Llandovery part1.

Our walking took us on an adventure all the way to Wales.
Wales has been in my heart since my early 20's but became a good deal more special after reading 'My Small Country Living' by Jeanine McMullen. My dear friend BB from Codlinsandcream sent me the first two books in the series and I fell instantly in love with Jeanine's writing and description of her chaotic life. Her animals featured largely in her tales and despite swearing that I would never own a goat, I ended up buying two! Sadly my divorce meant that I couldn't keep the goats and they are now living at the Butser Ancient Farm in Chalton.  But I digress!
We booked on a whim and found the Kings Head in Llandovery had a vacancy for dates we wanted.  What a surprise awaited us. The little town square was so sweet and charming. Our Inn is just visible in the left of the photo behind the fountain, a little white building with a low hanging roof.

 We walked back and forth and up and down twisty corridors to find our room. It was a bit like the Inn in Harry Potter (In Diagon Alley)!

Finally, at the very top was our room.

This was at the top of the fire escape which was a quicker way in and out, but we still got lost!

From our window, the town was just sooo pretty.

 

We fell in love with the little lanes and there were plenty of shops selling antiques and bits and pieces.
The weather was perfect and we could have been sat in any little European town abroad. We got quite sunburnt too!

After coffee we hiked across the hills to visit BB in her beautiful farmhouse. First of course I had to have a play in the river that she so frequently posts on her own blog.  We were a little late arriving and she instantly guessed that I'd been in the river!

Ooops! Evidence that she knows me so well :D

The we had the most amazing sponge that was every bit as delicious as it looks :D

Then it was back to our rooms for another gorgeous meal. The following day we went on a bit of a pilgrimage, but that's for the next post.

Shawls and a challenge.

This is an old post from my other blog, which I closed as it no longer reflects me and who I am. The Holistic Home was about cherishing and nourishing our home, but as I've realised (finally) home is where the heart is and my heart is in the woods and along the shores.  My real, solid home will be changing in the months to come, so I feel more like a wandering gypsy until I once more put down solid roots.

Back to the old post. It's about wool :D

'So is there anyone left out there who hasn't been taken over by the Outlander obsession?  I was late coming to the series as I hadn't enjoyed the books as much as many of Diana Gabaldon's fans, but one evening, I was browsing my 'Prime' options and decided to give it a go.

The acting is good, the scenery stunning, but the costumes are the show stealers, especially the knitwear!  I'm not a great knitter, I've admitted before, but suddenly I had the drive to sit down and get out the needles.

I couldn't find a suitable pattern for Claire's wrist warmers, so I made one up, why not???  I've already finished one and the next is halfway, so I'll post pictures and the very simple pattern soon.

Meanwhile, my attempts at Fractal Spinning have produced this!  I would have liked more orange and brown combinations, but it's fairly pleasing and may end up as another pair of simple wrist warmers!  The wool was dyed with food colouring, so I'm testing it to see how colour fast it is.  Apparently the shades fade over time and some of the blends have already lost their brightness.

Now I have two large fleeces to finish processing, as moths got into my stash and I've had to be brutal and throw a lot of it away.  I have my lovely Manx Loughton and Romney fleeces left and that's all!!!  However, I have heard whisper of a black Shetland fleece going for free, so that could be mine soon. '

Now for the challenge:  Lets make a Claire Fraser shawl.

I found this pattern for it as a free Ravelry download and thought it might be fun to have a knit-along and share our pictures. Feel free to share this post and invite as many blog friends as you can. Maybe some bloggers have already made the shawl above. It would be great to see those too as it might keep me going when my needles start to slow down!

So here's what I suggest. If you want to join in, add your name in the comments and then each week post photos of your progress, then we can all visit each other and be inspired.

  My latest shawl is really a very wide scarf and as you can see, I've had to fill in with a different wool as it turned out I only had one ball and not the three that I thought I had! I think the wool faeries have pinched it!

I have some links to other patterns that I'll be trying, but for now, I think I ought to go to school as the children may notice I'm not there :D

Absent.

I've been walking my way through the Summer holidays and now it's back to school time. I have so many pictures to share and I still have so much to do here in the house. That's the problem with having so many adventures, finding the time to write about it all comes second.  I will be back later :D

Glastonbury!

Tomorrow we're off to Glastonbury SQUEEEEEE!!!!  Am I a little excited? You betcha! I usually go every year, but didn't make it last year and now I get to share it with someone very special <3

A different perspective.

This is one of our usual walks along the coast to our favourite little Inn by the harbour. However, I'm sure you don't want to see the same photos on different days with high tide or low! So, here we are at a little spot that I normally overlook as the wooden posts are usually submerged.

The water was at just the right depth to give an eerie impression of what I can only assume is a collapsed jetty. The posts have clearly been here a very long time.

Wally loved diving in and posing for me.

It helps that he's so photogenic :D

Manchee doesn't really like to get too wet, especially when the wind is blowing and we're dodging rain showers.

The water was so clear and clean and of course, Walley had to photobomb!

Proof that Manchee does sometimes get his feet wet :D

On the other side of the coastal path is a fresh water river that runs into the sea. There were so many lovely birds here that I was actually photographing some herons and a littel Egret when this family of swans decided to join us. I adore baby swans <3

Back home the bread quest continues. I made a much wetter dough for this batch and it paid off.

Can you see the open holes in the middle of the bread? This is caused by the water evaporating during baking, giving a much lighter crumb. Of course, it's not so easy to knead a wet dough, so I didn't! I did as little as I could get away with and the results are worth it. I just have to get the crust to be more crunchy. Having a steamy oven isn't enough it would seem.

The bread needs to be eaten within a day or so which is when it's best, but that's not a problem as my young people barely left any for me :D

Where I sit and knit.

Here, in my favourite chair in my favourite corner I sit and knit. My paintings are the only distraction in the quietest room in the house. I have no TV or radio, just the patio door open and the sounds from the garden, which are usually peaceful.

Manchee loves to sit with me and look out from the cool doorway. More often than not, he sleeps here with one of the cats, unless of course they claim the bed first and then he just sulks!

This corner of the garden is the shadiest and has long been neglected as it was fenced off from the patio to keep Manchee in. Now that I've blocked all of his escape routes, it's safe to open it up and be creative. I'd like to plant some ferns and shady plants here. At the bottom of the picture you can see some strawberry plants that have self sown in the paving! Just about anything is welcome in my garden if it has a will to survive :D

I've also discovered a new way of preserving my fruit. Bottling in vodka is so much easier than jam making, but I expect I'll still make some jam this year as vodka fruit isn't so good for breakfast!!!

Edited to add: Ooops! I'm barely  begun on my latest shawl and I've just ordered two more shawl patterns!!! I'm possibly obsessed ;)

What to do on hot summer days.

After the hectic clearing up at the end of term, I took a couple of days to rest. This of course means to get out and walk :D

It's cool in the shade of the trees

while out in the fields the crops ripen and a silly dog runs up and down hunting for mice, or just running for the fun of it :D

Cow parsley, so beautiful that I may have to include some in a painting.

Deep inside the trees, the light was just so magical, I had to stay a while and let Manchee do his own thing while I dreamed.

This sentinal tree is on the return route, it's one of my favourites and I often take a picture of it as I leave the woods. It would be good to arrange all my photos in order of the seasons and how this tree has changed over the years.

Fairy stepping stones or balconies for them to take the sun? :D

Sadly, a big piece of the trunk has fallen down and lies rotting, a home for many little insects now.

Back home, I tackled french bread.  The little rolls were to eat straight away but the loaves were for dinner.

I made a mediterranean fish stew/bake with sliced fennel, potatoes, garlic and fish.

Layered with mixed herbs, olive oil, butter, tomatoes and a healthy glug of wine,

topped with more potatoes and butter then baked for a couple of hours on a low heat.

While the fish sat in a warm oven I cranked the heat up in the main oven, put in a dish of boiling water to create steam and popped the bread on the top shelf to bake. The steam creates a crunch crust.
Someone had already started on the bread and stew before I could get pictures. This is what was left :D

I've been using various recipes for my bread, but at the moment, I'm loving this website  breadtopia.com  although there are a lot of great blogs about bread and French and Mediterranean cooking.

Ah well!

Well, that didn't go as planned!!!  Can you tell that I got fed up halfway through? The little loom was ok but the tension was hard to keep consistent and the wooden ends left big gaps in the weaving that had to be constantly sorted. I then ran out of the original wool and was loath to use too much of my lovely Romney. Time to call it a day and chalk it up to experience! I don't think I'm very patient for weaving!

However, I may be a slow knitter, but I'm very happy with how the shawl is coming along. Just a few rows every day and it might be finished in time for my holiday!

I should be in the garden!

It's just too hot to be outside for very long! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the heat at all, even if it is a little on the uncomfortable side! This is the kind of weather that suits Fibromyalgia, I'm definitely worse when it's damp and cold! In fact, I'm feeling the healthiest I have in quite a while. The walking is definitely helping and on days like today, I just want to get my knitting or weaving out.

This book is a constant source of inspiration and only cost a couple of £'s in a charity sale!

 The colours are amazing and I just love to browse and dream.

 This is my favourite picture, so restful.

 A very long time ago I started weaving this little scarf with my homespun wool. I got a little fed up with it because, as you can see, it's a child's loom that I was practising with. However, after thinking on the problem for some months, I think I have an idea of how to make it work better. It's worth a go at least :D

I may also have a go at making my own larger loom. I have so much wool spun, but I'm such a slow knitter that it takes away half the fun of making things!  I'm also going to dig out the peg loom and play with that :D

Is Summer here?

What better way is there to spend a scorching hot day? We went on our favourite coastal walk and the dogs had fun in the water as usual. This bridge reminds me so much of the style of Hayao Miyazaki, the artist best known for his work with Studio Ghibli. I could well imagine this bridge featuring in Totorro or Sprirted Away.

The dogs love trotting across it.

The water isn't exactly clean along the edges and when the tide goes out, the mud is really stinky. Of course, Walley loves to leap into mud or water!!!

At least they could clean off here, far nicer than sitting in the car with tummy turning, sulphur smelling dogs!

The heat has been great for my Elderflower champagne, which is still bubbling away after more than 5 weeks! I hope that means it'll be strong! Last years was but a little too sweet.

I have a lovely tangle of slow worms living under my front step. There are only three in this picture but there were more to start with. I assume they've moved on or are more shy! Their nest can't be that big now that they're growing so rapidly. They sleep under the doormat, so I've had to put a sign on it in case anyone should step on them!

 I've been baking bread lately, a lot of bread! A wholemeal loaf.

 a fruit bread,

a cob and a rustic wholemeal cob.  On the list to be made next is french bread. It can't be that difficult, can it?

Walking with the Moomin (aka my daughter)

I've used Moomin as a nickname for my daughter since she was tiny. Fae but gentle and kind, she seemed very 'Moomin-like' and the name stuck. However, now she's a young woman and the name is less fitting, but she tolerates it all the same.

We walked around an Ancient churchyard in search of inspiration for her Art exams.

The headstones are so varied and unnusual here. It's a place of rest for the Bonham-Carters, although we could only find a couple of headstones for them.  The metal ones below were extremely old and holding up better than some of the stones.

Moomin with her satchel and sketchbook.

I loved the skull and hourglass on this stone. The inscription was just too weathered to read, which was a great shame.

I lingered too long over family tombs that told tragic stories of families taken too young, sons killed in wars and mothers who died shortly after, from broken hearts maybe and I shed tears for people long dead and removed from the cares of this troubled world.

Often I find churchyards to be places of contemplation. A chance to remember how briefly we walk this earth and how little our daily woes really matter in the great tapestry of life. I just want to live well and be happy. It's a good place to start.