Rose Vintage

Gathering In

Pretty aren't they, it's just a shame that they don't taste so good! Well at least that's what I thought earlier this summer but then I roasted them with a sprinkle of sugar, some good olive oil and some basil leaves and 'voila' some really good tasting tomatoes! Don't you just love the shapes and colours? The kinda crinkly red one is Brandy Wine and the ones that look like lemons are called Banana Cream but I can't remember what the other yellow one is called! I glad I persevered to try and find a recipe that brought out their flavour, I hated the thought of all that watering and tending for absolutely nothing. Things do have to 'pay' their way in the veggie patch and there are some things that I won't be growing again next year. The butternut squashes, although a decent size, taste of nothing, just not enough sun!

Still if the sun continues to shine as it has done in the last few days I will try them again. Butternut squash soup is my absolute fave and I was so disappointed with the flavour even after roasting them!

This time for the first time I grew sweetpeas and I definitely will grow them again. I had beautifully scented fresh flowers for the house for most of the summer which was wonderful. I have collected some of the seed and will dry it to plant for next year. We erected a wigwam affair in the veggie plot and grew them there. It got rather taken over by the squashes so you are not seeing it at its best!

Earlier this month my embroidery group met for 3 days in succession, what a treat! From doing very little sewing to 3 whole days, absolute bliss! I came home everyday feeling calm and refreshed and dying to get on with my sewing projects!

This is my Victorian patchwork which is taking ages but is very enjoyable.  The little rose spray above is in ribbonwork, one of my favourite ways of working. Not sure what it will be but one possibility is an  evening bag. I found this little bag in a junk shop and paid very little for it. The fabric is really past its best but the frame is really lovely, blue and purple enamel with small jewels and the colours match the fabric! Watch this space as they say and hopefully I will have an evening bag to show you all!

Have a good week!

Simple Pleasures

There are certain funny little things in my life that I regard as important but I suppose to anyone else might seem very ordinary or even mundane. For example, I always look at the cowls on the top of my neighbour Lu's Oast house as I walk back to the house from feeding the chickens to check which way the wind is blowing and it's something that I do almost everyday almost without thinking. For those of you who don't come from Kent, Oast houses were originally used to dry Hops for beer making and the cowls on top would turn in the wind and help keep the fires alight in the kilns below. There are not many working Oasts these days so alot of them have been converted to homes. It made me realise that there are a lot of little things that I do and see everyday that I get a great deal of pleasure from.   

Lu and I often get together in the early evening to sample a 'cheeky little Chablis' or the latest Sauvignon Blanc on offer in the supermarket.  You may know that we live in on an old converted Hop and Fruit farm, I live in the old farmhouse and Lu and her family live in the Oast. Not surprisingly there are lots of odd little passages and paths that link the buildings to one another that we all use and that are separate to the main drive and entrance.  This little passage we call 'The Snickett' and I use it to pop round to Lu's in order to sample the wine of the week! There are Greengage trees all along the path and this year thankfully, they are full of fruit. It's quite near the river so I have to watch my footing on the way back especially after a glass of wine or two!!

This is one of my favourite views in the whole house. I spend a great deal of time in the kitchen and at the sink so I love to look out across the fields. It is the best place to see the changing seasons which I love and just a few days ago I watched the swallows and swifts collecting on the telegraph wires getting ready to fly south. They have flown on now and I will miss their acrobatic flying along the river collecting the bugs and flies when they are on the wing. The fields seem quite empty with them gone and I loved to see my mad springer running around trying to catch them as they swooped low around the field getting ready to fly on...

When I drink my early morning cup of tea I often look at this wreath that a girlfriend of mine made for me. It was wonderful gift given to me when she came to dinner once with a few friends. She is such a talented, arty girl that unfortunately I don't see as often as I used to. I love the colours that she has used and it looks wonderful on the beams in my kitchen.   

Well dear readers, I hope you are all having a lovely September....the weather has certainly perked up, and maybe just maybe I will get my Indian Summer after all!