Some Sweet Things

Hello everyone!

D, here again.

You may have noticed how much I enjoy baking.

During the last summer holidays, I fancied baking – something Mum and Dad will never object to – and made some fudge. I used a recipe from Jane’s Patisserie cookbook, which was easy to follow. It reminds me of Millionaire shortbread and was very yummy. However, you can only eat a small piece at a time because it is so sweet.

Making fudge also solved a conundrum for me, as it was my brother’s birthday around the same time, and I had wondered what to get him.

I made him another batch of this delicious ‘Millionaire Fudge’, which he enjoyed immensely. 

I think I’ll be making another batch of fudge again soon!

D x

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Now, back to Beverley.

In many ways, it has been a week where I haven't done much at all, so I don't have much to share with you. The reality is that I have been doing a lot more clearing out and planning to rearrange most of the furniture downstairs to make the spaces work better for us as a family. It is a slow process, shuffling things around but coming together slowly. Next year, there will be some decorating to do as well, which I know my hubby is really (not) looking forward to :-)

Yesterday was bright and cold but a good day to potter in the garden. I have spent little time in the back garden lately but decided to wander down to the pond and woodland/wildlife garden. I will do a small amount of tidying here as I prefer to give some shelter to the bugs and insects that call our garden home. 

We have added some fresh leaves and twigs to the bug village at the very end of the garden. There is also a roof ridge tile hotel stuffed with twigs, leaves, and bits and pieces, and I hope it will prove to be a cosy resting place for its inhabitants.

This single chrysanthemum was putting on a last show for me in my greenhouse. This plant has been an absolute joy to me as it was one stem in many mixed flowers that decided to grow roots and keep growing. I hope it grows again next year.

This afternoon, hubby and I went to a craft fair in Stourbridge; seeing all the artisans and craftspeople and their work was lovely. I succumbed to a couple of Christmas items, but there were many lovely things to see. 

Our son C and his fiancée live only 5 minutes from the craft fair, so we stopped to see them and their latest fostered kitten, Toby. He was in such a bad state when they took him in last week. He seemed badly neglected and much too young to have left his mother. He had to be seen by a vet who could treat all his ailments—poor little thing. 

It makes me so cross to think someone had taken on this tiny life and then abandoned it after only a few weeks to a cat sanctuary, who then had to pay all the vet bills to give him a fighting chance. A week on, and he is now a bundle of fluffy mischief. He will be happy in his foster home with the other kittens, but I hope He finds his forever home soon.

D and I are starting to think about Christmas preparations now and may post more frequently through December. We both hope you have a great week wherever you are and whatever your plans are. 

Take care xx 

Still Working on Autumn

Hello, and thank you for your visit here.

Although the festive season is rapidly approaching, I am trying hard not to be pulled into the activities before December begins. Some people are much more organised than I am, but it will likely be Dec 1st when I get started. I have a few things that I can show and share with you then. In the meantime, I still feel the beauty of Autumn days and added this sweet hedgehog to my little display. It is a lovely pattern that I finished in a few days.

On Friday, it was a beautiful, dry, and sunny morning, and I was eager to get outside in the garden. There is always plenty to do out there, and I spent a very pleasant hour or two in the front garden, weeding, pruning, and generally tidying up. By lunchtime, my back was beginning to complain, so reluctantly, I called it a day. Unfortunately, I can't always do as much in one go as I used to, but that's life. 

The soil was very wet after some heavy rainfall, so I cut back some undergrowth to reveal bare ground, which will help dry the soil out. There is still plenty more to do in the garden, but that can wait for another day. 

While I was outside, I noticed that there were still some lovely colours in the front garden. The Mahonia has been an absolute delight for many years and seems to shrug off the extremes of all weathers and the major pruning it gets fairly regularly from me. When it becomes too tall and ungainly, it gets cut to about 18"/45cm, and within a few weeks, it grows strongly again. This morning, I also spotted the bees enjoying the blooms and nectar. 

On the other side of the garden this pretty Hebe has been flowering with pretty lilac blooms. It too has been treated to the same pruning treatment as the Mahonia in the past. It is planted in a raised bed so the drainage is pretty good there. 

Another favourite plant at this time of year is the Callicarpa bodinieri (Beauty Bush). It is still a young plant but has survived this year's weather well. It has a long season of interest, with pretty tiny pink flowers and bronze purple young leaves in Summer and these wonderful purple berries in Autumn, which last well into Winter.

Incredibly, these plants are still flowering and fruiting their hearts out in mid-November, but I am thrilled that they are doing so.

As I look ahead to the coming week, the weather forecast is mostly dry days, which means I can get outside for a while. I also have some crafting to work on when daylight starts to fade. 

Whatever your plans are this week, enjoy x 

Remembrance Sunday 2023

 

Thank you to all who have given their lives in conflicts here and far away for the freedoms we enjoy today. 

Our thoughts are of you and your loved ones today as we remember. 

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Both D and I wanted to start today with the poppies as a reminder of all the good things we can enjoy because of the selfless sacrifices of others. 

One of the activities that D and I enjoyed together last weekend was the Baking and Christmas Craft show at the NEC Birmingham.

We spent all morning in the cake and baking parts of the shows, which were incredible. The detail on the cake decorating was unbelievable, and although we do enjoy dabbling in cake making, these cakes were art masterpieces. 

Whatever your thoughts are on royalty, this full-size decorated cake model of King Charles was jaw-dropping. 

We also enjoyed watching one of our favourite bakers, Jane Dunn, giving a demonstration of her Caramel Ginger cake. We were very inspired.

We bought a small kitchen chopper, which works by pulling on a cord to turn the blades around a central pivot quickly. I have already found out how sharp those blades are... ouch!!

After lunch, we made our way around all the fantastic Christmas stores full of gift ideas for the coming season. There was so much to see, and keeping those purse strings shut was difficult. However, while there, we picked up a few gifts for my son and his fiancée. 

D bought some jewellery-making kits to try her hand at in the coming months, and some lovely paints sorely tempted her. Maybe next year, she said!

I bought some bits and pieces for card making, especially for making cards for men, which is always tricky. I also purchased a lovely pattern for making a bag, which may stretch my sewing skills, but it will be fantastic if I can manage it. 

We both came away happy and with many ideas and inspiration to see us through until the next show.

Looking at the weather, it seems like this is a 'staying-in' week, so a few new projects may get started. Whatever your own plans are for the week ahead, D and I hope you enjoy them.

x

A Few Days In and Around York

Hello and welcome back to our small corner.

As it has been half term this week, we decided to go away to York for a few days.

After a lovely breakfast on Monday morning, we headed into York City Centre, where we visited Jorvik Viking Centre and Barley Hall, which we had pre-booked due to their popularity. 

We didn't know what to expect at the Viking exhibit but had heard good reviews about the place. The first part of the tour involved walking over a heavy-duty, glass-raised floor that revealed part of the original streets and paving found in the excavations. It was amazing to get up close to this Viking history, but I wouldn't say I liked walking on the transparent platforms. However, my hubby and D seemed to be okay. 

The central hub of the experience was a ride through a reconstruction of the town based on artefacts found on or near the site to give an authentic experience of what life could have been like in those times. It even felt more real by the ingenious use of animatronic figures that are so detailed and expressive that you might think they were real people! 

 

 

In the afternoon, we also visited Barley Hall, a reconstructed townhouse from the Middle Ages, which had been the residence of the Mayor of York. The site has had many uses and was used most recently as a plumbers' store. In the mid-1980s, the building was painstakingly returned to its former glory by the York Archaeological Trust—they reconstructed and decorated the building using the techniques used in the original construction. It demonstrates the skills and talents of 13th-century craft people.

There was also a Shakespearean exhibition with costumes worn by modern actors who have taken part in his plays on display.

 

 

There was then just enough time for a little retail therapy in the many lovely shops of the city. While there, we stumbled upon a very lovely Christmas shop, which had beautiful handcrafted decorations. It was hard not to buy lots of beautiful baubles and decorations while we were there.

 

 

On Tuesday, we visited Beningborough Hall, wBarley Hallith its impressive long driveway and walled gardens. However, we all felt that the ceilings were far too high in the house for the size of the rooms, which made them seem quite small. However, we enjoyed the gardens and yet another display of pumpkins.

 

Before the end of the day, there was still time for a little more shopping, where we found a jigsaw puzzle shop with the largest puzzle we have ever seen for sale. It was a Disney Ravensburger puzzle with over 40,000 pieces and measured 6.8m x 1.9m. That would not fit any of the walls in our house, let alone find floor space to put it together!

 

By Wednesday, it was time for us to start our journey home, but on the way, we found one more lovely place to visit: Brodsworth Hall, which is close to Doncaster. To start, we walked around some of the formal grounds, which the gardeners were laying out for next year's spring bedding. The topiary was impressive, and each garden section felt like an individual garden room. D thought the gardens were tranquil. B was very jealous that she couldn't see any weeds anyway.

The weather was also kind while we were outside.

Once inside, we were greeted by enthusiastic guides in every room, eager to tell us more about the house, the family and others who lived there. The original Georgian House was a short distance away, and when the new owner took over in 1861, he felt it was too big and decided to knock it down and rebuild it. Amazingly, the new house was built in 18 months by a young architect called Philip Wilkinson, and they reused many of the materials from the old building in the new construction.

 

When the English Heritage took over Brodsworth Hall, they decided to conserve rather than restore the House and everything in it. It was a wonderful time capsule of days gone by, and we could all feel that it had been a family home.

 

And then, on Friday, D and I went to the Creative Craft Show, Simply Christmas Show, and Cake and Bake International Shows at the NEC Birmingham—a very dangerous place for two baking and crafting girls to be. But we had a lot of fun and bought... a few things!! We will tell you more next week.

Have a good week, and stay safe, whatever your plans are.

B and D xx