The Shepton Witch

A Morning Chuckle

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:22:00 +0000

If you're feeling blue, this will bring a smile to your face:

http://echeng.com/journal/2008/11/11/cat-vs-box-hilarious/

Not the brightest crayon in the box, but very cute!

Fireworks Night

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:58:00 +0000

Tonight is fireworks and bonfire night in the village of Shepton. Every year, the committee organises a display of fireworks in the field that is at the centre of the village, charges a modest entry fee and saves the irritation of bangers scaring local pets for weeks either side of the 5th November. The committee always manages to rope in sponsorship from local businesses (yes, me included) and the events they run really help to bond the people of this place into a community. We have fun together.

This year, I won't be able to get up the field as it's fairly steep and lumpy and I'm not all that good on flat, smooth surfaces at the moment. The good news is that our big front bedroom window looks out over the field and I shall have a great view of the fireworks, even if I don't get to sample the hog roast and rub shoulders with everyone else. I'm hoping that by next year, I shall be able to canter up the field like a young filly let out after a long winter confinement!

And, just as the firework display is about to start, the winds which have been vigorous, have become wild and the rain is lashing down. It's a shame, as just about every event the village has organised over the past year has been rained on; never rained off, as there's an attitude here that seems to say, "it's only a bit of rain/storm, let's party anyway" and as I finish writing I can hear the first rocket going off... better go and hold the cat's paw!

I Am The Borg

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Goodness, this dicky hip is turning me into a bit of a technology monster. I am regularly using the Novasonic machine and that is really helpful, however, it's not the sort of kit one can take into a classroom, throw oneself on the floor, flip up the skirt and apply to hip! So, as I have lots of London gigs coming up, Kim treated me to a TENS machine.

Now, the only thing I knew about TENS machines is that they tried one on me when I went into labour, a little over 20 years ago and it was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Not only did it do nothing to help the pain, but I got all sweaty, as one does in labour, and the dratted pads kept falling off - so I ended up covered in sticky tape and it still did nothing. You can imagine how confident and optimistic I felt when Kim presented me with a neat little package and offered to wire me up.

To say that our bedroom looked like Dr Frankenstein's hardware bench is no exaggeration. There were electrodes, there are wires and then there's a thing you plug it all into. Having just returned from a trip out, I was aching like hell and thought this would be a good time to test the TENS. So on went the machine and I could feel electrical blips passing through my skin... and gradually, things stopped hurting. It's not a miracle cure and nothing is going to prevent the pain caused by bone grating against bone (sadly, there's no gap at all in my right hip joint and not much on the other side), but it helped. The TENS seems to blast the nerve receptors so that the brains just decides to ignore the pain signals; there's a danger to this, as it's easy to do more than one should. Pain is there for a reason - it is our body telling us not to do things, however, sensible use does help make life bearable.

Half an hour after being wired, I wasn't exactly leaping about like a spring lamb, but hobbling to the loo was a lot less painful, I can tell you! Best of all, he got me a mini TENS that's portable and fits into a small box that's only about 5" x 2" x 1/2" so can go in the handbag and it's perfectly possible to pop it on my hip under a skirt. It works nearly as well as the big TENS machine, and will be perfect for a little analgesia in coffee and lunch breaks. I think I might be able to cope with the coming week, after all. Oh, a credit for the company Nature's Gate who supplied the TENS machine, as they got it to us next day after ordering and seem to have super reviews, and we'd certainly add to them.

So now I can wander around with bits of electronics attached to me - not quite as glamorous as Seven Of Nine, but a lot more grateful!

The Blind Men and the Elephant

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:09:00 +0000

American poet John G Saxe (1816-87), based this poem on a fable that was told in India many years ago. It is a good warning about how we can be misled into thinking that we have the right answers. The reality may be that we only hold a small part of a huge puzzle and we need to see everyone else’s pieces before we can see the “big picture”. Remember, the six men are blind and have never seen an elephant:

It was six men of Indostan
to learning much inclined,
who went to see the Elephant
(though all of them were blind),
that each by observation
might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant,
and happening to fall
against his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant is very like a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
cried, “Ho! what have we here
so very round and smooth and sharp?
to me 'tis mighty clear
this wonder of an Elephant
is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal,
and happening to take
the squirming trunk within his hands,
thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
and felt about the knee.
“what most this wondrous beast is like
is mighty plain,” quoth he;
” 'tis clear enough the Elephant
is very like a tree!”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear
said: “E'en the blindest man
can tell what this resembles most;
deny the fact who can
this marvel of an Elephant
is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
about the beast to grope,
than, seizing on the swinging tail
that fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan
disputed loud and long,
each in his own opinion
exceeding stiff and strong,
though each was partly in the right,
and all were in the wrong!
Moral: So oft in theologic wars,
the disputants, I ween,
rail on in utter ignorance
of what each other mean,
and prate about an Elephant
not one of them has seen!

The American Election

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:49:00 +0000

Rarely has there been such a buz on this side of the Atlantic about an American election. Whoever wins, we are faced with a 'First'; we either see the first black president or the first female vice president and the oldest president starting a first term.

The good old BBC has always covered elections in the USA, but this year's event has seen a huge escalation in coverage, with reports all through the nomination stages, the battle of the Democratic candidates, and the rather worrying alternatives for the Republican candidacy, and finally the run up to the voting today.

Here at home, in our quiet backwater of Shepton, we feel that there's so much at stake and are waiting to see the results with baited breath. There have been suggestions that Obama is light on policy and long on oration. McCain, it has been suggested, is too close to George W Bush (truly the end of an error now). More interesting to me has been the selection of running mates. The Democrats seem to have selected a conservative (small C), safe candidate, bound to appeal to the wasps who might baulk at voting for a black man. Biden has wisely played the quiet but reliable partner to Obama's charisma. The Republicans must have been having a bad hair day. I suppose they must have thought that they could counter the age of McCain with the youth of Palin and his stodgyness with the vibrancy of a young "soccer mom". Good grief, how I wish they would call football by it's proper name. I digress.

So here we are, on the other side of the Atlantic, faced with the prospect of an old man and a corrupt moose hunter on the one hand and a charismatic black man on the other. There isn't a lot of brain power needed to work out what's best, is there? The worrying thing is, how many people will allow their deep-rooted prejudices to surface at the last moment? It was only in 1965 that we saw people of all shades get a free and fair ability vote - that's a scary thought.

As I head off to bed, certain that I won't be able to stay awake for the exit polls and predictions that the political pundits will be making through the night, I send up a plea to my Gods that Obama gets in. He seems to have the energy and will to make necessary changes and to work with the rest of the world, rather than play the despot. The alternative frightens me; McCain already looks older than his advanced years and very weary. Do we really want to contemplate the prospect of one of the world's most powerful nations being run by someone who thinks it's the role of the VP to boss about the Senate, whose taste for using power to settle family scores is proven and who can't tell the difference between the French President and a couple of DJs?

We shall have to wait and see.

Ostrich Steaks and Lots of Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:36:00 +0000

I feel a bit guilty this evening. I had intended, while my friend M was visiting, to cook some ostrich steaks that I got from the butcher in the next village, along with a nice red wine sauce and oodles of vegetables and creamy mash. As things turned out, I didn't feel too great and we spent so much time talking that I rather lost the plot and didn't manage to cook nearly as much as I had intended.

So, there were the ostrich steaks, sitting in the freezer, looking all forlorn and so I took them out to defrost and found a recipe that looked nice on the internet. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I prepared the veggies and then gathered the ingredients. Preparation is very quick and easy and in the time it took the potatoes to boil, I had cooked the steaks and whisked up a sauce that was nearly how the recipe described. We had drunk the last of the red wine so I substituted rose and the sauce came out very light and tangy - totally gorgeous.

The ostrich steaks we had were very substantial and after cooking them for just 2 minutes each side, which sealed them nicely, they were still pretty raw. I think that the recipe was meant for meat half as thick as our steaks, so I popped them into the oven while I made the sauce and they came out medium rare but perfect and tender.

So, without further ado, here's the recipe for ostrich steaks:

Ostrich Steak with coriander, red wine, orange and redcurrant jelly (Serves 4)

You will need....
4 Ostrich steaks
1 tablespoon light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 glass red wine
1 orange, grated rind and squeezed juice
1 teaspoon coriander seeds finely crushed
1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly
salt & pepper
coriander leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a pan to medium hot. Cook the steak for no more than 2 minutes each side. Take the Ostrich out of the pan and keep warm (or pop into the oven if you're not keen on rare meat). Pour in the glass of red wine and add the crushed coriander seeds, orange rind, orange juice and redcurrant jelly. Bring to the boil and reduce until the sauce becomes thick and syrupy. Season to taste. Serve the Ostrich with sauce poured around. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Easy-peasy. Having eaten incredibly lean meat and lots of healthy veg, we then undid all the good by tucking into home made apple crumble - oh woe is my waistband! So - the guilt I feel for not producing this masterpiece, if I say so myself, is somewhat mitigated by the knowledge that M wouldn't have wanted our stringy old cat to miss out on the plentiful titbits of big bird that found they way to his eager jaws. Tom says thank you to M for your ostrich steak. And now I know it works so well, I can do it next time she comes to visit.

Samhain

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:03:00 +0000

The clock has just turned past four p.m. on this Sunday afternoon and the light is already fading. It has been such a gloomy old day, with cold winds and enough cloud to block out the sun, but not enough to keep a heating blanket around us.

What a perfect day for a big apple crumble!

The people around these parts always put their windfall apples in boxes outside their homes, if they have more than they need. It is such a generous practice, and saves waste. Sadly, these days I don't have my own apple trees (I miss them) so I benefit greatly from the generosity of my neighbours. J has put out a huge heap of windfall apples, many in perfect condition, and I am about to head into the warm kitchen and make the crumble topping to cover the apples. We shall have free apples and cook them in the rayburn, so the cooing will be free too!

As well as making crumble, my friend M and I carved some apple heads to hang outside the house for the village children who came around Trick or Treating. The idea was given to us by the delightful Klara in Sweden, and it's apparently something she does regularly. Armed with full instructions, M and I sat at the kitchen table, steaming mugs of tea to hand and got peeling and carving. You might be able to see the results from this picture, though we should have dried the apples for much longer:

As well as the apples, M single-handedly carved the pumpkin, and I was hugely impressed! Friday afternoon was a flurry of activity as Kim and M decorated the porch with ghosts, cobwebs and spiders and the apple heads were hung from the porch roof. The villagers here are very civilised - if you put a pumpkin out, they will come Trick or Treating, but if you don't then you are left in peace. For the past couple of years, we have put out a pumpkin and our neighbours on the next corner, who really push the boat out, have given the local kids all sorts of frights and tooth decay!

This year, Kim found a mask in Tescos that had been reduced to a silly price and came home grinning from ear to ear. He has discovered his inner were-donkey and spent the evening with mask and talons opening the door to pint sized witches and skeletons, often having to remove the mask when the shrieks became too distressed.

It was a bit worrying that the mask fur exactly matched his hair colour...

Meanwhile, the neighbours covered the front of their house with all sorts of scary things and dressed up with coloured make-up and all sorts. Is this Samhain? Of course not, but it is nice to have a bit of fun and mark a festival that's terribly unChristian that the church can't get sniffy at!

For my part, I shall spend some time this evening doing the things I want to honour those who have passed, the ancestors and mark the turning of the year. After the doorbell had quietened on Friday night, friends came over and we all had a cheery evening which didn't leave time to do anything else. I love this time of year, and though I will often be heard grumbling about being cold, I always feel a sense of anticipation and excitement as the days shorten and Yule approaches.

Meanwhile, my work life is starting to get a bit busy. My calendar has been filling up over the past week and much of the work has been the sort of thing it can take years to break into, so I have been sitting at my desk with a rather bemused, but delighted, feeling. I got a call on Friday evening to book me to lecture in Geneva, which was the icing on the cake, as it is before Yule and I can tack a day or two on to the end of the booking to have a look around and do some shopping!

All this has made me reflect on the past year. I have worked hard to get the business to the point where I have a decent stream of work and it seems to be rewarding me for the efforts. Over the last year, there have also been a number of things that have happened with friends and acquaintances that have been what the Chinese call "interesting". As the year closes, some hangers-on and leeches have fallen away from my sphere and others, blinded by the bright lights shining from their own bottoms, have gone too. What is left is amazing; I find myself surrounded by wonderfully loving and supportive friends, people in whose company I delight and whose deep compassion fills me with admiration. I am blessed with thoughtful and caring friends and so much joy that sometimes I am astounded by how good life is.

Apple Crumble Recipe

Rub 5 oz butter, chopped into small cubes, into 10 oz plain flour, using just your finger tips (actually, if you have any sense, you'll use a food processor!). When the consistency is like breadcrumbs sprinkle in 3 oz soft brown sugar and 3 oz (or as much as you like) finely chopped hazelnuts and mix together to blend the ingredients.

Peel and remove the cores of your apples, then dice into 1" squares (you can slice them if you like, just make sure they're not huge hunks of apple as they will take longer to cook), putting the peeled apple into acidulated water (a bowl of water with half a lemon squeezed into it) to stop the apple browning. When the apple is all peeled, drain and place in a lightly greased oven-proof dish. If you are using cooking apples, such as Bramleys, sprinkle some sugar between the layers of apples to sweeten them. I have made crumbles with desert apples and though the apple bit goes much squishier, they don't need sugar at all, so be sparing. Next, sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the apples. You can, if you're not on a low-fat diet, add a few small knobs of butter to the top of the crumble mixture, though it's perfectly nice without. Bake in a medium oven (about 180 degrees) for an hour - after this, check to make sure the top has become golden - you may need to leave it in for up to 30 minutes longer, depending on how deep the dish is. The hazelnuts give the crumble topping a nice, crunchy consistency and a jug of custard or helping of cream goes very nicely!

Grrr, Frustration!

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:49:00 +0000

Finally, weeks after my last hospital appointment where I was told I was being referred to another consultant, I got my appointment through. It's not until December.

I had been busily visualising the receipt of the letter and thinking that like previous appointments, it would be within a few days of the letter, so when I read the date, my heart sank. I felt so cross with myself - I don't know how many times I have done really successful visualisations only to realise that I missed an important detail - this time, the waiting time. Oh goodness, it means I'm probably going to have to wait until spring, or later, to get my hip fixed and that's just so depressing and frustrating.

After a simple trip out to buy some curtain rings and do a few other chores, I had totally seized up. At the moment I can't even bend over to pick things up from the floor and I'm getting so cross that every little action I want to take is starting to feel like a major assault course. Worst of all, I feel like such an old moaner and poor Kim is being such a hero and trying to do everything so that I don't have to, but that just makes me feel even more useless. And here I am moaning again. Sigh.

On a happier note, I am madly impressed and happy with my new car. It is easy to get into, which is just amazing as my other cars hurt so much that I really had to think about whether I wanted to go out, but it's also just so nice to drive. This morning, we had loud cracks of thunder, lightning and hail and the lanes turned into rivers, as they often do in this part of the world. What a treat to be bowling along in such a sure-footed vehicle when I was on mud, gravel and in deep puddles - which was the original reason for selecting it. Best of all, the seats are so comfortable that I can drive around for ages and not hurt.

It's probably silly, but I have often given my cars names and the Freelander is now known as Mr Bob. Thank goodness for Mr Bob as when I get really gloomy, I go out for a drive! There's a groovy gadget that gives me the range, i.e., how far I can go with the fuel I have in my tank, depending on the way I drive the car. It's a real encouragement to drive sensibly as the more gentle I am on the accelerator, the more my range increases. As I set off from one place, my range was 390 miles, but by driving carefully I increased it to 425 miles after driving five miles. How odd, I never thought Land Rover would be such an encouragement to drive economically, but they have really made it a fun thing to do!

Tidy Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:29:00 +0000

Today has been a great day for getting all those little odds and ends finished. I have been delaying a piece of work for one of my clients, as it was slow and just... unappealing. Today I got it finished off and now I'm feeling really good.

On top of that, Kim decided to do his half of the washing out the kitchen cupboards job today - I did all the top cupboards as I can still just about get on to a chair to reach the upper shelves - the cupboards are rather high and I can barely get my hand up to the bottom of the top shelf! Kneeling down, however, is painful, so we shared the cupboard cleaning job to suit what I can do. It's a great feeling when you have a good clear out - as we found two things to put on Freecycle that we don't use any more, a coffee making machine and a food steamer.

Now, all I have left to sort out is the heap of papers on my desk - though thinking about that is enough to make me feel faint! I might save that for tomorrow evening as I feel as though my body is trying to start a cold - going out in the pouring rain this morning didn't help - must remember to wear a waterproof. Truth is, I hate waterproof clothing - it always seems to make me feel sticky and overly swaddled. Our skin is waterproof, and most times I get away with it, but I think I need to reach for the echinacea and a nice honey and lemon drink to make sure this week doesn't end up in snuffles. We have a friend coming to stay from Wednesday to Saturday and I'm really looking forward to it - she's great company and very relaxing to be with, so I think we shall both end up very chilled and laughing a lot.

Ah well, one last chore to do for today, off to feed some cats, and then I get home to a dinner that Kim's cooking (smells delicious already) I can curl up with him for a cosy evening. Hmmm, life is good.

Six Things About Me

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:33:00 +0000

I have been tagged by Beweaver. The guidelines are:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

This is harder than I thought it would be - what on earth to say? Oh well, here goes:

1) I love the English language. It is a fascinating melange of different influences from all over the world, probably because we are a nation that is superb at assimilating other cultures (maybe we should be called The Borg rather than the British). We have so many words to describe one thing that it gives us the subtlety and nuance that just doesn't exist in other tongues. I try to do justice to this wonderful language, though I know there are times I fail.

2) Before I left school I didn't really have much idea of what I wanted to do. Careers advice failed me as I didn't fit into the mould of wife, nurse, teacher or secretary and the Mistress blenched when I said that either being a rock drummer, a long distance lorry driver or a Madame sounded much more interesting. I didn't become any of those things; a singular lack of musical talent, the inability to pass my driving test for years and no inclination to learn the business from the ground up prevented me!

3) Because I have travelled a lot (I left England at 7 weeks old!) I can speak a bit of many languages including Finnish, Swahili, Arabic and Portuguese.

4) I am a vagrant at heart and love to travel; my life has been motivated by wanderlust and I have seen amazing places like the Angel Falls, Victoria Falls and up-country Botswana.

5) I did a bungee jump at a big biker convention. I did it for charity, but drew the line at bungeeing naked despite large cash inducements.

6) I like ducks. A neighbour has ducks and I often hear them quacking at each other, sometimes sounding like they're having a squabble. There's something soothing about the sound of ducks - I want my own small badling of ducks - that would be so great.

And now to tag some others. I enjoy reading:

Somerset Seasons
Wooly Shepherds Diary
Bee-Leaf
Meanderings Along Ancestral Pagan Paths
Hecate
The Pigslip

You are all tagged!

Emotional Freedom Technique - Does It work?

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:16:00 +0000

Today has been remarkable. Kim and I have been married exactly one month and it is the best thing I have ever done. We're both really happy and although I knew it would feel different, I didn't think for one moment that it would be as good as this. That was the first good bit of the day.

It kept on getting better. Kim made me a mug of strong, steaming tea to start the morning off with and then we dashed off to Yeovil to collect my new car. I was like an impatient child as Mr Bob, our friendly Land Rover dealer explained everything and showed me all the buttons and features in the car. It was parked in the main showroom, bright, shiny and irresistible. I don't think I shall ever grow out of being a petrol-head, though these days I shall have to call myself a diesel-head! Finally, Mr Bob opened the showroom doors and I pressed the start button and manoeuvred the new wheels out on to the tarmac. Oh, what a delight! Even with a very sore hip, the seats embraced me and I chuckled all the way home.

There wasn't any time to admire my new toy, as I had an appointment for an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) session, so had to lock the doors and jump into Kim's car, as he had offered to drive me there and back, not knowing how the treatment would affect me. I had decided to book the treatment after talking to my Chiropractor; after treatments by the chiropractor, I would always feel very emotional and she asked whether the problems with my hip might have some basis in an emotional problem.

Two days before I had visited the Chiropractor and had the conversation about emotional issues, I had decided that it was time to deal with some things from the past that were long overdue. I think that because I feel so loved and cherished, I'm ready to sweep away the horrible things of the past that have been stuffed into a dark corner cupboard. I won't bore you with the details, and it's not an edifying story, but suffice to say that I had a close encounter with an active republican Irish man, who lived by mental, emotional and sometimes physical violence. The experience left me first terrified and then, as a way of dealing with the fear, angry. I used anger to get out of the situation and to try to re-assemble a life that he has systematically tried to take apart. With the need to try to keep a roof over my head, food on the table and all the daily things that happen, I buried the fear and anger so that I could get on with the important business of survival.

I think this is what has been eating away at my joints and bones. This man tried to take my life away from me, not only in the obvious way, but also by alienating anyone who was close to me, and I realised that I have been saying "I want my life back!" lately. I believe that I allowed him to successfully steal a part of my life and it has taken me this long to get to the point of wanting to reclaim it. Thanks must to go many people; Kim has been a tower of strength, though I'm sure he's not aware of it; my son too has played his part and the wonderful relationship we have has given me the confidence to look inside; thanks too must go to Seshat, as she lit a path for me in dealing with her own issues. So, I thought I'd give EFT a go, as the thought of long hours on a counsellors chair filled me with horror.

What an amazing treatment it is. I have to admit to being rather sceptical before I arrived. EFT works on the energy meridians and is a combination of tapping meridian points and repeating, almost mantra-like, certain things (peculiar to one's situation). I have only ever been able to talk about my time in Ireland to one person, and then only to explain an extreme terror reaction, up until now. Until now, whenever I allowed myself to think about it, I would cry and feel sick with fright. This happened over eight years ago. Now, tonight, after an hour and a half of tapping and repeating, I have been able to sit here, dry-eyed and calm to write about something that no longer frightens me.

I don't know if this feeling of being back in control will last, or how I will feel tomorrow, but for the moment, I am in awe of the technique. To be able to write, and even be calm about the events, is something I had never anticipated. My energy was so light as I came out of the treatment that I literally felt as if a weight had been lifted from me. By 4.30 p.m. I was wiped out and curled up under the duvet to loose two hours in a deep and restful sleep. And I'm sitting here - able to think about that dark time - with nothing more than a wry smile that it took me this long to find a way of dealing with it.

Kim has been wonderful and heated up the remains of the Bambi pie for supper, looked after me and goodness, everything feels all right. Monday 20th October has been an amazing day; I have my new car, I have a wonderful husband and I got my life back. I am so lucky, blessed and free - now that thought is making me well up!

Home, Primrose and Venison Pie

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Oh, what a wonderful evening and what a superb, wonderful recipe. I have been watching What To Eat now, by Valentine Warner and have been quite enchanted with the programme. I suppose his style of cooking hearty food rather reflects how I like to do things in the kitchen, but I'm really impressed with some of the interesting twists he gives to dishes.

After watching last week's programme in a soulless hotel room in London, I ordered his book and looked forward to getting home (just for the sake of getting home) and to seeing what was in it. It didn't disappoint. He writes as he presents, with wit and warmth, so yesterday was spent poring over thick pages filled with enticing pictures of autumnal fare. As our local butcher is particularly good with game, I tried my hand at the venison pie, and stocked up on dark, thick ale, soft, dark sugar and some gingernut biscuits.

Poor old Tom, he was getting quite crazed at the smells floating around the kitchen today as I cooked off the base and opened the packet of venison - seconds after snipping the bag, up went the nose and the locational twitching began. As we had left the poor old cat on his own (well, nearly, more about that later), I cut off a small chunk of raw venison and found that it was very magnetic! After that, Tom retired to his sofa, in front of the rayburn, where the aroma of cooking Bambi wafted down over his head while he dreamed of being a lion.

Tom hadn't quite been on his own during the week we were away. Our kitchen has been a miserable and outdated place and I decided that I couldn't put up with it any more. I arranged for Harry, our trusty builder/decorator to come in while we were in London to strip the 1970s poppy wallpaper and paint the walls a fresh "wild primrose" colour. I had to select the paint online as I wasn't mobile enough to sneak off without Kim, and the fresh, new kitchen was a surprise for him. Harry did us proud and got the job done, everything back in it's place and cleared up without giving the game away. I, on the other hand, nearly told Kim several times as I was so excited... but managed to bite my tongue each time.

We got home at just before nine on Friday night, bearing fish and chips as we were both really tired and hungry. I opened the kitchen door for Kim and let him walk in before me. He looked up, looked down, looked very confused and said, "Something's wrong". Then he spotted that his chair was in the wrong place and started wondering why it had moved. "No, it's not just that, there's something else..." Eventually, he worked out that the faded old poppies were gone and the walls were bright and freshly painted. It took a while to sink in, as he was suffering from a head cold as well as being worn out from a long week. It was hilarious.

So, I have a fresh kitchen, Kim is delighted that it's looking brighter and much bigger than before and the cat had company while we were away. Not a bad result. Even better was to sit down to an aromatic venison pie, fresh local vegetables and a heap of creamy mashed potatoes, while the rayburn warmed our backs and the cat valiantly helped munch through the pie filling. Life is good and Valentine is an inspiration.

TGessIF!

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:29:00 +0000

It’s Friday lunchtime, I’m in the large, well-lit classroom of a plush central London building surrounded by the quiet discussion of students working on a project. Me? I’m wondering how on earth I shall stay awake until the end of the day. I’m not teaching this class, which keeps the brain and body engaged; instead I am auditing another Instructor and making notes for him to improve the course. Now, this might be considered interesting work and it would be if the Instructor, who happens to be the author of the course, had any substantial deficiencies, but he doesn’t. It is a privilege to work with such a knowledgeable person, but it makes for a mind and bum-numbing audit.

Interestingly, the time I have spent in here has given me a huge insight into the art of authoring courses and I’m rather tempted to try my hand at it. There is a topic I think would fit well into the curriculum and I have a particular area of expertise that would give me an advantage. The art now will be to persuade the Product Development Manager that she wants to run the course as part of the curriculum. Having spent this week in a classroom listening to how to present powerful and persuasive proposals, I should have the toolkit to achieve this successfully.

There is only one question that remains; do I really want to spend more time in London, which is where the course would run most of the time, than I already do? There’s a strong argument that it would be better to focus on local, though less lucrative, business, but if I am to be able to buy my farm, set up my Wicca centre and do the things I want, I know I shall have to earn at London rates for a while yet. There, it wasn’t that difficult to answer the question, was it Sarah?

So, rather than writing more paragraphs of this blog, I shall make a start on outlining the proposal. Here’s to new opportunities and income streams towards my objectives (I’d call them dreams, but they will happen, so they have to be objectives, as dreams only ever happen in one’s head).

Not Long Till I'm Home

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:10:00 +0000

Kim and I drove up to London on Monday and we're due to return home on Friday after classes finish at about 4.30 p.m. It has felt like a very long week and for the first time that I can remember, I have felt homesick.

I went into boarding school at age nine and though I can't honestly recall how I felt, I don't remember feeling pangs of homesickness and it's certainly not an emotion I have experienced since my teens, and the ability to remember how I felt at will. It's such a very odd feeling. I suppose that I had never really put down roots before, and though I lived in north Cambridgeshire for over 17 years, it never felt like home at any time. A childhood of moving from place to place gave me the heart of a vagrant and immense wanderlust. We would live in a country for a few years and then just pick up sticks and move to a completely different part of the world, so I would start a new school, make new friends and start over again - that became my normality.

It is only since moving to Somerset in 2003 that I have felt that I have found my home. It's quite inexplicable, as I have no connections to Somerset that I know of, apart from some distant great aunt marrying a Somerset man, and that hardly counts! For about eight years before I moved to this county, I visited several times a year, as often as I could afford and whenever my time and commitments allowed. I would drive south west and as I crossed the border into Somerset on the M5, would feel the stress and tension ooze out of my body and mind. The return journey to north Cambridgeshire was less pleasurable, with the scenery becoming greyer and increasingly depressing as each mile passed. Eventually, the opportunity arose and I seized it with both hands and moved, lock, stock and barrel - and it was the best thing I have ever done.

Sadly though, now that I have finally put down roots, fallen in love with this lush, gentle county, I rue each day that I am away from it. And now I have started to experience homesickness - not great, I can tell you!

Whenever I think of Somerset, my little corner of south Somerset, where the fields are lush green and the hills gently rolling, there's a softness about the countryside, and even the people, that makes me feel that if I jumped from an aeroplane, I would just gently bounce, rather than end up in a nasty, marmalised mess on the ground. It's a silly thing, but it is the best expression of how wonderfully generous and fecund this part of the world is... This lovely part of the world that I'm not in at the moment. Still, I shall be home late on Friday and that thought fills me with joy.

Hippy, hippy Shake... Not!

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:59:00 +0000

I had my hospital appointment today to follow up on the MRI scan that I had back in the summer. On arrival, the Consultant was as rude and stroppy as ever, launching into a barrage of questions about my leg (not back or hip) but eventually listened to what I was saying and he promptly sent me off to have my hip xrayed.

I was back in his office in a very short time and his manner had changed totally - he was polite and considerate. It seems that my good hip is pretty arthritic and there's very little gap between the head of the femur and the socket, but on my 'bad' side there just isn't a gap. We sat looking at the xray on his pc and it looked like the head of the femur was just mashed into the socket. It certainly wasn't round any more, though he pointed that out, as I didn't know what I was looking for.

I'm now going to be referred to a colleague to get my hip sorted out - I imagine I shall have to have a hip replacement operation as it's a bit of a mess, and then I have options to go back to see Mr Stroppy if the stenosis he was interested in is giving me trouble.

At the moment I can't stop crying. I feel very emotional and I know it's a combination of relief that they have finally worked out what was wrong, relief that I don't have to have a back operation and some trepidation about a hip operation. More than anything it's a sense of relief that I've not been a raging old hypochondriac and that there's a chance I shall be able to walk 100 yards without grimacing in pain and feeling like I want to give up and take too many tablets.

It's now just case of being patient (no pun intended) and hoping that I get to see the other consultant soon - I can't say I'm looking forward to living with this much longer and it's getting worse by the week. Even with the help of the Novasonic there are times when getting up and down the stairs feels like mountaineering.

The really good news is that, if they sort out this dodgy hip, I shall be able to go dancing again. There I go, dancing before I can walk! The thought of being able to do things normally - simple stuff like climbing the stairs with a cup of tea and not having to keep moving it up a few steps at a time because I need both hands on the bannisters to get up and down - will be a major delight. Oh, I hope it happens soon.

A Balmy Autumn Day

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:03:00 +0000

Today has been wonderful, but then it is a Monday. The day started with the laughter of children under my bedroom window, chirpy little voices bright in the white morning haze as they went to school. We can see the school from our upstairs French windows and the children always sound so happy and full of energy.

The day has been a mellow and gentle day; the weather kind enough to allow our old cat to sit out for a while before the damp set off his rheumatism and he staggered back to the warmth of the rayburn. Even the rayburn is running well, without the insane heat fluctuations that we can cause at the beginning of a season because we're out of practice at running it. Today, it behaved perfectly, but then I did clean it out the other day, up to my shoulder in dust and ashes. If I ever want to change my name, I shall pick Cinderella as my new one!

We have decided to get the roof of the garage fixed, as the mastic seals between the large concrete slabs have started to leak. Had we owned a garage door, it would have the makings of an excellent swimming pool, the way it is now. So, earlier, we had someone around to clean the top, so it's all bright and sparkly, and our trusty roofer comes around on Friday to fix the leaks. I have to say that I'm being a bit calculating and selfish in mending the garage now.

On the 20th, I take delivery of my new car and I want somewhere nice and dry to keep it. Until now, I have always let Kim have the garage for his car - it's not old but there's a bit of a design fault and it only needs to get slightly damp before the infernal thing won't start. But now, I think I shall grab the garage back and leave him and his design fault to the elements! This is what I chose in the end:

An izmir blue Freelander 2 - it has cream leather inside and is just a treat to drive. Oddly, it's almost the same colour as my old BMW - and I had fully intended to go for something a bit different. The main thing was to get a car that could cope with the mud deluges we get in the village when it rains heavily, as well as the deep puddles that used to come above the bottom of my MR2's doors! This was not meant to turn into another jabber about cars, I'm just excited.

The day has been satisfying in so many ways. I got the chance to talk to a friend in Texas who I don't hear from all that often, and she's such a delightful person that talking to her would have lit up my day without any of the other good things. Then something really excellent happened with work, and it looks like a whole new area is opening up for me, so that lit up my day. Even smelly old Mr Cat didn't do anything nasty. Just to cap it all off, friends sent us their pictures of the Handfasting and they're really great, so that was another reason to smile.

Thank you Goddess for such an amazing day, thank you for being surrounded by such lovely people, thank you that I can make the magic of my life weave such gentle happiness.

Novasonic - Pretty Supersonic!

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:40:00 +0000

I can't remember if I mentioned that I have a new McTimoney Chiropractor, but travelling to the other side of the country got a bit much. My lovely old Chiropractor found someone she trained with and could recommend highly, who operates out of Sturminster Newton, and I decided to give her a go. Operating out of the Rolls Mill Complimentary Centre, Tracy turned out to be every bit as good as Sue (which was a delightful surprise), and she had an added extra.

The first time I went there, I was as stiff as a board with muscle spasm and she applied an intrasonic machine to the muscles. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the evening of my treatment, I could not only touch my toes, I could get the palms of my hands flat on the floor, and it's been a while since I could do that! Wow.

On returning for my most recent treatment, I asked her what the machine was and it's a Novasonic, so I decided that I would be a lot more mobile if I had one at home. Happily, Boots are doing special offer on the machines, so I ordered one.

I have had my Novasonic for four days now. I used it regularly, three times a day for the first two days and was less stiff and sore than I had been. Yesterday, I was complacent, distracted and forgot to use it. Boy, did I notice a difference! By the end of the day I was back to struggling up the stairs, hurting when I sat or stood and generally feeling pants. Last night was also the first night since getting the Novasonic that I was woken up with back and hip pain. Today, I have resumed regular use of it - I won't make that mistake again, for sure!

I'm not generally prone to advertising products, but I have to say that this little machine is an absolute gem. It's a gradual improvement, but it really has made a difference to the way I move. So, here's a blessing on Tracy, who introduced it to me and three cheers for whoever invented it!

Monday Blues

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:41:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:09:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:11:00 +0000

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...

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:55:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:30:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:51:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:45:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (The Shepton Witch) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:54:00 +0000

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!