the good days...

Having just transferred the photos from my camera and my phone, I suddenly realise I have loads of things I meant to blog about! The time just seems to be scooting by and I feel I barely have time to draw breath at the moment.

So this is a bit of a 'mixed bag' post I'm afraid - I have had busy days and relaxing days and there is a bit of each in here, plus a nod to the relentless surge towards 'you know what' day...

A couple of weeks ago, I hopped on a train to Cambridge to meet my sister who lives in the Midlands. Sort of half way house for us both. It was such a beautiful sunny day (feels like it might have been the last one we had!!) and as I walked in from the station I was looking forward to just spending a bit of time together.

Cambridge is full of such beautiful buildings...

...and bicycles are an integral part of the surroundings...

We talked a lot, walked, shopped a bit, talked some more, walked some more...

We stopped for coffee, lunch and tea (well, you have to don't you...!), listened to the earnest, clever undergraduates that wander along having intense conversations and got snapped by an art student who wanted to take photos for her coursework! (We were 'papped', dahling!!) We laughed a lot and hugged a bit and I was reminded again of just how much I love my big sister. She has been there for me consistently and without judgement and knows me better than anyone else. All in all a Good Day...

As was the next day... I had set myself a bit of a challenge to do all the normal stuff that I do for Christmas, even though this year I think it is going to be anything but 'normal', whatever that is now. I have always made mincemeat, christmas puddings and christmas cake - partly because I just always have (as did my mum, never have been able to get a taste for shop bought mincemeat) and partly because my eldest son has Coeliacs disease and has to have gluten free. Although there's a lot more around now than there was when he was diagnosed 21 years ago, we always had a bit of a policy of him not being the odd one out in his own home so I made GF for all of us.

So I filled the house with Christmassy smells... apples, cider, orange and lemon zest, cinnamon...

...soft brown sugar, raisins, sultanas, currants, almonds, cherries, mixed peel, ginger, mixed spice and grated nutmeg...

This is a suet free recipe - I have really struggled to get suet that is GF for the last couple of years but actually, am no longer convinced you really need mincemeat swimming in fat. This all gets brought to the boil and believe me, at this stage smelt divine!

I tend to do this a bit by guesswork and was a bit worried that it was a bit 'liquidy' but left to its own devices off the heat for a while, it just absorbed all that yummy spicy juice to plump up the fruit...

It just got a good slosh of brandy before potting up - why is there always just a bit over that doesn't make a full jar?!

Christmas cake and puddings next. Didn't take photos of everything but the boys humoured me by stirring the pudding mix and by the time the cake was baked and the puddings steamed I was actually beginning to feel a bit festive!

I'd had a bit of a 'need to get out of Norfolk' moment - actually, to be fair, its not really the county, more that I have days when I can't bear the thought of being cooped up in my house with no prospect of speaking to anyone unless I do an impromptu trip to the corner shop to check my voice works... (or I start talking to the radio...!). Anyway, on the spur of the moment I arranged to meet a friend in London for the day. What I hadn't realised was that she decided to treat me to lunch in Covent Garden (look at these for baubles!!!)...

...followed by the matinee of Mamma Mia (fab! and yes, I do still know all the words to all the Abba songs!) and then dinner in the evening with another friend who happened to be in London too and joined us. These are the people whose friendship I value hugely and are soooo good at thoughtful pick-me-ups. It was a lovely day and even the train journey back was OK. I had time to pick up a coffee and a couple of magazines at the station so spent a pleasant hour or so flicking through looking for inspiration...

I can't say I have been enjoying this autumn with its inevitable slide towards winter - it has just felt cold and dark, and a bit miserable. I think I have struggled to get out and even when I have, I've not felt much like taking photos. But this little bit of blue sky and the last few autumn leaves did catch my eye...

And finally... a bit of crafty stuff. I wouldn't say I've exactly got the bug again, but 'necessity is the mother of invention' as they say and I'm on a bit of a creative present haul right now...

These are the gloves I made with my Mum in mind...

However, in spite of me doing a tension square (I never normally bother!!) this pattern knitted up on the big side. I don't have particularly big hands but they are definitely bigger than Mum's and they were huge on me...

Don't ask me why I carried on and made both gloves...not one of my brighter moves... And after much deliberating, I decided I couldn't possibly give these as a gift, so rather than waste the lovely Rowan (bargain bin!) yarn, I pulled them out again and have started again with a different pattern...

Can you see that rather delicious stripy yarn in the background of this photo? This is a bamboo/wool mix and is gorgeously soft (although not much stretch I've since discovered) - bargain bin again (I am a regular rummager just lately...!) and intended for something for a friends little girl whose birthday is Boxing Day. But about at this point I realised they were just shouting 'Socks!!!' at me! So I am having a badly timed self indulgent moment here and making myself some socks with it. These are not subtle, shy retiring socks, but I am loving them so far...

I've had the sewing machine out too... Bit of recycling of an old pair of jeans into something for my nephews 6th birthday...

He's got into cooking just lately so I got him some baking things (found some great smiley face silicone mixing spoons) and thought he could do with his own pinny, with elastic and velcro so he can get it on himself. 

Looking back at this, feels I have got more done this month than I thought! Some nice days out, some seasonal kitchen time, progress on presents...

On the down side, some pretty low days, lots of grey sky and rain, a complete inability to make any progress towards sorting out my home situation, huge amounts of stress at work... But I have deliberately not taken photos of the miserable stuff and even that bit of blue sky in these pics has cheered me up.

Just this I had to take...

I live in a terraced street and I came out to go to work last week to find this! I hadn't parked like that for sure! And when I looked at the back...

Some charming individual had hit my parked car, shunting it into the one in front! No sign of the culprit of course and no details left... So this has cost me £400 in insurance excess, lost no claims discount and I am currently car-less while it is sorted out, meaning my planned trip to see middle son in time for his birthday is off. Not happy.

Am trying to tell myself, its only a car and only money (!!!) but when I finally resolve the details of dividing our house/finances/etc etc and look for a more long term home, secure parking is up there on the list of must haves!!!

I am taking the view that these things are sent to try us and that life has a way of keeping going... So I will look at the pictures of blue skies and enjoy my bright stripy socks and not let it get to me. 

Til next time, then...

Sx

PS this has taken me forever to write because I have had such a job to get photos to load tonight. Has anyone else had this problem? I've ended up having to pay for extra Picasa storage but it still seems to be slow and a bit temperamental. Grr...

my week in pictures...

I had half written a post earlier in the week when blogger went into melt down and half of what I'd written was deleted. When I finally had time to have another go, I couldn't really remember what I'd intended to say and can't be bothered to think that hard about it! So I thought I'd just have a quick review of my week in pictures on the grounds that 'stuff' I wanted to remember, I am likely to have taken photos of... I hope.

Lots happening in the greenhouse! This is not really my domain - R is veg gardener in chief - I am allowed to admire and water (if I'm careful!), thats all! This picture was taken a week or so ago and I am amazed how fast stuff grows in here, all these plants are probably double in size now. Can you see the bug-eating plant in the blue and white stripy pot on the left of the shelf?

It is the funniest looking thing! I took my mum to the Gardener's World show last year and we both got these in the hope they'd munch away on the greenfly. I guess this is its flower but its quite a 'fleshy' sort of thing - not sure what its going to do next!

The creeper on the front of the house is in full leaf now...

It is a really bright yellow-green with red at the very edge of the leaves and looks lovely in the sunshine. Seems to be making its annual bid for the gutter though... 'someone' is going to have to climb up and trim it back (was rather hoping it wouldn't have to be me...).

The yellow iris in the pond have started to flower...

They are sooo bright they almost look a bit out of place as the garden is so full of purples, pinks and the odd splash of red at the moment. Seems funny to think that only a couple of months or so ago I was desperate to see the bright yellow of the daffodils to lift that winter feeling - these are lovely but almost make me wince in contrast to everything else!

The weather has been all over the place this week. Not nearly so warm but sunny on and off and we still haven't had much sustained rain. Difficult to get it right getting dressed in the morning (I have been freezing twice this week, lulled into a false sense of summer looking out of the window!) and I have spent the week drying washing with my fingers crossed!

At the same time the sky looked like this...

and this...

...depending which way you were facing!

Of course this...

...waited until I had got to the supermarket 20 mins away from home (after I'd hung the washing out!) but the smell of summer rain was just delicious (or is that just me?!).

I treated myself to this pretty little vase...

...courtesy of the charity shop, yay!

Yesterday, I had a bit of time to kill while my car brakes and tyres were being checked so had a wander round the nearby Hobbycraft shop...

They don't have the widest selection of yarns in terms of variety but there was lots to squish! And then I found this...

I Want This Book!!! It is just full of gorgeous colourfulness! I almost treated myself then remembered that I might have a big car bill to pay and decided I couldn't justify it but I might drop big hints for my birthday next month... (although I'm really hoping everyone will chip in towards a new camera and would be very happy if I don't get anything else at all...)

This week I have been busy trying to get a present sorted for my friend Kathy who is marrying her Will on 28th May. This is second time around for both and they are combining two homes so have said they don't really need anything. But I have known Kathy since our boys started in reception (they are 22 now!) so really wanted to give her just a little something so am making her a couple of cushions (in my head you can never have too many cushions, can you?!).

The little card I found on my favourite yarn/crafty stall on the market - I had been struggling to find a card that wasn't too slushy (and they are so expensive!!!) and thought this would just fit the bill.

I hadn't done any cross stitch for a while and this was an easy little thing to do. Took me less than an hour and made me think I should do more cards for special people - bit more personal? There is actually enough thread in the kit to do another of these and I'm sure I have a bit of fabric somewhere so 2 for the price of one!!

I finished the top of the first cushion today...

I just have to decide what to do about the back but I think I'm going to do the top of the second, slightly smaller one first and then decide. I'm trying to use up my stash of Rowan handknit cottons (Kathy would approve, honest, I'm not really being a complete skinflint!) - the colours are nicer than they look here; I just don't have masses of each colour so am trying to come up with two cushion covers that coordinate but are not identical. Need to have a browse through some other blogs for inspiration for cushion 2! I hope she'll like them.

Have just realised this has turned into a very long post so just two more pics... Sunday baking!

Rock cakes for son 1 - gluten free...

And fruit tray bake for the non-gluten free contingent - who couldn't wait for it to get cold before they cut it! Hence a bit crumbly!

Hope you've all had a lovely week, til next time

Sx

dizzy about daisies...

I have developed something of an obsession...

My unintentional foray into daisies has quite distracted me from the big ripple (and at least a bit from the wretched leg) and definitely from the long list of 'Other' things I should have spent my Sunday doing!

I realise now I had been a bit of an eejit - having spent some time fiddling around trying to get my daisy circle right (and feeling very pleased with myself too!), I got stuck trying to turn my 12 cluster circle into a square. Several attempts and several lots of frogging later I turned to Attic 24 for inspiration and discovered ... hexagons - my daisy circles are the basis of Lucy's hexagons! I am pretty sure I've read this pattern before so guess the look of it had lodged somewhere in the recesses of my brain - so now not feeling so clever at all as not only could I have saved myself alot of puzzling (although in all honesty, I quite enjoyed it!) but I wasn't really trying to make hexagons!

Thought I'd give it a go and see whether this felt like the look I was going for:

Mmmm...well, I do like the hexagons, and at some point I think I might have to deliberately give them a go, but what I had in my head was really a fixation with making that circle a square, so I kept fiddling and eventually...

Now if I have absorbed this from one of the lovely blogs out there, then I apologise right now, but it feels as though I am making this blanket up as it goes along. 'Another blanket?!' was the rather bemused cry from my collective house of men but it just felt the right thing to do and I am enjoying this little daisy mania just now.

It's a bit like a puzzle - I decided to do fairly random sizes and fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle.

I'm quite in love with these daisies and today have added another 9 smaller squares around the big one! I am a little worried that my asymmetry might end up with some fudging somewhere along the way but as I am going to run out of yarn well before payday, this is going to be a problem for some time in the dim and distant future. I couldn't quite stick to my single edging colour though - the raspberry pink is such a gorgeous colour and I have always been a sucker for a bit of lilac (age about 10 I had lilac walls and 'emperor purple' painted bedroom furniture! No idea what happened to the bookcase my mum spent ages painting!).

To appease the harrumphing from himself, I baked cakes today - always guaranteed to make me feel like I'm being a 'proper' mum and to please the masses. Flapjacks, brownies and the oddest chocolate cake from Sue Lawrence's Book of Baking which I have looked at for ages and wondered about. It is made with almost a can of coca-cola - not something we usually have in the house but post-Christmas/New Year we still have all sorts of things I would sooner were gone so seemed a good time to give it a go. Surprisingly good...seemed the general verdict! Flapjacks are a bit of a staple in our house - gluten free (son 1 was diagnosed with Coeliacs disease 20 years ago, but thankfully can now eat oats) and easily portable for lunches. Only problem being the chances of these cakes lasting a weeks' lunches looks pretty remote...

Perhaps I'll have to squeeze another bake in mid-week - such a shame I'm back to work this week...

Sx