Hello everyone! I have not been able to blog recently because Richard and I have been in England! It was almost impossible to get to a computer but I was able to write that last post "Here Comes the Sun" while I was there. I have so much I want to tell you! For now, I have to ask you...have you ever thought to look up the meaning of the word "windfall"?
Windfall: (noun)
1. An apple or other fruit blown down from a tree or a bush by the wind.
2. A piece of unexpected good fortune, typically one that involves receiving a large amount of money. "windfall profits"
Are you like me and the only thing that you think of is the second meaning here...the one that involves "windfall" in terms of money?
While we were in Eastbourne, there were some rather windy days. One day when we were walking to town, we came across this....
Now, you can see the rest of the sign....
The wind had knocked the fruit off the tree (windfall) but it was also a piece of unexpected good fortune for us! I wasn't greedy, I only took one! Would you like to know what I did with it? I chopped it up along with a Gala apple. (If you are in England, make sure you eat apples while you are there, they are wonderful!). Okay, that is one Conference pear and one Gala apple chopped up...I put that into a pan with a spoonful of sugar and cooked them until they were soft, just before they were cooked, I mixed in one tablespoon of strawberry conserve. (Conserve is what we Americans would call preserve.) Now...that delicious mixture was spooned over Cornish vanilla ice cream for a fantastic dessert! The next time we walked by this house, you know I left a note thanking them and ...well, after all, I am American and I wrote this recipe for them! I wonder what they must have thought when they saw my note?
It was delightful to come across those free pears and I enjoyed the sign just as much as I did that one pear!
Richard and I enjoyed our time in Eastbourne and then we spent a few days in London at the end of our stay. As I told you at the beginning of this post, I have so much to tell you! It is just typical of me that of all photos that we took...beautiful scenic views of the sea in Eastbourne and the famous monuments and churches in London...it is the photo of the free pears that I have shared with you first!
What a fun treat, that someone shares their windfall fruit. It's little gestures like that which can bring a moment of joy to so many.
ReplyDeleteIt tickled me to see those pears and the note was the icing on the cake! Windfalls, I loved it!
DeleteYour dessert sounds divine. A friend of mine had a huge pear tree. There were way too many pears for his family so he was giving away as many as possible. I gave a bunch to my mother who made pear butter. We gave two jars to my friend. His family loved it.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad had a couple of pear trees and he always loved to share them with me. I wrote a post about them once. Sure do miss my Dad and the joy he had in sharing good things.
DeleteHow marvelous that you were in England again! Looking forward to more posts about your trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debra! Richard and I don't do the exciting things that most tourists do, as you will find out from my future posts!
DeleteLucky you! I love that you were able to go to England AND get a free pear to boot.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay! And I meant to tell you that apples and pears are Cockney rhyming slang for "stairs"! Isn't that great?
DeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteOver here, many orchards are not harvested as they should, as the owners are too old, ill, or otherwise unable (or unwilling) to do the hard physical work. Often on our walks, we see rich bounties of fruit going to waste, rotting on the ground, and it makes me unhappy and sad.
This year, though, we have come across a few such places where the owners have hung up signs that read "Take me!" or "Apples for everyone - please help yourself!", and people go there with bags and pick the fruit they want.
Your dessert sounds mouthwatering!
Peter has a neighbor and we can see from his upstairs windows, the apple tree with heavily laden fruit that also goes to waste, he says they never do anything with them, all the fruit just drops to the ground. Shame, really. Why not share it with others? You know my Dad would have!! My little dessert WAS good, the Conference pear should have won prizes, it is delicious.
DeleteA good use of pears and apples. It looks like you are enjoying your trip.
ReplyDeletecathy
Well, we are back home now and back at work, back to the grindstone! :-)
DeleteOh my how nice to come across a windfall like those pears. I'd be taking advantage of them for sure! Glad too you got to go to England. that would be a windfall for you! I know that you heart is in England. Hope two hear more about your trip in the days to come
ReplyDeleteThanks! We have family and friends in England that are very dear to us, so even though I have always felt an affinity to England, it is for those dear people that makes me have that English heart! It is a bit like having a split personality, because I am American to the bone! :-)
DeleteNothing like fresh fruit! I like your recipe.
ReplyDeleteYou should try it! I have made the same thing here in America, and I use the Bonne Maman Strawberry preserves, just a big spoonful but I will allow you to use more, if you like! :-)
DeleteI'll be looking forward to more post about your trip to England!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ed! Might take me a while to get myself together. Jet lag is real!
DeleteBlogger is very weird today. I lost the comment I originally made, it seems. There is a road near me named Windfall, a name I have always enjoyed. Wonderful you got that free pear and made such a delicious sounding dessert from it.....I'm so glad you had this lovely holiday/vacation in England!
ReplyDeleteWindfall...it really is a great word! The time in England went very quickly. I managed to catch a cold/virus on my 2nd day there and had to struggle a bit but I soldiered on! (I do have that English heart and my American toughness, you know!)
DeleteGlad you had a great trip across the pond! Love the pear recipe and fruit would be the only "windfall" I would ever get..and that would be OK with me!
ReplyDeleteHa, ha...you and me both! Wink, wink! :-) Try my little recipe, I bet you would like it!
DeleteI'm so happy to hear that you and Richard were in England! The seaside at Eastbourne is lovely. I'm guessing the pear owners were thrilled to get the note. You are such a thoughtful and kind person, Kay! Have an awesome day tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHa! Funny thing, when I went to leave the note, the pears were all gone, so nowhere to leave my message with recipe! What to do? The neighbor next door was working in the garden...I called out to him and asked him if I could leave the note with HIM. (Uh, this really isn't done in England but hey, I am AMERICAN!) He also had a little place on his wall where he had tomatoes to sell (just for 50p) and he invited me to put the note underneath his tomatoes and he would see that his neighbor got the note. Where there is an American, there is a WAY! Bless you, I went back and looked at all the comments you left on my posts...thank you so much! My brownie recipe...honey, that peanut butter one is on the side of the box of the Pillsbury Brownie Mix! Simple but good!
DeleteThanks for the recipe!
DeleteI love pears and have been eating them regularly...along with other fruit. I love fruit...pure and simple! :)
ReplyDeleteI bet you have great fruit in Australia!
DeleteWindfall makes me think of fruit--not so much of money.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I will think of fruit from now on! Or should I say moving forward? Nah, I'm old I say from now on!
DeleteI look forward to the photos!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time.
Thanks! Wish I could make it to Scotland one day, I really want to see it.
DeleteI expect the pear owners were very pleased to get a thank-you note and a recipe. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks! If I can stop coughing long enough, maybe I can post again. Wish I could cook me some of those pears again...
DeleteI'm staying with a friend at the moment and she has an abundance of windfall apples and conference pears and has been using them for all sorts of things.
ReplyDeleteLucky you! Try my apples and pears with that bit of strawberry conserve! It was good. By the way, I had heard of Conference pears but had never had one before. Glad I did!😄
DeleteHi Kay, enjoyed reading about your windfall and the conference pairs. The recipe sounds wonderful and we really like gala apples so now will have to find pears, which I thunk may be out of season. I am a return visitor to your blog who looks forward to reading more about your trip.
ReplyDeleteHello! So nice to see your comment here! I have made that recipe before with just apples...it is really good to have for breakfast! I serve it with turkey bacon and eggs, my son loves this breakfast! Once again, so happy to see your little bear! xx
DeleteSo nice of you, to have left a Thank You note. -smile-
ReplyDelete🍂🍁🎃🍁🍂
It was only right that I should, no one else was as thrilled as I was with the pears and the note with "windfalls"! :-)
DeleteFirst time I have visited your blog. I saw the FREE sign in the pear picture and felt free to leave a little comment. By the way my blog is free too. (and new)
ReplyDeleteAbout your hairdo. I was complaining about wind blown hair to my hair dresser and she assured me 'messy' was in. I am definitely in!
Messy is in? Oh, that's good for me!
DeleteI hope you will enjoying blogging as much as I do! I have not been able to do much writing lately but hope to get back into the swing of things soon! Thanks very much for leaving me a comment!
Yum … to the mix of apples and pears.
ReplyDeleteI love your banner/header photograph, it takes me back to so many happy memories of visits to Eastbourne.
Here in the UK it's been very windy and wet over the weekend, certainly doesn't help our hair! LOL!
All the best Jan
Why, I might have just walked right past you in my visits there! You will know me now, I will be the one with her hair blowing all over the place! We FINALLY got a shower of rain today, the first we have had in about 5 or 6 weeks!
DeleteSo pleased you went back to the UK. I miss good old England; I used to stop often there on my way to see my mum in Paris. When I saw the word windfall, you know because English is my 3rd language I thought of “falls” as I just hiked to some waterfalls in the N GA Mountains. Great find those pears. I used to give private French lessons to some rich kids in Philadelphia and their mother gave me as a lunch meal, an apple, or a pear with a slice of cheddar cheese (thrifty she was…) I got used to that and now will eat this for a light meal. I like English Cheshire cheddar if I can find it.
ReplyDeleteI also love English Cheddar! They have a brand called "Cathedral City"that I love! And that pear or apple with a slice of good cheese sounds very good. I love the hikes in the North Georgia mountains! I am getting older so I don't know if I will be able to go on some of those longer hikes. Having said that, my husband and I walked and walked all over London! Thanks very much for your comment! I love your blog, you are a gifted writer.
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