jams, jellies and poorly hens

heavens to Betsy...where is the year going...already there are people and blogs out there mentioning the 'C' word...not round here mate! Just trying to get back to 'normal' chez nous after the open studio event...the house is somewhere under all this stuff and dust and confusion.... the nights are drawing in certainly as we put the hens and ducks away earlier and earlier... there is a coolness in the air today and the smell of wet leaves and grass after the rain... tho' I did manage breakfast 'al fresco' in PJ's and a fleece...

autumn is here and I  am settling in to the new job, tho yet to have my proper days as we are covering holidays so I am a wee bit tired after doing 4 days instead of 3...have to travel further to get to it and working a Saturday is strange, but it's OK, just need to work out what day it is and all will be well...

got a poorly chicken in the kitchen ...Emily again...'off her legs' and I thought she was going to be no more when I picked her up to bring her in...bless her, she seemed so small and feeble. But 5 days on she is recovering from whatever it was...and eating and drinking...tho' there is a strange smell lingering in the kitchen...time for a mucking out methinks, so we'll maybe let her out for a bit and see what she does...it does add to the general kitchen confusion having a large box with a hen in!

came home from work yesterday to daughter in full making mood ...producing fabulous homemade crab apple jelly...last week she made bullace jelly (kind of small sloe/wild damsony things)...wow, she's amazing and so is the jelly....she's off doing a 'bird race' with friends today so will be having a grand time...autumn migration should provide a good number of interesting birds...she's at one of her other 'homes' ...we are so lucky that all her friends' parents are our friends too so there's always somewhere to go if she has had enough of us! 

  
...and husband mine has been making amazing gorgeous coloured fermenting concoctions to sit next to the Aga which bubble away...using up apples which otherwise the geese would eat and hedgerow sloes and bullaces and damsons...to make alcoholic beverages for the depths of winter...and today in the lovely autumn sunshine is heroically painting the new window in the studio...and then mucking out and then...

so I am catching up with an overdue blog...sorry, just been so much else to sort out to make life manageable...


and here's a few tweedy autumn thoughts...I just love the feel and warmth and woven texture of tweed and even just a simple ball of wool... off to the studio next to rummage though my textile stash and get in the making mood...need to get some goodies into local gallery and get ready for a craft fair and plan some workshops...exiting times as we three artistes go live with 'Making at The Studio'...starting small and simple but building up into a thriving interesting workshop space-cum studio cum gallery...

I love autumn...full of texture and colour...lots to inspire me...it's just deciding what to do first...tidy up everything and enjoy pottering around making order and loving the feel and look of all my lovely fabrics and yarns and books and bits and bobs....or set to with making something delicious to entice a purchaser...what a choice to have, how lucky I am...

and here's a little piece of history to finish with... my grandpa worked for many years as Manager of the Sunderland Blind Institute and I found this today in my stash of Granny's treasures...

 

it brings back happy memories of my dear grandparents and may inspire something special ...hope you too are similarly inspired this glorious autumn weekend...