Lasagne Recipe

I love this picture, as a cat owner it made me grin.

Fortunately there was no cat to remove when my youngest daughter decided to cook lasagne for us this week! Under my 'guidance' she produced a very scrumptios dish, all plates cleared, everyone approval given and hubby did the washing up! Result!

Staying Dainty

While perusing all sorts of paraphenalia hoarded by my darling Daddy he presented me with a copy of a Canadian Home Journal dated September 1953. The reason he had it was because his twin cousins, then aged 15 years old featured on the front cover and it had been sent through the post to him by his Aunt.

There are a few articles in there that caught my eye and I may read sometime soon, but it was the adverts I found amusing and this particular one below astoundingly funny!!


I have typed the advert for you but had to include the whole advert picture LOL!



"A peck-on- the-cheek from a distant husband is a mighty poor substitute for the warmth a loving wife has a right to expect. But - do you have that right? Have you been really careful about personal daintiness lately? (Daintiness?? What??) It's a shame to let neglect spoil your married happiness...when effective help is available today, with "Lysol" in a simple douche. It couldn't be easier!

"Lysol" will not harm delicate tissues. this proved germicide, used in a douche, completely cleanses the vaginal canal - even in the presence of mucous matter. (Do they happen to mean lovely lady juices? Or God forbid ......semen!!) It kills germ life quickly, on contact. Yet "Lysol" is designed for freedom from caustic or irritant action when used in feminine hygiene.

You need never again be guilty of offending - even unknowingly. Remember that complete internal cleanliness is the way to counteract unpleasant odour. "Lysol" does this; helps keep you dainty!

Get "Lysol" today at your neighbourhood drug store."


I hope you're all paying attention ladies!! I would just hate anything to 'spoil your married happiness'! And from the look on his face she must have some extreme problem with her 'daintiness'.....

A Little Bag of Spring

I met my friends on Saturday for brunch, we dont do it often, maybe 2/3 times a year. We always promise to arrange it sooner, not leave it so long next time, make it more regular, but inevitable we leave it another 5 months or so!

My lovely friend always brings a tiny gift for us, the other 2 of us always forget. This brunches offering was a tin brown bag with a dear little primrose inside, it now resides on my kitchen windowsill! My little bag of spring!

Icon and Flatirons

A recent visit to a showcase theatre in the centre of my city (where my youngest was taking part in a fashion show wearing the garment we had the panic over for her A level piece) found me standing in the queue, clutching my ticket and waiting to be allowed in.



As I looked back at the street behind me this building captured my imagination. I have lived in the city all my life and I know this wont have been the first time I have viewed it, but it reminded my of the The Flatiron Building, or Fuller Building as it was originally called, located in Manhattan. When it was completed back in 1902 it was one of the tallest buildings in New York.
The neighborhood around the building is called the Flatiron District after its signature building, which has become an iconic.

Of course this little building is only 3 storeys high but it made me smile as I looked back at our own little icon....

Hope Springs Eternal

I adore daffodils. Their emergence from the cold damp winter earth heralds the start of warmer weather, of spring, of hope and new life. Their colours bright and smile-inducing against still grey days they beam their sunshine coloured faces at all who pass. I adore the daffodil.

So imagine my disappointment when my dear Mum told me today that in fact this year due to our colder than average temperatures there is a 'shortage' of daffodils in bloom for Mothers Day this weekend. And I suddenly noticed that it is the middle of march and as yet the glorious blooms have still yet to bud in their usual abundance on wide grass verges near our home! As yet I still havent had a vase full of bright hope on my kitchen windowsill! Oh hurry spring and warmer days and bring colour to my world!

"I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze"

Daffodils - William Wordsworth

Messing About On The River

When I was a little girl my Dad made river craft, beautiful timber hulled boats that were his pride and joy. He had his own business with my Grandpa and my Uncle and he worked long hours at a skill he had a passion for, wood, creating things, perfection.

Later on the hulls were made from fibre glass and by the time I was in my teens he had all but stopped making the boats and merged into other glass fibre products and manufacturing.

I have happy memories of accompanying my Uncle, along with my brother and cousins, while he delivered the boats taking the route along the various local canal networks to meet their new owners. We helped open the locks and tied the boats the the moring posts for picnic lunches. We scrabbled about on deck without life jackets and harnesses (and we all survived!) and once safely at our destination we were packed into the old Bedford van that my Dad had driven to its arrival point and driven home.

My brother has recently joined a boat-lovers forum and has discovered that there amazingly are still a few of the timber hulled boats in existence, something my Dad is rather thrilled and astounded at, these boats are now around 40-50 years old!


The picture above is one of them, not quite as sleek and pristine as I remember them but still brought back many memories of simpler, childhood times.

Beetling About

Fabulous VW Beetle I parked next to yesterday! It is a company vehicle for a Pottery Painting Studio and Coffee Shop, its advertising at its best! What a 'jolly' car to tottle around in all day!

Pretty As A Picture......

....from inside where it is warm and dry!

The view from my kitchen window the other morning....nothing amazing to those of you who are well versed with snowy winters, but I still love the way the gentle overnight snow caresses and coats every tiny branch and fond of the trees and foliage.

Root of All Evil

Another picture from my weekend away.

This tree root overhangs a narrow roadway that winds its way up past a pub, church and gold club and takes you onto the edge of the moors and to the home of a friend of mine.




Obviously the weather has eroded away the supporting ground and it is clear to see how the roots have wound their way through the rocks and it now stands precariously above the road. Of course it is only a matter of time till this gives way completely and the tree will tumble across the path........

Favourite Colour

When asked I have always uttered that my favourite colour is yellow, a wonderful colour of sun and sand and daffodils!

But when out and about and driving around the beautiful countryside I am struck by the divine shades of green that litter our land, a patchwork of fields and hedgerows and sweeping hills of various ascents depending on the particular part of the country.

One of my most enjoyed views is while lying on my sun-lounger in the garden looking up through the canopy of luminous lime leaves over hanging my patio making dappled shade for me to languish in on hot summer days.....

I think I may be drawn to green. I spotted this moss-laden wall while out walking at the weekend and just loved the moist green shades.

The Odd Little Icicle

This is my beautiful daughter aged 4, appearing as an Icicle in her first ballet 'show'..... the only 'brown' icicle on the stage I might add (I never had any trouble spotting which dancing darling was mine!)

I have the picture myself somewhere, hidden among the thousands that you accumulate over their first few years on this earth, but I spotted this in a frame in one of the bedrooms at my Mums house, the proud Nana, so I snapped it with my phone camera (hence the 'not wonderful' quality)

She is so sweet and was so proud to be a proper ballet dancer, the picture has warmed my heart this weekend.....

Twinkling Tree

Last night I went out with 2 of my cousins, one especially is very close to me, more like a sister than a cousin and she has featured many times in my blogs, so the 3 of us usually have a lovely girlie time, many giggles, much laughter and usually much wine too and last night was no exception.

We ate at a restaurant in one of the newest parts of our city, an area built around established buildings giving it a very cosmopolitan and almost holiday feel to it....





This lovely square was my last view of the area as we left to get our rides home, it made me smile and long to share with you all.

Stop, Get Ready, Go!

Last night my family went out for a meal joined by eldest daughters boyfriend. We went to our favourite Indian food place, a very basic bar and food place and daughter took along her camera. So I took the opportunity (in between her taking compromising shots of us all eating and swigging beer) to capture some of the wonderful colours that make spicy food not only taste, but look so good!

The picture of the pickles above reminded me of traffic lights.......

Well, Well, Wellie

When I was a little girl we holidayed in Wet-Welsh-Wales for many years. Being at the seaside in Britain means having to pack twice as much, for every weather eventuality. There had to be the swimsuits and sweaters, the sandals and socks, the sun-oil (yes...there were no sun factors, we fried!) and the wellies!!

So each year we were bought new wellington boots, well I was.....my younger brother used to be made to wear my old ones if his feet were of a mind to be the size mine were on a previous occasion. The new boots would be black and very shiny.

Of course if you lived in the country there were green wellie boots to go with your 'waxed' jacket, but I was a city girl and black shiny ones it was. The most exciting I think I got was in my very early 20's when my aunt insisted on buying me some fur lined bright red ones when it snowed (I was a 'New Romantic' and spent all my time in inadequate black ballet pumps!)




So imagine my envy when now you can have wellington boots of all sorts of patterns and designs and colours! I dont walk out in the rain, I dont have dog to trek across fields, I am still a city girl and however scrumptious the boots have been I have resisted. But when my daughter came home this week with her new wellies......well! I just have to have some!!

Helping Hand

Yesterday I had to take my Mum to visit a consultant at the local hospital, a follow up to her recent stay in respite care after her fall. We sat in the waiting room and I watched my Mum as she watched the hospital world passing to and fro.......and I noticed her hands.

Hands I have known all my life, the ones that held me safely as a baby, the hands I clung to on my first day at school, the ones that cupped my face on my wedding day, fingers that my own babies clutched in their new born fists.........beautiful hands now etched with her years...

Corsetry and Calamity

It is the time of year for all pieces of work for my daughters textile design to be handed in. Oh how I have tried to instill the need for forward planning......all to no avail!

So Thursday evening saw the 2 of us (I didn't realise my sewing skills would become a life-saving technique but according to her 'I saved her life!') work for 7 hours to complete the 'dress' she had created in design.

The skirt part took so much more time than she had ever planned for and so it was up to Mum to make the 20 tiny loops and attach the 20 tiny cream and gold buttons the corset bodice. Friday brought great relief as it was handed in complete and I got a real buzz out of doing it! I wonder if I will get a good grade!

Wedding Bells

This is Nana and Grandpa's wedding picture taken way back in September 1923. The matriachal lady seated in the dark outfit is my Great-Grandmother Berridge. The 2 flower girls must be friends or cousins of the bride and the rest of the group are my Nana's sisters and their husbands.

I have memories of 4 out of the 5 sisters, Ethel, Sybil, Peggy and (Nana Edith known as Dolly) but of course in my mind they were all elderly ladies who smelt of lavender water and insisted on smothering us with kisses as children. How I would love to go back in time and ask them now what they remember about this beautiful picture ..........

Willow and Water

This willow has been in place all my life, at the bottom of our lane, over the hump-back bridge and onto the path that runs between river and canal. It has been the spot where many years ago friends had 'tarzan' swings over the water nd where my own children have fed ducks and scrambled about.

The row of willows there were many years ago dug into the ground as twigs, as supports for shrubs...unknown to whoever 'shoved' them in the earth that willows growth is prolific by water and they soon became living entities in their own right.

I love the way the shapes and bark catch the wintery sunshine.....

Swan Song

Yesterday when I woke I decided to go for a walk. Having received a text message the night before from my best friend to say she would see me for coffee in the morning I decided to invite her to join me.

I am lucky enough, although living on the very edge of what is geographically the city boundary, to live near what (if you ignore the hum of traffic) could be mistaken as open countryside. Both the river and the canal come almost to touching point very close to my home and a disused railway cutting has been converted into a public walk that runs from out in the county right to the heart of the city, it is used for joggers, dogwalkers, cyclists and horse riders (as well as middle aged friends wandering out for a head clearing stroll)

I took my camera and the sun blessed us with some wintery rays. It was a lovely morning and I came home feeling relaxed and invigorated.

The beautiful swan we spotted swimming upstream on the river and we clambered over a fence to take a closer look at him (luckily I had a little bread in my pocket to make his posing worthwhile).

Hope for Haiti

This, obviously isn't a photograph I have taken. I am safely in my 3 bedroomed detached house on the outskirts of a city in the UK. But when I logged in this morning this photograph was the first thing I saw.

Harrowing. This is Anna Zizi and she has been pulled from an earth-quake wrecked building in Haiti a full week after the quake struck. It portrays the human will to survive in devastating circumstances. Not one of us, however far removed from this, whatever problems we have ourselves can fail to be touched by the horror and destruction when natural disasters strike various parts of the world.

So my picture of the day is not my own but of Anna Zizi, wishing her continued survival and hope.

Sleeping Partners

As I haven't been out of the house today except for my hot date with the Doctor this morning, my photo of the day is from inside my abode.

This is Jeremy, my wonderful bed-partner. My gorgeous teddy was bought for me only about 16 years ago by my darling Aunt (and Godmother) Doffy. She is sadly no longer with us but the bear she bought me is always beside me at night, forming a barrier between 'us' when things have been dire, hearing my woes as I have wept into the pillow and giving me a 'constant' to wrap in my arms at night.

I love my Jeremy.........

Waiting for Colour

Todays picture is a small brick cottage I pass each morning when I drive my daughter to work.

Both the front door and gateway is framed by a Wisteria, a beautiful soft lilacy-blue shrub that has an abundant display later in the year. It is at the moment bare and devoid of colour but creates wonderful shapes against the white paintwork.....

My task shall be to remember to post a sequel photograph when it is blooming and beautiful.

A Sparkling Party

I went to a party last night.

I didn't know the lady whose party it was but I was invited to by my best friend who didn't wish to go alone. I had a lovely time, danced more than I have done for a long time and drank far more than I should have done!

But before I got to the point of not pointing the camera in the right direction, I snapped this pretty little chandelier which is one of 5 suspended the length of the bar......

Now where's that alka-selzer?...........

Lost Train

This train made an appearance in a field not far from my home. It is a 1929 engine named "Bullseye" which was rotting in a farm on the other side of the city. The farmer who owns the land adjacent to the now defunct local railway station has a love of British engineering and a collection of tractors and lorries from the 1930's to 1950's.

It has become quite an attraction to people in the area and is situated on original railtracks and took 6 men and 5 hours to transport it across the city and get it in situ.

It makes me smile each time I pass it. It is a train waiting for a station which locals are calling for to be re-opened.

The Missed Days

1 Jan ~ These are 2 of my 4 cats, namely Cookie and (Fat) Smudge......

Cookie is 8 yrs old and the matriach of our feline family, she 'tolerates' the younger 2 cats but she seems to have called a New Years Day Truce and she shares the footstool for an afternoon nap.






5 Jan ~ A few days into the new year we find ourselves laden with the white stuff. This was taken in the landscaped car park at my place of work. I love it when the snow or the frost manages to cover every tiny limb and leaf.

9 Jan ~ The coming of such cold weather brings about the need to keep cosy and so I don my bright and snuggly toe socks

10 Jan ~ I had lunch with my neighbour and work colleague and as we sat in the staff restaurant this was my view from the window. It doesn't seem so many weeks since I was sitting out there in my lunch break with the sun on my back.

11 Jan ~ One of my favourite flowers is tulips, sadly this particular bunch didnt fair too well but I still adored the rich warm colours of them.

15 Jan ~ The eldest of my cats, Treacle giving me a morning hug today, her fur is the softest and silkiest I have ever felt on a cat and she places her paws either side of your neck and head butts you for a kiss......the downside? ooh you end up smothered in pale ginger fluff and it can get up your nose!

A Picture A Day

I went to visit my chiropractor yesterday, a chirpy little man who always makes me laugh and who I love to bits for 2 reasons. One, he makes my back feel easier (eventually when the soreness of his manipulations wears off!) and two, he finds my bones (something of a challenge these days) and just for a moment or two as he grasps my pelvis he makes me feel boney!

While chatting away during my treatment yesterday he mentioned that he and his wife had decided to find a "Photo of the Day". They take pictures of things that they see and put them in a file on their pc and at the end of the year they will have 365 pictures of the year they have spent.

I thought this may be a lovely way for me too to re-awaken this poor little Velveteen Days blog which has been sadly neglected and also to make myself get used to looking for the good, the beautiful, the interesting in my surroundings and daily life.

I have of course missed 14 of the days and so I am going to start with a few from the previous 2 weeks. Welcome into my world...........

Cyber Friends and Beaujolais

Yesterday was quite an extraordinary day. Against all wise advise I went of to meet two men I had met on the internet! Not one, who I may have been able to fight off and defend myself against had he turned out to be an axe murderer but two of the beasties!

Yes! It was the day that I had long been looking forward to when we would meet! LB is over here in England with his wife and between being dragged the length and breadth of Europe and seeing more landmarks, stately homes, places of historical value and famous cities than is healthy and wise, he managed to escape the clutches of The Itinery to spend some time meeting TS and me.

It was exciting but quite nerve wracking I have to admit, we have all talked and emailed online, I have had the pleasure of speaking to LB on several occasions since he has arrived in the UK and I had made plans by telephone with TS the previous day. We had exchanged photos so we knew who to look out for (we still managed to walk past each other at the train station and when I called to say I had arrived, TS said I think you may have just passed us, we laughed, I had spotted these two who looked a little like my prey and they had spotted me!)

I had been going to drive part of the way down and I had been dreading travelling along a once familiar route full of memories but at the last minute it was decided I would travel down to the capital by train.

I love setting off anywhere and from the moment I leave my house it is part of the adventure for me, so armed with my novel and a latte I settled myself on the train for the 75 minute journey, such relief in the end that I avoided the drive.

It was surprisingly comfortable, all greeting each other and saying hello and we made our way to a Fish and Chip restaurant not far away where we fed LB his first taste of North Sea Cod and we all chatted and laughed together, very surreal when you have only ever had communication over the net.

We exchanged small gifts and LB has promised to pass on a gift from me our mutual friend Bonnie and then we stepped out into the streets of London to explore a little.

We visited Regents Park, colourful, beautiful and sadly not as sunny as it had been the previous few days so after a photo opportunity by the fountain, we sought shelter from light rain in the park cafe and chattered more over hot cups of tea.



We took a leisurely stroll the distance back to the station they had collected me from and they said they would see me off on my train.

And now for the silly bit that neither of them know till they read this and I hope it will make them smile.

I had purchased my train ticket not knowing quite how long our day would be and so had ended up with an "Off-Peak-Super-Saver" ticket. This means I can travel at the 'discounted' rate of £47 but not until after 7pm at night. Not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about leaving me stranded at 5.15pm I insisted that they leave me to peruse the new sparkly shops at the refurbished St Pancras Station and go get their tube home.

We said our warm good byes and we all parted.

I browsed the shops a little and then decided to go and see how much it would cost me to upgrade my ticket so I might travel home on the next available train. The ebony faced man behind the ticket desk examined my ticket and punched lots of keys on his keyboard, he hmmm'd and mmmm'd and pressed a few more options. "It will cost you £67 madam" he said.

I smiled my sweetest smile and said thank you, I think I shall go an have a coffee until 7pm

I wandered back towards the shops spying a modern bright wine bar full of travellers waiting, meeting and passing the time I thought I would go in there, it was after all around 5.45 by now and quite a decent time to consume alcohol not accompanying food!

I was served straight away by a tiny attractive very french barman and I ordered a large glass of red wine.
He asked which one in a thick accent and I told him I trusted his selection. "But vot du you like? *****? or ******? Fruity? ******? Fullbodied?"

As it was only fruity or full bodied that I could make out I smiled sweetly once again (I was making a habit of it today!) and said fruity would be wonderful. "Beaujolais?" Perfect I said with confidence.

He presented me with my glass of lovely 'large' glass of wine. Oh the glass was large alright but to me it was half empty!!

"Zat vill be £7.10" he crooned in his thick accent



I placed my most serene look on my face selected a crisp new £10 note from my purse and passed it to him with grace (trying to keep the 'I can get 2 bottles for that price' look out of my eyes)

I took a seat half way inside the bar and settled myself. I took out my book and sipped my expensive 'large' glass of Beaujolais, I silently toasted LB and TS and smiled to myself as I enjoyed the last remnants of my adventure until my 7.15 departure back to the real world.

Cheers guys and thank you for a wonderful day

Seasons

Right outside my patio door, on the other side of a tall wall that runs the length of my garden is a beautiful tree.

It is a Linden Lime and one Britains rarest hardwood trees. About 100 years ago, it was not considered native to the UK but it is now fully established in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire. It is a large tree and can easily grow over 120 feet high. It is apparently, far more common on mainland Europe and particularly favoured by the Germans as their "Linden Tree" and it is told that dried lime flowers make an excellent drink as lime tea.

When we moved into our 'new' home 17 years ago it was November, the end of autumn and on the brink of winter. Its branches were stark, bare and eerily naked. As spring announced its arrival so did the bud like leaves on every branch, opening and growing to create the captivating lime green canopy of shade over my patio area.

Around 5 years after our arrival the 'owners' of the neighbouring garden called in tree surgeons. Apparently the length of its branches were dangerous and it needed 'dealing' with. I listened to the noise of the power saws and watched its beautiful limbs being massacred, I wept when I stood and looked up at its remains, now dark raw stumps and wondered if my beautiful tree would ever recover.

Of course, it did. Over a few years I watched as each spring its branches grew again, thicker and stronger and longer and once again its lime canopy overhangs my garden.

Due to its delightful colour on a bright sunny day and the lending of its protective arms over the wall of my garden I have forgiven it the onset of never-before-experienced-hayfever each June/July as its fluffy lime 'flowers' come to fruition and infiltrate the air with pollen, I have overlooked the litter-lout dropping of trillions of tiny dried and wizzened flowers at the end of summer and I have watched fondly as its leaves turn hues of gold and orange and then are discarded in their thousands over the length and breadth of my garden.

And then come winter it stands brazen in its nudity, offering no defence to the birds or squirrels that use it as a playground, but stands defiantly against the elements until spring returns.

I wanted to show you my beautiful companion through the seasons.

Twinnies

Among all my family memorabilia is a beautiful photograph of my parents wedding. My Mum is a twin and finding themselves both engaged the 'Crewe Twinnies' as they were known locally decided to make it a joint affair.


So it was on a sunny Saturday afternoon on the 16th August 1952 that my grandpa walked down the aisle with a bride on each arm, promising the Minister that he would have them they 'right way round' for the awaiting grooms.


At a time when there was still rationing in place from World War II their dresses were handmade by my Dads youngest sister, both identical, with matching veils, head-dresses and flowers, the only thing they wore differently was the strings of pearls around their throats.


57 years on my Mum still has her wedding gown, now yellowed and very diminutive looking, boxed up at the bottom of a chest of drawers my father made for their home. I loved looking at it and imagining being a bride as a child and now it is a wonderful fragile piece of history, stored with love, hope and memories.

Simple Times

I am fortunate to have access to many photographs of a past age. My fathers family especially had a love of photography and I have pictures that date back to the late 1800's depicting my great grandparents.


The picture above is of 3 sisters. Millicent, Jessie and Augusta.


Millie is my grandmother, my fathers mum. I remember her as an elderly bedridden woman who smoked like a chimney, had a passion for playing cards and crossword puzzles and was the owner of the thickest dictionary I have ever seen!


Gussie was a school mistress and taught English. She was very strict and believed that children should be seen and not heard. As young children we quickly learnt it was better to still perfectly still and quiet until we could escape into the back yard of the small house where the fascination of an old mangle, outside 'privvy' and a lawn roller allowed our childish imagination to conjure games.


Jessie was the last to pass away, I was 17 when she died, she was 94.
She had the most beautiful snowy white hair and the clearest blue eyes almost till the day she died. Poinsettias and Advocaat always bring back memories of visiting her at christmas time, oh and walnuts and nut crackers.



But here in this picture, their youth and beauty are captured forever, such pure simple times.

Pansy Faces

I spoke of simple pleasures in yesterdays blog. This morning I walked down to see my elderly parents and before leaving my Dad did his usual of pottering around the garden with me. He has planted huge beds of pansies and they all sat brightly in the sunshine today, even the blue ones looked merry as they displayed their funny little faces for an impromptu photo shoot.

I love the spring, with all its little bursts of colour and new life, it seems to spark new hope and smiles.

Simple Pleasures

I have had a delicious day today. I am on a weeks holiday from work, nowhere to go but as with most time at home your 'holiday' gets eaten into by everyday mundanities.
Monday saw me at home with MIL, Tuesday saw me running around with my eldest daughter keeping opticians appointments and applying for my new passport.
But today has been my day.

I have both daughters out at school and work, my husband at his place of work and MIL out all day with my brother in law. So I have had almost the entire day to enjoy.

I had a late breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon with hot black coffee. I perused my emails and sent a few messages. I put out the chairs and sunlounger and read outside in the garden for a while, then when the sun had come out fully I stripped down to my pants in our private haven of a garden and spent the next 3 hours relaxing in the sunshine.



I feel like today I have really unwound, had a wee holiday and gathered my thoughts and wits.

I feel quite calm and relaxed despite all the turmoil that is going on around me in my world at the moment. And as I sip my glass of rich red wine I am planning a shower, clean pyjamas and a fairly early night.

Today has been a day of simple pleasures and they are so appreciated