Lark Rise Is Back {Season Four}!

So excited to report to all lovers of period piece movies, that Lark Rise to Candleford is back!  Sorry to say though, that season four is the last one.  I absolutely adore this BBC drama!  I have seen all them except for this last season and cannot wait!  I am going to pre-order it right now!  When you watch Lark Rise, you really feel like you get to know the characters and {sounds crazy} miss them when the episode is over!  So...you have to watch more...hours more {usually watch all episodes back to back}.  You start to feel like you live with them....uh-oh, I really sound nuts now!   The actors are superb and the scenes are beautiful.  You will want to vacation there when you are done watching all of them!  Life seemed so simple then and the people had amazing relationships with their families and neighbors.  However, this series is filled with so much drama that you will not be able to get enough of it!  Trust me...it is that good {the guy in the middle is looking a bit scraggily but I know I won't be disappointed}!  

Summary from Amazon:

Lark Rise to Candleford is a bucolic valentine to 19th-century, small-town England, and all the characters that live there. This BBC adaptation of the autobiographical books by Flora Thompson is sumptuous and very well acted, and this fourth and final season follows the exploration of characters viewers have come to love in the first seasons. Julia Sawalha (Saffron on Absolutely Fabulous) continues to impress as a leading lady, playing Dorcas Lane, who acts as a mentor to the young protagonist, Laura Timmins. Laura, who is played earlier in the series by Olivia Hallinan, is now played as an adult with depth and nuance by Sarah Lancashire, a veteran of BBC period series. Laura has become the postmistress in the tiny fictional town of Candleford and season four sees the town and its loves and longings swirl around her--for everyone must come visit the postmistress occasionally. The supporting cast is also excellent, and includes Mark Heap as an unctuously religious postal deliveryman, fussy sisters played hilariously by Hope Yeomans and Sophie Miles, and Richard Harrington. Harrington plays a newcomer to town, Mr. Cochrane, who's been recently widowed as well as bankrupted. His broody anger and rugged good looks are the perfect addition for the last episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford, and plenty to pique the interest of Laura, who tries hard to mind her own business, but simply cannot.

Fans of British period dramas, both feature film and TV series, will enjoy sinking into Lark Rise to Candleford, with its fully fleshed out characters of every class, and the stunning vistas of Oxfordshire. Watching Lark Rise to Candleford is like taking a refreshing vacation to the country--in a simpler and much lovelier time. --A.T. Hurley 
{Source- Amazon.com}

Season One

Season Two

Season Three

If you would like to see other posts I have done on period drama's or are looking for a great recommendation go here.   To pre-order the fourth season of Lark Rise go to Amazon.com.

I hope you give them a try!

Enjoy~

jamilyn

Moss And Mushroom Display {Spring}

via martha stewart

I just opened an old issue Martha Stewart Living, April 2008, and went "ga-ga" over this arrangement!  Moss and mushrooms...you cannot go wrong for a whimsical spring centerpiece!  I have so much to do today and made myself a strict schedule so I can get everything done.  However, I am tempted to just focus on finding cushion moss and creating this!  I have to control myself!  Instructions below:

Moss and Mushrooms How-To

Cushion moss is available from florists. If you use moss from your yard, return it to its natural spot after you disassemble the arrangement.

1. Line the vessel with plastic wrap to protect the surface, and then add some chicken wire for support.

2. Lay pieces of moss on top of wire, lining up seams and forming a mound.

3. Insert 1 end of a toothpick into a mushroom stem, and then insert the other end into the moss. Repeat with more mushrooms, varying placement for a natural appearance (avoid rows). Mist the moss daily. Mushrooms will keep 1 to 2 days, and moss may last several weeks.

 Have fun!

~jamilyn

Daffodils And An Irish Recipe

Photo taken via me this morning

Grab a couple daffodils for around 5 bucks,  pick up cabbage, brisket, bacon, potatoes (left out the onion) and you have got yourself a good ol' {is it ol' or ole'} Irish meal!  This is what we are having tonight of course!  It has been tradition now for some time.  My daughter and I have already attacked the Irish soda bread---great toasted with butter!  Please enjoy the recipe below:

CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE RECIPE 

(via my sister Lori)

Note:  Cook corned beef first since it needs a few hours...

Corned Beef:

Place corned beef in pot and cover with water, 1/4 inches over beef

Bring to a boil on high heat- simmer off foam (skim off)

Cook for 3 1/2 hours (can do longer-even 5 hours)

Ingredients

3 Lb lean corn beef brisket

1 Cabbage-green (are their other colors?) cut into quarters

2 Lg Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut 1/4 crosswise

12 Ounces bacon (lean), chopped -after cooking

2 Cups yellow onion peeled, sliced lengthwise

1 Tsp salt

1 Tsp ground pepper (sprinkle on all the cabbage pieces in pan)

2 Cups chicken broth

Heat oven to 375

In large baking pan, place cut cabbage round side down

Place cut pieces of potato in pan

In skillet fry bacon 7 min.

Add sliced onions till soft-about 5 min.

When done take onions and bacon with juices and pour over cabbage and potatoes in pan

Pour chicken stock over everything in pan

Cover tightly with foil for 1 1/2 hours or more (till very tender)

Let set out for 15 minutes before serving ( I hardly do this...we just eat!)

Serve with spicy mustard and of course Irish Soda Bread!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

( How come I didn't know that he was Italian?)

Enjoy~

jamilyn 

Natural Consequences

Winter in Massachusetts has sure taught me a lesson!  Get the heavy snow off of your roof as soon as you can (professionally)-tried ourselves did not work!  My lovely home has seen much damage this winter due to ice dams and snow.  Our brand new gutter has been ripped off and shredded leaving us with a mess!  Also, due to the ice dams, we have had significant amounts of water invading our home.  The insurance adjuster told us we have about $20,000 in damage!  This has been the roughest winter yet and I wanted to share my woes with you so that this won't happen to you.  I do hear though that many people in my neighborhood have suffered the same thing.  This happened a few weeks ago and that is why I haven't been posting...just not up for it with all this craziness going on.  So, now we are going to prep our home to hopefully withstand another rough winter (if it rears it's ugly head again next year).  I think living in California before moving here made me soft and totally clueless as to what is needed to get through winters here (even though I grew up in NY)!

{Ice Dam Damage To Wooden Gutters}

{Gutter came crashing down minutes after my Dad was considering getting up on a ladder!}

{The ice must have weighed over 100 pounds in each area to do this to my gutter!  What we need to do to hopefully prevent this next year....place membrane under slate roof tiles to prevent water from coming in.  Heating coils in gutters to prevent ice (not sure if that will do it).  Insulate attic to prevent heat loss through roof.  Install rails on roof to prevent snow from coming off in an avalanche!  Soffit vents along edge of roof.  I am not feeling very hopeful here!}

I am using visualization to get me to a happy place.....Especially since the power went out the other night and our sump pump failed and...guess what?  Our basement flooded------AGAIN!  Take me away!

Damariscotta Lake in Maine

{Lovely flowers...please hurry up!}
Photo via my daughter

Obviously can't wait for spring!

Have a wonderful weekend!

~jamilyn

{Photo's of our house via me}