There is a haunted look about the place today. The orchard is a spectral grove of skeletal trees bearing baubles of hollowed out apples. The gravel garden has the air of Miss Havesham’s wedding feast, with eerily preserved frozen shades of summer’s bounty. Driving down our rollercoaster of a road into town for coffee withContinue reading “The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come”
Category Archives: sewing and knitting
Garden Manumission
With Lachlan on a new work placement, mum and I are back on dog walking detail. Autumn seems to be trying out different weather moods. Over the course of a fortnight we have yomped across the fields in the blazing sun, battled the wind along the river path and drizzled our way through dripping woods.Continue reading “Garden Manumission”
Flibbertigibbet
Oh dear, somehow I just can’t get myself back into any kind of sensible routine. I am just skittering and dittering. I start the day, as often as not, with some kind of plan but it takes but the flap of a butterfly wing to derail me. I have taking to rising and donning myContinue reading “Flibbertigibbet”
Inter Alia
A welter of birthdays, visiting offspring, family reunions yet more birthdays and sic like affairs have come between me and my keyboard of late. However, following yet another bout with mum’s insurers (the product was ironically entitled “RBS Elite” – god help those in steerage is all I can say…), I find myself with anContinue reading “Inter Alia”
The kindly smirr
A gentle smirr of rain has been hanging in the air all day today so I have been gifted a cast iron excuse to keep out of the garden (where I have been labouring in stakhanovite fashion the last few days). As always, initial excitement at the boundless horizon of possible indoor activities caused aContinue reading “The kindly smirr”
Snowdrop time
As the snow dwindled, the frost set in with the melt reforming overnight into hardened pools of ice, grey and strangely rounded, like melted candles. The paths around the fields set into uncomfortably frosty ridges. Mum and I trudged on stoically in the quest for extra steps and fancy camera angles and the family soupContinue reading “Snowdrop time”
And so it was Christmas…
Christmas stole rather softly over Ruthven House this year. The bellwether of preparedness that is Monkey’s jumper was competed with 48 hours to spare and by Christmas Eve there was a fridge replete with pigs in blankets and stuffing balls, a lemon meringue pie cooling on the cake stand and, in an unprecedented feat ofContinue reading “And so it was Christmas…”
Luxury Stuffing!
I managed to hold onto the feeling that matters festive were completely under control until the 19th this year – rather a triumph! In the days running up to the Great Christmas Party on the 17th there was much cake icing and canapé making (making canapés that is, the cake is sacrosanct) is the veryContinue reading “Luxury Stuffing!”
Winter is here
This week has finally brought winter. A sunny walk in the woods at the weekend had lulled me into a complacent confidence that Christmas would be mild and balmy and the lifting of the dahlias could proceed at dilettante pace. The tissue paper whisper of the grass on Monday told another tale. The first ofContinue reading “Winter is here”
Fire and Flood
The boys have gone to play snooker, the steak and kidney pudding has an hour and a bit still to steam, everything else is ready bar a few last minute blasts in the oven and I am finally sitting down with a glass of wine, gently throbbing feet and a slightly dazed sensation. I’m notContinue reading “Fire and Flood”