31 Oct 2011

What would I be


What would I be
Terry L. Jamieson

What would I be, if I could be?

Anything at all, my soul free,


A tree or a stream, perhaps light,
From a star above cast at night.


Or my soul might fly across time,
And stay in the skies blue and sublime.
There above all, safe to explore,
All of my minds shore.


A shoreline eternal and an ocean blue,
In skies of endless hope soaring true,
And I will live forever in my mind's eye,
Flying as a soul in an endless sky.



Photo source:  Pinterest

27 Oct 2011

Rain is a four letter word

Rain is a four letter word
Brian Tang

Whenever it rains, I feel so free
Free as a bird, rain is my life
Washing away my troubles
Quenching my sun baked soul
While others rush for cover
I stroll among the empty streets
The rain dancing upon my lips
Looking up at the grey clouds
I open my mouth to catch the rain
Laughing at the silliness of it
Whenever I am sad
The rain hides my tears,
And soothes me with
The fresh clean air
The soft pitter-patter on my window
Lulls me to sleep as it sings its lullaby
I let out a sigh
As I wave goodbye
To the dpearting clouds
The sun shining through
Until next time rain

I bid thee
Adieu

Photo source: Pinterest

25 Oct 2011

Autumn's Fire

The sweet calm sunshine of October, now
Warms the low spot; upon its grassy mold
The purple oak-leaf falls; the birchen bough
Drops its bright spoil like arrow-heads of gold.
W.C. Bryant


O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather
Helen Hunt Jackson


Listen! the wind is rising,
and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves.
Humbert Wolfe

Fresh October brings the pheasant
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.
Sara Coleridge

Pleasures lie thickest where no pleasures seem:
There's not a leaf that falls upon the ground
But holds some joy of silence or of sound,
Some spirits begotten of a summer dream.
Laman Blanchard

O wild West Wind thou breath of Autumn's being
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing.
Percy Bysshe Shelley


I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand shadowless like Silence, listening
To silence.
Thomas Hood

It was a morning of ground mist, yellow sunshine, and high rifts of blue,
white-cloud-dappled sky.
The leaves were still thick on the trees, but dew-spangled gossamer threads
hung on the bushes and the shrill little cries of unrest
of the swallows skimming the green open park spaces
of the park told of autumn and change.
Flora Thompson

Photo source:  Pinterest

21 Oct 2011

Togetherness

Will you share your sweeties with me
If only dogs could read
Thank goodness you remembered to bring the umberella
A good story is always worth reading together
Two for the price of one
I like peanuts too
Alright you can have just one lick of my lollipop
That's not fair that's my dinner
Share and share alike
Sharing an evening stroll

Shall I tell you a secret
Life is just a bowl of cherries


Photo source: Pinterest

18 Oct 2011

Dreamscapes

I dream of white horses untethered and free
I dream of wild places where there is only me
On distant shores
with moon lit bright
No one to talk with throughout the night
Sadness and sorrow are things hard to bear
Just look for the garden and you'll find me there.

All photos:  Pinterest

14 Oct 2011

Novel Ideas

                                                    A novel way of recycling old tin cans
Jam jar herb garden
Light bulbs used for hanging flower arrangement
Hollowed out gourd vase

Photo source - Pinterest

12 Oct 2011

And Is There Honey Still For Tea ...

Winnie the Pooh and I have one thing in common
we both love honey
...but I like mine on crumpets
In the picture you can see a tin of honey
Greek Honey
that a friend brings back from Greece where she goes on holiday.
But there is another type of honey
that you may not have heard of
PARSLEY HONEY
I found this recipe a few years ago in an old wartime cookbook
  • 5oz parsley (including stalks)
  • 1.1/2 pints of water
  • 1lb sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
Pick parsley and wash well.  Dry and chop stalks up roughly.
Put into pan with 1.1/2 pints of boiling water and boil until it reduces to a pint.
Strain.
Add 1lb. sugar and boil until syrupy (like honey) about 20 mins then add
1/2 tsp of vinegar.
Pour into pots and cover.
This jells by the next day and tastes and looks just like heather honey.
Don't ask me how or why - it just works.




11 Oct 2011

Crunchy Parsnips



One of the crops in the veg garden that I am reasonably successful with is the Parsnip - not to everyones taste I know - but I luv'em.
The trouble is I have tried various methods to make them crunchy (which is how I like them best)
but failed miserably.
Until
this Sunday
when I put together two different recipes
with the result
crispy, crunchy Parsnips with the Sunday roast chicken.
Perfect
just as they should be.
All I did was parboil the quartered Parsnips
coat them in beaten egg
roll them in a mix of semolina and grated Parmesan cheese
then roasted them in the oven  for about
45mins.
They were just so moreish.
Thank goodness I have plenty more in the garden
waiting to be crunched.