Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

Although rhubarb champagne is delicious, I do adore elderflower champagne. It's crisp, fresh, fragrant and incredibly fizzy. The season for elderflowers seems very short when I do so look forward to making champagne. It is the start of summer and fills the trees with frothy white flowers. Charlie likes to help and chooses the best blooms and is truly adorable when he puts the flowers to his nose and says, "Mmmm smells like champagne" and he is quite right, the flowers do smell just like the pan full of flowers, sugar, water, lemon and vinegar. We are already on our second batch with the first bottles ready to drink in just a couple of days. Similar to the rhubarb champagne, this elderflower brew is just as explosive and the gas needs to be vented every day. Elderflower Champagne Recipe 15 heads of elderflowers 4l of hot water and 2l of cold 700g of sugar 2 tbs of white wine vinegar The juice and rind of 4 lemons A pinch of yeast It is best to pick the elderflowers w...

Ever since I got my allotment 3 years ago, it has become apparent that an allotment is not a proper allotment without rhubarb. My first plot has rather late rhubarb which when it does sprout, is completely enormous, with leaves easily as big as my Charlie. I have grown to love rhubarb. I like it stewed and cold with muesli, in rhubarb crumble and as rhubarb champagne. Last year I made my first rhubarb champagne, which was totally explosive. It blew a hole in the roof of my dear friend's new kitchen and was rather delicious. At this time of year my potting shed takes on an additional role as a storage for my concoctions. If you dare to have a go, here's the recipe. It is essential to vent the gas daily, as it will explode! About a 1lb of chopped rhubarb About a 1lb 10oz of sugar, any sugar will do but if you use white sugar, the champagne is a much pinker colour 11 tablespoons of cider vinegar   Finally add 20 cups of cold water (4 litres) and a chopped up lemo...

Myrtle is such a wonderfully old fashioned sounding name and conjures up images of cottage gardens, kitchen's filled with homemade biscuits, bread and cakes and a roaring fire in the living room. The popularity of this name has waned, but the evergreen shrub is said to be a symbol of love. When we recently visited my Auntie in Appledore, North Devon, we were lucky enough to spend the afternoon at her largest holiday home. It was just the seaside cottage I have dreamed of and the garden is the essence of an English country garden. I'm sure that I would be happy to spend endless summer days there amongst the peonies, bluebells, buttercups and lilacs. There is nothing more beautiful than the sweet smell of roses. The house is huge and has three amazing double bedrooms with the most spectacular antique beds. It was almost impossible to choose which was my favourite: the one with a side view of the garden and the chest of drawers that reminded me of the one in which Grandma kept...

Nothing lifts one's spirits like a change and I love the difference that just a lick of paint can make, a spot of de-cluttering and the little details that are just the finishing touch. These are the photos of Josie's finished room.

Today has been so awful hard for me, I'm unable to really quite decide what has upset me, but I could have quite easily stayed in bed. Charlie has been on a one-man demolition mission since yesterday afternoon and although I tried and tried, his mess making is relentless. He is an adorable child and I cherish every single one of my mummy and Charlie days, as we count down to him starting school in September, but as I cleared the fall out from making rocks cakes on the work surface, he flooded the kitchen floor whilst washing up. I felt overwhelmed all day, completely on edge and unable to relax. Then I went for a walk to the shop and remembered I had seen a guelder rose bush in bloom yesterday when I was out for my first early morning jog for ages. So I went to have a look and it smelt divine. I have had a painting in my potting shed for quite some time which my mum painted when I was a child. For a long time I had thought it was of a one of Cicley Mary Barker 's Elderflower ...

May is one of my favourite months for several reasons: the return of the warmer weather, spring flowers, longer days, Josie's birthday and bank holidays. This year there was a bonus bank holiday, a royal wedding and a fabulous vintage inspired wedding dress to enjoy. We took the long trek down to North Devon in the early hours of Friday morning to see my lovely Auntie Danielle and to stay in one of her adorable cottages. You can imagine the fun my children had exploring all of her unique holiday homes, each decorated in its own individual style, but all of them reflecting my Auntie's impeccable taste. Josie and Charlie ran up and down the corridors, crept through the secret doors, discovered the treasure chests and the old books. I loved each and everyone of the cottages and their beautiful antique furniture. Every single room had some aspect I adored. My favourite was Rose Cottage, which was tucked away through a secret passageway, next to the fisherman's cottage "H...

With the sun in the sky, the blossom on the trees and a feeling of new beginnings, it is time for a holiday. A change and a rest are most definitely called for after such a sad and difficult couple of years. I have a month off work and the support I need to make changes in my working life, I've created a studio at home and opened two on-line shops, so I am ready to turn my life around. If life is to be a good one, then I shall spend my time doing the things that truly make me happy. Through writing my blog, I have discovered a fabulous handmade loving community and marketplace, like minded people who love what they make and are ever so friendly. Ridgeway Cottage Treasures Etsy Shop I haven't sold anything yet apart from one handmade card, but I have lots of ideas and am quite pleased with my hand painted knitting needles. Today is the start of the good things to come and at last I feel optimistic about the future.