More than a spoonful of sugar

Today I decided to go into the centre to get a few bits and pieces I need for the weekend because the weather is supposed to be very wet and windy tomorrow. One of the things I wanted was some more marmalade so in Tesco's I had a look and reading the labels, I was shocked to discover just how little fruit is actually in it.
This was quite an eye opener because the amounts varied from just 20g of fruit in each 100g of marmalade to 47g of fruit per 100g marmalade. This means that the extra was mainly sugar and other additives. Then I went on to read the labels on the jars of jam, only to find the same thing applied.
As I didn't think that any of the products offered very good value for money, I thought I would go next door to Marks and Spencer thinking I would get more fruit for my money in there. I was very wrong because after standing in there for a while reading all the labels of their jars, I found that there was only marginally more fruit and still the same additives. In the end I bought a jar of marmalade and came home very disillusioned.
Many years ago, I used to make marmalade in January when the Seville oranges were in the greengrocers but as there are no independent greengrocers anywhere near me now, I have to buy it and besides, I don't have anywhere to store food. I remember that the ingredients I used to use were just oranges, sugar and some water. Because I like a nice bitter marmalade I used to use more oranges than sugar, although in most recipes the quantities were equal, but it always turned out alright and tasted good too. I also did the same with jam and never had any problems with that either and the only one that had anything other than fruit and sugar, was strawberry which had some fruit pectin added to enable it to set.
Next time I go to the big Tesco, I will have to get some of the French marmalade that is only made with oranges and sweetened with grape juice but it is a bit pricey, or else I might try on the farmer's market. I have bought some there in the past but that too is quite expensive but it was beautiful marmalade and I must admit it was well worth the money because it was home made and had more fruit than sugar.

Button memories!

I needed to find a button to sew onto a cardigan that had lost one today and I was sure that if there had been a spare one when I bought the cardigan, then it would be in my button box. So I tipped all the buttons onto the floor and got down to look through the buttons and fasteners but I couldn't find one.
Now my button box has built up over the last forty odd years, especially from when my daughters were very small and also when I had my own dressmaking business. Looking through the buttons today, I found that I could remember nearly all the outfits that I had made for the girls and myself just by looking at the buttons as I always put the spares in the button box. It's also quite amazing just how much simple things like buttons change with time.
I well remember wet afternoons as a child when my sister and I would ask Mum for the button box to sort through. We thought it was full of 'treasures' and it would stop us squabbling for an afternoon if we couldn't go out to play. There were allsorts in there, real glass buttons, pearly ones and I can even remember some little wooden ones which were in the shape of a dutch girl's head and they were painted so that she had a royal blue hat and yellow hair. We used to see who could get the most 'sets' of buttons and to do this, we used to close our eyes and choose six buttons. Then we had to see if we could find more of the same and the winner was the one with the most buttons in each set.
Mum didn't mind because it kept us quiet for a couple of hours!

No problems getting up!

Well, today I think I'm beginning to lose it! The alarm woke me up as usual but when I put my hand out and pushed the switch for the radio, it didn't work. Still only being half awake, I came down to make a cup of tea and thought I would try again when I got back upstairs.
Luckily, I have an ordinary radio in the bathroom which I got and put it in the bedroom so that I could listen to the news. Then I had another go at trying to get the clock radio to work but again I didn't have any success even after trying all the buttons and switches.
There was nothing else for it, I would have to get another one when I went into the centre to get some shopping. So that's exactly what I did. When I go home I set the new one up in the kitchen and then took it upstairs.
When I picked the other one up, it slipped in my hand so I had to put the other hand out to catch it and in doing so, the wretched thing started to work because while catching it, I had knocked the on/off switch!
Normally, I never even touch this switch because I leave the unit switched on all the time and use the various buttons to turn the radio on and off and to set the alarm. Perhaps I knocked the switch off inadvertently when I stuck my hand out to stop the alarm, but I have never done this since I bought it about nine years ago. Never mind! I now have a spare clock radio if anything goes wrong with this one!!!

Hooray for the boy scouts!

A friend that I used to work with runs a boy scouts and cub scouts group fairly locally and a couple of times a year they hold a 'jumble sale' to raise extra funds so today, despite a migraine, I have been sorting out the cupboards and wardrobes for things to send.
Unfortunately, I can only work at slow speed with a migraine so consequently I have only achieved a fraction of what I wanted but nevertheless, the bags of jumble sorted so far look fairly substantial. Another reason for doing this is to ensure that if the right property becomes available nearer to Sarah and my grand-children, I will be ready to move straight away. I have decided that I don't want to be surrounded by useless 'clutter' that requires dusting and an annual wash, instead, I would rather have the time saved so that I could participate in more pleasurable activities!
One thing I did realise when I was sorting through the wardrobe is that some of the clothes have what I call 'wardrobe fatigue'. This means that they have become crumpled and tired looking so from this week, anything that I haven't worn recently will go through the wash and then, when clean and pressed, I will pack away the lightweight summer clothes and T shirts and just keep the winter clothes hanging up. This will give me more space in the wardrobe so clothes will have less chance of looking creased and will also save time if I am able to move.
I am so glad that the scouts have these sales because it saves me a lot of hassle trying to get everything to charity shops as my friend collects everything and it also helps with the scouts funds.
Tomorrow, it's the drawers under the bed to be sorted and then the kitchen cupboards!

Shaken but not stirred

I've had a mixed day today and fortunately I have Eden with me which helps a lot. It started at 5:15am this morning when I was woken by my neighbours yelling at each other again and I could not get back off to sleep.
The arguments carried on intermittently until 8:45am when she went out. I have to say that she is probably an alcoholic and I don't think he's much better but also seems to be sinisterly quiet and controlling and he's also much younger than her.
Anyway, we went out shopping after having breakfast and returned about 11:45am so I went into the kitchen to make some soda bread for lunch and also some minestrone soup. It took quite a while to chop all the vegetable and I was waiting for it to cook then at around 1pm I could hear this banging. He was really attacking my fence which is a six foot high larch lap panel fence which looked as though it was going to collapse so I yelled out and it stopped.
I was straight on the phone to the police and a bit later the local beat manager came round to see me. After I had told him what had happened he said that he would go round and speak to them. He was aware that I was very frightened and shaken especially after I had told him that I had experienced problems with excessive noise and other anti-social behaviour in the past which had become so unbearable that I had complained to the noise pollution and anti-social behaviour department at the council.
He wasn't sure whether this incident may have been directed at me because of that but I said I was not going to be harassed, intimidated or threatened in my own home and he agreed. He went next door but a few minutes later he said that they were either out or not answering so he came back later but still got no reply.
He is going to try to speak to them tomorrow but if I have any further problems I will certainly get in touch with the police immediately and from now on, every time I am disturbed by yelling, screaming or other noise, I have to get in touch with the emergency phone number at the council anti-social behaviour department.
This whole episode has been very upsetting particularly because I always try to be so quiet so as not to disturb anyone. It seems other people are not as considerate.

A hot supper for a chilly evening

Sorry there's no photo of this one because Eden and I just ate it!! I'll make another one sometime and put it on the recipe page too!

Sausage Casserole

1 lb good sausages

2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil

2 onions chopped

1 each of red, yellow and green sweet peppers

de-seeded and chopped

4 oz mushrooms sliced

1 pint vegetable stock

1 teaspoon paprika

half teaspoon each of sage, parsley, marjoram and grated nutmeg

1 tablespoon tomato puree

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon cornflour

1. Fry sausages until browned all round and put to one side
2. Put olive oil into same pan then gently sweat the onions until soft but not coloured
3. Add peppers, mushrooms, spices, tomato puree and stock and cook for about ten minutes
4. Mix the cornflour with a little water then mix into the vegetables to thicken
5. Cut each sausage into three or four chunks and add to vegetables
6. Put into a very large casserole then cook in oven heated to 190C/375F for one and a half hours

This makes enough for 4 or 5 people. If you only need enough for two you can divide it before cooking and freeze it. It's great with a baked jacket potato but goes just as well with potatoes and a green vegetable such as broccoli or beans. Chilli can also be added for a kick and if you want to make it a favourite with children, leave out the chillies but add a tin of baked beans!

Getting ready for winter

I've started to put in a few bedding plants ready for the dull, drab days of winter when there is usually very little in the way of colour in the garden. The cyclamen are always a pleasure to see and this old sink is at the top of the garden so when I look out of the kitchen window, I can see it with the bright shades of pink which become almost luminous when the sun shines on it.

Pansies always fascinate me because some of them appear to have faces and others look as though they have a dark butterfly sitting in the middle. I chose these with their yellow bottoms and blue tops because they looked so different and will brighten any dull winter day. I have another pot with some delicate apricot violas which are smaller versions of the pansy but flower as profusely.

There are still a few plants flowering which I haven't cut back because they are still going strong. The Michaelmas daisy or aster has plenty of flowers still to come on it but although it has a support frame, I find it still gets flattened every time we have wind and rain. The gaura in front of it has done exceptionally well, I think it's called claret, but it has flowered continuously all through the summer. The flowers on their long slender stems always remind me of little butterflies especially if there is a breeze which makes the stems sway around.

There are a couple of other plants still flowering too, the perennial osteospermum and the astrantia and one of the really robust ones is the gaillardia (goblin), which will probably continue until the first frost.

Somewhere hidden in areas of the garden are crocuses and also hyacinths which hopefully will come up again next spring. I haven't got any other bulbs at the moment because I hope that one day I will be able to move and it doesn't seem worth going to the trouble of putting them in if I won't be able to see them and anjoy them.