When I first moved to my home, it was a dinky 2 bedroom house, with not enough room to swing a cat – if I’d wanted to – which I didn’t!

But… I have so many interests, so many books, that I had to weave my way though it all like a rabbit in a cornfield. It became fairly obvious very quickly that I needed to do something – and so the L-shaped snug wrap around extension was born.

It was wonderful! I could spread all my detritus around with gay abandon.

Well … you know what that means, don’t you? The old saying ‘you always fill the space you have’ has worked admirably in my case. How did I fit all this ‘stuff’ in such a small house before? My books have bred with alarming fecundity, my material goods have increased threefold ( a spinning wheel and loom added to the floor space) and my extra cupboards are now full of jars over flowing with delights for the palate.

I have made preserves of all kinds, sauces and marmalade, jams and chutneys. I have experimented with cordials and different butters (lemon and peanut), flavoured vinegars and pickles, and even pastes and relishes.

When my garden gives me a glut of anything, zucchinis to apples – I work out a preserve for the lean times.

Recently, a friend gave me some mangoes. Now, I know you will all be horrified ( and rightly so) – but I don’t like mangoes!

Mango relish is a different story tho’. Here is the recipe I used.

MANGO RELISH: –

900g/2lb mangoes (peeled, de-stoned and sliced)

!/2 tspn salt

225g/8oz peeled,cored and sliced apples

200g/3/4cup raw sugar

1 onion – chopped finely

1 tspn crushed garlic.

Place the mangoes in a bowl (non-metallic) and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for a while.

Put the vinegar and sugar into a large saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

Add the mangoes, apples, onion and garlic, and bring to the boil (stir occasionally).

Rn hour, until the mixture is thick.

Spoon into sterilized jars and seal. Allow two weeks to mature before eating.

******

So …

Now my house is full again, my pantry is bulging and my bookcases are groaning. What else is left to do?

My dreams are reality – and at 70 years of age, that is a wonderful thing to admit. Now the only thing that I would like is a man to love. But – be careful what you wish for – not only do I NOT want a married man, or a young stud, or a drunken old man, or a widow who is still grieving his past wife, or a gambler, or a smoker, or an angry personality, or a violent man, or a sick personage that I have to care for, or a sports fanatic, or a  ……………. you get the idea? I’m very hard to please!!!! An impossible dream and fantasy at my age.

With kindness

Maureen

 

P.S. I love fantasy and gentleness. Here is the second book in my chapter books about  fairies and elves that I wrote for middle school age children. Interested? email me at maureenlarter@gmail.com

Book 1 is called ‘Broken Wing’ and Book 3 is titled ‘Cave of the Golden Bowerbird’. I wonder if I’ll write a book 4?