How To Dry Bay Leaves, Recycling Glass, “The Crown” and Repairing Painted Walls

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HOW TO DRY BAY LEAVES

Aromatic bay leaves come from Laurus nobilis, or the bay tree. It is native to the Mediterranean region. The dried bay leaf is used as a seasoning in cooking.

Our bay tree needed pruning. I brought in one of the branches removed during pruning to dry the leaves.

I began by snipping the smaller branches from the main branch. Next I washed and left the leaves to dry off.

I picked through the collection of leaves and discarded any that were not perfect. I also removed the older, larger, darker leaves as these can be very tough. I don’t use any pesticides in the garden so some insect damage is always possible.

Place the leaves somewhere dry, cool and protected to dry out. It’s quite warm here and I left them to dry for ten days. Meanwhile, I washed the jars, printed the labels, used water colours to paint leaves on them and then cut the ribbons to tie on them. These I glued with a dot of clear glue to the jars. Finally, I carefully slid the dried leaves into the jars, screwed on the caps, labeled them and tied the bows. Done! I will give some as gifts at Christmas.

Used extremely handy laundry pegs to hold the ribbons in place while the glue dried.

NOTE The leaves should always be removed from a dish before it is served. You can eat the leaves but the edges are very sharp and can hurt your mouth.

Although fresh bay leaves can be used in cooking it is easy and convenient to dry and preserve them so they are always available. Store them in a sealed jar in a cupboard or in the freezer.

Bay leaves are considered a ‘supporting’ element, intended to bring out the other flavours of a recipe.

Fresh bay leaves can be put in containers of flour and grains to repels weevils. They also deter moths from woolen clothes and can discourage silverfish from books, too.

The Greeks and Romans used bay leaves to make crowns or laurels which appear throughout history in paintings and sculptures.

RECYCLING SKINCARE JARS

I buy skincare in glass jars as glass is easily recycled, unlike plastic containers. Now, some brands of skincare are producing sealed foil pots of their product to refill the used glass jar. Just peel off the foil seal and push the pot into the jar and all done! It is kinder to the planet and kinder to your wallet. Investigate to find out if your preferred brand of skincare has a refill option.

Foil is easily and effectively recycled.

THE CROWN

The Crown Season 3

Are you watching Series 3 of The Crown? The third series started 17/11/2019 and is now all about the 60’s, with political change (Wilson), the exposure of spies (Blunt) in the Palace and awkward marriages (particularly Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon) I thought Claire Foyle was great as a younger Queen Elizabeth but I’m not so sure about Olivia Colman as the older Queen Elizabeth, despite loving her performance in other programs.

Some of these events I remember, or heard about, which makes it very interesting. I don’t know how accurately historical events are portrayed. Anyway, early days and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the series. Are you watching it?

PATCHING THE PAINT

The newly done paint was barely dry when I saw a bit gouged out! Much grumping, then I filled the hole with Polyfilla. The next day, when it was dry, I sanded it, wiped away the dust and painted it with the tiny bit of leftover paint left by the painter. Problem solved!

These photos are the same area and some paint, but taken at different times of the day with natural and then artificial light! The repair is indistinguishable from the damaged piece. I hope I don’t have to do it again.

The 25th of November was INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. The declaration of this day aimed to activate and motivate governments around the world to do something about violence towards women and children.

During many years as a primary school teacher I began to think the best way to deal with domestic violence in Australia was to remove the perpetrator, if it is a man, and leave the women and children in their house, attending the same school as always and within a community where they could receive support. This would prevent the break in the childrens’ schooling which often results in poor outcomes for the children. The man could be accommodated where he’d be able to continue working and supporting his family, but also receive counseling and assistance in modifying his behaviour. The children could, if safe, visit and maintain supervised contact. I think this would probably be less expensive than emergency accommodation, hospital visits, single parent benefits and the long term cost of poorly educated children.

( I acknowledge women can be the perpetrator of violence, too, but this is directed towards the special day highlighting violence against women by men )

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Cooking Shortbread, Making Gift Boxes, Eating and Reading

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COOKING and GIFT BOXES

Just read that Christmas is only 34 days away so I have begun making gift boxes of shortbread biscuits. Some of these I will take as out hostess gifts. These are tiny little shortbread biscuits to enjoy with coffee or as we did, champagne! They are rich and delicious.

I have a template I’ve used for years to make the gift boxes. I plan a box making session and make photocopies of the box template, glue gift wrap onto the template, let it dry, cut it out and glue the boxes together. To finish I use a leather punch to make two holes for threading ribbon through. I put the shortbread biscuits in little cellophane bags, seal them then put them in the gift boxes. Finally, I tie a bow in the ribbon threaded through the holes. All done!

If you’d like to make gift boxes yourself search online as there are many variations available.

The guidelines are printed darkly enough to see them when the template is glued printed side down to the decorative paper.

I used a plastic ruler to fold along the lines to create the box shape. I glued the side and waited until it was dry, then the base and finally shaped the pleat in the side before folding over the top and punching holes for the ribbon.

Filled with a sealed cellophane bag of shortbread biscuits.

EATING YUM CHA

Our favourite family brunch is yum cha. Luckily, friends introduced us to this restaurant. These delicious little bundles of flavour are light and easy to eat. This time, along with all our usual dumplings, we tried Steamed Salted Egg Buns as our son had just eaten them in Singapore and recommended them. We really enjoyed them. Don’t be put off by the squid ink colour! Sometimes these lava cakes are coloured with squid ink and other times, bamboo charcoal powder. I particularly like steamed dumplings and turnip cake. Not all turnip cakes are equal, but the ones where we go are very good. Add a pot or two of green tea and it’s a great brunch.

READING

I was given Victoria Finlay’s The Brilliant History of Colour In Art. It is an in depth history of mans’ use of colour to illustrate events from the Ice Age to the Digital Age. Finley’s book describes the evolution of paint from ground materials to storing stable colours in tubes. She explains the origins of many words associated with colour along with fascinating stories, all supported with illustrations, mainly from the J. Paul Getty Museum Collections. If you’re interested in the evolution of art and particularly colour, you’ll really enjoy this book. I loved dipping into it with its gorgeous photos and learning something new each time.

How The Dead Speak - By Val Mcdermid - Paperback

Also just read multi award winning Val McDermid’s “How The Dead Speak”, another murder mystery in her Carol Jordan and Tony Hill series. Slow to start, this story picks up pace with many twists and turns. It’s a great thriller with a satisfying ending. A good read from this author who has sold over 16 million books.

Image result for sharon santoni my stylish french girl friends

And finally, I’ve just begun Sharon Santoni’s “My Stylish French Girlfriends” a luscious book featuring the equally luscious houses of her French female friends. Santoni has been married to a Frenchman and lived in France for many years. Here she shares photos and stories about her friends and their homes, plus their philosophy on family life, decorating and gardening and their jobs. Gorgeous photos and creative, resourceful women. I’m about a third of the way through and loving it!

November 21st is World Hello Day, encouraging you to simply greet people when you’re out and about. Well, that’s easy, isn’t it?

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How To Repair Leather Handles, Bulk Cooking and Afternoon Tea

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REPAIRING LEATHER HANDLES

When we moved everything to have the interior of the house painted I found things needing upkeep and repair. I’ve mended a mirror frame, fixed a shutter, repaired a wooden chess set rack, re-attached the hessian on a Persian carpet to rehang it and now I have renovated this shopping basket.

This is my favourite shopping basket. It has a flat oval base which balances it securely at the checkout. Fabric bags flop and are difficult to pack but this bag sits firmly as we fill it. I can stuff some fabric bags in it to carry them to the shops. It is also a good size for me to carry as I can’t overload it.

Over time and with constant use the leather handles had become worn and were cracking. I needed to repair them before they tore completely.

This is a mans’ leather belt. You could re-use one from an op shop/charity shop but I was given this one and it looked unused.

Firstly, I used a craft knife to cut off the buckle. I measured the width of the existing handles and then used a Sharpie to rule a line long ways on the belt to make it the same width as the handles. Then I cut carefully along this marked line.

I measured and cut the strip into two pieces the length of the handles. Before I glued these strips to the existing handles I cut into the leather to create a slightly thinner piece at each end so I could slide this under the piece attaching the handles to the body of the bag.

To cut the piece out I ran the craft knife across the leather, scoring just in from the end and making sure I didn’t cut right through. Then holding the leather on edge, I cut out the black layer of leather.

Working on one handle at a time, I glued and pegged the new lining to the existing handle working on about 15 cm at a time. When all the leather was glued together I left it to dry thoroughly before doing the second one. ( I find laundry pegs so useful for small repairs)

I didn’t use a special leather glue for this repair as I didn’t have any and the all purpose glue I had said on the label that it was suitable for leather. It has glued the two pieces together smoothly and strongly.

The mended handles look a bit wonky because I’ve just unpegged them but a few hours hanging on the back of the chair and they were perfect again. The handles feel good and will last a long time.

BULK COOKING

My mother broke her wrist and will be in a splint for six weeks and then at least another six weeks to recover full use of her arm. She is in her late eighties and we are all relieved she didn’t break a hip or leg. Having a broken wrist is difficult enough for her to manage.

Cooking is very difficult as she can’t apply any pressure to her wrist to cut anything. We went and spent the day sweeping in the garden, dead heading roses, changing and washing bed linen, some cleaning, shopping but mostly, I cooked. All jobs she does all the time but can’t for now. She has soups, corned beef, chicken, cut up vegetables and three jars of her special muesli. We bought frozen vegetables so she can add those to her meals, she has yoghurt and sliced fruit loaf. She is also surrounded wonderful family and friends who will help, too, but for a very independent person this is a big change.

By the end of the first week the downside of this plan became evident: it becomes boring to eat much the same thing day in and day out. Luckily, other options have presented themselves and also she has became more adept at doing everyday things with her left hand.

She is right handed and this is the wrist she broke, so she’s trying to do crosswords with her left hand. She can’t drive, either, but I think the biggest challenge will be looking after her hair. It is very long (she can sit on it) and she plaits it every morning and wraps the plait around her head and secures it with pins. Very difficult with one hand!

COOKING FOR AFTERNOON TEA

Do you have a few “go to” recipes you make when visitors are coming but you don’t have time to shop? I have my regulars, including curried egg sandwiches, pinwheels, shortbread and a cake. I always have lemons, limes, oranges or even passion fruit on hand to make a cake. I add a bowl of crystallized ginger and maybe some cashews so people can pick at something small and easy, especially if we’re not at the table. Sometimes I serve casual afternoon teas on the coffee table.

ARMISTICE DAY 11th November

Armistice Day, known as Remembrance Day in the UK and Veterans Day in the US, commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice at 11am on the 11/11/1918, ending World War 1. After more than four years of fighting, the defeated Germans called for the Armistice, the suspension of fighting, to secure a peaceful settlement.

Many people wear a red poppy on this day each year and stand at 11am for a minutes silence to remember those who dies or suffered for their country in all wars and armed conflicts.

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How To Restore Worn Leather and Summer Fruit

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How To Restore Worn Leather

These two leather sofas are nearly twenty years old and still strong and very comfortable. They have been slept on, played on, eaten on, frolicked on by two puppies who became keen on sleeping on them as grown dogs and, of course, sat on by people. Although I have treated them over the years with saddle dressing, wear and tear was beginning to show.

There are four steps to restoring the leather surface on worn sofas.

1. Ensure the areas needing restoration are clean.

2. Match a quality leather dye to your sofa. I bought the dye I used from a boot maker/shoe repair shop. Test the colour somewhere you wont normally see. Be aware it will dry a little lighter than the colour when it is wet.

3. I was re-dying small areas so used the small brush which came with the dye but if you need to do a bigger area, use a bigger brush. Dab the colour on carefully. The dye is thin and can run easily. Go slowly and carefully. Make sure the room is well ventilated.

4. Leave the dyed areas to dry overnight. Next day, treat the entire piece of furniture you have restored with a saddle dressing ( I use R.M. Williams Saddle Dressing) Rub it in with a soft cloth. Let it soak in before giving it a final buff.

Not a good photo but a very successful repair!

RM Williams Leather Conditioner

I use the old version of this R M Williams leather dressing cream.

Maintain the renovated leather by treating it regularly with leather conditioner. Regular care will prolong the life of the furniture.

Summer Fruit

The shops are full of summer fruit and we love this time of the year. Here’s last night’s desert; blueberries, strawberries and mango. We grow our own blueberries and apricots. This year I am not feeling generous towards the rats and birds who eat our fruit so we have netted the apricot tree and the blueberry bush. We’re protecting the fruit. Covering them was a difficult and time consuming job. We will have to refine the process for next year.

Louis has been to the groomer for his Spring suit. Under all the fluff was quite a small dog!

TONGUE TWISTER DAY

How will you celebrate phrases that are difficult to say, especially when repeated really quickly? Try this one:

Six sleek swans swam softly south on Sunday.

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