Mr U-t-B's Special Soup

Brrrr!  It's chilly out there!  Even my poor little tete-a-tetes are bending their heads against the wind and dreaming of warmer days. And as for the poor shrivelled up primroses and crocuses...

So it's the perfect day for some of Mr U-t-B's fantastic bacon and lentil soup.

It's absolutely heavenly!

First he cuts up an onion or two (depending on size).

He fries some lardons in a drop of oil. 

(We get the ones from Lidl which are reasonably priced and nice and meaty - lumps of fat may add flavour but they make me go gahhh!) 

Then he adds the onion and cooks till translucent.

A couple of largish potatoes are chopped up small and added to the pan.

Along with a couple of carrots.

Then some stock is added (chicken, vegetable, beef - you can vary it for a slightly different experience!)

Probably about 2 pints, though this is a bit of a throw-it-in-and-see soup.

Bubble away for about ten minutes...

Then add a can of lentils...

Give it a brief whizz with a blender stick to give it a bit of thickness, but not so as to make it completely smooth.

The perfect winter warmer, with a nice chunk of fresh granary bread!

Happy Mothering Sunday

It seemed no coincidence that I found a collage frame of old family photos this morning, just before we set off for my parents' home for lunch.

So special love today to my own Mummy...

And thoughts of my lovely, funny Granny C...

...my stylish, gentle Granny O'C...

...and my independent, clever great-granny, who lived to be one-hundred-and-one...

PS  Don't worry, my Mum didn't have to do all the cooking.  My sister and I shared out the cooking (and my Mum chipped in with some of her delicious meatballs from the freezer).  My sister did us proud with the most scrumptious pudding selection...

(Ooh - look at my Mum's pretty hellebore table decoration!  The little bowl-like glasses were an engagement present fifty-three years ago and this was the first time they'd been used!)

And as I'd been banned from bringing a present, I had to say 'I love you' with a pie!

Rag Bag Rescue

Several months ago I had a brief moment of plucky-ness and instead of driving past a large local charity shop, I parked up, walked in and volunteered my services as a sorter.  I had been meaning to do this for ages, but it took me a while to build the courage to actually do it, though heaven alone knows why courage was required! 

(Mind you, had I known what some of the bags contain, I might have realised that courage is sometimes necessary - and plastic gloves!)

Now, a few months down the line, I am on a mission to rescue some of the items that are not suitable for sale, invest a little creative time in them and turn them into something that I CAN sell, raising a few pounds for the charity as I do so. 

The germ of this idea came from the Primark jumper challenge that I set myself before Christmas, which resulted in this shrunken jumper...

...being turned into (if I remember rightly) a dozen different items, such as these...

Bootees

Needlecase

Knitting bag 

...which raised about £60 for the hospice.

So, when this stained on one sleeve and rather washed out Gap man's shirt came in the Wednesday before last, I knew it was ripe for a remake. 

It was a gloriously large size, XXL to be precise.  

This turned out to give adequate width in the back for the unseamed front skirt sections and the two back skirt sections of an age twelve months pinafore pattern (Simplicity 2625).  

One sleeve was enough for the four bodice pieces and the 'continuous lap' piece.  I knew that the straight grain of sleeves should be the centre fold so I knew my pieces would be cut on the grain.

I just needed to cut into one of the front sections to cut the two bands below the bodice.

I decided to have the band wrong side up as I liked the contrast of the two shades of blue.

Having made this pinafore before, I really liked the wide bias strip that can be added to the hem.  It is very practical, as it means that the hem is machine stitched but completely invisible - no catching a hand-stitched hem when playing.  I decided to use some vintage fabric from my stash, and to add a bit of applique.

Although the bias edge was meant to be ironed and stitched under on the bodice edges, I chose to leave it partly revealed, to tie the whole thing together.

Back view...

Flower themed buttons...

I am now selling this, for the hospice.

£20

Age 12 months - 18-21lbs, 26 1/2-31"

or 8-9.5kg 67-79 cm

I will post the receipt on here when I sell it, but I am thinking of setting up a Just Giving page for selling these kinds of items.  Anyone know if you can do this?

A fresh start

I have been rubbish at blogging recently.

I have been in a real flibbertigibbert mood - unable to sit down and concentrate on much long enough to post regularly, or even read and comment on other blogs.   Maybe deep in my head was the thought that if I sat still awhile, I might inadvertently fall into a state of hibernation - it's been sooo cold!

So I have flitted, darted and skimmed my way through the last few weeks keeping busy, but today (in spite of the disappearance of the Spring sunshine we enjoyed earlier in the week) I feel ready to sit myself in front of the computer and attempt to jump-start my blog with a Spring re-launch.

These cheery souls are brightening the view from the kitchen once more...

...following fast on the heels of these...

...and these...

I love the fact that these beauties suddenly rear their pretty little heads, when I have always forgotten I ever planted them!  And just when things are at their grey-est and we're most in need of something colourful.

Talking flowers, we did manage to go for a snowdrop walk as I'd hoped.  It was a while ago, but I didn't manage to download the photos till today.

Here are the best...

We visited Pembury House Garden, in Hassocks which is near Brighton.

The owners, Jane and Nick Baker have been there for about thirty years, creating an informal garden in the three acres surrounding the house.

There were lots of hellebores to ooh and ahh over too.

After our wander round the garden we headed up the nearby hill to the Jack and Jill windmills of Clayton.

It was a good day weather-wise and once on top of the hill it was good to see so much sky and the rolling countryside of the Sussex Weald.

The Jill windmill has been beautifully restored by the Jack and Jill Windmills charity and is functional, albeit on an occasional basis.

Jack is in private ownership and is an ongoing restoration project, I imagine.  Made me think of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang childhood, mixed in with a touch of Sleeping Beauty. 

Hassocks, nearby, turned out to be a place of multiple antique shops.  But that's another post...

Have a good weekend!

Maybe...

...I've been so busy on an equine training job that I forgot to blog.

(Or maybe it's something more mundane.  Back soon, hopefully!)