Hidden Treasures

I think it's only fair to warn you about this post. Mr K has recently treated me to a new camera and today was it's first outing. Needless to say I was particularly snap happy so if you fancy some eye candy (where on earth did that phrase come from?) rather than my customary poignant and inspiring writings (!) go ahead. 

Just saying.

Some time ago I wrote about Leek - a nearby market town with a wealth of history set among beautiful Staffordshire scenery. So when they advertised a Dickensian market Mr K and I thought it would be the perfect way to celebrate the start of the Christmas holidays. The weather was predicted to be fine and bright but - as we drove across in heavy sleet and rain - my expectations were considerably lowered. The market was still on but the weather had obviously taken it's toll. Some treasures still caught my eye however.

Sadly the rain was coming down too hard to have a proper mooch so we quick stepped it around the wild mallards to the indoor market.

Fortunately the nativity scene was under shelter.

And at last we felt a touch of Christmas past.

Although this little chap had clearly had enough!

Not sure what was going on outside Boots but it was all very jolly.

In a valiant effort to keep warm and dry we ducked into places hitherto unexplored.

Friends from my knitting group have often mentioned the store Bibelot and  I expected it to be a small town style wool shop. 

How wrong I was!

As we entered Mr K immediately recognised the proprietors as two of his old students. As he was waxing lyrical about the 'old days' I decided to have a peek upstairs. 

Look what I found.

And although I like Cath Kidston to a degree I couldn't help but be bowled over by this display of loveliness.

It just carried on.

Where to look? What to do? Where to buy? I was actually so totally phased by the amount of stuff in there that I came away with nothing - apart the firmest of intentions to attend one of their friendly craft courses in the New Year.

Next stop was a cafe called Spout. 

We were immediately greeted by young friendly staff and invited to choose from a fantastic range of goodies from the menu. Settling for the simple teacake option (!) we explored the rest of the rather large, rather quirky, rather beautiful old building.

Even the toilet had a distinct personality!

Upstairs there was a fantastically well stocked ale store called The Bottle Lab.

Needless to say quite some time was spent in perusal mode.

By the time we left it was dark.The way home across the moors and hills was speckled with fairy lights of various  colours, shapes and sizes - notably one that was in the shape of a bus. 

Who knows? 

Looking back the weather did us a favour. We explored indoors rather than out and in doing so were treated with a wealth of treasures.

And of course we couldn't resist bringing this little chap home.

Hope you are keeping warm and well.

Jane

xxx

A Selection of Santas

Meet sixties Santa.

Not sure what happened to his hands but he's one of the first Christmas ornaments I remember. As you wheeled him along the little reindeer in his sack would pop up and down in excitement. 

Then there's sleighing Santa.

I remember being amazed by the detail on this one. To me this was a true representation of  what would be flying through the sky on Christmas Eve. Mum remembers it being displayed on her grandmas dresser alongside toddling Santa (more on him later). 

Each year it was my job to check that all of the presents and snowmen were tucked safely into the holly on the back.

But there's one missing.

A small plastic Santa with moving feet. You would put him on a slight slope and he would merrily walk along. When I asked mum about him she rifled through her Christmas box and found him skulking at the bottom. 

He's not the prettiest Santa Claus, and his paintwork has certainly seen better days, but he still reliably toddles down any given slope with his sack of goodies.

I realise that I may have given the impression that for two weeks of the year I did nothing else but push tiny Santa down tea trays and watch reindeers bob up and down. Not true. But these were the Christmas staples. I could rely on the fact that once these were out of the box Christmas had officially 'started' (and not some time back in October!) 

So for some not very expensive plastic ornaments they represent a lot. Forty years on they are still going strong. And forty years on mum and dad still put them in pride of place.

(Apart from toddling Santa - he's come home with me!)

Have you got any ornaments that remind you of your childhood?

Jane 

xxx

Oh - the onions

Just a quick update on the foolproof baked onions that I embarked upon in my last post.

I'd love to tell you that they were incredible.

That they melted in the mouth and that I'd 'never cook onions any other way again'.

The lack of any other ingredient made their flavour stronger and more pronounced.

Truth is that after an hour in the oven they were soft and indeed a bit squidgy.

But sadly they didn't taste of much at all.

Apart from singed baking parchment.

Maybe it was the type of onion.

Or my lack of onion cooking knowledge.

So the only thing to do was to put them in some pretty pots.

And there they remain.

Until I need a recipe that calls for a slightly singed onion.

Onward and upward.

Jane

xxx

Shhhhh!

I've been busy.

Organising squirrels.

Secret squirrels. 

Which means I can't show you this

or this

And there's no way I can divulge these little treats

No way Jose.

What I can show you however is this

?

A tray of onions.

After paying £2 for four teeny tiny caramelised onions at the weekend I thought I'd have a go at making my own. The recipe is easy. Just empty bag of onions and bung in to a hot oven. They're smelling pretty tasty.

What could possibly go wrong?

!

Wish me luck.

And shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Jane

xxx 

Up and Down at the Weekend

No, no not me - if anything I was fairly up both days. But, my dear friends, the place that has stolen the majority of my daylight hours over the last week or two.

Oh yes. It's time to talk allotment. 

Again.

After more or less completing our new fancy nancy shed it was time to dismantle the old one.

Mr K was at his happiest wielding a mallet.

And soon the base was clear and ready for our greenhouse.

Sadly the marker pen that Mr K had used to label the order of the base was not waterproof so friends were called upon to ponder the puzzle.

And marvel at the old nest of a snail loving mouse.

By the evening - or in this case about four o'clock - the frame was up and lack of light forced us home.

The sunshine that we had been promised for Sunday failed to appear but we carried on with our hair raising, nerve racking insertion of greenhouse glass regardless.

Perhaps my little homilies such as 'you live by the greenhouse, you die by the greenhouse' would have been best kept under wraps, but trying to manoeuvre slippy glass to head height did smack of a scene from  'Final Destination'.

Limbs intact we persevered.

Pausing only to take a  shot across the other rooftops before the last pane went in.

Then down went a path.

And up came a parsnip from a fellow allotmenteer!

A brief period of contemplation for Mr K before the best 'up' of all.

After a quick phone around we managed to gather a few chums together to watch the old shed going up in flames.

We watched and chatted and laughed and generally shared that wonderful feeling that comes with sitting around a bonfire with friends.

From the new shed window the scene looked almost Dickensian.

And so the flames went down and home we went. A busy weekend. Lots of playing around with soil, wood and hammers. But that night I went to bed happy.

If slightly singed!

Jane

xxx

P.S. I promise that next time I will include some pretty pictures . The secret squirrels are quite busy around these parts at the moment so it's difficult to share, but things are certainly afoot!