Jane Austen

I haven't forgotten about the tapes giveaway - what with the holiday and getting ready for it, I just haven't got round to doing the draw........I will do it now......the winner is...Caroline!

Hopefully they will make the ironing less of a chore for you, Caroline. Please send me a comment (which I won't publish) with your name and address, and I'll get them in the post this week. Fingers crossed you like them.

Everyone else, watch out for some more giveaways in the weeks to come as I am in a decluttering mood and there may be more treasures in store.

Note to the Mom over the seas in Ohio - a new neighbour got me some pumpkin from the base and I made your pumpkin bread today but she got the 29oz cans so I ended up making four loaves instead of two......and news from your old house - the beautiful pantry I so envied has been made into a downstairs shower room!! To explain that to everyone else, the Mom rented a house not too far from here which was a Methodist manse - it was vacant because two local Methodist ministers were married to each other and only needed one of the manses, instead of one each, so there was a spare for a while. It is a gorgeous old house with lovely big rooms, and there was a great pantry. Now that the new minister moved in about 18 months ago, he happens to be our minister at our church - he's the Superintendent of the area. I was telling him that I loved his house and that I was envious of the pantry as these modern houses are sadly lacking in the pantry department, and he said that it had been made into a shower room; I am sure that his family are finding that useful! You can see I have a serious pantry-envy problem, I can tell! I did have one once, I promise.

I haven't made the Christmas cakes yet as the YFG was too busy today with friends and going with the FH to his art club. Unfortunately she is back to school tomorrow so I think that I will have to make them on my own anyway.