This is how September seems to have left me. Shattered. Where has it vanished to? I was still mentally at the end of summer and yet the realisation that today is October means that I'm having to adjust to it being autumn instead. Don't get me wrong, I do quite like autumn, but I'm feeling a bit unprepared for it. Next people will start mentioning the "C" word. Last year I felt unprepared as I was finishing work and had moved house. I have another excuse this year, but still think I need to start making an effort now so that I don't get caught out again. Money's ... read more
Get knotted hat
You may remember that back in August I knitted a first hat for Baby C. A second quickly followed, this time in a plain colour, just in case Baby C was not a stripe lover. Little Miss C has not (yet) expressed a preference in the stripes vs plain debate, but it just happened that the plain one was in my bag the other day when I noticed how there was that slight chill in the air and thought that I ought to wrap her up warm while we were out and about. I know I'm biased, but she really does just look good enough to eat! ... read more
Crafting for baby
Real progress has been made here now that I've got a little bit of "me" time again. The Ten in the Bed cross-stitch that I started back at the beginning of February (nearly eight months ago!) is finally finished. Well, I say finished, the sewing part is finished. I still need to wash it, mount it and frame it though before it can be hung on the wall in Little Miss C's nursery. I just hope that it won't be another eight months before this happens! This is the view that I have most evenings now that the sewing is complete. There's still a long ... read more
Homemade pizza
Finally I'm finding the time to catch up with various blog posts that I've been meaning to write for a while. Following on from the various meals that I planned I'm pleased to report that all were a success.One that we particularly liked was homemade pizza. It seems silly now that we hadn't tried this before now and since our initial attempt we've this weekend enjoyed the second batch.The recipe that I've been using for the dough is a Jamie Oliver one that I found online. I halved the quantities to make enough dough for just three pizzas (six ... read more
Wimpole Hall Farm
Grandpa's birthday gave LMC and I an excuse for a day out today, so we met my parents at the National Trust's Wimpole Estate up in Cambridgeshire. The weather was kind to us, despite the very threatening clouds, and we were able to have quite a long wander around with her buggy. The gardens at the hall were looking fabulous at the moment and the team of gardeners were certainly doing a fantastic job. The walled garden was also looking spectacular and their display of squashes was great. Lots of lovely autumn colours and combined with the slight chill in the air it made me realise ... read more
A return of evenings
After three months Little Miss C is now in enough of a routine that I can say that we're actually managing to regain our evenings a bit. After months of evenings where pretty much all I did was feed and try to catch up on sleep I've actually been managing to do some of the things I want to do. It's also given me the opportunity to finish the famous nursery cross stitch. I can yell you that there was a small victory dance as I did the last stitch. Seven months it has taken in total and I have to admit that at times I wondered if I'd still be sewing in the run up to LMC's 17th birthday! All ... read more
Meal planning
With a demanding baby in the house (Little Miss C is teething at just eleven weeks old!) the variety of our evening meals has been somewhat lacking of late. I'm hoping that over the next week I can change this a bit and whilst ordering my groceries online I have also been seeking out some new recipes to try. Earlier in the year I also tried to take part in the 52 in 2010 challenge but as expected my participation eased off somewhat once LMC arrived. May be I can get a bit back on track this next week.Firstly I was drawn in by the Waitrose TV advert featuring Delia's ... read more
Time…
It's strange, but after 11 weeks of having a small person to look after when I suddenly get a few hours to myself I'm not sure what to do. LMC is currently asleep and there are so many possibilities that I almost feel spoilt for choice. Problem is that I have no idea how long I have. Long enough for a chapter of my book? A few rows or knitting? Some sewing? Time to empty the dishwasher? Until the end of a programme on TV?Sometimes you just need to seize what ever time you have and just get on with something. Impulsiveness can be a good thing! ... read more
Harvest
Finally an opportunity to spend some time in the garden today actually doing some gardening. I'm delighted to say that we were also able to harvest all the carrots that I grew from seed. The courgette plants are still producing a few and some of the beetroots are also ready.For anyone interested the courgettes are Black Beauty and the carrots are Royal Chantenay Red. Both of these seeds came from the BBC Dig In campaign. Also in the picture is one of the first beetroots that we've harvested - a Boltardy one.Interestingly there is quite a bit of variety in the sizes of the carrots ... read more
Too much rain?
We've had some monsoon like rain here in St Albans these last few days. After all this hot weather the garden could certainly do with the water and our lawn is looking much greener than it has in months. I'm not too sure that the chilli seedlings that had been put out to harden off are quite as happy though. Their growth had stalled somewhat inside, but I get a funny feeling that they've just drowned now! ... read more