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Monthly Archives: April 2020

Squirrel, Easter Eggs and A Tree

There’s a cheeky squirrel who visits us now and again, especially when we have just put out a fat cake for the birds. Once he ran off with the whole thing! Here he is poised to come further into the garden.

The children across the road have hung big Easter eggs in their tree for the Easter egg hunt that children are doing on their exercise walks around.

We love the ancient trees on our walk around the Great Flat Lode trail.

A few days ago I showed you the chocolate cake I had made. Here now is the recipe, so quick, easy and delicious.

Jamie’s Quick Chocolate Cake

3 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 10, 2020 in art, Cornwall, environment, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, Uncategorized

Tags: chocolate cake recipe, Easter egg hunt, Great Flat Lode Trail

Full Moon, Singing and A Flower

09 Apr

Last night’s full moon was very lovely, seen here through the trees.

Choir this morning was the usual rather lonely affair – tenor parts on their own need the harmonies! However, our lovely choir leader is also sending us videos of one song each week to get us started. Here is this week’s, Claire and her daughters, great fun to sing along with!

A Kaffir Lily for you, still flowering after months.

Out to clap and shout and sing for our NHS and other frontline workers tonight. If you have Facebook you might like to join in with the singing. https://www.facebook.com/groups/218043225928419/

Hope that will work. Stay safe all my Dear Readers in these rather scary and uncertain times.

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 9, 2020 in community, Cornwall, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020

Tags: Lift up your voices

A Bag, A Rainbow and Hand Cream

08 Apr

I’ve finished one bag for the porterage of scrubs and have four more almost done. They are awaiting their ribbons to be drawstrings. I have ordered some online and just have to wait. They will be collected as soon as I let people know they are ready. I am answering a call-out made by Cornwall Scrubs for sewists to make scrubs, masks and bags. It saddens me that the NHS has to ask for volunteers to provide these essential items having been starved of funds for so long but I am proud to be able to use my skills to help a little.

LiveWire No 3 has joined in the Rainbow pictures to show love and thanks to our NHS and other people who are looking after us all in this crisis.

What with all the gardening and washing our hands so much, our hands are suffering. We have the most amazing hand cream made by a member of our choir. It is vegan and organic and is the saviour of our skin!

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 8, 2020 in Cornwall, Photography, Uncategorized

Tags: #CornwallScrubs, #saveourNHS, Aromatherapeutics, NHS, rainbows for frontline workers, Wendy Brown

Today’s Walk

07 Apr

Today’s walk took us past some early blossom on the Blackthorn, up along the Great Flat Lode, roundabout a stile rather than over and lastly, by the local Nursery School where the gates were covered with little handprints and smiley suns.

Raindrops, Today’s Walk and Sourdough

06 Apr

I love photographing raindrops as regular readers will know. Here is a tulip from this morning.

On today’s walk up on the Great Flat Lode, we took a different route, as we can every time we go up there. There are so many different tracks, every day can be different.

Up the lane

Wheal Uny from the back

Raindrops on Gorse flowers

We baked our first sourdough loaf today. The crust was delicious but the middle too heavy and doughy. We won’t give up!

9 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 6, 2020 in Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020

Tags: Great Flat Lode, St Uny Engine House, yellow gorse

New Cake, Tulips and a Veggie Supper

05 Apr

Jamie Oliver has a new programme that we caught by accident last week where he is helping people to cook with limited ingredients, encouraging experimenting if you don’t have all the ‘correct’ ingredients and demonstrated a no egg Chocolate Cake (as eggs are very hard to come by at the moment. I scribbled down the recipe – very quick and easy, no eggs, lots of nuts and oh, so moreish! We had it warm with single cream. It would be good with ice-cream too.
We left some on the step for our lovely neighbour to try too and a note for the neighbours on the other side that there is some waiting for them in thanks for the SR flour they found for us.

Our tulips are gorgeous!

Tonight’s meal was another new recipe, this time a Yotam Ottolenghi one from this weekend’s Feast magazine that comes with The Guardian. I served it with yogurt and slivered almonds and a naan rather than with the suggested rice. But, seriously, who grates a tomato let alone four?! We chopped them and it worked really well and was very tasty. We had no spinach so I used the cauliflower greens chopped up instead.

Baked cauliflower with spices, spinach and tomato

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 5, 2020 in Food, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020

Tags: Baked cauliflower with spices, cauliflower greens, Jamie Oliver recipe, spinach and tomato, The Guardian newspaper, Yotam Ottolenghi

Good News, Kindness and Nature’s Magic

04 Apr

We had the best news today that a singing friend had his last treatment and yesterday ‘rang the bell.’ I have his permission to share the good news and his photo where he has dressed up for the occasion.

Flour has been hard to get hold of, especially strong flour for bread making. On Thursday evening, after clapping for our carers in this crisis, we started chatting to our other next-door neighbours whom we hardly know. We were chatting generally about shopping and life under lockdown and that we are self-isolating (not because we are ill but we are considered vulnerable) Today, on our doorstep, we found a note on a bag with flour that S&P had sourced for us from a local farm shop, such a kind gesture from people we hardly know.

We have watched with increasing amusement today as the pile of potting mix on a big cloth left on my ‘potting table’ for the next session, changed shape. As the wind has blown fairly wildly today, the random pile that filled the cloth, has gradually become a beautifully neat circle!

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 4, 2020 in community, environment, friendship, garden, Happiness, Photography, Postaday2020, Uncategorized

Tags: cancer free

Forget-me-Nots, Glass and Sewing

04 Apr

I have just found this! Somehow yesterday, I forgot to post it!

I love seeing the first Forget-me-nots in the garden. The plant came from Mum and Dad’s garden in Truro after Mum had died and has seeded itself every year since in memory of my lovely Mum.

Before I cleared up all my glass, I finished off my newest piece and here it is for you to see.

I have washed the fabric, ironed, cut out and pinned ready to make the porterage bags for the scrubs that others will be making.

Mum is here with me too as I use the patchwork pincushion that she made about 40 years ago! They are her pins too.

10 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 4, 2020 in art, Cornwall Scrubs, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, Uncategorized

Tags: #CornwallScrubs, sewing

Bubbles, Sunset and Scrubs

02 Apr

With the help of my brother in Atlanta, Georgia, I am learning to make Sourdough bread. Here is our starter at Day 3.

We went out to clap for the NHS and all carers again this evening and there was a pretty sunset which I captured in the side of my car.

A new group has been formed in Cornwall and in the 24 hours since it started, 550 people have signed up. The group is called Cornwall Scrubs, a Cornish group of volunteers making scrubs for hospitals, GPs and Carers in Cornwall. Today I cleared my glass workroom, put everything away and tomorrow, I will set it up for sewing. I’m going to be making the porterage bags for the scrubs which can be made out of any cotton fabric so I can use up stuff I have in.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 2, 2020 in baking, charity, Cornwall, Photography, Postaday2020

Tags: #CornwallScrubs, #saveourNHS

Today’s Walk

01 Apr

Please join us on today’s walk, wild flowers, a view of the sea, of Carn Brea, of our house and a horse called Zeita……. Click on any photo for a bigger version and the caption.