Blogmas Day Seven - Kohlrabi, Sweets and Tiny Trees

Today's seed Advent calendar offering is a pack of Kohlrabi seeds and is seen in this photo with a bag of my favourite sweets just purchased from Booth's, and today little pot of jam.  I didn't grow this particular vegetable until we moved to Wales and then I really discovered it. 

 It grew so well in the polytunnel.  It's in the bed on the left nearest the camera, in this instance it's green kohlrabi, and it was delicious and was regularly snacked on while I worked in the polytunnel.

I keep forgetting to share what I'm getting out of last year's Advent calendar, which was filled with little bits and bobs of my Christmas decorations when I packed them all away last year.  But I have been emptying one drawer a day and hanging things on the tree or dotting little lengths of tinsel here, there and everywhere.  Bit by bit it's getting more and more festive around the lodge.

Today's little drawer contained half a dozen little gold baubles which are now dangling on the tree and barely visible as last year they were on the tiniest of tiny trees.

This little tree now lives in the garden, and I didn't have the heart to dig her up, so this year my bigger artificial tree is sporting the decorations as they appear from the Advent calendar.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Six - Advent Calendar, Nut Roasts and a £1 Christmas Dinner

Today's seeds are coriander not something that I like at all; I will do a giveaway at the end of the month for all the seeds that I know I won't want to use.  Today's jam is ... well it's just jam.  

The names of the flavours are all in French and to be honest they are all that tasty anyway that I don't bother to look at the back of the box to see what it is.  I have not even been eating this year's yet as when I was sorting through the food on the shelves, I found a stash of little jams from my last Bonne Maman Advent calendar a couple of years ago in one of my enamel tins, so I have been eating my way through them instead as they are well out of date now.  One thing for sure I won't have to buy any jam or marmalade next year; I do have a lot in stock.

I bought this dried mix nut roast a few weeks back, just before I found the one that I seem to have had in the freezer since last Christmas.  They are very tasty, but as I found out the last time that I had one they are very reminiscent of stuffing mix ... which I absolutely LOVE so it's not really a problem.  But when I have a nut roast dinner I go light on the amount of stuffing I dish up or it's just like having two portions of different flavoured stuffings and not much else.

I'm not that particular which stuffing mixes I go for, when I first got married over forty four years ago it used to always be the brand leader Paxo as that was what we had growing up, but then I discovered that really there's not much in it between the brand leader and all the pretenders to the throne.  I found that I even liked the basic lines from some supermarkets which used to be just 20p ... I wonder how much they are now?

Seemingly not that much more expensive, just 25p if you buy this one from Asda ... you know me, I had to look it up!!

I wonder if it's still possible to have your whole Christmas dinner for just £1, as it was when Miguel Barclay wrote his first book.

The photo of the Christmas dinner was taken from this book. The Christmas dinner recipe is on page 160.  Perhaps I could make something similar as an experiment, obviously minus the chicken, which should help to keep the cost down nicely.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Five - Anniversary Artisan Market and Purchases

 

We went out to breakfast for our wedding anniversary.  

A bacon bun and a pot of tea for Alan and a Linda McCartney sausage bun and a large coffee for me.  Followed with a lovely wander around the Artisan Christmas Market at Wyresdale Park. 

We didn't buy much; well we didn't need much but what we did buy was special.

I bought a couple of handmade Christmas tree ornaments, including one for my Mum,and Alan bought a couple of things for my stocking (I tried my bestest not to peek).   He also bought a lovely wreath for his front door which he also wants to take to Scotland with us if we can get there at some point over the Christmas break.  We like to put something Christmassy and special on his mum and dads' grave.

It was a lovely day and we ended it by having tea together, drinking wine, and re-watching our wedding DVD which was filmed by my dad so is extremely special.

Day five's Advent calendar contents and my new Christmas tree ornaments.

I hope you had a good weekend too, what did you get up to?

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Four - Anniversary Flowers ... and Cookies

 

Alan bought me a beautiful bunch of flowers for our wedding Anniversary, which is today.  

 Fifteen years, where have they gone?  But we've squeezed such a lot into each and every one of them, lived all over the UK and got up to so many things together.

Nestled in the middle is a single gorgeous dusky pink rose, it's absolutely beautiful.

He's finally cottoned onto the fact that I like lots of greenery and subtle colours.  What did I buy him ... why I got him a bunch of flowers of course.  One that's full of garish yellow roses, bright red roses with not too much greenery and huge white lilies that are on the point of opening ... just to his taste.

Celebrating our differences is what keeps us together.

From my Advent calendars today, jam and Purple Sprouting Broccoli, and here's my plates of M&S Salted Caramel bake at home cookies, very tasty. 

There were three more, but I ate them ... these will be going the same way very soon.  I don't think I dare buy any more of these!!

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Three - Christmas is Coming

 

Here are my Advent calendar goodies from this morning.

And here are yesterdays, including the 1st and 2nd Advent drawer contents from last years calendar which has lots of Christmassy bits in it.   The reason I have remembered to include them is that yesterday I got out the Christmas decorations and started to put things up.

Now it really does start to feel like Christmas is coming.

THE loveliest Christmas film this year.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Two - By Request ... Mavis' Story

One of my favourite photos of my darling girl. 💖

There were a couple of comments on yesterday's blog post and then some emails, after me mentioning yesterday on one of the photos about Mavis being stolen.  So, I thought that as there are so many newer readers to this blog, and also lots of you who have never read through my old blog, I would link to the original posts on Our New Life in the Country that tell Mavis story ... and boy does she have a story.

Mavis arrives to start her life with us on 31st December 2013

Click on the link to read the original post.

Mavis a couple of months later, fully vaccinated, micro-chipped and in full health and about to be booked into the vets to be spayed now that she was healthy enough to withstand an anaesthetic.

And then she was taken from our land.

We drove the streets looking for her, informed Petlog, the neighbours, the vets etc etc but she was gone and we had no idea where she had gone.

And then we found out and I wrote THIS post.

After we got her back she was spayed, she was once again part of our little furry family and the most important thing of all was that she was loved and brought back to a good state of health.

Now she's getting to be a little old lady, occasionally incontinent, occasionally distracted and forgetful but always full of life and full of love for anyone that gives her a kind word and a gentle stroke.

Christmas Mavis from a couple of years ago to show you ...

... what I got on the first day of opening my calendars.

I hope this post answers all the questions about Mavis. 

She's a happy dog now and has been for the last eight years since we got her back.  Although she will always be jittery and scruffy, hence her name, she will also always be loved and be part of our family and one of the furry gang, who eat together, play together and sleep together.

Family ... it's special at any time and can seem even more so during the Christmas season.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day One - Christmases Past

 

Let's start this years Vlogmas posts with a little trip down the memory lane of Christmases past. 

This photo of me and my brother was perhaps taken in 1968 or 69.  I think it shows perfectly how Christmases used to be.  You asked for a couple of things for Santa to bring you ... and if you had been very good you got them.  I had asked for the Sindy sports car and my brother asked for his first ever leather football. The telephones were actually money boxes but with proper dials and a button you could press to make them ring.  We had already opened our Christmas stockings of little bits and pieces in our bedroom, a selection box each and lots of sweeties. 

Perhaps 1974

We had moved from our little three room flat into a brand-new council house, and it was my parents pride and joy.  The grannies visited on different days over Christmas and many games were played.

Then to save my boys the embarrassment of their childhood Christmases being here we'll time-jump to 2008, and the first year me and Alan spent together as a married couple.  

2008 - Dickensian Weekend in Ulverston

Me busy in my little shop and Alan taking a well-earned break from travelling backwards and forwards between Cumbria and Berkshire.  Although as the stock sold out so quickly, he came down the little lane between our home and the shop with fresh supplies and cups of coffee at regular intervals throughout the weekend.

2009 - Our first year at Jointers Farm

2010 - The only year I have ever seen Alan without a beard.

2011 - The first year Suky 'helped' me with the Christmas decorations.

2012 - The year we moved to Berkshire and our next smallholding, and decorated the bookshelves, well we had to ...

... just look how small the Christmas tree was.  😄

2013 - The year we moved to our Welsh smallholding and moved in properly on 21st December, hosting all the family for a Christmas Day buffet.

2014 - The year we got Mavis back to health in time for Christmas after her being stolen in April ... and retrieved in September.

2015 - When farmhouse sinks get festive!

2016 - When pigs get Christmas hats.

2017 - The first stick Christmas tree.

I should have patented the idea, they are everywhere now!!

2018 - The dogs got 'Christmas stockings'.

2019 - Our great grandson's first Christmas, he missed the last one by six days.

2020 - Our last Christmas in Wales.

2021 - My first Christmas at Lavender Lodge.

And here we are in 2022, decorations about to go up and no doubt pictures will be shared on here, well I'll have to won't I if I ever want to do a post like this again.  I'll need the evidence of our second Christmas in Lancashire, England.

Sue xx