Yesterday the sun shone, it was the promise of a lovely day,
I stripped the bed got is all washed and hung up to dry
Showered, put on some decent clothes, a rare treat for me.
Jennie was getting dropped off at mine by her husband
We then set off to meet up with some fellow bloggers at Newcastle Emlyn
We were last to arrive as we,
missed the turn off, we stopped on route for Jennie to take photos of the views
Pam and Maria were already seated, after introductions tea and toasted tea cakes ordered
We all chatted like old friends, Maria bought along some lovely packs of decorated mini pegs for us to share, Pam brought along a selection of perfumes that she was re-homing we all chose one
I took along some willow weaving kits left from shop stock for the girls.
After lots of chatter discussing blogs and bloggers, yes we were talking about you all, family, lifestyles interests, we headed out to shop
Cross Patch is were we headed, lots of lovely fabrics
Patterns and kits to browse though
choices to make on purchases
lots of beautiful samples for inspiration
I was taken with this tree done with fabric manipulation, and bought the kit
Browsing
Choosing
Purchases made, we browsed a few other shops were a few other purchases were made, then it was time to part and all go home,
It was lovely to meet up, unfortunately Louise couldn't make it so another meet has to be arranged and this time Louise will join us, we have all moved to SW Wales and we all know each other through blogs and have a lot in common.
Martins Day
While I was out with the girls, Martin collected Lambert who had gone to slaughter,
He was becoming a bit of handful and it was time for him to go.
He was 18 months old and classed as a Hoggett.
Martin spent the day butchering the carcass into various cuts, with the help of a few books and you tube.
This was the first time we had reared a lamb and its been a learning curve, until today we didn't know what the meat would be like.
And it looked fab, these are some of the leg joints
And the chops not at all like those scrawny fatty things the supermarkets call chops.
There was also shanks and bags of stewing meat, rolled breast, shoulder joints.
We also had the skin back which is now in the freezer I want to have a go at tanning it hopefully in the early spring when I have a bit of time.
The freezers are now all full to bursting, we still have pork from our own pigs, home reared ducks and now lamb, in a few weeks we have a couple of cockerels to do and then it will be the Turkeys.
We have plenty of vegetables from the garden in the freezers and in store, there are also vegetables still growing. Food we are not short of.
We had some of the chops for dinner last night with potatoes and peas served with a mint gravy all produced on our little ranch :-)
WHAT a lovely day it was Dawn. I enjoyed it so much and the meeting of kindred spirits was wonderful. That patchwork shop is one I could truly shop till I drop!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the lamb chops - we will be having them tonight - Keith's eyes lit up as he loves lamb. I reckon you'll be having two ram lambs to run on next year! Martin did a very good job of the butchery, btw.
You are just about self sufficient in food already!! Just a shame that you can not grow sugar, tea and rice. I am quite certain that many, many people would love to be in that position, trouble is it takes a lot of very hard graft and that is as rare as rocking horse manure. I did it from childhood but would not take it up again. I do hope that we can get up to see Louise, I think that a morning/afternoon/day of chattering like a flock of galahs would do her the world of good.
ReplyDeleteI think that your day was a lot more fun, but Martin's probably more useful in the long run! Hee hee! You deserved a day out of fun though as you work so hard keeping everything done and doing all that you do with the animals and so on. Enjoy the lamb! xx
ReplyDeleteYou're braver than RMan and I - unfortunately we would struggle to kill and animal - even a handful of a lamb, or an ornery rooster. But, you have a full freezere to see you through winter - well done :)
ReplyDeleteit's it nice meeting fellow bloggers - I've met two so far, and both were wonderful people :D
Sounds like you both had wonderful days. That meat looks fabulous and so great to know that everything you eat is a product of your care and hard work. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking me along on your blogger meet up. Finding commonalities is my favorite thing about blogging.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun day! Exactly the type of day I love too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day out you all had, it sounds like lots of fun. There's no way I'd be able to send an animal to slaughter, I'm far too soft but just look at the lamb, it looks fabulous. Martin's done a great job.
ReplyDeleteHello. So gald you all enjoyed yourselves having a good chin wag and a bit of shopping. I really look forward to coming along to the next meet!xx
ReplyDeleteWhen we get our chickens we will have no probs putting one inthe pot when necessary. No naming of animals for us!
Meat looks amazing! Sounds like a nice meet up! Hope you guys only said nice things about us other bloggers!
ReplyDeleteI like your day best. In the first picture there is a bolt of fabric with leaves on it - I have the exact same fabric - I used it for thanksgiving napkins. What fun everyone had shopping.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely that you could all meet up and have a good old natter. My ears weren't burning ;0) Lamb from your own back garden how wonderful. Its my favourite meat but I only buy it on offer.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had such a fun time out. Your lamb looks a lovely colour, but then Lambert had such a great life.
ReplyDeleteNothing better than food one has grown or reared oneself Dawn, is there?
ReplyDeleteI have never let one go to what you guys on the East side of the pond call a Hogget. I am not a huge Mutton fan but Lamb is another story so I always take em in before they reach a year old. You got me wondering what the in between Hogget is like now though. Mrs.PP has a whether that is about 18 months old now as a pet....
ReplyDeleteI wonder if she would miss him?
A few years ago we reared 15 lambs and by the time the last batch went to slaughter they were 2 years old.
DeleteI cooked some chops from them and some from lambs which had gone off before they were a year old and I have to say the taste of the hogget was so much better than the lamb.
Next year we will do the same again - rear quite a few and send a few off every 4 months or so. I can't wait for hogget again.
Wish we had all that meat Dawn. You set an example to all who wish to live off the land.
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