TARRAGON & THYME

Happy April Fools Day April Fools Day - a day to play practical jokes on your nearest and dearest but where does this mickey taking tradition really come from. It is beleived that much of what we associate with the traditions for this particular day stems from a change in events/calendar. Traditionally April 1st was the day once celebrated as New Years Day under the Julian Calendar. In France in 1582 Pope Gregory changed the date on which New Year's day was celebrated to January 1st adopting and using his new "Gregorian" calendar. Needless to say this met with certain centres of resistance to change and many continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1st. The Diehards were as a result subjected to ridicule and practical jokes because of their refusal to change and thus the tradition of "April Fools" was born. Hope you have a happy day

Hello everyone Yesterday Had a very busy day yesterday as was first day back at work after having time off with this orrible cold that still keeps lurking with intent. Had to work part of my lunch hour as I needed to leave the office at 5.00 p.m. (we normally leave at 5.15 p.m) in order for me to get home, grab a bite to eat and then be out for 5.30 p.m. when I was picked up by my friend Jackie. Jackie, I, and 3 others were involved in a Mediumship evening which was held in a fish restaurant in Market Deeping (my friends were giving readings and I was giving taster sessions of Reiki to those wanting to know a little more). It was quite a good evening and the Reiki seemed to go down very well and I met some very nice people to boot. It was very busy I dealt with about 12 people giving 10 to 15 minutes healing at a time. It seemed to be a very successful evening all round. I enjoyed it as did my partners in crime, but I slept very well. When I got home OH seems to have started wit...

Here is a list of those items thatI already keep and intend tokeep in my pantry which more often or not are actually used in The Still Room area of the house but some of the items are used in both The Kitchen and The Still Room. Nuts Beeswax - chat up your local beekeeper and make use of beeswax for making your own polishes and also for using as a thickener in home made ointments. Honey - can be used as a sweetner in home made teas, and cooking and baking; as an antibiotic in its own right to help fight infections both colds and cuts and wounds. Dried nasturtiums Dried Rose Petals for teas and for decorating cakes, pot pourri and home made perfumes. Dried Violets for decorating iced cakes and for incorporating within ice cream, pot pourris. Dried Linden Leaves for use in tea Dried Pot Marigold leaves - poor mans saffron, broth posies,used in rice; a conserve can be made with fresh petals. Marigold is extremely soothing and can be used in home made salves and creams to help inflamed s...

I didn't sleep well last night as I had sciatica and could not get comfortable plus the fact it was very cold and I had the quilts heaped up on the bed and Tyson decided he was snuggling up no matter where I went so I didn't really get the sleep I needed. I came down at one point and did some posting. Then when I wanted to sleep he wanted out and wouldn't stop talking to me - all my cats are very vocal and let their feelings be known. Plus with setting the clocks back I confused myself because I hadn't changed all of the clocks and kept looking at the wrong one. Convinced myself I had more time to do dinner in than had and therefore ended up having gone 8. p.m. I must say I am missing that hour already am very tired tonight. Have been busy in the kitchen today doing some more vegetables for the freezer and also cooking roast chicken for dinner, with roast parsnip, roast potatoes, roast squash, roast potato, white flowering broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower with gr...

Hello my name is Tinky; my official name is Clover but nobody calls me that anymore (I used to have a bell on my collar - hence the name Tinky) I am the old lady of the outfit; Pattypan rescued me as a stray - at the time she collected me from my mum I had been living in a pile of old tyres with my mum and siblings; I was black when I arrived but I soon brushed up black and white. I am partly ferrel and a tad nervous of strange people and loud noises; the kits are sometimes too rough with me in their play as is Poppy who tends to pick on me for no good reason. I love a good cuddle and if I can I climb onto mum's shoulders and dribble and snuggle up to her as much as I can. Snuggles are lovely when you can get them.

Don't you just know it OH now home has gone straight to the boiler and lit it straight away. Apparently I was trying to light the wrong bit. OH told me copper coloured wire and it was the silver one. Oohps. Needless to say heat has now been restored OH has even sorted the timer out!

First of all you need your stock made from any bones, but in this instance I used a ham bone, water, white pepper an onion about 4 whole black peppercorns, small piece of celery leaf,(not too much required as this can overpower your soup as it is very strong) small carrot chopped in slices couple of bay leaves, dried thyme (I use a faggot of thyme and just rub in a litte from the bunch), sprinkling of dried cloves or about 2 to 3 full cloves studded into the onion, a few dried marigold flowers. Basically I just simmer everything together until a nice flavourful stock is achieved. I then leave this to cool any fat that rises to the top of the stock on cooling (there will be a little) can be skimmed. In a large oven tray [using older vegetables that you probably wouldn't use for a main meal] tidy them up removing any peels, dried out leaves until you get to the better part of the vegetable - its worth the effort. I use a mixture of seasonal vegetables - whatever is to hand really ...

Head full of dreams Hearts full of love Listen to the strum Like a beating drum The closer they get The deeper the emotion The more expressive they get Like poetry in motion Bodies full of passion Held in deep caress Both in love no regrets Very picturesque

Last night because it was cold I decided to go and top up on the credit for the gas and the electricity as I didn't want the boiler to go out. So off I tottled got my credit put on. Then the fun began. Now basically although I am an engineers daughter until I find my own way round things I tend to be a bit cack-handed. I Inserted the card pressed the buttons and something didn't quite go to plan because it turned the gas off. The boiler consequently went out; OH had warned me about this before he left for his fishing trip but obviously didn't expect anything to happen - he should have known better with me in tow. Being full of cold still, glasses perched on my head, torch uplighting the boiler (it is in the bottom of an old chimney breast in the kitchen so is virtually on the floor) me laid on the floor with sciatica in my right leg, trying to light the boiler with and as per OH's instructions my kitchen gas blow torch. I am on the phone as well so it was all a ...

I have been watching this excellent series on BBC2 at 8.30 p.m. a Monday night and I have been inspired to say the least. Practical know how on things that are all around us, that are not going to cost the earth and we know that all the ingredients are natural and that there are no additions in there. I have always been fascinated as to what to do with various plants and materials - my grandfather was very interested in herbs and honey, and I think I soaked a lot in by being around him. Honey is a natural antibiotic in itself and can be used on wounds and cuts or ulcers and it works by getting rid of any nasties and often if used leaves a nice minimal but clean scar. People often don't think to use it - its usually in the kitchen cupboard - well it is ever present in my pantry as I use it for lots of things. Granddad kept his own bees, as did my Uncle and my Dad - I have been on a beekeeping course but as yet have nowhere to keep bees. Where I live I have twitchy neighbours w...

My Nan bless her heart was very good at making something out of nothing. She was a lovely lady, very much the matriarch of our family. She had it tough but they survived the war years well because of her and also were able to help out those less needy than themselves. Here are a couple of tips that my Nan gave me - well more things she actually did than anything else. Thrifty Cream Every day when the fresh milk arrived Nan used to take the top off the cream and put it into a little pot in her fridge. The last addition would be on Sunday morning whilst she was doing lunch and the preparation for high tea. She would then whip it up gently and it would be added as a topping to tinned fruit or a trifle that she had made. So if any of you ladies still have the full top milk make use of the cream rather than having to buy it. Butter Papers Nan always saved the butter papers from packs of butter and used to use them to line the bottom of a tin when she used to do her home made stuffing....

Every year without fail I make things like Jam's pickles, chutneys, wines etc and it is always referred to affectionately as "The Putdown". Why because I have put it down for the winter months, primarily Christmas when not as much varied ingredients are available to us. I utilise pickling, jam making, jelly making, wine making, beer making, ginger beer,freezing, drying and bottling methods to achieve this as well as other methods not listed and I try and make best use of what is available and whatever comes my way. I hope that what little I do will inspire you to have a go at something yourself and if you ever want any help just yell; I am still learning too but if I can help I will. This is primarily for pantry stock and doesn't include anything have prepared for the freezer for general use. Not having many pennies has put a slight restriction on things but hasn't stopped me completely. So far this year I have prepared the following: Seville Orange Marmalade...

I think I have been very lucky during my life-time so far in that I grew up in a family that has always loved its food and has always done something along the line to add to or to produce their own food. The philosophy being that the better your food was the better it was for you after all it is the engine's fuel. My grandparents lived in a cottage/bungalow which originally had 6 acres of land. Pop my granddad sold 4 acres or so off at £30 a plot when I was just a babe in arms. What was left was mostly down to apple orchards, to the back of the house was a large garden lawn surrounded by a copper beech hedge, espaliered apples and pears down the side. Then to the side of that was the plum and pear orchards then down the bottom there was a big chicken coup with outside run and apple trees in and then two big vegetable gardens one of which was left fallow every year. Oh and then there were the pig stys as they kept their own pigs as well and had Geese in the orchards throughout the y...

Oh well the best laid plans of mice and men; because I felt really grotty with this awful cold went to bed early but couldn't settle and I have had to get up for something to eat. Made myself two pancakes with sugar and orange. Really delicious. I am just going to get myself a mug of milk to see if that will help me settle down - usually does I call it my knock out drops. Well up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire I go Nighty Night xx

The Sunshine shines Through my leafy bower Where I sit and think Hour after Hour Self-contemplation is good in a sense But it can make you inactive You merely think, then sense Instead of getting to grips With the problem to solve And wading in to try and resolve Those problems that over time have evolved Break them down one by one piecemeal per se But easier to cope with day by day.

I haven't been to work today as I have a dreadful cold. I woke up to it on Monday morning but have had to go into work because of secretarial staffing - this morning I just couldn't make it and my temperature has been all over the place; so I have been on the Lemsip as well as Echinacea and Raspberry and Echinacea Tea which has been extremly soothing and surprisingly very drinkable and I have the dribbly nose. Not good. I thought I had got away with it this year - I normally get a bad cold first off in the year - unfortunately I have some health conditions which are auto immune system problems so I tend to pick up any infection going as my system is working on a reduced basis. It gets very frustrating especially when people come into work with colds when they shouldn't be there - and then of course the air conditioning at work makes sure we all end up with a cold in the nose. Not being able to do very much I have spent a little time surfing the internet and coming up wit...

This is one condiment that I have made which I find extremely useful as a base for making gravy for all meats and I usually make a batch of this when I have a net of onions I am coming to an end of, waste not want not and all that jazz. It is taken from The Victorian Kitchen Book of Pickles and Preserves ISBN 1 85833-460-8. INGREDIENTS: 8oz/225g Onions 1/2 pint/300 ml Fresh Water 8oz/225g Moist Brown Sugar 1/2 pt/150ml Tarragon Vinegar Peel and finely chop the onion; put in a saucepan and cover with the water. Bring to the boil and cook until the onion is soft then add the sugar and simmer until it has dissolved and turned the contents of the pan very dark brown. In a separate pan boil the vinegar and very slowly stir this into the onion mixture. When it is all combined remove from the heat and allow to cool before bottling. I use a teaspoon/2 teaspoons per batch of gravy Result very tasty gravy Enjoy

I promised that I would be back on line last night but technology seems to have got in the way. First of all the camera failed yesterday. Second we had a power cut and the heating didn't come on when it should have done. Third, My computer received an upgrade and after that I had a malfunction and unable to log on to the Internet. Oh well the best laid plans of mice and men. This morning I got up early at 7.00 a.m (early for me especially on a Sunday). It was a gorgeous quiet peaceful morning just the birdsong and the sunshine - I stood outside the backdoor in my snuggly dressing gown nursing a hot cuppa tea. I like coming too gradually like this in the morning so civilised so tranquil and you can just simply be. When have been down to Cornwall in the past have woken up early and done the same wherever have been staying just me and a cup of tea. Especially early morning seeing the dawn in Summer. I love the dawn but don't very often see it as tend to be later to bed. I ha...

Well I have had a lovely day today all on my ownsome;OH has gone fishing for the weekend. And I have really enjoyed the time on my own at home rather than being at work. The weather has been glorious but is now a tad cold again. I fished out my camera as I had found some Angelica that has seeded itself and also some violets in the garden. Unfortunately the camera failed on me the batteries have had it so I cannot post my violets here. I love violets, primroses and forgetmenots. I have spent the best part of the day unpacking boxes to find out what's in them and finding loads of lovely goodies; the boxes are too big and heavy and I cannot lift them as they are so I am having to unpack them one by one and repack them when I get the boxes downstairs - bit labour intensive but at least its getting the job done very slowly. I have also found lots of things that I had forgotten I had and made some decisions about some items that are definitely going. It has also allowed me time t...

Dark as Velvet Creeps the Night Oer the City Then comes lamplight Flourescent beams Casting shadowy shapes Creating a very different landscape Looming shadows at every turn Desolate alleys And bare brick walls Echoing footsteps The click of a gate I'm nervous now But its only half past eight! Pattypan

The brownish leaves So fine, so small, Slither to the ground forlorn Like all other leaves from bush and tree Colours of different hues we see; Like bright jewels they catch your sight Rusty Reds and bright lime greens, Golden and brown in the suns bright beams Sunlight dancing on tattered flesh The wind blows up and then they dance Like an arabesque Twirling and fluttering In their plane of flight Eventually they are lost to sight pattypan

When Irish Eyes are Smiling There's a tear in your eye, And I'm wondering why, For it never should be there at all. With such pow'r in your smile, Sure a stone you'd beguile, So there's never a teardrop should fall. When your sweet lilting laughter's Like some fairy song, And your eyes twinkle bright as can be; You should laugh all the while And all other times smile, And now, smile a smile for me. Chorus When Irish eyes are smiling, Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter You can hear the angels sing. When Irish hearts are happy, All the world seems bright and gay. And when Irish eyes are smiling, Sure, they steal your heart away. For your smile is a part Of the love in your heart, And it makes even sunshine more bright. Like the linnet's sweet song, Crooning all the day long, Comes your laughter and light. For the springtime of life Is the sweetest of all There is ne'er a real care or regret; And while springtime is ours T...

Ah forget me nots - I always associate this tiny little flower with spring. One of my earliest memories is as little girl living in a cottage with leaded lights, and in the garden in amongst the grass forget me nots always self-seeded and put a little splash of colour into the lush densesness of the grass [yes it was long as my Dad didn't have a lawnmower at the time - that came later]. I could always be found in the garden - loved to be out and about and whenever my grandparents came to visit that's where I was sitting playing in the grass surrounded by forget me nots. Precious memories. It has been a lovely warm sunshine filled day here. The birds have been singing it has been warm for the best part of today and I have been cooped up in the office - utter sacrilege. Its days like today when I feel the sap rising I want to break out free myself and just run and be free - think completely wild child here - I know I look sensible but I can be as unpredictable and as b...

The Angel Card for today is love. What is love. It is different things to different people and there are varying depths, colours and hues - therefore everything is not always black and white but also grey too. It is a form of self-expression and of sharing with no preconceptions just done with genuine feeling. It is a intention not to hurt anyone but to enjoy them for themselves. We do not choose who we fall in love with it just happens and it is one of the purest feelings there is. Love makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside whole appreciated and wanted it can be a multitude of emotions all in one go. But there are different types of love and you can experience different kinds at the same time. The colour of love is often referred to as pink or red; but it can be any colour you choose and which you identify with. In the rule of order with chakra's or energy centres in the body the heart is often green. But to me it has always been a soft fluffy pink. Puppy love; love of a...

Last evening I walked home as my partner had gone fishing. I enjoyed the walk and stretching my legs and hadn't realised just what flowers were out and about but spotted several clumps of primroses in the evening sunlight. However I was a tad sad as well as living in town leaves me feeling so disconnected from what to me is very important; the change of the seasons. I wish I was out of the town and back in the countryside. My mum lives in a village about 15 miles up the road from where I live; each time we go back there i feel like a chameleon and literally feel I shed several layers of skin by going back to my roots. Today I woke early the sun was shining and I felt happy; sunlight always inspires me but I always have an upsurge of feeling as the warmer weather starts to arrive I think I feel the "sap rising". However the sunshine belied the weather today it looked lovely out of the window but the wind has been bitter all day so for the best part of the day I have k...

In case you don't know what these are they are a small card with a word on which is meant to inspire/enthuse/encourage people as they pass from day to day. There is a whole pack of cards and they are mixed up and then the person draws a single card; sometimes they cling to each other and you end up with drawing more than one; but that is meant and you should therefore read both. I draw an Angel card every day just before I get up; I keep them on my bedside table. How you interpret the words is up to you as no two people will necessarily interpret them exactly the same. I picked mine today and the word I drew said simply "Transformation". My immediate thought was of the Ugly Duckling that turned into a swan. Irrational but something that has a happy ending and speaks of good times to come. Or the Chrysalis that turns into the butterfly. The promise of rebirth, growth and positivity and freedom to choose. Transformation an unusual word but a positive one. It means a jour...

Hello just a quick pop in to let you all know that contrary to popular belief I am in the land of the living. I haven't been on the tinternet much this past fortnight. Things have been a tad hectic at home and at work. I am still trying to sort out my major storage problem and have been sorting through - box after box after box I have found stuff that I had I had forgotten I had -some lovely stuff and am sorting out that I no longer need. I also have a few long term projects handicraft ones to do a bit at a time (I get bored easily so often have two or three items on the go at once). I am currently working a King sized crotchet blanket in lilacs, blues, tourquosies purples and creams all of varying shades trying to use up those odd balls of wool and make something out of nothing; something different that nobody else will have. I am referring to it as my Rainbow blanket and I have one or two other projects in mind to go with it.I have a couple of Indian cross stitch kits which a...