This afternoon I baked, over Skype, with LiveWire No 4 who had seen her cousin’s Victoria sponge last week and wanted to try one her self. It was a tasty success and we had great fun. Of course, I have shared it with my lovely neighbour over a cup of tea in the front garden as before!
I am trying to track down a Cornish potter and thought I would try here. The coffee set, a couple of pieces below, was given to my Mum, Cicely Wiseman, when she retired, in the 1970s, from teaching at Roskear Primary School where she ran the unit for deaf children. The potter’s initials are JC and I thought I had found her but recently had a reply saying that sadly, I didn’t have the right person. Any help gratefully received.
Our Daffodils are opening beautifully and today, we had sunshine so they glowed.
A friend called by today to return a book I lent her recently, The Binding by Bridget Collins, such an intriguing tale which had captured H’s imagination as it did mine. It is so lovely to see a real person at the door, especially another Book Lover, and to exchange both some chat and another couple of books.
One of my American Blogger friends, Nancy, posted the following poem and so much of it rang true for me and maybe for you too. Just to say, my friend, Ute, is feeling much better so thank you for keeping her in your hearts.
COVID IS RAGING . . . MY LIFE IS A MESS I LIVE IN PAJAMAS AND DON’T HAVE TO DRESS
I’M IN ISOLATION, JUST STAYING AT HOME AND WOULD GIVE MY LAST DOLLAR TO BE FREE TO ROAM
I’M SERIOUSLY AT RISK (OR THAT’S WHAT THEY SAY) TELLING ME TO STAY IN AND NOT GO OUT EACH DAY
IN MY HEAD I’M SO YOUNG THOUGH MY LICENSE REVEALS I’M A 70-PLUS SENIOR (BUT THAT’S NOT HOW IT FEELS!)
WHEN I RUN OUT OF FOOD AND DELIVERIES ARE LATE I HAVE TO BUY GROCERIES BETWEEN 7 AND 8
SO EARLY MORNING I HEAD OUT TO RESTOCK AND DISCOVER A LINE WINDING ‘ROUND THE BLOCK
SOCIAL DISTANCING SENIORS ALL 6 FEET APART MAKE ME WONDER WHEN I BECAME AN OLD FART
MY LATEST NEW OUTFIT IS GLOVES AND A MASK AND I’M STARTING TO WONDER IF I’M UP TO THIS TASK
I WASH ALL MY GROCERIES ALL FRUIT, MEAT AND VEG WILL THIS ADDITIONAL PRECAUTION TIP ME OVER THE EDGE?
MY BEAUTIFUL BROWN HAIR HAS WIDE ROOTS OF GREY NO HAIRDRESSERS AROUND TO HELP WASH THEM AWAY
I’VE BEEN TALKING TO MYSELF & ANSWERING BACK IS IT MONDAY OR FRIDAY? I’VE REALLY LOST TRACK
I’VE STOPPED KEEPING HOUSE IT’S WEEKS SINCE I’VE DUSTED AND I KNOW WITHOUT VISITORS I’LL NEVER GET BUSTED
I FACETIME FRIENDS OR GROUP CHAT ON ZOOM AND TRY TO PRETEND WE’RE ALL IN THE SAME ROOM
THANK GOD LIQUOR STORES ARE CONSIDERED ‘ESSENTIAL’ WITHOUT DAILY DRINKS THIS WOULD DRIVE US ALL MENTAL
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE IT IS GOOD TO REFLECT ON WHAT THIS ALL MEANS AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT
IT’S A TIME TO BE GRATEFUL FOR ALL THAT WE’VE GOT LIKE A WARM HOUSE AND FOOD THAT OTHERS HAVE NOT
THE BOTTOM LINE HERE BY THE TIME THIS ALL ENDS IS THAT WE’LL GET THROUGH IT WITH OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Here is this month’s Action for Happiness calendar. Have a friendly month. Just want to put out a call of friendship to Ute, a Blogger friend who has Covid. Happily she is recovering, just, please, keep her in your thoughts.
We have left up our garden and indoor fairy lights until Candlemas as I heard on the radio that that is the moment when the days being longer have lengthened enough to notice so we don’t need the other lights anymore. I heard yesterday that this time of year is also the pagan festival of Imbolc which is about celebrating spring, the beginning of the lambing season and new life. It is one of the four key festivals in the Celtic calendar – the others being Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain – and traditionally falls when winter stores of food were beginning to get low mid-winter and halfway between the shortest day and the spring equinox. It begins on February 1st and ends on February 2nd.
Some people decorate the mantlepiece with items such as a vase of snowdrops, swan feather and/or green candles.
The lovely Mr S has had a good day despite everything. Family phone calls and videos, cards and presents have made the day fun and we have ended with a favourite feast of Confit Duck and then the Lime and Ginger Cheesecake. To top it all (what a strange thing!) he has booked for his vaccine tomorrow!
Presents from our lovely neighbour
Lime and Ginger Cheesecake ready to serve
I am trying to track down the maker of this pottery, initials JC. Just a call out in case anyone local might know. We know the potter is in Cornwall and was potting in the late1970s/early 1980s.
For those of you following my friend’s icy water exploits, she has added a comment to yesterday’s post. 🙂
My dear friend and her beautiful dog, Kaia, came today for us to walk together around the Great Flat Lode. The valley was misty, Carn Brea covered by low cloud and by the end it was properly mizzling but we had the best walk catching up. The lovely Mr S brought me a little treat this afternoon on his way back from his appointment, always loved these and can’t remember when I last had one.
I think I’ve mentioned before our lovely neighbour who swims throughout the winter. The other day, she and her friends swam in a local quarry where they had to break the ice to make any headway. N had a hammer with her and was, literally, breaking the ice with her hammer!I think this cartoon expresses how I might feel if I were to try this hobby! I hope it doesn’t offend anybody! Open Water Swearing by Kate West Art
A few days ago our lovely neighbour delivered some Cornish daffodils for our 13th anniversary of moving here. They were all in bud but have now opened and are glorious, two vases full. On our first evening here, in 2008, before the removal vans arrived, we were sitting on the dining room floor with our daughter and her friend, enjoying our first meal in our new house – a Chinese takeaway. There was a ring at the door and there was Sue with a jam jar full of Cornish daffodils. She joined us on the floor and shared our dinner and it was quite clear from that moment that we would become very good friends. She has brought us daffodils on our anniversary ever since!.
Our internet has been down all day. It has been quite a salutary lesson to realise how very dependent we are on being connected. We had an art lecture on Charles Rennie Mackintosh to attend in the early evening and later on I was to join a zoom choir session. We realised we couldn’t look up what to do to sort the problem, we couldn’t do our online supermarket order, couldn’t ‘chat’ to friends, couldn’t do any banking and the list went on. I wouldn’t be able to do my blog! Happily, a very efficient and friendly technician from BT (British Telecom) was able to sort us out in a 40 minute phone call and there we were back on line in time to sing! Thank you Scott from the Exeter BT help office.
A friend sent me this and I love it! I so miss singing it with my choir. I miss my choir. I’m missing the sun too!
Storm Christoph has begun to batter us and is forecast to be around for the next couple of days. It has, therefore, been an inside day finishing off the marmalade this morning and this afternoon, reading by the fire. I’ve just finished “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens, a beautifully written novel celebrating nature, first love and incorporating a mystery that keeps the reader guessing to the last page. If you haven’t read it yet, you have a treat in store.
Just the best day! We woke to sunshine, had a traditional birthday breakfast of croissants and after opening my presents and taking calls from our children, we went for a walk at Chapelporth. We took sandwiches with us and had hot chocolates from the cafe (its last day open as too many visitors from higher tier areas.) Just look at that sea!
The road to Chapelporth
The winter storms have scoured the top of the beach of sand and exposed the bedrock
Sunshine!
We arrived home to find a card and some glorious camellia blossoms from old friends on the doorstep. They are a more vibrant pink than the photo shows and are flowering in many gardens around us already brightening up the winter.
This afternoon we walked to the allotment and had tea and cake with our lovely neighbour, her sister and another allotmenteer, coming home in a sprinkling of snow which settled briefly on our baby Christmas tree and finding Dear Friends who had called by to drop off my cards. We are so lucky to have so many lovely people in our lives.
Dinner a deux tonight was confit duck, maple glazed carrots and parsnips, kalettes from our garden and baby Cornish potatoes – scrumptious. Dessert is still to come.
We have a new wreath on the front door. I couldn’t resist it for a number of reasons – one, it’s natural, two, it’s in suffragette colours and three, it was made by an artist friend from Fannie and Fox, the gallery where I have been selling my glass – couldn’t be better really!
Actually, it could! Just look at this wonderful owl decorating someone’s front door. I love it! My maiden name is Wiseman and our family logo, an owl. I’d love to try this for next year!
