Thank you for your lovely comments

Thank you ladies for your lovely supportive comments; to come home after a busy day at work and to be greeted by you cheers me up no end and for a change I thought I would post my comments here in a post.

Elizabeth Rhiannon - lovely to hear from you again dear friend I have missed your blog and will hopefully catch up with you in full shortly and thank you for your kind wishes for my mum; she is healing very slowly but is a little frailer although still very very determined.  One of her wishes was to see my eldest nephew go to University - he has been at Warwick University for the past year studying a four year Doctorate in Chemistry.  Her wish is now to see the youngest one also at University and it is giving her something to fight for. Light and blessings to you and yours and I hope all is well with you.

Hi Jay

Strawberry wine is delicious  -it is very sweet and a deep red colour; its one of those wines that my mum used to make when I was younger and also my grandmother.  If you get strawberries at a good price it is well worth the making.  I also have in mind to bottle some strawberries and also make some syrup and also bottle some rhubarb and strawberries together.  I hope you too are keeping well and it is lovely to see you pop by.

Hi Jennie (aka Bovey Belle) lovely to see you hear.  I tend to make wine on the same basis these days;  My grandparents had the smallholding so after all the freezing, bottling making jam etc any surplus always went to the winemaking and then Nan used to blend the wines later on as well so we were never quite sure what we were drinking and sometimes neither was she.

I am sorry you have been suffering with the asthma and hay fever and a diminished immune system.  I too have a wonky immune system and I have found that having an actimel bio drink in the morning actually helps especially with being on long term medication as it puts a lining on your stomach so your absorption of the medication is not as harsh as it would otherwise be and it is putting the correct cultures into your system to aid food digestion and helps the system work more efficiently. I have been put on hydroxychoroquine 200mg tablets twice a day as I have a set of auto immune responses i.e. Scleroderma,sjorgens syndrome, osteo arthritis, Raynaud's syndrome, CREST, antibodies for both Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus (although fortunately have not developed into anything yet fingers crossed).  They are not sure how the medication works but it does and is quite effective.  Apparently when I was diagnosed with the the Scleroderma my antibodies were off the beam and all sorts of testing was ordered; but when I went in January they were well pleased as the antibodies are back under control and hopefully the lid is well and truly on.  Elderberries are very good for the immune system as is Echinacea.  Thank you also for your good wishes to my mum.

You just take care.

Hi Rose lovely to hear from you too.  Glad I have been a bad influence and you have started a Vodkatopf- You can with the Rumptopf eat the boozy fruit in the first year and serve with ice cream or cream - I usually do this at Christmas and it is very delish.   Equally I drain off some of the liqor and serve it as a liqueur warms the cockles of my heart.    Thank you for your best wishes for my mum.  I hope things have calmed down for you with yours.  Much love to you and yours.

Hi Jennie (no 2)  Meal was very tasty and I have since had a go with buying a Korma mix in a jar and cooking the chicken and having plain rice with naan bread.  It went down extremely well.  If you want any recipes Jennie just yell I have loads.  

Hi Jennie (no 3) glad you liked the phrase - its one I like and use a lot and one that I aspire to especially when things go topsy turvey.  Hope that Buyer turns up soon - your house looks fab

xx

Hi Jennie (no 4) I prefer Crotchet and knitting is my nemesis; but I was determined this time round to get to grips with the process.  however I have been pleasantly surprised how much I have got into it this time round (I hardly dare say hooked as that is the wrong medium!).  I have had to go to mum once or twice to decipher the pattern but otherwise things are coming along nicely I should have a nice stack of jumpers for this coming winter.  I also want to have a go at knitting a cable cardigan and also knitting some wellie socks and ordinary socks.  I go in fits and starts and it depends on the pennies but in all honesty I haven't done much preserving this year so far.

Welcome Whortleberry the Nut roast I found very tasty; I do not normally do vegetarian but I did like this.  OH was not impressed but the he is a man i.e he likes his meat and veggies.  Look forward to seeing you pop by again soon.

Hi Kadeeae lovely to see you here am hoping to get back in the swing of things real life really got in the way as it does periodically and then I have to deal with other things; I would rather be here rabbiting away but that is not always possible.  Hope you are keeping well and how are your gorgeous pets they are so adorable. Take care xx

Hi Jay

We do the puff pastry thing as it is quick and simple to make when you are running against time.  We use bacon and cheese with the puff pastry; a bag of bacon scraps if you can get them are ideal for this and for making your own lardon type scraps for making sauces or putting in home made Quiche etc.  Kids are funny.  We love home made cake and one of my mum's home made cakes is always a hit.

I too Jennie was bought up in a village where if you did not stock up the freezer with goodies (and because of a lack of shops in the area) we only ever came into town once a month to stock up on everything.  I must say I think there is a lot of sense in the old ways and the way of planning, and stocking everything up.  My dream is to have a really big old fashioned pantry so that I have room to stock everything properly. One day.  BB I wish you were down here and could come to the Fellowship meetings my friend Jacqueline Lesley who started the Fellowship is a brilliant teacher.  If you every want to discuss or know anything drop me an email and I will see if I can help - If I cannot answer I know a lady who can.  If you want to discuss will do my best.

Thank you for dropping by I love reading your comments much love to you all  take care love and light

Pattypan

xx