... and a fire to cuddle up in front of would be very delightful. I think I'm in the process of being struck down by some nasty bug this evening. Shopping in the driving rain this afternoon probably hasn't helped. Nor, burning the candle at both ends this last week. Oh, well...Today's shopping trip means I've pretty much finished my Christmas shopping. Wrapping and card writing is still on the to do list though. I did manage to avoid all the charity shops today in a time saving measure. A couple of book related purchases did find their way into my shopping bag though. Firstly a ... read more
Unimagined – Imran Ahmad
It was dovegreyreader that first introduced me to Imran Ahmad and I'm so glad that she did!Last week Imran wrote most of one of her posts and as a result I had to go out and buy a copy of his book that afternoon.Unimagined: A Muslim Boy Meets the West is quite simply a story of Imran's life as a Muslim man growing up in the UK. It starts when he is aged "pre-zero" and his family were living in Pakistan. The first bit that really made me smile was the description of him being robbed of the title of the Karachi 'Bonnie Baby' due to ... read more
Winter chills
It seems that most of my posts have been book related. I have been doing other things - but they have mainly involved frantically trying to finish off what I am making as part of the seasonal exchange and hence I can't share it with you get - sorry!In between reading and making I've been watching Mr C get better (yippee) and also trying to keep warm against the biting cold that we seem to have had these last few days. I left for work before dawn this morning and the amount of frost was unbelievable. I had to give up trying to walk along the pavement as it was so slippery. The ... read more
The lure of books
I went out with such good intentions this afternoon. I needed to make a proper dent in my Christmas shopping and I headed into St Albans with just that intention. I did intend to head into the local branch of Waterstones for a few things, including a travel guide for a weekend away we've got planned in January, but it was supposed to be a trip in which I shopped for other people.Having now come home and looked at the pile of things on my desk I realise just how wrong I got it!Firstly, the Cancer Research shop is the only charity shop in the centre of town that's open on a Sunday - so I ... read more
Tis the season…
Well the weather's certainly made it feel like Winter since we came into December. It took about 10 minutes to "break" into my own car the other evening due to about a centimetre of ice that had formed on it.The Christmas party season also seems to have started and Mr C was luckily well enough last night for us to go to his work annual Christmas meal out. Slightly strange this year in that we went to a Souk restaurant in London and had belly dancers as entertainment instead of crackers and jokes!Still a more traditional mulled wine and mince pie gathering awaits us ... read more
Time waits for no man, woman, or even Mrs C
Where is time flying to at the moment? I seem to have a million and one things to do and no time left to do them. Christmas cards need to be written, some gifts need to be made or purchased, my seasonal swap needs to be completed (why is the last bit always the most time consuming?) and posted, and I daren't even think about the housework waiting to be done.With Mr C off work this week I've wanted to some home and spend quality time with him seeing as he's mainly been on his own all day feeling a bit bored. Unfortunately that means that other things don't get done. Still - ... read more
Working in the rain
Sunday was another WWA working party. After his operation Mr C wasn't able to join me, but after a few days indoors I was looking forward to being outdoors and doing some physical work. It was chucking it down with rain, so there were only four of us there in the end - should I read anything in to the fact that it was four women braving the elements??? This week we were clearing out an area next to the bird hide on the edge of the butterfly garden. The plan is for this to be an area full of Michaelmas Daisies, but at the moment it's rather overgrown with various other plants and ... read more
London Bookshops
I love books and book shopping (just in case you haven;t already guessed from reading this blog!) There was a fantastic book related article in tonight's thelondonpaper detailing some of London's unique bookshops. I've written before about Daunt Books which is mentioned in this article, but mention is also made of Persephone Book's shop which I have been meaning to visit for ages (ever since reading about it on yarnstorm's blog). It's quite funny that when they recommend one book to buy in each store the ... read more
Michael Palin’s Diaries
When ever I go into town I can't help but go into the charity shops, just in case there's a bargain there with my name on it. I had to go into town on Saturday to pick up some more medication for Mr C. It was only supposed to be a quick trip so I limited myself to only popping into one charity shop, but I chose my favourite, the Scope shop in St Albans.I'm so glad I did as I managed to pick up a copy of Michael Palin Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years for a grand total of £6. I was thrilled. Both Mr C and I have been wanting to read this for ages - and now ... read more
Treasure in my own home!
It's almost embarrassing to admit to this, but I've just found some books that I'd forgotten I owned!A few years back I'd bought a load of Penguin Classics and the green and white Penguin Crime books at a local charity shop. I knew that I'd kept them all when Mr C and I moved house about four years ago, but couldn't remember seeing them since. The other day I pulled a travel guide off the shelf and realised that there was a whole second row of books behind it. Oh the feeling of excitement at that point!I'm particularly looking forward to reading the ... read more