pine cone pendants

My beautiful daughter made me this pendant from the base of a pine cone found at Castle Rising. I love it, it is my second favourite necklace. The boys make endless cutlasses and swords with hazel twigs and masking tape (children and masking tape...sigh), but my six year old girl adorns things. Like a magpie she espies the brightest, the most vibrant and distinctive of natures largesse and accessorises her and my world with it, I am much improved by this.
With the window finished (and still awaiting glass), I am busy trying insulate my stable against the vagaries of winter and next I shall get on with the servicing of my potters wheel.

Madson Jam

Time of fellow mruitfulness. And the hedgerows are in abundance. So I have made jam; plum and damson, not especially well (as ever). One year I left for a walk, leaving it bubbling (it was taking ages to set), got waylaid by locals, and only remembered when a friend told me she'd popped round and smelt sugar burning. This year I transported the delectable Victoria plums that I had 'half inched' from my Ma and Pa's trees, in the top box of my (lovely) motorbike. Not a good idea it transpires, for they ended up somewhat battered, just as well I was making jam.

Here is a photograph of sloes, all about to be made into sloe gin (very easy: prick the sloes with a darning needle fill an empty gin bottle about 1/2 full, pour on a 1/4 bottle of sugar and fill up with gin, turn the bottle regularly until ready to drink). It is always a race to plunder the blackthorn in this part of Norfolk, I think all the villagers are particularly partial to sloe gin. Next I will make pear and apple chutney, to bring to the Hunter-Gatherer shebang.