An Unexpected Week

 Hello everyone. 

I hope you have all had a good week. It has been an unexpected week here and not a very welcome one, either. Before I start, let me reassure you that I am okay!

For some time, I have had a few gastric issues, which have been under control, but on Tuesday, life took a different turn. I started getting chest pains around teatime, and hubby whisked me off to the hospital to get checked out. After blood tests, X-rays, blood checks and a 9-hour wait, I was given the all-clear. It was a scary evening but ended positively, knowing my heart was still ticking as usual.

The following morning, another of my teeth fell apart, requiring yet another dental visit. I jokingly said, " Shall I bring my bed next time? "

While I am very grateful for all the care I received, I now want to avoid dentists, doctors, and other medical professionals for as long as possible.

With such an eventful week, I'm afraid there's not much more for me to say, but D has been baking again.

*************************************************

Hi everyone - D, here.

While Mum has had an eventful week, I decided to cheer her up with a cheesecake. When I mentioned the idea to Dad, his eyes lit up as well—I was definitely making the cheesecake then.

I used a recipe from Jane's Patisserie. However, I modified it slightly because I couldn't find shortbread biscuits at the supermarket for the base. I used Malted Milk biscuits and added melted white chocolate, so in the end, I made a White Chocolate and Lemon Cheesecake.

I was pleased with the result, and so were Mum and Dad. I only finished the cheesecake yesterday morning, and it's already half gone.

Mum and I hope you all have a far less eventful week than the one in this small corner.

Late October Days

Hello everyone. D and I hope you are well.

 

If you live in the UK, did you remember to put the clocks back one-hour last night as we officially ended British Summer Time? We have forgotten at least once in previous years, but it was some years ago. Now, we continue to celebrate and enjoy the end of October and look forward to the start of November at the end of the week. How fast the year has sped by again.

This Sunday afternoon has been beautiful and sunny in this small corner, and I felt a need to be outside enjoying a walk with my family.

The recent rain has made the ground very wet and muddy, making walking challenging without boots. However, a few miles away, there is a lovely large park with cindered pathways, which we needed. 

Arrow Valley Country Park is in Redditch, Worcestershire and covers over 900 acres of parkland with a large lake to walk around. There are several trails to follow, and we followed one of them today. The warm weather had drawn many visitors outside, like ourselves, and we saw many dog walkers, joggers, and families with children who were both walking and using bikes. D, hubby, and I had a delightful walk in the afternoon sunshine.

Wandering in our garden earlier this week, I was delighted to see the first tiny shoots of these miniature daffodils starting to appear in a container. Although I abandoned them at the end of the garden all year, they have fended very well for themselves. They are now preparing for the promise of beautiful yellow heads in the new year to herald the return of Spring, so I already have something to look forward to next year.

This week, I had my second of three sessions at the dentist to fix my tooth. After the first session, I was feeling uneasy, especially considering the cost. However, a change in treatment plan brought a pleasant surprise-a much lower bill. And yes, I still have the tooth!

Friday was a great day here.  It was loud at times, but I am so happy.

After enduring three years of worn stair carpets and half-painted stairways, we finally had new aqua-coloured carpets fitted to the landing and stairs. The vibrant colour adds a fresh look to our home, and now, food or uncovered mugs are strictly prohibited upstairs, under threat of...

Finally, I wanted to update you on the cross stitch I have been working on. There is still quite a bit to do, but progress is being made. I am making some changes to the original design to make it more personal for our son and daughter-in-law. The special place will be the castle where they got married; the bride is red-haired, not blond, and I want to add the fireworks they had in the evening. They are an adventurous couple in their travels, and I want to reflect that in this sampler. I now need to press on to prepare it for them at Christmas. 

We wish you all a wonderful week.

B and D

x

Cookies, Cheesy Crumbles and a Tea Party

 

Hello everyone. 

D and I do enjoy your company and hope you will stay for a bite to eat this week! 😀

D has been baking again this week, making some chocolate chip and fudge cookies. As she had little time to spare, she used a prepared mix and added the fudge pieces to the recipe. She made nine cookies, but as you can see, they disappeared very quickly.

Not to be outdone by my daughter, I also put on an apron and spent time baking tea party nibbles. I made cheese and spring onion crumbles, perfect for various dips.

I first saw the recipe on Lucy from Attic 24's blog quite a few years ago, and I have loved it ever since. The original recipe used walnuts, but I have never used them myself. I used spring onions this time, but I have used chives instead. Another alternative I will try next time is cheese and chilli and also cheese and chutney.  They will be fun to try for the festive season!

Last week, I mentioned that Hubby and I visited a favourite garden centre to get a few new plants. As we walked through the entrance, we were met by sparkles, baubles, and trees everywhere. While it is far too early to think seriously about December, one display caught my attention. I thought ending this week's post with part of the Mad Hatter's tea party from the book Alice in Wonderland was fitting. With those empty plates, it looks like all the treats have disappeared as quickly as they do in this small corner.

D and I hope you have a lovely week ahead and that you enjoy some fun treats, both edible and non-edible. 

Have fun.

B and D 

xx

Going a Little Potty!

Hello, and welcome to our small corner. D and I are glad you are visiting us today.

Another week has flown by, and I am trying hard not to think about the festivities that will be upon us in just over ten weeks! 

Last Monday morning turned out to be bright and sunny—no rain! It was the day to pick the last of the tomato crop. To be honest, tomatoes have not done well in this small corner in 2024, and those that did ripen were very small. However, as D had suggested a Tuna pasta bake for our evening meal, I harvested these last bright jewels and made a small amount of sauce. It made our meal delicious.

I have been shopping again this week, but this time for something cheery to look at through my kitchen window in Autumn and Winter. Some sunny days might even see me taking 5 minutes in a chair with a cuppa. The space is just outside our back door, after all. 

I was looking for plants that could have a double life, first in pots and later in the ground behind the raised bed. This is the semi-shade side of our garden, and all these plants should be fine. The bright pink of the Heuchera really caught my eye first. I love the foliage as well as the flowers, and they will come back next year. This one is called 'Paris,' and next year, it will start to form the edging of a path.

The other new plant was this one. It is a Lophomyrtus, an evergreen shrub of the Myrtle family. It grows into a large shrub of about 4/5 ft over time but will need little looking after once it settles. After using its rather tongue-twisting family name, I rather like its personal variety name, 'Magic Dragon'. I can now say I have a dragon living in our garden! 😂

I also bought a pack of orange violas and added them to a small Acer

to brighten the raised bed.

As you can see, everything has been planted up into pots for this year. They are standing on a raised bed emptied of Summer plants and covered with weed-suppressant material until Spring. I know the pots are mismatched, but I don't mind that, really. I have also covered the weed material with some bark to make it a little prettier—just for aesthetics.

While wandering around the garden centre, I found these gardening gloves—so bright and cheery, with a yellow and red hot chilli design to remind me of Summer heat. They also joined my shopping basket.  

Looking at the week ahead, it looks like more rain is forecasted, so crafting and baking are more likely for D and me this week. We hope you all have a good week and enjoy whatever you have planned.

Bev and D x

Good Things

 Hello everyone.

The weather forecast seems to be for more rain again, so I am looking back at those things which have bought me happiness and sunshine in my life this past week.

Although our water companies are often in the national press for the wrong reasons, I thought I would share something positive that our own suppliers have done which has made me very happy. 

Several weeks ago we had a representative of the company canvassing in our street for water storage butts. I am always very wary of anyone coming to the door like that and was obviously cautious in my response. He was asking if we would like to receive one or more water butts for free to save water for the garden. We already have four of them dotted around the garden that were bought a various times but we agreed to accept the offer. We thought no more about it until one morning when there was a knock at the door and another man appeared with our new water butt. It holds 210 litres and came with the stand, connectors and tap included.

Yesterday, hubby fitted our new water butt at the bottom of the garden next to another one we already had. I'm sure both of them will be filled very soon and we can benefit from the stored water when we need it at a later date. I am a happy lady.

Something else that has made me happy is a new carpet for our stairs and landing. It has needed replacing for a long time, and a new one will now be fitted before Christmas. 

Also, last week, D and I went 'girlie' shopping. We decided that it was time to put away our Summer wardrobes and bring out more seasonal and warmer items, and this required a shopping trip. We left hubby enjoying a coffee and cake while we indulged in some retail therapy. We had a lovely time and came away with various new clothes. Two happy ladies this time! 

This week, I still have plenty to do on the cross-stitch project, and if it is too wet to be outside, there is always the greenhouse for me to play in. 

Whatever the weather is near you, have a great week enjoying what makes you happy.

B x

Mayfield House - Butler's Scullery

Hello!

Welcome back to our small corner, where we are returning to Mayfield House.

Previously, we visited Albert Jenkins - the family butler - who was hard at work in his office. If you wish to revisit that part of the tour, follow this link: Mayfield House - The Butler's Office. 

After thanking Mr Jenkins for his time, we continue to the Butler's Scullery at the end of this part of the house. Here, we find Jones at the far end of the room, carefully putting away some of the crockery. 

He has also been polishing some of the family silver and cutlery under the direction of Mr Jenkins. The two men have worked together for years, and the family butler trusts Jones to complete the task while he carries on paperwork in his office.

While Jones has already cleaned most of the glassware, some crockery still requires further attention and a longer soak in the butler’s sink. This is an ongoing task for Jones, and he will return to finish them in a minute.

Another task that Jones is trying to finish is ironing the daily newspapers. This was done to prevent black print from rubbing off on the hands of the homeowners upstairs. He was in the middle of that task when 'cleaning the silver and glassware' was added to his 'to-do' list for the day.

A cup of tea lies beside Jones’s reading glasses on the bench. He hopes to finish his tasks before it goes cold, maybe with a quick read of the newspaper headlines. His sandwich remains uneaten.

We will now leave a very busy Jones to juggle his time between his work and drinking his quickly cooling cup of tea while we retrace our steps back to the basement hall and look forward to the sights and sounds of a bustling kitchen.

************************************************

As usual, I wanted to set this room to tell several stories, so I used the full length of the room to fit it all in. 

At the far end of the room are two open cupboards filled with crockery, and Jones is hard at work putting items away. 

I added a small bench with a curtain where polishing and cleaning tasks could be carried out and a small bucket where any items that needed soaking could be left. Above the sink is a shelf with several cleaning items and also some spare candles. I used some clear PVA glue in the base of the sink before adding the quick-setting water to the bowl. I am hoping that the glue will prevent the water from discolouring - this  happened before

Again, the bench scene with the glasses, sandwich, and cup of tea conveyed the busy activities of the room, which meant some pleasures had to wait longer.

I remembered the newspaper and ironing board scene from the first episode of Downton Abbey and wanted to recreate it here. 

Progress has started on the next room, which D and I will bring to you next time we visit Mayfield House.

D and I wish you all a good week and hope the sun shines for a while!

 x

Cake and Kittens

Hello everyone. How has your week been?

Until a short while ago, my week had been lovely, with a cake made by D and a visit to see some new kitty babies that our son C and our daughter-in-law J are fostering.

Another large piece of one of my teeth has sheered off, so I will require yet another trip to the dentist. I think the tooth might need to come out, which I dread, but I can't keep having this happen. 

So, let's move on to brighter things to share with you.

As many of you know, August was a very special month for us this year. We shared several birthdays that month, but we could not have any birthday cake because we had been away. Yesterday, D made this lovely Victoria sponge to celebrate.

We took the cake to C and J and visited their new baby kittens. They are fostering them like they have done several others in the past. These sweet babies were found in a shed and are only about 7 weeks old. They are two brothers and their sister and have been named Kaia, Java and Checkers.

We had a lot of fun just watching them start to investigate their new surroundings. Kaia, the sister, is in charge of the trio, and her brothers seem happy about this arrangement. Hopefully, it won't be long before they all find new forever homes.

Wishing you all a good week.

B x