ADVENT -anniversaries,decorations,visitors, extras, Northernpowergrid, tables and trees

Yes, I know, it’s been a long time so sit tight ready to get engaged with the goings on at Green Lane; perhaps a cuppa (or something stronger!) might sustain you through the marathon that is both updating and December.

What a find! Whilst browsing in the local Hospice Shop I spotted a rather brilliant geometric fabric still on its cardboard pole. £2.00! Surely not! It was – wow! I had no idea what I would make with it but at that price I had to have it. Later I turned it into a Roman Blind for Chris’s Room, edging it with the remnants from two other projects both of which I had used in Chris’s room; so, wonderful coordinating. Chris was pleased with the results but he had no idea what I had lined up on my ‘list’ of things pre-Christmas.

Later in the month, I used the cardboard tube for the base of my garland decorations – waste not want not. Then recycled once the decorations came down.

Little did I know that Chris also had plans of his own …

Having been inspired by the progress made as the downstairs started to look so much better and more finished, he decided to try his hand at plastering. The door that we had replaced in the kitchen had remained an eyesore for over a year but as can be seen it started to improve as Chris re-routed electric cables, put up new lights and plastered the window surrounds. I later painted it and it all looked great for Christmas. Thanks, Chris, job well done.

But this was just the start of his madly creative period – he then looked at my design ideas for my room and translated them into reality. I am REALLY thrilled with my almost finished room. It looks just as I imagined it. It is a light and calm room filled with photos and sentimental knick knacks.

Following this I took a quick look around the charity shops and found two rugs – one for Chris’s room and one for mine. Job almost done. I now have another purpose built shelf under my desk area for the printer and space for a basket holding files and stationery – perfect!

Well, you must be asking yourselves, what have you been up to since Chris seems to be doing so much. Glad you asked. I had been busy preparing for Christmas – making and sending Christmas cards, sewing, crocheting and knitting gifts and buying presents, as well as making Christmas puddings and cake – catch a taster from the following photos:

Yes – I know there are two tea cosy covers but when I had made one my sensible husband suggested that there might be further demand for said item so he advised that I made another one, which I did. The cake was decorated using my Mum’s original cake decorations from the 1960’s. I just had to use them all.

Well, is that all you did, I hear – no, on the second weekend of December my Mother was volunteered to help the grandchildren and me wrap and label all their presents that they had bought for family and friends.They had saved their pocket money, made lists of friends and a joint list for family and we hit the shopping heights at Skippingdale Retail Park which seemed to provide nearly all their requirements. Each grandchild had their own basket and I had three envelopes filled with their saved pocket money.

What a marathon – 6 hours of cutting, wrapping, sticking and writing. Thank heavens that Great Grandma was there …

Look at Madeleine’s gift bags already done and arranged on the window sill – still more to go though. Daisy wrote every single one of her gift labels but we did have to stop her writing her name in full – we felt that everyone already knew that it was Daisy Sullivan giving the gift (so no need for her surname, even if it was written in her best handwriting!) Matthew quietly got on even though we did have to do a bit of top up shopping in the Barton charity shops – Aunty Lucy was the lucky recipient of one such bargainacious find!

On the other hand I had to wrap all our presents on my own …

Not bad, now what’s next?

The first fortnight of December was quite full on as we celebrated Daisy’s 6th birthday on December 10th and Lucy had her first birthday celebration as part of our family on December 11th.

A perfect start to a great birthday. Birthday breakfast followed by a trip to Normanby Hall as a family for tea, feeding the reindeer and a visit to see Father Christmas.

What a lovely day and we know that James organised lovely things for Lucy but perhaps not a trip to see Santa!

On Thursday 14th December Chris and I celebrated 39 years together – I know, where does the time go? Also, Northernpowergrid turned up as scheduled, to remove the redundant electricity pole outside our driveway. This was the final part of a request I made when we first moved in – so, only three years. Worth the wait though. Everyone was efficient and the pole was removed quickly – it just took another week for the hole to be filled in. Oh well!

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Of course Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree, or two, or three – oh heck four! It started as it always does with my usual refrain, “Chris, I’ve had an idea …” so, the pallet that had been part of our cast iron radiator delivery was cut up into tree shapes ready for painting and using in the gardens. Chris really is getting great use out of his reciprocal saw …

… as if this was not enough I had also asked him to construct a Christmas tree shaped log-store from the leftover lap-edge fencing. I think he enjoys the challenge.

I think you’ll agree that they really added something to our garden.

Usually being the person who arranges and organises things I was completely unprepared for what occured on my birthday – Thursday 21st December rolled around, James and Lucy had arrived on the 20th and we were all starting to get into the swing of things; David and Heather were due later on so all was going to plan. Hannah had asked if she and the children could come over for breakfast – of course, we were delighted. I was amazed and thrilled when my sister Suzanne and my niece Samantha turned up from Harrogate with bubbly, salmon, caviar, bagels and cake! What a beautiful and loving surprise. Thank you so much. We were all having such a great time that no one took any photos so you will just have to imagine how lovely it was. It doesn’t hurt to say thank you again though, so a very big loving thank you.

Just before this I had ‘another idea’ which my lovely husband undertook with a great deal of faith. Apart from wooden trees I persuaded him to make a new table to accommodate all of the visitors we were expecting over the Christmas period – to increase the imperative, I donated our dining table to the local British Red Cross shop which is where I had bought it from three years previously! So, look what my clever husband made:

Yes! I know! It is brilliant!

And look at how well it fits the dining space and that it will seat eight people comfortably and ten if needed. Just what I wanted – a table fit for purpose. Hairpin legs bought online and scaffolding boards from B&Q. Excellent.

The cheery Christmas vibe is definitely apparent now – decorations up in the dining room and in the front and back gardens, lights twinkling and of course the real Christmas tree (number 4).

In the front room I put up my LED tree with the jolly Santas and delicate Angels as well as the polar bear ornaments for the grandchildren.

Like us the ‘children’ had been busy decorating their homes, creating DIY Advent calendars, making unusual Christmas trees and making festive goodies to give as gifts or to share throughout the Yuletide. All were a great and delicious success.

The granddaughters not to be left out had decorated and labelled a dozen little cress heads. Over a period of time Chris and I had collected egg shells in preparation for Daisy to grow mustard and cress in them; about ten days before Christmas she seeded the eggshells stuffed with damp cotton wool and watered them regularly until they had all grown a fine ‘mop of green hair’. Hannah suggested that they make place names out of them. Carefully the girls illustrated and coloured and labelled each ‘hairy egg’ – fantastic and what a great addition to the Christmas table. Well done, girls, I can’t wait to see what you do for next Christmas.

I think they tailored each one to suit the recipient!

By the afternoon of the 21st December the family had all arrived – from Hastings in East Sussex and from Edinburgh, Scotland and how delighted we were to see them. Did they come for a free ride and a laze about? Certainly not. They had planned to take over Christmas and make it a culinary delight and a hands on cooking experience for all. It truly was a brilliant and wonderful Christmas – beautiful people, wonderful food, great games, lots of loving and sharing. Yet another big thank you these wonderful people for making Christmas exactly what it should be – magical xxx

No mistletoe necessary!

Christmas dinner which we had at Prospect House with Hannah, Matt and family was superb. The food looked beautiful and almost jewelled and it tasted divine; what a menu and what a great team of cooks working together. Who can forget the garlic /lemon prepared Turkey, the delicious stuffings, vegan offerings, pickled red cabbage, the gravies, sauces, custards and special Islay Marmalade Pudding! Phew! What a blowout!

Despite it being half way through January we want to wish you all a very wonderful 2018.

Part II – Foreign Fields, Fencing, Fruitfulness, Fixing, Flowering – and finally the FWord!

Foreign Fields – I am sure that all of you will have noticed that these photos do NOT show foreign fields but they do show Madeleine doing research and work on her diary following a school trip to Boppard in Germany. Foreign Fields to follow….

Ja, das ist wunderbar

I hope you spotted the ‘foreign field’ which fascinated Madeleine because it was so neat.

Some of Madeleine’s favourite places – The Schokolade Museum Lindt! Of course!

Meanwhile back in Barton upon Humber Chris had taken up fencing – no, not swordplay. Less like Errol Flynn and more like Donald Trump – putting up fencing!

Down with the old and up with the new but first of all he had to hack down all the small trees and bushes that were rampaging either side of the original fence.

Great job, Chris.

We kept the old fence in place until the new one was up in order to preserve our privacy and the security of our garden as the pathway outside is well used.

The old fence panels have been recycled (after I stripped them of the ivy) and they are now part of Wes and Rosa’s garden and will also be used in Hannah’s garden at Prospect House – just another job, Chris, don’t hang about, darling.

As you can see, I not only stripped off the ivy, leaving a really good fence panel ready to be re-used but I have also been painting the fence. I kept wishing I was Tom Sawyer and that I could fob the job off onto someone else – any volunteers? We have the other side to do as well!

Aah, what is this? Well, it’s a delivery by James from Barton Builders of slate chippings – a tonne of them. So, many chips off the old block! My latest idea for garden beautification and yet another job for Chris …

To be fair I had dug over, weeded and de-rooted (is there such a term?) the patch of earth in front of the new fence panels in preparation for Operation Slate.

Chris custom made edging and posts before putting down the plastic weed suppressant ready for shovelling in a tonne of slate chippings. So good for his core strength.

Notice the little ramp that Chris created in order to run the wheelbarrow over before tipping it onto the prepared area. Starting to look really good. I had already painted the garden picnic bench to contrast strongly with the pale colour on the fence.

This rather old but very serviceable wooden bookshelf was being thrown out by my Mum’s neighbour, Harold, so we took it off his hands and I painted it to match the picnic bench. I have now filled the shelves with herbs and lots of pots of wild strawberries ready to plant outside the fence to add to the greenery beside the public pathway.

More recycled stuff to paint up and add to the garden. Madeleine busy finishing a House banner for school Sports Day – Go Ancholme House!

Festivities – Madeleine’s 13th birthday – a teenager! Birthday tea with the family.

Frozen – Summer is finally here and so are the lollies. Very lovely watermelon ones from the Co-op. Chris behaving as usual!

Flowers, Food and Friendly Folk. Despite editing and producing and distributing The Barton Allotment Society Newsletter we almost missed the date but here are just a few of the photos from a lovely afternoon spent with some really lovely people  Barton Allotment

As summer continues it becomes clear that we need a gazebo, obviously Daisy is on hand to help Grandad.

Paddling pool out and granddaughter wet.

Flowering – the garden is starting to look like a lush paradise. The new fence with its beautiful seaside blue shade of paint really sets off the greenery. How lucky are we.

Remember those strawberries? Well Daisy as usual wanted to help so here she is squashing the strawberries in the Maslin pan in preparation for starting off the jam.

So, Strawberry Jam made – two jars already consumed (one of those with lovely scones and clotted cream), one given to Great Grandma, one jar to Heather and David – leaving six jars and a lone jar of Redcurrant Jelly (currants courtesy of Ursula our next door but two neighbour).

Fair weather temporarily in abeyance – just as well for us as all five of our water butts were pretty empty. They are now full along with various containers – in total over 500 litres. Water conservation in extremis! So good for the garden as you can see in the following photographs.

Flowering 

No reason for these photos except I really like them and I really love the subjects x

NOW FINALLY – THE FWORD

Family pride here. As you may know, Heather Parry (David’s partner) is a recognised and already published writer and here is her latest offering. Well done, Heather. To contact 404INK:

CONTACT 404 ink    Facebook 404INK

Or follow Heather on:

WEBSITE HEATHER PARRY

Many thanks for reading the latest post. I hope you enjoyed it and if you did please comment – I like to get the feedback.

Family Fun, Furnishings, Foreign Fields, Fencing, Fixing, Flowering and Fruitfulness – phew! Part I

Family Fun – well, we had to start off in May with a fun event at The People’s Theatre in Scunthorpe. It was a great show and we did not ‘dribble on the dragon’. Much to Matthew and Daisy’s delight Grandad was  looking in quite the wrong direction when approached by one of the main characters! Paying close attention – as usual!

Family Fun has always got to include getting wet – and since we had managed not to ‘dampen the dragon’ instead we decided to ‘dunk the grandchildren’. Well done Grandad for heaving all the warm water up the garden from the kitchen.

Furnishings – first take the large bolster from an old futon bed and a charity find curtain and then make them into a slimmer and longer bolster cushion for the back of Hannah’s settee (that has a low back; so uncomfortable for the neck)

  

Assemble all tools – insides of old bolster, large kitchen knife, extra wadding and fine fabric to encase modified bolster cushion. So professional!

Recycling the zip from the old futon bolster and the piping from the old sofa bed (shown in all its recovered glory later on in the blog), I made up the cover for the new bolster.

Job done – looking pretty nice and I was very pleased to have modified each end with the hem edging from the old curtain and just enough left over to make a fab cushion cover to help pull the whole look together when it goes into Hannah’s front room.

Very on trend – very contemporary.

More Furnishing Firsts – take a charity shop tub chair from IKEA and recover it in stretchy denim to enhance Chris’s Music Room.

Couldn’t resist recovering a cushion with some brilliant Orla Kiely fabric! I hope Chris appreciates the aesthetics!!

 

Fields! Well not exactly a field as this is our allotment near the Humber Bridge. This is now much greener – especially the weeds!!

Fruitfulness This is the start of the Strawberry crop and the development of the Raspberries. Thanks go to David for ‘helping’ to prune these earlier this year!

Scrumptious strawberries – now what to do with them? What about making them into jam ready for a few entries into the Barton Allotment Show in July – good idea, Stephanie.

“A few more strawberries from the garden, Gran” “Thanks, Daisy, just what I needed!”

The first quarter – or a round up of the last months!

Source: The first quarter – or a round up of the last months!

The first quarter – or a round up of the last months!

Crikey, doesn’t time fly? So, this is a round up of the last four months since I posted on the blog and potentially the start of a more regular update …. oh well, we can but hope! This will involve lots of family events and a sort of ‘off piste’ reporting on work undertaken at Prospect House (our daughter’s ‘family’ home in Goxhill), trips, projects, hobbies and celebrations. So here goes.

JANUARY: Well, it snowed but not for long and not very much but it did look pretty so we had to take photographs.

Snow obviously requires the necessity of woollen accessories, so hats for all and scarves also but much later on … for the moment it meant a ‘Brownie Hat’ plus bobble for Heather based on the original pattern for Brownie hats in the 1960’s and a slightly smaller version for Matthew.

Chris’s ‘music room come man cave’ is now pretty much finished so I just felt it was right to show his new room in all its pristine glory before he actually started to use it. As can be seen it is clean and tidy but I fear it will not remain like this for long. The obligatory jar of Liquorice Allsorts takes pride of place above his LP collection (in case of extreme low blood sugar, you understand).

I am really pleased with these new kitchen lights that have replaced the bargainacious £4.50 find from the local charity shop. These were also a bargain having been reduced from £140.00 to £54.00 on Wayfair – an online shop that has some very reasonably priced homeware. Of course, waste not want not means that Hannah has now got the charity shop lights at Prospect House – and yes, of course, Dad fitted them.

Having completed (well almost) the ‘music room’ better known as Grandad’s Room and put in the dividing corridor Chris was now free to finish off the side wall created by the corridor, in the sitting room. We had decided to utilise the stepped in spaces left by the original glass door panels as two alcoves to house CDs and to create a feature in what would otherwise be a fairly boxy space.

We were both very pleased with the overall effect and the use of space to store part of our music collection and it has turned a blank area into a much more interesting feature.

Finally, we decided to clad this wall as this is a ‘feature theme’ throughout the house and we have painted it pale grey – it looks very nice.

Please notice very tasteful painting of ‘Mackerel’ by Meg which beautifully coordinates with our colour scheme – well done, Meg.

Much to my great surprise and even greater pleasure was the effect of the re-covered sofa. I had ordered a ‘stretch to fit’ cover for the rather shabby orange sofa we had bought in the British Red Cross Charity shop in Barton as a way of quickly upstyling it but when it arrived I was not immediately impressed – this response was to be completely reversed once I had fitted it onto the old sofa. If not exactly WOW it was now much better looking and with the newly re-covered cushions that I had run up the sitting room was starting to have a much more unified look.

Of course I was still busily knitting hats – here’s one for Madeleine and behind me is a pile of fabric waiting to be made up into a variety of new things. Note to self: ‘make sure they don’t just join all the other projects you had in mind but didn’t manage to get around to’. Further note to self: ‘check on stash of fabric currently residing in not just one but two ottomans upstairs!’ Sigh.

Chris, meanwhile, had gone into the shoe-mending business; gluing Madeleine’s boot sole and of course jamming it into the drawer in order to hold the two areas together whilst the glue set! Smart, versatile and inventive, that’s Grandad for you!

At the start of the month I belatedly took cuttings from the Mulberry tree at Prospect House and with fingers crossed (hard when you are planting out) I prepared and potted 36 cuttings. Much to my surprise and great pleasure the cuttings seem to have taken and we have given some to Renee and Jim, Peter and Annie, Wes and Rosa and their son Andy and as you can see we still have plenty left….

I knitted several cushion covers and made them up using fabric from old skirts donated by my Mother.

 

As you all know, my Mother broke her legs in November and she has made magnificent progress since then and she is getting much better. She only had two hospital appointments this month – now only one cast (much shorter than the previous one) and a knee brace! She is making tremendous progress and is increasingly independent – well done, Mummy, we are really proud of you.

Well, that was the best part of January

FEBRUARY: Cold and wet weather so just the right time for NorthernPowergrid to start work on re-laying the electricity cables in preparation for removing the pole outside our house that impedes access to our ‘driveway’. You may remember that we had made the application to have the pole removed nearly two years ago and as you can see from the photo below it is in an inconvenient place.

I must remember to go out in disguise just in case the neighbours decide to turn violent – and who could blame them; traffic hold ups, debris, filth and inaccessible pavements as well as the weather to contend with, perhaps I’d best leave the country.

Not only was this totally disruptive but also very noisy – oh joy!

Inside all was progressing smoothly. Chris had to fit a new ceiling light in the bathroom. I had already found a bargain light fitting at a car boot sale in Kent the previous September for £3.00 and all that had to be done was to fit it – right? Wrong!

First off Chris had to go into the en-suite shower room and crawl through an attic access that was designed for one of slightly slenderer proportions than my rather cuddly husband, drill a hole into the ceiling of the main bathroom in order to site the cable for the new fitting as there was no previous fitting in that area. Whilst he was up there he had to squeeze himself under the horizontal roof braces in order to rewire the pull switch so that it connected to the new main light. I was suitably subdued as I had blithely suggested the work, in the first place!

Hmmmm, quite a small space !

Handsome in a hat

Knitting of scarf

Wearing of knitted combo

First Heather, then David. Everyone has to have a scarf and hat – it gets cold in Edinburgh. Rockin’ that combo, David.

In the meantime I was also engaged in re-covering the settee from Prospect House. Always thrifty, I unpicked and re-used the piping and zips! I also used two old thin duvets that had been washed in order to add some plumpciousness to the rather bedraggled seat cushions and the back cushion was made up from the mattress part of a futon bed and the rest of the duvet! I had bought the fabric from a great new shop near Uckfield called Expectations. I really recommend it – great service and even greater selection.

The end product – complete with same coloured antimacassars (that’s not a word you see often). This was ready in time for my Mum’s birthday bash on March 12th!

I wasn’t the only one going upholstery mad. Heather (girlfriend of our son David) was busy learning a few skills herself. Well done, darling girl, only another three to go! It looks great and a really zingy colour.

Of course, more knitting was being done. A scarf for James and yes, you guessed it, all yarn was purchased from charity shops, unfortunately not quite enough for a hat as well though.

Heather has a great passion for bread and here are just some of her wonderful offerings.

In the spirit of competition I also made a quite large French Apple Tart – all the adults loved it but the grandchildren were not sure! What’s not to like? Too much fruit?

Chris has numerous skills but this one took the biscuit. Long distance DIY mending advice on how to ‘get your washing machine to work’. James (our other son), lives in Hastings and true to his thrifty upbringing was delighted to be offered a free washing machine which his dear friend Pasquale picked up for him and helped him get up two flights of stairs to his flat – the only trouble was that it didn’t seem to want to work. So, long distance Dad did what all Dads do – helped out. After the ‘operation’ we are delighted to say that the patient is now fully recovered and washing everything to perfection. Well done, Dad. Well done, James and thank you Pas.

Spring is on its way. Everywhere there are snowdrops, crocuses, blossom and daffodils – (these ones came from our allotment) lovely.

So, also time for a new image I think.

…. and a new skill.

Our friend, Jim Clements who makes these delightful little figures, runs a woodcraft stall under the name of Hallsgate Wood. He owns a 5 acre wood near Elham in Kent and is a woodsman through and through and constantly creating new and unusual objects. These little guys were being made ready for Christmas this year – Jim has made lots of the Father Christmas figures. My attempt at a spin on this was the rather overly painted ‘King’ but Jim has taken the idea and is creating more little figures with much better results. I particularly love the humorous details like the pink feet of the shepherd!

Speaking of creating – below we have the first ‘picture’ of the latest creation in the Sidwell/Bloomfield Clan. A baby brother for Marleigh, due in the summer. Good luck, Nic and keep well.

MARCH: Another busy month but one full of surprises and celebrations

As you can see The Barton Allotment Society has come into focus on our blog and into our lives too not only through our two half plots but as Chris has been co-opted onto the committee in order to create and run the Allotment website. Congratulations, Chris.

The first two weeks of March were busy for my Mum who was liberated from her plaster cast but then had the first of her cataract operations – on the day before her birthday! We were already planning a family get together so we hoped all would be well for her birthday surprise. The Clan converged from the far south, the Humberside, from parts of North Yorkshire and the granite heights of Edinburgh and they were prepared to party like someone was 88!

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Everyone had a brilliant time and Mummy was totally surprised and delighted to have us all there, sharing her lovely day.

Not long after the birthday bash we were invited for a relaxing weekend in Edinburgh with David and Heather but ….. before we were due to arrive ‘could we make a magazine rack?’ Of course! No problems! What else are we doing three days prior to setting off? So, here was our effort from photos sent to us most helpfully by David and Heather. Actually it looked really very nice when it was put up on that following weekend. You never know what you can do until you try.

Matthew (our lovely grandson) has so far been awarded three walk to school badges under the scheme called ‘Park and Stride’ to encourage children to walk to school – easy for Matthew as he always walks to school. Well done, Matthew.. these have now been followed by a further three badges for three more weeks completed. Grandad always keeps an eye out for Matthew as he crosses the road solo and he is excellent and careful every day.

We all went to see Matthew’s play at school called ‘Super Stan’. It was great fun and all of the children were great. A big thank you to Auntie Samantha for once again providing costume – this time, a bright orange tutu (Matthew looked adorable in it).

Having some spare fabric left over from the settee I covered for Prospect House I set to and re-covered the very large footstool as well. It turned out fine. The two cushions were a bit of fun as I had bought two sets of tea towels (from a charity shop) and I recovered some cushions for the kitchen bench – it worked quite well, I think.

Have a look at the Prospect House settee now resplendent with revamped coordinated cushions. Not exactly Homes and Gardens more like Habitat circa 1968. Great retro look with the Orla Kiely fabric from Dunelm.

Of course I can’t leave out the piano stool – ‘Not too matchy, Mum’ was the request from Hannah. I hope this will do…

Of course all these make and do projects took some time but with the breathtaking wonderflness of nature the garden has pretty much got on with growing beautifully and with only a small amount of effort from us. Thank you to Heather and David for giving us the little greenhouse – it is doing a great job.

Thanks to Pete and Annie for the Mahonia cuttings. I am collecting cuttings, plants and bulbs from friends, family and neighbours in order to create a really loving garden. The Mahonia cuttings seem to be doing well and I am using the plastic bag as a form of shelter and warming zone (no, not because I was too lazy to take it off). The Contorted Willow were a fortuitous happenstance from last Easter and I have promised these to Pete and Annie for their ‘garden’ – well more the size of a small park really, so they will have space for these.

On the family front we would like to wish all the best of luck and our heartiest congratulations to Hannah and David who both got jobs in March. Well done, you both deserve this.

Well, that pretty much finishes March – but more to come so keep reading on for the joys of April and Easter……

APRIL: The promise of Spring has been realised in the spate of lovely weather, the busyness of birds nesting, the blooming of bulbs, the blossoming of trees and the joy of Easter.

Despite having to accommodate an increasing complexity of family commitments and geographical necessities we managed to fit in Easter lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt.

Thank you, Madeleine, for the lovely Easter wreath – I will definitely give it to Grandmama when she gets back from Harrogate. On the table in the photo below you can see just some of the tokens and markers ready for the Easter Egg Hunt …

… unfortunately, this was the one day that had been wet so the hunt for eggs and clues was conducted indoors and everyone eventually found all their tokens (thanks Matt for some judicious rearranging!)

Easter wasn’t over yet for the youngsters as David and Heather had invited them to Edinburgh for a jolly time, seeing the sights, walking, playing, cooking, eating doughnuts and generally having a whoop diddley time! Thank you Uncle David and Auntie Heather, we appreciated the break and the kids loved the holiday. Highlights would definitely include breakfasts, open top sightseeing tours, Arthur’s Seat and Edinburgh Castle – way to go guys!

Apart from being a recognised and rewarded upcoming new writer, Heather is now increasing her skill set by learning to crochet. Excellent – we look forward to many interesting crocheted things!! Of course with all writers it is the subtext that you have to be wary of and in looking at the photo Heather sent me I noticed the title of the book she was reading …. a message? A warning? A celebration? Who knows.

Finally, I had to give a plug to my lovely husband. Having seen our friends’ new kitchen (super lovely) and noticed their very stylish and useful sockets I was in total envy mode; so my lovely husband fitted this in the kitchen for me! Many, many thanks, Chris and yes, Madeleine he did remember the flowers, the chocolates (yummy Thornton selection box) and the tinfoil!!

Our next projects involve finishing off lots of little jobs in the rooms that we have renovated and also concentrating on the garden – new fences, painting and renovating garden furniture, growing lots of lovely fruits and vegetables. So look out for the next blogs and many thanks for patiently wading through this mega-post!

Christmas 2016 – looking back and looking forward…

Like many of you, for our family it has been a year of highs and lows. Sadly our family lost both my Dad and my Aunt and the world lost many great artists, so before we step into the new year take a minute to remember all those who touched our lives and who we loved.

My Dad – Eric, on his 88th birthday this year, a man who will be remembered for his humour and ready smile and for the way he loved his family. Died 13th July 2016 and my Aunt in September.

As we all know – life goes on and so did we. There were still grandchildren to take to school, houses to renovate, allotments to tend and families to love and support. So what follows is a testament to the legacy that my Dad helped create – all our efforts and our family bonds that helped us through these last few months.

A big hurrah for Ikea! Despite making two large bookcases for the study space it became obvious that the Bloomfield-Shortle mania for books needed a bit more shelf space, so a contrasting insert was ordered from the Swedish giant and it now houses Chris’s Sci Fi collection. Along with this came a filing cabinet for all those papers that are contingent upon a modern life! More assembling for Chris …

Great! All done and …. not dusted yet but certainly getting cleaner and tidier.

Meanwhile, Christmas preparation was underway, with delicious Delia Smith vegetarian mincemeat made with Orange Liqueur. This year I made homemade Piccalilli (it always reminds me of Christmas time) and this rather tangy BBC Goodfood recipe was delicious, behind are the bottles for the Limoncello and Elderberry Vodka.

Having had the idea for a separate Music room for Chris which meant creating two new rooms on the ground floor and also making a hallway to run from the front porch to the back of the house, it was time to get started. Everyone had an opinion about the space but finally the decision was made to create two rooms – here goes! In the photo Chris is making customised shelves for all his precious vinyl, audio equipment, DVDs, Spanish paraphernalia and VHS tapes (yup, I know!)

Chris assures me that all these tools are completely necessary for the job – I have to agree when I see the finished article. Well done, Chris, it is not only fit for purpose but good looking too – not unlike my husband!

So, the great divide begins – the new Music room on one side and the first wall of the new hallway is put in place and insulated before being plasterboarded. Several electric sockets are in place and the new doorway is framed up.

Time for some help – Madeleine becomes the ‘cable puller’ as Chris re-routes TV and Wi-fi cables. Looking good.

In the meantime, I run up some new curtains for the just about to be ‘walled’ sitting room and make some Christmas stockings, wreaths, Christmas bunting and cute ‘odds and ends’ Christmas trees ready for raising some money for a charity in December. Along with our neighbours we raised £60.00 for Hull Homeless and Rootless Project as well as having a very jolly afternoon of drinks and nibbles.

Hmmm, we still needed to knock through and create a doorway from the new hall in order to access the rear of the house, so Brother Sledge (the Sisters’ sibling) chipped, chiselled and drilled his way through the wall. He had to put in place two concrete lintels as two doorways were affected.

Eh voila!

We were not to remain so chipper and upbeat for long as my Mum having just recovered from a very nasty cold and cough decided to go to see Matthew in his Cross Country Run at school on November 15th. All was going well until she stepped off the pavement opposite Prospect House and landed in the road face down. Fortunately a very nice man stopped and helped her to the house but that was when her luck ran out as she had broken both ankles and her knee, as well as bruising her nose and cutting her cheekbone. I would call that a full house! In less than two weeks it was Stir Up Sunday – a family tradition is to all stir the Christmas Pudding mix and make a wish – so here goes!

Well done family and three cheers for Great Grandmama!

More progress on the Music Room. The chimney breast and alcove painted and the hideous wooden ‘shelf’ removed from above the fireplace. New photo frame all ready to hang and look – all the tools have been cleared away!

The Christmas cake had been made and was already marzipanned and ready for completion – Oh Starry Starry Night!

As if Christmas preparation, house renovation and parent home-care was not enough, Madeleine wanted to support the school’s Great Baysgarth Bake Off. So here are the young bakers, Madeleine and Joanna, busy making a Co-op recipe for a Chocolate Orange Christmas Pudding Cake.

With the bake off in mind the girls then cleaned and ‘painted’ holly leaves with dark chocolate ready to decorate the top of the ‘pudding cake’ for a professional look.

The finished article – from ‘cake bomb’ to beautifully wrapped. As you can see, there are no chocolate holly leaves. It seems that the chocolate layer was too thin and it cracked easily, so Plan B was implemented – good old green sugar paste holly leaves. The girls achieved a very creditable second place – well done!

Most of you will recognise these three little Christmas Cuties as I used this photo for our Christmas card this year. Santa “eat your heart out” – these are my helpers.

Madeleine was really keen to give her school friends a handmade Christmas present so she set to and made small ceramic robins and stars which she painted and threaded with shiny string. Another Tony Hart in the making, hey?

Whilst all the fancy make and bake was going on, Chris kept on working and here he is constructing the stud wall and drylining it ready for the new sitting room wall and the other side of the hall. I particularly love the modern ‘industrial’ light fitting – right on point!

The work must go on despite the weather – note the rather inappropriate ‘sandal type’ footwear!

Oh well done Chris. Almost finished – now only the floor to lay, the shelf to put in, the mirror to put up and the lights to fit and it’s done!!

Happy birthday, Daisy. December the 10th and 5 years old. Apologies for the quality of the photo it really is my terrible mobile phone camera.

The weekend before Christmas is just the right time for the three old’uns to be out filling the ruts in the road and I notice that my neighbour, Ursula is just managing to slide by unnoticed! The ‘fill’ for the road was left over rubble from our renovation so it was an excellent way of levelling some potholes as well as getting rid of some ugly rubbish – also a good workout for the old blokes!

Homemade preserves as gifts for our lovely neighbours.

And so to Christmas – some lovely photos from a great family Christmas shared with some lovely people.

A taste of our lovely family Christmas – James was busy taking photos so he is not in them! Heather and David joined us late on Boxing Day and the fun continued. Thank you all for such a brilliant week.

Thank you for following my blog throughout the year, as you can see, we are still busy and there will be more next year. We would like to wish you all a very happy, peaceful and prosperous new year. All our love xxx

Boys, birthdays, bikes, bunting, Boughton and bowling

“Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin” (Listen with Mother circa 1956), well, to be more specific ‘I’ll continue where I left off’ (circa 2016)

The first three weeks of October were busy in a fun way as we had planned a family holiday in Boughton, Nottinghamshire for the half term holiday. As James and David had turned 30 on the 19th October we all agreed to make it a jolly birthday week! Well, any excuse!!

Just before this we had seen our friends Pete and Annie and found out that their son Robin was getting married in November so I went into wedding bunting mode, made it and I sent it off before we went away. Jo and Robin loved the bunting and I hope it made their wedding day a bit jollier and blingier!

Many congratulations and we wish Robin and Jo a long and happy married life together.

For some reason, probably charitable, James found himself volunteered to dress up in a bear suit for St Wilfrid’s (which is where he works). He insisted that he emerged from the furry carapace suited and booted and as suave as James Bond! You can judge for yourself.

David arrived in Barton a couple of days before the holiday week and was able to visit his Grandma before she went to Harrogate and we all went off to Boughton, for our grand holiday. We booked this lovely house through Air BnB and it really was plenty big enough to accommodate us all.

Not only was the property lovely but the weather was mild and sunny, so we all enjoyed the lovely countryside and everyone could play outside.

David getting into the holiday mood when he visited James in Hastings – a sort of pre-holiday training!

We bought a bike from Renee and Jim that Chris is in the process of renovating for James as his bike was stolen. As you can see, Chris always uses the right tools for the job – in this case it is the garden picnic bench!

Birthday bowling – Grandad got a strike on his one and only go and Daisy scored the highest points and it was her first time bowling!

Whoopee! Birthday tea complete with party rings, jelly, birthday cake, candles, hats and party bags!! The wine was optional!

Hmmm, who knew that the grandchildren would like to play Monopoly! Of course Matthew is channeling Uncle David style with his stripped down apparel! Lots of games were provided in the house and everyone enjoyed Pigs in Pants and Rapidough as well as the Swingball outside in the garden.

Tuesday was swimming day but due to only having one car on that day as Hannah had to return to Prospect House for the fuel delivery for the Bio-Mass Boiler, Daisy and I stayed at Boughton and did some cooking and decorating cakes. The rest of the family set off for the Leisure Centre – the swimming pool was a great success with flumes, hot tubs and diving. All the cakes were greatly appreciated on their return.

Wednesday was a great day out at Wollaton House near Nottingham itself. It had a great park, a large and exciting children’s play area and a museum and house tours. Of course we all had to eat so we enjoyed a late lunch here, too. The children all completed their museum quizzes and got a small gift – great!

Daisy, the cheeky, wearing my specs!

Everyday the Swingball was in use with a variety of people – it was really popular and better still, no one was injured! Shoes off in the house – after one particularly wet walk it took some ingenuity to dry off the shoes but it was achieved. Finally, it has to asked why there was an electric lead threaded through the letterbox – well, the battery of the Honda decided to go flat so Thursday was a quiet day at home playing games, writing diaries and reading. I think we all needed it by then.At this point I must really thank our neighbour in Barton as we had all packed our gear and food into the Grampsmobile, everyone was belted up, hooray we are ready to go! Well, not quite as the battery had died. So, H to the rescue with his Defender and a set of jump leads – so off we went but this flatness was to be repeated later in the holiday – boo! The flat battery gave us all an excuse to do very little so a really good day spent chillin’!

Saturday – and so home! Why the disappointed faces, then, David and Stephanie? Well we left Boughton at about 10.00 and decided we would have a great end of holiday breakfast at the Haybarn nearby but no! It was closed for holidays!! How ironic. Never mind we could make it to The Old Tile Works in Barton and have a scrummy breakfast there – we pulled in and parked at about  11.30 sauntered in and requested breakfast – ‘I’m sorry but we stop serving breakfast at 11.30’. We looked at our watches – 11.32! We looked appealing but all to no avail – how disappointing! So, these are our disappointed faces!!

We saw my Mother when we returned from Boughton – since then I am sorry to say, she has had a bad fall in the street near her home and has her right leg in plaster as she fractured her knee and broke her ankle! The other ankle is strapped as it has a hairline fracture. Poor Mummy – she is home though and dealing with everything in her usual indomitable way. We all wish you well, Mummy. BIG thanks to Chris, who as usual, is being his calm and capable and compassionate self x

 

October – on being productive

October rolled around and it was glorious; the sun shone, the autumn trees shook out their gold, auburn and burnished tresses and we were in celebratory mood but first ….

– a big congratulations to Renee and Jim who climbed over the O2 building! Apparently Renee thought it was a good way to celebrate Jim’s 70th birthday!

Jim – yes, that’s him in the photo above, created this beautiful number plaque for the front of our house. This was a really appropriate gift as we were about to get some serious lumberjacking done in our back garden, but more of that later.

Beautiful roast vegetables and soup from our harvest of squash and Crab Apple jelly from our Crab Apple tree (year 2).

Due to climate change or just the cycle of weather, October was a brilliant month for foraging – not that we had far to go to gather these beautiful, plump elderberries or the rosehips. As you can see I made 5 litres of elderberry vodka and I am still waiting to see if the rosehips really do turn into useful Rosehip Syrup! I’ll let you know on that one.

The above photos were taken just days before the ‘lumberjacks’ arrived. As you can see, the garden was full of large Leylandii along the fence boundary and then six other evergreens of different genus in the centre of the garden as well as an enormous but very beautiful birch tree (the roots were starting to come out of the ground and had spread from one side of the lawn to the other). It was with a lot of soul searching that we finally decided that they would have to go. We got a great firm called North Lincolnshire Tree Services to undertake the job …

OMG! These vehicles thundered up our small lane on the 4th October. Chippers, shredders and all kinds of ‘mean, nasty, implements’ – and this was just the start.

Even more equipment arrived in our back garden in a matter of moments and very soon trees were being felled, branches lopped and brush chipped and shredded … very soon our garden looked like this …

One fence revealed and it was only just lunchtime!

Oh yes, that is a man, with a chainsaw, at the top of the birch tree. I would just like to say that my husband (the eternal boyscout and optimist had suggested that “yes, I can do that. It will save us money!”) How glad I am that we paid the money to get this done, quickly, professionally and safely and with one husband still intact.

The final job was to drill out the stumps – more scary and loud machinery but all done and dusted in record time. Two days, nine Leylandii, six evergreens, one huge birch tree all removed, cut into lengths and all the detritus removed, all stumps drilled out and three huge bags of chippings left for us to use at the allotment! Well worth the money and for the lack of stress!

Piles of logs around the garden. What to do with them now?

… obviously the solution is to extend the woodshed. We used the last of the pallets in the garden to add to our original pallet woodstore from last year. Now to cut up and store the logs that came from the felled trees.

Hurray! One ten ton pneumatic log splitter being constructed by Mr Fixit!

It works! Chris was so desperate to use it that despite the rain he was out in the garden trying it out – in fact he was so excited that he put on Mathew’s hat!! Balances on his head like a ‘mattress on a bottle of wine’ according to the wonderful Mr Dylan Thomas! The log splitter works like dream – easy to use.

See – even the grandchildren could use it!!

The weekend before, my Mum had bought us our Christmas present – a lorry load of logs for our woodburner. This lot, below, had to be wheelbarrowed into the garden by Chris and then stacked by me!

All done and ready for the extension to be built on ready for the logs from our trees. The skeletal endpieces can be seen on the far right hand side of the woodstore already.

Look who we found in the corner of our woodstore – Mr Toad.

Lots of willing help from Matthew and Daisy with exhortations from me ‘not to get their school uniform dirty’ – oh well!

Now, to tackle the Utility Room – first order your Ikea cabinets and then dismantle and re-locate old Ikea cabinets to Grandad’s Shed – to store MORE useful stuff!

Easy peasy – assemble and then attach to the wall. All done and dusted in one day. Thanks Chris.

To finish off a lovely Pulleymaid for the washing – it has already proved to be most useful and it keeps the drying in the utility room.

What a busy month and we’re not finished yet – wait for the birthday and holiday blog post, coming soon to a PC near you!!

‘Oh those summer days – had us a blast’

I realise that it has been almost three months since I updated you all on the many and various goings on at 9 Green Lane, so hang onto your hats as I whirl through the last twelve weeks …

 

We are delighted that David is now going out with Heather (welcome to the madhouse that is the Shortle-Bloomfield Family!) and what better way to celebrate than with some splendid home baking and even more fabulous decorating! Heather is a bit of a dab hand at the cookery stuff and together with Daisy and Madeleine created delicious ‘cake’ burgers whilst Matthew ably assisted in the making of a yummy loaf cake. Well done people! I am not sure what David did – the washing up perhaps?

Meanwhile the productivity of the allotment was being turned into Christmas fare. Our favourite Lakeland recipe for Rhubarb and Orange Marmalade led the charge with various alcohol based infusions following closely behind.

Whoopee! Loads of fun throughout the holidays – first with David and Heather, then with Uncle David, then with the Grandparents in Whitby, Dalby Forest, Wharram Percy and Sandsend.

Treasure from the beach – to add to the ‘treasure’ collected by our brood and their friends over the past three decades; now where can I put these?

Catching up with chums – always great fun. We laughed such a lot and long may it continue. Here we are in Hull with Pete and Annie and of course bottom right a fitting tribute to a dear friend from the good old days at Lavender Hill School – How are you, Mr Nazar?

Just in case anyone was bored, Grandad bought a swing set for the grandchildren and although it was used as a swing from time to time it has also been a space ship, part of a wigwam and circus bars – of course!

More links with lovely friends – Chris and Rick became grandparents this year to the lovely James and here he is with his Daddy, Mael, who we have known since he was the same size as James. What a lucky little boy and what a lucky family. Congratulations.

September! Start of the autumn term for the sproglets. Don’t they all look smart and ‘raring to go’? We are thrilled to tell you that they are all doing really well at school – Madeleine is now Form Captain, Matthew is in the Cross Country event and Daisy is – well, being Daisy, super smart as usual.

As we had such a great time in Whitby with the grandchildren during the school summer holiday Chris and I decided to return there for a long weekend. We did a bit of a tour by first visiting Flamborough Head with the historic chalk tower and then stopping for fish and chips in Filey before arriving in Whitby at a really beautiful air bnb place run by the lovely Marie Louise. We had a great time and will definitely return, hopefully soon.

Next it was time for Matthew to take a trip. He was off on school journey to Robin’s Wood Adventure Centre. A few nerves and a few tears were all part of the farewell but on his return (with all his stuff accounted for! Well done, Matthew), he was over the moon and had experienced lots of exciting and ‘dangerous’ activities – and survived to tell the tale! He has his achievement certificate proudly framed and hanging on his bedroom wall.

On the 30th September I hosted a MacMillan event but instead of a Coffee Morning I decided to make it a Cream Tea Afternoon. My new friend and neighbour Rosa, cooked some beautiful Devon Scones, a Victoria Sponge and a scrumptious Chocolate Cake. Ursula also a new friend and neighbour cooked Welsh Cakes and provided proper Welsh butter to go with them – we were really spoilt and not only ate our fill but had a jolly afternoon. We raised £150.00 in total (factoring in Gift Aid) and this was divided between MacMillan’s and Alzheimer’s Research UK (in memory of my Father who died in July this year). Thank you for all your support to my friends and neighbours who attended.

So, not much done in terms of house renovation but definitely a settling in to our new home, establishing new friendships, enjoying the countryside around us and loving our family.

Friends, Family and Finishing Things!

I seem to have become fixated on letter titles – the penultimate blog was based around Bs and this one – yes, you’ve guessed it around the letter F. In 2001 when we moved to Bexhill in East Sussex with our family we bought a house that could accommodate all the visitors from our time living in London and around – this did not happen as friends became embroiled in bringing up teenagers, making homes and careers. So imagine our surprise and delight to find that despite having moved to a place that none of our friends knew about previously we have had a very welcome stream of visitors, up here, next to the mighty Humber. The advent of friends arriving (and staying!) certainly put purpose into our activities and so lots of finishing off was at least started (if not entirely finished!!).

Good start Chris but I feel sure that the shower needs a little something else! Look at that lovely tiling!

Great! This is at last looking like the en-suite we had planned – well at least the essential element is in place.

Hooray – a sink and unit, a shower and enclosure, a toilet and towel rail. Of course you can’t see the underfloor heating but it is there and ready to go – lucky visitors.

This really is a bit of finishing off – thanks to a lucky find at B&Q Chris was able to finish the bare walls above the tiling with pale grey wall cladding and then replace the extractor (unfortunately not yet linked to the electricity so yet another job to finish). On the aesthetic front though, I think you’d agree that everything is certainly coming together.

To be sure these two were not part of the June, July or August visitors but they were among the very first and besides it is such a jolly photo that I had to include it. So, welcome, Renee and Jim, dear friends and allies in all things house building!

Just after my Dad had gone into Crosshills in June, for respite we were visited by the lovely Dan, Nic and delightful Marleigh as they had been to see Gramps during that morning. Notice how Dan easily fitted the chair his Mum had given to me to renovate (and no, you can’t have it back now, Dan). Marleigh was well at home and happily investigated the designated children’s bedroom in our house. What a lovely and loving family we have.

Ah, Chris and Rick our first visitors in July (photo taken at their lovely son, Huw’s wedding in October last year but they are shy creatures and hard to snap in any circumstances). They were both on a kind of Elizabethan Processional around the country visiting relatives and friends around the Isles of Albion and so arrived on Tuesday 12th July. We were delighted that they would be the first guests to use our new guest room and en-suite and very fitting as they have been friends of Chris for over 40 years and with me for a mere 38! What a lovely evening we had. The following morning we all had to deal with the sad news of my Dad’s death earlier that morning. Chris and Rick we would both like to say a very big thank you for the love and tender support you offered us on that morning. Thank you.

 

Following very quickly on the heels of Chris and Rick were our friends from Spain, Lola and Ed with their friend Vickie and her son Felipe from Argentina. Chris felt it was a good idea not to cancel their visit planned for the Friday 15th July and as it turned out it was brilliant. Chris told them about my Dad’s death and they immediately offered to change plans but as we had just learnt from my Father’s sudden death it is always better to seize the moment and so we did. Friends are truly the family that we can choose and we were so blessed with the friends who lightened our lives that week.

 

By Monday 18th July we had more finishing schedules to meet. Madeleine had been busy designing and working on a Geography project for school so with Grandad’s help she was able to realise her plans and in the process learnt how to use a variety of tools! I did stop Chris from letting her use the chop saw!

Madeleine’s completed project to show the way climate change effects the sea levels. One book end shows a beach in 2016 and the other acting as a timeline shows the same beach in a 100 years time. Notice the sea level on the right hand one has come up much higher and the beach is now dirty and brown rather than golden. She also made some mock books with titles and authors to do with climate change – very nice and finished!

 

Thank you to Peter for his thoughtful gift of flowers for both my Mother and for me on the death of my Father; these were especially thoughtful as it was also the first anniversary of Pat’s death. The flowers and the sentiments were greatly appreciated, Peter.

 

So, talk about finishing – at last it was the finish of the school term and on the first day of the holidays we went off to Baysgarth Park. Madeleine’s first year at Baysgarth School, Year 7, had been completed successfully as had Matthew’s Year 4 and he had made all his targets – well done, darling boy. Daisy was finishing pre-school and will be starting ‘big school’ in September.

So? What a finish. The last of our visitors were the Saunders and Chris just could not resist this cheeky road sign to indicate their visit – just as well, since sightings of the lesser spotted (quite literally) Saunders’ is a rare event so I am sorry folks but no photos of our final visitors with whom we spent a really great weekend full of laughter and eventually aching ribs!

So, my final entry goes to my Father,

Eric John Bloomfield 19.05.1928-12.07.206

Funeral was held on 1st August 2016