Morecambe

The Mist

We watched The Mist on Sky and enjoyed scaring each other and larking about pretending to be pulled out of the room by an unseen monster etc. Unfortunately, during the early hours of this morning, a local factory caught fire and a helicopter swooped over the houses telling everyone to close windows and doors and remain inside. Of course, at the time, we did not know about the factory fire, only the scary helicopter. On looking out of the window we could see a dark patch in the night sky which of course we now know was smoke; even at the time we knew, logically, that it was smoke really but with the film fresh in our minds our eyes were on stalks. My Daughter was convinced that we should plug any little cracks in case "whatever it was" should seep in, her imagination heightened by the film. Whenever I went near the window to hear the helicopter message better she would shriek "don't open it, it might be toxic". A sensible assumption, but I had no intention of flinging open all the windows in the middle of the night. At one point she suggested we go and look for a gas mask that she has seen in the attic. Where the hec she spotted that and why the hec it is up there I don't know but she was quite hopeful that I would go and look for it. How we would have shared it between three if us if by some fluke of luck I had found it, who knows. Her Dad had long since gone back to bed by that point so maybe he would have dipped out on his turn at the gas mask. She had to content herself with holding her dressing gown across her face as if it was made of some special filtering material. To try and allay her fears I turned on the news which was a big mistake as it was all about Korea and nuclear testing and as her geographical knowledge extends about as far as Preston she put two and two together and made 8000, aka the approximate distance between here and Seoul. I suggested that they wouldn't be chatting about football,healthy eating and Susan Boyle if we were in any danger but she declared that Morecambe would take second place to any of that as they were "all Southern". As daylight came and a sweep of the internet produced no local news she then decided that the birds were not singing and this was a sure sign that the air was toxic. Fortunately a cat could be seen strolling unconcernedly across the road, and she couldn't hear any birds because she was as far away from any windows as possible. Daylight also brought some sanity and we eventually went to bed at 6.30, vowing not to watch any horror films for a long time, and the odd grumble that the helicopter should come back and say if you can go out or not!  When she got up at lunch time and found me digging in the garden she demanded "how do you know it's safe to go out!" as the smells of various neighbours barbecues wafted across the garden and the bowling green announcements punctuated the whir of flymos.

Speed Cleaning

I recently picked up a copy of Speed Cleaning by Shannon Lush and Jennifer Fleming.Some good tips in here but as I have read a few housekeeping type books and organising books, there was nothing new, to me, about the routines. There are lots of tips on what to get things clean with and how and general advice, and it’s not just the same advice as in other books. For example, I had not come across the advice to spray door frames with lavender oil to deter flies, which, should the cat ever stop earning her keep and catching them, I will keep in mind. The two sponge technique was a revelation. Lots of books and recommend bicarb and vinegar for environmentally friendly cleaning and many supermarket products now tout bicarb as an ingredient but I knew that for the best effectiveness they needed to be brought together at the same time to fizz and the two sponge technique accomplishes this. I hadn’t really given much thought before I ordered it to the fact that it was published in Australia and thus the heavy emphasis on insects and pests. I was quite startled to read about some of the “common” kitchen pests, bugs in the linen and putting snake poo in the corners of your rooms to deter mice. I now feel very lucky that I don’t have to cope with cockroaches and armies of ants as a matter of routine, and spiders webs that can short out your light bulb, crikey. As a bit of an aside, I notice that in this and just about every household management book I’ve read they say “wash your towels once a week”. Now, does this mean save them up and do a massive towel wash or, and I think this is the true meaning, are they implying that a towel can last a week without washing. I come across this again and again and have even heard the argument that a towel doesn’t really get dirty, just wet but surely a wet towel attracts bacteria. I can’t imagine my family drying themselves on day seven with towels that have been wet and air dried over and over for a week. Maybe it’s just our family and excessive towel use but I do a towel wash at least every other day. I intend to publish this review on my blog, not just Goodreads, hence the harping on about towels in the hope it provokes a few comments and thus an insight into other people’s towel habits.

Coupon Clipping

My goodness, Jamie is organized about her money off vouchers. We have a little space behind a storage jar where we tuck the odd voucher for £1.50 off at Tesco, which can be redeemed as long as you spend £50 on apples on the second day of the seventh month between 10am and 10.30am wearing odd socks and a rose behind your ear. Naturally by the time we come to use the coupon it is out of date. Recently, and guiltily, I have been circumvening the incubation phase behind the storage jar and just throwing them straight into the recycle box. Occasionally I actually put them in my purse, thus giving them a little tour of Morecambe and surrounding districts for a couple of months before finding them to be out of date and throwing them into the recycle box.

 

This is a part of Jamie's system. My storage jars are chortling at the idea of me squeezing that lot behind them.

Wardrobe De-cluttering

Still the de-cluttering goes on. During the summer's massive de-clutter session we filled two skips with items that were not fit for charity shops. I did take plenty of things to the charity shops but why on earth had we hung on to two skip fulls of things that, in the end, were not even good enough to give away for free? 

I made an attempt at de-cluttering some of my books. Some of them I released on BookCrossing and some I registered on Read It Swap It but of course swapping doesn't reduce the quantity as you exchange one book for another. Most of the books in piles that I had designated to give away seemed, somehow, by their own volition to make their way to new homes around the house or even back to their original shelf.

More recently I finally got around the thinning out my wardrobe. It sounds ridiculous but the wardrobe was packed so tightly with clothes that I actually had nothing to wear because everything was crumpled with the crushing or was not my current size. Don't most women have several sets of clothes in different sizes that sometimes fit and sometimes don't? Or is it just me? Anyway, I decided to try absolutely everything on and store, give away or dispose of anything else. Somehow I gathered an audience to this endeavor. My Daughter parked herself on the bed and chortled every time something didn't fit - so that was a lot of chortling - all the time trying to snag my purple shoes that she covets. It was revealed to me that I now probably have more pairs of pyjamas to wear than actual clothes. My Daughter was amused that I actually hang my pyjamas in the wardrobe and kept calling me Mr. Monk. The cat just made herself comfy in a storage box.

 

Richard Bertinet's Dough

I have become a little obsessed with bread making in the style of Richard Bertinet, from his book, Dough. He doesn't knead the bread but employs the use of, what I believe is called, the French fold, or a version of it anyway. It's a lot of fun, if somewhat noisy, but who can resist all that slapping down of the dough? I have watched various demonstrations of the technique, which vary from a lady-like flick and fold to a demonic hurling down of the dough which no doubt is a bit of a workout but hard on the neighbours. I fall somewhere in between at the moment. My most recent batch came out of the oven looking and tasting perfect but, alas, I inadvertently used greaseproof paper not parchment paper and subsequently had to spend quite a while picking paper off the bottoms. If I could only figure out the best surface to prove the buns on and how to transfer them to the pre-heated baking sheet, without smushing them because they have stuck, I wouldn't need the parchment paper. I'm sure there is a method, as it must have been done somehow before the advent of fancy paper. I will try a floured board and a fish slice next time. I have scoured the book but the advice given is to use a wooden peel to transfer them to your pre heated baking stone. I doubt very much that I will ever acquire either of those items without an intolerable amount of eyebrow raising from the family, some of whom already think it's ridiculous to bake bread when you can buy it anywhere - but they wolf it down none the less. My Daughter is all for my new endeavor, she never liked bread before but loves home baked and eats it plain as if it were succulent cake. I shall move on from buns and the impressive fougasse and try an actual loaf next.

 

Margaret Sherry Cat With Ball Of Wool

Finally completed the Margaret Sherry design I had on the go for ages. I don't know what it was about this but I didn't enjoy stitching it at all. I hope this doesn't mean that I don't enjoy cross stitch on the whole at all any more. Surely that can't be true, The only way to test it is to start another project as soon as possible!

De-cluttering before and after

Finally the attic has been purged of a skip full of stuff. We actually had two skips but the contents of the garage filled a six tonner. There is still a hec of a lot of stuff up there but it is all inventoried and will go onto a searchable data base. Behind the false walls is lovely to behold now, ranks of plastic storage boxes as far as the eye can see. I don't like to think too much about how much I must have spent on storage boxes but it must run into hundreds of pounds. Ridiculous when you think that the actual monetary value of the contents is minimal but sentiment is a hard task master.

Barrow Pie and Mushies

I came across a photo blog today that I found interesting, Pie and Mushies. Barrow is the largest town on Morecambe Bay and although it's not far, as the crow flies, from Morecambe, it's a long drive around of about fifty miles. Every now and again there is talk of building a bridge across but even with my limited technical knowledge I would imagine the cost of a twelve mile bridge to be astronomical. Pie and Mushies has an interesting photo of a somewhat smaller bridge, the High Bridge on Michaelson road, connecting Barrow Island to the town centre.

Hornsea Pottery Rare Breeds

  Years ago I worked at Hornsea Pottery in Lancaster, when it was an actual pottery and leisure park. The pottery has gone but the site is still a leisure site and antiques market. At the time I worked there I was into patchwork quilting and when we were all made redundant and most things were being stripped out I must have salvaged a box of "rare breeds" leaflets to use as patchwork papers. They have lain in the attic for all these years, forgotten about until now. I was very strong with myself and have put them in to the paper recycling box - I never did finish my patchwork quilt and I don't see myself getting time to do so anytime soon. I realise that all this hanging on to things is a type of fantasy. An imagined "maybe one day" world where I will have time to read all those books, paint all those pictures, sew all those quilts, stitch all that cross stitch and knit all those jumpers. I reasoned with myself that if I ever did have a need for some patchwork papers there will be plenty of paper about and why risk using some that might transfer ink. If you want to read the leaflet in more detail (fellow Hornsea Potters, you know you want to) click the images.

The decluttering continues, but the end is in sight.

De-cluttering the attic

I've been de-cluttering the attic again and have posted an entry about it over on Knitting By The Sea. I don't think two skips will be enough. A part "before" picture with things pulled out and piled up in the process of purging. This is just a fraction of the space. Coming soon, a glorious "after" picture.

In this one you can just make out the opening revealed in the second false wall, scary stuff as the space runs the entire width of the house. They are a bit blurry as my camera packed in and I had to deploy my camera phone.