Its been a busy day

No peace for the wicked (although I am not quite sure what I have or haven't done!)  I am trying to make the best time and use of the time I have to get the house nice and tidy prior to me disappearing to my mum's to look after her Removing furniture and items from my bedroom - I am in the process of having a major bottom out;  Curtains are going to be washed tomorrow and re-hung - the carpet is going to be cleaned and the wardrobes and chests of drawers  polished with beeswax and then sorted and any suitable items being put aside for the local charity shop.  I am also going to go through OH's wardrobe and sort out those items he does not want any more.  I am hoping that there are some shirts he doesn't want anymore that I can re-utilise in the patchwork bag and hopefully make a good start to a quilt (am thinking jelly roll here).  I have also located a small tray embroidered tray cloth which I am going to turn into some lavender sachets I have already decided that some UFOs are going with me to my mum's so that I can take advantage of the quiet times when I am  not pottering about doing housework or looking after her and it would be nice to get some of these projects done and dusted and out of the way.  I think I shall take one of my blankets with me as well as I can always make use of just a few minutes spare as it is easily picked up and put down again.  Well that's the plan anyway.

Its been grey and chilly here today but I am determined that the heating is not going on unless it has to; I have kept a couple of the windows open to let the fresh air in and to freshen up the house.  I have popped on a very thick sweatshirt with a "wicked willy" logo on it.  I have had it about 8 years and it is still going strong. One of my housework sweatshirts which is snug and cosy..

I also have to get a wriggle on and get some baby sewing, knitting and crotchet done.  My step-daughter is due her second child at the end of September [another little boy] (that's if she goes full term) and two of the ladies I work with are also expecting  within a couple of days of each other I believe they are due October/November time .  I have found some wool and a pattern now I have to find the knitting needles.  They will turn up; I have three to do to start with and if I get time I may well set about making a blanket or shawl each.  Will have to see how the time will pan out.

Once the bedroom is sorted will sort the stairway and give that a good scrubbing out too and then on to the lounge - that will probably be Monday at the rate I seem to be going at the moment.

We have had a lovely tea tonight rib eye steak onion rings, home made chips and fried mushrooms served with bread and button and horseradish sauce.  Very tasty it was too.

For dinner tomorrow we are having minted lamb chops instead of a joint for a change slowly cooked under foil with a little water for about an hour and then served with seasonal veggies.

Have been watching the Voice this evening and I am well chuffed that Leanne has won it

Catch up soon

Pattypan

x

Good Morning (or should I rename this Faith, Hope and Charity)

It is a dull grey chilly Saturday morning here in Peterborough a distinct change from the lovely weather we have had during the week and the intermittent rain.  I don 't really do grey - it is a nothing sort of colour it tends to get me down (there was grey wallpaper in this house when we moved in which has been replaced with bright pinks yellows and golds, whites lilac and purple and pinks and greens - as I love colour) but it does play its part as it helps blend all those other colours we have in our lives it fills any nook and cranny and helps hold the bigger picture in place in this rich mixture of our sometimes simple sometimes very complicated lives.

The bigger picture  - what does that mean it is something often that we know is there, but it does not always become clear or reveal itself easily  as it is made up of lots of little bits that independently don't mean much but when blended together well it can create something fantastic.  We are all works in progress.  Its like us really; we are all the sum of our parts made up of lots of little bits of experience, emotion and physical bits and bobs ooh and timing we must not forget timing; that can blend everything together superbly if everything is in its place.

Sorry for being so profound so early in the day, but change is on its way again I feel it most distinctly and yet have no idea of the route or where it is taking me as an individual or the places it is taking me to; it is just evolving with each footstep forward.

I cannot explain  my inner feeling but its as if I am waiting for something to all come together a series of events, certain people, certain opportunities - its as though I can feel them see them cannot touch but I just know something intangible is there I can feel it and I can smell it - the wheel will turn in a few weeks again another notch in the cog; perhaps all will be revealed then or maybe not.I feel as though I am in  constant waiting I do not know what for but I will recognise and know it when it happens; Its as though I am a sentinel waiting for a gate to open. 

Patience is a watchword here something I have not learnt easily over the years and still from time to time I have episodes of great impatience.  Everything will be revealed when the timing is right  and everything is in its place. Faith gives rise to hope - and when there is hope there is always a new horizon and something to look forward to something to reach for.  The one thing we should never forget is charity and kindness - they often oil the wheels of difficult situations and make everything more bearable and I think charity and kindness are conditions of the heart where we give something of ourselves which is unconditional to others; but given freely.  What greater love can there be.  We cannot help seeing good in others (even when it is not easily apparent but it is there) or how we love, and who we love - that is a peculiarly human condition but it tells us that we are alive.  Thank goodness for little mercies. Unconditional love is the purest kind of love usually meaning that you do not seek to change a person but you accept them for who they are and love them warts n all even when they make mistakes; you have to make mistakes to truly learn.  An experience which people often put a negative edge on but which really is a positive experience as it helps you learn new things.

It will soon be midsummer's day again 21 June we are half way through the year but the season still feels out of kilter; perhaps it is the long winter, then the incessant rain and then being told that we are in drout conditions but things don't seem as they normally are at this time of year.  The day when the light starts to wane again ever so gently and seasons change with subtlety and grace.  I am waiting for an explosion of colour later on in the year when harvest time comes once again and in the interim I am trying to deal with each day one day at a time and with grace.

Catch up soon

Love to everyone

Pattypan

xx

x

Hello everyone

Just a quick pop in to say hello and I hope everything is well with you.It would have been my darling father's birthday today, so I have been quietly remembering my father today as I know have my mother and also my brother. Things have been slightly hectic here for the past couple of weeks and it looks as though the next few weeks are going to be equally distracting too.  My Mum has her operation on the 14 June the day before her birthday;  she has a form of skin cancer and surgery is being carried out on a day surgery basis, but she is going to be incapacitated as she is not only having  a skin graft on her lower leg but will be released sporting a plaster cast.  She has to keep her leg elevated for about a week, (apparently the skin graft is on a difficult place for it to take so she has to be careful) and as she is not too clever in moving around anyway; so  I have decided that I am going back home to look after her for a few days until she finds her feet again and I am happy that she can be left to her own devices.  It will also give me a few days of much needed rest and I aim to take some of my UFO's with me to keep me occupied.

At the moment I have a pile of ironing on the go and I am watching TV.  This recent hot weather has given me the urge to be down by the sea having a paddle and rock pooling and finding pretty shells and pebbles.  I have always been an inveterate collector and I have always loved sea washed glass and seen a use or beauty in simple things  Hopefully I will get to indulge later on in the year I am afraid the inner child is starting to flex her muscles yearning for such childish pleasures.

I am hoping to get a post or two done over the weekend; I am itching to get going again.

Hope life is treating you well my friends wherever you may be

Take care

Pattypan

xx

Writers block

I seem to be suffering from writer'block at the moment and don't seem to be able to convert what few thoughts I do have into words and get them on to paper. I have lots of ideas - the words will come given time.

I am okay although I have had a nasty sickness bug the past few days, but today is a new day,  the sun is shining and I have a few monents grace in the peace of the ehouse before setting off to walk to work. It is always manic first thing with dealing with letting out the animals getting them fed, then there is OH getting him all sorted and ready for work so it is always nice to get a few minutes to myself which isn't always possible.

The sun is out the temeperature is warming up a little and I hoping for some warmth to ease the ache in my bones. The sun when it shines always makes me feel so much more positivie.  I wish you wherever you are a lovely day.

Pattypand xxx

Home Alone

I am at home today  - as I have to go to the hospital later on with my Mum to give her some support and make sure we understand what is going on (sometimes Mum doesn't always hear things properly and on this occasion she has asked me to be there which I am more than happy to do). I therefore booked the day off so that I can potter at home somewhat before going up to the hospital too get things sorted.

We have a lovely sunny morning here in Peterborough and it is lovely to see the sun; the breeze is slightly cool but it is still a lovely day.  I have the animals with me and at the moment all is well with Missy.  For the past two days she has been left at home alone and according to the neighbours she didn't stop barking the first day (she has never been left home alone before - she has always been with us) and so this leaving her she has not taken too kindly to. I received a phone call at work from the neighbours as they were concerned they could see the dog but could  not see any movement from my OH and thought he had been taken ill (their concern was appreciated) and so in the evening OH went to see them to explain what was going on. They agreed with us that she has to learn to be on her own, but equally if it is getting too much we will put in place alternative methods, but they reported yesterday she wasn't too bad with the barking and the howling.  However apart from that OH left his coat on the coat rack; we think she jumped up at his jacket because she could smell his scent and wanted some comfort and has ended up ripping the jacket to bits!  We have kept this so that she can when we go out snuggle up to it.  (we are hopeless cases)

 Today and at the moment she has me with her but is glued to the back of the settee waiting for her "Master" to return she is a sun worshipper anyway and is pointedly still looking for him but sunbathing as well. (In the meantime Squeak has laid claim to the damaged jacket and is curled up fast asleep).  Me thinks these animals have their humans well trained I think OH and I are the daft ones not them!  But hey they are part of the family after all and for the best part they are all relatively happy.

So I am at the moment Home alone/doing my Marlene Dietrich impression  (well kinda of) and enjoying some space for myself it will be a kinda pottering sort of day but sometimes those are the best sorts of days and I am just going to let it evolve.

I hope you are all having a sunny bright day and that everything is tickety boo in your world

Catch up soon

Pattypan

x

Busy Sunday

Today has been busy busy busy.  I first woke at 6.30 p.m. the sun was blazing the bedroom got very warm; I must have dozed off again as the next thing I knew both Squeak and Missy were making themselves very much at home at which point I gave up and went down.  It was about 10.00 a.m by this time.

We then took Missy down for her constitutional walk and I went collecting nettles for making some wine. I ended up bringing back two carrier bags stuffed within an inch of their life.  I have then spent the best part of this afternoon stripping leaves from stalks and disposing of the stems. I have prepared two gallons of nettle wine and I needed 8 pints of leaves for this purpose.  I ended up using a pair of marigolds for preparing the stingers.  Hopefully I will be in time next week to make another couple of gallons of wine.  Nettle is one of my absolute favourites and it will be something to the Put Down this year

Whilst out I also spotted some Jack by the Hedge, and the leaves can be shredded and used as a topping on soups or added to nettle soup.  They have a very mild garlic flavour so I have mentally marked the spot.

I have also spotted no end of hawthorn blossom so that will be next on the list to have a dabble with.  I intend to make some wine and there are a couple of other recipes that I fancy having a dabble at, but that is for next week weekend.  No elderflowers as yet everything seems to be well behind because of all this rain that we have had although we desperately needed it.

I have also had tea on the go as well; we have had roast lamb, new potatoes, asparagus, peas, french beans, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots served with lashings of gravy. It went down extremely well followed by a few fresh strawberries and cream and very yummy it was too.

As tea was late since then I have been doing a little crotchet a UFO I had started and which needs completing; it will be a little way off being completed but at least I have picked it up again.  Just one of a long line of things to get completed.

Right I have a few things to get sorted in readiness for work tomorrow.  It is another early start.

Take care wherever you are and I hope you have had a good weekend.

Catch up soon

Pattypan

xx