Food Festival Fun...

The food festival came to town again in the summer - our town plus free food is always a winning combination. Some interesting food and some interesting folk.

Goodbye to all that...

I'm reading Robert Graves autobiography, Goodbye To All That, having just finished The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. The latter was recommended by Helen, so I reserved it at the library, picked it up a few days later and finished it a few days after that. Rather lovely - I've returned it to the library already, tho' I wish I'd held on to it for a few more days just to reread some passages.

Goodbye to January - which has felt like the most drookit month ever. Nevertheless, photographic evidence suggests otherwise! On Tuesday I went for a walk with the local tree warden (who notifies the authorities of damaged trees, and asked if I'd help her make a photographic record of trees that might need a tree protection order put on them) and the sky was clearly blue.

Home again, where the light bounced off the onions in a green basin in the kitchen, and it was such a lovely afternoon I was even inspired to make a cake to use up the bananas which had been festering in a bowl for weeks...! I'll draw a veil over the numerous cobwebs suddenly highlighted by the sun slanting through the (absolutely filthy!) windows...

Later, as the light faded, I took some pictures of the apples on the wooden table - soft, muted colour.

Then there was the most amazing evening sky next day - like something by Maxfield Parrish!

On Friday, the week - and the month - drew to a close with a visit to the farmers' market for more colour in the shape of fresh vegetables, and to have lunch there with a couple of friends - always lovely! They were going away for the weekend and, with too much brie in the house, asked if I'd be interested....? Oh, yes! Even if it did make my bag and the fridge very stinky. Mr Drookit gave me quite the suspicious look when I opened the fridge, before I reminded him of what was in there...!

January, sick and tired, you've been hanging on me*...

January has been so wet. So much rain, and then the 'freak storm' or 'mini tornado' (depending on which version you read) that lasted only 10 minutes last Saturday - thunder and lightning, fierce winds, and hailstones! The wet weather, and how bored everyone is with it now, is even more of a topic of conversation at the moment. Pity the poor souls down in Somerset and Dorset who have been flooded out for a month now...

The market always struggles in wet or windy weather, and it was pretty much deserted the other week.

The high street was quiet on market day, with only a few hardy types scurrying damply from shop to shop.

But, a puddle on the lane declared its love - I 'heart' rain!

Down to the wildlife site, via the cemetery, and past some lovely crusted gravestones.

Noticed some lovely mushrooms on a damp log and, elsewhere, there was a bit of pond sorting. You might think that the amount of rain we've had would mean the pond would be full to the brim, but there are splits in the liner, and it needs to be replaced. Meanwhile, George of the jungle has tried to make a little bit more space for amphibians by clearing out some of the weeds.

With yet more rain it was time to make hearty veggie stews, huddle in front of the fire, and enjoy some cookies made by our junior chef next door. No great hardship!

* 'January' by Pilot

Highs and lows...

One of those weekends when we're reminded why we are so happy to be living here, even if mice love living here too...

On Friday, some friends went to a comedy gig at the theatre, and a few of us met them afterwards for drinks in the theatre bar. Lovely to be out with some great women, for silly conversation and a catch up - something I should definitely do more often.

Saturday turned out to be a kitchen and shed day, with me making some bread, and a banana cake to use up the bananas that had been kicking about for just too long, and Mr Drookit out in the shed sorting out the devastation caused by dratted mice! Our stored apples and pears, and a dust sheet left over from decorating had obviously caused the local mouse population to think they were in heaven... A lovely toasty house and a buffet of delicious fruit right there, and no giant humans coming in to tell them to get lost - what's not to love?

So, the pears are no more, and lots of apples have gone. The dust sheet (a really good, thick one) is in the bin, having been chewed to bits, and used as a communal loo... bleugh! Hopefully they won't come back, but we'll just have to get out there more often and check, and hopefully scare them off. It makes me even more determined to build a better shed one of these days, with a brick base so that no pesky little creatures can get in...grrrrrr. Perhaps I should stop shooing the cats out of the garden (to protect the birds) and let them go and sleep in the shed to ward off the mice... Still, all the outdoor and indoor activity was followed by a lovely evening, curled up in front of the fire, eating Mr Drookit's home-made veggie stew with my bread, followed by banana cake. Simple pleasures!

This cat always miaows a hello as we go past. Not sure it appreciated having its picture taken! Rude! 

We headed out on Sunday to buy some coffee and bits and bobs, and went past St Peter's church - only to see that the doors were open, because it was 'clean-up' day, when volunteers come in wielding dusters and mops to do a spot of house-keeping! Off I went to do the shopping, whilst Mr Drookit went in to lend a hand. Of course, I had to go in and help out when I got back. Only one minor embarrassment when I didn't notice one section of the floor had been newly waxed and I ended up flat on my back! No harm done (except to my pride, of course) thanks to my bulky winter coat, bulky bag on my back, and general, natural, bulkiness... I got up, dusted myself down, and finally got on with dusting around the building once everyone had stopped asking if I was okay! Amazing how much dust and dirt accumulates - one junior volunteer showed me her dustpan with a couple of manky old Brussels sprouts she'd found in one corner, no doubt left over from the farmers' market.

Only the bit at the very end had been done when I slipped - even I would have noticed if it had all been this shiny!

The old place looked very lovely with the sun light streaming in through the windows - a job well done, I think.

Home again, and while I typed up my blog post, Mr Drookit did some piano practice - which always makes me happy. Then, drawing the curtains, and settling down with more homemade stew and homemade bread, was followed by an evening curled up in front of the fire - both of us saying how lucky we are to be just where we are. Bliss. x

Fairweather friends...

We have a couple of friends we visit, but usually only when the weather is clement... It just has to be dry, and not too cold, for us to visit them on the bike, otherwise they come to us by car. This time it was damp, and very cold, so they came to us, and we headed out to Boxford to find somewhere for a pub lunch.

We visited Boxford for their open gardens event last year. In comparison to then, when it was filled with little groups of people wandering up and down merrily ticking off one garden after another, it felt deserted - perhaps everyone had gone away for the weekend! We went to the Fleece, which was packed out during the open gardens. This time we had one of their rooms all to ourselves for a while.

It was originally a 15thC coaching inn and, although it was renovated a couple of years ago, it still retains its old wooden panels, and beams, and so forth. The light slanting low through the windows made for some atmospheric shots.

A really delicious lunch - I felt a little envious as three (non-veggie) meals were brought out for the others. My vegetarian choice of brie and roasted vegetables on ciabatta didn't sound hugely promising, being 'just a sandwich', but Mr Drookit agreed that it was even better than his!

We only had a quick walk round the village - it was bitterly cold - and headed home as the clouds gathered again.

December already...

Time just seems to be flying past at the moment, and with the promise of 'stuff that must be done' looming (buying, tidying, making, etc) it feels as if the clocks are speeding up even more... Outside, the leaves are still looking gorgeous but the berries are starting to take over as the 'colour interest'.

Indoors, we still have pumpkins dotted around the house, waiting patiently for me to either get on and paint them or just put them out of their misery.

Off to St Peter's the other day for another vintage fair organised by Juniper Flowers, and then to my favourite shop in town, AG Lifestyle, which I'd happily move into.

AG Lifestyle is just across from Waitrose, and five minutes stroll to the train station, so it would make an ideal home... but for the lack of a bed, and pesky customers trying to buy everything when you're trying to have a quiet cup of tea and a custard cream.

I received this postcard from my sister-in-law and niece, from an exhibition of Frida Kahlo's work at the Musée d'Orsay. Beautiful painting - I like the stylisation of Kahlo's work very much and this painting demonstrates that particularly well. Inspiring. My lovely niece is coming to stay tomorrow, so I will make sure she tells me every detail of the exhibition!

 

Okay doke, off to start a veggie stew/soup/something or other, with all the lovely veg* bought at the farmers' market the other day, before Mr Drookit gets home from his bike ride.

 

*Romanesco cauliflower looked particularly lovely - not sure yet what to do with it, but I'm sure it will be interesting!

Whatever the weather...

There are still flowers in the garden, and bugs aplenty like this Green Shield bug, and the rather scarier looking one below it. When I picked the last of the tomatoes and got rid of the plants, I discovered a moth of some kind amongst the debris.

A rescued plant has bloomed... Just the one flower, and I found this poor bee on its last legs resting, retiring, and eventually expiring on it.

My next door neighbour turned up with a bag of walnuts, fresh from her friends' garden. Not sure yet what to do with them - C doesn't particularly like them and I generally only have them when they're on top of a Walnut Whip (so, not very often at all these days). I will have to do something special with them, tho' - can't waste them!

On Friday I headed off to the wildlife site - it was a misty morning, and every cobweb was covered in dew, highlighting them amidst the greenery. Trees were festooned with them and unexpected corners sparkled with them. I spent almost three hours pulling 'weeds' (that is, one particular foreign import that had taken over and was covering up lots of different sorts of native 'weeds'...) and really should have taken before and after pictures. Very satisfying!

Saturday was apple pressing day. The Transition team set up a stall in town and invited everyone to bring their apples to be chopped, scrunched and pressed into apple juice. A non-stop queue, and a lot of interest from passers-by -  I wonder if it will be even busier next year?

The apple press gave up the ghost after three hours non-stop use, and the last chap to come along had to abandon his bucket of chopped up apples, which was such a shame! The local press (as opposed to the apple press) obviously relished an opportunity to use the punniest of headlines...  Groan...!