Tuesday 20 October 2015

Apples, Morris Dancing and a sheepish Ta-Dah!

Another week, another 'Apple Day'. This one, again local, was slightly more exciting than the last. As well as the usual apple juicing and tasting, this one had bees, basket weaving, animals and Morris Dancing! After watching 'The Wonder of Bees' with Martha Kearney this week (did anyone else catch this?) we quite enjoyed seeing the beekeepers. It was the Morris Men that we found the most entertaining though - who could fail to be cheered by all that bell jingling and stick bashing?! R wanted to buy a heritage apple tree for the garden - we already have 3 apples, 2 pears, 2 cherries, a crabapple and a plum, so, as far as I'm concerned, we're all set on the fruit front. Far be it from me though to stand between a man and his budding orchard! We got to taste the apples first, in order to make an informed decision, and we actually came away with not one but two trees - a Pitmaston Pineapple that, surprisingly, does taste of pineapple and a Ribstone Pippin. They're quite small at the moment so let's see if they manage to survive the attentions of Bambi et al.!

Other happies this week:
My new bunch of flowers:
Driving through Burnham Beeches to visit a friend for lunch. We used to live near here; it's a national nature reserve in Buckinghamshire and great for walking and cycling. I stopped the car and had a mindfulness moment with the sun slanting through the trees and Vaughan Williams' 'The Lark Ascending' playing on Classic FM - blissful.

Deciding to get my old rocking chair down from the loft (easier said than done!). I'm very attached to this as R bought it for me when I was in hospital having just given birth to L. My only problem with it is the colour-I'm not that keen on the orangey pine. It doesn't look too bad against the duck egg blue of the wall but I'm in 2 minds whether to paint it or not - what do you think?
A quiet moment with this month's CH and I, a cup of tea and a slice of Nigel Slater's Apple and Orange Cake, recipe to be found here.
This week's purchases at the Farmers' Market - the celeriac went into cream of celeriac soup and the fennel is for a veggie paella for later in the week:
Finishing L's winter hat. I have to confess to having slight issues with the size of the brim - it was slightly larger than necessary, so has to be worn turned up! Sadly, this means that the ribbing is hidden but L doesn't seem to mind (or is too polite to comment!) and it is very warm. R, however, thought it had a 'touch of the Smurf' about it!
 Finally, I'll leave you with a photo of Hamish pondering on the sofa:
 Like Winnie the Pooh, sometimes he likes to sit and think but mostly he just sits! 
Wishing you all a happy week.
Toodle Pip for now. x

12 comments:

  1. Hamish is a darling, he looks so soft. If the hat is too large, you could try felting it very slightly if it's made from wool. Have a good week. x

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  2. Hamish is such a sweetie! I love the apple names - they have real romance about them, don't they? The ones you chose sound delicious - lots more apple cake for you all! I think I'd paint the chair - how about soft blue/grey? I'm a Vaughn Williams fan and can imagine you must have had a wonderfully mindful moment listening to the 'Lark Ascending' in such a lovely setting. Hope you have a chilled week.
    Cathy x

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  3. What a lovely post! I just love Morris dancers, it's all so camp somehow, camp but fabulous, long may they continue.
    Gosh....no, never come between a chap and his orchid!
    I'd leave the chair as is, and make a another lovely chicken cushion for the seat,
    I totally got your mindfullness moment, it's always so special to get those, here's to many more! I LOVED the touch of the smurf hat and your darling little Hamish!xxx

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  4. Ooh, pineapple flavoured apples! The sound delicious. How about painting the chair white, shabby-chic style?

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  5. Lovely to catch up! I like your chair, and I like it as it is, but that is probably because I am not really into painted furniture! Hope that the apples do well for you!!! xx

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  6. I really like L's hat, it looks very snuggly and warm. Hamish is so cute! I'd like a pal like him next to me on the sofa too. I've always wanted to see Morris dancing; sometimes I read jokes about it, like it's very old-fashioned? I'd still enjoy watching it. Your rocking chair is very similar to mine, which I bought at a yard sale when I was pregnant with my first baby. I searched yard sales for a rocking chair for months and finally found one, only to realize I couldn't fit it into my car to bring it home. I had to call my husband, who had a truck at the time, to meet me and bring it home since I couldn't. He had to drive half an hour to get there. I think he wanted to strap me to the roof in that chair! Ha. I hope you're having a good week so far.

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  7. I love watching Morris dancers too, there is something quintessentially English about them, just wondering how many bruised knuckles they suffer while performing the stick dance though. I love your chair and think it would look great painted with a distressed look, whether you leave it as it is or decide to renovate it is certainly to good to hide it in the loft. xx

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  8. Just stumbled across your blog via tales from a happy house.
    Going to have a bit more of a read but wanted to say hi.
    Loving all the food and meals you have, some great inspiration there!

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  9. This post is filled with so many lovely things that I like. I'm glad to find you busy and happy.
    Amalia
    xo

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  10. This post is filled with so many lovely things that I like. I'm glad to find you busy and happy.
    Amalia
    xo

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  11. Just to say, I would paint the rocking chair white x

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  12. I envy you your fruit trees. It's something I would love to have the space to do. I announced on my blog that I was buying some dwarf varieties, but the space that I had earmarked for them has been commandeered by Marc. As for the rocking chair; Marc bought me one when I was pregnant with Sam. It now lives at my sister in law's house, because it is a very chunky, almost Brother's Grimm, chair (and I have never really liked it. Shhh). Yours however is lovely. Perhaps you can get it dipped to remove all the orange varnish, and then wax it?
    Oh and I adore Hamish. He is my kind of thinker.
    Leanne xx

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