Lovelies in my Garden

Today has been such a nice day I thought I’d share a few photos of things in bloom so I can look back at them in gloomy November.
The day started with a lovely surprise I won a blog giveaway today over at Doris’s blog why not hop on over and see her lovely blog Crocheting in Georgia.

Doris I hope you don’t mind I borrowed your bumble bee to shout out THANK YOU.
My Himalayan blue poppies in bloom, the colour is just spectacular.
  

A bit of an old rhododendron but again what gorgeous fuchsia pink.
It’s all very nice and manicured but the white’ish tree/shrub to the right of the huge conifer is getting straggly. It’s actually heather gone completely mad and it’s trying to take over on the crochet clootie tree so action needs to be taken.
I don’t know the correct name for these maybe Amanda from Eight By Six Gardening blog will pop along and tell me. Something in the daisy family I think. If anyone else knows please feel free to let me know. 


I thought these photo’s I took were really atmospheric and eerie. Yes some very necessary pruning taking place with a very fume ridden chainsaw. Not exactly environmentally friendly – it’s OK the wrists that needed slapping have been.

Crochet Clootie Tree in Flower

To learn more click the following links - Clootie Tree - Crochet Gardening  and The history of the Clootie Tree.
Clootie Tree update March, 2010
To contribute crochet ribbons to the crochet clootie tree please email me at thesunroomuk@googlemail.com

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2010 in Crochet.

Okay everyone I’ve been trying to think of various ways to celebrate International Women’s Day 2010. I had thought about giveaways etc but will be doing that next month as it’s my birthday then and it’s always more pleasurable to give than receive.
So to mark International Women’s Day 2010 I’ve decided to have a different type of giveaway a more spiritual and altruistic form of giving. I’m going to make all your wishes come true :-) All that you need to do is leave a comment, wish, dream, prayer or affirmation and choose a colour. I will then crochet a ribbon for your wish etc in the colour you have chosen. I will then add your ribbon to my clootie tree to blow in the wind I will be creating these ribbons throughout March.
You can find out about the history and meanings of a clootie tree here.
 
The day is an official holiday in Afghanistan,^[5] Armenia,^[6] Azerbaijan,^[7] Belarus,^[8] Burkina Faso,^[9] Cambodia,^[10] China (for women only),^[11] Croatia,^{[citation needed]} Cuba,^{[citation needed]} Georgia, Guinea-Bissau,^[5] Eritrea,^[5] Kazakhstan,^[12] Kyrgyzstan, Laos,^[13] Madagascar (for women only),^[14] Moldova,^[15] Mongolia,^[16] Montenegro,^{[citation needed]}, Nepal (for women only),^[5], Russia,^[5] Serbia,^{[citation needed]} Tajikistan,^[5] Turkmenistan,^[5] Uganda,^[5] Ukraine,^[5] Uzbekistan,^[5] Vietnam,^{[citation needed]} and Zambia.^[17]
In some countries, such as Cameroon^[18] or Romania,^{[citation needed]} the day is not a public holiday, but is widely observed nonetheless.
On this day it is customary for men to give the women in their lives - mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters, colleagues, etc - flowers and small gifts. In some countries (such as Romania) it is also observed as an equivalent of Mother's Day, where children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union celebrations of IWD were abandoned in Armenia. Instead April 7 was introduced as state holiday of ‘Beauty and Motherhood.’ The new holiday immediately got popular among Armenians, as it commemorates one of the main holidays of Armenian Church, Annunciation. However, people still kept celebrating IWD on March 8 as well. Public discussion held on the topic of two ‘Women’s Days’ in Armenia resulted in the recognition of the so called ‘Women’s Month’ which is the period between March 8 and April 7.
In Italy, to celebrate the day, men give yellow mimosas to women.^[19][20] Yellow mimosas and chocolate are also one of the most common March 8 presents in Russia and Albania.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Lithuania, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Serbia the custom of giving women flowers still prevails. Women sometimes get gifts from their employers too. Schoolchildren often bring gifts for their teachers as well.
In countries like Portugal it is usual, at the night of 8 March, for groups of women celebrate in "women-only" dinners and parties.^{[citation needed]}
In India, IWD holds a lot of significance. Many celebrations are held during the day.
In Pakistan working women in formal and informal sectors celebrate International Women's Day every year to commemorate their ongoing struggle for due rights, despite facing many cultural and religious restrictions. Some women working for change in society use IWM to help the movement for women's rights. In Poland, for instance, every International Women's Day includes large feminist demonstrations in major cities.^[21]
In 1975, which had been designated as International Women’s Year, the United Nations gave official sanction to and began sponsoring International Women's Day.
The 2005 Congress (conference) of the British Trades Union Congress overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for IWD to be designated a public holiday in the United Kingdom.
Since 2005 International Women's Day has been celebrated in Montevideo, either on the principal street, 18 de Julio, or alternatively through one of its neighbourhoods. The event has attracted much publicity due to a group of female drummers, La Melaza, who have performed each year.^[22]
Today many events are held by women's groups around the world. The UK based Marketing company, Aurora hosts a free worldwide register of IWD local events^[23] so that women and the media can locate local activity. Many governments and organizations around the world support IWD.
There is a map of IWD events available at this location, for women's groups around the world.^[24]

Wednesday Night Project 170210 – The History of The Cloutie Clootie Tree.

Rag trees, clootie wells, and raggedy bushes are English, Scottish, and Irish names for special places with a mystical reputation. People visit in the hope of healing and good fortune and tie a piece of cloth on a particular tree or bush near a well or source of water. Often the tree is a hawthorn (aka whitethorn or maytree).
There are many, many places in the world with a tradition of attaching cloth to special trees as a ritual for good luck, good health, or as a votive offering. Wishing wells and sacred springs of water are widespread too.
A Wish Tree is an individual tree, usually distinguished by species, position or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. By tradition, believers make votive offerings in order to gain from that nature spirit, saint or goddess fulfillment of a wish.
I first discovered these trees when visiting The Samye Ling Centre, Eskdalemuir, Scotland.


Cloutie Tree
As you enter the peace garden from Johnstone House there is a Cloutie tree with colourful cloths tied to its branches.  It is both a Scottish and Tibetan custom to make a wish and then tie a coloured ribbon to the tree.  As the cloth fades the wish is carried off by the elements and hopefully one day comes true.  People are welcome to take a coloured ribbon from the black container beneath the tree, make a small donation in the box and then tie a ribbon to the tree.
My crochet clootie tree. If anyone would like to contribute a crocheted ribbon to the tree please email me at thesunroomuk@googlemail.com

Vegetarian Haggis

Hello Folks,

My unusual Holly bush with trumpet flowers in full bloom, pretty but prickly.

I haven’t been here for quite a few weeks and was eager to get something posted. I’ve been busy with children, more children, relatives coming to stay. Children’s birthdays, decorating and getting ready to go back to school. As well as the usual gardening, entertaining and general domesticity.

In the middle of all this mayhem I had a calling to make a prayer, comfort and healing shawl. This was a pleasure to crochet but in my haste to send it to the intended recipient, I forgot to photograph it which I regret. I don’t know who said it, probably John Lennon but ‘Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.’

Prayer shawl
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For the jewish prayer shawl see Tallit

A prayer shawl, in Christianity, is a piece of cloth blessed in honor of a saint, angel, or deceased person. They are blessed by the clergy and can be informally blessed through prayer by the laity. They are to be given to a person who is ill, injured, or in bad fortune.^[1] They may also be given to people for celebrating events such as childbirth, baptism, or confirmation. ^[2] Prayer shawls are common in Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Methodist churches.

Further information about prayer shawls can be found at http://www.shawlministry.com/

Regardless of your religion or non religious beliefs creating a payer, healing or comfort shawl is a spiritual process that is unique to each individual.
I continue to be busy crocheting various other projects, cutting up fabrics for my rag rug – the end is finally in sight.

The other day I got a real urge for a MacSween’s vegetarian haggis which I thought could be lurking somewhere in the chest freezer, I was wrong. I’m not a vegetarian but some dishes are too good to resist. I then got my thinking hat on and decide to try a create something that came near to the delicious, crunchy, spicy and beanie texture of a quality vegetarian haggis. I did some research on the internet of various recipes, I looked at what was available in the kitchen cupboards and came up with the following recipe.

Vegetarian Haggis Recipe
1 Medium Carrot – Finely Chopped

125g Mushrooms Finely Chopped

1 Red Onion Finely Chopped

1 Shallot Finely Chopped

750ml Vegetable Bouillon

5 Tablespoons of Red Lentils

2 Tablespoons Red Kidney Bean

1 Tablespoon Butter Beans

5 Tablespoons Nuts of your choice

1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice

1 tsp of Thyme

1 ½ tsp Parsley

1 tsp Paprika

250g oatmeal or finely processed oats

1 egg beaten

1 tbsp Olive Oil.

All ingredients can be finely chopped in any normal food processor giving a finer texture and ultimately a more satisfying haggis. Choose any nuts that you like – In my haggis I used peanuts, pine nuts and cashew nuts. Feel free to substitute any beans of your choice rather than kidney beans. I wouldn’t recommend baked beans I think this would affect the overall taste. I decided to add butterbeans as they are one of my favourites but many people don’t like them.

1. Sauté the onion and carrot for 5 mins in the olive oil.

2. Add the mushroom and sauté for a further 5 mins.

3. Add all other ingredients, and 400ml of the stock, apart from egg & oats and cook on a low heat for a further 10 mins.

4. Next add all the oatmeal and add the remaining stock until desired texture is reached. Continue on a low heat for a further 20 mins.

5. Using olive oil grease a loaf tin or any other suitable ovenproof container. Add the mixture after 20 mins and place in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for a further 30 mins. Leave uncovered if you want a crusty top or cover with foil if you wish to retain a moist texture.

We served this with the traditional accompaniments of mashed potatoes and mashed neeps and it was truly yummy.

For further information on MacSween’s haggis go to http://www.macsween.co.uk/