Strawberry Sorbet

200g of BFL from the Yard Yard. Isnt it scrummy? Thank you Natalie : )

And I finally finished my Breast Cancer socks. The yarn was dyed for me by Brightdyes - thanks Chrissy - and it is the Opal basic sock pattern from Get Knitted. The fluffy bunny is a present from my son : )

New chickens, a cat.....and a sock

Yes, we have 3 more chickens. They are minature bantams, and tiny as the gratuitous foot shot shows. Their eggs are the size of quails eggs and the chickens are very tame. A neighbour got them for his son but they were a bit too much for him, so he came round with these beauties in a cat basket and gave them to us : )

These are Silvia and Cocoa - our full sized bantams. I know you have seen them before, but I didnt want them to feel left out of the photo-shoot LOL

This is Pompette - our black Silkie bantam. Her brother (see posting a few days ago) had to go back to his breeder as his crowing was a bit too loud, so we just have her now.

The front minature bantam is Twilight, the middle one is Dawn and the one at the back is called Stormy.

My boy cat - Ebony - he is a rescue cat and very soppy. Can you tell I love him ???? He lies down in the chicken pen and the hens just come right up to him and shoo him away.


And finally, a knitting shot. I have finished one of my pink socks for Breast Cancer Awareness month. And I have checked my breasts.

We have Eggs!!!

Here are the clever girly chickens who laid them: Cocoa is the brown lacewing, Silvia is the silver lacewing. They are both wyandots. Pompom is the fluffy silkie in the foreground who just wouldn't get out of the way - a real diva-chick LOL

And here are the magnificent eggs. They weren't all laid on the same day, I hasten to add. The chickens had been laying for 3 days before it occurred to small son that a photo might be a good idea before we had them for tea.

And yes........they were yummy to eat : )

Alpaca For Sale

I have 3 whole Alpaca fleeces for sale. I have white, honey and a rich chestnut brown. I have put the fleece into 100g bags and am selling them for £4 per 100g plus postage. If you would like some, please send an email to: Moorec648ATaol.com replacing the AT with @

Ryton Organic Gardens

I am a complete numpty when it comes to naming flowers - so I wont attempt to catalogue them. Just enjoy these beauties and remember - it is the middle of October !!!!!

This carved totem pole is in the Childrens garden along with a carved sheep and a wendy house just like Sleeping Beauty would have had.

It was a lovely day and brought lots of inspiration for next year.

Green Tomato and Onion Chutney

The fruits of our allotment. I found the recipe in a Readers Digest magazine. I have made 4 lbs of this and now I just have to resist it for 6 weeks until it has matured. Watch out cheese and ham - the chutney is on its way!!!

Lazy Kate Cover

My poor Lazy Kate has been gathering dust for weeks. We are waiting for the walls to be re-plastered in my spinning/sewing area and the bare brick sheds dust like there is no tomorrow. No matter where I put it or how often I dust it, the next day my Lazy Kate is covered in dust again. I had put a plastic bag over it, which did the trick but didnt look very nice.

The wonderful Franney from the Crafty Threads 'n' Yarn forum makes beautiful knitting bags. I ordered 2 from her and, voila - one of them fits over my Lazy Kate perfectly!! No more dusty bobbins and yarn and no more grotty plastic bag : ). The other bag is being used for my current knitting project of pink socks. It definately adds to the knitting experience to use a hand made, beautifully finished and lined knitting bag!!

Body Hair - Unfeminine?

I have just watched the program on channel 5 made for women, by women, about body hair.

The words used to describe normal female hair growth were 'disgusting', 'revolting', 'unacceptable', 'dirty' etc. These are WOMEN talking about normal, natural female bodies as nature intended.

Are periods disgusting, unacceptable, dirty or revolting? Is it 'unfeminine' to menstruate, sweat, pass wind, get dirt under ones fingernails?

We fought for our daughters right to equal opportunities and access to the jobs of their choice. Our mothers and grandmothers fought for the right to stop damaging their bodies with corsets, stop wearing hampering skirts and restrictive clothing, and the right to compete equally with men on every level.

Where have we got in 100 years if the basic human female form - hair and all, is decried by women themselves as 'unfeminine' and 'dirty'?

ALL women are Real Women, no matter how fat, thin, tall, short, hairy, etc. and are acceptable. I wonder how European women watching this program feel to know that their culture of natural body hair is seen so negatively. Hopefully they have the sense to dismiss the premise that natural womanhood is somehow 'unwomanly'. IMHO!!

A Look Can Say It All

Many of you know that my FIL is terminally ill and at the palliative stage of his illness. Recently I have found myself becoming irritated and resentful of the amount of time I seem to spend being 'Secretary'. I got annoyed at having to make phone calls, type letters and wishing he had got his affairs in order months ago while he was able to do things himself.

Today I whizzed in to the farm to 'get my orders' and, for the first time in over a week, I actually looked at him, directly - you know? My FIL has beautiful eyes which DH and son have inherited. They are deep blue, almost sapphire, big eyes, very striking. They look as if they can see into your soul. We sort of connected and just hugged and cried together and for the first time I felt like his daughter. I realised that the grief and loss is two way. He is having to let go of us, just as we have to let go of him.

I knew then that he was keeping going for MIL. He was tired of this life and longing to stop fighting, but he wanted to leave his affairs in order so that MIL will be financially taken care of for the rest of her life. We never said a word, but I knew.

No more irritation and resentment from me. It is a privilege to help this man bravely tackle temporal problems through his pain and grief at leaving us. I hope that, when my time comes, I can live up to his benchmark and show as much courage.

Lollipop Socks

This is my latest venture into sockdom. The pattern is 'Slouch Socks' by Sue Morgan - but modified for my more shapely (fat) ankles. The yarn is a discontinued Opal Lollipop. I wish I could get some more of this shade as it is beautiful. Anyone out there with some shade 1015 they would like to sell or swop?



I really MUST invest in a new camera. Mine is one of the earliest digital cameras and only has 2.1 mega pixels. My 12 year old son will be advising me on my next purchase. Any suggestions of a good one out there?