TARRAGON & THYME

I have had a lovely day it has been super.  I also managed to find the photos OH took for me of the socks and have updated the post accordingly. I managed to find a few more terracotta herb and spice pots.  I had originally found some at a car boot and had had them for quite a while and today I found some more to add to them and contrary to my initial belief I don't have a duplicate of any of them.  So am quite pleased with that little find for £3.  I found a herb and spice book and that was it.  A relatively good day with little spent. I saw loads of lovely stuff and there were a couple of items that I would have liked but I am holding off at the moment.  We will see what we will see. The river in Stamford and indeed in Peterborough is near the top of the banks we have had that much rain. I am on earlies again this week so it is going to be a particularly long week at work and I need to go shopping tomorrow. Tea was lovely roast belly pork...

It has been a dirty day here in Peterborough today.  It has not stopped raining and the temperature has dipped quite markedly.  A desperately orrible day.  Proper autumn weather. Plus tonight we put the clocks back an hour! I have been at work today and am now quite tired out - hence me not tackling the knitting tonight.  However it has been a productive day at work and I have been with a good bunch of fellow workers.  Six weeks ago I did not think that I would ever be where I am now with the work as there has been so much to take in.  However six weeks later on and I am further along the line although there is still a heck of learning to do and things constantly change on a day by day basis. There seems to be all sorts of learning on all kind of fronts and some of it is a bit in your face for the normally cautious me, and in some cases I am learning to leap right in and have a go - contrary alien to my normal way of dealing with things. ...

My mother was a beautiful needlewoman; a perfectionist who always produced beautiful work especially with hand knitted garments and she produced some beautiful Aram garments for nearly every member of the family.  She always had something on the needles. However she lost patience with me and knitting.  I am a slow learner, I have to get it in my noodle and re-arrange the furniture upstairs so I understand what I am doing and my parameters before I am able to do anything successfully.  Sometimes things are painfully slow.  However life itself is a learning curve so why not a little bit more for my plate than buying a knitting kit. Most of you long term readers will know by now that knitting is one of my nemesis; it is not that I cannot knit, its I become bored with things and much prefer crochet which grows a lot more quickly.  However that aside, I have always wanted to knit myself a pair of socks not just any pair of socks though a pair of socks with cable...

Will commence this weekend.  I intend to get some of the Christmas puddings out of the way and done with and also some of the Christmas cakes.  I have five cakes and five puddings to make. I had intended making them before. I love making things like this so it is never a chore.  I also intend to get some mincemeat on the go as well.  I am very behind on doing things due to one thing or another so now I really must get to grips and play catch up.  Mustard is also on the cards. Some much needed therapy time in the kitchen is required cooking, preserving and dreaming.  Dreaming with a wooden spoon in my hand, gently stirring the contents of a simmering pan, being somewhat of an alchemist and turning fruit, vinegar and sugar or fruit and sugar into something tempting for the pantry shelf. I was supposed to have been going out with a friend tomorrow night but it has been rearranged to another time.  Tomorrow I am at home as I have to work Saturday....

I am looking forward to buying a couple of pumpkins at the end of the week.  One for making pumpkin marmalade.  This believe it or not is lush.  The other for freezing pumpkin for roasting with our Sunday dinners.  I usually prepare the pumpkin by stripping out the flesh and the seeds and removing the peel.  I then cut into pieces and blanch it quickly before draining well.  To cook it I bung it in with onions (usually shallots) but pickling onions will do just as well or even ordinary onion cut into wedges.  Putting onion in helps caramelise the juices and then makes the potatoes, or pumpkin or even sweet potato pieces go nice and brown and toasty.   I am also considering canning some pumpkin as well as we do love pumpkin. I have never done this before so am a tad nervous.   They make very good eating.  I have also recently been coming across some cake recipes where the pumpkin flesh is used so it would be useful if I could "kill t...

In Stamford with my friend today. We went to the Antiques Centre at St Martins and we had lunch at No 14 St Mary's Hill.  See the link below.  We sat in the window and we had a very light lunch of salmon pate on toast served with sun dried tomatoes that were delicious.  Followed by a piece of cake each.  I love a pot of tea and this was a proper reasonably strong cuppa served in a little teapot with a tea diffuser in the top. No 14 St Mary's Hill Could not fault lunch it was light but enough to satisfy you without feeling stuffed.  Just enough and oh so tasty. It was cold when we went out and I had wrapped up in lots of layers.  We had gone to a small Vintage Fair at Stamford Arts Centre.  Not big but lots of lovely little stalls.  My friend bought me a little brooch of a cat looking through a window with a mouse sat outside of the window on the ledge.  A piece by Kenneth J Lane. Whilst there I also stumbled upon some unusu...

I am thinking pinnies, aprons and bags.  Anything that can be crafted quickly.  However before I can start I have to really sort out the crafting room.  Another problem but I am going to get there.  There is a lot on the cards for me at the moment.  I am off this Friday for the day and intend to spend some time with G for once and hopefully get some stuff done in the house.  There are some things he might be able to assist me with and which he can get on with whilst I am sorting out other stuff.   Anyway I digress I am sorting out patterns and things for stuff I want to do so that when I decide to steam ahead I can get on with stuff. I found this cross over apron from Hobbycraft which I like the look of the finished apron.  It also gives you a freebie pattern to download together with a list of the bits and bobs and instructions to make the same. Its not my picture but this is what it looks like.  You  need about 2 metres of...

I was out and about this morning with a friend and had a lovely catch up with her.  I have very much missed seeing my friends. Since coming home I have been out and about and have bought a tray of eggs from the veg shop. I have ordered  my shallots and will see them at the end of the week to collect them.  Will also be going to get stocked up with fresh veggies and fruit. I had a chat with my friends at the shop and then come home.   As I have opened the door with tray of eggs in hand, Molly was poised and ready for her escape which she did quickly taking me by surprise, so much so I dropped the tray of eggs . Fortunately I only broke four eggs; four eggs too many. I was furious with her as I was desperate to go to the loo as well (Molly is a house cat only who has not been spayed).  She was down the garden by the time I caught up with her and came to me moderately swiftly (whether that was down to the fact that I was waving a pouch of cat food in my ha...

………..and it is likely to be a busy weekend.  I am looking for certain paperwork and need to turn the house upside down looking for it.  That will not start until tomorrow afternoon as I am out in the morning.  It is important I find it for all sorts of reasons.  I also have some other jobs to deal with as well and as the house is still upside down it is going to be a  miracle if I can locate it.  However I am going in, armed with intent to locate the rascals. I am tired.  The cold weather is having its usual effect on me making me tired and aching.  It is dark in the morning when I go into work and it is dark when I leave the premises so I am hopeful we might have a little sunlight tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I am having an early night tonight because of the tiredness and besides its very cold here tonight.  So time to snuggle under the blankets and quilt.   I intend being up and about early tomorrow as I am out early and there are...

And finally part 3 Hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane or indeed found some new items to add to your own repertoire. I also hope it is helping you get into the Christmas spirit. Catch you soon. Pattypan x

This morning started off as it usually does both of us in a scurry in an effort to get to work on time.  Just up down the road and round the corner we go past the junction to Thorpe Hall a superb old pile of a place that is in fact a Hospice a very special Hospice run by Sue Ryder. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorpe_Hall_(Peterborough) There is a lot of parkland surrounding the Hall and this morning as we came round the corner it looked as though we had walked back in time and that the ghosts were coming out to play.  There was a thin stream of mist just surrounding the edge of the meadow and if I had had a camera with me it would have made a fantastic photo.  Unusually it was only in the one spot.  Most of the dykes and the river are in flood.  The river is more or less to the top of the bank at both the main river and the Electric cut.  so the earth is warm and is letting off steam.   The sun was out this morning on the way to work and...

Here is part 2 of the series.  Would be rude not to publish it wouldn't it. Lots of "food for thought" excuse the pun. I am going to try and get as much as I can into the freezers.  I am going to have to source some more tins for storing Christmas cakes in and also bowls for Christmas puddings.  That's five of each to make thus far plus some fruit loaf.  Looks as though I am going to be busy. Plus I want to get bread sauce into the freezers so that is done and dusted.  When fresh cranberries come out I also intend to make my own cranberry sauce with Grand Marnier in it.  Yum it is delicious. So it looks as though the next few weeks are going to be a tad busy. Last night was spent sorting some stuff out.  I was looking for some things which I still have not found and will have to have another dabble tomorrow.  Hopefully once the loft is boarded out a lot of stuff can go up out of the way. Right time for bed said Zeb...

My user name for my blog i.e. Pattypan came from my given name of Patricia Anne (which I hasten to add I am only ever called when I am in complete dooh dooh!  Someone when I was tiny called me Pat and I turned round and asked my mum who Pat was!  It is a name I never really associated myself with believe it or not. When I was at school I was always called Pat or Patty despite protestations. My family and close friends have always called me Trish or Tricia), however for my blog it has been of use and gives me a whole alter ego! However at the moment I am looking out for some more vintage Kitchenalia for use in the kitchen.  I am after some "pattypan" tins like the one I picked up from the East of England Antiques Fair for next to nothing.  I believe I am going to a small Antiques Fair at the weekend and so I shall continue to look there.  You never know quite what you are going to find.  Especially as last weekend I found some lovely Kitchena...

These are not my photographs but from the beautiful blog below. These are just so lovely and I thought that if I shared you would just see how beautiful they are.  Even if you did not get time to make them this year then at least you stand a chance of making them next year.  I will if I get a chance make some this year and make more next year. They are so dainty and a touch of lace is always a beautiful extravagance. Once you have the links and the patterns you can pick up, start and make to your heart's content and this pattern is free. The Pattern can be found here: https://www.draiguna.com/2019/10/wispweave-snowflake.html What a lovely make. There are lots of beautiful patterns out there. Something else to make your Christmas all the more pleasurable and making family heirlooms. Catch you soon. Pattypan x

It was lovely to come out of work this evening in the sunshine albeit very briefly however the locality has suffered badly from flooding.  The river is creeping up to the top of the bank and there are large sections of flooded riverbank. Orton Staunch is badly flooded too. When we have weather like this I always feel very sorry for the wildlife and the flooding really does disrupt everything. It still feels as though we have more rain to come though and gradually the temperature is starting to drop of an evening as well and it has been very cold. The temperature has dropped again tonight. The heating will go on at the end of next week and I have a lot to do in a very short time.  Trouble is my time is more limited these days and everything appears to be rushed which is not my style at all. I like to prepare properly.  No peace for the wicked.  I just hope I did a good job of being wicked as it were! I would just like to welcome all the new recent followers; ...

Thought this might get you all in the mood for Christmas.  This is not the original series but the revamp of it.  Would love to get hold of the original series as I have the original book that I   use year in year out religiously.  Strangely I never bought the revamped updated book. Getting everyone in the mood for Christmas in this household is a necessary thing.  I am absolutely nuts about Christmas but about making it special rather than going OTT and subscribing to getting into debt to celebrate Christmas.  We learned many years ago that it was a false economy and we gradually got out of that catch 22 situation and have not for many years paid out on credit cards.  Last year was a particularly tight Christmas but it was Christmas none the less.  We did not buy each other presents but the special food we bought was our present to each other not that we went OTT as we did not.  This year will be no different.  However, ...