Shepherding the Flock

A Comforting Remembrance!

 This is a repost of a favoured post first published at the Corgyncombe Courant December 31, 2011. It was part two of my "Delightful Kindred Spirit Finds" post.
It is a true story!

Earlier in December I gathered rose hips and added to the Princess pine and rosemary. As you might recall, in my "Delightful Kindred Spirit Finds" post, I mentioned various old well loved things previously owned by a kindred spirit Martha. This little basket is another one of them.

Rose Hips hanging from the mantel and an old English shepherd's staff alongside.

An old fashioned English smock.

In "The Workwoman's Guide", originally published in 1838, there is instruction on making a smock.
In referencing bunnies and knitted rabbit wool items from Beatrix Potter's stories and a knitting pattern, Tasha Tudor mentioned "The Workwoman's Guide" and wrote to us "Maybe you also own this invaluable work?" Those at Corgyncombe find that "The Workwoman's Guide" is indeed a most valuable guide. It contains information, patterns, and instructions relating to bonnets and caps, collars, stitches, shawls, frocks, sleeves, knitting, household items, and many other things. The book has instructions for making little stitches and "neat" and "neatly" are predominant words.

The real and original Tillie Tinkham, seamstress mouse for the dolls at Corgyncombe.
Tillie Tinkham is in agreement with Tasha Tudor:
"The Workwoman's Guide" is an "invaluable work"!

The sheep in the stable remind me of my own. Raising sheep has long been a tradition in my family for many generations. In addition, my direct family surnames include both Shepard/Shepherd and Angel... puts one in a Christmastide mood!

The Shepard's Barn
I truly like the smell of the unwashed fleece. I love spinning wool in the grease. Spinning in the grease is not for everyone but I do not mind the smell of the fleece, in fact I find the smell comforting as it reminds me of when I was a little girl going into the old barn with the beautiful stone foundation and seeing all the lambs with their mamas.

 

How I just loved the little lambs!
I have loved old fashioned things since I was a little girl, even before I discovered Tasha Tudor!
The first Tasha Tudor illustrations I saw was when I was a child after the above photograph was taken and they were in "Childcraft Poems of Early Childhood". One of the poems was "Mary's Lamb" where Tasha illustrated an old fashioned schoolhouse with the children working on their slates at their desks when Mary's little lamb appears and tries to enter the schoolhouse. Tasha's illustration also shows the old schoolhouse with the lovely rolling hills in the background. I have always and forever loved rolling hills! The last illustration shows Mary tenderly giving her lamb a hug!
The photograph of me hugging the lamb reminds us of Tasha Tudor's Mary hugging her lamb and of other Tasha Tudor illustrations, as well!

What Tasha has drawn in her illustrations are the same old ways that I grew up with. I find them familiar, comforting, and I am drawn to them. [*See note below.]

A basket of Diane's handspun natural colored yarns.

The Shepard's Pasture

Sarah and Daisy the Nubian Goat, we call her Daisy Petals. Can you see why?

* I wrote the sentences below originally in June 2007 in a letter to Julie:
"What Tasha has drawn in her illustrations are the same old ways that I grew up with. I find them familiar, comforting, and I am drawn to them."

Some of the photographs and some of the writings on this post are from previous Corgyncombe Courant posts that can be found here on the Corgyncombe Courant and from our web site and our previous postings elsewhere on the internet.

Here is a link to our post
at the Corgyncombe Courant:
Shepherding the Flock
posted December 31, 2011

Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com

Photographs, images, and text copyright © 2000-2017 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson. All rights reserved. Photographs, images, and/or text may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson.

http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2017/01/shepherding-flock.html
copyright © 2011 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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Delightful Kindred Spirit Finds!

Baskets, Quilts, Birds, Gardening, and Gazing at the Stars!

This is a repost of a favoured post first published at the Corgyncombe Courant December 14, 2011.

It is a true story!

I seem to have, when visiting antique shops, an ability to pick out items all previously owned by the same person. Things that I treasure, they treasured. That is what happened recently when I visited one of my favorite antique shops.
I looked up, hanging from the ceiling was this wonderful old basket, a basket that you could take into the garden and gather flowers in, be they wild flowers or home grown.

On the shelf I found a delightful old quilt of mellow colours of blue, salmon pink, and brown. This quilt was old and well loved, all hand sewn. The quilt reminds me of quilts I used to have tucked in around me when I was a little girl. I just love its warm, soft colours. I also found a linen dish towel with green and peach stripes. The quilt, the basket, and the linen towel had belonged to the same lady. I found out that she lived without electric and running water! She did her cooking and baking on an old wood cook range. I had to find out more about this lady! Later I found out that Martha was a gardener, loved watching the birds, looking at stars in the night sky, dolls, genealogy, and teaching Sunday School! I wish I could have known her, as true kindred spirits are a delight to find! We would imagine that Martha would have known and loved Tasha Tudor's illustrations, too!

There are more delightful finds of Martha's that we will share with you later!

I has always loved watching birds, too. In grade school one of my teachers loved birds and always fed them in a tree outside the window. I always liked to watch the birds instead of concentrating on school work. I received an award for perfect attendance which was a certificate to be redeemed at the bookstore. The second I walked in the bookstore I knew which book I wanted... a big wonderful book about birds. The book included a recording of all the lovely bird songs.

The Corgyncombe Courant encourages their dear readers to feed the birds throughout the winter and never forget to feed them daily as our little winged friends depend on us! The birds are always such a joy to watch and to hear! They can also be amusing to watch, like the nuthatch who likes to perch upside down.

A beautiful Tufted Titmouse in flight!

The colours of the quilt remind us of the winter birds at Corgyncombe.

A lovely Mourning Dove.

The old quilt and garden basket that belonged to Martha.
In the basket are kissing balls to be hung on the porch. On the log, near the bottom of the chair, grows some Herb-Robert. Herb-Robert has lovely pink flowers when it blooms in the spring through autumn.

This is the nest of the Red-Winged Blackbird in June.
'Tis hidden away near the ground in the goat pasture.
These nests are very hard to find but there were many of them nesting in the pasture and the meadow.
The colours of the eggs and nest also remind us of the old quilt.

This old tintype was found for 99 cents at another antique shop a little ways away from the other antique shop. It was full of mud and you could hardly see the portrait inside. It looked like it had been through a flood! At home I carefully took apart the tintype, glass, and case and cleaned everything. A lovely lady's portrait emerged! What a pretty frock she is wearing! We wonder who she was!

On St. Nicholas Day one year, Diane took this photograph of this lovely chickadee.
The morn dawned snowy, sparkly white.

On Day 14 in "An Advent Calendar from Tasha Tudor", behind the doors, right above St. Nicholas and his sleigh pulled by owls, are two chickadees resembling the chickadee in my photograph. We are loving our new Advent Calendar that was a delightful find this summer "From Tasha Tudor, An Advent Calendar, Christmas Comes But Once A Year". Day 10 had the cutest little mouse in a cornucopia that reminds us of our Tillie Tinkham! We always open the doors on the Advent Calendars on the appointed days because not to open them would be missing half of the joy!

Take Joy in the simple things, this delightful Christmastide!!!

Some of the photographs and some of the writings on this post are from previous Corgyncombe Courant posts that can be found here on the Corgyncombe Courant and from our web site and our previous postings elsewhere on the internet.

Here is a link to our post
at the Corgyncombe Courant:
Delightful Kindred Spirit Finds
posted December 14, 2011

Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com
Photographs, images, and text copyright © 2000-2016 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson. All rights reserved. Photographs, images, and/or text may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson.

http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2016/12/delightful-kindred-spirit-finds.html
copyright © 2011 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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A Homemade May Basket for Hitty Beth!

Reading of "The Rebellion of the Mules"

The Pumpkin House Hittys of Corgyncombe surprised their dear friend Hitty Beth at Towpath Cottage with a May basket! Ima and Hitty Rachel hung it on Hitty Beth's door, knocked, and then went to hide.

Click Here for Fun Music

A May basket with a daffodil, violets and forget-me-nots.

In "A Time to Keep" Tasha Tudor has done delightful illustrations of children leaving their May baskets at the door and children dancing around the Maypole with a joyful Corgi herding the children in a circle.

Hitty Beth went downstairs, then out the door and found a pretty May basket full of May flowers!

Making May baskets is a May Day family tradition at Corgyncombe! I learned to make May baskets like the May basket above in kindergarten from my teacher. My dear kindergarten teacher Mrs. Platt had also been my Mum's grade school teacher. Now we have passed on that tradition to the Hittys.

The Towpath Cottage duckies George and Polly rushed downstairs and looked out the window as Hitty Beth was holding her May basket for them to see.

Hitty Beth figured it was from her friends from Corgyncombe because she had seen their handmade May baskets and handmade flowers before. Hitty Rachel, Ima, and Tillie Tinkham the seamstress mouse at Corgyncombe had made the basket and flowers. Hitty Beth's Mum has attended many Corgyncombe May Day parties.

Hitty Rachel and Ima were overjoyed to see that Hitty Beth had found her May basket. They came out giggling from their hiding place. Hitty Beth called the girls inside Towpath Cottage and they all went upstairs to see Hitty Beth's wonderful furniture!

Hitty Beth's Towpath Cottage

Hitty Beth's baker's cupboard with its many delightful drawers and rolling pin holder. Her little Kitty is sitting on the stool.

Hitty Beth is so happy with her stove!

Hitty Beth's furniture was made by talented Roy Bubbenmoyer.

An old fashioned telephone so Hitty Beth can call her friends at Corgyncombe who also have an old fashioned phone at Pumpkin House!

As she had just baked a cake, Hitty Beth invited her friends to join her for refreshments at the table.
All the Hittys and Ima were made by talented doll carver Judy Brown.

The Corgyncombe Hittys brought along a recent delightful find, a book titled "Five Little Starrs on a Canal Boat" by Lillian Elizabeth Roy.  The five Starr children were spending their summer vacation traveling from one end of the Erie Canal to the other. Hitty Rachel and Ima gave Hitty Beth a choice of which chapter she would like read aloud and she chose "The Rebellion of the Mules". The mules were used to walk along the towpath pulling the canal boat.  The book is of special interest to Hitty Beth, as her Towpath Cottage is also along a canal.

In the chapter "The Rebellion of the Mules", a worker was hired at one of the stops as they travelled along the canal, to help with the mules. The Hittys begged to read on to the next chapter "How the Mules Told on the Driver" where it was found out that this worker was up to no good, withholding food from the mules and selling their food to other boats. As their food was lessened and they grew hungrier, the mules rebelled and then pointed out the stolen food and the nasty man who stole it.

The Hittys enjoyed reading part of the story and hoped to read more at their next gathering.

Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com

http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-homemade-may-basket-for-hitty-beth.html
copyright © 2016 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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High Dumpsie Dearie and Autumnal Splendor!

Mellow Autumnal Days and Jam at Tea!

Mellow days of autumnal perfection are rare when the colours are full and peak, the sun is shining and the weather is warm.

The chosen music to accompany this post is Ashokan Farewell:

Click Here for Specially Chosen Mellow Autumnal Music.
Return Here to Read the Corgyncombe Courant.

We have featured this music many times before as it is so lovely and one of our favorites!

High Dumpsie Dearie is an old English receipt for jam made with apples, pears, and plums with some bruised ginger.
High Dumpsie Dearie makes your autumnal kitchen smell delightful!
I peeled, cut up, and weighed out two pounds of each of the fruit. I weighed the plate first and set the scale accordingly.

Also nice are the days of autumnal chill when a slight breeze is blowing and the golden leaves start falling from the tress like golden snow. You can hear the leaves falling intermingled with the honking of the geese overhead and in the cornfields.

Corgyncombe Cottage and Corg'ery in Autumnal Splendor!

The blustery remnants of a hurricane or a sudden autumnal shower can bring all the leaves down and deposit the lovely colours on the ground leaving an orange hue for awhile, 'til turning a dull brown.
Hurricane Sandy blew a portion of the roof off of the Turret at Castle Corgyncombe.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those folks who were affected and are suffering due to Hurricane Sandy.

Golden above and below!

High Dumpsie Dearie on biscuits at tea along with a Beatrix Potter tea set and Mrs. Rabbit figurine.

Can you imagine packing your basket with High Dumpsie Dearie and some biscuits and, oh yes, you best take along an umbrella and a cozy shawl to wrap round, as autumnal showers can come up suddenly. Walking o'er meadow, hills and vales, 'til reaching Mrs. Rabbit's burrow and then Miss Elsie Pricklish the Hedgehog's residence. They will enjoy their High Dumpsie Dearie and biscuits with tea!

Across the meadow, hills and vales... 'tis breathtaking!

The old shawl above has the loveliest colours. There are shades of Dumpsie Dearie salmon-orange, teal, and blue-gray on a cream background.
When we found this shawl, it reminded us of Mrs. Bennet's shawl in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice (this is our favorite version of P. and P.). 'Tis the shawl she is wearing when they received the shocking news that her youngest daughter Lydia had willingly run away with the malicious Mr. Wickham!

http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2012/11/high-dumpsie-dearie-and-autumnal.html

copyright © 2012 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson

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