Stormy Day On The Outer Hebrides

It is blowing a gale outside.  Although still dark you can hear the wind as it whistles and whips around our little cottage.  There are of course delays and cancellations forecast on the ferries.  The storm was anticipated so I prepared for it yesterday just in case the power went out.  Gerard brought extra wood and kindling in so we don't need to go to the wood shed.  The only reason we need to leave the warmth is to see to the chickens and take Mickey for a walk.  At the moment the winds are 75 to 80 mph.

Yesterday I made a warming chicken stew and dumplings. 

I have made enough to put some in the freezer, a easy meal already prepared for our return.

A mixed grain loaf of bread is already for today too, which will be nice with some soup that I have made for the next few days and the freezer.  Butternut squash and carrot and a pan of parsnip with a hint of nutmeg.

I have plenty of fruit which I have been incorporating into meals.  Yesterday we had salmon with orange and avocado pear and winter coleslaw it tantalised the taste buds.  The salmon was bought from the harbour in Stornoway and was a real treat.  It is easy to over indulge at this time of year but we are trying to be sensible as we know the family always spoil us with food.  

More chocolate spoons/stirrers have been made to take with us to Holland.  Hot chocolate to warm us up after we have explored the forest and the enchanting fairy tales of Efteling.

The toppings already to be added to the cocoa mix.

Another batch of soap was also made yesterday, this time a seasonal one to add to some put aside for a Charity event.

Cards and parcels have all now been posted.  All we have left to do is packing.  We can now sit back and enjoy some quality time catching up with each other and enjoying the season.  A little reading and watching films would be nice.  There are several craft fairs been held tomorrow, so we will try to get around a couple and then batten down the hatches and enjoy our cosy cottage.  Have you any plans for the weekend?

I will leave you with a little visitor to the front garden.

As always I thank you for your visit to my blog and your uplifting comments.  Have a wonderful weekend.

See you soon.

Life's Simple Little Pleasures

Woke up Saturday morning to a dull, overcast and very damp morning so we didn't bother to go to the car boot sale.  It dried up very quickly so we went out for a stroll to the church rummage sale instead.  There was a lot of clothes which were picked over very quickly.  There were also a lot of bargains to be had with bedding and linens but nothing appealed it was all too modern for my taste.  I did however come across a very nice craft bargain of alphabet stamps with ink, card stock and some beautiful papers for the bargain price of £1.25.

 

 

Perfect for cardmaking and scrapbooking.  I loved the Vintage style papers I already have a couple of pages worked out in my mind.

 

I also managed to pick up an old war postcard for £1, for some reason it spoke to me.

 

 

I also picked up a postcard of cotton reels which I thought might make a nice picture for the craft room for 10p.

 

 

A stop at the local co-op was well worth it as I managed to get some plums that had been reduced to 20p per punnet.

 

 

I very quickly made it into plum jam, its in the fridge all ready to go.  One jar already delivered to my parents for them to have on their breakfast toast.

 

 

 

I have also been busy making soups.  I made a carrot and sweet potato one with added onion, celery and red pepper to give it some flavour.

 

 

I have also made a Mediterranean vegetable soup consisting of tomatoes, peppers, onions, courgettes and basil, roasted in the oven, stock added and then blitzed.   The colour of it is a little off putting but it really does taste good.

 

 

 

There is a date and walnut loaf in the bread machine, yummy!  It doesn't take a lot to make us happy, life's simple little pleasures. 

 

See you soon.