Wednesday 24 October 2018

Catching up.

I think that blogs posts from me in the coming weeks might be a bit like the proverbial hen's teeth as I am finding juggling the job at the cafe along with everything else all consuming at the moment, not to mention exhausting. I'm not sure I'm quite rocking the 'struggling artist waiting tables to make ends meet' image at my age! All I can think about is this particular waitress!

Friday was a fun day at work though as we held a Wear it Pink day to raise money for Breast Cancer Now. I brought in some raspberry ripple cupcakes which were sold alongside all the other goodies and lots of friends popped in to support the good cause.


I then worked all day on Saturday and another five hours on Sunday but despite being tired I was determined when I finished on Sunday not to waste the last couple of hours of sunshine. Rather than venture further afield we just headed out of the house and walked the footpaths around our village.


As always Hector enjoyed the extra long walk and a chance for a good run.


We stayed out for almost two hours until the sun started to go down... it was beautiful.


I was also given a huge bag of quince (is quinces a word... I don't think so, it sounds wrong?) before the weekend so I couldn't let them go to waste. They look so gnarled, knobbly and unpromising but I know they yield the most exquisite perfumed jelly. They are ridiculously hard and difficult to cut when raw but I chopped them up and boiled them to a pulp before passing them through a jelly bag.


The result liquid was then boiled up with sugar and some lemon juice and I now have several jars of beautifully fragranced amber jelly.... fifteen jars to be precise! What on earth I will do with fifteen jars of quince jelly I'm not entirely sure. No prizes for guessing what I might be giving people at Christmas!


I also had a yearning to make Welsh cakes. My Mum used to make them when we were young although nowadays she buys them ready made from the supermarket. I thought if I made some I could take her a few... except we seem to have eaten them all. They really are best eaten warm and fresh... just saying! I promise I'll make more for my Mum.


It's probably not surprising that my own sewing seems to have taken a back seat over the past couple of weeks but I just had to share these two beautiful little gift boxes made by a couple of my students, Ruth and Julia, at my weekly machine embroidery class. They are just 5 cm square and really are gorgeous. Ruth has only been doing machine embroidery with me for seven weeks... how clever is that!


So that's what I've been up to over the past week or so... tomorrow I'm back at the cafe so life feels a little like a merry-go-round right now.

What have you been up to lately?

28 comments:

  1. Gosh you have been busy, but very productive and it all sounds like good fun! Quinces does sound funny doesn't it, but I don't know what the plural is otherwise. So, I went and looked and apparently it is Quinces even though it sounds wrong! Enjoy the jelly it looks glorious!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funnily enough I researched the word quince after I wrote the post and apparently quince is actually a plural word that has been adopted for the singular and now I guess quinces can be used as the plural. It's fascinating how language evolves!

      Delete
  2. I do enjoy your posts. I am in awe of all you do. Irene in Northern Ireland

    ReplyDelete
  3. I’m tired after just reading that!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Quince! I have a spot soft for this fruit. My new quince tree is only a baby, no quince for me :-(
    I use the fruit pulp to make jam! Or quince sweets, not sure what they are called but very tasty. Just in case you get more fruit. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the quince tips. My friends tree is still absolutely laden with fruit but I'm not sure we need more jelly!

      Delete
    2. Pulp = quince membrillo (cheese)... basically solid jam - delicious .. we had a bumper quince crop this year :)

      Delete
    3. I never knew that's what membrillo is!

      Delete
  5. Glad you allowed yourself time to enjoy the countryside - it's looking beautiful just now. Those cupcakes look perfect as does the quince jelly and Welsh cakes. Yum!
    I have been knitting a lot recently but have a desire to do some textile work. I need two or three covers for books I have made and plenty of fabrics to use. I love those boxes made by your students.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are getting some spectacular sunsets and sunrises lately... and the autumn colour is just starting to emerge. Beautiful!

      Delete
  6. Lucky people to get quince jelly!
    Gift boxes are exquisite.
    (Be kind to yourself)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those quince are hard to cut, quite exhausting before you’ve even started but the end result is worth it. Glad you enjoyed getting out. Hope things ease up a little for you soon. B x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't work out why my arm was aching the evening after I had cut them all up... and then I remembered!

      Delete
  8. Strangely the jelly isn't the colour I'd have expected from the quince(s)!
    Those Welsh cakes do look delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The colour surprised me too the first time I saw the jelly. It is delicious on hot crumpets!

      Delete
  9. Ooh, I love Welsh cakes (the local version, Singing Hinnies, too). Good to hear your fund raising event was well supported. Never seen or tasted a quince (that's not a hint, btw!) but that jelly positively glows. Hope you get some time to put your feet up.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Yum! Those cupcakes and welshcakes look delicious! I'm not surprised that the cupcakes sold right away -- I would have bought them all. My father's ancestors were Welsh miners and I made him some Welsh cakes one day years ago -- he loved them and the history behind them. Thanks for the reminder -- I've been wanting to make some, but the remind me of Dad, so it's a little sad ;-). Thanks for all the inspiration -- I love your attitude!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My maternal grandmother was Welsh and from a family of miners too. I think maybe Welsh cakes could be a happy reminder of your lovely Dad x

      Delete
  11. Gorgeous boxes, and what a beautiful colour that quince jelly is. Sorry you've been worn out by all the waitressing, I hope things ease off a bit soon. Welsh cakes are one of my favourites, yours look absolutely delicious, I'm not surprised they've all been eaten. CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Feeling a bit guilty that we've eaten them all... but they were delicious!

      Delete
  12. I used to be able to buy Quinces which I did, simply to perfume my home. I can't get them any more.

    I think your husband must wind you up in the morning and let you run until the spring has unwound...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Feeling rather unwound after a day at work today... but need to head out again inten mins as we are part of a pub quiz team that are setting the questions this evening. Think I'd rather stayed curled up on the sofa!

      Delete
  13. After reading your post I was curious about the quince jelly and where I could get some. Lo and behold at our EG meeting today I had an offer of some quinces from Diana Springhall our president, her tree was laden.So now I have a basket of fruit ready to be jellied. Time to find a recipe I think.Don't work too hard Gina.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck with the quince jelly... it's not too difficult

      Delete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.