Happy Mothers Day

 A bunch of flowers to brighten your day .

  I just wish my mum could have been here not just today but everyday . She died 4 years ago . Hope your day was filled with flowers . Red tulips were my Mum's favourites.She didn't need great big bunches or big gestures and I think this is the sort of bunch she would have loved. Tied with a bit of ribbon we had used before coming  off a present or chocolate box and I think Jacks mum would have loved them too .

Breakfast to try to fend off Coronavirus

Coming to terms with not cooking breakfast for our guests which is a "proper tuck in " . Sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms and grandads home grown tomatoes .  As we all are told how to protect ourselves against the virus . I have fore gone the bacon sandwich or the spare bit of scrambled egg on toast leftover from guests.

A few years ago we had lots of bee hives ..but as they take a dislike to me ..we no longer have lots and are down to our last store of honey. So breakfast for me now is hot lemon and a small amount of honey and then some butter and honey and toast... I have to say it that way around as you can see my spreading techniques .

I normally only drink cold water ...we are lucky our comes form a spring but it still comes out off the tap . Last year I made bottle and bottles of elderflower cordial . I wasted the first few bottles or at least I got through it so quickly as I didn't know it had to be diluted ...a bit like Jack when he drank a whole bottle of Pimms  at a friends house and thought it was like wine and didn't realise it had to be diluted with ginger ale or lemonade... he went rather red round the gills.

I have never drunk hot drinks but understand it is better to drink hot drink every 20 minutes so I constantly drink elderflower cordial diluted with hot water . Hopefully it won't be too long before I am making it again .

First day of Spring . The #CaringAndSharingTogether virus

Today is officially the first day of Spring and of course a slice of tea loaf ....

From tomorrow the world will be a little lighter and brighter for longer each day, until the Summer Solstice - the longest day of the year. 

We must all come together sharing and caring and thinking of others . I really think as it sinks in the position we are in across the globe  and everyone takes stock of the situation that good things will come out of this.

Most of us are all guilty of taking things in our lives for granted and rushing about and not appreciating the little things of life. Did you open your door this morning and hear the birds sing . The black bird being supremo in this song . The gardens starting to come out of hibernation. There will be weeks growing by hey ho the flowers will look beautiful too and most scent the air too .

We had sunshine this morning and so I took my work into the garden .The accountant wont believe I will probably one of the first to get my books in for the year end rather one of the last.

Trust me it really does make you feel a little better when you feel the sun .It has been a long winter without much sun ,this is what we need so much >Warmth and sunshine .. It is good for our immune systems too . Mother Nature has her way of looking after us .

So if there are little jobs that you can take outside ,pick them up and take them outside  and let the sun do its job. Even if it is just chopping your vegetables

It is time to start to plant your seeds for fresh vegetables and fruit and flowers to cheers your day.
My Dad is a wise one and he is working like a beaver sowing seeds and tending his plants .  He is 97 and if he can do it so can you .He gets great satisfaction from growing things, watching for that first tip of green pushing its way through the soil .And then having a race with his friends to see who can produce the first, biggest, best.

Dedicated to my Dear little Friend, Florence

My blog tonight is dedicated to a little girl who I love .Her name is Florence and  strangely although I have never met her, have followed her life since before she was born.

She is truly an amazing little girl, her smile lights up the room. and every time I see a photo of her she makes me smile . Last night I heard from her mummy that she was trying to explain things to Florence.

This is what Florence's mummy wrote..... I was trying to explain to Florence what was going on and tonight, totally randomly as I put her to bed, she stood on her bed and drew the curtains back of her bedroom window. She called out ‘night night world!’ and blew a kiss out of the window. It was the sweetest thing ever and I totally welled up.
So to everyone reading this, and following our 2 year old daughter’s example, we wish you all so much love in these unpredictable and unprecedented times. ‘Night night world!’ 

A little girl 2 years old ....we should all take on her example.  So I searched out one of these lovely paintings from www.mypaintedbear.co.uk and hope she likes . This is the unique artwork by Naomi Horner. Personalised for special occasions. Buy original drawings, prints, notebooks and greetings cards. . You might like to support Naomi who says am based in a little seaside town called Whitehead, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is here that I work from my home studio.

My Painted Bear is made up of a number of characters. Starting with ‘Teddy', I like to think of him as the leader.  He’s very wise and full of knowledge. He’s trustworthy and always has good advice for the others. The ‘Bunny’ is very flamboyant and colourful. She likes to challenge herself to constantly grow and evolve. She's carefree and considerate. Then there is the ‘Mouse’. He’s the brave one. Although he is small, he is fearless and, more importantly, he is completely at peace in his strong faith. Together they tell a story of hope.

Sweet Dreams Florence,

Sausages and the countryside .This blog is dedicated to Sarah B

Back into the kitchen today as we have locked ourselves at home as much as we can. We will call it being anti -social -say no more.  Lucky to have acres of green...green fields, green trees with green ferns, moss and flora. Huge swathes of wild garlic invading into our flower garden  around us and a mile out of the village wildlife is abound and life is carrying on just like any other March day.

Sausages rolls today .... Joan Sanders do you remember making all that puff pastry for your Mum and and Dad when they used to provide all the food for the hunt balls ?. That would be 50 years ago now .I remember it was roll the pastry, slap lots of butter on it ,fold it out, one, twice and do it all again. And again and again ... I wonder how many chefs make their own puff pastry these days.
I must admit mine today was the snowflakes' way ...out of a packet but I did use some rather nice sausage meat.  We are lucky to have Wass Farm Shop just across the road from us who sell some amazing meat and proper yellow yolked eggs .

We have an Aga and anyone who has used one will tell you if something starts to burn the smell goes up the chimney rather than like a conventional cooker and you can smell it is the kitchen.

As you will see my sausages rolls got... ummm.. slightly well cooked. Jack said as dry as b... and  even I felt if I had tried to hid them under some mushy peas he would still have complained. So I pull some prawn and mushrooms in a leek  sauce with spaghetti for his supper to pacify him.

I hope you can enjoy watching the video which I took trying to catch this little fella for you to see. I took about 10 videos each time getting a it nearer . At one stage I wanted to shout at him as he chewed on one of my fruit trees . By the time he saw me we had eye balled each other for what seemed ages I was less than 15 yards from him. I thought it was a young deer but my dad said it was more likely by how I described it a muntjac. He was darker and more calf like than the usually roes that comes to graze around the house. .Well dear deer, whatever you are,  you showed how marvellous is nature. Enjoying the afternoon sunshine and grazing without a care in the world . And I knew the gate needs replacing, but my uncle made it for me and I am too sentimental to get rid of it . It is held together with moss and over 40 years old . Always quirky and always made with love here.

Day 2... Coronavirus Oh so green

Well, we are half way thorough the chocolate cake today, but there was work to be done. Even though we are not taking guests ...guests are foremost in my mind. I ventured out today to buy some more stamps, I had cancellation deposits to return and had used my supply of stamps up.

 So everyone who has booked for 2020 I am very happy to send back your deposits . As I for one feel it is neither their fault nor mine that this virus is upon us and I think it is just downright greedy if businesses think to  keep the deposits. And I hear of people wanting the balances for the guests holidays too. I feel like saying to such people ..get a life..
 I remember years ago before the fast world we live in now. Before the world of computers and emails people sent letters. Letters asking if we had accommodation for a particular week and the nice ones always enclosed a SAE. All done by second class post, only very urgent ones did a envelope come with a red stamp on it . People were a lot more patient in those days I dont recall there every been more than 24 hours in a day ..but there certainly seems to be more hours than there are now.

As I get a lot of guests returning  year on year, it is sad to hear we will not be seeing them this year. Sue from Cornwall rang up at lunchtime .. Sue and Dave has been coming for over 20 years now . Every year 3-4 times a year . The only trouble with them coming is that, as I have been to Cornwall and would like to go again, I cant persuade Jack to go. He says with his Yorkshire dry humour "Wey if they do come up 'ere  so much if Cornwall is supposed to be such a grand spot .Surely it proves Yorkshire is best" and  so I give up ...

Enough of my ramblings , lets get back to the present

Go green everyone was musing, before Coronavirus took over the centre stage in our conversations.
Yes I thought green and so I decided rightly or wrongly to try my hand at a bit of paper hanging . I used to years ago but it went out of fashion, but now is quite back in vogue. Think  jungle type, green , wow. Ok a C16th farmhouse with wow paper not really sure. I had been admiring some  "posh" paper at  £185 a roll ...2 rolls would do nicely . But being the tight fisted Yorkshire old lass I am, I opted for some very nice "other" paper . Well I like it and hope you do too. Bathroom accomplished.

30 years ago I stripped this little pine table as it was fashionable them ..nearly gassing myself out in the proceed with caustic soda I would be surprised if you can get it the days with 'elf and safety and all this malarkey. I picked up a little sample pot of  paint as I reckon someone had had a dabble out of it. It is one of those what I would call mucky green colours which are "subtle and so 2020 "

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So I hope you like the finished result ..all done and dusted  or should I say painted and papered for when we open our doors again.

Day 1 .. Coronavirus... How to cope

Here at Carr House Farm, we have decided to close our doors last Monday to guests as we look at how we think can get over the Coronavirus best. Everyone will have their own ideas, but I have to think my dad who lives 2 fields away is 97 and I had pneumonia 5 times in one year a few years ago when we had a big farm fire so my lungs are not as good as an Olympic athlete .

I am trying to do the best for everyone and I am not the best nurse so how would guest be if they took ill here and I had to look after them for a few weeks.

So I have decided to write my blog on how we are coping here in the heart of North Yorkshire. I think the unknown is probably more frightening than what it is to cope with the situation itself.  I hope the blogs I am going to write over the coming weeks will show no one is that by themselves and hope that I might add a bit of positivity into the equation.

I feel if we all pull together in whatever we can, we will get through it. It will bring the British Bulldog spirit we all need to take on.

Share, help and care.

What do I do when I don't know what else to do ... I bake ....  and then bake some more . I need to be kept busy. I do have a good store cupboard probably this comes with my age when as a child people only shopped once a week and even less when you lived on a farm in the depth of winter. I have know years ago, 6 weeks would go by before we could get out to the shops. It would not be thought anything out of the ordinary.

I have to  admit I got a few extra bags of plain flour. Life wouldn't be worth living if my Yorkshire man didn't get his Yorkshire puddings


We had the buns for  tea, the plain cake is for my Dad, he likes it with jam and a sprinkle of sugar whereas we will tuck into the chocolate cake.

Bake a cake trust me it makes you feel a lot better. Even if you don't eat cake you can always give it to someone else.