"With Pomp, Power & Glory the world beckons vainly, In chase of such vanities why should I roam?While Peace & Content bless my little thatched cottage,And warm my own hearth with the Treasures of Home."*Beatrix Potter

Thursday 23 April 2015

Cottage Days in the Garden & some Knitting.


The days are lengthening & we are spending beautiful days outside working in our garden.
The old fashioned perennials Delphinium, Foxglove & Hollyhocks are popping up all over the cottage garden & the joyous sound of bird song is all around us.
Forget me nots are in full bloom in the cottage beds & the beloved Bluebell is coming in to flower once again.
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Precious Bluebells.
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Spring flowers in the garden.
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Beautiful Aubrieta, this plant always reminds me of my grandfather, he had lots in his front garden.
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The Magnolia in full bloom.
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An old apple picking ladder in the garden.
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We have been looking for an Easiwork cabinet from the 1920's for a long time, it is the final piece we were after for the scullery & has wonderful storage which we really need.
Andy drove two hours away to pick this one up from Yorkshire & the following day we used a lot of elbow grease to clean her up.
She is wonderful, it is like a kitchen in a cupboard & is ideal for bread making & pastry.
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A wartime Gingerbread recipe using one egg.
We bake & cook from scratch & make the most out of our food budget. It is very pleasing to make frugal meals & realise how much you save.
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George & Bobby in their favourite spot, bless them they do sleep a lot.
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The twins helping with the enlargement of the vegetable garden.
They were picking up the last of the old tree root.
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Bobby enjoying the sunshine.
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Our vegetable garden.
We have been making the vegetable garden a lot bigger this past week.
There has been old tree roots to move & grass to take up. It is great to finally have it the size we want, we have just been here two years & everything takes time.
We would love a wooden greenhouse, maybe in a few years.
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I finished my first long sleeved jumper from a 1940's pattern.
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I used some vintage back buttons to finish it off & now it is tucked away for next Winter.
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A visit to the wool shop in a nearby town.
I bought some lovely 1940's green wool for a new jumper.
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Almond Loaf Cake.
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The two miniature's together in the hall.
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Cheese puffs from Ruth Mott's cookbook & a light fruit cake for Saturday tea.
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This Sunday I used three bags of fruit from the freezer, gooseberries, blackberries & tayberries to make a sponge pudding.
It was lovely warm served with cream.
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We found some vintage Laura Ashley curtains at a local antique shop for a bargain £12.50.
I have taken them up for our bedroom & the remainder I will use to cover two green 1930's Lloyd Loom chairs. This Summer we hope to decorate our bedroom as before moving in we just sanded the floor boards & fixed the walls ready for decorating.
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Ellie turned 21 last weekend, we celebrated with a lovely lunch with her family on Sunday.
Now Ellie & Dene are spending a lovely week in the Lake District, it will be their first visit to Hill Top.
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Thank you dear readers for your lovely comments.
Enjoy this beautiful Spring day.
Fondly Michelle
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