Christmas In July

We are certainly not getting the weather that you would expect to be getting in July.  There has been a lot of wind around and rain which is a little disappointing.  What this does mean of course is that we are not getting out and about as much as we would hope.  We have succumbed to the lure of Christmas in July...it was a great temptation and it didn't take a lot of persuading.   I love it!  We have many lists and are ticking them off slowly whilst watching Christmas movies on movies 24 channel.  What fun.  Gift bags have been made with enormous tassels that have been put together with fabric, lace, ribbon and added embellishments such as bells and charms.

Beads and coil less safety pins add to the glamour of these wonderful additions.  To add to the pleasure a few buttons, a favourite pastime of mine sorting through my enormous collection of buttons.  The tassels soon became addictive and I also made one for my bible choosing the blue and green hues to match its cover.

I have also had some fun with oil ready for the Winter store cupboard.  This time an oil infused with citrus fruit, lemon, lime and mandarin.  The beautiful colour of the peel making it look very appealing, I hope it is as good as it looks.

The fruits didn't go to waste, very little goes to waste in my kitchen.  A citrus fruit cake was made and I can testify that it is indeed very tasty.  A drizzle and some peel added texture and taste.

I have also added another bottle of chive vinegar and some mixed herb oil to the store.

We are starting to harvest from the garden which brings us great pleasure, rocket and a variety of salad leaves are a daily occurrence and are so tasty.  More and more of the herbs are been picked and dried, so we feel good. 

Finally I had a package delivered on Friday which contained a book from Marilyn Moseley Through Love's Eyes.  I was delighted to receive it and will give you a proper review on my next post.  We have also just received our shielding letter, so plans are afoot for us to travel to see family in August.  I am hoping and praying that the guidelines remain positive so that we are able to do this.  It makes my heart sing knowing that I will be able to see them soon.

Take care wherever you are in the world and stay safe.  As always I thank you for your visit here to my blog and your comments.

See you soon.

Sweet Treats

I am a little behind with blogging at the moment, but I am slowing getting around to visit you all.  Nothing wrong, just life seems to be taking over.  Although Gerard has been having some nasty side effects from some drugs he takes.  He has now under the consultants advice stopped taking one of his RA injections and consequently is having a flare up.  Rest and healthy eating is the order of the day.  In fairness we do eat healthily most of the time.  We do have a tendency to have treats when we have visitors and we have had several visitors of the weekend.  Homemade desserts are the best, yum!

We have an abundance of eggs at the moment so I made meringue, so that I could add strawberries and fresh whipped cream to make eton mess.

I also made a strawberry tart with a homemade custard base, using more eggs.

Topping it off with a strawberry flavoured jelly.

Finally an orange cake topped off with butter cream icing and jellied orange.  The perfect addition for afternoon tea.

I have started to use the liners for my baking, so much easier than greasing baking trays.  I am all for an easy life these days.  I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend jam making and replenishing the empty glass bottles with basil oil.  Apricots were cheap in the supermarket this week and I managed to get some yellow sticker strawberries, making the jam much more cost effective.

Already to be labelled up.  Finally the rain has stopped so I am ever hopeful that I may be able to get out in a few hours and mow the lawn.  I also intend to pick some more herbs ready for drying.  I have an abundance of mint which will be useful for mint sauce.  The roof on the outbuilding is almost finished so next we are going to replace the windows and get the door put back on.  Once the structure is sound we will be able to make plans for the interior and build the raised beds.  It is slow progress but we are thankful progress is being made.  What are you working on?

As always I thank you for your visit and your uplifting comments.

See you soon.