A Very Puttery November

I know. It’s March. Let’s not even go there.
I’m dizzy. I work four months behind the rest of the world. This morning my son told me he was sad because I was one of those “immature Mummies”. So clearly there is no hope.
But I will always have puttery treats. Always a darling little tip on how to bring a little joy to a terribly ordinary day, and let’s face it, who needs maturity when one has lemon, vinegar and cabbage roses?
In November I was all about the cosy. So without further ado, here are my three favorite puttery treats from the download…

The Biscuit Barrel

While the elegance of the afternoon tea ritual is much celebrated, on blustery Wintery days like this one, there is nothing I prefer more than filling the largest mug I can find with orangey builders brew and curling up with the biscuit barrel on my lap- especially when the cookies inside are of the home-made variety!
Which is all well and lovely, but if they are not stored properly, even the hardiest, scrummiest of biscuits are liable to go soft within a day or two, aren’t they?
And so tonight might I suggest a rather scrumptiously easy method for keeping your biscuits in tip-top condition in the barrel for as long as possible? One simply lines the base of the barrel with greaseproof paper and then a circle of blotting paper before shaking a fine layer of granulated sugar over the blotting paper. Tip your biscuits into the barrel and store it in the fridge and lovely crispy biscuits will be yours for the taking whenever the mood arises.
Yummy!
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Magazine Archives

If you really must insist on keeping magazines long past their use-by-date, might I suggest a small ritual that may in the long run, document the days of your life in a way that nothing else can, whilst also providing a quick and easy way of journalling for those who have neither the time nor inclination?
You see, like me I’m sure there is a place in your home where numerous bits of this and paper that gather. Tickets from the cinema and theatre. Art by the kids. Receipts from shopping sprees. Tear sheets from newspapers you didn’t choose to keep. Postcards you have been sent. Paper ephemera that marks the passing of the days, but isn’t truly precious in any other way? Scraps of paper that are but moments in time? Of course there is.
So what I am suggesting is this: if there is a set of magazines from which you will likely never be parted, then sit yourself down with the latest issue, a stapler and your current pile of ephemera and start stapling your life over the glossy ads. In this way you will soon find yourself with an archive both of the magazine, and the cultural statement it makes about life in that year, alongside a more personal visual record of the things you were doing in the time…
All without adding more scrapbooks and journals to the mountains I suspect you already own…
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Salt Bottles

It is snowing! Which rather means I need to call upon every weapon in my snuggly armour if I am to survive a freezing night between the walls of this thin walled Victorian cottage! And this my Darlings can only mean one thing: hot water bottles, oh gorgeous cozy hot water bottles, wrapped in their own little sweaters and ready to warm the cockles of my heart…
My personal preference is for TWO hot water bottles all to myself, one placed half way up the bed and another at the bottom for my tootsies, popped under my layers of blankets, sheets and quilts fifteen minutes before bedtime. But that’s because I’m greedy.
And my secret for making all that lovely heat last? Salt. Yes indeed, for a spoonful of salt will keep your bottle warmer for longer meaning you get to fall asleep as cosy as can be and won’t wake up to a bottle yet icy cold…
A simple little hack that makes all the difference my sleepy little sweeties…
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If the Puttery Post has taken your fancy you can buy each months Puttery treats for $3.00 a month below…

Happy March Housekeepers!