Isolated in Derbyshire - part II

 Me again,
Well, it's going a bit mad out there isn't it?
One of the things I am trying while confined to barracks is looking at different recipes for bread, using different ingredients.
Today I have made beer bread - Here is the recipe - one pound (454g) Self Raising Flour; I tablespoon sugar; 330mls beer.  yep that's it!
Mix together and put in a lined 9" x 5" loaf tin and place in an oven pre-heated to 180  for 50 to 55 mins. Allow to cool in tin.
Could anything be easier? I am sure that it wont be light as a feather bread, but if you are struggling with supplies and need a chunk of something to go with your soup I don't suppose you would turn it down would you?
I took a pic of before and after and will taste it later with some lentil soup.

Restricting visitors is challenging for us. We are a noisy busy household with the kettle always on, meetings held around our kitchen table, between 6 and 12 for tea each sunday and guys with special needs for respite and daycare. As we are particularly bothered about David's health (I'm as fit as a flea) I am meeting with those we need to see, but keeping a physical distance between us.  I really don't see how families can keep apart for 12 weeks. Obviously if they live a distance away and don't see each other very often anyway it might be easier. Our grandson who works at a well known Derbyshire attraction is keeping his distance from us while ever he is working with the public as he does. Mind you, he is more than likely out of work soon as they will undoubtedly shut the venue down and there will be another zero hours contracted young person out of work without money. he is currently contacting us daily and can run errands if we need. When he came to pick something up at the beginning of the week he didn't get out of the car and I just passed the stuff to him.
  One of the benefits of there being few "distractions" (Friends calling) is that we are getting on a pace clearing the gardens and greenhouses for planting. David is also getting a good pile of wood chopped, which is a very satisfying sight.
One of the things I am looking forward to is having a go at using some of my fabric and wool stash. While looking through some old pattern books I came across this knitting pattern for a swimming suit. I remember these well, when they got wet they sagged to the floor exposing your nippies and weighed a ton.. Anybody else remember these?

That's enough for today, I know you have other blogs to read.
Back Soon
Gillx

Isolating in Derbyshire

 Hello All
  Here I am again/at last. If you are reading this I thank you for still being around!
  Well, it's a funny old world out there isn't it?
We have been self-isolating for over a week now as David has heart failure and a couple of other things I won't bore you with and was told by "his" nurse to stay at home and that things are "getting very serious indeed". Actually he didn't really need telling after the awful time he had  health-wise only a few months ago.
So here we are in our little bit of Derbyshire with our loins girded and if honest rather looking forward to making do and managing.  I thought I would try to record  the way our lives may or may not change over the next few weeks.
  We are considered to be "Preppers" by those that know us, so you would not have found me panic buying at Sainsburys as I always have supplies in of dry essentials at anytime. However if we need stuff I am not going to the shops anyway at the mo. My grandson lives locally and went to the shops the other day, which he said was absolute madness and suggest that have stuff delivered which ensures we are safe  from crowds and that we get what we need not what may or not be on the shelves. He trawled the online shopping sites and found that Sainsburys have a three week waiting list  for home deliveries and Asda only a week, so he organised my list with Asda and the delivery will be here next  Monday morning between 8 and 10. He gave instructions for the goods to be left at the back door as the house was self isolating. Apparently I must leave boxes / bags for the provisions to be unpacked into. This is the norm as they no longer use single use bags for orders. (pleased with that!)
   When we looked into our whisky supplies we were pretty smug to realise that, counting Christmas and birthday presents and a thank you, we had five bottles of scotch in the cupboard. Now one of those pop up thingys have just informed me that alcohol can weaken your immune system. Come on! Now that is taking the biscuit!
B****r it I'm off to get some ice and I really will be back soon
Love Gill xx
PS Welcome to a couple of new followers. I'm afraid I can;t work out who you are but you are vwry welcome

Hello

Hello All
Hope you in the UK are keeping safe and as dry as possible.
Another wild and windy night here with torrential rain falling on already sodden fields.  Folk down river from us have had water lapping at their back door.  Our land goes away from us and down to the river so our house is always safe.
I do wonder when we will get the veg gardens ready, every time we get some time outside it rains again and we cant walk on the soil. However, this is our way of life and not our living and I wonder how farmers are doing getting vital crops in, or indeed not having them washed away.
Mind you, I have been busy in the greenhouse starting seeds off in trays and propagators, so there are always reasons to feel hopeful here.

I had quite a few different subjects to discuss today but am going to go off piste to make a point about the possible outcomes from the sad suicide of Caroline Flack.  Too much to write here to explain, so if you don't know who she is and what has been happening please have a Google.

There are many facets to this story and who knows what might come to light over the next few days. I see that the CPS are coming in for much of the blame.  The CPS have been pursuing the case despite both Caroline and her partner saying they did not want it pursued. It is thought that this has contributed to Caroline's distress and I am sure that this is so.
 However, I have some experience of working with cases of domestic violence and know that the CPS pursuing cases against abusers has SAVED many lives. It is extremely common for victims of domestic violence to withdraw their complaints against their abusive partners. This can happen time and again, with abuse escalating and often leading to the victim being killed. My concern is that the CPS will be put under pressure not to pursue cases where victims are vulnerable to continued abuse. I understand that Caroline hit her partner  with a heavy object while he slept, which could have killed him I suppose, which is actually a serious offence as she was neither defending herself nor in fear of her own life. I suspect this poor woman has fragile mental health, which led to this offence of assault.

Away for a couple of months and here I am back again , sticking my head above the parapet, with a post that is in no way cosy nor frugal!

Back soon
Gillx

Happy Christmas Everybody
love Gillx

Winter stores

Hello All
 I took few pictures this summer but here is one I just had to take. This is one Turks Turban squash plant. It rambled and rambled over the peas and along the broad beans and I eventually had to stop it before it pulled the beans down.  There were twelve fruits on this plant all of which grew bigger than shown on this pic. The thing about Turks Turban is that is a winter squash and therefore a keeper.

Our potato crop wasn't good as usual this year, this is most of it, Sarpo Mira ,getting ready to dry before being put into paper sacks .

Once the potatoes are dry and the squash ripened they go into my vermin proof containers (old broody and rabbit hutches) in the barn. Here they join with the brilliant crop of onions ( Red Baron, Ailsa Craig, Centurion and Marco) shallots and apples.

Here is a picture I hope w ill make you smile. Baloo found the newly potted on catmint!!
I

And lastly, its that time of year again. David is back on Santa duty. He was too unwell to step up to the task last year, but this year he much better, though still on restricted duties. Here he is on "Birdswood", on the Cromford Canal at Cromford last Saturday and will be again this Saturday. He has done a stint at Chesterfield Fire Station and he then just has a private party (friends) and he can hang up his reds for another year,

All for now, two posts in one week,Whatever next  ?
Love Gill x

Warning! Wedding Pictures

Hello All
This is a little picture heavy, but I thought some of you might like to see a picture or two of the surprise wedding of our eldest granddaughter at our family festival.
We now have HUNDREDS of pictures to choose from from those taken "officially" (until the wedding was announced he got rather funny looks as he was dressed in a suit like a photographer and everyone else was in shorts and tea shirts) to all those taken on phones by the guests. Consequently I had far too many to choose from.
I will sort of lead you through the day..
Here she is with my younger granddaughter on the far right, my goddaughter standing behind her and her  two dear friends. There was also a little bridesmaid age 2 and a bit , picture below .The bridesmaids dresses were just summer dresses that she bought from Top Shop(I think) we cut them down from long dresses which they thought were too restrictive and made a dress for the littly and bows for her two dogs, from the off-cuts

Here is their wedding cake. She and I made the cakes and my eldest daughters mother in law iced it to a design by our younger granddaughter. As you gather we are all Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter fans and She and her husband have a yellow lab male and a bernese female

Here they are playing a modern version of Mr and Mrs. with questions set by the bridesmaids

As it was a nice day the youngsters made for the river once the "ceremony" was over

Several tug of wars

On to the 40 -a- side rounders

after the buffet tea (which stops open all night, being regularly replenished) It was time for the Country Dancing

As you see it is now going into the evening and by now the accordionist was rather "mellow"

So after a top up it is time for  Dancing and more drinking .The bar is in the goathouse

And then one last surprise .Ladies and Gentlemen. For one night only .. I give you "Nell and the Tena Ladies"!!!!
Oh my, how did I get talked into this?! on the right is my eldest daughter, next to her is her daughter, next to her is my youngest daughter (brides mother) and on the far left is moi

I hear you crying !ENOUGH!
I've now got that out of my system and promise to show you no more. Thank you for bearing with me.
All for now
Gillx

(nearly) Ready for Winter

Hello Hello Hello Remember me?!!
  Winter draws on (yes Sue!) and I am still processing stuff for the winter months. As usual I'm laying in for a siege and any disasters that might befall deepest Derbyshire and the world beyond.

Here is a short run down on where I am right now, produce-wise........
  The last of the potatoes, dug up a little early because with the persistent rain they were in danger of rotting in the ground, are now dried and in brown paper bags. These bags will go into the old empty rabbit hutches alongside the apples, winter squash, and onions. It's been a good year for onions and squash, a rubbish year for apples and a so-so year for potatoes These hutches are in the barn, where it is cold but not too icy and are rat proof. Each day I gloat over this booty like a miser, I'm such a sad old prepper! Almost daily either David or I will say. "If you've got a potato you've got a meal"  which, you can't really argue with (yes I know you could die of boredom before the hunger got you!)
  I have been cracking hazelnuts and putting them into jars ready for cooking or snacking. While the nuts looked a good size the kernals are really quite small, so the yield has been rather disappointing from two large feed bags of nuts. However, they are a good source of protein throughout the winter., so worth doing, a job for while watching the TV. The jars of nuts are now "under the stairs" with the jars of dried beans, jams, pickles and honey. I have chopped some up and preserved them in honey again this year. I chopped the nuts for this rather than keep them whole and they are rather good in biscuits or poured over yoghurt.

  I think I have saved enough vegetable seed for next year and should need to buy very little, which is a bonus as seeds are not cheap. I'm going to try quinoa and luffa again next year as they were a dismal failure this year. I will have to buy the seed for this.
  There is little in the garden now, just perpetual spinach, black and curly kale, red cabbage, Brussels and beetroot. I managed to get some spring cabbage plants in a couple of weeks ago, but haven't managed to get the garlic in which I normally plant on bonfire night.

The bees haven't had the best year. We have lost three of the smaller hives to wasps, of the remaining hives we only took honey from three, as the others just had enough for themselves. in total we took 110 pounds of honey. I salvaged quite a bit of wax from cappings and broken frames and have made a passable lip balm to give as presents and also some beeswax wraps with fabric from my stash.

The chickens have now given up laying, probably until new year, which means no eggs to sell, the bees are funding the chicken food at the moment from honey sales.

 As the nights draw in I can spend more time indoors and as I have nearly finished  processing I have got the sewing machine out. Last weekend I managed to finish the huge mending pile so I can start on the Christmas presents I have planned. I am including as much plastic-free and sustainable stuff as possible. This has been a mantra of mine for many years (along with climate change) and it is great not to be seen as a weirdo any longer!
Enough for now methinks.
I will be back
Thanks for hanging around
love Gillx