A hedgerow update

Every time I get a minute to myself, something crops up. I have decided to sit and have a veg out evening tonight. Fire is about to be lit, Jase is away and the hens are tucked up for the night. It is perishingly cold this evening. My shorts and t shirt aren't keeping me warm!

Have had a busy week. Am back to work on Tuesday and my 9 days off have flown by. Got lots done though.

Our internal doors are finally finished. Reclaimed pine, waxed (one coat only) and look stunning! I have forgotten to take pictures, but will soon.

I spent a few hours making more skittles for the fayre and have one set finished now, and who would guess they started life as a broom handle!


Only 5 more sets to paint, and adorn with festive felt hats! Ho ho ho...

Jase and I went to Ikea the other day. First stop the restaurant! Meatballs, chips and gravy. An absolute must! Once our hunger was satisfied, we headed for the marketplace and picked up candles, you can never have too many, jars, ditto, and fabric. I have made my feelings about fabric known before! The trouble with Ikea is queuing for the tills. Only 2 open and 6 '15 items or less' tills. Who goes to Ikea and buys less than 15 items? I ask you?? Luckily we took Mortimer the Mini, so we couldn't buy too much!

Jase spent the day playing with his new toy. A pressure washer. After cleaning years of grime from the patio, he attacked the table and chairs. What better way to show off my new fabric vase, displayed on a newly 'blasted' table.


Ikea fabric, measured, hemmed and slipped over a tall glass - also Ikea. A lovely idea and will be many more of those.



The hedgerow down the lane is heaving with fruit. I picked several pounds of blackberries, sloes and rosehips. The blackberry vodka and sloe gin are made and safely stashed away, ready to decant into nice bottles for Christmas. More blackberries have been turned into Bramble jelly and I had enough left to bottle with some cooking apples to hide away for crumble filling later in the year.

I spent today chopping rosehips, boiling them, straining and reboiling with sugar. We now have 3 litres of rosehip syrup. I have not tried it before, but it is lovely. A slosh in a mug and topped up with hot water should give me a vitamin C hit and keep the colds at bay this winter.




Feathers are everywhere as Agnes is still moulting, as is Cornelia, now Winifred has joined them. Agnes and Winnie have stopped laying - well Winnie hasn't laid since the 12th July, but she has been unwell. Cornelia, Pru and Elsbeth are laying well though, so we haven't run out of eggs yet! When I cleaned out their runs the other day, they had a riot on the patio and borders. Cornelia needs no excuse to sunbathe........




Causing chaos amongst the daisies....




Mum and Dad came over for dinner yesterday and Jase made a cheesecake complete with smooshed (is that a word?) up crunchie bars in it. It is calling me from the fridge and I feel it would be rude to ignore it. My magazine dropped through the door yesterday, so will finish up here and read for a while. Country Living and cheesecake. What more could I want?