Work continues on Project Clean Up; once I'd sorted out the various sizes of strips, put all the precut squares and triangles in their respective containers, refolded the fabric and returned it to the shelf and gathered the odd scraps into a box there was actually a table to be seen.

 I need time to sit and plan a few things to sew next, but tomorrow will be busy from dawn to dusk; we'll be at work from 7 - 10am, then it's off to Jamestown to take Macca to the vet, home to get some urgent quilting done, back to pick Macca up, then home for a short while and then out to tea at the pub.  And some garden time in there as well, we still need to water every second day.

Today I tested my oven by baking two batches of scones.  In our family Mereth has always been the scone specialist, with good reason.  She makes superb scones, whereas the nicest thing anybody ever said about mine was that they were edible.  They wouldn't actually kill you, but you'd regret them for hours afterwards.  When the kids were little they suffered through years of dismal offerings, until DD Seonaid was forced to cry 'Not scones Mummy! Please not scones!' when I said I'd make something for afternoon tea.  So, in the interests of public safety, I gave up.

My DB Doug loves scones with something approaching fanatacism, and Mereth was getting tired of keeping up the supply, so I thought 'How hard can it be?'  It's not hard to make them, but they don't always turn out wonderful.

These weren't too bad, some of them have that perfect cracking around the middle, which marks a good scone, so they just break in half without needing a knife.  My oven seal needs to be replaced though,  the heat is uneven, resulting in some uneven rising and browning, but I'm just grateful they look like they should, and taste OK.  I've made far worse.  As Phyllis Diller said, they should make an oven that flushes.

A friend once told me the story of her mother's last days in hospital, how she had sat with her mum, caring for her, helping with what had to be done, making conversation, cherishing the moments.  When the end was near, her mum gestured to her to come closer, she needed to tell her something.  My friend leant over, took her mum's hand and waited.  Her mother hissed, "You shouldn't knead scones, that's why yours are so awful".

The recipe is
2 cups Self Raising flour
1/3 cup ( or less) icing sugar
1/2 cup of cream, with water or lemonade added to make 1 cup of liquid
1 teaspoon baking powder

Heat oven to 220 degrees C
Sift dry ingredients, add liquid, mix lightly with  a butter knife to form a soft but not sticky dough; form into a ball on a floured surface, pat out to 1" thick and cut with a floured 2" cutter.  Place on baking paper on an oven tray,  brush tops with milk.  Bake 12 minutes or until lightly browned and the scone sounds hollow when tapped on it's bottom.

Just make sure you don't knead the dough.....