If you're interested in hearing about how one man, Mark Boyle, has been living for 14 months without money then take a look at this video that I found on the Guardian's website. ... read more
Birds, cake, nappies and gardening
It's been one of those weekends where loads seems to have happened if you know what I mean. As it had seemed like such a long time since Mr C and I had had a day out anywhere we planed to make the most of the dry weather and lack of snow and headed up the A1 to the RSPB reserve at Sandy. We've been RSPB members for a while now, but often don't seem to make enough use of our membership and this trip was an attempt to turn that around. I was amazed at how large the reserve site was as it provided several different walking routes around through a mix of heathland, ... read more
A pair …
... of bootees! And a completed knitting project. The first for baby C.Have a great weekend. ... read more
Food for thought
Although we didn't get any snow, yesterday was a very grey day. Even by nine o'clock in the morning the skies still looked very heavy and made it see much earlier than it was. A day that needed to be spend inside the house. A fresh batch of scone (from a tried and tested Delia recipe) enjoyed with a cup of tea and catching up with the BBC Cranford series (how did I miss this when it was originally on TV?). Lovely. It also gave me time to make great progress with a second bootee, this time to match the version 2 one that I completed earlier in the week. The other thing ... read more
The moral of the story…
... is that if the knitting looks wrong and far too small then it probably is! Having started work on bootee number two it became quite obvious as to why my first attempt had turned out so small - I'd missed out part of the pattern. I blame pregnancy brain loss! Much more pleased with version two, and there's even enough yarn left to make a second one the same size. ... read more
Mushroom Bhaji
My first new recipe of 2010 to count towards my 52 in 2010 challenge was an accompaniment to a curry that I was cooking for Mr C. We had some mushrooms already in the fridge so I looked specifically for a side dish that would make use of what I had. This one that I found for mushroom bhaji fit the bill perfectly.It was found in the M&S curry bible that was providing the butter chicken recipe that I was making as the main dish and was a great accompaniment to the dish - and a necessary addition to my five a day! Despite the addition of a fresh green chilli it wasn't too ... read more
52 in 2010
Rosie drew my attention recently to a plan that she and some other bloggers have to try 52 new recipes in 2010. I figure that a challenge like that looks like a good one and it may also give me a good reason to make better use of the large number of cookbooks that are sat in my kitchen.I figure 52 in a year is only one a week and that shouldn't be too difficult, should it? I admit things may get a bit difficult come the summer, but I'm determined to give it a go. I'm not sure if there are any formal rules so to speak, but I plan to count any recipes in my tally - main meals, ... read more
Paintbrush in hand
That how I feel I've been for the last week or so. Paintbrush firmly in my hand - I was even dreaming about painting skirting boards the other night. The good news is that all the front room is now decorated, the new carpet is down and Mr C's dad has just arrived to help him return the sofa to where it should be! I'm looking forward to it no longer being on end n my kitchen!Funny how decorating just one room can disrupt things for a while. Normal service will be resumed very soon I hope. ... read more
Snow – how we used to cope
As today's the first day in a week that Mr C has made it into work in central London by train this film seemed like appropriate viewing. From the BFI National Archive it really does make you realise how much better we were back then at coping. I certainly can't see our local train company going to this sort of effort to get people to where they want to go.Enjoy the film - Snow (1963) - and thanks to Cornflower for making me aware of it in the first place. ... read more
First knitted bootee
It's taken a little while, but I've finally finished my first knitted creation for Baby C - a little bootee (yes I know they normally come in pairs, but I've just not got that far yet!)Knit in baby alpaca (buttermilk and duck egg) in the newborn size following a pattern from UK alpaca that I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show last year (the day after I found out about Baby C in fact). Having completed one I have to say two things: 1) Mine doesn't seem to resemble that in their pictures too much; and 2) it was a real pain to knit! Lots of ... read more