Domestic bliss!

It's been a stormy day today: lots of wind and rain. Housegroup was cancelled because the roads in were dodgy so I've had a housework evening instead. Two loads of washing, lots of ironing, and the dishes have been done. Not so exciting, but good to get out the way.

I watched the final (recorded) episode of the Great British Bake Off as I ironed. I enjoyed the series a lot - the feeling of support between competitors and some fabulous bakes was refreshing. Real feel-good TV.

My own baking on Sunday was less impressive, but I was happy with the finished result once I'd taken away the volcanic overflow:

The birthday tea went well...

I picked up a helium balloon on the way home from work (I left early), peeled and roasted some spuds and parsnips, did some ready-to-roast gammon and beef, boiled some carrots, peas and beans, and iced the cake I baked yesterday.
Simple! ...except I thought they were coming over at 7 when it was actually 6:30. Oops.

But that's part of the fun in having family round - so what if I hadn't changed from my work clothes yet? It's nice to be able to relax and not need to perform.

The cake worked well too. Once I trimmed the sides a little and put some icing on it was pretty good. I did a zig-zag of melted white chocolate as the final touch - a bit wonky but I quite liked that. I'll add a photo once I've got it from A's camera.

It's been an interesting evening...

1.  I've baked a marbled chocolate cake for my mother-in-law's birthday tea tomorrow.  I thought it was quite full in the baking tin when I filled it, but hoped I'd just about get away with it.  Not quite...

At least it tastes better than it looks!  I'll try to ice it tomorrow before tea, so maybe that will help.


2.  We heard an odd noise near our front door while watching tv.  When A went to look outside, he found that the bit of rendering which was bulging has finally fallen off.  At least no-one was there at the time.


3.  I was knitting the Red Leafy Scarf which I'm knitting as a Christmas present for my MIL, and feeling quite pleased that it's getting close to the point where I can start on the 2nd half.  Then I noticed I'd added a stitch a few rows back, so I've ripped back almost as much as I knitted (and there are still a couple more rows to unpick).  Ho hum!

Some happenings from the last week

Monday:
jet-lagged!

Tuesday:
a takeaway and board game with good friends - a fun girls' night

Wednesday:
forgot what evening it was, and was surprised when two children rang the doorbell.  Thankfully I'd thought ahead and had some wee chocolate treats ready to offer...

Thursday:
housegroup at our house.  I was feeling so tired beforehand, but picked up when everyone arrived and was lifted by our evening together.

Friday:
our friends arrived for the weekend, after a long drive south.  The house began to fill with fun and laughter.

Saturday:
We explored the Keswick Pencil Museum, bought some (more) yarn and visited Whinlatter for afternoon tea and a play in the adventure playground once the rain/sleet/hail had stopped.  We returned home to the welcoming smell of a slow-cooked beef stew, baked a lemon drizzle cake and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Sunday:
tired!  not from visitors so much as too little sleep though...  It's been lovely to see them and get to know the children a bit better.  We're already planning our next meet-up.
I've cast on my next moebius scarf while watching the F1- this time for Grandma's Christmas present.  I found some soft sock-yarn last Saturday in just her colours, so I hope she'll like it.

A weekend of contrasts

Friday:

• No work today... but the funeral of a relative who died shortly before his 90th birthday.  A sad occasion, but comforting to hear of a long life lived with God and to know that he's with his Maker now.  No more sin, sickness, suffering, sadness... (Rev 21:4)
• We sang "There is a redeemer" as the final hymn.  The 3rd verse was particularly touching:

When I stand in glory,

I will see His face

and there I'll serve my King forever

in that holy place

• I had the house to myself for the rest of the day/weekend, so I took the opportunity to do some baking.  I've borrowed a friend's recipe book (Mary Berry's Simple Cakes) and made a lemon drizzle tray bake and some chocolate brownies.  Both were wonderfully easy.
• I also treated myself to a new electric hand mixer - what an improvement on the 20-year-old (at least!) mixer I'd been using until now.
• Finally, I joined a couple of friends for a nice girly evening
• enjoying some of the cake I'd made
• watching Nanny McPhee - I enjoyed it lots, and couldn't help admiring the crochet and patchwork beadspreads on the children's beds!

Saturday:

A trip to Carlisle with a friend

• we had browsed and had lunch at Orton Grange, which has something of an eclectic mix of lovely gifts, fairtrade clothes, patchworking materials, a hairdresser and a beauty shop!
• I was also pleased to see they stock Bolesławiec pottery - a distinctive style with childhood memories for me.
• The sun shone, so we made the most of it and enjoyed driving with the car hood down.
• Looking around craft shops in the town... and Fun2Do have started to offer classes in new techniques.  Much too tempting!

Sunday:

• Playing in the band at church
• I'm starting to experiment a little with how I play... still very basic stuff, but I used the octaves to give a bit of interest.  Playing the tonic, but at different positions on the guitar neck.  It's a way of getting to know the instrument a little better, so that I can move on a bit more as I gain confidence and my fingers get stronger.
• An encouraging meeting, with many people standing up to share how they'd grown with God during the hard times, and seen His faithfulness throughout (sometimes with hindsight!)
• A relaxing afternoon, but still getting a few things done.
• I've worked out (with help from a Ravelry forum) how to block the knitted moebius cowls I've made myself.  I pinned them onto (and round) the ironing board and held the iron over to give some steam; a few minutes to cool, and then move it round a bit further and start again.  They feel a bit softer and more luxurious now :o)
• A second go at a Tangy Onion Chutney - I'm a bit happier with how it's turned out this time.  I used a small amount of balsamic to replace some of the red wine vinegar, and have now got some grenadine syrup.  The first attempt got better over time, so I'm very optimistic for this one.  I'm looking forward to trying it with grilled goat's cheese on toast - yum!

It's all coming together

The jigsaw's piecing together for this week's big meeting. The meals are booked, the taxis are planned, and everyone's on their way here. Still don't have all the presentations ready though...

I've been given a piece of Herman the German friendship cake. I've not killed him yet (it's only been a day) but he's quite lumpy after I added the first batch of flour, sugar & milk. I'm guessing he'll bubble his way through ok though.

Safe travel & Easter celebrations

1. Andrew was away yesterday & overnight for work, and the weather took a turn for the worse during the day. I was relieved to get an email mid-afternoon to let me know he'd got back safely, and that his trip had gone well.

2. For the third year now I plan to take some Easter nests to work tomorrow. I love that something so simple can bring smiles to people's faces, and it's a simple way celebrate Easter at work.

3. I forgot I was going to make the nests until quite late in the evening but came through to the kitchen to find Andrew had started them for me.

Boxing Day baking

Lots of baking today...
- another lazy loaf
- white bread rolls, some with cheese and some with sesame seeds on top
- apple and pear crumble

All served with home-made broth for tea, for Andrew's family and Aunty Rose.

 

Baking attempt no. 2

I've had another go at the biscuits and this time they seem ok...

I've also made some flapjack to take to work. Susana & I have arranged a lab clean-up session tomorrow with goodies afterwards so this is my contribution to the party. I may take in some choccies too, or perhaps something savoury to balance all the sugariness.

 

Different...

From Tuesday:
1. I arrived at work at the same time as a colleague with a trainee guide dog. Not something I've seen before!
2. I took a half day to try making some goodies to take into work. The vanilla ones had a strange aftertaste (I've decided the vanilla extract was past its best...) but the chocolate ones seem ok.
3. Fun this evening with my prayer triplet friends. We had a tasty meal cooked by Jenny then played on the Wii; it took me a while to remember what to do but we all did well in the end.

Weekend makings

Makings...

• Mary Berry's Christmas Chutney - this is the fourth time I've made this recipe, and I'm getting the hang of it now.  This time I left the lid off during the early part of cooking the veggies so that there was less liquid to evaporate later.  It seemed to work, so that probably took about an hour off the boiling time.  It went down very well last year, so I'm looking forward to giving some jars as presents

 

 


























• Fingerless Mitts - another Christmas present.  I've probably planned slightly too much for the time available, but I should be able to get these sorted out ok.
• Frizzante scarf -  my gran loved the scarf I made for her a few years ago, and she wears it every night, so it's time she got a new one!  I started knitting it in the car on the way to town, about 2" so far...

Shopping...

• We're getting there... I think we've found something for my brothers and my mum now.  We'll hopefully sort out the rest tomorrow.  Hooray!

Saturday jolly and makes

I drove to Carlisle in the fog, then returned in lovely sunshine - what a difference!

• a warm welcome from our friends in Moreish when I stopped for some lunch
• chatting with a friend when I passed her shop in Cockermouth
• found some (more!) yarn in Whitehaven for the next Christmas present idea

I made some spiced cranberry and pear relish this evening

• I doubled the quantities, because four 250g jars didn't seem very much... I've ended up with a triple amount!
• I used 4 big pears and 4 smaller, to hedge my bets... the recipe didn't say what size I needed
• I added half as much extra sugar as the recipe said for fresh cranberries
• it took much longer than the 30 minutes cooking time
• I think there must be something about my cooker and pan - it always needs longer than the chutney recipes say

I've tried to keep the boiling vinegar smell to the kitchen, but it's bound to get through the house... I've made a veg tagine to try to balance it out a bit

 

Sunday lunch

lovely Sunday lunch with Andrew's family today

• roast beef with all the trimmings - yum!
• good to catch up with everyone too
• and I only had to unknit 4 rows to get back to the dropped stitch...
• about 2 inches completed in the end  ;o)
• waited for the highlights to watch the Indian Grand Prix
• didn't grab me, but some interesting bits

looking for chutney recipes for Christmas presents this evening

• definitely making the Christmas Chutney again
• Spiced Cranberry and Pear Relish looks interesting too

feeling very sleepy now after the clocks went back...

it's been a long week...

...and I'm ready for the weekend :o)

We had a lovely evening with friends on Tuesday

• pizza, choccy and Wii

I finished the first fingerless mitt on Wednesday

Brewery tour and dinner with customers yesterday

Ginger cake baked this evening, ready for Sam and Emily's engagement party tomorrow

...looking forward to seeing our friends tomorrow afternoon

weekend fun & the birds

yesterday:

• relaxed start to the day
• board games with A & M
• bolognaise sauce simmering in the slow cooker for later
 

• lots of fun at the Gincase
• lunch in the barn
• climbing through the playhouse and sliding down the pole
• racing around the go-kart track
• amazing coloured birds
• Aidan fed them (from his hands!)
• Megan fed Megan (the Shetland pony)
• massive Clydesdale horse
• the clever black pony racing from one end of the field to another in search of food
• happy as pigs in mud!
• and all finished off with tea and delicious cakes in the cafe
• birthday presents
• pink fizz to celebrate new godparenting
• knitting and crocheting in the evening, while the men read
• I've started some fingerless mitts... as a rest from the unending scarf

today:

• lovely lunch at Merienda's before waving goodbye to our friends
• relaxing afternoon at home
• watching sparrows flitting in and out of the branches in the back yard

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow with worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own"
          Matthew 6:26-27,33-34

Dino hat and mitts - done!

• The mitts were so much easier and quicker than I expected...
• I love the design, and I think I'll try to make some bigger ones for some other presents
• I've added some spikes to the back so that they match the hat
• so cute!  and I'm hoping he likes them too
• Veg chilli for tea
• fab comfort food for an autumn evening
• Long chat with Oma after tea
• 92 yesterday
• she's seen so much that we just can't begin to know...

Finished! and starting part 2...

• The dino hat is finished!
• so cute! I took it to work to show a couple of people and they loved it - I'm really pleased
• I've started a pair of fingerless mitts which I plan to adapt to also have stegosaurus plates on the back.  The first mitt is done already, and I'm pleased with how easy it was.
• I just hope they fit! (fingers crossed...)
• I found the pattern on Ravelry

Productive Saturday

• He's done it!  Graeme's finally proposed to Thea, and she's said yes

• very pleased for them both :o)
• I was up earlier than planned, so spent the morning doing useful things:
• Lazy loaf (about half eaten already)
• Ginger cupcakes
• lots of washing
• Looking forward to Becca's birthday party tonight.

growing dino, yummy leftovers

1. Daniel's dino hat is growing...
• I'm not sure if it's too big, but I'll see how it goes
• I can always frog it if I need to
2. Andrew cooked again this evening
• using up leftovers...
• I had yesterday's spicy aubergine, pepper & tomato sauce on seeded ciabatta with salad.
• yummy :o)

ring, dinosaur and clearout

1. Happy news from Emily & Sam
2. perfect pattern found for Daniel's birthday present
• already started and looking good so far
3. the junk clearout has started on my side of the room!