Well it is almost the end of the week again. I am writing this on Thursday as I need to do some shopping tomorrow morning. This is the time when we look back at the week and find the things that have made us smile and that we are grateful for, so I thought this poster I spotted this week was very apt.
The lovely red apples reminded me of Harvest festival which is my favourite service of the year at our church. I had fully intended to go to it last Sunday. It would have been my first time back after the pandemic, but circumstances conspired against me so I didn't get there, but a friend did collect some food contributions from me which I was pleased about as they will contribute to the bags of food made up for Zurgena Town Hall to distribute to the most needy families in the area. We don't usually accept fresh produce at the harvest which is a shame, but there is usually a time lag between the Sunday service and the parcels being assembled and delivered, and then distributed, so it is not practical. But this year the Town Hall did ask for fresh fruit and vegetables for the children in their village school, and seventeen bags full were duly delivered on Monday morning. So that was all very positive.
But when I went to the market in our village on Tuesday I was delighted to see the newly harvested vegetables there, including the first of the new season's oranges and tangerines. Last week the market was washed out by the storms, and as there is little other fresh produce available in local shops, I was down to my last carrot and a couple of apples, so I was happy to stock up again this week. When I got home I spread my purchases out on the kitchen table and had my own little 'Harvest festival' at home. Don't they look lovely.
We have been having problems with the car and on Wednesday we took it down to our mechanic to hopefully fix it. He lives on the campo, through the urbanisation Huerta Nueva which is across the main road from our village, and then on a bit. He did offer to run us home again but we decided the walk would do us good. It was fairly early still so the sun was low and we cast long shadows as we walked.
It probably took us just over half an hour to get home and the exercise did do us good. On the last stretch before the main road, the council took out all the rather straggly trees that edged the pathways a couple of years ago, and replaced them with palm trees. They looked pretty 'tatty' when first planted, but we were pleased to see that almost all of them had taken well, and were beginning to look well established. They are Palmetto palms with fan shaped leaves that look like big hands. As the palms die they often stay on the plant but fall down forming a brown petticoat around the trunk. Here they are usaully trimmed away every couple of years by experts who do a fantastic job. As we walked I noticed one in the distance that looked different and had what I thought was dead leaves already falling, but as we got closer I realised that what I could see was big clusters of tiny black and purple fruit, or berries.
I had never seen fruit on this type of palm before so I looked them up when I got home, and apparently they are quite nutricious and form an important part of the diet for many tribes around the world. They are not juicy, but rather tough and sticky (a bit like a dried date), and each berry divides into two parts which each has a stone in the centre, so you would need to eat a lot of them to fill you up! Now I now they are not poisonous, I will collect a few next time I see them just to try them.
I had a little baking session this week. I am sure most of you will have seen internet adverts for shortbread moulds in a variety of shapes. We like shortbread, and I did buy one of the rolling pins last year, that is supposed to roll a pattern onto the dough, but I never had much success with it. However, I have always fancied having one of the traditional Scottish moulds that has a plaited edge and a thistle in the centre, but the price of them put me off. So when I saw these small moulds I just had to have a couple to try. Needless to say my first choice was a little cat. Having read up on tricks and tips to use them, I went for my very traditional shortbread recipe and chilled it for a short time while I made a pie for our dinner. Then I floured the mould well and pushed some dough into it, turning it out onto a baking tray. After the first one, which stuck a bit, they turned out quite well and I managed to form seven little sleeping kitties.
My second mould was more ambitious as it was the shape of a large fircone, which had some deep cavities, and this time I didn't do so well. I only made two with the remaining dough. The first one turned out in three peices which I pushed together and hoped they would join up as they cooked. (They did!), and the second one looked more like a Christmas tree and the edges would not unmould at all. I again chilled them in the fridge for half an hour before baking them and they held their shape pretty well. But they all tasted good and that is what counts, and the grandchildren will love the cats next time they come over.
I am very pleased to say I have finally finished the green jacket I started crocheting in April. It was quite heavy going and I lost interest a bit half way through, but the yarn was rather special, and hence rather expensive, so I didn't want to waste it, so when I had completed both my blankets I decided to have another go at it, and last night I did the final stitches. I am please with it. It is heavy and warm and will make a good jacket for walking up to the shops etc in the Winter. I don't wear a coat very often but I do like a good woolly jacket.
This is a close up to show the true colours and textures in the yarn.
And because I got told off by some friends for not modelling the last one I made, here I am wearing it, though it does't look its best over a strappy sundress!
This morning we got our car back, repaired and fully serviced ready for its ITV at the beginning of November. So mid-morning we went to the nearby camp site for the first of their monthly artisan markets since the lockdowns began. There was a nice variety of stalls and a good turnout of visitors. I completely forgot to take any photos, but we did buy a few little bits, a couple of coasters with sunflowers on, some rather nice smelling incense sticks and a holder to burn them safely, some tee-shirts and a few other bits.
And finally, a rather lovely sky that I spotted early evening on Monday. I took several pictures of it, but I liked this one because you can see all the little birds coming in to roost for the night. (Click on it and you should get a larger picture).
