Reading From My Shelves

Due to having 9 books for Christmas and always finding secondhand books wherever I go AND very few library books I managed to read a few of my own books.

Elizabeth Fair - The Mingham Air. Fiction. (A Furrowed Middlebrow Reprint 2019 Originally Published 1960). A gentle story of the characters in a village and  newcomer Hester who goes to convalesce with her Godmother and sets about organising everyone.

Mary Stewart - The Wind Off the Small Isles/The Lost One. Fiction Novella and short story. (Originally published 1968 and 1960, reprinted 2014). A Quick read with both stories featuring the same young woman - intrepid survivor of cliff falls on Lanzarote and escaped prisoner on the Moors.

Laurie Ogden - The Chimney Swallows. Children's Fiction. (Published 1999). The author and his family live in an old house where swallows return every year to nest. One summer his son John has to spend a lot of time in bed and the swallows nest right inside his room. But then comes the year where the swallows don't return.

Of the four my favourite was...............

Richmal Crompton - Family Roundabout. Fiction. (A Persephone reprint originally published 1948) Richmal Crompton was much better known for a children's books about William. She also wrote many adult books. In Family Roundabout we are shown the matriarchs of two families, and the ups and downs of their children and grandchildren in the years between the wars.The families are linked by marriage and there are other marriages, none of which are straight-forward and happy, but still a good story capturing the time.

I'd like to read more from my shelves but also love to have new books from favourite authors from the library although I found I'd forgotten to order the new Elly Griffiths book "The Lantern Men". Added myself to the waiting list........... 378th!! Might be a while.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

February Days

Another book with illustrations to use for the beginning of the month posts. It's a children's book with the Sara Coleridge poem and once belonged to Youngest daughter, it's now gone back to her for Florence.

 Each month there is a flap to lift to see what the mouse family are doing.

February can bring any sort of weather but is often cold around the third week

Double faced February

There is always one fine week in February 


Two old weather sayings for Candlemas (yesterday)............. seem to contradict each other, take your pick!

  If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will take another flight

If Candlemas Day be cloud and rain

Winter is gone and will not come again.


If Candlemas day be fair and fine
Half the winter is left behind;
If Candlemas day be dull and gloom,
Half the winter is still to come.

Beware of a mild February......

A February spring is not worth a pin

 

In the past the full moon in February (on the 9th) was called the Snow Moon, Ice Moon or Storm Moon, emphasizing the fact that February is still a winter month which is why farmers through time have always been told........

In the barn on Candlemas Day 

                                                Should be half the straw and half the hay



Day length increases by 1hour and 48 minutes during this month..............thank goodness.

The Anglo-Saxons called February 'Solmonarth' which means flat-cake month. Cakes would be made as offerings to the gods in thanks of the lengthening daylight.

I like this saying I found

A warm day in February is a dream of April

Back Tomorrow

Sue 

February 1st - Imbolc

From the book  'Ceremonies of the Seasons' by Jennifer Cole. The winter turns to spring segment of the wheel of the year.

February 1st .......... Imbolc (pronounced imulk) - The first of the four Celtic festivals, held to celebrate a stirring of life after winter and the beginning of the lambing season. The word Imbolc may derive from old Irish meaning 'in the belly'. The Celts celebrated by lighting fires to honour the Goddess of light, youth and fertility, hearth and home -Brighid - The Bright One.
Brighid later became the Christian St Brigid who was a real person living around 525 CE. Celtic myth and Christian folktales are often blended. One story says Brigid was the midwife of the Virgin Mary.
A lucky charm associated with Imbolc is St Brigids cross - originally woven from rushes and hung on the door to protect, purify and bring good fortune to the home

Image from internet

I thought I'd have a go at making one, didn't have rushes but plenty of young willow. But even after soaking it was too thick to fold in half and flatten.

So until I find some rushes somewhere - not common in dry Suffolk but I've seen them occasionally, I had a go with paper strips.

Here's a youtube tutorial................

And my effort with paper.

To hold it together I stuck a piece of green card on the back.



Hope you all have a lovely weekend.............I'm looking forward to the start of the 6 Nations Rugby on TV.
Back on Monday
Sue