A few days away

We've been at the cottage for a few days resting, reading, walking and painting the outside. It's not the "little white cottage with the thatched roof where Milly-Molly-Mandy lives" but a little white cottage with a green tin roof ... I've been painting the green trim around windows etc., while my darling paints the white walls - we work well as a team!

Temperatures have been in the mid 30's and although it is not as smoky as it was, fires are still burning and depending on where the wind is blowing from, smoke is in the air. It particularly effects the sunset and the moonrise with spectacular deep colours spreading across the sky.


The above photo was taken from our back fence at sunset on Thursday, the colours were just stunning. The moon was a golden orb rising above the mountains at the front of the cottage a few hours later.

I've been doing a little more thinking about the year of abundance I've joined in celebrating. I have always been fascinated by the 1940's, especially the home front in Britain during these years. Can you imagine a whole country being encouraged to carefully use all they have? I was reminded of this on Thursday as I called into the butcher a few miles from the cottage. I always try and buy my meat here as it is free-range and it is important to me that the creatures have had happy lives (I may write further on this another time). On one occasion I was even told the name of the pig, the paddock she lived in and the food she was given. The history of the breeding pig whose bacon I bought on Thursday was similarly described but I digress ...
The only pork sausages available were actually pork and ham. I'd never seen these before but realised that post-Christmas the left-over ham was being used in the sausages, this little butchery as well as caring for its animals also follows the waste not, want not ethos.

Many thanks for the suggestions left in the 'comments' section. I do appreciate them and I will certainly try your ideas. I'll let you know how I go.