Jam making- how enjoyable!

What a fabulous weekend it has been. Not only has the weather been perfect and I have been able to spend many hours in my garden, but I have also spent time doing one of the things I most enjoy- jam making! Seeing that the sun was shining early on Saturday morning, my husband and I (one of the best fruit-picking partnerships around) decided that it would be great to go out to the fabulous Downingbury farm that is located very close to where we live, to pick some strawberries. They probably aren't quite at their best yet, but nevertheless, we picked about 3 kilograms, and then I spent a few enjoyable hours on Saturday afternoon making them into jam- 11 jars in total and it is delicious!

I don't know what it is about jam making that I find so enjoyable and rewarding- perhaps it is the fact that your labours last all year long? In the winter I love being able to have jam that I made myself from fruit that I picked myself. So, this was the first batch of the season and I still have redcurrent jelly,blackberry jam and grape jam (from grapes we grow ourselves) to come! The only problem is that I am already running out of jars!

Milly Molly Mandy and all things nice

I just love old-fashioned children's stories and grew up on a literary diet filled with Enid Blyton, Sue Barton, Cherry Ames and the Chalet School stories, just to name a few. One of my all-time favourites is Milly Molly Mandy-both the stories and the illustrations and delightful and capture your imagination beautifully. I love the image of Milly Molly Mandy with her straight bobbed hair, candy-striped dress and black buckle shoes- just gorgeous

Nurses

A couple of days ago, I sustained a slight head injury, or to be more precise, had to have a minor surgical procedure that has left me with three sutures in my head. I hadn't anticipated quite how uncomfortable they would be and how horrible they would make me feel. I cannot wash or brush my hair properly and as a result am feeling rather fragile. Anyway, this situation made me think about nursing and how much I love this picture. Another of my hobbies is collecting historical images of nurses.

Granny squares everywhere!

One of the projects that I am currently working on in my spare time is a crocheted granny square throw, which I plan to have in the newly decorated spare room, which coincidentally, I think I am going to rename the "Reading and relaxation room" as it is currently crammed full of books! I wanted the colours of the throw to be vibrant and bright so that it added an element of joy, especially when curled up under it on the sofa in the winter when reading a good book (which is what I plan to do). So the colours that I have chosen are green,purple, yellow, white, pale pink, vivid pink, pale blue and aqua. So far I have made about 58 squares and think that I am just about half way there. I am making it with pure wool so that it will have that cosy, heavy feeling of something substantial when finished. Here are just a few of the squares so far......

In my garden

I have just ventured out into my small but perfectly formed garden and couldn't help but feel delighted with it. Roses and pansies in bloom all over- how I love springtime!

Creative cushions

It was my birthday late last week (I won't tell you how old I am) and I was very lucky and received a spanking new sewing machine from my husband. How excited was I? I just couldn't wait until the weekend to try it out and create some wonderful things for our home. I had an enjoyable Saturday afternoon, making these two cushions for the spare room, which I have decided to redecorate with gorgeous homemade things- a bit like "Kirtsy's homemade home" but on a smaller scale. What do you think? I still haven't decided which one I like the best.

Roses, roses, roses.

What could be more lovely than an old-fashioned jug full of fresh, fragrant roses? Perhaps, knowing that they came from your own garden! Here are the first of hopefully many- they smell delicious and look so pretty!

Hello and welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog. I am so exciting about this and view it as a sort of virtual journal/scrapbook, which I hope to make as interesting as possible.
What a glorious sunny day it has been. I have been working from home today and actually have been very productive, which sometimes isn't always the case on the rare occasions that I do work from home. So pleased that it is now late Friday afternoon and I have the whole weekend stretching ahead. What will I do?