The Barefoot Crofter

Seven Days

2012-02-12T19:49:00.001Z

Where does the time go? I just don't seem to be getting any time to spare for my blog these days. While that is fine, as I don't live to blog (or is it the other way around?) - I do like to come here and share my little thoughts about my world. Such a lot has been going on this week - here in the warmest part of Europe (yes, it is true!), and while I do have a couple of posts lined up for later, there is still time to share some of our everyday blessings and joys.

Like the way the morning sun floods into the living room, just where I like to sit, inviting me to linger and have just one more cup of tea.

Or James learning use the sewing machine - all by himself. Deep breaths Mama!

Enjoying a coffee in the Ionad Spors (Sports Centre) with a view of the climbing wall - and climbers ;)

The sheep coming home.

A wander around Stornoway on my own, on a beautiful still afternoon.

A community breakfast - such a great way to start the day.

And catching a lucky shot of our Coastguard helicopter, as it flew over the house - off on a rescue mission, perhaps. They are such a vital part of our emergency services, and it is a real worry that the UK government plan to cut 50% of our coastguard stations. Visit here to read more, and sign the petition against the cuts.

So - just a few random, but special moments from our days here on this blessed isle. I wish you all many joys and blessings for the seven days ahead. xxx

Good Morning

2012-02-10T09:34:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Have a relaxing weekend. xxx

Seven Days - joys and sadness

2012-02-06T12:13:00.001Z

It has been seven days since I have been here - a whole week has passed. It has been a beautiful week, to be sure. Many blessings and joys. Yes - there have been stunning sunrises - each day moving closer to the East - there have been days of washing drying on the line - running around on the hillside - nourishing broths - the simple beauty of a dry stone wall - and the cheeky company of the starlings at dusk.
But amongst all this, we have had sadness and worry too...

One of our pigs has died. The biggest one - the leader - within three days he was gone. It is hard to take in the fact that such a strong vital creature is no more. Of course that sounds very hypocritical, given that in 6 weeks or so, they would all be gone, but still...
We are not really sure what happened. He was fine - bouncing, grunting - so alive at the beginning of the week. I went, one morning to empty stuff into the compost heap, and he caught sight of me over the wall. He launched himself over wall - and the rylock fence on the other side of it, and landed heavily in the post and wire compost bin, which he duly set about devouring the contents of. I was scared - he was a big fellow. The other 2 followed him over the wall, and another episode of chase ensued. It took John all morning to repair the fence, while I kept the pigs out of his way by throwing pig nuts over to them at the other side of the pen. it was a job we didn't need at the start of a busy week.
Two days later, at breakfast time, John found him standing, shivering and hunched up - looking very ill. He didn't come over for food - he just stood there - it was very obvious we had a sick pig. We phoned the vet. "It could be a number of things" she said " a virus - infection - a peritonitis - or just maybe an off day".... she advised us to give an anitbiotic and see how he was the next day. John managed to give him some penicillin, and he took a good drink from a bucket held under his nose, before spending the rest of the day snuggled into his straw nest inside the ark. The others were obviously concerned about their brother, and went in beside him, keeping him warm and being with him.
The next day, he came out and looked a little brighter. This gave us some hope. He still didn't want to eat, but could be encouraged to drink. He had another dose of penicillin. He stayed outside for a fair bit of the day - rooting around just a little bit, but enough to give us some hope. At dinner- time, he wouldn't come to eat, but just stood down in a hollow under the trees. He was still there at bedtime, and John spent a long time coaxing him into the ark.
In the morning, I found him lying dead just outside the door. The others were still inside. It was a bleak morning- the rain was pouring down in torrents, and we all just stood gazing down at this poor pig lying there in the mud. A friend came and helped John to move him out of the pen, and the other two pigs came out then, looking for their breakfast. They hadn't wanted to step over his body.
We phoned the vet, and they told us to go ahead and bury the pig on the croft - no post-mortem or notification was required. There were contractors working down in the village, so the excavator driver very kindly came up and dug a large grave for us. "I've got pigs myself" he said, with great sympathy.

But, of course, we have held endless post-mortems ourselves. Every aspect of our pig husbandry has been scrutinised and analysed in the last few days - with each other, and with friends and neighbours. The incident with the compost heap seems the most likely cause. Has he ingested something there that has made him sick - or caused a blockage? No matter how careful we are with sorting out compost items, there are always some rogue plastic or metal items that seem to find their way in - did he eat something to cause an internal injury, or obstruction. Did he injure himself when he jumped the wall and fence and compost heap container? He was the biggest and heaviest of the pigs. It was unusual for him to initiate any escape attempt - the smaller female was usually first to lead the way.
Was it the conditions? Part of the pen was very porridge-y mud, but there was still a lot of higher, dry ground and plenty trees and bushes to root around in. They had a nice dry ark with lots of straw.
It could have been a virus, or an infection, but the other pigs are absolutely fine, and obviously the penicillin had no effect.
Feeding? The regulations are fairly strict on what you can feed pigs. Nothing can come out of the kitchen, so the pig bucket is a thing of the past. This was one of the things that had disappointed us, when we began our pig keeping adventure, and something I might talk more about another time. It seemed to us that the only thing to give them was bought-in feed - concentrated pig nuts, maize, beet shreds etc. (Ok - maybe the odd apple core or two might have found it's way over the fence ...). We discovered that all the animal feed available on the island contained trans-genic ingredients - mainly soya in the pig nuts, but I am pretty sure the maize flakes would be GM too. (it is hard to tell, because feed manufacturers list their ingredients on handy little tear off slips sewn on to the edge of the sack, and they are invariably missing by the time we get them). We asked about this at the feed store, and were told that " all the normal stuff we sell is GM - we can order organic in for you, but it is 3 times the price!" Sigh. There is a study that shows that pigs fed on GM maize showed intestinal changes and a lower feed conversion ratio. Now - the other pigs had exactly the same diet and yet they are perfectly healthy and showing no signs of ill health - but he was the biggest and greediest and a bully too, so he always got the lion's share. Was it GM feed that killed him? Who knows - and to be honest that is unlikely, given his sudden demise. I suppose it is natural to look for someone else to blame. Animals do die - we have lost hens suddenly before - our friend who helped us move the pig had buried two of his sheep that week; driving down to the croft, we saw another neighbour burying a sheep, and we sympathised with another crofter earlier in the Winter over the loss of a young calf. It has been a hard, hard winter for the animals - so much rain and mud everywhere.

So now there are only two little pigs - not so little now, and they will grow even bigger, now their gluttonous brother has gone. It was a sad experience - for us and for the pigs too. They were so concerned over the sick brother - really seemed to try to care for him. He knew - they knew... so many lessons for us to learn from them.
xxx

Seven Days

2012-01-28T22:55:00.000Z

Another week over already! - What reminders of the last Seven Days did I find in my camera?

A beautiful sunrise - earlier now - the light is surely returning to this Northern land

The remains of a pleasant afternoon tea, and memories of a lovely visitor.

A light frost be-jewelling the mosses.

A handsome neighbour wishing us Good Morning.

A new (secret) hideaway for a boy.

My first home-made cheese.*

And finding little scenarios of play, here and there around the house.

So many joys and blessings surround us - moments to treasure as we go through our days. Wishing you a wonderful and memorable Seven Days ahead. xxx

*I will be sharing the cheese making project in a separate post soon. x

This moment...

2012-01-27T14:35:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Have a beautiful weekend. xxx

Gypsy Creams - eventually.

2012-01-26T13:10:00.006Z

Well, here is the first of my occassional recipes from my Grandmother's notebook. My Grandmother, Elizabeth, was born into a large Methodist family in the North East of England in 1901. She became the manageress of Pattinsons - a large Tea room/bakery in the city of Durham, and many of her recipes were inspired by her time there. She died at the age of 84, and I still miss her today. She was my friend as well as my Gran.

In fact, she wasn't my grandmother at all, although I didn't find out until I was much older. My father's parent's marriage was one of the hidden casualties of WWII. I don't really know all the details - my dad always says he was too young to remember, and he was far too busy playing football, or hide and seek - but I have heard bits and pieces from various sources over the years - particularly from my Aunt. All I know is that there was an affair, a baby born out of wedlock, and my Grandpa coming home from the war to take care of his two abandoned children who had been left with their grandparents. One of my cousin's has vaguely talked about writing a novel about it, and I am sure it would be a good one.

Anyway, my grandfather had gone to visit an old army friend in Durham, just after the war, had gone to the tea shop,and there met my Gran, who would have been a spinster in her mid 40s at that time. They fell in love and married. I am always filled with admiration thinking of how strong a woman Elizabeth must have been. For a middle aged, single, religious woman - to have left her family, come back with her husband ( a war veteran and recently divorced), to the small town where everyone would have known about the "scandal", to take on the care of his two children, who had lived through all the deprivations of the war, and the trauma of their mother leaving, and to become involved in the life of the community, church and family in the graceful way she did deserves more than a medal. She is my hero and inspiration to this day.

Wow - it seems a bit mundane now to turn to recipes after all that drama, but, that is what we are here for. No doubt various family anecdotes will find their way in to these posts as we go along. This recipe book was a Christmas gift to my Gran the year after her marriage. It is inscribed:

With best wishes

Xmas 1948

from Hannah and Tite.

Aunt Hannah was the youngest of my grandmother's siblings. There were 6 in all - 5 girls and 1 boy, and I was privileged to know them all, as we often took trips down to England to visit. "Here's Scotland coming!", my Uncle George used to say, as we piled out of the train, or the car.

Uncle Tite was Hannah's husband - his full name was Titus. All the family had wonderful exotic Biblical names and were just the most wonderful kind people you could ever meet.

Ok - the recipe. I will be sharing mostly recipes that I remember fondly from the groaning tea table that we sat round every week, but also some that I don't know - bearing fascinating names like "Humpty Dumpties" or "Goody Boats" - just to see what they are.

This week, though, in response to a special request, we are baking Gypsy Cream biscuits - a crunchy chocolate cookie sandwich with a chocolate cream filling. Gypsy creams were made by the McVitie biscuit company, and were very popular as I grew up - I seem to remember they came in a brown box. They are no longer made, as far as I can tell, but I did see a reference to Romany creams somewhere, which may be similar. This is the recipe in my Gran's notebook, and they did feature quite regularly in the weekly baking session

melt together

2 oz butter

2 oz lard

3level tablespoons golden syrup

(do try and make the syrup spoonful level - I think mine were a bit too generous and the biscuits were quite hard as a result)

Sift together

6 oz flour

1 heaped tablespoon cocoa or drinking chocolate

1 teasp baking powder

1/4 teasp baking soda

stir in

2 oz sugar

2 oz porridge oats

mix dry ingredients into wet

add a teacup full of milk

shape into walnut size balls, place on a greased baking sheet and flatten out with a fork.

Bake for 20 minutes at 325 def F (160 C)

When cooled, sandwich together with chocolate butter-cream icing (frosting)

Not bad at all! I was never really a bought gypsy cream aficionado, so I don't know how they compare to McVitie's. They did taste a lot like I remember my Grandmother's. A bit harder - see my note on the syrup - and a bit chocolate-ier, as I used cocoa instead of drinking choc, but all in all, pretty tasty. Don't fear the lard - I think it does make a difference, but you could use a white vegetable fat instead - just stay away from the hydrogenated stuff. xxx.

Around the croft.

2012-01-23T22:55:00.001Z

Let's have a little wander around and see what's been happening around the croft lately.
In fact - not very much has been going on over these last few weeks. The short days had us rushing around to complete the daily chores before darkness fell. Also, the weather has been pretty inclement, so those odd jobs - roof works, fencing repairs, little construction projects and such like have had to be put off for now. The animals have been looked after, of course, but apart from that - rain has pretty much stopped play.

The ditches and drains are full and overflowing...

and we are squelching around in deep mud. A few really hard frosts would be helpful - I think we have only had one light dusting this Winter. Ah well, we have to work with what we have I suppose, and I certainly don't want to bore you all with my weather grumbles.

So - let's be cheerful - there are many reasons to be. Look at this garlic! How fabulous it is. I couldn't get a closer shot, as the door to the growing shed is blocked off to keep the cows out. They managed to squeeze in and eat all the kale and spinach and salads. See that incriminating hoofprint in the middle there? Luckily they knew how important the garlic is. I am so pleased with this result - I think this could be my best ever crop yet.

And I am pretty sure that is new lush grass growing. This is the front field, which has had a good rest from grazing over the Autumn and Winter. The sheep will be coming back soon and will go there for a few weeks, before the lambing starts.

Still in the front field, the fencing has been completed and a nice shiny new gate swings in the top corner, replacing the old one at the bottom. A handy dandy tap has been installed too - not that we need water right now, but we do get the odd dry spell - usually a Tuesday in early May ;-)

Mick is enjoying his training - here he is showing off his - stay, come by, stop and stay routine. He has been back to his old owner for a session with some sheep and did very well. Our friend, who put us on to Mick in the first place is keen to train his dog alongside John and Mick, and already there is vague talk of obtaining some hog lambs for both dogs to work with. Hmmm - we'll see just how vague that turns out to be.

Delia and Baby have weathered the Winter reasonably well. On dry and sunny days they can be seen down the back field catching what rays they can, or they might agree to walk across the road to the front field for a nibble at the fresh grass. Most of the time, however, they have elected to call room service, and stay put in their warm, dry shelter up by the barn. And, lets face it, given the choice - who wouldn't?

Mind you, the back field is not the most inviting of places right now. The drainage ditches have been dug, but there is mud everywhere - thick, sticking, wellie sucking mud. The field is draining, we can see that, but there is just so much water lying around right now - did I mention the rain..? Nevertheless, we are confident that some growing will happen here later on in the year. We have a tractor and a plough so...

Did I mention mud? Yep - the pigs are indeed swimming in it. They still have a few dry bits, amazingly, but most of the time they are jumping up and down in their muddy puddles - when they are not escaping....sigh.

To tell the truth, I have not enjoyed having pigs as much as I thought I would. Aside from their full time escapology act, I just have not bonded with them. A good thing, really, considering the pending outcome, but I am sad about it too. They are lovely animals - look at that face in the previous photo - how could you not respond to that?. It's just - well, there are many reasons and I will be writing a separate post about them soon.

We still have 4 hens - although we nearly only had three. On the morning of Christmas Eve, before Mick arrived, John opened the door to find a strange collie with one of our girls in his mouth! Feathers were everywhere and this dog was really savaging her. It ran off as soon as he shouted (we had got into the lazy habit of leaving the gate open), but we thought she was gone. Not so - those pizza girls are tough chicks. We brought her in for some first aid - all the feathers were off her back and she had some deep wounds, including a really nasty one under her wing. I gave her some rescue remedy, and we kept her in a box in the back lobby for a few days. She was eating and drinking well enough, and her eyes were bright. I didn't want to put anything on her wounds, so I just misted the general area with tea-tree and lavender.
After a few days, she seemed to be improving, and wanting to move around, so we began putting her outside during the day in our neighbour's cat carrier. Our main worry was that if she went back with the others she would be attacked. They have never been an aggressive group of hens, though - unlike some we have had, and I was pretty sure she was the leader, but still, I was worried. I needn't have been. She was accepted right back in to the flock. For the first few days she stayed in the hen hut, only coming out to feed. The other hens stayed in with her too, but I never saw any sign of pecking or bullying. She has made a remarkable recovery. Her feathers are coming back in, she is out everyday, scratching around with the others - and she is laying again!!!

So - what are the plans? Quite a few, in fact. It is seaweed collecting time again. This year it will be going on to the planned raised beds up at the house. We are hoping that a small greenhouse or polytunnel will be in place very soon, to get us going with the fruit and veg for this year. A much larger one is in the long term plan. Ploughing, then sowing oats, potatoes and grass for hay - more laying hens and possibly some birds for the table - lambing in the Spring - the list keeps growing. And there is an exciting development in the pipeline just now, only I can't tell you about it for a few weeks.... I will as soon as I can though. xx

Seven Days

2012-01-21T22:15:00.001Z

What a very wet and windy week it has been here on the Isles, with gales and hailstorms battering off the windows more often than not. Nonetheless, it was a very busy time for us - lots of business-ey type things had us leaving the fireside and heading into Stornoway most days this week. Not much time for photography or for computers at all. Let's just say it has been a purposeful week - it included:

A visit to the smart new dental facility, with it's jolly yellow door. I am very glad to finally be on the list here - travelling back to the mainland for check-ups was not very convenient.

I have started going to a Gaelic class - good fun, several people there that I know, and a couple of hours away from the house, along with my knitting. This week we talked about the weather, (you really need to be able to do that here), learned how to tell the time, and played pictionary - all anns a' Ghaidhlig!

I have been doing a lot of research into cheese. My first batch is currently underway!

And I am studying for my livestock transport licence test in a couple of weeks.

There were a couple of breaks in the weather, when it felt really quite springlike. One of the hens is laying again, so it must be on it's way. We all rushed out to soak up as many of those luxes as we could.

And there was even a rare sighting of the Lewis Panda!

Just a few random happenings from my week - wishing you all a wonderful and joyous seven days. xx

Gorgeous Gooey Meringues

2012-01-17T11:54:00.001Z

I posted a picture of John's birthday meringue the other day. They were indeed most gorgeous and gooey. I have to say that this is not a special tradition, but me being a thrifty cook. James had requested custard and banana for desert the day before, which called for 6 egg yolks, so the whites were lingering in the fridge. Normally I forget about them, or stick them in a small tub and bung them (unlabelled), in the freezer whereupon they disappear into the depths. But - the birthday was suddenly upon us (as January birthdays often are) and some kind of celebratory sweetness was in order. Meringue it just had to be. And here is the recipe. (Makes loads - I forgot to count - sorry)

Put 6 egg whites into a metal or ceramic bowl

(apparently if you let them stand for a day or two before using then they whip better)

Beat until they look foamy and cotton woolly, and stand up in soft peaks.

Then it's time to add the sugar - 300g (2 cups). I used a mixture of icing sugar and soft brown sugar (half and half), because I wanted a soft squidgy meringue.

Beat in a tablespoonful of the sugar at a time until you have a stiff, satiny mixture. See the picture? It isn't quite dropping off my whisk and is just holding it's shape.

Then put spoonfuls of the mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I brushed a little sunflower oil over the paper too, for some added non-stick value.

My instructions said to bake at 150 deg C (300F Gas mark 2) for 40 minutes, when they should come away easily from the baking sheet. Cool on a wire rack. They will be a beautiful pale golden brown colour.

I would say that they were just a wee bit softer than I wanted. Next time I would bake them for a shade longer - maybe 5 or 10 minutes. Still wonderfully fudgy and melt in the mouth delicious though. And James has just suddenly appeared from outside. How did he know they were ready? He takes his chief taster role very seriously.

Looks like it passes the test, but he rushes back out again, as an important construction project is in progress in the garden.

Anyway, when cool, sandwich two halves together with some whipped cream, or melted chocolate or both. Add fruit if you like, but whatever you do, savour that exquisite moment when you bite through the crisp shell and reach the melting gooey interior - just sublime...

I am thinking of doing a regular weekly recipe slot. I was asked by a lovely commenter if I had a particular recipe and when I looked through my grandmother's notebooks, I found it. Unfortunately I realised that these precious notebooks are beginning to fade and fall apart, so in the hope of saving these treasured recipes, I plan to begin a Granny's Kitchen Notebook series next week. What do you think? Would you like to see that? It will be mostly sweet things - cakes etc, as my Gran was a skilled baker, but I think I can struggle through... virtual calories don't really count, after all... #fact :-)

Seven Days?

2012-01-15T09:05:00.000Z

The week has just flown by. I was hoping to do an "Around the Croft" post, so my camera was filled with photographs intended for that. I did think about doing that today instead, but then....what about those other images that might not fit into a post later on? Hmmm - Sunday, for me, is about looking back and appreciating those ordinary but special moments over the past week, and anticipating the joys and excitement of the new. So, Around the Croft will appear early in the week, and today I give you Seven Days - crammed into Three :)

The evenings are noticeably longer now. This was taken at around 5 pm - already I can see the movement in the Earth's axis, as the sunset moves further and further Westwards.

And on the other side of the house - East facing -the sky is suffused with a glorious pink light - see how it makes those rushes glow. (Sorry about the window reflection, but I couldn't resist sneaking this snap of John taking it all in.)

And talking of John - is that a birthday cake or a meringue?* You're right - it's a Birthday Meringue! Very decadent and delicious it was too.

We had a touch of frost - Only the second frost I can think of this whole winter. It has been so mild and wet - such a difference to last year's snow and ice.

But we took advantage of some blue sunny skies and nipped off for a wander along the beach.

We had a proper baking day, so the tins are nicely filled - for a wee while...

And I spent a long time trying to capture the power and beauty of the Atlantic rollers - but you really had to be there.

Just a few moments from our week here. Ordinary moments that filled my days with joy. I wish you all a wonderful seven days ahead. xxx.

*Scottish joke reference. A man walks into a baker's shop, points at a cake and asks the assistant

"Is that a doughnut or a meringue?"

The woman replies

"Naw - yer right - it's a doughnut"

Really needs to be said in a Glaswegian accent to be appreciated.

This moment...

2012-01-13T10:43:00.001Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Have a fun-filled weekend. xxx

How to make a mosaic banner

2012-01-10T23:11:00.000Z

I have been asked a few times how I make my photo banner for the blog, and usually I respond with a very long, rambling explanation, which I always think must confuse the recipient more than it enlightens them. So, when the lovely Mama from Only in Louisiana asked me the other day, I suddenly had the idea of doing a photo tutorial. Anyway, here it is - not sure if it explains things any better than my multi-page email would, but let's see how it goes. For the purposes of this post, I made a new banner (above) and documented the process.

Before I go on, I will say that I use a couple of programs to do this - one online and the other I have downloaded. Both of them are free, but they do look for donations. It is always nice to buy these guys a coffee now and then, as they do good work. Also - there are similar products out there, but these are the ones I know and use.

Ok - lets do this...

First of all - create your mosaic. I use a website called Big Huge Labs - this is their home page, and in fact it is very easy to navigate and work out. We want to select Mosaic maker here - see it bottom left as you look at the screen?

You then come to this page, which allows you to choose the shape of your mosaic, and to upload your photographs.
For the banner, I will choose a layout of square tiles, 4 columns and 1 row. I leave the space between images at the default of 5. I select my images individually, and then I choose the first photograph in my mosaic by clicking on the first square.

When you click the box to upload your picture, a series of options appears - upload (from you own computer), flickr, or facebook. I normally use Flickr - selecting this option brings up your photostream* and you can then scroll along until you find the image you want - click on it and the photo appears in the box.

*The first time you chose Flickr, you will be asked to allow Bighugelabs permission to link to your Flickr account, so there will be a short process to go through. Once your account is linked, your photostream will show everytime you chose the flickr option.

You can also upload directly from your computer, as I have done for picture 3, which wasn't on my flickr page. It can take a wee bit longer to upload that way, but not significantly.
I don't have facebook, so i can't comment on how that works, but I imagine it is just the same.
Once you are happy with you selection, hit the create button.

And there is the mosaic. I am happy with this, so I will "save" it - it is then downloaded to my computer, and stored in the Downloads folder. If I wanted to change it, I would just click edit and change the images again.

Now I am going to add my blog title to the banner. I do this using a program called paint.net. It is free to download (although they do accept donations), and I find it very user friendly, and effective.

So - I open up Paint.net, and using the file tab > open > select the mosaic.
Then on the Tools tab, I select the T (text) button.

I select my font type and size, and colour and then place the cursor where I want my title to be.

You can move your text around until you are happy with it - just click on the white box and use the little grab symbol to move it .... no - I think I will change it back to where it was.

If you want to add text somewhere else - say a blog description perhaps, then select the Text tool again and add your spiel wherever you want that to be. Take your time - be creative and have fun. You can always undo anything before you save it for keeps.
When you are happy with it all, then save - almost done!

Now - off to the blog we go! Just for information, I am using the Simple template on blogger

Select the Design tab > edit header.

Remove your current image.

Select the placement as "Instead of title and description, and also shrink to fit. Then upload your mosaic file from your computer.

Woohoo - save and you are done!

And there we are!

I hope this is helpful - it really is much more simple than I have made it sound - and the programs are so easy to follow. If you do try this, do let me know so I can come along and admire your creative work. xxx

Seven Days

2012-01-08T07:23:00.001Z

It has been a very stormy start to the New Year but that didn't stop us celebrating with a community party in the village hall. Some wonderful music and dancing and lots of great food too.

The weather kept us indoors most of the time. Still, we found plenty to be up to there - like, finishing off the Christmas cake - well it really has to be done.

Staying close to the fire - and time for the decorations to come down. The holly and dried oranges made our home look and smell so Christmassy, and they gave off a nice blaze as they warmed us one last time.

I made the first batch of bread this year - it was so good,

And James made pictures with the shells he collected on our New Year's Day walk.

We visited our neighbour's new calf, called Coco-Pops. He was born during the Christmas storms - a surprise concealed pregnancy. When our friend went out to feed his cows, he noticed one was missing from the group. He found her at the other side of the field with her newborn calf!

And on one of the few dry spells of the week, James came running in, calling on me to bring my camera right away - he had found the first daisy of the year! He knows me well...

Just some random happenings from our week. Ordinary - extraordinary things that filled my seven days with joy xxx

Party moment...

2012-01-06T14:53:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Joy-filled wishes to you all

x♥x

The Story of Mick

2012-01-05T21:24:00.000Z

Mick came to us on Christmas Eve. The result of an idle conversation over a cup of tea at the community centre. But like a stone thrown into a pond, the careless comment from John that he was interested - maybe someday - in, perhaps learning to train a sheepdog - sometime in the future - rippled out into the Universe. The day before Christmas Eve, a friend from the next village came to the door, asking if he was still interested in a dog. He had been shopping in town and met the man who had sold him his own dog, who had asked him if he knew anyone who was looking for a dog. He said he thought he might...

And so, on Christmas Eve, John headed up the coast to have a look at the dog - he would see what he was like and if he was any good, then he might bring him back. Yeah - right! There was never any question of maybes... Mick came home to us that very afternoon.

He has settled in really well - very obedient and no bother around the house. He is devoted to John and goes everywhere with him if he can. He even waits outside while John is in the shower.

And the other day, when John and James had gone swimming, I found Mick lying over at John's side of the bed! I think it is love - it's very cute.

He is very good around the croft and all the animals too. He will be learning to be a sheep dog, though - John has his sights set on the local trials in 2013.

He is an 18 month old Border Collie. He was originally owned by the man whom we got him from. He was then sold to another man as a working dog, but after a while the new owner became ill and was unable to exercise the dogs. He then returned Mick to the original owner (DT), saying if he was any good to give him to someone who wanted him, and if not, just to have him put down. He is a good dog, though, and thankfully he found his way to us. DT is a lovely man, and is very keen to help John and Mick in their training, so they will be going back for a couple of shepherding lessons once the weather improves. He has already had a run out with our friend and his dog,around some sheep. He is very quick and understands all the basic commands - stop, down,come here, away to me, etc.

And he is a lovely dog - aren't you Mikey boy? He says he is very pleased to meet you all and to be sure and look out for him in future posts.

Yarn Along 2012

2012-01-04T07:39:00.000Z

I always say I don't "do" New Year resolutions. Nope - I have - aspirations; hopes; themes; words; plans... whatever. In other words, I resolve to do or change something about my life. So in the spirit of the new year, new me sort of feeling that abounds at this time of year, I will share a couple of my resolutions here.

This year, I will...

Knit or crochet presents for my family's birthdays and Christmas using my current yarn stash. ( So - if you are a relative of mine, then it will be hand made this year!) To illustrate this, in part, I am, right now knitting a pair of socks for my husbands birthday (next week), using this wonderful handspun yarn that I bought in 2010. I say in part, because it has become clear that the two skeins are not going to be enough to finish the job. Therefore, a frantic email has gone off the the owner of the shop on the other side of the water to see if she has any left. No replies yet, as this is Scotland, and we are still on our public holidays. Fingers crossed - it is beautiful yarn to work with, and feels like a soft warm cloud - but after that - no more new yarn until the stash basket(s) are empty!

Read only books that I currently possess, or order from the library van. I have just so many books on shelves everywhere in the house - and the loft/attic is filled too. I am very extravagant with book spending - if I see a book recommended on a blog - this weekly carnival is a case in point - then off to Amazon I go. In the last year, I have place 130 orders there - and some of them had multiple items! (My name is Jacqui and I am an amazon addict.)
So from now on, if I like the sound of the book you are reading, then it goes on my library request list.

That said - I did receive a very nice gift certificate for that company (who shall no longer be named), from my daughter and son in law, so I have ordered a couple of books from my wish list (from marketplace sellers), and I downloaded one on the kindle app. It is Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture by Shannon Hayes. I love it. It had been popping up on my recommendations list for a long while now, but I resisted, thinking that it wouldn't contain anything that I didn't already know. I really like how the author weaves her critique of the cultural changes that have made the home a unit of consumption, instead of one of production, along with real life stories and interviews. So much food for thought, and I am still digesting it all. I have read it once through, and now I am reading it aloud to John. We sometimes do this with books that have had an impact on us. I read a section over breakfast, and we reflect on and discuss the issues over the rest of the day, as we meet up.

So - there we are - a new year of yarning along. I am so grateful to Ginny at Small Things for hosting this wonderful global get together every week, so do pop over. And come back again to see if I am keeping on track with my resolutions.
xxx

Ready?

2012-01-01T21:54:00.000Z

What will the new tide bring in, I wonder.

We stand as a whole new unblemished year stretches out before us.

What marks will we make on it?

What shapes shall we carve?

What treasures will we find -

and what challenges will we face?

Let's get ready to fly...

...into the rainbow of 2012.

Bliadhna Mhath Ùr

♥

(Happy New Year)

Moments in my year.

2011-12-28T07:49:00.000Z

Another year - and what a good one it was. A year filled with beauty, joy, fun, laughter, sadness, and new horizons. A year when we welcomed new members to our family - and said goodbye too. A year of hard work, mistakes, steep learning curves and the triumphs of achieving new skills. A year well spent.
Thank you all for being with me during these last twelve months - it has been wonderful having you along to share in the ups and downs of this crofting life. I have so many plans and ideas for the coming year, so I do hope you will join me again.
Wishing you and your family blessings and joy for the year ahead.

Christmas blessings

2011-12-26T14:48:00.003Z

Christmas Day was lovely - slow, relaxing and full of quiet joy. No camera interference today, the images are all stored in my heart, but I can tell you that - presents were opened, carols were sung, happy calls to family made. The rib roast of local grass-fed beef was superb, the Yorkshire pudding was perfect, and the sticky caramel sponges with crispy walnuts were sublime. Oh, yes - there was a bit of washing up to do too!

And a new member joined out little band - introducing Mick! We didn't think we were ready to have another dog in our lives so soon after Robbie - but some things are meant to be, and here he is. We are so glad to welcome him to our family.

It has been a very stormy few days, weather wise, so we are spending another quiet day by the fire, eating leftovers, playing with new toys, reading our Christmas books and just getting to know each other.
Peaceful holiday blessings to you all. xxx

And the wheel turns once more.

2011-12-23T15:42:00.001Z

The darkest day had a little more significance for us yesterday, as we had a power failure on the island. This meant that our Croileagan Christmas party was held by lamplight and candle light. Neighours with solid fuel and gas ovens warmed our sausage rolls and mince pies, and the whole event had an extra air of excitement.

We still managed to play our games - a combination of pass the parcel and forfeits, by wind-up lantern and battery operated cd player was a lot of fun.

Then it was out into the stormy day, heading for home. A day when we never saw the sun at all - and this was the closest I was willing to get to the stone circle.

And yet - the Sun did rise again this morning. The light has returned to us for another year, and we begin our circle dance once more.

So - let the feasting begin!

Wishing you all love and blessings for a wonderful Christmas. Thank you for all your beautiful words of friendship and support, as well as your time over the past year. xxx

One Midwinter Day

2011-12-19T22:25:00.001Z

These dark Winter mornings have been keeping us in bed later each day. When the light begins to creep round the edges of the blinds, the morning is already well underway. Time to dig out the alarm clock and try to get a bit of an earlier start made to the day. James usually creeps through at some point in the night and is cosily snuggled between us, deeply asleep. I creep out from under the warm duvet and pad through to the dark kitchen.

I wait sleepily for the kettle to boil for that first magical restorative cup of tea- I have left the oats to soak overnight for our breakfast porridge, so they will cook quickly when we are ready.

Enjoying the warmth from the cup in my hands, I make my way to the living room, and nestle on the couch, drinking my tea and thinking about the day ahead. I make a list of tasks for the week, and decide which ones I will attempt to achieve today. I never get through these list, but I like to write them anyway. It does help bring some focus to the day.

The moon is still shining brightly in the Western sky. I stand at the door for a moment, feeling the frost creeping through my pyjamas and marvel once again at it's silver beauty.

Then the rest of the family awaken, and the house begins to come to life.

The dawn breaks at around 9.15 am, flooding the sky with a golden light.

In these short days, the sun stays close to the horizon, and the sea-loch reflects the pink of the sky, bathing everything in a rosy glow.

This morning, I have a ham to cure and some cooking to be done for later. James is at a Christmas party in a village some way up the coast with the Croileagan - they have gone in the local mini-bus. I have lots of time to myself then - what else can I cross off that list? As the morning wears on, though, and the dishes pile up in the sink, the call of the outdoors begins to whisper and then shout. It is a glorious blue Midwinter's day...

Abandoning the dirty dishes and the unswept floor, I head off to pick James up at the end of the party. A rainbow is reflected in the loch as I drive along.

James is having a good time at the party. I arrive just as he is receiving his gift from "Santa", who besides his traditional red suit also seems to be wearing some very dark sunglasses. James confides that it is not the real Santa, but only someone dressed up. (One of the fathers or grandfathers perhaps - hence the dark glasses?) I suggest a picnic lunch, instead of a trip home on the bus, and he readily agrees.

We stop on the way down at this wonderful little deli, based on one of the crofts. Real food can be found in some surprising places. We order sandwiches cut from a boule of onion seed bread. I have smoked venison and carmelised onion, and James opts for ham and roasted tomato relish. All home produced and local. A hot tea for me, water for J and a chocolate and raspberry cake and we are good to go.

We are heading....

...to the beach!

And - breathe.

This is one of James's favourite beaches, as he likes the shiny shells he sometimes finds here. No shells today, but lots of pebbles. After our delicious lunch, he starts off, looking for the most beautiful stones he can find - and he finds lots - each one more fabulous than the last, and all are exclaimed over and examined in great detail, before being carefully placed in the empty tea carton.

Time slips away and we stay for longer than we meant to. We are cold, but so happy and refreshed as we bundle back into the car and wend our way home.

Already the light is beginning to fade, as the sun slips lower.

And it is time to feed the pigs before dark and begin those evening chores. Oh, yes - and the washing up is still there. Well - it always is. xx

Deck the Halls

2011-12-18T15:34:00.000Z

A quick peek at our Christmas decorations.

Old and new ornaments on the tree, crowned by a beautiful fairy, who is even older than me! She looks so lovely in her new dress.

Candle and fire light reflected around the living room.

Christmassy scents and sights in the kitchen.

James decorated his own room. He made the wonderful ribbon wreath at Croileagan (play school) and he set up the Nativity scene on his window ledge all by himself. I love how the dolphin was there.

But right now, he is very interested in our latest decoration. I wonder how long it will last?

Wishing you all blessings of light and warmth in this, the week before Christmas

This moment...

2011-12-16T08:57:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Warmest wishes to you all

x♥x

Christmas Shopping in Stornoway

2011-12-15T09:00:00.002Z

So, what is there to do on a dark Midwinter afternoon in Stornoway? Go Shopping of course! Lets see if we can find a bit of Christmas sparkle. Come along with me.

There are some lovely shiny things at the Arts Centre, An Lanntair, and an excellent exhibition on just now. Not to mention the coffee and cakes. But no time for that now. Across the street, Inspiration has the most gorgeous shimmery dress in the window ~ sigh.

Okay then - round the corner to Murdo MacLean's - our department store. Every town should have a shop like this. In fact, every town used to have one, until out of town shopping centres took over. Don't you love that Santa? A wee bit further along there is K Macdonald's, pharmacist and gift shop. How cool is that window display?

Oh - just got to quickly nip into the bank. Can you wait there a minute? Thanks.

Right then - across the road to the Hebridean Chocolate shop. This is what is known as a pop-up shop; only open until Christmas. Shame really, as the chocolate really is delicious. but we can buy it all year round in other outlets all over the island. James wants to go and see if the RNLI shop is open, but it isn't, so instead we will cross over and look at the stunning display in the Hebridean Jewellery shop. Very, very nice place.

Ah - one of my favourites now. The Good Food Boutique. A delicatessen and purveyor of fine foods. My favourite place for cheeses and all sorts of goodies. James particularly wants you to notice this gingerbread house. I think he remembers my farcical attempts at creating one last year, and doesn't want to miss out again. Is that a hint James?

Back down the street now, we pass Wee W's - formerly the Woolworth's store. Santa looks a bit too comfy there. I hope he wakes up in time!

And on round to the loveliness of Mosaic - gorgeous vintage-themed homewares and candles, and next door is Delights - another yummy delicatessen - but different to the Good Food Boutique, so I really have to visit both, don't you think? It has a nice coffee bar too.

Heading home now, let's stop in for a chat with Linzi. Her shop, Linzi's Yummies is certainly the yummiest smelling shop in town. She makes all her own stock - candles, soaps, bath bombs etc - sls free too. And what's more she is a really lovely lady.

Well, that's about it for today, although there are lots of other great places that i didn't have time to visit. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our little shopping trip. Thirsty work though. Lets have some raspberry lemonade. Cheers!

Yarn along

2011-12-14T09:10:00.000Z

Just a quickie today, as I am sneaking off to a certain shop in town when a boy is otherwise occupied. I decided at the last minute to knit a pebble vest for my nephew. I have been inspired by all the lovely grey knits I have seen on Yarn Along lately, so I was delighted to see some grey Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran discounted at our fabulous local yarn store. Just the job. The cute gingerbread man stitch marker came from Emily - thank you xxx In fact, I have been overcome by a sudden need to knit more last minute presents. Why can't this happen in Ferbruary?

I am reading the latest Joel Salatin - Folks this just ain't normal. Man - he just hit the spot every time! I think I love him (in a very chaste and innocent way). His chapter on aeroplane food packaging, which I read last night, made me laugh out loud, while nodding furiously in agreement.
James and I have been reading Alison Uttley's Stories for Christmas. Just completely charming, and delightful. Full of magic and wonder.

Join in over at Ginny's place for more yarns. xxx

A good way with cranberries

2011-12-13T12:17:00.002Z

This is a lovely way to use some of the gorgeous red cranberries that are on sale right now - in a delicious Christmassy, spicy, jammy relish. The original recipe for a cranberry mincemeat was posted on my old blog a couple of years ago, but I have tweaked it a wee bit since then. Here is my latest version - very yummy, if I say so myself.

2 lb 8 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen)
2 large cooking apples (I used bramleys)
2 teaspoons mixed spice
8 oz butter
6 or 7 fl oz maple syrup

Cook together until the butter has melted and the fruit is beginning to soften (don't let it get too soft at this stage)

Then add

About 1 lb 4 oz of sugar (brown preferably, but I had a mixture of soft brown and golden caster sugar
to make up the weight)

6 oz of chopped candied peel
4 fl oz cointreau (my preference as I think the orange flavour goes well with here, but brandy or rum
would work too)

Mix in until sugar is dissolved, then simmer until the fruit is nice and soft, but still whole. Ladle into hot sterilised jars and cover with a waxed disc, just as you would for other preserves. The butter will coat the fruit as it cools, stopping the fermentation you sometimes get with other mincemeat recipes.

We made some cranberry mincemeat pies - just roll out some shortcrust pastry, stamp into rounds and spoon some of the cranberry mincemeat into each pastry shell. Add a little pastry star, brush with beaten egg, and bake at 350 deg (180 c) until -

- golden brown and delicious. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

But don't let you children wander through to your carpeted front room with them though. Make them sit at the kitchen table.

Pop a festive fabric hat on some of the jars to give as presents.

But keep plenty for your own kitchen too, as it is very versatile as well as delicious. It can be used in traditional mince pies, as a compote with ice cream, or any number of dessert ideas. You could even use it as a cranberry sauce with the turkey, or later with cold cuts and sandwiches - lovely with the Christmas ham. And it keeps well too - an all round winner. xxx

Once opened, keep in the fridge and use up within 2 weeks.

Seven Days

2011-12-11T22:52:00.000Z

Well, the Sun rose on a pretty full week! John was away for most of it, as I shared earlier, but he certainly picked the time to go.

It started fairly leisurely - a nice weekend trip into Stornoway, seeing what was new in the harbour.

Then snow arrived - changing the landscape to a magical winter wonderland.

Then St Nicholas visited - surprising how many goodies a pair of red crocs can hold.

Then came the hurricanes! Thankfully no damage - only blown over dustbins ( and a blurry photo.) Other folk were not so lucky.

Then there was the Great Pig Escape! They had been secretly tunnelling away on the other side of their plot and were discovered happily rooting away in the next croft! It was a chase of epic proportions, but some fantastic neighbours helped James and I round them up. Three middle aged women and a small boy running frantically around waving sticks and shouting "Here piggies!" must have been a site to behold :D I repaired the gaps as best I could. Thankfully the master fencer is back now and has taken care of it properly.

And we also managed to fit in some Christmas baking and cooking too. I will be sharing this cranberry recipe later in the week.

Just snapshots of our week here - trying to hold on to these everyday moments that might be forgotten in the busy-ness of life. What joys have touched you over these last Seven Days?

This will be the last of my Seven Days posts for a while. I hope to return to it, or something similar in the New Year. Thank you for joining in with me. xxx

This moment...

2011-12-09T14:25:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Wishing you all a wonderfulweekend.

x♥x

Around the croft

2011-12-08T10:35:00.001Z

John is away on a cattle related course this week -so James and I are running the show. My goodness, I hadn't realised just how many chores that man does in a single morning. Just as well is doesn't get light until around 9.15 am just now, and the livestock tend to stay indoors until then.

The hens are always waiting on the doorstep. There are no foxes on the Island, so they are rarely shut in at night. They have already had their breakfast, but they still fancy trying whatever the pigs are having. These ladies are not laying at all just now, due to the low light levels, but hopefully they will pick up again after the turn of the year. I miss the eggs a lot. I think we will be adding a few extra to our flock soon too.

The pigs begin to squeal incessantly when they hear me rattling about at the feed bins. They come right up to the fence like eager puppies and I have to throw little tidbits to them so that I can climb over without getting knocked over. They are churning up the ground very nicely, ready for my raised bed plan in the Spring.

Then it is down to the croft to see the cows. There is still some grass in the fields for them to eat, but the snow has covered most of it, so they get a feed of the hay we made in the Summer. They certainly seem to enjoy it - pulling out huge mouthfuls of the sweet smelling grasses. The cows are usually outside, but they have a little shelter which they are using more and more in this cold weather, so I give them some hay wherever they are and then go and put some fresh straw on the floor of their hut.

The snow is quickly melting in the mild weather today, leaving lots of churned up mud, difficult to walk through without sinking up to the top of my boots. We are finding out just where we need to put some hard standing for next year. This learning curve just keeps going up!

But I manage to squelch my way over to the growing shed and peer through the roof space. The door is well barricaded to keep the cows out. I am delighted to see the garlic poking it's green shoots out of the black earth. The spinach seems to have suffered a bit with the cold and snow, but it might come back again.

The sheep are in with our neighbour's flock right now, hopefully enjoying the ardent attentions of the ram. They are kept with him for 2 cycles, just to be sure...

Then back home - lunch, a bit of housework and then time to feed those piggies again as the sun sets at around 3 .15 pm. Make sure there is enough feed in the bins for the next morning, bring in the peats and kindling for the fire -

and sit down and have a wee coffee before starting fires and dinner and evening chores. The day just passes in a flash - just over 6 hours of daylight at the moment, but only a couple of weeks until the solstice.
xxx

Snow is falling - all around

2011-12-07T12:27:00.002Z

Snow has been falling on the island this week. Great fun when you are 5 years old, but after a while we retreat to snuggle up indoors where it is warm.

But what's this? More snow - inside? Just a couple of flakes to start with...

and then a veritable snowstorm! I had great fun trying out various crochet snowflake patterns for my garland. I will update my ravelry page soon with the links.

The tiny ones worked out best for what I had imagined. I crocheted 15, using half a ball of Rooster almerino from my stash. Such a fun quick wee project.

Reading wise - well, John and I are currently training as First Responders with the Ambulance service. Volunteers from the community who will attend medical emergencies right away and carry out basic first aid, or life support procedures, until the paramedics arrive. We are 20 minutes drive away from the hospital, and our 3 ambulances have a lot of area to cover, so First Responders can play an important role in the scattered communities. Tonight is our last training night, and there is a wee test at the end...
In between I have been thoroughly enjoying this light Christmassy romance.Completely predictable, as all romantic novels must be, but very atmospheric, great fun - and lots of delicious sounding food.

So nice to have a finished object to show at Ginny's Yarn Along. Do drop by and see all the lovely yarny goodness there. Stay warm now. xxx

Eta: The snowflake garland pattern can be found here. I blocked my snowflakes and sprayed them with starch. I have added all the snowflakes to my Ravelry page

Drawing in

2011-12-05T21:36:00.001Z

Winter arrived on our Island today, covering the land with a light blanket of snow. Magical - beautiful - fun - we embraced our first snowfall of the year.

But the darkness is never far away at this time of year, and the days grow ever shorter. It is good, then, to draw the blinds and find the warmth and light within.

Come in and sit by the hearth and warm yourself. Throw another peat on the fire - there is plenty in the creel there.

Ah - that's better. Look at those flames, how they crackle and burn. For over three thousand years this precious black earth has been part of this land. Three thousand times the sun. So much has happened in that time - so many peoples, civilisations and souls have come and gone. David was King of the Israelites; Tutankamen reigned and died, leaving his treasure for us to find so many centuries later; iron was still unknown, and bulls still played in the Labyrinth of Knossos. Kings and courtiers* rising and falling over time and space All that history blazing up in front of us, spiralling upward in its fragrant smoke. Yet the Earth endures it all. It supports us, feeds us, warms us, and takes us back into it's bosom - regenerating.
It is good to think of these things and to give thanks.

*The Star o' Rabbie Burns (Thomson and Booth)

A moment of Joy!

2011-12-02T11:43:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Wishing you all a joy filled weekend.

x♥x

A Delicious Fruit Cheese

2011-11-30T13:25:00.001Z

I have decided to make some foody gifts for neighbours this Christmas. One of the items going in the bag/basket/box (haven't worked that out yet) will be a fruit cheese. This is a delicious confection - basically a very reduced and concentrated jelly, slices of which are delicious served with cheese (or eaten on it's own). This is a very versatile recipe and I would imagine most fruit would work well. I made mine with apples and pears, adding a few cloves for some Christmas flavour.

Chop your chosen fruit up and place in a large heavy pan, adding enough water to just cover. Bring to boil and simmer until the fruit is soft and pulpy. I used 2 kg of fruit, but the exact amount doesn't really matter, as you weigh the pulp again later.

Press the fruit through a sieve (a plastic one is best) and then weigh the pulp. Return to your cleaned pan and add the same weight of granulated sugar.

Then you just let it simmer and bubble away until it is reduced to a glorious golden brown lava. It is ready when you can draw your spoon through the cheese, and it leaves a clean line on the bottom of the pan for a second or two. About an hour or so.

Pour into hot jars or moulds, brushed with a little glycerine. I had been collecting pretty china teacups from the charity shop, to use as the containers for my fruit cheese. Those little white ramekin dishes would look good too.

When filled, seal over the cheese with melted food grade wax. I got mine from here. Once this has hardened, the fruit cheese will last for a year. I did this, only because I am giving these away as gifts, but you can also seal with those waxed discs and covers you get for preserve making.

Wrapped up and ready to go.

Ideally it should be left to mature for 4 - 6 weeks, but, let's just have a little taste - just to see, shall we?

A nice bit of cheddar and a small snifter of sloe gin to accompany it - the perfect appetiser.

I think this would work very well with cranberries - a slice of cranberry fruit cheese along with the Christmas turkey would be very pleasant indeed.

Seven Days

2011-11-27T22:36:00.000Z

We are in the midst of our Thanksgiving holiday weekend, on Lewis. I don't know if it is at all related to the US Thanksgiving, but no turkeys are involved. Here it is a religious event; services of Thanksgiving have been held in churches all over the island today, and tomorrow is a local holiday. So I have been thinking today of all the things I have been thankful for in these past Seven Days

It has been a stormy week - spent mostly indoors, with the lamps lit earlier now. I am thankful that we were safe and snug in our home, as the wind and rain lashed in from the sea.

I am thankful that the weather is not always like that - and that we have spectacularly beautiful days too. On this still blue Monday morning, I pulled in to the side of the road to answer a call on my mobile. As I sat there, chatting to my son, who was walking through the streets of Edinburgh, I was thankful for the modern technology that allowed that connection.

Thankful for my children, and for a lovely birthday evening out

and for cosy, flickering peat fire flames.

I was thankful for dancing kitchen helpers,

and for warm, sweet smelling baths.

and nourishing food.

I am thankful that my Seven days have been filled with ordinary extraordinary pleasures. I hope that you too have been touched by joy over this last week - thank you for reading. xxx

Slo~o~o~wly rippling along

2011-11-23T11:10:00.000Z

Well, as you can see, progress is pretty slow with the Ripple. It takes me a whole evening to do a row, and even then i have to only concentrate on that - no peeking at online TV programme replays (sorry Hugh and Kirstie) or talking to my husband, or anything like that. I still love it and want to be spending time with it, but there are so many other things happening too.
I had a slight colour crisis when I added that bright yellow, but I think I am ok with it now. I am just trying to decide what yarn to use next - white or green. I think white followed by green - yes? I have just ordered a light tangerine and a beige to spice up the mix a bit.

I just thought I would put it beside my lovely Ikea pillowcases to see how it would look, and I am pretty pleased with it - actually really thrilled with it, considering the fact that I could not crochet at all until a few months ago. I will try and move this along a bit, but I can hear the tinkling sound of crocheted snowflakes calling me

And now to some reading. Yes - the Christmas home style magazines are out. These are my favourites, and it just wouldn't be Christmas without poring over the sparkly loveliness in these pages. I am also still on a country village reading kick. A bit of gentle country crisis and intrigue in The Choir, by Joanna Trollope. Just getting into this one and meeting the various characters, but looking good so far. I am also dipping in (frequently) to Country Things. I love Alison Uttley - author of the Little Grey Rabbit stories, and other evocative books. This is one of her memoirs, growing up on a farm in Derbyshire in the early years of the 1900s. She writes here about listening to tales, toys, Christmas, country cures and farm kitchens. I bought this one, second hand online and was delighted to find it was an old library book, stamped "Lincolnshire County Council" I love books like that. My favourite is one of James's which once graced the shelves in Tulsa City County Library.
There we are then - lots of yarns to be going on with. I am happy to be joining in with Ginny at Small Things for Yarn Along once more. Pop over and see what everyone else is up to.
And I would also like to wish everyone celebrating this weekend a very blessed time.

Giveaway winners

2011-11-22T18:51:00.001Z

So, a virtual live draw, taken on a mobile phone, so the sound is a bit quiet - and my hair is all over the place :) Thank you all for taking part in the giveaway - it was such a fun thing to do. So congratulations to Tracey from the lovely blog Clover, who wins a bag of Hebridean goodies, and to Esther, who wins a little runner-up prize. Could you both email me your address - thanks.

Sorry I couldn't send you all something, but I will do another next year, or for my 500th post - whichever is first.

Mind you - I do have a few friends who are hosting handmade giveaways just now, if you care to pop over and visit them.

Becks has a lovely knitted headband on offer.

Emily has made some cute festive stitch markers, and

Swanski is also offering some stitch markers along with a neat zippered pouch to keep them in.

What a wonderful generous world this blogland is.

xxx

Five - One

2011-11-21T21:02:00.000Z

Well, this is me at 51. A bit of a blurry shot, but not always a bad thing sometimes, especially when I am tired. It has been a busy and lovely day, and I am really happy to be who I am right here and right now.
I just really wanted to pop in and thank you all for your lovely messages and birthday wishes. I appreciate every single one and I am holding them all in my heart.
I will be drawing the name of the giveaway winner tomorrow!! James and I will attempt a live video draw, so do watch out for that. Nighty night xxxx

Seven Days

2011-11-19T22:46:00.001Z

A different Seven Days for me this week, as I headed down to the mainland for the week.

Dazzled by the bright lights again.

Enjoying the Edinburgh sights - the Castle, a favourite cafe, an interesting banner outside a church, and the Big Wheel going up, ready for the Christmas festival.

Catching up with dear family. My sister, Susan, and her husband were on a flying visit from Canada. So lovely to see them, even if it was only for a short time. Karen and lovely Erin - two beautiful smiling girls. Kenneth, and his girlfriend Louise were good company when I was in Edinburgh, and Finlay, looking very thoughtful. Just so wonderful to spend some time with them all.

Another cafe? Well, it's what you do on holiday Pecan and stem ginger cake = very nice. This is the famous coffee house where JKR wrote some of the first Harry Potter book. I love the view of Edinburgh Castle from here - and I giggled at the joke some wag had added to this notice in the Ladies room.

Brilliant autumn colours - on trees for a change!

Gorgeous, sparkly, Christmassy loveliness at the Country Living magazine fair. So many beautiful things. Karen, Erin and I had a really lovely day there. Very inspiring.

And lets just have another cuddle, shall we?

What ordinary - extraordinary happenings have touched you in the last Seven Days? If you would like to join in - on any day, please leave a link in the comments, and we can all share in the joy. xxx

*Don't forget about my anniversary Giveaway. Comments can be left here until Monday!.

Leaving a light in the window

2011-11-15T10:02:00.000Z

Because I will be away for a few days. Off down to Edinburgh for a solo jaunt, catching up with the rest of the family. Looking forward to seeing Kenneth after a few months, and spending a lovely day with Karen, Finlay and Erin at the Country Living Christmas fair, lunching with Dad and then heading back home.
And - I will be staying in an hotel - on my own! How exciting is that? I feel really quite grown up.
I will be back here at the weekend with lots of photographs - see you all then.

And don't forget to enter my little giveaway, if you haven't already. xxxx

Seven Days

2011-11-13T21:27:00.000Z

Seven Days of mainly glorious sunshine and balmy weather. Seven Days of being outdoors, basking in the rays of this late Autumn sunshine. So many beautiful and joyful moments in this past week:

♥ Always entranced by this view - I love to capture the changing seasons from this hilltop. Noticing how the colours are - oh so slowly beginning to fade.

♥ Appreciating the joys of line dried laundry - always a satisfying sight.

♥ Enjoying an idle afternoon watching the boats slide across the mirrored surface of Stornoway harbour.

♥ Spending time down at our own shore, collecting sea glass and other treasures.

♥ Full Moon gazing.

♥ Patiently waiting while a small boy wonders how to spend his birthday money.

♥ And - Remembering.

♥ ♥ ♥

What ordinary - extraordinary happenings have touched you in the last Seven Days? If you would like to join in - on any day, please leave a link in the comments, and we can all share in the joy.. xxx

*A reminder too about my anniversary Giveaway. Comments can be left here until 21st November.

Loving and Giving - A Giveaway.

2011-11-11T19:34:00.001Z

It is three years since I began this online journal. Initially started as a garden organiser, gradually incorporating more and more of myself in the words and pictures. I had no idea how much I would come to love my little space on the web, and how many wonderful friends I would meet here. Or, indeed that I would find myself writing to you today from a croft in the Western Isles, worrying more about cattle and sheep breeding than how my sweetcorn plants are germinating!

As a celebration then, and a thank you for making this such a lovely place, I am hosting a little giveaway. I had great fun putting together a Hebridean lucky bag for my 300th post giveaway, so I thought I would do something similar this time - maybe with a more festive theme.

If you would like to enter, then please leave a comment below. I am happy to ship worldwide (as before, followers will be entered twice). I hope you will join in.

You can leave comments until Monday 21st November (my birthday!) when we will draw the winning name.

Thank you all again for following our little adventures. I am always delighted to have your company.

x♥x

Five

2011-11-11T08:27:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Wishing you all a very happy weekend.

x♥x

Around the croft.

2011-11-09T23:08:00.002Z

It is a while since I have had a post about all the crofty goings on. So here is a quick roundup for you.
The three little pigs are - well - getting bigger. They are now too big to get through the fences, so the electric wire has been turned off and they have the run of the whole garden again. Still lots of fun, but they are a bit boisterous - especially when you brave the pig pen with a bucket of food or water.

They are making a grand job of ploughing up the future veg patch though. Confining them to a smaller area at first has been a good plan. They just race around doing piggy things all day - going for nice long naps now and then. We are enjoying them so much right now.

There was another sheep fank today - this one was to bring the ewes in for tupping. A tup is a ram, in case you are unfamiliar with sheep terminology. We now have 5 ewes - all of whom will be visited by the tup next week. Can you see Maddie Mor - there with her new yellow ear tag? Both Maddies are looking wonderfully well after their time on the hill. After their honeymoon, they will all go back up to a different part of the grazings, until nearer lambing time. Soo, look out for spring lamb posts sometime in April!!!

And talking about honeymoons - well, I am afraid that Baby has had hers postponed. We were all set to walk her up to see the bull last week, but discovered just in time, that he had been moved to the other end of the village. Delia, her mother, was going to accompany her on her walk, but was to go into the field next door, to be with some of the other local cows. Mother and daughter have never been separated and we certainly did not want either to be distressed. After much discussion and consultation with more cattle savvy crofters, we decided to hold back. Our worry - and that of two of our mentors, was that Baby's calf, if we were lucky, would be due around the end of August - and it may take a couple of cycles for her to conceive. So - the calf would be born as we approached Winter, and would miss the good grass, and have to face bad weather when it was still young. Far better to wait and try for a Spring calf. Others feel that she should really be going to the bull to get started and we could catch up with the seasons later on, and we could always bring the calf inside. What to do? Everyone seems so convincing. We are still pondering the question - I am sure that an answer will come. Wonder what Joel would do?

On to simpler matters then. The fencing has begun - lots of posts and wire arrived on site last week, and our local fencing contractor has started already!

It looks beautiful running all the way down the bottom field there - so orderly.

Check out the new drain too!

The garlic has been planted in the growing shed. Once again I have gone for seed from The Really Garlicky Company, who grow in North East Scotland. I have always had good harvests of decent size bulbs with 4 or 5 nice fat cloves from this source. That seaweed/manure compost is just so rich and good looking - this has been such a good bed - it has enabled me to do more growing this year than I'd thought.

I have planted out some of my winter greens in between the rows of garlic - catch cropping - Prickly seeded spinach,various lettuces, salad leaves and spring onions. I have one chard plant left, celeriac and fennel are at the top of the picture, and a row of calendula at the front of the bed. Further down, there is some dwarf green kale, parsley and other salads - but there isn't a photo - sorry.

And a little experiment to end with - a very overexposed shot of my witloof chicory roots that I am going to force into lovely little chicons. Just enough for a nice starter for two! ♥

It is always nice to take a wee walk around the croft - hope you enjoyed it too. xx

A big decision

2011-11-09T08:01:00.000Z

One I had been putting off for a couple of years, but things were getting beyond my control, so when James surprisingly agreed, then we decided to go for it.

So we visited Kristine's friend, Louise, in her shop in the town.

He sat beautifully still...

all the way through, like a perfect angel.

A bit unsure here - such a drastic change for a wee boy.

But not for long - a few minutes later, he was laughing and playing in the woodland park.

"See how fast I can run without all that hair, Mum!"

Ah well...

Very cheesy pasta with parsley

2011-11-08T10:57:00.001Z

This is one of those "Aaarghh! It's 4.30 and I haven't thought about dinner and there is no food in the house!" meals. Good old Mac 'n Cheese - it's a great dish for using up bits and pieces lurking around in the fridge. I always seem to have several dog ends of cheese and a few limp vegetables kicking around, and really, as far as I am concerned there is not much that can't be redeemed by a generous dose of cheese sauce.
And so, I present:

Panic Pasta in Cheese and Parsley Sauce.
Sorry the measurements are so vague - I just kind of pour out until it looks enough. (You do that too, don't you?)

Cooked pasta of your choice. I usually have penne or the twirly kind or very occasionally, macaroni - about three quarters of a pound was used here

For the cheese sauce

1 generous knob of butter
1 large heaping tablespoon plain flour.

Melt the butter and add the flour
Stir and cook for a minute or two, so that it foams up nicely. If it is too thick and dry looking, add more butter, or if it is too runny then add in more flour.

Add some milk - I think it was around 1 pint, a little at a time, and mix in well at each addition, until you have a smooth looking mixture. Add salt and pepper and a bay leaf if you like. Bring to the boil over a low heat and simmer for a few minutes.

( if you want exact amounts - 1 oz flour, 1 oz butter and half a pint of milk should give you the consistency you need - double up or whatever accordingly)

Then add cheese - loads of it. Sorry, but I am quite extravagant with the fromage. I had a few ends of cheddar, some kind of soft cheese of indeterminate origin ( probably a brie type) and an end of parmesan - probably about 6 oz in all, but I do get a bit carried away with the grater. Grate it all together and stir in to your sauce. (Make sure you leave enough to scatter on the top). You don't need to cook it any more, as the cheese will melt in nicely.

At this point I remembered I had huge amounts of parsley growing in the herb bed, so nipped out, grabbed a bunch, chopped it up finely and threw it in. Parsley is a nutrient dense little herb, chock full of so many good things, so feel free to use it liberally.

Taste as you go and add more cheese if you need to.

Mix cooked pasta and parsley cheese sauce in an ovenproof dish. I use a shallow glass roasting dish. Cover with more grated cheese. I used more cheddar, and James likes the crispy cheesey bits, so we had a fairly liberal covering.

Brown under the grill or a hot oven for 10 minutes or so, until the top is nice and golden and bubbling and delicious, as Ina would say.

♥♥

Lots of ways to play around with this recipe

Sometimes I cook cauliflower or broccoli with the pasta (adding it in halfway through) and you get Cheesy Cauliflower pasta.

Sometimes I slowly cook leeks ( or onion) in butter and add to the sauce. Cheesy leek pasta.

Sometimes I add a spoonful of mustard to the sauce for a lovely piquant flavour. Cheesy Dijon pasta

Sometimes I mix breadcrumbs with a small amount of cheese for the topping Cheesy pasta gratin

Sometimes - I do all of the above! Seriously decadent and yummy cheesy pasta.

This amount fed 2 adults and a child for dinner and 1 adult and a child for lunch next day - but that is only because we are quite greedy and didn't have any salad or veg with it - also because it was very, very good.

Just garnishing the post with a sprinkling of Hebridean parsely.

Do try this at home - and let me know how it goes. I have added it to the recipe page xxx

Seven Days

2011-11-06T08:32:00.000Z

So many things happen in our busy lives that I want to hold on to. Little things - things that might go unnoticed, or missed in the hurly burly. Nothing special and yet - oh - how completely special!
The last Seven Days have been busy - filled with sunshine, community and celebration. Wonderful Autumn days - so many moments that have brought joy to my heart.

♥ Golden sunlight, setting - much earlier now - behind the Harris hills
♥ Halloween lanterns glowing in the window
♥ Warming meals - pasta in cheese and parsley sauce
♥ Pale blue Autumn skies and black seed-heads
♥ A few hours gardening
♥ Vikings :)
♥ Fireworks with friends.

What ordinary - extraordinary happenings have touched you in the last Seven Days? If you would like to join in - on any day, please leave a link in the comments, and we can all share in the joy.. xx

This moment...

2011-11-04T07:41:00.000Z

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Wishing you all fun filled weekend.

x♥x

Warmth, laughter, friends

2011-11-02T22:19:00.000Z

For Yarn Along this week, I am completely inspired by my wonderful friend Denise, who, with her family, spent last week with us. What a joy they were - the perfect guests, all the way through. They arrived, bearing beautiful gifts for us all. Among them was a pair of handwarmers for John and for me too (see here). Mine were knitted in gorgeous Stylecraft brushstrokes chunky yarn (acrylic, wool and mohair blend). It is hard to see in this poorly lit photograph, but the colours glow like jewels, and they feel so soft and warm. Denise also brought a few balls of the same yarn for me. Oh - oh - what to knit with it? I thought of a hat with a similar spirally pattern and found one today - here it is. Almost finished the ribbing and about to start the daisy stitch pattern.

The book was also passed on by Denise - originally intended for John but I picked it us and started leafing through it, as you do, and was soon caught up in the story. A very British tale, despite the title - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. It was funny, but serious - lots of layers to it, and characters that I actually cared about and wanted it all to work out for them. If the BBC were still doing quality drama, I would have expected this to have been made into a TV play by now.

What is everyone else reading and knitting? Thanks to Ginny at Small things for hosting this weekly knit and natter.

Samhain

2011-11-01T23:29:00.000Z

Samhain is the Gaelic name for the month of November. Traditionally the Celtic New Year - the end of Summer and the beginning of the dark half of the year. It was a time to draw inwards - retreat to the fireside - a time of remembering, giving thanks and reflecting on the busy season just past. It was also a time to look forward and plan. A time of new beginnings when we can nurture and nourish those seeds that have been sown deep within ourselves, ready to be planted out when the world turns again.

Wishing you all warmth, light and love as we, in the Northern lands move into Wintertime. Blessings to all.

Sheep dipping

2011-10-31T11:08:00.004Z

The sheep are gathered from the field and hill

and transported by various means to the sheep fank*

They wait their turn

As this age old dance takes place

Each knowing their steps in this complicated reel.

Down they go

round and round

muncuairt muncuairt

Then out they go - and next set please!

It is an easy gentle rhythm - punctuated by jokes and laughter

and the occasional blocked drain.

And boys are welcomed into the fold

- held up to see and wonder - and learn

as this spiral dance continues on.

and the sheep are soon back where they belong.

* fank - from the Gaelic word fangi - temporary enclosure or corral.

Seven Days

2011-10-29T19:06:00.001+01:00

We have had Seven Days of spending time with our beautiful guests. So many lovely moments - so hard to choose.

♥ Revelling in these glorious Autumn colours.
♥ Loving all those extra pairs of boots in the hall, still covered with sand from the beach
♥ Watching them fall in love with the stone circle
♥ Shopping in town, (or, if you are 4, then finding more interesting things to do);
♥ Halloween party fun
♥ Late night chess matches (with a wee dram by the side!)
♥ Then all too soon, these seven magical days are over, and we are saying goodbye.

It was such a wonderful holiday - missing them already.

If you would like to join in with your own Seven Days, please leave a link in the comments, so that we can all share in each other's ordinary, extraordinary days.
(I have made a little button on my sidebar that you are welcome to copy)

Just dropping in..

2011-10-26T09:19:00.000+01:00

to share a quick Hot Chocolate with you.

Having a wonderful time with our beautiful guests - just about to make up a few sandwiches for a beach picnic. Gorgeous sunny days. Wish you were all here.

♥♥♥

Seven Days

2011-10-22T09:00:00.001+01:00

A picture for every day of this mid October week. A week of gales, storms, freezing cold, and glowing Autumnal sunshine.

Big skies, big seas and vast empty beaches.

Long lazy breakfasts with family

Interesting sculptures found in a playground maze.

Gathering the sheep from the hill grazings

Hens at the end of the rainbow.

And all my girls together.

So many things happen in our busy lives that I want to hold on to and remember. Little things - things that might go unnoticed, or missed in the hurly burly. Nothing special and yet - oh - how completely special!

If you would like to join in with your own Seven Days, please leave a link in the comments, so that we can all share in each other's ordinary, extraordinary days.

This moment...

2011-10-21T09:33:00.000+01:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Wishing you all a weekend full of joy.

x♥x

Self Indulgence

2011-10-20T21:02:00.001+01:00

Loved having my elder daughter, son in law and grandchildren here with us for a few days. Such a blessing to spend some uninterrupted time with them. So - some Grandmotherly indulgence in this post, as I show off my snaps. Erin is 8 months already - such a happy face and a smile that lights up the world. Finlay is 3, and is a wee bit more serious - but you have to be when you are saving the world! They left on the ferry today and we miss them already.

Now, though, we are looking forward to our next visitors - the lovely Denise and her family are travelling a long way to spend a week with us. Lots of fun, food -maybe a bit of knitting and plenty of laughter.
xxx

Country lives and dreams

2011-10-19T20:52:00.001+01:00

Reading and knitting time again. I haven't been here for a couple of weeks, as i have not had anything new to show - I think you would all get pretty bored with a stripe by stripe account of my ripple, so i will give a little update on that soon.

There has been an icy north wind hereabouts over the last few days -real finger numbing stuff. James has been asking me to knit him something pink for ages, so the time seemed right for a pair of pink handwarmers. The yarn is from the stash I inherited from my mother - an aran, or worsted weight from the Falkland Islands. Most of the stash is cream, traditional aran sweater yarn, but there are two balls of bright cerise pink - just the job. I am making up the pattern based on various mitten instructions I have- the first time I have ever done this, so, if it works out I will share it here and on Raverly. Don't hold your breath though :)

I dreamt about my mother last night. In the dream, we were moving to America, but was concerned about leaving all my crafty stuff behind. She appeared and said to me "Don't worry - the first thing we see when we get to Santa Monica is a huge sewing machine shop." So there you are. I now have this wonderful vision of her having a wonderful time in a huge heavenly craft store - I like that.

Reading - well this week the Library Van came, and the lovely man had brought some books he thought I would like. A photographic history of the Women's Land Army, and a light and fluffy country romance type story, Mulberry Lane by Elvi Rhodes. I sometime go through phases when I like to read about English country village life, and this is one of them. It should pass soon.

So that is me this week, joining in with Ginny's wonderful Yarn Along. See you there. xx

Apologies again..

2011-10-17T22:26:00.000+01:00

I forgot to introduce to you our newest arrival, despite having heavily trailed its appearance in previous posts.

Here he comes, being put through his paces by one of our neighbours.

and by the proud Crofter himself.

Ok - not quite as cute as the piglets or cows, but very handsome nevertheless. So, without further ado, let me present our 1953 Ferguson TEF20 tractor. He hasn't been named yet - Fergie seems to obvious, and also, our surname is ferguson, so we have enough Fergie's in the family Any suggestions welcome below.

xxx

Seven Days

2011-10-16T20:04:00.001+01:00

A picture for every day of this busy week - a brief glimpse into what has been happening in our world.

There has been some crafting,

a visit to the Police Station

(James being given the thumbs up for knowing the emergency number)

A glorious hunter's moon

learning to play chess - (or chest, as James called it )

Fresh local food at the Crofter's market

and special little people staying in our house!

Wishing you all a wonderful week filled with blues skies and happiness.

xxx

Holy Cows

2011-10-14T09:53:00.000+01:00

Delia and Baby, our cows, have been up on a section of the hill grazing for a couple of months now, but we could see them most days as we passed along the road. At the beginning of the week, however, we noticed they were not around. No worries, to begin with, as just over that dip behind the trees, there is a small lochan where they go to drink, but a couple of days passed and there was no sign of the girls.
On Wedensday, while I was up to my eyes in pie crust, and errant piglets, John decided to take a walk up the hill and check on them. He covered the hill, but couldn't see any signs.

He noticed that Flossie and her calf, who had been their companions on the hill, had been brought down and were in a field near the house. Off John went to see if our two had come back down with them. He returned a couple of hours later and announced that our cows had found God!
Still thinking about our poor Robbie, my heart sank, as I imagined some tragic end for Delia and her daughter, but thankfully - all is well.

They had wandered through a gap in the fence which led to the garden of the old Free Church Manse, and couldn't get back out. They were just hidden enough that we couldn't see them, but as we climbed up the steep path, they came over to greet us very happily.

They are looking in great condition - Delia has lost a wee bit of weight, which is what we had hoped would happen.

They were very pleased to see James, anyway.

Now they are back grazing on the heather covered hillside for another week or so. We will bring them down to the croft when our visitors are here - and then Baby will be going to a very special place, for a secret rendezvous ♥♥♥!!!

Who ate all the pies?

2011-10-13T13:27:00.001+01:00

We had a cooking demonstration night at the village hall yesterday. Organised by the parents of the Croilegean ( playgroup) to end our healthy eating project. It was a great success.

We all contributed a pie or two - this is a small selection, there must have been around 20 pies altogether.

My offerings were - a bacon apple and onion pie (no, not yet...) Just bacon, onion apple and sage cooked together until nice and soft and melting, then sandwiched between two sheets of puff pastry - delicious. The other was a bit more time consuming - Rainbow Chard and Feta in a filo pastry. The recipe can be found here - well worth the effort , I have to say.

But - oh my! What a feast was in store for us before all that. Sneaking into the kitchen where some frantic food prepping was going on, I found a veritable rainbow of delicious colours.

And then it was time for the demonstration - we are so lucky to have such talented people in our community. The food was wonderful - and the taster-size portions were - well - Hebridean sized. As plateful after plateful of vegetarian picadillo with pancakes and salsa, followed by creamy kedgeree, macaroni bolognese, chicken princess, summer pudding and chocolate roulade were passed around, I began to wonder how we were going to be able to even look at a pie. But, somehow, we managed to do them justice.

It was great to see the children getting involved - handing out the plates, welcoming guests and just being part of it all.

And the Croileagan children had worked hard setting up their displays, making vegetable printed seed packets and collages to decorate the hall.

And the answer to the original question? Well - me, of course. Two slices of leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast - sshh, don't tell anyone!

p.s If anyone want the recipes from the cooking demo, drop me an email and I will send them as a word doc.

Pig patrol.

2011-10-11T22:43:00.000+01:00

Oh yes - we need the latest technology to keep up with these clever little piggies, whose sole mission seems to be to escape. Today, we returned home to find them happily waiting on the front doorstep for us.

They have found a way into the herb bed, and have had quite a bit of fun exploring in here. It seems that the electric fencing round the back of their pen was not working as well as it should.

Yes - it is you we are talking about! Look at them - butter wouldn't melt....
Anyway, hopefully we plugged this particular gap - until they find the next one. The orange string, by the way, has foil strips attached to it in a vain bid to keep the starlings away from their food. Yeah - right! Another battle lost.

Ah well - it is all part of life's generosity. Never a dull moment and all that. And just because, at the end of the day, those piggies are so cute - here they are starring in their own short video - Windy day in the Pig Pen.

Moving on

2011-10-10T11:35:00.000+01:00

I just have to say thank you to everyone for your wonderful comforting words. My heart is filled with your kindness and love.
There is still a Robbie shaped hole in the house, and I expect to see him tottering down the drive, or struggling up from his bed to greet us, but life moves on. Busy, busy week ahead - do drop by later and see what's going on.
Thank you again xxx

Bye, Old Friend...

2011-10-07T20:42:00.001+01:00

Run free.

xxx

A bit quiet on the home front

2011-10-06T22:26:00.000+01:00

Well, apart from the howling of the winds, that is.

Just really dropping in to say hello and apologise that I have not had time to visit everyone this week.

We have been very busy with our new charges - they escaped again yesterday, but happily came back following a bucket of pig nuts. They are so funny running around and suddenly spring up vertically into the air. Who said pigs couldn't fly? Mind you, with the winds we have had this week, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them shooting past the window. Still, they have made nice, cosy nests in their wee house, so they have been staying indoors quite a lot too.

And then Robbie is not great. He is 14, or 98 in dog years, is blind and has been struggling a lot with mobility problems for a while. He is in a lot of pain, and can't lie down for very long. We have been putting in a lot of night shifts with him lately, so it is time for a visit to the vet tomorrow. Hopefully he can prescribe some strong painkillers and maybe a sedative for night time. We will see. We certainly can't go on much longer like this.

On a happier note, we are also busy getting ready for our October visitors, as well as becoming involved in various community events. More on that next week - and - the new arrival...has arrived!
No pictures yet, as I haven't had a chance, but soon... oh yes. xxx

This week in Autumn

2011-10-02T22:14:00.001+01:00

Well it has been a hectic week, I can tell you. I really feel ready for this cup of tea. I have already blogged (if that is a verb) much of the happenings on the croft this week, but here are one or two bits and pieces that might have otherwise missed the cut.

The Autumn season moves on into it's second month - an Dàmhar (pr davaar), which means the rutting time. The leaves are turning now, and the browns and golds are covering the land.

While some parts of the mainland experienced an unseasonal heatwave - temperatures of 29 deg, I was told - we have been enjoying our usual mix of weathers here. Glorious sunrises, heavy rains and high winds, and then spectacular sunsets.

and the odd day of blue - blue skies - reflected in glassy calm seas.

You might have met the piglets in a previous post. They have calmed down a bit more, and there have been no more escape attempts today. Just snoozing in the warm morning sun, and settling into their house tonight - with a lot of jumping and running around in between.

We have had surprise presents in the post from lovely friends who are coming to stay with us in a few weeks time.

And we have played all afternoon on the beach. We never ever tire of this, and it really sets us up for another busy week.

I hope that the sun rises on a wonderful week ahead for you all. xxx

Who's afraid of the Three Little Pigs?

2011-10-01T22:18:00.003+01:00

Well - here they are! Three Gloucester Old Spot X Large White piglets arrived in the back of the truck this afternoon. They are absolutely gorgeous - three bundles of cuteness.

But, noses in the trough straight away, so they wont stay small for very long.

Then off to explore their new world - I think they will enjoy it once they settle in.

Robbie is a bit bewildered by them - although they look very interested in him.

In fact they are extremely inquisitive little creatures -

and their first quest was to find a way out.

And sure enough - they succeeded!

This evening, after a lovely dinner and very nice glass of Chardonnay, I wandered outside to photograph the stunning sunset - only to be met with three cheeky faces grinning in from the other side of the gate. Then, they turned their curly tails and trotted off down the road.
A rather frantic dash down after them, rattling a bucket of pig nuts, and we caught up with them at the Post Office. They dutifully trotted all the way back up - making a slight detour into a neighbours garden, only to run straight back out again when they came face to face with the Alsatian who lives there.

Alls well that ends well, however, and they are safely back in their home, suitably reinforced at the suspected weak spot. They are now curled up together, asleep in the middle of the shrubbery - recharging their energy for another round tomorrow. Challenging times ahead, I think - but fun too. xx

A Wee Road Trip

2011-09-30T12:03:00.003+01:00

Lets have a trip to another country for a change, shall we? Over the border into - na Hearadh (Harris). Driving towards those mountains that we look towards everyday - getting up close and personal to the Cailleach na Mointeach, or The Sleeping Beauty as she is also known, as we head South through Lewis.

Into Harris now, climbing up the mountainous road, that always reminds me of driving around Crete - especially on a day like this. Lets stop here and take in the view up to the head of Loch Seaforth.

Another stop before we begin our descent into Tarbert. Perhaps a better view of this can be seen in the previous post.

Moving along the road now - yellow snow poles to guide our way.

And then we arrive in the harbour village of Tarbert. Stopping in at the Harris Tweed shop there.

The MV Herbrides is just arriving from Uig in Skye with it's load of passengers. It looks for all the world as if it is going to swallow that lovely red and white motor launch.

The sea is so calm and blue today - everything is indeed in harmony.

Turning for home now, we stop just by Bunavoneadar to admire this stunning view, before heading into the mountain pass.

Looking back the way from a sunken parking spot, gives us a different view of the mountains.

and we take a moment to enjoy the splashing of this burn as it runs down the hillside.

before we follow the yellow poles towards home again.

This moment...

2011-09-30T07:24:00.000+01:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Wishing you all a spectacularly beautiful weekend

x♥x

Preparations are underway

2011-09-29T14:07:00.001+01:00

Fencing is going up.

Gates are being secured.

And a special little house is being cleaned and made ready.

Of course I did want to add some lovely flowery curtains, but I am not allowed to ~ sigh. Do check back over the weekend and see who is coming to live here.

For Katie

2011-09-29T12:10:00.000+01:00

Sad news today from my friend who has lost her precious tiny babe at just 20 weeks. Sending prayers and strength to Vanessa and her family. I hope you feel that hand of love on your shoulder.

I ♥ ♥ ♥ - yarn along

2011-09-28T18:01:00.004+01:00

Thought I would give you a wee rest from the ripple this week, and show you another couple of projects that are on the go. A neckwarmer/ cowl type thing for John, who is outdoors most days, and finding that Southwesterly quite draughty on the back of the neck. I am using Paton's Donata in a petrol blue shade to match his waterproof - how stylish he will be. It is a nice soft yarn - all acrylic, but it is a bit squeaky to knit with. This is my car project.
I am also knitting these wee hearts with a view to making ♥ ♥ ♥ bunting for the mantlepiece. I have an idea in my mind - no idea if it will work, but it looks a bit like this -

Red hearts and some kind of knitted or crocheted cord in green maybe?? Sorry about the very blurry photo - and - oooh - just look at that naughty ripple sneaking in there...tut tut ;)

This is my reading at the moment - very interesting library book about rationing in the years during and post WWII. And a big event, in my calendar, anyway, the arrival of the OG seed catalogue - yay.

Happy yarning everyone ♥ Joining in with Ginny and others for the weekly Yarn Along.

ETA: Quick pattern details for the little hearts - two minutes to do.
I am using a DK yarn and 5 mm needles, but you can use whatever you like really.
CO2
Knit into front and back of each stitch.
next and every alt row Purl
Inc 1st and last stitch on every knit row until 10 stitches are on needle
Purl
K2 tog, K3, Turn
Work on these 5 sts
P 2 tog X2
Cast off
Work on rem 5 sts
K3 K2tog
P2 tog X2
cast off - weave in ends and block

♥♥♥

Self Portrait

2011-09-27T12:24:00.003+01:00

This is me as I am sitting at my laptop right now - "talking" to you live, so to speak. Not a great photo, as all the light is behind me and it is a dull drizzly day. I don't often appear here - except for my toes :). It is not that I am particularly camera-shy, but as the house photographer and blogger, I use this space to record life through my eyes. My slightly techno-phobe husband is not as snap-happy as I am, and I have to specifically ask him to take a picture of me. James has begun lately to sneak off with the small digital, and I find it later with random images of cushions, me cooking, or blurred shots of his crushed car collection (surely every small boy has one of those?)
So this is how you will find me, most days as i sit down to do my computery stuff. Hope it hasn't scared you all away ;)
Thanks to Courtney for resurrecting this meme, which I missed last time around, and to Tracey for reminding me about it.

♥Look out for more beautiful bloggers on my sidebar.♥

This week in Autumn

2011-09-25T22:00:00.000+01:00

A lot of wind and showers this week, making the views blurry and rain splattered.

But there are always the rainbows...

and we can find some colour inside - finishing off on some long over due crafty projects -

starting new ones, and planning the next. Noticing how the colours of this Harris Tweed come straight from the landscape.

We never lack colour on the island - it surrounds us, even on these misty days

Indeed, colour is all around us.

Even down at the shore - we paddle along the golden peaty river -

and see that the sand looks a little bit browner than it did in the Summer. The only footprints are ours, today, but the Autumn winds are beginning to uncover the stones again, as the dunes shift and change.

I know that last week, I mentioned a new arrival - but this is not it. He is a very fine fellow though, isn't he? No, I am afraid you will have to wait another few days for the reveal!
Until then, I do hope you all have a wonderful week. xxx

This moment...

2011-09-23T09:35:00.000+01:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I am happy to be joining in again with Soulemama this week. Hoping that you too might find some quiet moments to yourself this weekend.

x♥x

Rippling Yarns

2011-09-21T20:43:00.000+01:00

Still rippling - still in love with it - still coming up with terrible post titles. It is just such a wonderful trippy off the tongue word - r-r-r-r-r-i-p-p-p-le! I think the colours are working out quite nicely on the whole. The first three stripes, and the pink in waiting are Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and the lilac is Millamia. Now that I am a few rows in, I am finding the pattern much easier to keep track of. A couple of times in the green and purple stripes, I had to frog back most of the row to rectify the mistake. I did think of ignoring it and bodging on, but no! I am still so elated that I can actually do this at all, so I want to do it right.

As for the reading - well, I just cannot lay my hands on the book I was reading, but it is The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico. It is not the edition in the link, but an old copy that I found on the charity book trolley in the supermarket (Co-op), for 50p. A beautiful tale about the relationship between a young girl and a hunchbacked artist during the WWII, and culminates in the Dunkirk evacuation.

Joining in this week's round of Yarn Along with Ginny again.
Love and blessings xxx

Growing Pains

2011-09-20T22:16:00.001+01:00

So - we have had a season's growing here at the croft and it is time for a review. What has worked - what hasn't - what will we do again and what will we do differently?
We had high hopes at the very beginning of the year with our seaweed collecting and compost heap building, as well as having three of our neighbour's pigs helping us out with some land clearance. Despite such a promising start, however, we lost most of the Spring, due to the house sale and move, and John's back injury, during March and April; and the twenty nine days of torrential rain and winds we had during May. Most of the sowing and planting was done in between the peat digging in early June.

Nevertheless, we have had reasonable success. We have had salads all through the summer - the pea and chard crop has been wonderful, and we are just starting to enjoy the first of the broad beans. Fennel, kale and celeriac are looking promising, and my first attempt at forcing chicons might just happen this year. The tomatoes - well they may ripen - or they may not. We were very late in planting these - and had to choose from the last few stragglers available in the garden centre. The lack of a greenhouse hampered tomato progress somewhat too.

One thing I remembered from the heavy snows last Winter was the lack of green stuff available in the garden and in the shops. With that in mind, I planted up several rows of hardy lettuce, greens, prickly seeded spinach and broccoli rabe. Along with the kale and chard, we should have a reasonable supply for the next season. You may also notice the abundance of chickweed happily growing away all over the place too, so we will include that in our winter harvest.

All in all, the growing shed system has been a good thing, and it has allowed us to put some home grown produce on our table in this first short season - and that is an important part of the plan for us.

Now, what hasn't gone so well? Remember all those potatoes? All 40kg of them? They all rotted in the field during our Monsoon May. We just hashed in getting these tatties in the ground as soon as we arrived - not waiting for the drainage to be sorted out (it still isn't done yet, by the way). This was part of the ground that the pigs were on, and just look at it. Ah well, a big lesson learned.

Likewise with the carrots and onion sets, which were planted side by side in this plot.

All may not be quite lost here, as there are signs of carroty growth under the weed cover. I will leave it until October and see if they fatten up a bit. I have to add here that I did use very cheap seed, bought from a bargain store, but I don't think that was the reason for the failure. The main reason for this and the potato
no-show was that we had poor drainage and hadn't prepared the ground properly. This field had not been grown on for many years, and apart from putting pigs on it for a couple of months, we did nothing else to it before we planted.
I am not beating myself up over this though. It was never going to be as productive as my last garden, where the fertility had been built up over 10 years - certainly not after 6 months. And anyway, I have cut back a lot on carbs - so at least I don't have to deal with all those potatoes ;-)

So, what next? Well, the growing shed will not be such an easy option next year, as the sheep, cows and hens will be sharing the field. We will, of course, be using the strip grazing technique, so the animals can be kept out easily enough, but those hens... And we have decided to re-roof the shed anyway - probably using it again as a lambing shed.
A big down point for me was that the croft land is a fair walk from the house, a few fields away. As our working roles have developed, I found I was spending more time at the house than down at the croft, so popping out for a basket of peas, weeding the onion bed, or watering the tomatoes could be a bit of a logistical operation. James didn't want to spend all his time at the croft either - he liked to be at home or out in the garden, and John found much of his time taken up with the livestock and building repairs. As we go on, and James get older, this will change, but for now that is how it is, so we need to incorporate these outcomes and needs into our planning.
I want to grow enough to feed us with fresh produce and to have enough surplus to preserve for year round use, and it needs to be accessible, or it will not work. We will be working on the fertility and quality of the croft land to grow larger crops of carrots and root veg, and will be putting up a sizeable polytunnel, but what we really need for the next growing season is a kitchen garden.

And this will be it - at the front of the house. It is not a great photograph, and it is hard to show the extent of the land, which goes well out to the side there - probably about 1/4 of an acre. it is mostly grass, with a few stands of willow here and there. There are some ancient gooseberries and blackcurrants that have had their day, so will be replaced, and there are one or two herbaceous plants which we will move. I envisage several vegetable beds taking up all that grassy area, ornamental borders on three sides of the plot, some woodland planting where the willows are, and a fruit plot at the far edge. Ooh - can't you just see it now? I need to fit in a small greenhouse somewhere, but there is plenty space around the side of the house - oh - and a storehouse/ root cellar type structure too...
I am sooo excited by this plan. Now I need to walk the talk, as they say.

I am getting some specialised help with starting this off, though. Our very own pigs will be arriving in a few weeks, and they will have their first living quarters on the front lawn!

So - that's the plan - now where are those seed catalogues?

This week in Autumn

2011-09-18T12:27:00.001+01:00

What a glorious Autumn week it has been here. I love the glowing colour of this crocosmia - a common sight all over the island right now, where it is often grown as a windbreak. it really comes into it's own at this time of year.
Thankfully the anticipated storm passed us by, although I know some areas on the mainland had high winds. We enjoyed being out and about most days, appreciating the colours of the season. So many lovely things about the past week - here are some of them.

Sunny mornings, still warm enough to sit outside with an early cup of tea

and watch the tide seep silently into the sea-loch.

Driving into town, beautiful skies, straight roads, and good music playing on the radio. Feeling my heart signing along with the sheer joy of it all.

Finding subtle Autumn colours down at the seashore,

and enjoying an impromptu beach picnic with a boy.

Finding more obvious signs of the season, strolling through the castle grounds

and enjoying a delicious lunch with a girl.

Misty Mountains,

Celebrity football matches (Police V Fire Brigade)

Family Fun days,

and huge bowls of home-made popcorn.

I hope you are enjoying the changing colours of your season, and that you have some space and time to bask in the everyday beauty.
Another busy week ahead for us - a lot of crofting and crafting coming up - and a new arrival! All will be revealed in the coming week, so join me then.

♥ Love and blessings to you all for the coming week♥

Rippling along

2011-09-14T11:33:00.000+01:00

So - if you have been following my recent crochet conversion, you may know about my desire to ripple. I did a practise swatch at the weekend - and here it is. What do you think? Pretty good - huh?
I loved doing it, and really got into the rhythm of it all. Ready for the real thing?

Let's Ripple!

And again!

I have crocheted the foundation chain - 227 sts, and started on the first row last night. This is the hardest part, as I really have to keep counting all the time to set the pattern up. So - no distractions until that is done.

I am choosing colours completely at random, by closing my eyes and picking a ball out of the basket. First out was Debbie Bliss cashmerino DK in green (shade 18011).

No time for reading at the moment( except for glances at the new Country Living magazine), as this is taking up all my 'time to myself' moments, but James's bedtime reading right now is Exploring the Deep, by Jacques Cousteau. A charity shop find for £1, and an absolutely delightful book. What a beautiful gentle writer M. Cousteau is - even when he is describing some scary moments.

I am happy to be joining in with the Yarn Along weekly posts, hosted by Ginny @ Small Things. Pop over and explore the wonders of the woolly world.

The Returning

2011-09-13T20:11:00.000+01:00

Almost 180 years after being found hidden in the shifting sand dunes of Uig, six of the Lewis Chessmen returned 'home' just for a day. Of course, we had to head over and see them in situ.

I must apologise for the very blurry photographs, but they were the best I could do today. I hope you are able to make out those doleful expressions. The Queen, King, Bishop, Warder and Knight are pictured above. The King is pretty scary looking, sitting there with his sword across his knee. The story of the Lewis Chessmen is very interesting, and the details can be found here - much better than any of my retelling.

The carving is beautiful - even the back of the pieces are richly decorated. It was a good visit today - lots going on. There were two Vikings in the museum, giving spindle and weaving demonstrations and telling stories of battles and bravery, and BBC Alba were recording some interviews.

James wasn't in the mood for that though - he wanted to go to the museum cafe for a bowl of their delicious homemade soup.

So, I had a pot of tea and, a slice of Victoria sponge cake - oops - just crumbs left, sorry!

So, since we were over there anyway, we decided to go on the couple of miles to the place where the chess set was originally found. It just happens to be one of our favourite beaches too :)

When we got there, we found these large arrows marked in the sand, pointing towards the dunes. Was that a clue perhaps? Who knows.

One of the local Bards has written a poem to celebrate the return of the Chess pieces to their finding place. It is just so beautiful, and you can read it here. It is in Gaelic, but there is an English translation further down the page.