Hello Dear Reader,
Sorry for my absence I felt I was on a roundabout and could get off (mother of a 3yr old and wife to a husband with a bad back, too much work and not moving on the boat much). Well im off the roundabout now and we’re heading north for the winter. Currently on the Oxford Canal above Rugby. We are pushing on up to get above some winter stoppages so we can be on the Shropshire Union before Christmas.
Our fire is lit all the time now and we’re trying to get some things jarred and bottled before the fruits in the hedgerow are all gone. We have already made rose hip syrup, crab apple jelly, rhubarb chutney and blackberry and apple jam (complete disaster it’s like toffee to get out the jar).
We were trying to decide where to stop yesterday and these blackberry bushes made us decide.
When we were out picking I noticed how differently we all pick them. Matilda picks to eat only. Kevin stays put until he’s exhausted the bush and I wander along just picking one or two good ones from each bunch and end up miles away. It just made me chuckle if it might reflect our personality in some way. Whenever im out picking it always makes me think of all of the housewives over the years who would have been out here picking as a staple of their summer diet, getting vitamins into children and preserving for the winter.
One thing we all agreed with was what we wanted to make which was a apple and blackberry pie.
Matilda’s getting great at painting and her unicorn model kept her busy for an hour.
It’s nice to be back writing again….
Until tomorrow.
Emilie xx
Narrowboat Mum 