Ruthless Clearing of the Food Cupboards

It's still absolutely picture perfect here today ...

... although at the moment there is a distinct 'drip, drip, drip' sound so I think the big thaw is on the way.

Sorting out the kitchen cupboards is proving to be very rewarding, I found these two jars of forgotten about blackberries in alcohol yesterday ...

... and while I was looking for a suitable bottle to strain them into I found this  :-)

HOW did I forget a bottle of champagne!!

Anyway the alcohol is now bottled and the blackberries are in a jar in the fridge for having with ice-cream as a quick and very decadent dessert over Christmas.

The cupboard was looking much tidier, so I started on the next one.

And found this ....

... just a little bit out of date then  ;-)

What a waste, unfortunately it didn't smell too good so it's been chucked.  I'm being really ruthless with this big cupboard clean out, after all if we haven't eaten these things through two 'eat down the cupboards' sessions they are never going to get eaten are they and looking in the cupboards and seeing them 'full' is no good if you need to actually want to eat the contents!! 

So this time I have gritted my teeth and gotten rid of quite a few jars and packets of out of date and unused foods, mainly fermented things actually, so that shows me we do not like them no matter if a recipe says they are needed, once that recipe has been done the leftovers don't get used up, and sometimes I don't even get round to making up the dish because when push comes to shove we don't really fancy the dish enough to actually do it. ... so no more buying of them. 

After a spot of lunch I'll be back to work in the kitchen, there's just one final cupboard to do.  Alan won't be able to find anything in the kitchen cupboards when he gets back tonight ... he'll be glad when this snow is gone and I can get out and about again and the place stops getting re-organised  :-)

Sue xx

A Snow and Ice Day

Today we have the same snow, but now with a crunchy layer of ice on top, that hopefully the glorious sunshine will start to dissolve soon, but I'm not holding my breath .... it's freezing cold out there.

The blue skies were wonderful as I walked over to the paddock with the dogs but Suky ran through the gate and then stood still on three legs as  if to say 'I'm not getting ALL my feet that cold'.  She couldn't wait to get back to the snuggly warmth of Dad's big jacket on the sofa, left behind while he works away from home today

The next job of the day was to take copious buckets of hot water to thaw out the chickens drinkers, everything was frozen solid.  Then I had to thaw the catches to the poly and net tunnels and battle my way through the doors so I could get inside to dislodge the vast weight of snow that was starting to make the roofs dip in a most alarming fashion.  I have a sad feeling that despite my covering the polytunnel netted windows with a layer of polythene, and draping fleece over the spinach and kale I will be losing most of my plants ... oh well I did my best.

Once all the necessary outdoor chores were done, I came in to join the dogs in the warmth of the house to thaw out my toes and fingers ...

... and start on a big pan of soup for this weeks lunches, using some of these carrots ... still in good condition although well out of date  :-)

Now this pan has had lots of stock added to it and is simmering away nicely in the bottom oven of the Aga, and I'm upstairs enjoying coffee and blog time in the office before I do todays main indoor job, which is to empty out all the food cupboards in turn, clean them and see exactly what we have in stock both for Christmas and for into the New Year.

Not a bad job on a chilly December morning to be working away in the kitchen to the sound of a purring cat and two gently snoring dogs.

Sue xx

A Snow Day

Pristine snow when we first woke up ...

Minimal traffic first thing.

Going over to let the chickens out .... dressing gown and wellies, usual weekend attire before the first cup of coffee :-)

Only one chicken even peeped out first thing ... they point blank refused to walk on the 'white stuff'.

The view from the front door.

No sign of the hills opposite .... it's a complete white out!!

Perfection ...

... but not for long, the dogs couldn't wait to get into the paddock  :-)

Suky loved it.

Pretty bushes laden with snow.

Suky and Mavis finding little bits of grass under the bushes.

Gorgeous.

The view back to the house.

And up the hillside.

Hi-jinks in the snow.

Little Puggy footprints.

And that virgin patch of snow from the very first photo .....nope I just couldn't resist  ;-)

Stay safe, stay cosy and I hope you are having a nice snow day too.

Sue xx

The Last Of ...

At the start of the growing year it's all about 'the first of the ...', now we are into the tail end of the growing year and it's pretty much all about ' the last of the...'.  This morning I brought in the last of the Broccoli, the chickens were lucky I gave them all of the leaves and some of the stems ...

... but the rest went in a big pan to make this weeks lunchtime soups.

I padded it out with some celery, a couple of onions and a couple of homegrown potatoes, then a handful of soup mix for added goodness.  After the first stirring I decided a few cloves of garlic and a pinch of chilli flakes would be a good idea.

They were ... the finished soup is a well rounded very healthy tasting panful of green goodness.  Much nicer than some other green things we've been trying recently.  I'll tell you more about that tomorrow, for now I have to get off the computer as it's telling me it wants to start an 'important update'. 

And anyway I need to feed and walk the dogs before the weather turns any nastier than it already is here.  We woke this morning to a weird and slightly eerie yellow coloured world and after a day of sunshine and blue skies it looks like the high winds have brought the yellow clouds back again to round off the day.

So that's ' the last of ... my blogging ' for tonight then  ;-)

Sue xx

Weather ... and Anniversary Presents

I'm just in from braving our dreadful weather to have a shopping expedition to Llandudno to organise Lovely Hubby's anniversary present for next month. 

Yesterday we had strong winds and torrential rain buffeting the house all day and all night, but up to now ... touch wood .... we seem to be watertight.  No repeat of last year with every window sill being draped in towels with lines of bowls and jugs along the top to catch all the water ingress ... phew!!

  Surprisingly even though it is so wet and has been for days, the snow that's on the top of the distant hills opposite us, the Carneddau, hasn't melted so it's obviously even colder up there.

Anyway back to Lovely Hubby's present, he's going to know what it is as soon as it's delivered on Sunday, it's huge, it's being delivered by two guys ... and he'll need to be here to help them unload it and find space for it in his workshop ... so there'll be no surprise that I can pull out of my sock drawer for him this year unfortunately.  I just hope he really did want it when he said he did!!

And just to let him know if he's reading this .... that while doing a spot of research for his present I have discovered what the mystery package, hidden in plain sight beside the sofa is!!

Well that's our presents to each other sorted out for this year then  ;-)

Sue xx

To the Right and to the Left

If you look to the right it's all blue sky and sunshine ....

... but I think it's time to grab that last bit of washing in .... because if you look to the left it's not so good!!

Our weather here can change in an instant being nestled in the valley as we are.  Clouds roll in and clouds roll out, usually leaving us a gift of rain as they pass, but after almost three years of living here I have got used to the subtle changing of the light or the feel of the air, and nine times out of ten the washing is rescued from the line before it gets a second rinse from the skies.

Meanwhile, in the conservatory tucked up and not caring one jot about the weather, Ginger raised his head briefly as he heard me come in and then went back to pussycat dreams on his fleece covered pillow on the windowsill.

It's a hard life being a pussycat  :-)

Sue xx

What's with the Weather!!

What's with the weather?  Where is the Summer or at least a couple of warm days in a row so that we can know that it's safe to hang out a line of washing without having to keep one eye on the window all the time.

This morning I was sat at the computer with my second cup of coffee of the day, it was needed to warm my hands after walking the dogs round the paddock, cleaning out the henhouse and watering the polytunnel.  The dogs all decided it was the sort of day when a proper sleep was called for and within minutes of me sitting down the snoring began.

It does make it feel cosy in the office with snoozing pooches for company.

Outside it's all looking pretty lush.  The Lavender is growing well in the new flower bed near the road, this is the large transplanted bush, all the smaller ones are flowering too ... just in a more restrained way.  The bees love it although try as I might I couldn't get one in shot for the photo.

In the old bed in front of the house the Hydrangea is coming into flower and is at that just opening stage before going all 'blowsy'.

And the bright pink Rose (I have no idea what sort it is) is flowering again.  Just as it did all last Summer, all through the Autumn and all through the Winter ... and then with just a two week rest in Spring it started again.  I just can't seem to get it pruned and I'll be damned if I'm going to cut off such lovely flowers just to prune it when the book says I should.

Picture from October

So the weather isn't just confusing us, it has the plants all haywire too.  The Dog Rose that I pictured flowering in the paddock back in October is now flowering again, and is a mass of pretty pink flowers ... this time though around the time that they should be there.

Sue xx

Chilly Day

The sunshine has vanished today and there is a real chill in the air, so much so that when I was hoovering near the log burner earlier this morning I thought to myself 'thank goodness it's laid and ready to light'.

I think it will be needed this evening!

In other news .... can you spot the difference between this photo and the one that heads the blog?

I think someone has knocked the bottom half of the sign down ..... I'm saying no more  ;-)

Sue xx

Bad Timings and Blue Skies

Well I got my timings totally wrong this morning.  It was very cold but fresh first thing, the sun was just coming out and it looked like it was about to be a splendid morning, so after doggy breakfast and a lap of the paddock we piled into the car and drove to West Shore in Llandudno for a doggy walk along the front.

Just as I drove through Deganwy the rain started falling, wipers on and teeth gritted I drove on.  We got there piled out of the car and head down walked into the bitterly cold wind and rain.  I always prefer to do it this way then when you are heading back to the car at least the wind is behind you and not in your face. We walked from one end to the other, sniffing benches and lamp-posts all the way ... the dogs that is not me, I was just sniffing with the cold  ;-)

We headed towards the shelter where there is a row of benches. I had plans to stand for a while and warm my hands in my pockets while the dogs had a sniff around.  No sooner were we under cover than the rain stopped so we set off again for the walk back to the car and in a flash it started raining again and then to make matters even worse it started hail stoning.

Once back at the car I gave the dogs a perfunctory wipe over with their towel and chucked them onto the back seat ..... then the sun came out!!

It's sod's law isn't it, now we are back home, I still have the sniffles and the view from the office window is the one above. blue skies, white fluffy clouds and sunshine.  The washing will be on the line in half an hour, the damp dogs are sleeping off their soggy walk in wet Llandudno, and I'm sat at the computer .... still sniffing..

I was looking back over previous February's photographs on the computer to compare weather, which turned out to be pretty similar to this months actually, and came across this photo of Mavis, one of my favourites.

I also came across this one.  I was baffled at first by the tape grid system in the paddock ....

 ... and then I realised it was us laying out the plan for the Veggie Patch, I remember Suky hurdling over the tapes as she ran down the hill.

Sue xx

Shhh .... It's NOT Raining

It didn't rain yesterday, it looked like this from the living room window.   Yes the field opposite finally is free of water!!

  We took the dogs for a long walk along the prom at Llandudno.  Although the wind was bitterley cold and the sea really rough, it was invigorating and really woke us up from the heavy fog that sits in your brain throughout the mind numbingly boring days of rain and more rain.

Those days when it's a slog to layer up to do the most pressing jobs outdoors and then peel off wet layers and throw them straight into the washing machine when you get back inside again.  I'd much rather the tingling feeling as circulation is restored after a dash outside in the cold than the slow steaming as you sit drying yourself by the Aga with a hot drink cradled in your hands feeling damp to your very core.

Then this morning the sun came out bright and strong, and for the first time since the Boxing Day floods there is movement on the train line opposite the house. The dogs went wild as this yellow monster crept past the house, nothing escapes Rosy!   This line is still shut while repair works are ongoing to make all the damaged areas safe again, but seeing this test vehicle and the guys walking alongside throws hope that it is shortly to re-open.  No doubt a huge relief for all the folk usually use this line that are currently having to use other means of transport to get to work.

To the right of this picture the sheep are back grazing in the fields that run alongside the river, after their swift round up of last week, as torrential rains brought the river once again to cover the land.  Watching them in their hundreds stream across the road under the watchful eyes of their shepherds on quads, and with sheepdogs running to gather together stragglers was a sight worth pausing for.   And although the traffic held up while waiting for the torrent of sheep to cross over to higher land must have been wondering what was going on, the ones at the front of the queue must have enjoyed the woolly spectacle.

It's lovely and sunny, but as you can see from the snow topped distant hills of the Carneddau it is cold, very cold.  But if you stand in the right place with the sun on your face for a moment you can  almost imagine that it's time to begin planting the seedlings that will grow into our food for the coming year.  But I am holding fire, although the days might be showing signs of a returning warmth the night time plummet in temperature is enough to kill off any brave seedlings that push their heads above the soil.

The dogs have the right idea, this is Suky and Mavis tucked up together after this mornings laps of the paddock, no doubt feeling the circulation returning to their little paws .....

.. and Rosy claimed the cushion on the sofa to watch Mum do the workout that brought circulation back to my extremities.

I have my fingers firmly crossed the sun will still be shining tomorrow, the washing line is full already,  towels and jeans blowing in the cold breeze but starting to feel the benefit of the sunshine, and I have lots more to put out tomorrow if a certain yellow body continues to grace us with her presence.

Hope your day is sunny and dry too.

Sue xx