I've started attending a weekly knitting group here in St Albans and I'm really enjoying having company whilst knitting. The group comprises a mix of women of all ages and backgrounds yet there is one strange thing that bonds several of us together - bizarrely five of us are all called Penelope! Not something you'd expect with the name not being all that common. Its been lovely to get to know these women and between them they have some fantastic knitting skills. The speed of some of them is also astounding. Each week more and more finished items are pulled out bags to be passed ... read more
Finally
I don't want to work out how long ago I started sewing this cross-stitch picture for Little Miss C's room. Let's just say that it's when I was still pregnant and leave it at that. Finally though I have got round to framing it. Now the countdown starts for how long before it's actually on her bedroom wall... ... read more
Banana & Chocolate Chip Muffins
With a fruitbowl full of ageing bananas and a little girl who refuses to eat them I went about finding a recipe to use them up. Inspired by some yummy banana and chocolate cake that a local cafe sell I knew I wanted to combine the two, but I drew a bit of a blank with all my cookbooks. The internet came up trumps though. I used this recipe for these banana and chocolate chip muffins and it all worked just perfectly. The muffins were light and tasty with an even spread of banana throughout. The chocolate chips were slightly gooey whilst retaining some of their structure so to give nice sweet ... read more
The Quangle Wangle’s Hat – Edward Lear
Coincidence is a funny thing. Only last week I was reading about the Charlotte Strawbridge's new venture Crumpetty Tree and in particular how the name for their business came from Edward Lear's The Quangle Wangle's Hat. I knew of Edward Lear, and in particular Owl and the Pussycat, but not this tale, until Saturday that was when I came across this in a local charity shop. Not only can I now find out about the Quangle Wangle and the Crumpetty Tree, but the story is also accompanied by lovely illustrations by the fantastic Helen Oxenbury. In their own ... read more
London
I sat down ready to blog last night and just couldn't. The TV was on and I was just sat here in shock. London appeared more like a war zone than the city I know and love. Shops were being looted, buildings were on fire and the police seemed to be struggling to gain any sort of control. Journalists were under attack and starting to wear the protective clothing that they normally wear in Iraq or Afghanistan. People were losing their homes and livelihoods and I was just watching in disbelief. No one seems sure what the real cause behind these riots is. Initially it was all blamed on the ... read more
Julie Slater & Son Mini Photo Frame
I'm sure that I'm not the only person out there you likes filling their home with nice things. In my mind it's part of creating a home - surrounding yourself with people and things that you love. I'm always on the look out for lovely things, both new and secondhand, and I'm always particularly thrilled when I find someone new creating lovely things that I like. A few weeks ago I came across Julie Slater & Son - a lovely company selling leather purses, wallets, bags and gifts. I was delighted to be asked to review one of their products and Julie sent me a ... read more
Look back in hunger – Jo Brand
I've been a bit behind with book reviews lately, mainly because I've been enjoyng reading so much lately. Jo Brand is one of those comediennes that people seem to feel very strongly about. Some love her, some can't stand her. Her acting efforts have won awards, but also a lot of criticism. The same goes for her comedy. Strangely, to me at least, she's one of those people who seems to be on TV, or Radio 4, frequently, but yet I don't know much about her. I knew that she used to be a nurse and that some of her comedy and writing work has been based on those experiences, but ... read more
Kiddiwalks
Mr C and I have lived in St Albans for nearly seven years now so I thought it fair to say that I know the place and surrounding area reasonably well. However, over the last few months I've realised that I actually don't at all! My knowledge is lacking somewhat when it comes to places to go with kids. I can do all the very obvious ones like the zoo and local children's farm, but when we just want to go out for a walk somewhere I kept coming back to the same places and I was soon getting quite bored with them. A friend then told me about Kiddiwalks in Hertfordshire which ... read more
Simple things in the garden
Give a little girl a garden full of things to collect and a bucket in which to put them and you have an hour of fun! ... read more
How to have a baby without it costing the earth
It seems I'm now the mum of a toddler. How did that happen? Fourteen months have passed by in a flash and I'm suddenly realising that there's a whole batch of new mums coming along behind me that I can share some of my experiences with, so that's exactly what I want to use this blog post to do. The press is full of articles about just how much it costs to raise a child here in the UK and it is true that compared to life before children our house now contains much more than it used to, but it is not necessary to buy everything on the lists that baby shops produce and there are ... read more