things I have learned....

• a single wheeled vehicle is a unicorn.
• A warm salad of mushroom and roasted squash is a yummy autumn lunch  (thanks to Mr H F-W for the recipe)
• the woodburner is (almost) my best friend and the perfect place to hold a chicks with sticks knitting session.
• a watched kiln doesn't reach temperature.
• purple is my favourite colour.
• There are now more imaginary friends in the house than there are real people - who knew Mr Knickers and his cat, Mr Miaow had a window cleaning business?

adventures in baking - meet Wilbur

 

 

 Over the summer I've been making sour dough bread (recipe from here) Jessie and I made our starter by 'catching' a wild yeast and with regular feeding Wilbur, our starter dough has become a bit of a family pet. A yummy, bubbly, edible pet.

 

The night before I bake I make up the sponge with a 100ml of Wilbur and some warm water. I mix and leave covered overnight. The next morning I add more flour and some sea salt and oil then knead for 10 minutes or so.  Son (or daughter) of Wilbur then gets to spend all day rising slowly and surely before being baked ready for tea.

When I get the loaf out of the oven I wrap it in a clean tea towel to soften the crust a bit and leave for about 30 minutes before we devour it... with mature cheddar, home made chutneys and pickles and butter... yum...

the year is turning...

... so fast! Last night we had our first frost - I ran round the garden in the dark covering up the tomato plants (those last green tomatoes are going turn red!) There are baskets of apples everywhere waiting to be turned into something lovely. Mornings are bright and just a bit colder. The woodshed is full, the winter duvets are on the beds and the chimney is swept.

Inside the last of the (red) tomatoes have found their way into tomato and chilli relish, the windfall marmalade is made and the gorgeous Raspberry Fudge Brownie recipe from The Simple Things has been made with the blackberries from the wild patch behind my shed.

We're ready (I think) for dark nights, cooking on the fire and being inside...

meeting Olympia

Jess hasn't found reading the easiest thing to master but she does love to write. 

I remember loving to type on my dad's typewriter when I was little - it made me feel important.  And though I'm not ready to let her use my dad's typewriter yet (which I inherited last year) I was over joyed to find this beauty all negelected in a charity shop. After a bit of love and some WD40 Olympia (for that is her name) was ready to go.

Already there is the sound of typewriter pounding coming from her room as she writes her latest masterpiece. I think they are going to be very happy together.

after the storm

Another stormy day. Trees are flailing around in the powerful gusts. Jago shouts 'hold on to your hats' and wears his favourite one all day (even though we're inside.)

 Jess, eyes fixed on the horizon, watches for Mary Poppins. All around the house I can hear them sing 'Lets Go Fly a Kite', and by lunchtime I'm humming it too.

Outside my twisted willow - the tree through which I watch the sunrise - lies fallen. It will grow anew in the spring but for now I bring in a branch to remind myself.

cosy

Walking through my garden at dusk and noticing the lit windows I felt the new season had finally arrived. The clocks have changed, Samhain / Halloween are over, bonfire night is soon and soup is constantly on the menu. There is something magical about going out of the dark into a welcoming home, I love this season...

:: slowing down ::

My pace of life has slowed right down to Jago's speed. We're taking our time drinking in the spring sunshine, listening to bird song, watching bumblebees.... simple pleasures are giving me great joy. Jago and Jess are loving having their mama back - and I'm loving being back....