Wednesday's wonders

 I had a pretty uneventful meeting with my consultant, he has decided to not back me for a home birth but wants me in a local birthing unit instead. I'm still planning to attempted a home birth even after his lovely tales of my uterus splitting and my baby suffering from my foolishness. But at least it's over and done with now.
 On our way back from the appointment OH detoured us skillfully into our local Waitrose where it happened to be reduction time. We picked up 2 treacle tarts for 40p, a pack of Pain au Chocolat for 45p and a lovely looking fruit loaf for 39p. So tomorrow I can look forward to a yummy breakfast and some tasty elevenses and afternoon snacks. This baby is finally giving me an appetite and I find myself constantly grazing.

  An earlier visit in the day to the local free book shop found me these beauty's. An old Readers Digest Atlas perfect for some upcoming crafty projects. A vintage book called " The pebbles on the beach by Clarence Ellis", it is all about different types of stones you can find on the seafront and how to find, collect and organise them. It's quite nerdy but fascinating. An old Penguin book about the seashore, it's full of wonderful full page illustrations that are just begging to be used creatively, if I can find the will power to cut it up!!!

 And the forth books is called Super ABC Book. It looks pretty vintage to me and my untrained eye, and is full of wonderful illustrations like the ones in the photo above.

 It has cute little comic strip style storys and counting rhymes that are almost to cute!

I'm really tempted to copy out some of the illustrations, like this piggy, and use them as embroidery patterns on pillows and bedsheets for DD and bumps room.

 My plans this evening are to eat some delicious treacle tart and try some craft ideas out using my new atlas.
 x x x

I'm Back!

This seem to be calming down here thankfully. OH is feeling a bit better in himself and found some mojo again. So yesterday I had some free time for the first time in ages :)
And today I get some more. Whoop Whoop.
Last night DD went to bed early after a long busy day.


So I busted out 3 sheets of the vintage paper I brought in this post. And got to work cutting up into small squares and strips. Once I'd filled a mason jar with the scraps I was ready.


Meet chair makeover number two! I've ripped out the old saggy seat and cleaned off the frame.
I am now, as you can see, trying my hand at some decoupage. I've been watching the new Kirsty Allsop series and just knew I could do it better lol!
I really please with how it looks after its first layer but it definitely needs a second layer in a few spots.


So watch this space :)

The next page

After the success of the first recipe yesterday I have decided to storm ahead onto recipe two.
Which as you can see above is Rajah Mutton Curry. Here is the introduction;

I have chosen a curry as today's special dish, but it is a curry with a refreshing flavour of apple and fruit chutney.
One of curry's great attractions, quite apart from its flavour, is the way in which it can be dressed up for serving. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut, or surround it with thin orange and lemon rings. Top is with banana slices, tangerine segments, lychee or pineapple cubes. Serve it with tiny dishes of chutney, pickle, yogurt and chopped onion.
However you choose to serve it, remember that the sweet which follows will have to break through the barrier of a curried palate, so do not serve anything to subtle or delicate.

Ingredients;
2lbs Diced Lean Mutton
1 Large cooking apple
1 Large onion
4oz Butter
2 Tablespoons Curry powder
Chutney
Salt, Pepper


Method;
Heat the butter in a pan. Add the peeled and sliced onion and fry gently until tender and lightly browned. Add the diced mutton, seasoned with salt and pepper. Toss for a few moments then add the peeled and chopped apple, curry powder and a dessertspoonful of mango or tomato chutney. Blend well. Cover the pan with a close fitting lid and allow to simmer gently for an hour, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking. Serve with plainly boiled rice, banana slices, quartered hard boiled eggs and lemon quarters.



I am planning to buy my ingredients tomorrow. I need to get the meat, another apple and the curry powder. The rest I have in the cupboards. They seem to be very fond of adding fruit to dinners in the 60's. Hopefully things get a little less fruity as the recipes go on.
And here is our second page of delicious tips :) Just because its Sunday you can have three today. Aren't you all lucky devils?


Tip 1;
Austrian Orange Cake

Cream together 4oz butter and 8oz caster sugar. Blend in 4 beaten egg yolks alternately with 4oz of sifted self-raising flour. Flavour with the juice and finely grated rind of one orange. Beat 4 egg whites stiffly. Fold them into the cake mixture. Butter and lightly flour a cake tin, shaking out any excess. Pour in the cake mixture and bake in a moderate oven for 50-60 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a warm skewer. If this is withdrawn dry, the cake is quite cooked. Allow the cake to cool before filling or icing it.


Tip 2;
Beans in the nose.

You will have heard of course, of the child who pushed a haricot bean up his nose. The thought of doing such a thing had not occurred to him until his mother warned him rashly against it. Children certainly do have a dangerous tendency to put found objects in their ears, nose and mouth. What should you do if this happens?
Perhaps the most vital thing is to realise that you may do more harm than good by trying to remove it inexpertly. This quite often happens if the object is a hard, shiny one like a bead, marble or dried pea. The child may squirm suddenly and you might accidentally push the object still further. But if the foreign body is soft, like a piece of cotton wool or felt, get someone to hold the child still, and try to pick out the offending item with a pair of small tweezers. Objects in the nose can sometimes be dislodged by sneezing or blowing the nose. So, try these possibilities first, and if they fail, take the child to the doctor, the out patients department at a local hospital, or an ear nose and throat specialist.


Tip 3;
One for the pot.

Put a blackcurrant leaf in your teapot the next time you make a pot of tea. It gives it the fragrance and perfume of an expensive green tea. Incidentally, we may complain about the price of groceries today, but did you know that tea cost as much as £10 per 1lb in London in the early 17th century? It was, as you can imagine, the beverage of the rich and was used very sparingly.



That's all from me for now folks. But if you decide to use any of these tips and recipes please pop me a comment, I would love to hear how they worked out for you. Or see them if you have the time to blog :)
x xx