Damson jelly update....

Really lazy recipe:

I heated about 1kg with about 0.8kg sugar for about half an hour and tested on a cold plate until it wrinkled then put it through a wire sieve as I was too lazy too find the jelly bag.

Into the hot jars and all done!

I've never used the sieve before, but it worked really well - much better than damson jam and having to fish for the stones.

Scrummy.

Colton Bassett Stilton

I should have taken the photo first!

I bought cheese from M&S deli counter on Friday as it was on offer, instead of pre-wrapped.

This Stilton was amazing!

The cheddar was great and the Cornish Yarg?? was great.

I shall never buy the pre-wrapped again.

Damson jelly.....scrummy

Picked on Sunday afternoon for a friend, then kept going as K wants to make Sloe Gin, which requires 0.5kg frozen damsons/litre, then kept going as they looked so good:

Whoever I made damson jam the boys refused to eat it, a bit like the goats milk, which they loved until we had a goat.

Gertrude was a extremely difficult goat when it came to milking so it was no great loss.

I turned the surplus into damson jelly, which is really good:

Then I had to make a rice pudding to use the spare bit that is always left over when the jars are full:

The moles are winning!

Top lawn:

Side lawn, this one was digging whilst I was taking the photo:

Frontage:

Party packs, compare with Johnsons Sun cream bottle.

Time for Arthur and even more traps!

Put to bed for the winter:

Hanging baskets down, bone dry as lacking water for the last two weeks.

The manger survived...for the moment.

Creepers and honeysuckle cut down to reveal the Windows again - 3 large barrow loads and more to come on a less windy day.

She'd tidied and ready to use.

Tree house tidied and battened down.

Back to normal

Lots done today in preparation for the Blythe Hall Coffee Morning - begging letters out!

Followed by a trip to Solihull for coffee at Pret with Jan and a potter around the shops.

Latest acquisition, an iconic George Nelson vitreous clock from the 1950s.

Beat that!

Happy Birthday Mum....

yesterday actually, but I fell asleep before I got round to blogging, having spent the afternoon mowing the lawns of two weeks growth. Never easy.

We have had a great couple of weeks in Southern Italy, Rome, Naples, to pick up a little car then a week in the wilds of the Cilento National Park, then across the Apennines to Venosa for a couple of days, a delightful little medieval town, back to Naples, Rome and home.

Brilliant, photos to follow.

Two days at home, washing, cleaning, gardening and all is back to normal.

Now busy planning a Coffee & Cakes Morning at Blythe Hall on 22 October for church - ticket printing and sales and the begging for raffle prizes.

Mum was born in 1909 so would have been 107 - we were surprise twins born to middle aged parents!