Let's bake! Yesterday I did some baking. I originally baked these biscuits with my class at school and they tasted really good, so we have made some at home too! Here is the recipe:

8oz of plain flour

4oz of corn flour

4oz of caster sugar

8oz of unsalted butter

3 drops of vanilla essence

To decorate:

icing sugar

sprinkles

With a fork mash the sugar and the butter together until soft and creamy. Add the vanilla essence. Add the sieved flour to the mixture and knead well for a few minutes to form a ball of dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in a fridge for about half an hour. Dust the surface with flour and roll out dough to about 1/4in. I used round cutters and made about 30 biscuits.

Bake in a pre-heated 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F / gas mark 4 for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and leave to cool on a rack. Decorate.

These biscuits are so easy to make and even easier to eat! Enjoy!

I served the biscuits with homemade elderflower cordial. Here is the recipe:

20 elderflower heads

1.8kg granulated sugar

1.2l water

2 unwaxed lemons

75g citric acid

Shake elderflowers and place in a large bowl. Put sugar into a pan with the water and bring to the boil. Zest the lemon and place zest into the bowl with the elderflowers. slice the lemons and place into the bowl also. Add the sugar syrup and the citric acid to the bowl. Give it a good stir. Cover and leave for 24hrs, stirring every time that you remember. Strain the liquid and decant into sterilised bottles. Dilute to taste. If I want to keep my cordial for all year round usage I use one camden tablet per one gallon of liquid, otherwise keep in the fridge and use within a couple of months.

It tastes lovely on a hot day! Please note if you take a small undiluted bottle of it to work to enjoy, it does look like a specimen!

Look what came in the post...

...they came from my cousin in Wales! I'm off to visit my family tomorrow so hopefully it'll be an early start. Perhaps for once I could be organised and pack the day before... Nah! why change the habit of a lifetime!

The Tooth Fairy didn't call last night!

I posted here a little while back about the problems that I have been having with an infection above my crown in the front. Well today was D day (Dentist day) and I have had my crown removed. The anaesthetic is just wearing off and I am in pain. I'm feeling sorry for myself, although I'm trying to pull myself together. My concerns are realised ...if the producer of Nanny McPhee is looking for someone with buck teeth who doesn't need make up to look the part them I'm your girl! ;)

If you have read any of my previous posts you will realise that I have four children. I have three teenagers who sometimes act like...well, teenagers! I also have an eleven year old trainee teenager! We have our battles as you can imagine, and some days I really, really am not all that keen on children! But I have to say that sometimes I am incredibly proud of my children...

Last week as my eldest daughter was leaving the library after a long day of studying (too little, too late some would say! ;) ), she saw someone lying on the ground. There was no-one else about and she initially thought that they were maybe drunk. But then she realised that it was an old man who had fallen, she approached to help him. He was confused, but she insisted that she called an ambulance. She waited with the man reassuring him and taking off her newly bought cardigan she stopped the bleeding with it. A crowd gathered but she remained by his side, when the ambulance arrived, the crowd dispersed leaving her with the old man and the ambulance staff. We don't know what happened to this 93 year old man, but I do know that her kindness may have even saved his life.
So as much as some days I could quite cheerfully strangle the lot of them, there are many, many more days when I am overcome with love and proud to be their Mum. I don't always say it enough, but it is so true.
I realise that this is a long and wordy post but I started this blog to record my life and my children are very much part of my life. If you have made it to the end of the post thank you for staying. (Brace yourselves, I have another three children I need to blog about yet!)

It's Friday's Pretties!

I thought that I would show you some of the things that I love and make me smile (apart from my family)...
My friend made me this - it is me and my children captured in clay...
My new hook and towel for the bath room...
My pretty honeysuckle which I made at a cold porcelain class...
My cross stitch sampler (one that I have actually finished!)...
Now go and pop over to I love Pretty Little Things and find out where there are more pretties!
Have a pretty Friday!

Our land has been neglected for many many years and we do worry that perhaps we are out of our depth. Husband came from a farming background and all our married life (21 years) this is what we have worked for. We moved away from our families many years ago so have no close farming support. So although there is an element of 'aaah! What have we done!' there is also a much bigger element of excitement.

I have the romantic farming ideas which make Husband laugh. He sees weeds......I see nettle soup!

He sees 'let's cut the hedge back'......I see crab apple jelly, haw jelly and elderflower cordial!
I see the amazing beauty of nature...he thinks I'm completely mad because it is so overgrown!We both see 'this has got to come down before it falls down and kills someone!'I'm hoping that this one day will be my orchard and where I keep bees...

There is such a lot of work that we will be doing over the next few years.

Keep your fingers crossed last night as were looking at the land in disbelief I think we may have been adopted by a local Farmer!

Just a brief update as our news has finally come through and I thought the suspense may just be too much!

We are now the proud owners of 14 acres of land! I will post more about it later if I get the chance but here are some initial photographs...

I understand that it is not for everyone, but we are so happy! These pictures were taken in March and boy has it grown since then! See ya later!

Jille x

Fingers crossed, I will be back tomorrow with news of a life changing purchase that we are sooooooooooooooo excited about!
Jille x

Working full time for the last two weeks has taken it's toll - I could sleep on a washing line! (or a classroom - that's clipart for you!)
I should have blogged instantly about the lovely package that was awaiting me on Friday (it was actually waiting in the PO because it was too big to go through the letterbox...) but I was tutoring Maths straight after tea, then was in bed at 8 o'clock!
Obviously I opened it! In the envelope were lots of lovely wrapped goodies from Shirl Let me show you what was inside...

these came in a little cellophane bag which was neatly closed with this little butterfly (such detail!)
A shell (and I could really hear the sea in it!)
a lovely handmade Scottie dog an embroidered pretty (I'm thinking cushion cover...)
a bit of Cath (my favourite pattern as it happens!)
A handmade notebook As a serious addict I have left this until last to show you. WOW!
Such a lot of fabric, I think I'm going to stock pile some sleep for then I could just sew and sew and sew...
Thank you so very much Shirl, I love every bit of it!

I was just sent this link and feel totally blown away by the cleverness of some people...

Now that I know that Anna has received the Spring Swap goodies, I am free to let you know what I've sent her...

A small spring coloured tea light holder.. some handmade Easter decorations...
A spring chicken egg holder...
Some Spring socks...

A hand knit fluffy bunny...Wouldn't you just love a heart on your bum...some Spring cookie cutters...

And of course the compulsory chocolate (slightly blurry - obviously no control around chocolate!)

Be back soon!

Jille x

I've had a busy day today, helping at the jumble sale. I've been helping regularly now for about 14 or 15 years, every month. Sometimes I bring home more than I've taken, but as I'm trying hard to declutter my life I only bought a couple of bits today. I liked this small oil lamp because it was old... I've wanted a set of these for ages...

...they are especially nice because they are hand embroidered and still in their original box.
I bought this for my cousin, I would really like this for myself but I don't have an open fire. I have managed to sneak in some artificial roses which I have put around the mirror in the living room, but putting this beautiful embroidered firescreen in front of an electric fire would be a step too far...I also bought this, I thought I may use it as a vase in the kitchen...

I did buy a couple of other bits but my camera ran out of battery.

I always feel like I've had a day out when I've been to the jumble (yes, I know, I should get out more!) Over the years I've had quite a few bargains, although I'm also still looking for that bit of junk that is going to make a million!

Oh my goodness, it's been a week of no blogging. It's not really been intentional, life has just kind of taken over. Tonight when I was in the shop grabbing a few bits for tea, a man barged past me and jumped in the queue. It was this man..It's Frazer Hines. How rude! More annoyingly I didn't say anything to him I was so shocked!

Anyway the gossip is that he needed indigestion tablets and bought Remegel at 79p - sometimes I amaze myself at the wealth of knowledge I carry around ;o)

To top off my day the b****y pigeons had eaten my brassicas! Fetch my gun!