Snowday

We have snow! Here are some snaps I took out in our garden yesterday.

  Yes, we still haven't taken down all the outdoor decorations yet. 

Winter Wonderland

GP dog exploring. I couldn't get him to stand still for long enough to get a decent photo.

Let me in!

I got my exercise this morning, clearing the front and back paths. Strangely enough, my wonky back now feels much better than it's been for months. Bit of a drastic cure, if cure it is, but so much cheaper than physiotherapy. What with that and my 45 minute walk back home yesterday after my health MOT, I'd be in danger of becoming unbearably smug if I'd not remembered what they declared my waist measurement and weight to be. Surely not?? I'm afraid so, and the nice young man who did them for me obligingly converted the figures into old fashioned inches, stones and pounds for this menopausal dinosaur, so there is no excuse.  I'm not drastically over, more a case of "could do better," but for somebody who's been a lifelong skinny until the dreaded change kicked in, it's all a bit of a shock. I don't think I've weighed that much since I was last pregnant! Goodness only knows what it'd be like if I didn't do all the walking I do. There are advantages in being one of those rare breeds - a non-driver. That's some consolation, I suppose.

I'm very happy to expand my virtual waistline, however, so a hello to two new bloggers, Pennywise and eLizardbreathspeaks who've landed here via Vicky's blogparty. Welcome and hope you enjoy your time here.

                   

Growing blogs in the Kitchen...

It's the warmest place in the house just now. Brrr! 

So, I've donned my glad rags - read best merino thermal undies and fleecy slippers. (nb. I am wearing jeans, cardi and a top as well, in case anybody is tempted to get the wrong idea) and am all geared up for Vicki's Grow Your Blog Party. Virtual, which is good news both for my waistline and my cholesterol levels. Tests today show me to be in pretty good nick for my age and I want to keep it that way. The polar expedition  walk back home afterwards through the snowdrifts must have done wonders for my fitness!

The beard snoozing on yonder bank is Mr GP. The left leg is mine (I'm not photogenic).

and here is our trusty travelling companion, Old Teddy, searching  for treasure on the Southern Uplands Way. We managed to drag him away eventually...all the way up to Oban, Mull and Iona. That was some  journey we made, our Grand Pilgrimage back in 2011. We've walked all over the place, as have my blogs: I've had three though Growing Greenpatches is the only one currently active. 

 And me? Like Dormouse, I began my blogging career over on the wonderful wibsite by way of that even more wonderful Magazine of Unrest and nest of subversiveness -  shipoffools.com. Like Dormouse,  only the opposite way round, I lived in France before moving back to the UK, but that's another story. Hop over to my Vintage Greenpatches page to read "Greenpatches: Five Things You Wished You'd Always Known," or was it "Wished You'd Never Known?" Far better than me waffling on  here. Don't forget to read my Welcome blurb too, that really will confuse you. Well, I did say Growing Greenpatches was a right old pot-pourri, didn't I?

Giveaways? (You can't have a party without a party bag).  Let's see... Pot-pourri? Might not travel well.     Let's say - if you'd like a keyring in the shape of a Shell of St James, symbol of pilgrims on the Santiago de Compostela route, comment here. On February 1st I'll pick a name at random to be the lucky winner.

Do come and join me in the kitchen and we can raise a glass (of decaffienated fruit tea) together.

Cheers!

Always in The Kitchen at Parties 2

Coming soon to a blog near you - the Grow Your Blog Party hosted by Vicki at 2BagsFull. If the weather forecasters are right, we'll all have plenty of time to join in, 'meet' new bloggers and expand our virtual waistlines. Who knows, I may even stick my nose out of the kitchen, when I'm not in it boiling up gallons of steaming soup. Brrr! 

My thanks to Vicki whose idea this was, and to Dormouse for highlighting the event.

Creme Eggs, Chopin and Crosswords

I had to smile just now as I read Bad Christian Dave Tomlinson's memories of his mum. Especially when he mentioned the sweeties hidden away in her room. I  bet it wasn't just the children who were the lucky recipients of those dairy milks and rollos;  judging by my own experience,   where Mums and Grandmums are concerned, their 'children' are never too old to be slipped an illicit treat. Even when her Great Grandchildren were around, my Granny loved to pass me  over a little 'something,' usually a Creme Egg or some Rollos, a pretty card, often a little  notebook, frequently parcelled up in either a plastic bag or some material, held together by a huge elastic band, homemade out of an old pair of rubber gloves. (Don't ask! My family were into recycling long before it became fashionable).

She extended this to Mr GP, too, albeit in the form of a glass of sherry.  Or  A Nice Cup of Tea, preferably served  with a huge pile of marmite and cucumber sandwiches and slices of homemade cake before the older members of the family got down to the serious business of doing the newspaper crossword . Not marmite and cucumber, you understand; even Granny's attempts at haute cuisine weren't that exotic, though her home made soups were legendary, and nobody ever debunked  the family legend that she'd been known to add marmalade to the mix!

Add to this a love of music, reading,  gardening and just the beauty of the everyday,   the ability to see the best in everyone and a kindliness that extended beyond immediate family and you can see why this remarkable lady was so well loved.  Active until well into her seventies, we used to love to go and stay with her;  for a good few years various of us grandchildren used to live there for quite long periods in turn.  She wasn't perfect by any means,  but who amongst us is!  In a family which could be  volatile, to put it mildly,  she provided a stability and a steadiness that we badly needed. Neighbours, too would visit for her weekly musical afternoons, not forgetting that cup of tea! And although inevitably numbers and the musical element  dropped as the years went by, I can remember the visits continuing until just a few days before Granny's death, at the grand old age of 102.

After visiting my aunt over Christmas (and yes, tea and cakes continue), I discovered she'd slipped a folder  in amongst the presents -  stuffed with letters from  myself  and drawings, cards and notes from my children to 'Big Granny,'  mostly written when we were living overseas. A wealth of memorabilia. Not quite the same as a creme egg, but now that I'm the proud possessor of three dental crowns and a post menopausal spare tyre, far better for me. What a wonderful gift.

Anagram

 Did you know that Silent is an anagram of Listen?

J'aime la Galette

Galette des Rois, Greenpatch style

J'aime la galette
Savez-vous comment ?
Quand elle est bien faite
Avec du beurre dedans
Tralalala lalala lalère
Tralalala lalala lala

Catching up on matters Ephiphany-wise: here's last week's attempt at making a Galette des Rois, (King's Cake), my best yet, if I say so myself! We brought this tradition, common throughout  France and other parts of Europe, back with us after our time living in Alsace. I've often 'cheated,' and make the filling out of ready to roll marzipan; this time I mashed some up  before adding adding flour, eggs and milk to make my own version of frangipane. It worked! Well, I've not yet had any reports of the collywobbles from book group, who were the lucky tasters at our meeting last week, so I guess its safe to assume they all survived the experience! We've also said goodbye to our last little porcelain feve, which gives us a good excuse to go exploring in search of new supplies for next Epiphany. 

Listening in The Land of Brisk Sea Breezes

 Anglican Cathedral, Portsmouth

There's nothing like a good gust of wind to blow away those post Christmas cobwebs, is there? That was my experience  yesterday as I made my way  back down to what I used to call "The Land of Seabirds and Brisk Sea Breezes," for the opening session of a course on a Week of Accompanied Prayer. Those of you familiar with the original  Greenpatches (is there anybody?) may remember my reflections about my time as a "pilgrim,"   on one of these home-based retreats. No need to travel far and wide to make your retreat; your retreat comes to you. All that's needed  is  a commitment to spend half an hour in prayer  and to a short meeting with your prayer guide each day. There is, of course, a little matter of incorporating all this into the hustle and bustle of your daily life: definitely a challenge, I discovered.

Nearly two and a half years down the line, it's time for some of us  to reverse roles and learn a  about the nuts and bolts of accompanying our own pilgrims. A daunting prospect, perhaps? I certainly felt slightly 'wobbly' beforehand: with memories still quite fresh of the first spirituality course there which had been such a formative experience for me. Would revisiting prove to be a mistake? 

No worries. From start to finish, I loved it. From greeting  old acquaintances to meeting new ones, to the practical side of things: it's quite  intense, plenty of listening experience and little time in which to be nervous. (talk about brisk sea breezes!).  I plunged straight in; even surprised myself   by volunteering to be the first person in our small group  to act as 'guide.' Not typical Greenpatch behaviour but then I am older, wiser (and from the look in the mirror this morning - wrinklier). 

Looking next week's dose of fresh air.