Posted in Fun, Vicarage, tagged Cold, ice, Snow, Vicarage, window on 7 January, 2010| 5 Comments »
The Vicar took this photo of the ice on the inside of the Queen’s bedroom window this morning. There was still ice on the landing window this afternoon. And most of the window cills are drenched with meltwater. And mould, but that’s my housekeeping for you. This picture is pretty though.
Brrr again. But pretty.
Posted in Vicarage, tagged Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cold, Devon, direct debit, e.on, fuel poverty, fuel tariff, Gateshead, Heating, Hull, insulation, Kirklees, London, Newcastle, North Staffordshire, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Nottingham, power, Sandwell, South Tyneside, Swindon, Vicarage, Warm Zone on 5 January, 2010| 2 Comments »
The Vicar's study has been 10°C today. Brrr.
Before Christmas, we had a nasty shock from our power supplier, e.on. They wanted to raise our monthly direct debit for gas and electricity by nearly 85%. Although our usage has gone up a bit in the cold weather, we were still in credit with them.
The Vicar had some long discussions with their customer services department, both on the phone and by email, but to no avail. They’ve estimated our usage for the next few months based on the records from when we didn’t live here and the decorators were in, heating the house 24/7.
Although we think they’ve made a bad call, we have to go along with it. It will cause a bit of cash flow trouble in the next couple of months, but once we’ve proved that they’ve made a mistake, it should even out.
The upside of all this irritation is that we went online and switched our tariff, saving another 8% on the charges. The other upside is that the Vicar contacted the diocese about sorting out some loft insulation and they put us onto the excellent Warm Zone team.
Warm Zone is an EU funded initiative operating in selected areas, including ours. They provide advice and can also help out with insulation and other kit if you fall into the fuel poverty bracket, which we do now, since a Vicar’s salary is not what you’d usually have if you lived in a house this size.
So this morning we had a visit from Seema, from Sandwell Warm Zone. She came armed with goodies, including a fancy plug to turn off printers when the computer is switched off, a timer switch, an eco kettle and some low energy light bulbs. Most importantly, she brought an energy sensor, which she’s lent us for the next few weeks. It monitors electricity usage so you can see the power used by each appliance in the house as it’s switched on. I’m a little scared about what it’s going to reveal, but it will be useful.
And we’re on the list for loft insulation and possibly cavity wall insulation in the modern extension part of the house. There’s a bit of a waiting list, so we’re not sure when that will happen. As we’re not in the lowest income bracket, we’re going to have to pay for their services. But only £49. We’re hoping that will make a big difference, especially to Happy, the Vicar’s Apprentice, whose room is in the uninsulated attic. It’s so cold up there at the moment that we’ve taken pity on him and brought him down to sleep in the spare bedroom a floor below.
So if you’re in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Devon, Gateshead, Hull, Kirklees, London, Newcastle, North Staffordshire, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Nottingham, Sandwell, South Tyneside or Swindon, give them a call. It won’t do any harm and you could find yourself cheaply warmer.
Posted in Food, tagged carol service, drink, gluwein, mulled wine, non-alcoholic, recipe, spiced cranapple, Vicarage, Vicarage Recipes on 14 December, 2009| 6 Comments »
This Thursday evening we are hosting the staff and governors of our church school here at the Vicarage for ‘mulled wine and mince pies’. That’s what our invite said, anyway. But as many of the staff have to drive home, we will also be serving a wonderful non-alcoholic alternative, given to me by another Vicar’s-wife-in-training, when the Vicar was at theological college. Her original name for it was spiced cider, but that is not very helpful, as it really is non-alcoholic, so I’ve renamed it Spiced Cranapple. It is mulled winey in flavour and not too sweet, as some non-alcoholic punches can be. Serve it at your carol service or at the Vicarage and enjoy!
Enjoy the warmth
Ingredients
1l cranberry juice
1l apple juice
250ml (1 cup) orange juice
5 cloves
3-4 cinnamon sticks
2 tbspns sugar
1 orange, halved and sliced into rounds
Combine all the ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow spices to infuse. Can also bring to boil and transfer straight to thermos pots and leave to infuse that way for church events (and keep leftovers warm for Vicarage use the rest of the week…mmmmm).
Anyway. Best get on with the pastry now. Not sure how many mince pies I’ll need for Thursday but I definitely need to start making them today.
Posted in Faith, Family, tagged Advent, Barbara Hughes, Christ centred Christmas, Christmas, Craft, Disciplines of a Godly Family, Family, Jesse Tree, Kent Hughes, Kids, tradition, Vicarage on 1 December, 2009| 13 Comments »
Last night I suddenly realised that today would be 1st December and I was rather unprepared. So the Queen and I had to delve into our cellar to retrieve an old Celebrations chocolate tin and stomp about the garden for a good twig. Then we had to track down a suitable buckety receptacle and scrabble in our gravel to fill said receptacle. Yes, it’s Jesse Tree time in the Vicarage.
A smart and organised Jesse Tree
If you’re not familiar with the Jesse Tree tradition, I’d like to heartily commend it as a great way to keep Advent Christ centred. A good Advent calendar with bible verses is a start, but using a Jesse Tree helps us to focus as a family on the coming of the King. The tradition is to hang an ornament on our bare twig every day of Advent and have a bible reading and questions about bible passages which point to the coming of Christ. The ornament reminds us of the bible passage or a person who heralded Christ in the Old Testament. A Jesse Tree is a visual bible overview and helps us all to remember God’s great plan of salvation which led to the birth of Jesus.
Originally I used an activity book which had suggested readings and ideas for making the symbols to hang on the tree for each of the 25 days of December leading up to Christmas Day. Then I also read about the Jesse Tree in the excellent book by Kent and Barbara Hughes ‘Disciplines of a Godly Family’. And if you Google ‘Jesse Tree’ you can find a huge variety of suggestions for how to make your tree and which bible readings and symbols to use. We made our decorations over a couple of years. When the kids were very young, we only had about half of them. I fondly remember a wet weekend the first Christmas of the Vicar’s curacy when my parents joined in construction of the missing ornaments in our steamy kitchen. We also have a few ready made decorations in the tin. The simplest option is to find some images to print out, and use blutack to fix your symbols to a picture of a tree. An American magazine seems to have done this.
In the end I ended up compiling our own Jesse tree list and readings, with symbols, readings and suggested questions. I also listed out the single verse readings on a sheet of paper using the NIrV, but I’ll not post that because I suspect I might be breaching copywrite. Last year the Queen and the Joker were able to take turns in reading from the sheet of verses. This year I’m intending to get the kids to find the bible passages in their bibles (International Children’s Bible for the Joker, NIV for the Queen) and then read. The Engineer might even be able to read out a few. If not, he can read out the questions.
It’s not too late to join us in making a Jesse Tree this Advent. Or keep it up your sleeve for next year. And just for you, dear readers, here is a sneak preview of this year’s Vicarage Jesse Tree. The eagle eyed among you will spot a few doubles (spreading around the hanging-up-the-ornament joy), a triple and the absence of David’s sling. I’m sure I’ve seen it since we moved but it may take some tracking down. Or we could make a new one. In fact, maybe we should ensure that each child has a complete set to take with them when they leave home. I foresee a project for coming Advents…
If I spot a twiggier branch tomorrow I might make a swap
Posted in Vicarage, tagged beanbag, domestic chores, Henry, hoover, housework, Numatic, polystyrene balls, vacuum cleaning, Vicarage on 12 November, 2009| 9 Comments »
Last night the kids were having fun in the living room. There was much screaming, a few tears and, when I went through to chase them all to bed, a scattering of polystyrene balls that had escaped from our very cheap fluffy Netto beanbag. I like the beanbag. If I sit on it I can cuddle up close to the fire and keep my back supported. And the Joker likes to stroke the fluffy material and suck his thumb when he’s tired. But the escaping balls are a total pain. The first escape occurred after some vigorous jumping by the tribe, and since then the bag has leaked regularly. Those little balls cling to everything and travel round the house, cheekily pointing out my lack of attention to housework.
When I twittered my distress this evening one tweetpal suggested ‘vigorously brushing your hair and then gently sweeping floor with head & the static will attract balls like magnet’. Since I did not have a plan for transferring the balls from my hair to an appropriate receptacle, I instead went and fetched Henry, who sorted everything out. Henry is my wonderful Numatic vacuum cleaner. Now, I know it’s a bit sad to enthuse about a hoover, but I hate housework. And Henry has made vacuuming almost a pleasure.
Mine is a lot dustier than this
There is a good deal of surface area that needs regular hoovering here in the Vicarage. I find that mess and dirt always expand to fill the space available and we’re certainly blessed with space and have risen to the challenge of expanding our mess and dirt. At the moment leaves blow into the hallway every time we open the front door. And we have inherited dark carpets in the hall, stairs and landing, which don’t show mud too much but do highlight every piece of fluff that the kids drop from their pockets.
But Henry is light so I can lift him around, he’s quiet so I can still listen to Radio 4 or the new Sovereign Grace cd as I trundle him about, and he has a cord and hose so long that I can clean the whole of the downstairs of the house and all the way up the stairs without having to unplug him from the socket in the hall. His eyes and smile are a bit cheesy, but looks aren’t everything you know.
He’s not a cheap vacuum cleaner – he cost about £100, but he’s made it possible for me to keep the Vicarage looking almost respectable. So I love him and will continue to recommend him as the perfect Vicarage vacuum to anyone who’ll listen.
In the meantime, does anyone know where to source replacement inner liners for beanbags?
Posted in vicar, Vicarage, tagged busy, clergy, forgotten, half term, holiday, packing, packing list, vicar, Vicarage on 30 October, 2009| 10 Comments »
Vicarage life was particularly fulltime before half term – one of those frantic seasons that hit you from time to time in ministry. The Vicar was out of the house more than in and even his days off seemed to include aspects of work.
So it was with a great sense of relief that we began our half term holiday with a wedding, followed by a stay with friends – another clergy family who have recently moved to Essex.
When the Vicar family go away I usually write a list of essential activities to be completed and items to be packed before departure. The failure to do this was my first mistake.
A few miles from home I realised that we’d forgotten sleeping bags for the children. These were needed for our stay with our friends. From the wedding reception we called the EssexRectors and they said they could easily find other bedding. Phew.
One lovely wedding and reception later we headed off to Essex, still in our wedding finery, arriving in time for a late dinner. The Vicar unpacked the bags. ‘But where’s your stuff, Vicar’s Wife?’
Then it dawned on me. The pink bag, with all my favourite clothes packed for holiday, was still on our bed at home. Crippled by my wedding shoes I’d come downstairs with only a few lighter items, meaning to ask the Vicar to fetch my bag…
Mrs EssexRector very kindly took me to a localish Tescos for a forage for emergency knickers, socks, jeans and top. I needed something to wear other than my smart but not exactly comfy wedding outfit.
It was only the next day that we realised that the Vicar too had forgotten his socks, and the Joker (having packed his own bag without supervision) had come away with trousers and t-shirts but no underwear. We spent more time shopping this holiday than we were intending.
Don’t let me pack for holiday without a list ever ever ever again.
Posted in Vicarage, tagged Cold, Heating, Shed, vicar, Vicarage, wood, wood burning stove on 14 October, 2009| 7 Comments »
The Vicar pointed me to a better picture of his glorious shed, this time taken from the garage door end.
The Vicar is very proud of his handiwork
Posted in Vicarage, tagged eco, fuel, garage, Heating, men, Shed, vicar, Vicarage, wood, wood burning stove on 14 October, 2009| 1 Comment »
Now I know that normal men like to retreat to their shed for a bit of peace and quiet out of the house. The Vicar, however, has filled his shed so that retreating to it to sit down or smoke a pipe or something manly like that would be totally impossible. Actually it’s strictly the garage, but it is the largest outbuilding we have. And our car wouldn’t fit in it. Or it would but we couldn’t open a door to get out of the vehicle. The garage is Austin Seven size I’d say.
The good news is that instead the shed is filled with logs for our beloved wood burning stoves. As you can see, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to watch the Vicar chopping wood outside my kitchen window. Not in the last couple of weeks, though – it’s been a bit busy here. Thankfully I think we probably have enough wood to last a few more days.
It's hard to see the scale, but you can just see the top of the garage door at the back
Posted in Fun, Vicarage, tagged cat, pet, poem, poetry, Singapore, tabby cat, Verse, Vicarage on 12 October, 2009| 2 Comments »
We have a cat. Or rather a cat has us. She is small, very pale tabby with a mutant tail and she mews loudly. A lot. Especially in the mornings. She joined us when we lived in Singapore and spent her very earliest days living in a Singapore drain before she adopted a friend of a friend and then landed up with us.
So she’s a well travelled beast, but these days she hunts vermin in the Vicarage garden (of which more at a later date) and hunts for the warmest place to recline in the Vicarage. As you know, the latter is a bit of a challenge. In summer you might find her scanning the children on their way to school from the vantage point of our gatepost. Or she might be lying on the carpet in my bedroom, soaking up the sunshine from the south facing windows.
In winter however she cuddles up to the fire, or sits upon the lap of the poor (rather cat allergic) Vicar’s Apprentice. Sometimes we find her lurking in the bathroom, but only when the underfloor heating is on. She is a good indicator of where the temperature is bearable. For that reason, to date I have never once seen her in the Vicar’s study.
Grumpy Grandpa has written a few poems on the subject of cats. This one is a good summary of VC’s attitude to life:
A hamster has his little wheel, a gerbil can be fun,A guinea pig is cuddly, though you have to clean his run,A dog’s a good companion, and will make you smile and laugh.But a dog will have a master, a cat, she just has staff.
There’s a dead mouse in the corner, and lots of tiny hairs.A hairball on the carpet, and some feathers on the stairs.She won’t do what you tell her, she smells a little too,A kitten makes you love her, then she takes charge of you.
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