Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

When Charlie started school last September, I imagined that on Fridays (which is my day off work) I would be able to get all those chores done, spend time in the garden, get my allotments under control, relax perhaps and have a bit of time to put my feet up so I could blog. I had ambitions to create a regular weekly post called "Feet up Friday" where I would be able to celebrate my new organised life based around all the tasks I would be able to get done now I didn't have my little eating machine at home, making a mess and wanting to me to join him in all his fabulous games. I thought that I would miss my little one but a tidy and organised house would be my consolation. I could not have been more wrong. When choosing my day off, Friday has always been the most logical to settle on as most of the school performances are on a Friday. However with two school aged children, the performances, assembles, festivals and fairs requiring the presence of an adoring parent have do...

I made my first jam a few years ago when I got my allotment. It was quite an event with plenty of measuring and timing, pounds and pounds of fruit, a whole stack of sterilised jars and the proper wax circles and cellophane tops. I remember worrying that I didn't have a jam pan or a sugar thermometer. Each batch I made had a different consistency but every jar was delicious. I did get my jam pan, but as I became more experienced, I dropped the accurate measuring and the addition of pectin. I am now at such a relaxed jam making stage, that I just throw in whatever fruit I have that is ready to be picked with some sugar and simmer/ boil it until it looks about right. It is after all, the taste that matters and not the consistency and as there is no WI jam making competition to enter yet, I can simply please myself or let the occasion dictate. The children and I recently picked all the blackcurrants from our young bush, a few raspberries, a handful of strawberries and about 15 sour c...

Last week was a tough week, but on top of everything, I've had this overwhelming sense of pressure to complete unfinished projects. Like all mums, there seems to be an endless list of jobs to complete, there are days where I don't even know where to start. I can't imagine what it must be like to be on top of things, have everything in order, checklist full of ticks. The desire for a clear head often makes me consider a blog post, it's like a feeling of achievement without having done anything other than gather my thoughts. Having started my skirt last week (check out the pattern here ) and then deciding to add a crocheted edge, I have been working on it pretty much everyday. A hand crocheted edging to a skirt is no mean feet and it's the sort of thing that you just have to keep going with until it's done.  However having finished the white crocheted edge this morning, I am now wondering whether it might look even better with a green picot trim, my husband su...

It has been one of those weeks where challenge after challenge has crossed my path. Work is exceptionally busy as the students rush to get their assignments in before the end of term and at home the weather and stresses of the last few weeks have taken their toll, we all have little sniffles, feel drained and weary. When I finished work for the week on Thursday, I thought it was time to be kind to myself (I had a huge headache) and decided to finally have a go at making an a-line skirt from the beautifully summery fabric I picked up at a charity shop for £2. Inspired by the WI knitting and stitching circle meeting I went to last week, I thought I might give making my own pattern a whirl. The Internet is simply full of useful advice, tutorials and information and I did use to make my own clothes when I was younger. The shape is pretty easy for an a-line skirt. I measured my waist added a few centimetres and then halved it and did the same with my hips. With these two measureme...

For a while now, I have been wondering whether I might have become worthy of membership of The Women's Institute. I do after all spend my summer evenings making jam from fruit that I have grown, I knit (badly), make clothes for my children, have more crafty projects on the go than I can count and have a weekly menu planner. I grow my own food, often from seed gathered the previous year, have an ever growing collection of vintage kitchenalia and appreciate and covert products that are made in England. I have adopted a "make do and mend" attitude and have thrifty habits that my grandmother would have been proud of but despite having looked into membership on a few occasions, I was still unsure whether there would be space for someone like me. Then a friend told me of a new WI group that was starting in Canterbury and lots of the mums from school were getting involved. She was in fact on the way to post her membership form at that very moment. She told me of the Facebook g...

As my family grows up and develops, little traditions become part of the fabric of life. One of these traditions is the growing of parsnips for Christmas dinner. I can honestly say that I never bought a single parsnip seed but have grown each and every one from plants that have seeded on my allotment. During the first year of my first plot, a magnificent structural plant appeared at the over grown area at the back of my plot. It had the most stunning yellow umbrella flowers and turned out to be a parsnip that had gone to seed. If left, parsnips are prolific seeders that spread their featherweight seeds near and far. I let them grow where there land and leave them until they are just big enough to eat before weeding them out. I save handfuls for Charlie as he loves playing with seeds so parsnips pop up all over the place. It may seem early but I freeze them for Christmas as I usually need the space for other crops and they just grow all over. This year however things may well be a...

It has been the saddest of times, despite the pomp and pageantry of the Jubilee celebrations, the grief and loss following the unexpected death of my wonderful mother in law have left me unable to express or comment on aspects of everyday life. I have not been able to find solace in Ridgeway Cottage and my days are once again flooded with tear filled moments. How could it even be possible to put into words what impact such a tragic event has had on our world? Our Jubilee Party was a subdued affair, but Charlie and his excitement about the spectacle of the parade was enough to inspire me to put up the bunting, get out the lace table cloth and paint of couple of red, white and blue flags on scraps of fabric between the Queen arriving back at Buckingham Palace and appearing on the balcony. We had our rhubarb crumble, tea and biscuits and bought our Diamond Jubilee Souvenir tins. Charlie and I made some Diamond Jubilee Elderflower Champagne. The recipe we used can be found here. T...