Remembering Christmas Eves Past!

A long time ago, when my children were quite small, too small to notice such things even, I would sit up all night on Christmas Eve wrapping everything in tissue paper that was destined for their stockings. At the bottom of each stocking, (which, by the way, I had knitted for them when they were babies), was a tangerine or clementine, a walnut, and a handful of chocolate coins. I made tissue~bags full of M&Ms: 6 green ones for Hannah, 6 green ones for Emi, and 6 green ones for Soe. Then I'd start on another colour, dishing out the exact amount of each colour...to be fair! I was quite mad! There were wind~up toys for the bath, Hello Kitty pencils and paper and envelopes and toothbrushes and coloured pencils and combs. Hello Kitty stuff was a hot item in the stockings! They all had exactly the same in each of their stockings, so careful was I that one wouldn't think that they had been out~stockinged by her sister. After they were all stuffed, around 4:30 in the morning, I would oh so carefully lay them at the foot of their beds, remembering that wonderful feeling, years before, of the weight of the filled stockings across the foot of our beds at Marston Magna! Tiptoeing everso quietly, I found my cozy bed, where my slumbering best friend lay, quite oblivious to all the hard work that had gone into this annual affair! But alas, no sooner had my exhausted head snuggled up into the soft pillows, 'twas then that the pattering of little feet came running, accompanied by squeals of joy: "He's been! He's been! Wake up, come on, wake up!!" .... My girls are grown now. Sapphie is going to be 2 the day after Christmas, and her little brother or sister will be here in early February. My 3 girls have so much to look forward to! Pattering feet on Christmas Day in the morning!

Leweston Manor - 1958-1963

A long time ago, when I was quite new, I went to school and lived at Leweston Manor, a convent in the North Dorset rolling countryside. I wasn't an ardent scholar, let's face it, and the smell of the chemistry lab determined that I would never excel in the sciences. I have recently been reminded that I would often feign collapse at the beginning of any class in the chemistry lab to get out of the class! My fervent interests lay in reading about the Elizabethan Voyages, Shakespeare's plays and sonnets, art, and needlework. I enjoyed Ancient History, Algebra, Geometry and Latin. My piano lessons were a delight. Mrs. Likeman was a true saint! On those days when she just knew that I hadn't adequately practiced my scales and arpeggios, she'd whisk me off to her cottage and we'd make toffee, or draw pictures of her rose-covered cottage in Long Burton! When I first went to Leweston we slept in a dormitory of about 12. Mother Margaret Mary's cubicle was in the corner of the room, and it was always a great mystery to us what it must be like behind the locked door. Anne Fuller decided it for us, and threw my teddybear over the high cubicle wall! I had to retrieve old Ted, so with the aid of many helping hands I managed to 'hup!' my way up and over. Unfortunately, for the crucifix, which was lying just so on her pillow, when I jumped down onto her bed, it went flying, and landed in more than a few pieces on the floor! I gathered up old Ted and threw him back over the wall, then gathered up the scattered cross, and poor Jesus, Who had fallen off, and replaced them lovingly and carefully on Mother's bed. Then clambering up onto the bedstead, and taking one last look into this immaculate, private world of a young nun, I 'Western rolled' it out of there! I was an instant heroine! The bar had been set, and from that day on, if there was a dare to be given, it always fell in my lap! One of the more pleasant challenges was to sneak into the huge walled fruit garden and pick large amounts of redcurrants for the huddled masses on the other side of the wrought iron gate...it wasn't locked, simply 'out of bounds'. Hmm, in reflection: was I, indeed, the heroine they made me to be, or actually, their slave?!! No matter...when I think back on Leweston Days, there are only smiles in my soul!

How To Blow Bubbles!

LESSON ONE: Sit quietly and calm your soul. Raise loaded bubble-maker to within an inch or two of your lips and blow gently, but with determination.

LESSON TWO: In the event that Lesson One doesn't produce any bubbles, shift position slightly, and repeat Lesson One, eliminating the 'calm your soul' and 'gently' directions.

Okay, Auntie Hannah, now you try!

20 years shepherding the flock!

There are 20 blossoms in this gorgeous bunch of roses, each one representing a year, as we celebrated 20 years of ministry in Newport yesterday. An overwhelming amount of love and effort went into the day: the kitchen crew came early on Saturday to prepare for this barbeque extravaganza. The chaps busied themselves around the 3 huge grills showing off their well-practiced barbequeing skills! Hundreds of people came: even from Holland, Scotland and the Philippines!! My poor chickens became extremely anxious while the barbequeing was going on, and held a little prayer meeting, praying fervently to their Maker that we wouldn't run out of chicken before the day was through!! I had to keep going back to them to reassure them of their safety! Thank you, Newport Church Family, for your unprecedented show of appreciation and love toward us...we love you dearly!

Reveries

Take me down to the sea again,

To the crashing, spewing foam.

We'll spend happy days by the sea, my dear,

Then wend our way back home.

June 2008/August 2010

Old friends

Isn't it extraordinary that true friends can just pick up after 45 years, and it's as if you just blinked your eyes...?

Here is a picture of Cizzy and Sal after a lapse of 45 years, enjoying a week in the sun, catching up on each others' news, remembering when...Cizzy flew all the way to Florida from England, so important was it that we spend some time with each other.

I feel renewed, and inspired by her visit...I MUST find more friends!

Continuing bounty!!

This is what we're having with our pork chops this evening for dinz (no rude comments, you lot up Whitcombe Down way!!!). They're going to be corn and basil pancakes a la EatingWell Magazine. I think they'll be delicious...

Tea up!

Polly, remind me later to let you in on a little secret I know about Marilla!! You're just not going to believe it!!

Gifts from the earth!

Here's my idea of a first class summer morning breakfast! Just picked blueberries from Holland (Vermont!) and freshly roasted on the porch coffee! Ahh!

Garden delights!

Fresh and pretty! The baby Tom Thumb lettuce was picked before the storm, and the mint, chives, tomato and borage flowers afterwards. A nice accompaniment to 2 thick juicy steaks, grown by a friend! I thoroughly enjoy eating food, when I know where it was grown!

Enjoying Elevenses With The Girls!

Here are some of the girls enjoying their elevenses, some are racing each other to the stump, and some are catching flies! Amazing to think that...

This was only a month ago!

What time is it?

One o'clock...two o'clock...three o'clock...

The Sailing Life

This past weekend, America celebrated her 234th birthday, and to mark the occassion, Sapphie took to the water!

"Rocks ahead! Tack to starboard!"

"Clear to shore!"

"We made it!!"

Happy Birthday, Cally!

This is Cally. Carolyn Margaret Brown was born in Longtown, near Carlisle, Cumberland, on June 22nd, 1947. I first met her when our family moved back to England from a few years in Malta, to find the Browns had moved into the Court House down the lane. I still remember her telephone number from all those years ago: Marston Magna 425! Cally wasn't too thrilled with all my freckles and dark skin, but in a very short time, we became good friends. Her lovely Dad, Gilbert, was the manager of Martin's Bank, next to the Cadena, in Yeovil. Her wonderful Mum, Sarah Handsome, or Sally, as she was known to us back then, played a mean piano and made the best cuppa I've ever had in all my born days! She used to be in the theatre in her younger days. The Browns had a little (was it pink?) Austin, NAO something! They often took me to the sea with them (was it Seatown?) The very first thing that we'd do is find kindling and firewood so that Gilbert could make a fire to boil the kettle to make a pot of tea!! Always, there was tea! I don't remember sand, just pebbles, ow! We had to wear plimsolls in the sea to protect our feet! The water was always freezing, but that never stopped us...in we'd go and stay in until our lips turned blue, then out and rubbed down with thirsty towels, on with the thick jerseys, and ah! the perfect time for a nice cup of tea!! Bravo, Gilbert! Cally was my mostest, bestest friend! Blood sisters for ever! Happy Birthday, Cally!

Beautiful Waters

These photographs of our beautiful country overwhelm my heart and fill me with gratitude and wonder! Especially on those days when I wish England was 6,000 miles nearer! Georgina, if you read this blog, find something beautiful and post it with happy comments! It might ease the pain of separation, somewhat!! It does help!

Just look at this beautiful picture! A great spot for a picnic: quiche, salad, crusty bread, with apple/walnut oatmeal cookies! Don't forget the fly rod!

Best Friends Share Everything!

Okay, Cabot...here's the deal: You share your drinking water bucket with me...

...then I'll share my toothbrush with you!

And everyone will be happy!

Little Jewels!

Here are Ruby and Sapphire, having a little sit and enjoying the moment...I love their Wellies!

Keeping up with the News!

Hmm, I wonder how the stock market is doing today? It all looks like double Dutch to me!

No Parking!

I love these photographs of Tillie, my great niece, who lives in Australia. Despite the fact that she showed the snake her 'No Parking' sticker, the snake decided to befriend her!! Would that we would all be so accommodating to all of God's creatures!! Terrific work, Matilda!

A Face-lift for the Manor House

This is the corner in the back of the house where I was born where I spent hours and hours...it looks slightly overgrown now, but the memories are still quite bright. You can see how close to the house the church is...were you to dig down under this room with the tiny window you'd come upon a secret underground passage from our house to the church, used by monks centuries before in an effort to evade the cruel soldiers of Oliver Cromwell!

Here is Mummy's rose garden, shaped in the likeness of a Celtic Cross...It has been kept up most beautifully...

And here is the new back of the Manor...I really like it! The coal shed has gone, and the whole thing looks more open and welcoming. Mum and Dad would both be delighted at the renovations! Looks like a great day for the Marston Magna Village Fete in the Manor Gardens!

Poppy Patch

These beautiful poppies, along with the German bearded iri, and mound of catmint, grace the middle of the veggie patch, and sit under the pear tree, which, incidently, has yet to fruit. Perhaps I should encourage the partridge to sit in it, to warm and encourage during those early summer frosts that have turned into a perennial event! Tomorrow, one or two of these exquisite ladies will have dropped a petal or two, and I would have been sad to have, once again, missed the day, when they were all in their full regalia...et voila!

An Efficacious Way to Start the Day!

If you wake up in the morning, and it's raining and quite chilly, and your back feels like someone has been pounding on it with their new sledge-hammer all night long, then here's a great way to come alive: a 10-grain apple pancake, slathered in real butter and topped off with Vermont's finest maple syrup, all accompanied by a cup of delicious, fresh, home-roasted coffee...ahh!

A Quick Introduction to the Girls!

Here are the girls! From left to right: Felicity, Greedy Anne, Marilla, Mrs Lynde, Polly, Dianna, Daisy, Maisy, Gloria, Emily, Alice and Rosie! They seem very happy with their new house!

It's been a blast!

Hello All! We've just had a 4-day pyjama party with our very best friends, Cooper and Cabot, who are our urbanite half-brothers who live in Burlington. Cabot broke all the records for not eating anything he shouldn't, apart from the monkey's leg and the green dragon. They learned how to sit and accept 'cookies' like real gentlemen, without chomping off Mummy's hand! Their Daddy is coming to pick them up later, and we'll miss them a lot, but it will be a little calmer around here at dinner time! Honestly, anyone would think that they're completely starving, the way they carry on! It was quite a feat, we can tell you, for Mummy to separate the hooligans (them) from the well-mannered two (us)!! So we look forward to the next visit with eager anticipation!

Sapphie Comes Over for a Play Date

We had a fun day together today, Sapphie, Emi and I. They came early for breakfast, then we played some songs on the piano, and explored around the house and garden for a while. After her nap, we ate lobster mac 'n' cheese, then went for a walk down to the river. This is a picture of Sapphie reading the paper after her lunch, wearing her new hat made by
Great Cousin Carol in Yorkshire...what a clever cousin!

Over the sea to Skye

Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, over the sea to Skye...

Carry the lad who's born to be King, over the sea to Skye...

I can hear her calling! I need to go.

Here chooks!

Just two weeks to go, and we'll be starting to grow our little brood of chickens! I'm ready!

Ta-Dah!!

Here is the finished Chook Palace, all stained, and ready for the day-old chicks, who will arrive before we can blink an eye! And here is the slate bearing the eternal truth:

Chanticleer, all over again!! Actually, I think we've decided to abandon the Chanticleer idea...a lot quieter, and a lot less worry!

Omnibus I

I have decided to go back to school! Not as a teacher, though, but as a student! Today was day one of my new course, Omnibus I, Biblical and Classical Civilizations. It should take me 6 years to complete Omnibus I - VI, so by the time that I turn 70, I should be fairly well-versed in the classics! Today we 'went' to the Sistine Chapel, and asked the question: "Who do you suppose that beautiful woman under God's left arm is?" Depending on your viewpoint, I suppose she could be Mary, who by the time Michelangelo painted his famous fresco had received the title of Mother of God back in the Middle Ages. Since Michelangelo didn't follow biblical descriptions of the cherubims, he probably didn't think too much about time-lines either, so this gorgeous female could then be Eve, even though she wasn't created until later. I, personally, think that this is the personification of Wisdom, who is portrayed in Proverbs as a woman. Entirely appropriate, for Wisdom to be included in this earth-shattering event! I suppose we'll never know this side of Heaven who she is, but rather fun to ponder such things! We looked at the whys and wherefores of Genesis, and now my homework is to read Toledoth 1 - 5, or the first 11+ chapters of Genesis. I'm going to enjoy being a student again! Soli Deo Gloria!

A Leeky Census!

A dear friend left this bag of ramps(wild leeks) hanging on our door knob early this morning! What a lovely surprise...so this evening we're having ramps and mushrooms gratines: saute 10 trimmed ramps and quartered mushers in a couple tablespoons of (real!) butter until golden. Take off heat, add half a cup of heavy cream and pop in small casserole dish. Cover with breadcrumbs mixed with Gruyere cheese and broil until golden topped! After dinner go for a brisque walk around the field 4 times to help move all that lovely cream through your veins!

The Wasp Nest

Who decided the perfect spot

To build the nest, was it Dot?

Was she the one, on bended knee,

To plead to her inflated Queen?

Or did a host of cheering wasps,

To the throne, raise Dot aloft, and

Carry their newly elected Queen

To boss them about

And live her dream...

In this her treetop paper palace?

Tea-time With Marilyn

The other day, I went to my friend's house to enjoy a nice cup of tea and soft, sweet conversation with Marilyn and her dear mother, Betty. The table was set so prettily with beautiful china that had been Marilyn's grandmother's, who lived in Wales. How clever that Marilyn made some jam tarts out of a Tasha Tudor book that I had given her for Christmas a while back...Tasha Tudor had corgis! Corgis/Wales...

And just look at the exquisite centrepiece! It's a shooting-star hydrangea...so beautiful! A gift to Betty from Marilyn for Mother's Day...

Chicken House Project - Phase V

Now things are really beginning to take shape!! I love the shape of this very fine chicken house...it looks like a robot head, complete with square mouth, square eyes, square ears, and a nice square brain vent in the back! Those nesting boxes are big enough for broody ostriches!! What lucky chooks...

My best friend is going to try to pull a piece of granite from the old barn to lay down under the door, to make a nice step...

Framed-in Nesting Boxes

My best friend is nibbling away at the Hen House Project, using up every single spare moment in the course of his very busy days. Here he is, with his cheer leading team, after he framed in the 4 quite large nesting boxes this afternoon. Think eggs!

Still Waters

...He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul...