The inspector said yes!!!

After sleepless nights and fretful thoughts we've had the good news we've been waiting to hear...the building inspector says yes - he's happy with our build, it meets all standards...we done good!!!!

So after months of this...




And plenty of this...




Were finally getting to this...



And now the plastering can begin - at last. I know buildings get signed off every day but they usually are built by people with lots of experience and a project manager. BH got a book from the library and watched a lot of grand designs but he's never built a home before and so when the man from the ministry said yes he was a very happy chap- and he might get some sleep now.

And me... Well I can't help it I'm planning cushions and wallpaper and carpets and now I can't sleep for thinking about it - help!!!

This will have to do for starters...



We call him John Deer and he's been waiting to find his home for too long now. We couldn't resist trying him out...

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He knows me so well...

Now that I've finally cleared up from Christmas - well almost - I can show you what Santa put under the tree for me this year... My very own Nigella red (I believe that's an official colour now!) lovely chunky Kitchenaid...swoon...

I believe BH finally buckled under ren years of hints and figured it was a bit like self gifting as he gets to be official cake taster! He also got a great bargain online which made it altogether a much more palatable purchase.

As for me I still have to stroke it every time I pass, I can't wait for all the Christmas grub to be used up so that I've got a good excuse to start baking again!

And thanks to freerangenan I've also got a fab new kniferack - the one sitting behind my lovely red Kitchenaid ( did I mention that already!) so thank you to my lovely family for totally totally getting me x

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A little taste of sunshine...

Last bakeup of the holidays today and a taste of somewhere sunny was definitely needed. We've been surrounded by rain and wind all day, rattling the windows and blowing the wheelie bins down the garden so i wanted something light and zesty to take away the winter blues ( and to use up some the leftover lemons sitting in the fruitbowl!)

These lovely lemon bars come from a favourite cookbook of mine The Dairy HollowHouse Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon - fab name I know! Every recipe has a great anecdote with it so if you ever see a copy snap it up.

Here it is...



And here's the recipe

Mix and press into the bottom of a baking tin

Half cup of butter
1 cup plain White flour
Quarter cup icing sugar

Beat

2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Half teaspoon baking powder
Juice and rind of 2 lemons ( I added 1 more to the original recipe)

This mixture will be thin. Pour it over the first layer. Bake for 30 - 35 mins. Let cool slightly then sit with icing sugar.

Okay so they won't help with any diet resolutions but they are lush and brighten up the idea of tomorrow's back to work packed lunch.

I did think that a good walk with the dogs would make me feel less guilty about eating cake...I shook the lead, I put my coat on but these two are having none of it!






Oh well i tried!

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Stilton crazy...

Today signals the start of cheese week at our house, when the five tons of Stilton that we bought, received and somehow acquired must be eaten up or rendered somehow useful as part of our war on waste.

First up was the thanks to the mega talented Shaheen at Allotment2kitchen. I saw these cheese, potato and kale pasties on her site and new we had just the leftovers to make them...


Then using the same mixture with addition of cranberry sauce I made smaller puff parcels...



These started off bite size but grew... Or maybe that says something about the size of my mouth!

Then I moved on to cheese scones.




Never having made these before I went to Internet for inspiration and followed the recipe from the Stilton website- where else?! They turned out pretty well, they're bound for the freezer so i'll have to see how they fare there.

And to finish, blue cheese pasta, nice and simple after the afternoons bakeathon...



Okay so that's a blue cheese dressing too! Phew - at least the Stilton is all gone now...until next year that is. Now does anyone know what I can do with a wheelbarrow full of Brie?

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Happy New Year!!!

What a year it's been here at the freerange homestead - not much blogging done, not much gardening or cooking, but plenty of building, hence the lack of anything else. When we started out on this year we had plans to do all sorts but as those of you who've ever built a large project yourselves will know, once foundations are dug and the plans are accepted you can forget any idea of social or recreational life full stop until the work is done.

Well we're not there yet but we are much closer. The roof is on, the windows are in, the floors are concreted and most of the plasterboard is up. We await a visit from an electrician on the fifth before we can have the final sign off from the planning office and then it's onto the last leg - curtains and cushions still seem an awful long way off though!

Writing about the project is partly what retains our sanity about it and I am very wary of making it all sound like roaringly good fun - oh those halcyon days of cement dust and climbing over wet floors covered with pallets to get to the washing machine - what japes! BH conquering his fear of height (albeit temporarily) to tile the roof in the wind is not an experience either of us would want to repeat, nor is eating our breakfast in our coats as we had to before the blessed insulation arrived. But were almost there now, I won't start ordering wallpaper samples yet, but I might just start looking...

Apologies to those of you who have been kind enough to keep reading during these lean times, I promise to write more in 2012 and to be a much much more frequent visitor to all of you and your sites that I love to read so much, and finally Happy New Year - keep blogging x

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The Barcelona Skirt is finished - at last...

At last - a finished item! My Barcelona Skirt was in danger of taking root in the project basket until Freerangenan threw me a helpline and took her favourite grandchildren to a magic show this afternoon. This left me free to ignore the ironing and get sewing! I'm so proud (or should that be sew proud!) of the completed item - not least because I've never read a pattern before making this - or put in a zip! I doubt I'll be offering the zip up for close scrutiny but it works, and that will do just fine...

Part of the reason I hadn't got any further with this until today is due to the upcoming craft fair in our village. I was asked to contribute something and had nervously offered up my own handmade decorations...

...expecting to be turned down or at best be asked for half a dozen, instead Ive had preorders for twenty six and then Ive got to create enough for the stall - yikes!!! It looks like Christmas has come very early in the freerangehouse - The living room has started to look like Santa's workshop with felt cutouts resting on every surface and I'm virtually stitching in my sleep...I'm sure I am completely confusing the kids sense of the seasons, they're wondering when the tree is going up...

So if your in the Rudston area on the 20th of November come and see if they did get made - or if I've thrown in the towel and moved onto the mulled wine...I'll keep you updated!

How we're getting on...

We not only have a roof - we have windows too!


The big build is getting there at last! After months of scaffolding and cement we have a building that looks like we might one day be using!



The windows and the paint have made all the difference and thankfully they were done before the weather turned - hurrah! The glass is now in all of the doors and concrete floors have been laid. We're getting closer to picking curtains - but as BH assures me we're not there yet.

Our current project is this...



The beloved insulation! Its such a boring topic, task and thing to spend money on - but I know we'll be thankful for it in the cold Yorkshire nights ( which aren't limited to winter unfortunately!)

So that's how we're getting on...and why I've been absent from the blogspace...it's like I said, we're getting there...slowly! But when we get there- oh brother its going to be worth it!



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