Stir up Monday

I didn't have time to make my Christmas puddings on Sunday, the traditional stir up day,  but I'm sure they will taste just as good. I make quite a large batch for family and friends. Not a lover of puddings myself, I am always surprised that they go on asking for them year after year and I have to keep my enthusiasm going by trying out different recipes. This year I based my mixture on a Tamsin Day-Lewis recipe but without the nuts and cider brandy; I never add nuts when I can't be sure of who will eat my products and I wasn't able to find cider brandy in the local shops. If you want the original recipe you can find it here. 

The first thing I do before making Christmas cakes, mincemeat and puddings is to throw away all my old spices and buy fresh. It really does make a difference! There are a lot of ingredients in the pudding mix and it is easy to miss one (or more!) so I prepare them first and line them up in order on the counter.  When the ingredients have been prepared it is simply a matter of putting them all into the largest mixing bowl you have and stirring! I cook mine overnight in the simmering oven of the Aga so my house is not filled with the lovely spicy smell of Christmas - the chimney takes all the cooking smells outside so I have to stand in the yard to enjoy them!

In goes all the beautiful fruit

Time for the great stir up

I got two large and three small puddings from the mixture

Puddings in the oven, now to put my feet up .... oh, I forgot about this!

If you didn't make your pudding on Stir-up Sunday, don't worry. I have been known to make them two weeks later and no-one has noticed the difference. And then there is always Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury and Tesco!

Buttons and bows

Wednesday has been the highlight of my week since the start of the writing course , led by my multi-gifted friend D of 60 Going On 16. Sadly, it  is drawing to a close.  I haven't enjoyed anything so much for a very long time and I hope that there will be more to follow.

One of the things that I've learned is that a simple word or phrase can trigger quite unexpected memories and associations, ideal stimuli for writing. One such exercise involved clothes and accessories; head down and no time to think, we rattled off as many as possible in a limited time. Reading them back, I found that I had marked milestones in my life with an item that I was wearing or had noticed on someone else. Everyone in the group was surprised to discover how significant clothes had been for us.

The bows that I remembered were the ribbons that my mother tied in our hair every day before taking us to school. Every day, my sister would come home with her plaits and ribbons intact and I would have lost one ribbon and my hair would be half plaited and half flying in an untidy mane. My poor mother became so frustrated that she cut my hair!

My earliest recollection was of a pair of buttoned leggings. I could not only visualise them but also recall their texture and the warmth and comfort they gave. I'm wearing them in this picture of my mother, sister and me arriving at the church for the wedding of one of my uncles.

I cannot possibly remember this occasion as it was before my second birthday and yet I have a strong sense of this sage green outfit, of having to sit still while the many buttons at the sides of the leggings  were done up and the black elastic straps wrapped around my shoes. Just over a year later, our baby sister was born and I suppose she inherited the little suit. Perhaps my memory is really of her little legs being buttoned into the leggings!

Are your milestones in life marked by the clothes you were wearing? Do share your stories.

Wisdom and maturity

Everything is conspiring to remind me that I am getting older. It doesn't help that I have a birthday later this month. (I can just about remember the days when I couldn't wait for birthdays.) I had such a busy few months with visitors and visiting that I've had to devote November to catching up on wear and tear appointments: dentist, optometrist, chiropodist, hairdresser, hearing care etc. All reminders that things are not what they used to be.

Yesterday, I had to go to the hospital in Exeter for my six-monthly check up with the lovely Macmillan nurses who have cared for my arm since I developed breast cancer related lymphodoema (BCRL) in 1995. Alison and Jayne have become special friends through the years and these appointments are more about celebrating life and survival than reminders of physical decline.  In the early days, when the arm was very swollen, I would go for two-week stretches, staying in a hotel and attending the hospital daily for massage and bandaging to reduce the swelling. Things are much better now and the condition is managed with a compression sleeve - my "badge of survival." My check-up appointments tend to be routine and an excuse to chat and share my home made cakes or biscuits.

As Jayne was marking off the measuring points on my arms and inspecting the skin for any signs of potential problems, she noticed a small lump on the affected arm. I told her that it wasn't troublesome and that Alison had been keeping an eye on it. "It's probably just another sign of ageing," I said, gloomily. Perfectionist Jayne asked if I minded having it checked out and she returned a few minutes later with a bubbly, attractive young woman who, despite her youthful appearance, was a consultant dermatologist. She looked at the said blemish and laughed. "That's a seborrhoeic wart," she said. "A mark of wisdom and maturity."

From now on, I shall not flinch at the sight of a new grey hair, a thickening toe nail or a yellowing tooth.   No more miserable signs of ageing for me - just more marks of wisdom and maturity! Bring it on!

Just wondering

I watched a news item about the omnipresent US elections this morning showing interviews with members of the public. It seemed  that everyone was either bored or angered by the campaign and couldn't wait for it to be over. It made me wonder how the candidates could spend so  many months and  billions of dollars on a campaign that does nothing but irritate or disaffect the public.

In sharp contrast, the UK will be electing Police and Crime Commissioners for the first time on 15 November. That is just 9 days away and yet not a single leaflet has dropped onto our mat from any of the candidates. I wonder what the turnout will be? Will the overkill in US leave a bored or annoyed public at home, while the underkill in England have the same effect? Just wondering.

I was wondering about a few other things this morning: why do things go wrong just when you need them most? A vital piece of my sewing machine flew off just as I was putting the finishing touches to a Christmas present I'm making. I spent thirty minutes or so trying to put it back but could not find a way; I called my husband to have a look and he fixed it in thirty seconds! Why is that? I also wondered why I never seem to have time to sit at my desk these days and when I do get an opportunity, why is that I can't think of anything to write about?

Now for some wondering of a different kind. We spent last week visiting our children and grandchildren. We were with my daughter for Halloween and here you can see the wonder she inspired with her telling of a spooky tale at the children's party. (I wonder who she gets that from?)

Next day, we went to Harcourt Arboretum which is just a short drive from my daughter's house. The children are frequent visitors there and each season fills them with awe and wonder at the changes in the trees and wildlife:

Ben likes to use his "innoclers"

Millie gets close up with the magnifying glass

 Here are some of the trees taking on their autumn splendour:

A Grumpy up a tree? How did he get in here?

Isn't it all just wonderful?