Crowded Jumble Sale and Rye Flour

 The jumble sale last Saturday, a fundraiser for a village hall in a nearby village, was absolutely packed with people. I just picked up a three things for £1

Something for Granddaughter to do when she's here, another freezer storage box and lid, the right size for putting small cakes in the freezer and a solid clipboard for the check-in charts for Keep Moving group, I've been using a cardboard one for the last three years and it's falling apart.

BUT while looking round I lost my woolly hat, which I'd shoved in my pocket as everyone went in, so annoying as I'd had it ages. It probably fell out of my pocket and got added to the jumble! I can't go out in winter without something over my ears as getting cold can make me dizzy. When I got home I searched high and low for two other pull on beanie type hats that I had and they've vanished, I do still have two but one is a very thin knit and the other is an old fleece hat that lives by the back door for going in the garden. 

So that jumble sale has ended up costing  me more money than I wanted as I've sent for two different new hats - one home knitted from the Oxfam online shop  and a cheapie from ebay. (just occasionally I wish I'd had the patience to learn to knit!)

Then even more annoying, when I put my other coat on on Tuesday I found one of the vanished hats in my pocket ................duh!

After the jumble I went on to the next village for their monthly craft/farmers market and got a bag of rye flour to try (I've been wanting to try to make medieval maslin bread for ages)

 BUT what I'd not realised was that rye flour needs a different mixer blade for my bread machine as it makes a very sticky dough. I could make by hand but find kneading dough very hard on the wrists now. New blades for the bread machine are cheap enough so I sent for a pack containing one of each - normal and rye -  handy to have a spare anyway while it's still available.

So even though the sun was shining for the first time for many days it didn't feel as if I'd had a successful day.

Ho Hum

Two Jumble Sales

 For the first time in a week the sun shone on Saturday and I popped 15 minutes away to a Jumble Sale. 

There was a long queue ready for door opening, as usual - but look - Blue Sky!

and it's a tiny village hall but very well used. The Jumble sale is a fundraiser for the hall.

It's a squash inside when everyone is in and requires much shuffling about. This year I only  found  one  thing to buy- a  Mason Cash pudding basin for £1 (no books sadly, last year I found a Kristin Hannah that I'd not read).. The bowl is a replacement for one that came back from BiL's after Christmas with a huge crack. He said it was OK when he washed it up!

It says 'God save the cream' with a crown! 

There was time to go home get lunch and then out again for the Scout Jumble Sale in Eye Town Hall. The queue to get in was even longer than the one at Thornham and the squash inside so big that after a while they were operating a one in one out system.

I found a book I'd not seen before  to add to my Suffolk book shelf for 50p  and spent £1on the tombola where  I won a bottle of Coffee Liqueur which sounds disgusting....I'll have to find someone to give it to!

It was nice to get out and about after several grey, wet days at home. Sadly the sun hasn't been seen again since and the forecast is just as dull. The jumble sales, exercise group and a quick dash out for a shop were the only trips out all week and I realised I'd not had any sort of proper conversation with anyone for 6 days!.

 The weather makes it difficult to get up the enthusiasm for anything..... except reading!. 

Back Tomorrow

Grey Weather and Saturday Morning Jumble Sale

 The weather this week doesn't look very exciting.

See the row of little grey clouds?

Trying to find a plus and the only thing I can see is that sunset is now  5pm and it's not too cold.

Had to remind myself yesterday how to take a screenshot again - wish I was better at computers.

********************

As Jumble sales are such a rare event I had to go and have a look. A good crowd inside. I didn't look through the massive pile of clothes but found 4 things. Two for the Granddaughters and two just because.

    

The beautiful glass ( a vase I guess but really just a piece of art glass - not to be used for flowers) is incredibly heavy, I liked the colours - turquoise and gold, but I'm not sure why I bought the Beswick Cabbage Leaf dish except for it being only 50p and I knew it was worth a bit more. I've been thinking of doing a car-boot sale sometime this summer with Son and DiL maybe, so this can be added to the car -boot box, I might even make a 50p profit!!

Total spend was only £1.50......I do love Jumble sales when they sell stuff cheap to get it gone - so sensible.

 I stopped outside BiL's house on the way home where he was parked unloading yet another mower that needed repairing, his least favourite job he says but the one many people ask him to do. He's still hoping to cut my grass which is too long now for my battery powered mower, if only some drying weather could coincide with him not being busy and looking at that weather forecast I don't think it will be this week.

Back Soon 

Sue

Two Coffee Mornings and A Jumble Sale

 Two coffee mornings and a Jumble Sale................. all on the same day ........all before lunch .................I really know how to live the high life!!

I walked to the first coffee morning in the (very small) Old Schoolroom, it should have been in the URC church but they've got ceiling issues - which will be a problem for all the organisations that use it. I've mentioned before that we don't have a proper village hall and the community centre large hall, which is part of the primary school, so not available most of the time, is too expensive to hire for many groups. 

It was so crowded I didn't stay longer than the time it took to have some tombola tickets - won nothing - and buy a small pack of chocolate brownies.

This was a fundraiser for the village Over 60's Meal in March,  which I've never been to -  might get there this year although it's a cooked meal in the late evening which I'm not keen on. There's entertainment too so it's several hours on a hard chair - not good for my back at all.

The second coffee morning was the regular monthly one in the next village - where BiL lives, he'd said he was going so I went over to treat him to a coffee........ hope he'll cut the grass for me with his motor mower sometime so have to treat him when I can! 

Full house for coffee

Then it was drive on through two villages to the Jumble Sale, which was being held in a tiny village hall, with an equally tiny car park. Last time I went to a jumble sale here (blimey it was 4 years ago!) it was chaos on the roads around, not so bad this year but there was a good queue to get in, and it was a case of squeezing through the crowds to get to the tables and jumping into a space when someone moved.

A good queue waiting to get into very small village hall

I spent £2.50 on these things - an advent calendar, two small lock and lock plastic boxes, a puzzle-a-day pad, Kristin Hannah book that I've not read for my shelves and one of those chocolate 'bomb' things that makes a hot chocolate drink. I've bought these a few times for presents but rarely for myself.

On reflection I think the puzzle-a-day thing will be given as a gift - I didn't get far with the colouring-a-day book - gave up on about the 5th - I'd rather be reading. I'm already attempting 4 puzzles a day on the NYT Wordle website and have a Puzzler book on the go, that'll do.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Jumble Sale Finds

 Jumble Sales are a rare occurrence nowadays but I went to a Giant Charity Jumble Sale held in Debenham Church a couple of weeks ago. Every pew was covered with all sorts - tons and tons of clothes - which I didn't sort through, although lots of people were. 

Some people were stuffing things into carrier bags like crazy - there were no set prices and payment was by donation on the way out.

I just came out with these three things. The 500 piece puzzle is to try to get back an interest in doing puzzles - starting small!. A Glow in the dark birthday card for one of the grandchildren and a book to encourage me to get out the crayons and do a bit of drawing and colouring everyday - starting in winter I reckon. I gave a £2 donation to the church for these three items.

Back Soon

Sue

.

A Jumble Sale

 Before charity shops and car-boot sales there were Jumble Sales, they were the only place to find cheap children's clothes, toys and books and I was always there in the queue to get in.

They've almost vanished from the calendar now but Eye Scout Group still have one and I went to have a look - always good to support Scout Groups.

It was crowded and I avoided the clothes tables but had a good look through the books, toys and junk. 

I didn't buy much. Just this bundle of Resurgence Magazines and the dinky little picnic basket. 

 I know why I paid £1 for the magazines but have no idea why I spent 50p on the basket!  

(Although I expect one of the granddaughters will enjoy it)

Back Tomorrow

Sue

The Jumble Sale at All Saints Church, Stoke Ash

 This is the second  jumble sale I've been to in this church. The first one was when we had just come out of lockdown in August 2020.....with socially distanced queueing, all masked and sanitized........seems like a different world now things are back to normal - despite the doom mongers who said life would never be normal again.......mine is. Well, as normal as it's likely to get now.

This church isn't one I'll go back to visit for a special post, it's a very typical church for a small Suffolk village close beside the A140, Ipswich to Norwich road. No stained glass and no outstanding things of interest except perhaps the stairs you can see in the 3rd photo by the hymn number board. They would have once led up to the rood loft - long gone..................

A gallery, or platform, atop a rood screen, used for the rood (crucifix) and sometimes for musicians or singers. Most rood lofts and indeed most roods, were destroyed during the Reformation

Glorious blossom on the trees in the churchyard.

I didn't find anything exciting amongst the jumble and just spent £2 on a bag of bird feed fat-balls.

Then back across the A140 to another village church....and another post.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

A Surprise Jumble Sale

What a surprise on Saturday morning when I was out................saw a poster for a Jumble Sale in a village just a couple of miles from home and being held in their Parish Church. I had to go a look obviously!

Great excitement...............a socially distanced queue in a churchyard for a Jumble sale!

I found a few things :- A couple of what they call  "cosy" crime books from the USA, 2 new Pritt sticks and a little Aloe Vera plant - haven't had one for a while so will endeavour to care for this one  as they are so handy for burns.

 My total donation to Church Funds was £3.


I hope this is a sign of things getting more normal as I also found some of the smaller libraries are going to re-open for browsing next week and Very Excited because the swimming pool may also be opening at the end of the month.
After hearing on the local news that in the counties of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk (that's a total population of around about 3 million people) there were just 22 people in the regions  hospitals with Covid on the 9th August, I think we are pretty safe whatever we do.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

The Weekend

Hello and welcome to some more followers, hope you enjoy reading and also hi to some new people commenting.

I needed to go and pick up a new LPG cylinder for my cooker so thought it would be a good idea to call in at a village event..........not my village..............nothing happens here. But at Cotton they have Village Cafe once a month - breakfasts and some stalls - I had a chat with Colin's Aunt, who never seems like an Aunty as she's only 12 years older than me. (Col's Mum was already a teenager before this little sister was born). After my bacon roll breakfast and picking up the gas I came home a different way and saw some signs for a Jumble Sale........  so of course I went back in the afternoon to have a look.
It was Eye Scout Group  Jumble which I went to last year, so lots of children's toys and books. I found a big pudding basin to replace one that I chucked last year because it was badly crazed and two packs of children's card games, modern versions of some we had years ago. Had a go on the tombola and won................nothing as usual!

On Sunday I had a late 'Christmas' lunch round at BiL's house. Col's sister was there too as she had been to chapel. BiL had bought a reduced price turkey crown and wanted to use it up, without having to eat it all week - he's a much better cook than I am nowadays. I love baking but cooking for one is still a chore - I ought to get more organised with meal plans.........or something.

I meant to do the RSPB great garden bird-watch but didn't get round to it - and I'd cleaned out all the bird-feeders too. Earlier in the winter there were goldfinches but they seem to have vanished and the long-tailed tits only make an occasional appearance. I reckon it's because the weather has been so mild they are finding enough to eat in the garden and hedgerows. If winter isn't going to arrive until February or March I'd better order some more feed next month and a new peanut feeder as the one Colin made years ago it's falling apart.......squirrel proof this time so they can't bite through the plastic.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

First Jumble Sale of the Year

The first jumble sale of the year was well advertised - which caused problems as it was in a tiny village hall on some very narrow roads. Everywhere was completely jammed up and I ended up having to reverse quite a long way because someone coming the other way couldn't!
I thought about giving up and going home because by the time I'd gone backwards, turned round and found a space to park a long way up the road, the queue to get in was about 50 people.
But I stayed and everyone eventually squashed in and I fought to get to the tables of bric-a-brac and  then the book table and after all that..............I spent just £1 on 3 things



Never had an apple corer and slicer, so thought I'd try one. The 12 tiny nail varnishes will be for Christmas for the eldest of the 4 children in the lane. I always get them a little something and pretend that Santa delivered them to the wrong address - although the eldest two are way past believing!
And the book - Suffolk Author and Suffolk Illustrator - a book for children - curious to see what it was.

Next jumble sale in 2 weeks time I think...........a waste of time and money? probably, but they get me out of the house on a Saturday until the car boot season at Needham Market starts in March - a month later than usual...............I'm getting withdrawal symptoms!(And they are  finishing at the end of October instead of early December - very sad news for me)

Back Tomorrow
Sue

Muttering About My Neighbours and A Quick Visit to a Jumble Sale

Next door neighbours are having an extension on the back of their house, well I assume they are as they haven't actually said. I know when they moved in a year ago they wanted to buy some of the field behind their house and our garden - but as far as I know the farmer wouldn't sell.  They have the builders there digging out the footings and all the earth is being put on the bank of the ditch opposite the other houses in the lane. That's fine. BUT to make room to put the earth they've cut down the big Elder tree. The tree where I got the berries from to make the lovely Elderberry syrup last year. I felt really sad when I came home yesterday and found it down. Elders are not everyone's favourite tree, but I like them. I do hope they apologised profusely to the tree when it was cut, it's very unlucky not too.


 I do love it when people running jumble sales sell things super cheap because they don't want to pack them all away. This one was at Eye Bowls Club a couple of weeks ago and there was a big queue to get in.

I only stopped in for a few minutes because I wanted to "do" a church, deliver a birthday card and get home with enough time left to cut the grass while it was dry and before the sun disappeared.

The box  on the left is full of little books for the alphabet letters with things to do in each book...........so that will be saved for a few years time. The box on the right has 8 board books each with a nursery rhyme just right for Willow and the tractor and trailer are ready for Jacob's next visit. I also got a trike and a small dolls pram, the whole lot for  £5.50 - Good value I reckon

( The box of ABC books says  "will keep your little ones entertained for hours"........that's just so unlikely!)



Back Tomorrow
Sue

Jolly Jumble

Before charity shops were the norm jumble sales were the only place for finding secondhand children's books and clothes, so bringing up 2 and then 3 children on a low income I was always in the queue at all the jumble sales around Cotton and Bacton where we used to live.

Now a jolly old jumble sale is a rare treat, so I was very excited to see the signs for a Scout Jumble Sale because our Scout jumbles when I was a Cub Scout leader were always some of the best.

There was a good queue waiting and we all rushed in to look when the doors opened.

I found another House Of Puzzles jigsaw. This will be the last one I do at the moment because the gardening and growing season is fast approaching.

There were loads of books at 3 for  £1 and I got several for the grandchildren and also picked up a few  non fiction in the hope they would be wanted by Ziffit and luckily one was wanted for £1.62 and another for £1.82. Another they didn't want but I'll keep it for a while. Also spotted this Shirley Hughes book which I knew about but hadn't  seen before.

I didn't plough through the tons of clothes, no need to find clothes for grandchildren as they get given loads. I cast an eye over the china and other household stuff but nothing caught my eye.

Hope Eye Scout Group have a Jumble sale in January every year.

Hello and welcome to some more new followers, I still love to see the numbers creeping up and thank you for comments yesterday.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

Car Boot and Jumble Sale

After the week of enforced rest due to the back ache I went out to the Saturday Car-Boot sale at Needham Market.

Found a nice Christmas present for Willow........... wooden play table with things fixed to it to fiddle with was £4.50.
Also bought a child's apron for 20p, another Shirley Hughes book for 50p. Christmas stencil cards for the 2020 advent parcels also 50p.

After lunch I nipped a few miles along the back roads to Eye for the only Jumble sale I've seen advertised this Autumn. I battled the crowds and spent................40p! The 1000 piece puzzle has no big areas of sky, cliffs and sea like my last puzzle but a mass of different things in an old fashioned corner shop, they only wanted 20p - bargain! Hope it's complete as when I got home and opened the box I found the bits weren't even in a bag so some may have fallen out. (For 20p it doesn't matter too much as they'll go on the fire for a bit of extra kindling!)
The other 20p went on the Mousie, Mousie game which I seem to remember my sister had? or was it one of the children? -so either 50+ or 30+ years ago!


I've nearly finished the lifeboat jigsaw. I've been making sure I sit properly on the chair while doing it as I think it was perching on the edge of a chair and leaning over that made my back go ping a week ago.
No pieces missing so far and only the cliffs left to do. The sea and the sky were were not too bad but the cliff might take a while.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

Car-boot and Jumble Sales

Rounding off the year with the remaining car boot and jumble sale treasures.

Not sure when I picked up these 3 things but found the picture on drafts from late September and I know they were from the small nearest boot sale and were 50p each.

The VTech talking phone went to Florence when we saw her. The mug and plate say "For Santa". We are bound to have the Surrey family and Jacob staying here at Christmas sometime so this will stay here ready and the warm fleece-lined slipper-socks will be part of a Christmas gift.

At the end of October I picked up this pack for £2, originally from the Mid Wales Willow company, it's a kit with instructions for making willow stars and wreath. I shall have a go at these next month.

Then I splurged a whole £2.20 in the middle of the month on..

...........................a small artificial Christmas tree for £1 -  it needs some tlc because, as we say in Suffolk, - it was slightly on the huh.; a slow cooker cookery book for 20p - this is for Col's brother who since his Dad died is now having to cook for himself after he gets home from work; a children's game ready for a couple of years time, new hot-water bottle, new hot water bottle cover ( these will be a Christmas gift) and bottle brush for £1 for the lot - been looking for something to clean the narrow vases - my old bottle brush disappeared somewhere between the smallholding and here.


Early in November I zoomed to a big jumble sale in a village hall across the A140. Blimey, it was packed out and there were so many clothes, though not so much bric-a-brac. Quite a lot of books...... I just found this one

also got  a big bag of tea-lights, a pot-holder and some paper craft bits all for £1. Had a go on the tombola - didn't win - as usual.

Another car boot sale on another day and I spent  a total of just £1.20, the pink spotty thing is a doll carrier for a little girl to carry her dolly around, will put this away for Florence. Cupcake cases and toppers are a Christmas present to go with money for niece who likes baking and the Sue Grafton book for me. I now have all her ABC crime books except X and Y, I've read up to K so far.

And one more boot sale on a very cold Saturday morning later in the month, where I found 2

card making kits for 20p each, some vehicles for the Brio railway were £1, a dusting mitt to keep in the car 20p and big plastic jug for 50p.

Also this below for the Grandchildren, when they've grown a bit,  for the bargain price - I reckon- of £3 including the farm machinery. It needs putting onto a sturdier plywood base as it's on hard-board and a bit bendy.

 Someone made me something similar when I was small but it didn't have a farmhouse and I always wanted a farmhouse! The roofs lift off the buildings so you can see inside when organising your livestock.
 Now we can look out for farm animals and fences although I may want to play first!

I doubt I'll bother with boot sales in December, there are a couple more on Saturdays in Needham Market but it's too cold for most people to think about selling so they will only be small .

Back Tomorrow
Sue

And Again

Another Jolly Jumble last Saturday and another car-boot sale on Sunday. We headed out to one jumble and found another on the way. All I got from the one we knew about was a new set (pair?) of nutcrackers for 20p but at the first I found the DVD of the recent film - Their Finest -  for 50p and the heavy glass sundae dish also 50p, Col found a book he'd not seen for another 50p. I didn't realise Their Finest was based on the book "Their Finest Hour and a Half" by Lissa Evans which I've already read a few years ago. No wonder the film sounded vaguely familiar when it was trailed on TV earlier this year. I think John Grey might have done a review of it on his blog too.

It's getting to the end of car boot season at our local one and most of the people there are just the regulars but we picked up these few useful bits. The wooden toy with push round pegs (20p) is for Florence (I'll save that for Christmas as it's in lovely condition) as are the board books (£1 the lot). The handy thing being that she'll have grown out of these by the time grandchild  #3 will be old enough and they can be passed on. The box of individually wrapped Christmas candles were £1 and I'll add a couple to the hampers and Col picked up the golf-ball radish seeds for 50p a pack. Hope the man with boxes full of T&M seeds will be there next week so I can take my seed list and see what else we can get cheap.

I do love picking up little things for the grandchildren just wished we saw more of Jacob. They were due to be up from Surrey next weekend but change of plan at  J's work has put paid to that. Hope they get here before Col goes in for the stem cell treatment. I'm pleased that we'll have 2 grandchildren in Suffolk when Son and DIL's littl'un arrives next year.

Apologies to folk who saw this post when it escaped on Sunday. I had to tether it back again, so it became "doesn't exist" and thanks for comments this week, I discovered lots of comments on the Hares post that I'd not noticed so apologies for not replying. Also Big welcome to follower 216. Hi, hope you enjoy reading.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

A Jolly Jumble Sale

It was quite a treat to find there was a jumble sale happening not too far away, they are such a rare occurrence nowadays. Had to go and have a look and so did about 30 other people..........most were ahead of me in the queue!

Just a few treasures

The Chicken cupboard holds 12 eggs and was £1 - that will make a bit more space in our fridge. The Candle-stick was 20p - for my spring mantle piece (just need a green or yellow candle). The pretty china trio were 60p. The little cat book by Doris Lessing  was 10p, I shall pass that to a friend for Christmas and I paid 50p for the very large book (originally £30!) ......Clive Aslett - Villages of Britain;The 500 Villages That Made the Countryside. Now if ever there was any truth in the saying "never judge a book by it's cover" this book proves it. The cover is intriguing  .............farmers harvesting with scythes, horse and cart, haystacks, the manor house with pigs in a sty,  But the villages featured are chosen simply for a story of something that happened there, usually something that hit the headlines of local newspapers, but I can't really see how a murder from the 1800's "Made the Countryside"? Nothing much in the book about the actual village. Anyway, I shall have a look through and pop it in the book box under the stairs ready for the next car-boot sale we do.

I'll keep a look out for more Jumbles during the Autumn, now we are in the middle of Suffolk rather than on the edge, there ought to be more to go to.


Back Tomorrow
Sue