St. George, Shakespeare and my auntie Kitty

 Happy St George's Day!

Also possibly Shakespeare's birthday and death day, and the birthday of my Auntie Kitty, who could have taken them both on.

One look and the dragon would have rolled over, paws in the air. And she'd probably have fixed Shakespeare's spelling, at least made him spell his name one way, just make up his mind.

Although I grew up in England, I had grandparents of all four nations: English, Irish. Scots, Welsh, one each, in alphabetical order. I hugely support independence of all of them from the others.

Yesterday I found a couple of great YouTube channels to recommend, if you like joyful happy expeditions. 

It's a mother and daughter team who go out mudlarking all over England, riverbanks, woodlands, seashores, to search for beautiful tiny abandoned and tide swept items, some of historic importance, some just lovely. 

The mom of the team is knowledgeable about domestic history and artefacts, but doesn't flaunt it, just slips in information as they go.  

There are places such as  some of the mudflats of the Thames in London, where you can't just go and pick things up. The likely historic significance means you need a proper permit to do it, with the agreement that important finds be handed over to the conservators, often museums or officially appointed folk. So don't just try it if you're a tourist without a permit, because the Tower of London is quite near.

Then our team, Kit and Caboodlers,  create miniature scenes using their finds.

They're just such fun to follow, a lovely change from doom. Along with Atomic Shrimp, they're a great antidote to stress.

And today I wove my scarf as far as I can. There's a point where even though there appears to be plenty of warp left, the space required to raise and lower the heddle is too tight and you have to stop 

So, the near end of the scarf is now off the loom, and tomorrow I'll do finishing, fringing and knotting, and declare it done. The white triangle is sunshine.

And Gladly, the Cross Eyed Bear, took charge of the gear till I set up again. Ursula, in her tiny pink pussyhat, kittenhat, thought it wise to duck down in case he started swinging the PVC piping around.

Happy day everyone! Soup on the stove today, for lunch with a lentil flatbread. Carrot, sweet potato and butternut squash. Not too hot yet for soup.

My roots are showing

Around now it's birthdays and feast days, my aunt Kitty, Shakespeare, St George, patron saint of England. So

Yesterday's Misfits arrived early and welcome. 

Prices are up enough that the minimum order is now a weekly, not biweekly event. And some common items are either not available, like yellow onions, or might as well be, like apples, at those prices. Nonetheless we eat okay around here. Thankfully.

The Friday evening salad includes some garlic scapes from the garlic you saw me plant. All the sections are growing, and it's pungent and lovely.  Dressed with a few crumbs of blue cheese. Dessert was blueberries and walnuts, a sprinkle of cane sugar.

Current cookbook to see if there's anything I fancy in here

Often cookbooks have only one or two recipes that interest me,  but good general ideas. I like her fearless slinging together spices and changing old traditional recipes. 

I think I'll try her savory Welsh cakes, and definitely veggie pancakes.  Simple ideas, and the kind you wonder why you didn't think of them yourself. 

Speaking of which, I thought of this in the middle of the night: using some of the sari silk I showed you when I got the cut price sari for the fabric, to line the denim vest. A statement!

It took a few minutes to locate the silk because I was so used to seeing it as a portiere, that I'd forgotten it was meant to be fabric. Duh.  There's still yards hanging in the doorway, saris being very long.

And I'm lining the pockets, too, bespoke touch.

The fence is complete, I put the bird feeder up and just now here's a female red bellied woodpecker breakfasting, yay. 

That cheered me up no end. If the birds can handle it, I can.

Here's one of the latest paintings from  Dave Flitcroft's studio, selling as a benefit for Ukraine.

I love his loose flowing style. He's painted a series of sunflower studies, all fresh and different.

Happy day everyone!