is above in the inglenook fireplace in the kitchen.
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Apple butter being made.
This is a recipe a dear friend Suze from Maine gave me a few years back & I do it every year with our own apples. It sits all day in the bottom oven cooking so slowly, the smell is wonderful.
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Plenty of jars for the pantry shelves.
Pumpkin & pear butter's are next on our list.
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The pears in the garden are nearly ready for the pear butter.
I am trying to think of another way of preserving them, maybe a spiced jam.
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Dried fruit soaking overnight for tea bread. This time I decided to add some dried apple pieces.
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We are out for a picnic at the weekend to a 1940's event at a National Trust house.
Tea bread is always a favourite to take out with us.
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The Sweet Pea's just keep blooming, such a heavenly smell.
I think next year I will make a large twig frame for them.
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Victoria Sponge Cake for tea. I still have so much of last's year jam so it is a good way of using it up.
The hens are laying so many eggs at the moment, they must know I love to bake.
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This will not last long, it will all go at tea.
I have some of my Grandmother's china & glass plates, one was my Great Grandmother's, we use them all the time & her cake knife.
Treasured memories off her come to my mind when we use them & even though the twins never knew her they talk about her as if she has just popped round for tea.
Grandma was a very talented lady, in her early life she was a milliner to the royal family. She loved to sew clothes & later in life painted.
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I am really enjoying doing this 1940's pattern, I have to finish the neck & then just the sleeves & ties to do. I found some lovely fabric at a local market last week so plan to make a historical apron with it. I have a lovely pattern that I have not used yet, I was waiting for the right fabric. I might have enough left to make the twins matching aprons for Christmas but don't tell.
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As part of home school the girls made pizza for tea.
We have had an abundance of tomatoes this year in the green house, everyone loves these little ones & perfect for pizza.
Green tomatoe chutney will be made in October, we have so many green tomatoes.
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They are so happy when we all sit round the table & tell them how yummy their pizza's were.
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Have a blessed weekend.
Fondly
Michelle

29 comments:

  1. Oh, I love it all.. smile.. So historic but comfy, too..Your food always looks so delicious.. It would be nice if you posted a recipe now and then.. hint ..hint.. smile.
    I hope you are getting some visitors from my link on the last post..
    Blessings.. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Faye,
      I will post some recipes, the tea bread is ever so easy.
      Thank you for adding the link from you post.
      Fondly Michelle

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  2. Beautiful post! Your apple butter looks delicious. What a blessing to have your own apples and pears. Your home is so lovely!

    Thank you for visiting my blog. : )

    -Sarah

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Sarah for your kind comments.
      I love your blog, your aprons are beautiful.
      Fondly Michelle

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  3. Hello Dear!!
    This was such an enjoyable post! How nice it was to take a gentle tour of your cozy historical home!! I just love how you are living with historical furnishings and decor and using them! (I know the Cottage LOVES you)!!!
    The tea cups remind me of Tasha Tudor and are such pretty pink lustre as she loved. What a great find! :-)
    All that you are baking and doing in the kitchen looks so yummy!
    Thank you for inviting me in to see your wonderful home!
    Blessings hugs and love, Linnie

    PS So pretty is the Sunflower and the butterfly!

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    Replies
    1. That butterfly was so pretty, such a beautiful think for the girls to see when we went outside.
      I am so happy you enjoyed the post.
      Fondly Michelle

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  4. Another charming post ~ I marvel at how long your cottage has stood; they built things to last back then. I love how your furnishings are sympathetic and considered. Is that tea bread an American Tea Loaf? It looks very similar to one my dear mother would make. I can imagine how heavenly your kitchen smells, with all the fragrance of fruit butters, baking, and pizzas ~ and sweet peas! The books, the teacups, the butterfly and sunflower, and everything you have shared is just so wonderfully warm and welcoming ~ Thank you ~
    ~~~waving~~~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Deborah,
      It is a Yorkshire tea bread, I have made it for so many years.
      Thank you so much for your kind comments, I am so happy you enjoyed the post.
      Fondly Michelle

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  5. Your cottage is beautiful Michelle. Thank you for showing us around.
    All your baking looks delicious! I have a large family too so I sympathise with your 'it will not last long' comment.
    Enjoy your weekend picnic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bake one day & it is all gone by the next day. But that is why we do it isn't it, for families to enjoy & eat well. Good job I love to bake.
      Thank you for your kind words Debbie.
      Fondly Michelle

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  6. Hi Michelle, I found your site through Faye Henry's blog and have enjoyed your post so much. I loved the tour of your cottage and your yummy recipes. Thank you so much for sharing. I have already put you in my favourites.
    Mary ( I live on the east coast of Canada fairly close to Faye)

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    Replies
    1. Hello Mary,
      Thank you for your beautiful comment, so glad you enjoyed the post.
      Fondly Michelle

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  7. Hello from Canada! I found you through Faye's post and am so glad she showed us the way to your delightful blog. I like so many of the same things you do and have enjoyed reading through your posts. I've loved hearing about your home and so enjoyed the pictures you shared. Your daughters are just precious and your little dog is so sweet.

    My ancestors were English and Irish and I so long to visit both countries. Reading your blog makes me want to visit England all the more. Maybe some day. :)

    Thanks for sharing your days with us and I know I'll visit again and again. I'm adding you to my blog list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sandra for your beautiful message & kind words.
      I am half English & half Irish, born in England. Hope you get to our shores soon.
      I hope to hear from you again.
      Fondly Michelle

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  8. Hi Michelle and greetings from Texas! I just found your blog today (via The Blessed Hearth) and I must tell you how much I LOVE IT. We have a lot in common…I also have 4 boys and 4 girls and homeschool. I have a long-standing love of all things "old." I saw your book and movie list, and laughed because I have read/watched them all. And I noticed that we follow most of the same blogs. I also enjoy cooking and sewing, and loved seeing the sweater you are knitting. Make sure to show us the aprons when you're finished with them.
    Your home is lovely. I enjoyed reading about the different rooms and architectural details of your house. I really look forward to reading more of your blog and learning more about what fills the your days in the English countryside.
    Blessings,
    A Kindred Spirit :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hello Jennifer,
      Thank you so much for your beautiful comment, I will show the apron once I have made it, I really need to make a few.
      I am meeting so many kindred spirits through this blog.
      Enjoy your new day in Texas.
      Fondly Michelle

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  9. Dear Michelle, that wonderful post !!! My English is not perfect but I hope you will be able to understand what I write. I really like your house, your furniture, the atmosphere of a time when everything was created with much love and made ​​to last. You and your family are going through what for me is a dream because in Italy, unfortunately, are not homes like yours. I wish I could give us some of your recipes, if you like, I would love to try them. Thanks so much
    We hug and I wish you a peaceful day.
    Mirtilla

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    Replies
    1. Your English is wonderful.
      I plan to do a recipe next week, Faye was asking for some recipes too.
      Thank you so much for your kind words Mirtilla,
      Fondly Michelle

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  10. Michelle, you are gathering quite a following in only a month of blogging! I'm really interested to know if you had your "primitive" furniture--that is what they would call it here in the States--in your old house or whether you've bought most of it specifically for this cottage? I love that you use old recipes, too. That is one of the activities I have planned for my Tasha Tudor group. I will have to tell them all about your lovely Blog!

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    Replies
    1. Hello Cathy,
      We did have most of our furniture before we came here, we just had to purchase the dresser in the kitchen as the ceilings in there are quite low. I do have a picture trail that I will close down when the year comes to an end with having started the blog. www.picturetrail.com/rememberwhenfarm1889 , this has our two older houses on it.
      We did have to sell a lot of furniture moving with downsizing quite a bit.
      We had a weekend away so that is why I am relying so late.
      Fondly Michelle

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    2. Thank you for the link, Michelle. Your former houses do look much larger, but just as nice because of your care in making them a home. I love high ceilings, but I also love the coziness of low ceilings. Was it hard getting used to? Are you living in the same area as the old houses?

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    3. We have only moved two miles up the road from a market town to a small village, I am a village soul really so am really happy. Our last house was just to big & had an empty feel, we were only there two years. The cottage which is called The Hollies feels like we have come home.
      Fondly Michelle

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    4. Michelle, that sounds so lovely--to finally feel you've come home. There is a little log cabin behind my woods that I hope my neighbor will one day sell to me. I wouldn't be able to leave this house, though, unless one of my children moved in here and raised their children in it. We've been here 32 years and raised our family here, so I would not want to sell it to a stranger. Without my children in it, though, it just doesn't feel like home to me anymore.

      Delete
  11. Dear Michelle, I found your blog a few days ago, and I am totally delighted with it. I live in Madrid and the truth is that my husband and my dream is to live one day in the field. He loves the garden, animals, nature in general, and to me I like the same things that you, weaving, patchwork, cakes, muffins,... and above all the old houses like yours. I would ask you please to continue with your blog forward, above all for the good advice that gives us all and its good. I feel very fortunate to have found, they are a great inspiration for me.
    A hug.
    Mª Carmen.

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    Replies
    1. Hello in Madrid,
      Such a beautiful comment, thank you.
      I am really enjoying doing the blog & hope you enjoy future posts.
      Fondly Michelle

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  12. Your home is just amazing.....the perfect setting for a painting! How lucky your little girls are to grow up in such a magical place! beautiful :)

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    1. Thank you Heather for your lovely comment.
      We feel truly blessed living here.
      Fondly Michelle

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  13. The name of the little cakes gave me a good chuckle-Fat Rascal's! My daughters Lydia and Sophie found that amusing too. They almost look like Welsh Tea Cakes, but those are pan fried, but the dough looks similiar. How tasty they must have been:-)

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  14. They are not as soft as Welsh cakes but are so yummy & I can sneak wholemeal flour in to them for goodness.
    Fondly Michelle

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