This week Dominic, my eldest son was 32. And I am convinced that this is a mistake! 32 years ago? I remember it so vividly. And that makes me 63 for sure, and I know my body has raced ahead of my brain.
It takes getting used to “being a pensioner”. I still have not perfected the art of ramming my supermarket trolley into the ankles of the shopper in front at the till. I still like mini skirts (shades of Marina in Last of the Summer Wine?). Fortunately my free bus pass is not subject to time constraints, so I will never be a “Twirly”. I hope to grow old disgracefully and never to quite manage to adjust to “being a pensioner”.
But to cut to the chase, this posting will have:
1) A couple of crafting sites worth seeing
2) Dilemma Scones
3) Meet the Jenkins
4) Podcast recommendation
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CRAFT SITES WORTH SEEING:
I am heavily biased towards knitting but two sites this week may be of interest to those who prefer crochet or spinning.
http://www.spinningdaily.com is an excellent source of spinning related articles.
There are good free pdf downloads, such as their Drop Spindle Spinning:Learn How to Spin with Drop Spindles, also An Intriduction to Spinning Wheels: How to Use etc and last but not least their excellent free Guide to Processing Wool to Make Wool Roving:Washing etc. The site is user friendly. It doesn’t matter if the spinner is experienced, there is often a tip or two in these that can still be useful. There is a newsletter to which one can subscribe. Pop in and have a look at this worthwhile site.
For crocheters: There are loads of free patterns on http://www.allfreecrochet.com/
This is definitely a "get a cup of tea/coffee before you start site" as there is so much to see.
This site has the facility that the user can store patterns they like on the site in their own folder. Registration is free and then all the patterns become available for download or keeping in the personal folder. Wide range of patterns. They have good product reviews and giveaways. Again this is a site with a regular newsletter if the reader wishes to subscribe.
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The Great Debate Recipe
The Great Debate continues. The English have their priorities in life, and some are of the utmost importance to them in how they conduct their daily lives. One of these is “cream or jam first” on scones. I kid you not. This can even be determined by the county in which you live. There are numerous sites on the internet giving views on this vital topic. Being vegan makes it easy, no cream at all! Just jam. The Ritz in London comes down on the jam first side.
So the recipe of this posting is Dilemma Scones. The dilemma being whether to eat them spread with cream topped with jam or visa versa. I leave this choice to your personal preference. There are no MBear Scone Police!
Scones are the archetypal English High Tea staple, but can of course be eaten for elevenses or snack times. They are best served on day of baking or next day, but don’t keep too well, but once they have been tasted it becomes evident that storage is not a problem as there will be none left to store! As always this recipe is one I have “tweaked” to suit my own taste
Vegans can use soya milk and vegan spread as I do, otherwise:
Ingredients: 8 oz self raising flour, 2 oz caster sugar, ¼ tsp salt, 1tsp baking powder, 2oz sultanas, 1 1/2oz margarine,1/4 pt milk.
Sieve flour, salt and baking powder together then rub in the margarine till mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add sugar and sultanas. Gradually add the milk mixing until soft dough is formed. Place dough on lightly surface and gently pat or roll till ¾ inch thick. Cut out into rounds, place on baking tray, brush with milk.
Bake at number 7 for about 10 mins.
They are ready to come out when golden brown on top
Let them cool on a rack so they don’t have soggy bottoms!
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Meet the Jenkins
Who lives in a house like this? Well Mr and Mrs Jerome Jenkins do. They have inhabited the flat above their shop since they moved there after their honeymoon in 1927. Mr Jenkins had wooed her and won her heart two years after opening his antique emporium. They are now in 1939 and will remain in that time for the rest of their days. They do not have electricity as Mrs Jenkins “cannot be doing with new fangled things like that”. Thus far they have not been blessed with children.
Here are some pics of their dwelling. I have enjoyed making their bedding, armchair in their bedroom, and suite in their sitting room.
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| The Antique Shop |
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| Mr and Mrs Jenkins put their feet up at the end of a long day |
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| Mrs Jenkin's Domain! |
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| All Mod Cons! |
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| And so to bed! |
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PODCAST RECOMMENDATION
On itunes or via own site http://babablacksheep.libsyn.com/rss this is a podcast by a real life shepherdess! For those interested in fibres her essays on different breeds of sheep and their fleece qualities are invaluable. She tells us of her day to day life on the farm and keeps the listener abreast of the progress of the lambs in her flock. She gives tips on getting the best from Ravelry. There are also book reviews etc. An all round interesting podcast.
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