Autumn Productivity

I've had very busy morning and i think it has to do with the Autumn Equinox giving off loads of energy and the fact that the Moon is waxing which always makes me want to be creative . So this morning I was creative in the kitchen . I made 24 , 1 pound ,jars of piccallili and 12 , 1pound ,jars of pickles . Not all for us I hasten to add , my darling children will be round on Sunday to see what's on offer :0) .
Then as I still had some yeast left from my bake the other week i made 9 pounds of flour into bread . These bread rolls are destined for a coffee morning in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Nurses at my friend Christian's . We are going to knit squares for comfort blankets .

Fresh loaves in their swanky new breathable bags from Lakeland Ltd .

I've got enough bread to last a few weeks now , and when that's gone we are going to indulge and get a breadmaker .

Now a little bit of Gin progress . I now have the gin in these fantastic jars I got from our local Matalan . They were only £3 each and are perfick as they have a seal on so no evaporation . I have made 4 litres of Sloe and 1 litre of Damson.
This week I have also spun 200grms of fibre into yarn . Plyed another 400grms and I'm half way up a sweater knit in the round for myself .

Hmm I'm quite out of breath now and I'm going to have a sit down and brew.

Autumn Equinox / Mabon

Mabon Greetings to one and all . Well Autumn officially starts today . There has been a nip in the air in the mornings for the past week or so and you could really smell Autumn creeping up .

As usual I have decorated my hearth to reflect another turn of the wheel . Oranges and golds to symbol the turning of the leaves from green .
A hearth full of cones and nuts , natures bounty.

And the bower is filled with berries from the Rowan and the Rose with oranges and Cinnamon sticks to finish it off . It all gives a nice warm glow of an evening when we settle down to our crafts.

Talking of natures bounty . We went a walk on Sunday and collected a load of Sloes to add to my already bulging stock of fruits . These were not destined for jam but Sloe Gin .

This is how you make it .

Take one pound of Sloes and prick them all over with a needle or cocktail stick . If you have them get the children to do this they'll love it .

One litre of Gin . It doesn't have to be expensive . I just get the cheap stuff .

Eight ounces of caster sugar .

Put the whole lot into a Rumtoft or a glass container big enough to take everything , then give it a good stir. Stir it every day for a week until the sugar dissolves . Then seal your container and put it somewhere dark and leave it for at least three months . The longer the better . After that strain the liquid off and bottle it . Very nice on a cold Winters night. You can do the same with Damsons and at the end make a pie with the fruit . Delicious with ice cream .

The next few weeks will see me making all my jams and pickles and storing them for the year ahead . I've probably said this before ,I love this time of year . I've got a freezer full of fruit and

I've been out today collecting all the ingredients together to make pickles and piccalilli . I'm just awaiting a delivery of jam jars then i can get cracking :0)

What a difference a week makes.

We managed to get out for a walk in between showers . It stopped raining as soon as we got out of the car and chucked it down when we got back in.

Autumn is marching on at a quick pace now . There was a chill wind and the leaves were flying off the trees. But what a difference a week makes .

The following pictures were taken exactly a week apart . Last Thursday .
Today

Last Thursday.

Today.

We had a lovely walk and Meg met up with another dog and had a good chase round . It was the first time Papa Bear had been out all week . He had a bad seizure on Sunday and it well and truly knocked the stuffing out of him . He's still not 100% but to look at him you wouldn't think there was anything wrong with him . That's the trouble with what I call "hidden" illnesses until people see him have a seizure they think he's fine and wonder why he doesn't work . He's planning to come to Stitch 'N' Bitch tonight though . He doesn't want to miss that if he can help it :-)

The clocks go back next weekend and it's ten weeks to Christmas :-)))

Just thought I'd remind you, then you can all have a mad panic .

My pressies are nearly sorted .I have a pile of sweaters , cardies etc all waiting to be sewn up and finished . I've got three more to knit and a couple of pairs of socks and I'm sorted.

Isn't it great when you're organised.

Equinox , a time for decisions.

Yesterday was the Autumn Equinox , when there is equal day and night . It marks the official end of Summer ( what Summer ) .It is a time of clearing out both mentally and physically . A time to make decisions . Well i have . I have decided that i am definitely not going back to doing loads of shows. These past few weeks have been great . Doing what I please instead of working my butt off during the week and going out every weekend selling. I suppose that at 60 i am appoaching the Autumn of my life and it's time to enjoy it. I won't give up all together but i will be more choosy. Woolfest and Wonderwool Wales are top of my list. As i mentioned in a previous post , i'm going to sell some yarn and other knitty things off my blog . I will see how that goes then go from there. This my little homage to the Autumn Equinox .
Gorgeous Rose Hips in the Autumn Sushine

Now An Award

Ambermoggie has been kind enough to bestow this award on me . Your very kind Amber.
On receiving it I have to link her Blog to mine and nominate four more Blogs to receive it.
I have to link these to my Blog and leave a message on theirs to say I have done so .
I nominate
Snowgoosey she takes me for walks in Dorset.
Somersetseasons she takes me into another world.
Caecelia she keeps me in touch with Cumbria .
Greentwinsmummy she reminds me of when i was young Mum with my brood.