Deblyn

What great photos! Isn't your kitchen neat and tidy? I don't think I would put photos of mine on here! Well done for getting through the instructions as well. Your kitchen and pantry look really good, you must have worked hard. Hoew much do you charge an hour?!!!!!!!!!!

Happy anniversary to Momo and Mr Momo too from me and mine1

Yes, Dee, a little bull calf, so sadly, as it's a dairy farm, he doen't have much of a future, poor wee thing.

Hi, Brigie - try a Scottish accent, tinged with Dorset if you can imagine that! Say hello to Pat from me and mine, please. Thinking of you and your family.

Congratulations from me and mine too - hope you're (not) behaving on your anniversary!!

This little calf was born yesterday morning in the field beside our garden. The photo was taken when he was only about 2 hours old. Isn't he lovely?

This was sent to me on an e-mail; I was aware of parts of the poem, but had never seen it in its entirity, or known who had written it. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is the Hand that Rules the World. Blessings on the hand of women! Angels guard its strength and grace, In the palace, cottage, hovel, Oh, no matter where the place; Would that never storms assailed it, Rainbows ever gently curled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. Infancy's the tender fountain, Power may with beauty flow, Mother's first to guide the streamlets, From them souls unresting grow. Grow on for the good or eveil, Sunshine streamed or evil hurled; for the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. Woman, how divine your mission Here upon our natal sod! Keep, oh, keep the young heart open Always to the breath of God! All true trophies of the ages Are from mother-love impearled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. Blessings on the hand of women! Fathers, sons and daughters cry, And the sacred song is mingled With the worship in the sky - Mingles where no tempest darkens, Rainbows ever more are hurled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. William Ross Wallace 1819 - 1881

I do a big supermarket shop once a month, and last night was the day for this month. The supermarket we use was doing a 20% reduction on all organice fruit and veg (I only buy organic), so that was a big saving. Because we go late at night, there are always good reductions on the bakery goods; I got a load of half price organic bread to put in the freezer to use when I don't make it. They have several "reduced" shelves, where stuff is about to go out of date, etc. I bought five packs of Cumberland sausages for Mr Lowie at half price; this was good value as they are the better quality make, and they happen to be his favourite. They do quite a few multi-buys, eg buy one get one free, so if it something I use, I get them too. If you get reduced items, and they are on buy one get one free as well, then quite often, you actually get them for nothing, and extra money off the bill, as both reductions apply and work in your favour - doesn't happen very often, but I like it when it does. I make a list of only the "extra" things - the things I don't usually buy there; birthday presents, video tapes, special ingredients etc. The one thing I didn't manage to get was tapioca for trying out the pie-filling recipe, so will have to look elsewhere for that. In al, we saved just over 15 pounds last night, so Mr Lowie was happy; so was I - I bought a lovely little holly tree too!

....throwing away?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've requested it from the library in town, but it may be 3 weeks before it is in - however, I am a fast reader, so will catch up! I did trawl through the charity shops the other day, but no luck! I may actually order it from the bookshop, depending on the price. Looking forward to reading it.

Nana, have a look in www where I put about how I put up my pictures; it's the simplest way I've ound yet. If I can do it, anyone can!!

Good news about the children, Becca-Anne; glad you are all starting to settle in well. Nothing teribly exciting happening here, just the usual. Trying to keep on top of the housework and failing miserably! Made cider Garden Club meeting was good, on restoring an old Victorian walled garden - lovely couple did a talk with slides and brought loads of plants for sale. I was very good and only bought 2! Been out in the garden starting the autumn/winter tidy up, cutting back the borders, and putting away the bean poles, saving seeds, etc. Need to clean out the greenhouses soon. Making beer this week. Monthly shopping last night - the supermarket was doing a special offer with 20% off all organic fruit and vegetables, so we saved over 15 pounds (there is no pound sign with MS98!) which was good. I wanted to go back in and spend the 15 pounds on more plants, but Mr Lowie said no! I did manage to sneak in a very pretty little holly tree, though. He didn't see it ( he says he doesn't like holly trees - how silly is that?) until it went through the checkout, so it was too late by then. Strating my ornaments for the exchange today, and settign the pub quiz for Sunday, should be a laugh.Have a huge pile of ironing to do. Friday night I am going out with a friend to see a man who makes and plays hurdy gurdys - that should be very good; Saturday is the Lets meeting - hope to pick up some useful stuff; B is becoming a real LETS and jumble sale aficionado, she loves them. A daughter after my own heart! so, you can see my life is just one whirl of exciting scintillating stuff..................not! But I am quite content with it, and that's what counts. There, a week's activities condensed into one post. I do read in here most days, but I always think that my stuff isn't that interesting to report on.

Aha! You learn something new every day! I always found that freezing made the cheese crumbly, so will have to try thawing it out slowly in the fridge. Thanks for that one - a good tip.

You can't have too many peppers! I like the idea of freezing ready-stuffed peppers, and will try that one. We like them with rice, spices, sultanas, etc like a sort of Moroccan style. If I only have a few, I dice them, saute them in butter, cool and freeze in small amounts, then they are ready for soups and casseroles, etc. Did you grow the peppers yourself?

I like the idea of the apple in the squash - my children like squash, and will usually give most things a try. I don't have acorn squash, but have soem of the Lakota squash that I grew from the sed that Westbrook sent over in the exchange, so I will try it with that. I like my squah just gently cooked in a little butter and oil with salt and pepper; I could eat it every day!

That's just under half the hops to be picked - I didn't get it finished yesterday but it's dry and sunny today so I'll be out there with the basket again! Properly stored, the hops last up to about a year or so; if we don't drink it too fast, then they should see us through.

About 6 weeks - I'll put the kettle on......................

My father always made his own beer, so I thought I would carry on the tradition. It is also obviously a lot cheaper than buying it, and the main thing is that you know exactly what goes into it. Everything that goes into my beer is nutritious and healthgiving. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The hops flower during the summer and are ready to pick in the middle of September - a dirty, sticky smell job, but worth it! The hops are then dried; I bundle them up in an old net curtain and hang them on the clothes pulley above the Rayburn for a few days, then they go out into the shed for storage. Beer is basically composed of water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Other things are aded to make different types of beer, but I just amke the basic as that is what we like, and it usually turns out well. Not having enough land to grow the barley (roasted barley grain = malted barley), I have to buy malt extract, but have now found a source of organic extract which is very good. Basic Home-brew 1 lb malt extract 1 lb sugar 1 oz hops 1 gallon water 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon yeast (special brewing yeast is available, but I just use the ordinary bread yeast) Dissolve the malt extract, sugar and salt in the warmed water, then add most of the hops and boil for 1/2 an hour. I put the hops in a muslin bag, as they are a b****r and a half to get all the wee floaty bits out afterwards, and they get stuck in your teeth when you drink the beer! Add the remainder of the hops about 5 minutes before the end, just to boost the hoppy flavour. It is the hops that bive beer its "bitter" flavour. Place into fermentation vessel (I use big 6 gallon buckets), add previously activated yeast (ie frothed up with sugar and warm water), stir it in and cover, but not too tightly. Fermentation is finished when there is just a tiny little bit of froth in the middle of the top; usually about a week or so in a warm place. Rack the beer into another vessel, add another 2 ounces of sugar, stirring it in thoroughly. Bottle in strong bottles, and it will be ready to drink in about a week - 10 days, but improves with keeping. I'm brewing today, actually - maybe I'll get Mr Lowie to set up a digivideocam thing - Beercam! Then you could watch me do it!!

Putting a posting on beer over in the wood stove.

Here is a photo of part of my hop harvest which I started picking today. Bet you wish you had smell-o-vision!!

That is the title of a little column in the current issue of Sainsbury's magazine. And it goes like this................. Yak?Yuk! The hairy, hardy Himalayn yak, favourite fare in tibet and Nepal has made it on to American menus. There are already some 30 small yak ranches in the US, producing low-fat meat that fans say is juicier, sweeter and more delicate than beef. Yaks are docile, thrive in high, rocky places and eat less than other cattle. But, for the moment, the meat costs more than double the price of beef. And then there's the image problem.......... A Lychee Story Traditionally confined to a role between chow mein and fortune cookies, lychees - all 2 million pounds of them - are now being widely offered on supermarket shelves in the US. Farmers began growing them to replace less profitable crops after Hurricane Andrew devastated Southern Florida in 1992, and this year has brought the biggest-ever harvest. Can Do Just as we were getting used to screw-top wine, here comes wine in a can. Marketed as Aussie wine, a four-pack of Cabernet or Chardonnay, the equivalent of a bottle, sells for about 6 pounds. A top-secret can lining prevents the wine from tasting tinny. Doing (less) porridge Cash-strapped US states are trimming prison diets. That means two daily meals instead of three in Virginia, one dessert choice instead of two in Iowa and jelly instead of fruit in Minnesota. For richer, for poorer... Wedding cakes cost twice as much now as 10 years ago - about 2.60 a slice. It's not quite Martha Stewart, but to help couples economise, bakers now offer a cake that is mostly ornately decorated styrofoam, with just a top tier that is real. After the symbolic cutting ceremony, it disappears into the kitchen, re-emerging as pre-cut slices - from a tray-baked version. So, that is how Sainsbury sees the current trends in American food!

Thanks for the answer on dried cheese - I was going to ask, as I've never seen anything like it over here. Is it ordinary full-fat cheddar type cheese you dry, or is it processed cheese? It is a good idae, and would be good and quick for sauces, etc.

Yes Deb - apparently I can't spell picture!!!!

I knitted this for something else, and thought you might like to see a oicture of it. I can give the pattern if anyone would like it (it's one of mine):

S'OK - gave me a bit of a laugh!! Excuse me for having a British sense of humour......................!!!!!! I really must think of something to post in reply ti HB's question now. May take some time!