Very cosy

Old jumpers are incredibly useful for up-cycling.  Someone (not me) put hours of work into this Shetland knit so I think it deserves a new life.  Blanket stitch round the edge, a few felt flowers and ta da...tea cosy!

Bulbs

A cheap and cheerful way to bring some scent and colour into the house (make great presents too) is to plant some hyacinth/narcissi bulbs in a bowl (mine came from the charity shop and only cost a pound or so). Keep in a dark place until they have grown and are ready to flower. Just don't forget all about them!

The Lakes

A positive result of all the rain is enjoying the sight of waterfalls in full spate...I had a walk up the side of this one while we were stopping in The Lake District.

And Derwent Water was as beautiful as ever.

I could never tire of these views.

Apple cake

8 oz self-raising flour
6oz butter
6oz brown sugar
Half teaspoon each of ground cinnamon & nutmeg
2 large eggs
I large cooking apple, chopped roughly
Grease and line (just line the bottom) an 8'' tin
Mix all the ingredients and fold in the apple.
Bake for 40-45 minutes in a moderate oven
5 minutes before the end remove from the oven, sprinkle with some brown sugar and return to oven.
Allow to cool in the tin

Very jammy...

...and not just in the pan, unfortunately. 

I do love making jam and filling jars with all that sweet fruit, ready for jam on toast (especially if it's toast done by the fire), or to fill sponge cakes.  But such a messy job...or is that just me?  This is plum jam, one of my favourites, and not too many stones to skim!

Bargain find

This is not exactly a collection (only a few pieces)...but I felt really chuffed to find the oval plate for the bargain price of two pounds.  The design is 'Blossom', and was made by a local pottery, Thomas Forrester and Sons. It's such a distinctive and cheerful pattern.

Harvest

In churches and chapels throughout the country harvest is being celebrated around now. This is particularly resonant for me as I live on a farm - and we have had an exceptionally good harvest this year. This is one of the decorated windows in our church.