We will remember them🌹

A post in two halves....

#remembranceday #werememberthem

 #theyshallnotgrowold 

#lestweforget #purplepoppy 

#warhorse #weservedtogether

Part 2

Following on from yesterday's photos of Moss wearing her purple poppy which, let's face it were not that good, I decided that I would try again - as we needed 'heroic' type images for the work dogs wearing their poppies with pride.  

So ..... I decided to try again at home. I fed her so that she would be happy and more likely to sit and stay. She does shuffle forward when she is being photographed which makes it a bit difficult when you are going for a specific look.

The plan would be that I would sit her down, focus on her then waft a dog biscuit about so that she would prick up her ears and look alert and focused......

Umm - well that was the plan. 

Please note the 'please can I have the biscuit' paw and the anticipating tongue!

Try again!

Almost there!

However the poppy doesn't show that well -

 

Try again!! - waft that biscuit...waft....waft...waft!

Chomp! 

Good poppy shot!

 .... erm not so sure about the dog..........

I probably deleted about half a dozen pictures before I gave up and decided to go with what I had....

The work dogs line up :-

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

#moreblogvember

Purple poppy puppa pictures

Where I work, one of our lovely volunteers has generously made crochet poppies for us to sell and raise funds for the The Royal British Legion and today she popped in to top up the basket with the final few she has made.

But joy of joys she has also made purple poppies to sell and she had kindly put one aside for Moss. So once I'd paid for it, Moss wore it with pride! (well - she didn't care but I was delighted!)

Two other 'staff' dogs have also 'bought' poppies and tomorrow we are going to do a purple poppy puppa line up - dog biscuit-bribes at the ready!  

'sit - stay - sit - SIT - SIT - STAY!!🐾😁💜

#moreblogvember

Chocolate cake

 Well....

Today was wet. My waterproofs are hanging up in the covered back yard dripping in unison, my boots are quietly steaming by the radiator in the kitchen and my gardening gloves are on the kitchen sink - think they may need a bit of a wash before I next use them. I feel damp and although I have changed, I still feel chilled but the job needed doing and could not be delayed any longer - three weeks of wet Tuesdays was getting beyond a joke.

Any hoo - cake - I need cake ... and a mug of tea. 

Talking of cake, yesterday's  chocolate cake recipe as promised. I'd mistakenly listed it as vegan but it is because it is an 'oil' cake completely forgetting it had eggs in it duh! I remember eating chocolate oil cakes in my childhood, however, I don't remember those cakes being as light and fluffy as this one.

As ever I have adapted an existing recipe - I'll put the link to the original and you can decide whether you want to stick with that or give mine a go.

Chocolate Cake

150ml sunflower oil
50gm cocoa powder - sieved
125ml boiling water
2 tsp vanilla extract
125g self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarb
pinch salt
200gm sugar
3 eggs

Juice of one lemon

Icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 170°c/  325°f/gas mark 3

Line/grease a 23cm/9" cake tin - I used a square brownie tin so the cooked cake could be cut into squares

• Add sieved cocoa power to your bowl, add boiling water and whisk until smooth, add vanilla extract - allow to cool
• In a second bowl combine flour, bicarb and salt
• In a third bowl (!!) vigorously whisk eggs, oil and sugar until creamy
• add this mix to the cooled cocoa bowl, mix well, then pour into the flour bowl
• Pour the resulting batter into the lined baking tin
• Cook for 40 - 45 minutes - use a skewer to test, the cake should be cooked but still soft and succulent
• Allow to cool before drizzling lemon glace icing across the top
• Scoff!

I iced it with a glace icing using lemon juice and icing sugar. The combination of the super lemony icing and the soft chocolate cake was - how can I emphasise it enough - a mouth watering experience - absolutely delish. 

And as I said before - I have never had such a light and airy cake before! Quick and easy to make, even quicker to eat. 

Hope you enjoy !

Original recipe is by Nigella Lawson and on the BBC Good Food website

#moreblogvember

#52newrecipes

** thanks to Mrs L - I have updated my waffle and taken out my mistake - thank you!

Time travel

 A day or two ago, whilst doing some valuable research (erm perusing Pinterest) I stumbled across a link (like you do) and followed it's enticing invitation which lead from one thing to another then suddenly I discovered I could time travel and had been missing in action for hours and hours and days and days (well - that last bit was a slight exaggeration) However, I did come across 'Simple Matters' by Erin Boyle.

I did a bit more research and found a second hand copy from a smaller independent book seller and promptly bought it. Which, as I was reminded, was a bit of a contradiction - purchasing a book on how to declutter - hmmm - may have to think on that conundrum. Any hoo, it landed today and I decided that I would curl up with a brew, the book and some knitting and quietly read away. The weather outside was doing it's best to be dreary and I really wanted to get on and knit.

So that is exactly what I did. Sort of.....

Because by page 20 I was up and in the bathroom going through the cabinet and sorting out the shelf of shampoos of doom (we have more than we need - I may have mentioned it before - there are spares of all shapes and sizes kept by both boys and their girls). I had not realised how many were half bottles of the same varieties, so they were all upended to reduce the quantity. Nearly finished tins of hair wax, old sponges and nearly empty shaving gel and deodorants (all the lads I hasten to add!) were sorted and thrown away, the shelves wiped and the few survivors returned trembling to stay another day.

While I was up there I changed the towels, chucked them in the wash and gave all the plants their weekly sauna (they all jump into the bath, have a shower then drain before being returned to their usual places). 

I came down to take out the now washed towels and decided on a quick brew and another glance at the book - I devoured several more chapters and found myself taking all the 'stuff' off the dresser and dumping it on the dining room table. The dresser was given a good clean and each..and..every..item was given a good looking at before being moved either back to the dresser or into the paper skip (why on earth do I still have a catalogue from a company I don't use?) or in the recycling, charity shop box or bin. It felt rather cathartic.

I noticed that the carpet where'd I'd been sorting things out needed vacuuming as snippety bits of paper and fluff had been produced by my over enthusiastic tidying up. 

By mid afternoon - I'd decided that I was ready to stop, it seems that I once again I had been time travelling! 

So I put on the kettle and rewarded myself with a few rows of knitting and a chunk of the softest fluffiest chocolate vegan cake. It is scrumptious and I shall share the recipe with you tomorrow - until then you can feast your eyes on this ....

And know that each mouthful of chocolate cake is laced with the sharpest drizzle of lemon icing and the contrast is mouth watering!

I shall now go and walk off the calories with Moss - until tomorrow!

#blogmorevember

Sunday rambles

Autumn can be fiery, filled with colours of reds and golds in magical contrast to an icy blue sky. When she is like that - the air feels charged and filled with a melancholy buoyancy - a heady mix of decay and beauty where frost sparkles on seed heads and the air has a metallic tang herelding winter.

However, she can also be sepia shades of sadness with limp damp foliage and leaden skies. The heavy greys of persistent rain alongside muted shades of mud and fallen leaves.

Here in the lea of the Pennines, we err on the side of damp dreary soft autumns with low cloud screening the sun and the sky. So when there is a day which seems to have escaped the doldrums we have to make the most of it and get out. 

We're so lucky to be able to step out of our house and stumble on to a path within moments and although we already knew that, it never seemed more important than ever during lockdown. Now, when we do a local from home walk - those feelings we had when our world shrank to our homes and immediate surroundings return in a flash, we were never more grateful for our pathways around the village. 

And I am still.

#moreblogvember

Today in bite size pieces

My day was one of gentle stories which filled my heart.

The first was the delight on the dog's face when she realised where she was. One of her favourite spots to walk and play. She chased leaves as they blew on the wind, she paddled in the super high tides as they flooded over the road, her joy was palpable.

The next small story was filled with the scent of autumn. The fallen leaves all smelt faintly of burnt toffee with traces of damp decay.  Against the grey sky the leaves and berries shone and on the buffeting winds I could feel rain mixed with salty spray.

I picked up a few leaves from the Acer Campestre - the field maple - which coated the pathway. They were soft and rain dampened - so no dry and rustling leaves to kick. After I'd taken my photograph I opened my fingers and let the wind carry them away. They lifted up and twirled about a bit then were caught by a strong gust and shot upwards eventually landing on the choppy waters.

I have always wanted to stop and 'talk' to this huge Willow tree every time I've walked by. However, it seems to be such a friendly fellow as it always have some one doing exactly that. Today's rough weather had chased away day trippers and fishermen so I finally got my chance. We sheltered beneath the huge branches as we donned waterproof trousers just in time as it began to rain in earnest shortly afterwards. I thanked the tree for his shelter and hoped I could pass the time of day with him again.

Sheltering back in the van after our walk, the rain hammering down, we were warm and dry and nursing mugs of tea while our cheese and tomato toasties sizzled and melted into the most welcome of lunches. 

My day was filled with so many gentle stories, all woven together, slipping into each other and making me very happy.

Hope your Saturday had moments of joy and gentle happiness which made you smile too xxxx

#moreblogvember

 

Not happy🐾🎆🎇✨

 Fireworks. 

No thanks - visually magical - so scary when you are a dog and don't understand.

So, she is wrapped in her own duvet, on her own large cushion and we have low lights and sounds to fill her space so that explosions, bangs and volleys are filtered and softened and less frightening.

Then, when there was a particularly loud and aggressive volley - the duvet was wrapped even tighter and a blanket used as a comforting weight was added.

And now she sleeps - fitfully but at least she is not as terrified as she was half an hour ago.

#moreblogvember

#fireworksarescary

'Ello 'ello 'ello wot's going on 'ere?!?

On the way home from work, tootling along the motorway at a rather sedate pace of 60 mph, I was over taken by a small black rocket .... well it was a small black car - however it was going so fast that I felt my car pull towards it in the rush of air filling the 'vacuum' behind the rocket car. 

Within moments there was 'beamer' (an undercover police car) screaming down behind it and although probably going as fast, it did not have the same wooshing effect however it certainly made my almost daydream driving wake up with a bit of a zing! Another minute or two when a second police car, this time a dog unit - flew by, but not quite as fast.

I still had about ten minutes of motorway driving until I arrived at the end of the road, went around the roundabout and turned off into the town. I was (as was the car both in front and behind me) almost hurled on to the side of the road as yet another police car screamed by. By now I was on super alert - watching both forward and back having been en route of something rather exciting and not really wanting to be any more 'involved' than I had already been.

I arrived at the next roundabout, turned off at the first exit where I could see a policeman rushing around with something in his arms - the traffic slowed down as there was obviously something happening - his car was abandoned up on the pavement with all it's lights flashing like Blackpool promenade. As I approached I realised what he was doing - he was about to set up a stinger - a trap to puncture tires of a moving car used to slow down a car trying to evade capture. It was at this point I realised that 'something big was going down'!

The line of cars going into town was quite slow, obviously everyone was being cautious as first a riot van then armed police flew by towards the stinger operation. I was glad to get home!

Then I heard the helicopter - I went outside and looked up and there was a police heat seeker helicopter hovering above my house - oh.

I went back inside and locked the door! Shot upstairs to the attic and opened the window and watched a full scale police search and capture unfolding in the fields in front of me! How exciting!

There were T-pac police cars (the cars used to trap escaping cars by boxing them in and pressing them into the side of the road), sniffer dogs and police running all over the hill side - and I had a ringside view from the attic window with a helicopter keeping me company as it circled and hovered above the village.

Once it had all quietened down, I checked our village fb page and found out that it had been a trio of drug dealers who'd stolen a car and tried to evade capture by bolting into the country side and into MY village - how very dare they!! But it was all in vain - they had their collar's felt and were banged up! woop woop!

After all that excitement - I had to sit down and have a mug of tea - aaaah that's better.

And today's photo? Three little 'Scandi-style' festive fir trees - part of our creative workshop today.

#moreblogvember

Knit knit knot not sleep!

Knitting.

Knitting to sooth the savage beast - well - my over-thinking brain. It is whirling around, writing lists and ticking items off and adding more. 

I sometimes think that my brain and I are independent beings which share the same body - me!

Let me explain. Last night I went to bed very tired, so fell asleep really easily and very deeply.  Until I was woken by a persistent chatter..... a little busy bee voice was cheerfully listing all the jobs I had to do for today. I tried to ignore it and go back to my nice warm snuggly sleep when .....

Have you remembered the pot of paint? the white paint? have you have you?

What about the guillotine - bet you will forget that one ha!

The black fabric?

The radio?

your paintbrushes?

and what about the festive CDs????

At this point, I was fully awake and wondering what on earth was happening - then I realised ... my brain was cheerfully prepping for today's workshop and making sure that everything was shipshape ..... at 2.30am in the morning. Eventually I got up and made a mug of tea and let the my brain prattle on until it ran out of steam and I fell back into bed absolutely knackered!

So, today, at work, I felt a little brittle, a little tired with scratchy sandpaper eyes, but don't worry, my brain was fast asleep.🙄

However I did remember to pick up the paint, the black fabric, the radio and paintbrushes. The CDs I chose to leave behind and what about the guillotine??

Yes dear brain you were correct I did forget ......

So, I am knitting - and aaaahhh it is definitely soothing my soul (as is the mug of tea and the fire) bliss.

No brains were harmed in the making of this episode of my blog, although I did think rather evil thoughts about it last night😄😄

#moreblogvember (is that a thing? haha it seems so now!)

Anyone seen the weather report?

Well.

That was wet. 

AND windy.

AND WILD!

Let me set the scene. I'd managed to avoid the showers in the morning while I gardened my first session. I foolishly took Moss (first and last time) who thought being in a new-to-her garden was brilliant! Thank goodness the owner is away and I was able to hurl curses and obscenities at the increasingly giddy dog, who was so happy her tongue was hanging out sideways, flapping against her cheek as she played (argh!)

We came home and I flumphffed down into the settee to recover with a mug of tea and my lunch while I checked the weather report. There seemed to be a large line of cloud bearing down towards the village. I hoped the rain would pass before I had to start in the afternoon garden. No sooner wished for, when it started to rain - heavily.

However, it was a short sharp shower and by the time I started my afternoon garden the sky was blue and despite it feeling chilly and damp - all was good. 

This afternoon's plan of attack was to continue removing metres and metres of clematis vines out of a hawthorn tree. We'd started last week and removed all the lower entanglement - this time we would need ladders and long billhooks and loppers to reach the upper most level.

I say 'we' as it was myself and the lady who's garden I was working in. We each shinned up a ladder - she then climbed into the tree and I stood on top of a dry stone wall. For those who are not too sure what a 'dry stone' wall is - it is the traditional way of making farm boundaries using local stone. Carefully piled up on to each other, the stones 'lock' together by their shape and weight - there is no mortar or anything holding them together apart from time and gravity. 

The wall I was on today was about six foot tall - so I carefully positioned myself as squarely as possible on the top stones then we began to yank and pull what felt like a never ending rope of vines and leaves.

Then the wind picked up followed shortly by a sudden icy heavy shower - we bowed our heads and held our ground - the weather was too wild for us to move so we stayed put and held on to the tree. As suddenly as it arrived - it rushed off down the valley. We were dripping wet and laughing at the suddenness of the rain.

We continued tugging and clearing - still carefully balancing on the wall or in the tree when a couple of dog walkers stopped for a chat as the bumbled by, then on their return journey about 20 minutes later stopped to continue the conversation.

Then the rain returned.

With vengeance! It sent the dog walkers scurrying off home as quickly as they could and even we could see that waiting it out was not going to be an option. So as carefully (and quickly) as we could, we climbed down off the wall and out of the tree and sprinted across the garden and into the kitchen.

The garden owner quickly shed her waterproofs and stuck on the kettle and produced biscuits while I towelled off Moss and got out of my waterproofs. I was very grateful her floor was tiles as both the dog and I left pools of leaf and twig filled rain water where we were standing!

Two mugs of tea, biscuits and a natter about varieties of ornamental crab apples later, we tentatively returned outside - saw the sky and the time and decided to call it a day.  After quick tidy up, Moss and I jumped in the car and came home.

Now, out of my damp workwear, dog fed and I have a fresh hot brew - I am glad I am home and despite the weather -  rather enjoyed working today.

I suppose that is the 'joy' of gardening - living the weather whether it is in a lovely ornamental garden in a village or a wild moorland garden high up on the side of a hill!

And #blogtober2021 seems to have morphed in to 'Moreblogvember' - long may it last! 😄

In the naughty basket

I want to finish this by December - hopefully sooner, but hey - it has only taken four years (yeah I know.....). However if I take into account the three complete froggings, lost pattern,  replacement pattern and a stint in the naughty WIP basket then may be four years is about right.

So.... any bets? 

Will I finish it this time?

Will I finish it full stop?

 (gah - I really hope so)

And coz I know you will ask -

Wool - Isle of Auskerry in Slate  (still smells of sheep - yum!)

Pattern - well, the original pattern was lost in the ether, however, the current is 'Dan' From Berroco via Ravelry

Recipient - Himself

#knitting #isleofauskerrywool