Monday Blues

It's Monday and the sky is blue! How wonderful. I love Mondays, unlike many people, who look forward to them with the same enthusiasm as a trip to the dentist. As well as being the day of the moon, Mondays bring order and make me plan my week.

Today I have to do some tweaks to a site, make up some graphics and then I'm off to the bank to draw out a bit of cash so that I can pay for my MR2 to have a full valet. The little car is going off as a trade in. I love it to bits, but it's far too difficult to get in and out of the way my back hurts, and after driving it around for just fifteen minutes yesterday, to make sure the battery was topped up, I was in agony. I have found a brand new car that I like, so MR2 has to look its best so that I shall get the very best trade-in price I can.

As soon as the valet is finished, I'm off to the dealer to specify my new car. I'm rather excited, as this will be the very first brand new car I have purchased. Lots of cars have been nearly new - a year or eighteen months old - but this one will be my first pristine, specified-to-my liking car. I shall have heated leather seats, satnav and all the goodies, including an iPod connector so that I can play that on long journeys if I get bored with the 6 CDs I can have in the dashboard player.

This car won't be blue, like the theme of the post, but pearlescent black with graphite leather upholstery. The old blue BMW will continue to cart me about until my new car is ready and then it, too, will go to a new home. I doubt I shall get much for it, as it's fairly old, even though it still runs like silken clockwork. Never mind, it has served me incredibly well over the years and I'm ready to part with it in favour of a vehicle I can get in and out of really easily.

I have made a number of attempts to change cars over the past two years - and each time I haven't been able to do it because I have been so attached to the old BMW or for any number of other reasons, mostly emotional. Now, after starting this foray into car change, it feels right and I'm looking forward to the change with great enthusiasm.

Bee Heaven

I know that there is much in the news about the decline of the bee, but nobody seems to have mentioned this to our local bees. I'm sitting in my study looking out over the red roof of the scullery, which is draped with a climbing plant that is in flower at the moment. The flowers are small and greenish, I don't even know what the plant is, though the leaves are rather lovely heart shapes, but the bees love it. There is a constant swirl of these wonderful creatures from flower to flower, flying, resting and flying again. It's wonderful to watch.

We have a little raised corner bed in our tiny garden; at the front there is a tube, obviously set in by the builder to allow water to drain out of the bed before it soaked the feet of the plants set into it. Often, I see bees coming and going through the spout - I suspect that they live there and over-winter as the wall is thick stone and the bed deep enough to keep them warm and safe.

In my old garden in north Cambridgeshire, I used to have rows of lavender plants - it was a large garden and the lavender lined the driveway. All through the summer months the lavender bushes would wilt under the weight of bees and the garden would always have that lovely soft, droning hum that you get when there are a lot of happy bees. I often kick myself these days for not having learned apiary and set up a hive, as it would have done well in that area, and I would have gained experience as a bee-keeper. Now, when I have the time and inclination to do it, our garden is so small and the surrounding area so pastoral, that it wouldn't be practical, as I know bees need a two mile radius of decent foraging to make a hive work. I shall have to wait until we get our farm.

It's really important for gardeners to remember to leave safe places for bees and bumble bees to spend the winter months. Many places sell bee nesting cylinders but it is easy to use bamboo canes and hollow tubing to make your own. It's also important to remember that bumble bees will burrow into larger plant pots (with thick sides to insulate themselves) and spend the winter hidden away amongst the roots of your plants - so be careful when you clear pots or tidy them up, to make sure that you don't hurt hibernating bumbles or take away potential safe havens from them. It's also easy to make tube havens for bumble bees and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust give instructions on how to make your own simple one. A great variation is to put nesting material in the foot of an old wellington and bury the leg and most of the foot (for warmth) in the ground, insert a tube so the bees can get in and what better way to recyle old wellies and give bees a home?

We has wonderful mead at our Handfasting - we wouldn't have had that without bees and life on this planet would suffer terribly without the huge contribution bees make, so look out for them and give them a helping hand please.

Handfasting

We have had such a happy week so far and though the pictures aren't back from the photographer yet, here are a couple taken by a friend of ours:

Hands fasted and tying the knot!


The passing around of cakes and mead


The wonderful petals that were our natural confetti at the Handfasting


Catching our breath before we headed back to the reception


Us arriving at the reception in our gansta car!


The cake - chocolate sponge on the inside - much yummier than fruit cake!


Cutting the cake


Some of the wonderful flowers

The Clock Ticks...

It is Thursday night and time flies.

I went to collect my dress this afternoon and it looks great. I did a photo shoot with the tailor so she had pictures for her portfolio, and took lots of shots of other gorgeous garments. Then it was off home to get the dress indoors without His Nibbs seeing it, which was fun, as he was being good and not looking, but bursting with curiosity.

Today, we did the Order of Service for the church bit of the day, using beautiful card and binding it together with coloured threads. Then, it was time to do the place markers and rather than the boring old 'tent' things, I did flat place names, with a rose threaded through and each will have a chocolate heart sat on it - hopefully I shall get a picture before everything gets marmalised on Saturday night. For the children, there are chocolate bunnies rather than hearts, and in greater abundance, because children should have lots of chocolate bunnies at a wedding - very symbolic!

Tonight, when 18:30 struck and I suddenly realised I was starving hungry and hadn't defrosted anything for dinner, Kim ordered me, in his most manful manner, to get my best frock on as he was taking me out to dinner. What a treat that was! After days of organising and sorting out all the fine detail of an event - the things that don't always get seen but must be done to make sure it runs smoothly - I was starting to get a bit frazzled and jaded. We headed off to the Rose and Crown in East Lambrook, which is renowned for it's seafood and interesting menus, as well as good wines.

The blackboard of specials made my eyes roll! There was ostrich, grilled springbok, the usual assortment of wonderful fish dishes and even crocodile. Now, I've seen a Nile crocodile up close when we lived in Africa and I know what big, mean buggers they are, but I have never tasted one. I ordered crocodile and it was really interesting - half way between a swordfish steak and chicken, it was a nice meaty consistency, with a fishy tang and very enjoyable. Kim had ostrich in red win sauce and that was delicious too.

It's funny, because I have never been backwards about trying new things, but the reaction to our wedding menu was quite a surprise to me. We didn't go for a cheap option and there are five different main courses to select from. As we wanted a slightly mediaeval feel to the meal, we opted for wild roast boar, venison, chicken, trout and a vegetarian risotto. Our guests split into two distinct factions: the gastronomes who plumped for the venison and boar and the nervous, who plumped for the chicken. It hadn't occurred to me that our menu would make people feel nervous or intimidated - it's not what I set out to do, yet I think it happened anyway. At least the puddings are pretty safe and obvious!

Meanwhile, in the village, there is a buzz going around about the Handfasting. Each time Kim goes into the village store, he is asked about what will happen. How will I jump the broomstick (being so lame)? He explained that it's on the ground and not like a gymkhana or reverse limbo, much to the merriment of the assembled locals. Can they jump the broom too? Yes. What's all this stuff about "circles" then? At which point I think Kim's ability to answer competently abandoned him! There seems to be a real fascination and I'm sure the jungle drums are beating wildly.

My son, Nick, arrives tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing him. As my father died last year, Nick is giving me away, though I wouldn't put it past him to try to sell me, knowing him! All I have left to do is to assemble my chalice, athame and assorted goodies for the Handfasting so that Kim can transport them for me - I suppose I had better stop writing and do it before too much Cabernet Sauvingon addles my brain!

Wonderful Project

I saw this on Beweaver's blog, and though very unoriginal of me to replicate it here, the more people who see this lady and have a chance to support her, the better. Mr Cat seconds Miss Mitty's recommendation to watch this.

Flying Tonight

I am the proud owner of a splendid new besom.

On my way back from my new Chiropractor (she's really good thank the Goddess) I stopped at Mole Valley Farmers in Yeovil as I know they sell besoms. I love the Mole Valley shop - you can buy hoof oil, moody mare supplement and a new rayburn, as well as chocolate and wine - it's a great place.

There was one Besom there - all birch, with a lovely bark-covered handle and a huge bush of twigs - so I grabbed it and headed to the check-out. I was the only customer and the two sales ladies both burst out laughing and asked where I was flying tonight. I told them it was about time I got myself a new vehicle and the merriment spread to the two other girls who popped out from the sales office. If only they knew...

My work box is filled with wonderful coloured ribbons and I shall weave these into a lovely pattern around the handle and top of the twigs later on today. For now, though, I am going to rest my back, as it has been 'pinged' by the lovely Tracey, who looks like she may be a real treasure. I'm very hopeful that I shall be able to stagger all the way to the stone circle on Saturday - which will be handy, as there won't be a Handfasting without me!

On the way back from the Chiropractor, and nearly opposite the health centre from which she operates, is the factory shop of Olives Et Al and I couldn't resist taking my newly un-limping back in for a bit of a shopping spree. We have often purchased their marinating olives and love them to bits - I got a refill pack, some lovely chocolate hearts for the wedding reception and bags of other goodies. Today has been such a nice day.

Knowing I'm having a nice day is such a treat - we decided to cancel our honeymoon as Mr Cat is very skinny and being sick a lot - we decided that if he died while we were away, we would always associate our honeymoon and wedding with his death. Mr Cat won't be about that much longer I suspect, and we can take a honeymoon whenever we want to. I emailed the French guest house to let them know we couldn't come and they have sent an invoice, by email, for the full amount. It's an interesting concept that. They are charging us full price for a week when they will not have to pay for our breakfasts, not change our towels and linen and all the associated costs of having a guest in the place. Instead of getting annoyed or upset, I just laughed. They are keeping the deposit, and that's perfectly fine - we shall see about the rest! I somehow suspect it won't be a good plan for them to hold their breath.

Dress Fitting

Ooooh! Today I went to have the calico "practice" bodice fitted for my wedding dress. This lady knows what she is doing - snip here, pin there, tweak here and before you know it, the initially saggy and horrible first attempt turned into a snug, perfectly tailored bodice. While she was pinning me into shape, I asked her about her background and it turns out she has absolutely massive experience, including working with Liberty of London doing wedding dresses, so I got very lucky!

As part of the fitting, she had run up a mock sleeve and it turned out to be completely wrong - I would have looked like two erect wind socks stitched together in the middle, so she quickly snipped, sewed and before you could blink had totally redesigned the sleeve to be something quite lovely and much more elegant. I am just dying to see the finished dress! I go back next Tuesday for a final fitting and double check on hem length and last minute tweaks and then I shall be able to take some pictures and post them. Honestly, I never thought I'd get so excited about a dress!

Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, the florist mailed us a price that was £130 over her highest estimate, which was a bit of a shocker and I nearly had a seizure in John Lewis' trying to find a nice bra to go under my dress - I'd have had all the choice in the world had I only been blessed with bee-stings and a small back, but larger ladies like me just don't get the same choices.

The only fly in the ointment at the moment is that both Kim and I are worried about leaving our old, moth-eaten cat while we go away after our wedding. Yesterday we were out for about eight hours and he was in such a state of upset at being alone for so long that he disgraced himself on the carpet. I'm not sure if it was pique and a "take that!" attitude, or if he just got so distressed and then over-excited when we got back that he couldn't help himself. Normally, as I work from home, he has someone about most of the time - now we're wondering how he will cope for a whole week with just the cat-sitter calling to feed him and spend a short time. Our cat-sitter is lovely, but there's only so much time she can spend with any one animal. Mr Cat is so old now that I think both of us are worried that he might not last till we get back from honeymoon, though we're both avoiding saying as much.



Ah well, it's late and I have a practice for the service to go to tomorrow, so I had better start getting some early nights so I don't have horrible eye-bags for the pictures!

Pixie Needles

I have just been to visit the Pixie Tailor lady who is sewing my dress - she's delightful! I had been worried about handing over control of the dress to someone else, even though she's clearly good and experienced - I'm not the world's greatest seamstress, but good enough to know there are people out there who can do a worse job than me.

Well, I'm not worried now. The amount of heavy industrial sewing equipment would have convinced anyone that she must have a bit of a clue about what she's doing, but on talking to her, my confidence grew with every moment. Not least, she came up with a stunning idea for a length of wonderful velvet fabric that I have. Now, all I have to do is go out and get the magic cowboy bra (you're wondering why "cowboy"? It's the bra that rounds them up and points them out, just like cowboys do!) so that I can wear it to the fitting of the calico 'draft' bodice on Thursday.

Wow. If this turns out as well as I suspect it will, I'm tempted to get her to make more things for me. It may not be quite as cheap as toddling off to a local shop, but if it means that I get to wear everything she makes because it is tailored to my taste and shape, it won't be any dearer than the one item out of every three I buy that actually gets worn - and I get it made in the colours and farbics that I like! This has to be the beginning of a long and happy association!

I'm so excited - I can't wait for Thursday, and it's only going to be a lump of calico! Still, it will be one step closer to my gorgeous purple confection!

Mood Matches Weather

Oh dear, what a gloomy day. Half of me really was wishing I was at the Mercian Gathering, even though I had regular telephone updates that it was soggy, muddy and thoroughly foul. I can have fun in the rain. The other half of me was champing at the bit to get things organised for the wedding and everything seemed to be going in slow motion, which was humungously frustrating.

I hate the first day back after Kim has been away. He's always too tired to do anything and is inevitably vocal about it. Last Saturday, after I had done a long week, I got home, sorted out the wedding guest list and then spent the Saturday going around sorting out the florist, reception venue, etc. And I'm supposed to be the unfit, knackered out old wreck.

To add insult to injury, Kim went out to buy some potatoes for dinner tonight and purchased some food fr Mr Cat while he was out. He brought home DOG food, for goodness sake. He reckoned he was too tired to discern the difference - I think it was just a way of passively-aggressively protesting that he'd had to get up and do something (even if it was a quick ten minute trip to the shops). I now know, for certain, that cats can look contemptuous.

I had woken full of anticipation at making my dress and having a busy day - as it turned out I got a call from one of the Pixie Tailor seamstresses, who lives quite close and she said she could do my dress for me; I accepted. I'm not sure if I have done the right thing - it would have been a huge pressure to do it myself, though I know I could have - half of me is relieved and the other half of me feels like I have cheated myself and the unexpected leisure isn't good.

The highlight of the day was a chat with my friend M all about the disasters at the Mercian Gathering. I feel so sorry for all the people who got sodden, muddy and bogged down in the site, but I also feel terribly sorry for the organisers, who spent so much time and effort putting the Gathering together, just to get rained off. It seems many have packed up and headed home, and you can't blame people, but it is such a shame. M was worrying that everyone had got home safely - in true caring style - and there's only one who hasn't let us know she's back safely yet - hopefully that's because she's soaking on a long, hot, bubbly bath and sipping something fortifying.

Let's hope tomorrow is a better day, and not just the weather!

Oh Yes!

Well, I decided that I should take myself off to Hansons, the wonderful fabric warehouse in Sturminster Newton today and drove through the cloudbursts and buffeting winds to get there - I had forgotten how far away it was. Still, it really was worth the trip.

At first I went through the patterns and found one that I really liked and they even had my size. Then it was a hunt through the many bolts of fabric. Luckily, they group colours together, so it meant that it was easy to compare the differing shades.
The pattern I have selected is empire line with a floaty over-skirt and sleeves, so I had to find two fabrics that went well together. At first I couldn't find what I wanted, but the staff there were incredibly helpful and eventually they found the perfect compliment to the main fabric I had chosen.

For the bodice and underskirt I have a pure shot silk in the most gorgeous, imperial purple and the sleeves and overskirt are in a slightly softer colour in georgette that's all floaty and delicate. I purchased some amethyst and clear crystal beads, tiny, delicate ones, to sew on to the dress and I'm feeling really optimistic.

Just to make the trip worthwhile, I found cords for the Handfasting and now have gold, silver and purple and just need to plait those together and fix the ends - I shall probably try whipping them as they will be passed around for people to tie Handfasting wish ribbons to, so they need to be sturdily fixed. Goodness, all that's left now, apart from getting a smart new besom (mine is really manky) is to get on and start sewing. How exciting.

I think I might sacrifice an old sheet and make the bodice part up in old cotton fabric, just to be certain it's a good fit - chopping pure silk up on a wish and a prayer seems a bit frightening and the bill at the fabric shop checkout was... considerable.

Time for a steadying cup of tea and then I shall open the pattern and try to work out what goes where - wish me luck!

What Happened To August?

I have been away so long. Two of my August weeks were teaching in London; lucrative but exhausting and straight home to plan a wedding - my own.

I have done well- venue is arranged, flowers are chosen and booked, menu selected and distributed to guests, the corollary of which is that we finally managed to make a guest list! A posh car is booked to haul my lame old arse to the venue and taxis will be booked to take out guests to the remote Handfasting/reception location and back to their accommodation after the feast. I found a lovely lady to make the cake and it's going to be pretty, I have booked accommodation for the future mother-in-law and a driver to go and fetch her and then return her to furthest flung Essex (not cheap, I can tell you!).

But I haven't got a dress.

Panic.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't fluster me greatly, not that I get married every week, but I do know that the sort of shops that stock my dress size won't do anything like a wedding dress and I'm simply not willing to settle for floral crimplene with an Evans label sewn in the collar. So, I have to dust off my sewing machine and remember how to make beautiful clothing. I feel a bit daunted by the prospect - not the sewing, I'm good at that and have made some really lovely things in the past - no, it's the looking through the pattern books and then finding just the perfect fabric that matches what's in my head. And, of course, there's not much time as we tie the knot on the 20th September.

I feel very 'dry' at the moment. I haven't had time to do any of the small domestic things that anchor me and increasingly make me feel good. I haven't had a chance to make butter and there hasn't been a crust of bread in the house all week as I'm determined not to buy any and I never quite find time to bake some. I'm determined to get the dress made up and then spend a day in my kitchen just pottering about and baking things - it's such a therapy for me.

Lots of other weird thing are happening in the background too - people doing things that I think I understand, but in odd ways. It has been an odd month altogether and people I thought I was tuned into seem to be suddenly remote and taking a "don't call me, I'll call you" type of attitude, while others have been warm and more effusive that I had expected. Things seem so topsy-turvy. More than anything I suppose it's me - I have pulled away from writing and reading other blogs, not only through time constraints, but because I have needed to be insular and marshal my energies, focus on the important things looming for me and there's only so many hours in a day.

Tonight I retire to my bed with a slight sigh of relief. I am booked to go to the Mercian Gathering that starts tomorrow, but with all the things I am dealing with, it started to feel like a pressure rather than a pleasure. I spent a happy hour on the telephone talking to the lovely Megan, who sympathised, made me laugh and generally cheered me on, whilst alleviating the smudges of guilt I felt at wanting to wriggle out of the Gathering. She's one of the people who have turned out to be such a boon lately, bless her.

I have decided to stay at home, go to the wonderful fabric shop (actually it's a whopping great warehouse stacked to the rafters with dressmaking fabrics) in Sturminster Newton tomorrow and hunt down a nice pattern. Even if I only pin the pattern to the fabric before the end of tomorrow, I shall feel like I have made great progress. And, of course, I shall be warm and dry. I ached so much with the impending rain storms that I spent the afternoon with my arm, right up to the shoulder, in the belly of the rayburn clearing it out and making it ready to light.

Mr Cat sat looking hopefully between the rayburn and the chicken that was roasting in the electric cooker, anticipating cat heaven. Could it be that his world was going to be 'right' again, with the big brown lump of metal warming his back and a bowl of chicken flesh and skin to fill his scrawny old body? Yup! He got his wish. Mr Cat feasted on chicken, washed his face and sank gratefully on to his cat sofa (I kid you not, he has a little wicker sofa with a padded bottom as he's so old and bony) to fall asleep. I'm warm too and it's the first time I haven't had cold ankles for a week.

Well, my world may feel a little frenetic and odd, but at least the cat is happy - result!