Preparing for the Festive Season

Winter has definitely hit us now. Leaves are almost shed. The ones that desperately cling to the trees are the most beautiful shades of yellows, browns and oranges. The rest form a sad, damp multi colour carpet beneath the bare branches. The weather is damp and grey. Rain rain and rain is the predominate pattern at the moment. The sun has been unable to penetrate the heavy layers of cloud and mist except for the briefest of periods.

Waking through the Queensgate mall this week I have been following the progress of the arrival of the Christmas decoration.

They arrive section by section overnight. I'm quite impressed this year. They are looking really festive and beautiful. Lots of bright reds and gold to cheer the soul in this 'Credit Crunch' consumer depression. Obviously designed to cheer the customer up and encourager them to spend. This is a real festive improvement from last years understated dismal decorations

Apparently the 20 ft Christmas tree arrived in Cathedral Square this morning. I haven't seen it yet, but if the street decorations are as good as the Mall ones then the City is in for a cheerful sight to lighten the mood of the shoppers. I believe the grand switch on ceremony is due to take place sometime next week.

Remember Remember

I loved firework and bonfire night when I was a kid. Our little back garden displays were always presided over my my Dad and we were always made to stand well away from the bonfire and fireworks. They were never very big affairs as we never had enough money to squander on big displays. A couple of very modest rockets a Cathrine wheel several fire crackers and the best of all, sparklers.

Later when I was an 18 year old student nurse I helped to nurse a young 12 year old lad with severe burns from having a firework in his pocket. I never forgot the screams of that little lad as we lowered him into a saline bath each day as part of his treatment. His burns were pretty horrendous and the treatment over 40 years ago was very basic. I often wondered what happened to him.

The results of that experience was my reluctance to allow my own children fireworks parties at home. I didn't mind taking them to organised displays but fireworks at home were never encouraged.

Not long after we came to live in Peterborough the Firework Fiesta began. The first one was held on the Showground and was a great success until the time came to leave. A mass of people attempting to leave the Showground all at the same time was a scary position to be in especially as I really don't like to be in a crowd. Keeping hold of three small children in a crush was no mean feat. After that they went to a much smaller local display for some years.

For 20 years now we have lived just a stones throw from where the Fire work Fiesta is now held but I haven't been once. Each year the family comes to us to park their cars and walk across to the display. While they are away I prepare food for them to come back to between straying into the garden to oooh and aaaah over the fire works lighting up the sky.

Caity ready for the weather!

This year we had two new additions to the family at their first firework expirence. Our Great grand daughter Caitlyn and my nieces little son Joshua. What a awful initiation to the expirence it was. Just as the great bonfire was due to be light the heavens opened and it rained nonstop for the rest of the evening. The little ones were propably the lucky ones tucked up in their buggies behind rain sheilds. The grown ups got soaked to the skin

A Shepards Warning

OK I'm back....... Haven't felt much like 'blogging' over the last few weeks........... I promise to make an effort to keep it up to date from now on!
This slightly fuzzy scarlet sun rise was taken on my phone camera. 'Red Sky in The Morning, Shepards Warning'. Well that's what I was always told in the dim and distant past when I was a kid.

Old wives tale or not the weather has taken on a sudden cold snap. The Weather Forcasters frost warnings galvanised me to sort out the frost tender plants in the garden. The geraniums have been rescued and put to over winter in the conservatory and other tender plants moved to shelter.

Sure enough the night temperatures plumeted to -2 to -4. My poor fushias were flowering their soxs off. Now they just look sad with dying foliage and shriveled flowers. Ready to be pruned on the next day I can get out into the garden. The camelia behind them has begun to develope it's buds ready for spring flowering. It's a cheerful pink. Lovely to brighten the post winter days. Although frost and cold winds will make it look really sad. Still it's worth it for the years it suvives and blooms in abundance.
The grape vine is still clinging onto a few leaves. All the bunches of rather small grapes have been picked and it's now had it's winter pruning. It was a very poor season for the grapes this year. So wet and not enough sun. It's been growing on my south facing garage wall now for several years. It grows well but never fruits in abundance. It's a cutting from a cutting from Henry the eighths grape vine in Hampton Court. It's grandparent is a hugh vine over 500 years old. I believe!

The fires now been lit in the lounge. Some night it's so warm in there we have to open all the doors to spread the heat around the house. The log store has been opened up and tided up ready for a new delivery.

The garden pots near the front have been tidied. Summer bedding removed and composted. These cheerful cyclamen planted to give some cheerful colour in the grey days ahead.

A Workshop Par Excellence

Hi, to all you out there. It's a little while since I last posted on this blog. I'm afraid personal stuff has kept me so busy. Some really exciting news though, we're off back to Canada and for Christmas as well. We've never had Christmas away from family before. Ever. Well nothing stays the same forever and I think we need a change. Tickets are book and paid for so no changing of minds now. I'm having trouble though, finding a suitable Insurance policy that isn't going to cost the earth though. They get more difficult to find as you get older and various 'senior' ailments set in! I've discovered we're going to need individual policies this time as his 'lordship' is 65 and I'm going to stay longer than him! More complications. I've also decided to resurrect the Canadian adventure blog for our trip but will give it another suitable name.Watch this space..................

Anyway back to more recent matters. A few weeks ago I was browsing the wool department of our John Lewis store and asking questions from an assistant. She told me about a series of knitting workshops they were going to hold. She made them sound very tempting. Politely declining I went off to continue shopping. Before I got out of the department I suddenly thought 'why not' so I returned and book one up. The workshop was for 'Funky Fair'isle Mitts.' Your wool, lunch plus a discount voucher for 10% off Rowan Wools was all included. Bargain!

The day arrived (yesterday) and after a shortened daily swim I parked at No 2's sons home and walked into town. At John Lewis's haberdashery department very nice young man escorted me to the large room on the fourth floor where the workshop was to be held. The mittens above were an example of what we were aiming for.

This basket contained some samples for fair'isle patterns and some of the really lovely pattern books were looked over before we settled to start our sampler piece. We started knitting as the coffee and biscuits arrived. Later in the morning lunch, buffet style was delivered to us and was absolutely delicious and so tasty and really well presented.

After lunch we left our samplers of fair'isle and started on the mitts. These wools were a sample of the selection of the lovely Rowan Felted Tweed wools we could choose to knit with.
Afternoon tea arrived at about 3pm along with a plate of homemade shortbread, mmmm......... delicious and the tea was very welcome by that time.

I think our excellent tutor for the day, Margaret Reid, deserved a round of applause.

The workshop was due to end at 4pm but ran on as we were so engrossed with our knitting. Thank goodness I had put a meal in the slow cooker before I left in the morning as I was absolutly exhusted by the time I got home.

I couldn't resist adding a picture of this yummy lime cheese cake we had for dessert at lunch. There was also a fresh fruit salad but who could not resist this calorie loaded delight?

Sorry not me!

Oh and I'll certainly be booking other workshops at this store and maybe I'll go along to their Knit and Natter sessions in the resturant on the second Thursdays of the month.

It's A Funny Old Year

Is it August or is it Autumn? the seasons seem unsure. I went out to post a letter this afternoon and decided to carry on and walk through the woods before I went home. We have some lovely walks around our home but I must admit we don't go out and enjoy them as much as we ought to.

The first thing I notices was the rowan berries already ripe at the top of the Rowan trees. It doesn't seem to be a year for heavy fruit crops.

Along the pavement edge are some young Oak trees and I couldn't help noticing these strange shapes clustered among the leaves. Intrigued as I have never seen this deformity before and knowing quite a few of our indigenous trees are succumbing to disease I searched for the answer on the 'Net'.

Apparently its called Knopper Gall, and is cause by the tiny gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis. It can affect a high proportion of acorns in one year, and almost none the next. Apparently it is unlikely that it will pose any threat to the future of the oak, since most acorns are destined to be food for something rather than turning into trees. I hope it won't harm the squirrels! Further along the walk some of the older Oaks in the ancient tree belt are thankfully unaffected.

The Sloe bushes are looking distinctly poorly this year as well. The leaves are very small and shriveled. The cause is definitely not through lack of water we've had more than enough rain this year. The fruits are ripening but are very sparse. These bushes are usually loaded with fruits.

In the middle of August, these Hornbeam trees which were very late leafing up this spring are looking very stressed and have shed all these leaves prematurely. The path is looking like Autumn not August.

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain

How does that Nursery rhyme go?

Doctor Foster went to Gloster

in a shower of rain.

He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle

and never went there again.

Is my skin colour a tan from open air swimming in the meager ration of sun we're getting or rust from all the rain we're having? Could be either!

I was manhandling a 15kg sack of dog food into the back of my car this afternoon when I stepped into a puddle only it wasn't a puddle it was an ankle deep water filled pothole in the car park. If the air wasn't already dark from the storm clouds my expletives would have turned it dark!Luckily I had a ppair of 'Crocks' post sandals on so the dirty gritty water drained straight out. Driving with wet trousers flapping about a cold wet foot wasn't too pleasant but it all dried out fairly quickly with the cars heater on full blast.

White Lady

My beans are doing really well this year. I slashed out on a new packet and a different variety. They're called 'White Lady'. Last years beans were so slow to grow that we hardly managed to picked any before we flew off to Canada so by the time we returned they were well and truly over.

I started them off in plastic beer glasses I'd bought some years ago for a party. They were just the right size to grow the beans from scratch. I could then plant them out when they had reached a descent size without disturbing the roots. Beans dislike they're root being messed with! Because they were a healthy size before I planted them outside I fool the slugs and snails as they prefer the newly emerging shoots. We still had to mount a few 11pm snail hunts especially when it rained. I guess the hedgehogs and birds had quite a feast on the unfortunate snails that got lobed over the fence.

Once planted in the bean patch they quickly found the bamboo supports and twisted themselves up towards the sun.

Unlike the usual bean varieties I normally grow these have white flowers hence their name - White Lady. They're also a stringless variety. The flowers have been prolific and the bees love them so we have plenty of fruits.

These were the very first I picked and very good they were, sliced and steamed with roast lamb and new potatoes, yummy. Dave just loves these veg and cant get enough of them. The crop is so good this year I'll have plenty to freeze for the winter months.

I don't think they would win any prizes in a village or allotment show. These beans have attitude! I wonder if there is a class for bendy beans!