A Short Valentine Story...

Every family, everywhere has at least one story of great romance. From the most humble to the most splendid, these are the memories that fuel our imaginations, inspire us and reassure us. In the harsh and unforgiving modern world, these stories shine out to remind us of the power of love.

Last year, at this time I wrote about the meeting that changed my life forever, when M and I first met, here and here. But long before that meeting could happen, maybe half a century earlier, another story was being played out…

They met at a wedding, both had sisters who were bridesmaids, and they had travelled from the small farming communities of Paarl and Willowmore to be there. The place: A society wedding in the diamond boomtown of Kimberly, Cape Province in the Union of South Africa. The time: sometime in those halcyon days between the end of Second Boer War and the outbreak of World War I.

Willowmore and Paarl were at opposite ends of the Cape Province and had it not been for the wedding, these young people may never have met. Her father was a wine farmer in Paarl and his family had a department store in Willowmore and the two towns were several hundred miles apart. That early meeting blossomed into love and they became engaged, not realising that events taking place in far-off Europe would soon force them apart.

The outbreak of WWI in Europe meant young men all over the British Empire were enlisting; he joined the RAF (Royal Air Force) in England and served as a fighter pilot until the end of the war. Years later when the war ended and he returned to South Africa, she was waiting for him and they were married.

My mother’s parents were not unusual; many young girls waited for years for their beloved to return from the war and many never came back. It’s a condition as old as the human race but no less poignant in the repetition…

Snow and Other Diversions...

Winter arrived on the weekend after all the mildly cold and somewhat gentle seasonal weather that we have been having; for a Scottish winter it has been positively bland! The ominous warnings began on the thirtieth, my birthday, when neighbours dropping in asked if we were ready for the weekend and hadn’t we heard there was SNOW on the way. Having not heard anything and thinking that perhaps this was a bit of over-enthusiasm for some real winter weather, we didn’t pay too much attention. The first warning that perhaps we should have listened a bit better, was the sound of heavy winds growling 'round the house Thursday night!

Friday I tried to get a quick post written in between other work as I waited for the telephone engineer, the tree felling guy, the landlord and M to sort out our broken telephone/Internet connection. Well, we all know where I got with that! I'm still trying to catch up with my list of "To do's" and here it is Tuesday already and this is my first post for February…pictures of snow. It didn’t stick around for long; rain later in the day ensured that the hills were back to normal by nightfall.

But it was magical for the moment; imagine a whole landscape dusted softly with a thick cloud of icing sugar! And the stillness, so still…the only sounds, the rhythmic lapping of the tide on the sand and the far-off calls of the Eider Ducks…

Winter Warmer...Healthy Oatmeal Soda Bread

Not getting very far this month ... being workshop assistant has it's drawbacks! The patient is improving slowly although it seems like a case of one step forward and two steps back sometimes! I've never had to live with a case of broken ribs before and it's been quite an eye opener! Silly things like coughing or sneezing cause incredible pain and common movements, such as bending to pick up something or reaching over the head, have to be done very carefully.

Keeping us extra healthy is a big priority right now so I'm making lots of nourishing soups and this bread. It's quick and easy and wonderful with a bowl of steamy goodness...and a nice glass of red wine.

Healthy Oat Soda Bread

Butter and flour a 2 lb (900 gram) loaf pan – makes one large loaf

2 C wholemeal flour
1 C self-raising flour
1 C breakfast oats (not instant)
½ C wheat germ
½ C all bran cereal
2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
2 tsps sea salt
1-heaped teaspoon raw sugar
1 large egg
2 ½ C buttermilk I never have this (mix whole milk with 1 Tblsp vinegar–let stand 10 minutes)

Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Beat the egg and the buttermilk together and add. Mix together with a fork or spoon until most lumps are incorporated and you are left with a slightly sloppy dough. Spoon this in to your prepared pan and give it all a good shake to level. Bake at 190 C or 375 F for 50 minutes to an hour depending on your oven. Turn out and let cool on a cake rack. This doesn’t get very cool at our house…just barely warm and fresh out of the oven; it makes the most wonderful base for a lunch of cheese and pickles, or a rustic pate, or just serve it with butter to accompany a big pot of fragrant country soup. Very yummy...

Bruises and Breaks: A Cracking Start to The New Year at Otter Ferry

We have been so focused lately that we spent almost all of the holiday season working, with the exception of Christmas Day, doing something towards our several ongoing projects everyday (even New Years Eve). Because our application to re-open the Post Office branch here at Otter Ferry has been approved, one of the big jobs is clearing the storage room that will become M’s main workshop. He is also working on some commission pieces and needed open space to use the big saw safely. As it was, the saw was the least of our worries, we never got that far…as M was packing things outside the door to move, his safety boot became caught in the door frame (which was loose) and he fell head first into the room, landing with his chest straight down onto the broken handle of a trolley waiting to be taken out the door. Because of the angle of the fall and the fact that the trolley was on the lower level, all his weight was at the point of impact, squarely on the broken handle end.

The trolley is standing to the right of the door - broken handle closest to the door

Two, possibly three, broken ribs and some impressive bruising later, we are counting ourselves fortunate that it wasn’t worse. M had an array of tools in the pockets of his jacket that could have caused some nasty wounds…that screwdriver alone, for one!

Why do we store dangerous things? That old broken trolley is vintage as well as useful (M’s a sucker for a fine piece of old iron) and the original broken handles had to be left on to copy for new ones. To be fair, most of the stuff is furniture waiting to be restored with some smaller items that are stock for the shop/post office. Wood, for the most part is stacked outside but we do have several sheets of plywood that must stay very dry – still storage of any type is always at a premium and it’s the odd bits…the garden hose, bags of cement, the steam cleaner, fertiliser, etc. that clutter up the space. There are no other potential culprits, unless you count tripping over some inanimate object so I suppose this falls (Arghhhhh! unintentional pun) under the category of freak accident.

Nevertheless work continues, albeit slowly, here at Woodendollars and the best bit for me…as new workshop assistant, I’m finally being allowed within three feet of the power tools!

Our Second Scottish New Year…

A soft and gentle start to this New Year…wisps of mist enveloping hillsides in gossamer arms. The lone heron, on sentinel duty this morning, could admire his perfect reflection in the satin-smooth surface of the loch. And all was still…nothing disturbed the quietness, the peace of this first morning of the first day of 2008.



~~~~ A hundred years ago ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Arrival of the New Year ~~~~

“ We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room-by-room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.”
~ Ellen Goodman

For all my family and friends and for all of you who may read this, I wish you health and peace and plenty of potential! Happy New Year!

Of This and That…

Winter whispers around Otter Ferry reminding us that he’s waiting in the wings. We’ve been fortunate so far and it’s easy to forget that there’s potential to get so much colder! For people from warmer climes, we pat our selves on the back constantly for handling this extreme weather so well, haha! Really, it’s not so bad; after all, the climate in the western highlands is quite mild compared to the rest of northern Europe thanks to the Gulf Stream.

Preparations for Christmas have been low-key…my biggest achievement has been to stay away from the local town ‘til after the holidays. What would we do without the Internet? Village trips for supplies are great…there’s a lot of small community spirit happily adding to the festive feeling and most people are cheery and laid-back! It’s easy to “feel the season” here and this year we even have a little tree for the first time in many years. Baking and sewing have been keeping me busy, while M is occupied in the workshop, and adds to the whole rural idyll. Part of the fun has been trying to keep life as simple as possible, not easy to do normally, but so achievable over Christmas!

Lately, out in Blogland, I’ve really been drawn to American Primitive style and since painting wasn’t an option (I have too much unfinished work), I settled on something stitched. Digging around the ragbag produced some plaids and checks and I experimented with a much-needed hot-water bottle cover for my first attempt!


~~~~~~~~~~ Obsolete Shirts and a Dress ~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~ Ta Da...The Finished Product ~~~~~~~~

Well it’s a bit wonky – but it works! There's a lot of satisfaction giving useless items a new purpose although more practice is definitely needed here! I'm off to do it again...this one's for M!

In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying a peaceful break before the big day...

Thunder, Lightening, a Hot Drink and Oties…

Last night was dramatic; long before nightfall the wind was whipping the loch into a frenzy of whitecaps. Black clouds banked up over the hills on the other side and as darkness descended (just after 4 pm) the sky was lit by intermittent flashes and rolling, rumbling thunder.

The Rayburn was out-performing anything we had managed to achieve last winter, with a new grate, thanks to the kindness of a dear friend; who gave us the one from her soon-to-be-replaced old faithful. Having worked late, with supper long gone and the weather growling ‘round the house, it was time for coffee and a snack so I made a batch of these South African favourites. They’re quick and easy and if you don’t have all the ingredients, they still work with substitutions.

Crunchies

500ml / 2 C oatmeal (not instant) quick cooking is fine
250ml / 1 C flour - I use fine whole-wheat flour
250ml / 1 C shredded coconut - I use dried or desiccated coconut
200 ml / 4/5 C sugar - any type, white is OK, soft brown is yummy too!
250 g / 1 ½ sticks margarine - This seems like a lot of trans fat! I used 125grams butter!
15 ml / 1 Tblsp. golden syrup – I didn’t have golden, maple worked well.
5 ml / 1 tsp. baking soda
5 ml / 1 tsp. baking powder

Melt margarine and syrup together in a large pot.
Add baking soda and stir.
The mixture will froth up; just keep stirring until it has all frothed up.
Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.
Press into a greased baking sheet. (I used my roasting pan)
Dough must be 1 1/2 cm thick.
Bake at 350F for 25 minutes. (Adjust time according to thickness-golden brown is good!)
While still hot, cut into squares and leave to set before removing to cooling rack.

M thought that this batch was a bit dry so next time I’ll use about 200 grams of butter. Although I’ve made heaps of these over the years, it’s only lately that I’ve been trying to make some of our favourite recipes healthier. I always kid myself that these are good for us because of the oats, coconut and whole-wheat flour! When our sons were small, a tray of Crunchies would easily disappear in an afternoon (although I get thirty squares out of each batch) but they can last for two or three days in an airtight container.

The Rayburn made short work of these…they were ready and brown after only fifteen minutes! Oh boy, but then we had to wait until they cooled down enough to eat! The birds loved the crumbs from the baking tin this morning and we’ve got biscuits for the weekend. There’s something so satisfying in having a tin full of homemade goodies, no additives or other nasties…I feel very virtuous!