Wibble Wobble

Jelly on a plate, Jelly on a plate, wibble wobble, wibble wobble, jelly on a plate!

Thank you for all the tips on how to get the jelly out of the mould, it was an astounding success!

Hubby, DS2 and I polished off this yummy jelly last night in one sitting! DS1 doesn't like jelly, never has.

The jelly was Vegetarian Lemon Jelly by Just Wholefoods. Very tasty.

I think we are going to be having a lot of jelly over the summer!

Onto the wobbly note... Argghhh....I stood on my glasses this morning - how they ended up on the floor I don't know as I'm usually very good at putting them back into their case as I only use them to watch something. So a trip to get them repaired today.

Not only that but I bashed my leg on our monstrousity of a Swamp Kauri coffee table...I swear it never seemed so big when we chose it in the warehouse all those years ago...Not a good idea I can assure you as it is very very hard!

Oh and I think I may have broken a toe - can't remember how I did that but it has a bump and is jolly sore! LOL

On that note I think someone is telling me that I have to stay inside today and do a jolly tidy up of the lounge...must be far too many obstacles in the way!

What do Broccoli, Tables & Sewing Machines have in common?

We had our first broccoli harvest with dinner last night - even the oldest teen ate it - which believe me is impressive! The overall verdict? Very yummy.

The other week I spoke to a lovely lady in a CS about joining a quilting and patchwork group. She kindly phoned through the contact number for me which I...promptly lost! So I went back today to see if she was there, she wasn't but I've left a message so hopefully she will get back to me again. Of course going into a lovely charity shop such as this one is is always tempting!

Having seen something similar in an antique shop last week for over £100 (that incidently wasn't anywhere as nice in my humble opinion) I couldn't resist bringing the following home with me for a mere £5!

A sweet little table with wings that fold out and a leather top, with brass 'feet'. In my ignorance I know nothing about it...just that I like it. Of course it is currently 'in hiding' until I find a home for it!

I also bought a dress! Yes a dress! Which if I am daring I may model tomorrow! Be warned....

A pair of summer trousers and a pair of shorts. All in lovely condition so I am well chuffed.

Having seen a jelly mould in another CS last week for a mere 79p, I thought I would return to see if it was still there...guess what we are having for pudding tonight?! You guessed it - jelly! Hmmm....I wonder how it comes out of the mould?!

Passing another CS on the way to get my jelly mould was rather dangerous though as I saw something that immediately caught my eye...and despite my um...will power... or rather lack of it... I had to try it out and then of course it came home with me!

Yes ANOTHER Singer Sewing Machine. This time a Singer New Family Model 12 (sometimes kown as Fiddleback) dated around 1889. (The first serial number dates it to 1877, the second to 1889)

'Agnes' is a little beauty!

Am I bad? Am I 'Norty' You bet!

Funny thing is while looking at this, another lovely lady offered me not one, but two Singer sewing machines which I am going to look at tomorrow morning! Oops, better keep this a secret...

Oh and the answer to my question? Nothing, except they delight this nutty woman. ;-D

String Quilt!

Taking it easy today, a bit of pottering round and then my string blocks called to me...

As the No Strings Attached Quilt Challenge finishes at the end of June, I thought I'd better get a move on and finish quilt. My first ever quilt!

Are you ready?

Ta Da!

Not bad for a first attempt if I do say so myself...may even try making another quilt sometime!

A Day well Spent.

I have spent the whole day in the garden today, starting the morning off quietly with a cup of tea and taking the photos of the flowers in the previous post. Yes Liz, they are all flowers in my garden.

I never realised how much pleasure I would get out of gardening. The vegetables are flourishing.

I finally settled on a place for my fifth vegetable box today and planted it out with the sugar snap pea seedlings I had, plus two more tomato plants and a red pepper. I will sow some more seeds in the area to the left tomorrow.

The front and the back garden both took a lot of my time today...

Beautiful pink petunias - isn't nature just wonderful?

The foxgloves are putting on a lovely show and are frequently visited by...

The wonderful bee...

I had big project in mind for the front today. Languishing in our shed was a Roman Archway that we bought several years ago...

Jolly hard work trying to put it together on my own I can tell you...required a lot of patience and the holding of the tongue in a certain position.

Positioning the legs and then banging them in the ground.

Potting four rose bushes.

Putting up some trellis for this lovely plant to grow up...

Revamping a corner that was well...full of rubbish!

I had a vision for a special secluded corner, especially for me.

Planting of a climbing rose, that will hopefully make full use of the Roman Archway...

In all not bad for a days work...now off to enjoy our salad dinner in the garden.

I'm quite sure I will sleep well tonight, feeling contented and at peace.

Sunday Gratitude

Great Big Hairy Blokes

Yesterday I went into London to meet up with a friend from Blogland. Penny and I met in the cafe at Liberty, but decided to go elsewhere for a coffee after seeing the prices! Us country lovers, don't like paying too much for our refreshments! We did have a good look round Liberty as they had a 50% off sale, but sadly the fabrics and other notions weren't reduced. I was stunned at the prices of some of the um...'art' that I saw... An old hanky in an embroidery frame....no less than £150.00!! My mouth popped open in shock and astonishment I can tell you.

I don't think we stopped talking the whole time we were together...as a result the photography suffered! After our browsing the haberdashery section in Liberty we decided the Quilt Exhibition at the V & A Museum were next on the agenda so we hopped on the tube for South Kensington. It was a really interesting exhibition and some of the quilts were amazing...especially when you think how long ago some of them were made. The 21st Century Quilts...hmmm, well I must admit I was especially enamoured by them, in fact I'm sure one of them could have given you nightmares if you looked at it for too long!

It was a lovely day out together and it is so nice to meet someone I have gotten to know and make friends with through blogging. Fortunately neither of us were great big hairy blokes as some had suggested... Thanks for a lovely day Penny and my matchbox special. We must do it again sometime...perhaps when it is a bit cooler!

Today was a rather relaxing day - well we don't want to overdo it after the strenuous day in London yesterday! Fruit and vegetables were admired, picked and eaten...

Flowers were enjoyed

The wonders of Wednesday

Just look at this beauty! Our first ripe strawberry...did I share it, no I did not...I gobbled it all up myself and absolutely perfect it was as well.

We had a dinner guest tonight so it was a good excuse to make another salad.

Doesn't it look colourful? Tasted jolly nice as well. We also had Chinese and Spicy chicken wings, fresh bread, cheese, pasta and sweetcorn salad, beetroot, avocado, spring onions and celery. I do like these types of meals in summer. As it was such a nice evening we had dinner outside. Good excuse to get out the pretty table clothes... of course I forgot to take a photo of the spread! Oh nearly forgot to say what we had for desert...fresh berries...strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and a summer berry roulade.

I'm very much enjoying my pyrex, especially this red bowl.

Strange how something as simple as a using a bowl can bring a great pleasure. So imagine my delight when I found another one today!

Not in such mint condition, but still very serviceable and I like it so that is what counts!

In the same shop I also saw three colourful Tupperware containers. The lids have just broken on my 20 year old ones. Don't make them like they used to! I believe these ones to be older, but I'm not sure. I'll give them a jolly good clean and then they will be perfect to use...better than bags of ingredients lying all over the cupboard.

Another quite special find today was this lovely, BLUE, yes you heard me correctly, Blue embroidered book cover.

Do these symbols mean anything? Should there be a right way and a wrong side?

Something I saw in my friends antique shop that I couldn't resist was this print (on hardboard?) by Margaret Dovaston. The allure of this picture is something dear to my heart.

Music of course! The clarinettist has a boxwood clarinet...I am lucky enough to have one of these antique instruments.

While there D asked me if I could have a look at a couple of sewing machines she had to see if they worked. So we duly loaded them into the car...

The top is a Seamstress - English made? Very heavy, the other is a Bernina Minimatic 807. Sadly although both turn on, neither work. The motor won't drive the needle up and down. I may have a tinkle with them...giving them a jolly good clean and oil to see if that makes a difference, but I would imagine in order for her to sell them she will need to get an electrical check done on them. Anyone know anything about either of these two machines?

Well it is a lovely evening, barely a cloud in the sky, the plants have been watered, the boys are quiet...bliss!

Black Bananas and tea caddies.

Headache gone today! Yeah! Teaching first thing this morning...all students turned up which is lovely as the last couple of weeks have been a bit of hit and miss with exams and school trips.

I had to take DS2 to the dentist, the swelling he had, which thankfully is now going down due to the antibiotics was indeed a tooth abscess. It has been packed with some special 'stuff' and he has to go back next Wednesday for an x-ray to determine how much damage is done, before filling it. Hopefully now he will start cleaning his teeth!

I'm really enjoying baking at the moment. It must be the discovery of my kitchen last week that has caused it. Anyway I thought I'd try a new recipe out today as we had a couple of ummm rather ripe banana's languishing on the side. I nearly threw them in the compost but pulled them back at the last moment. Waste not.

Banana muffins in pretty muffin cases sent all the way from Australia!

Who found it very hot today? I did, so spent some time pottering in the garden, admiring my vegetable garden - yes I'm still amazed that I am growing vegetables that we are actually eating. Did a spot of reading...and then dozing on the deck chair...

I even polished some brass!

A couple of brass and copper tea caddies, badly in need of a polish...

Much better!

Funny thing is I thought hubby would 'moan' about these...but instead he said 'much better than all those books you keep getting!'... But I READ the books I said...'I thought your head was getting bigger' was his reply...cheeky man!

The afternoon was finished off with a lovely salad for dinner!

Nothing like fresh salad leaves picked straight from the garden.

Now how do you know you are loosing your marbles...? Go to get your camera from the kitchen where you left it...but instead open the microwave! Now where did that come from!