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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 28

Today has been a blissfully slow kind of a day, the very best kind of pace for a stay-home holiday week. J and I were both up and about early this morning so we decided to take a walk up to the farm shop around 8.30am. We walked through the park which was very quiet and peaceful and as you can see, it was sunny - yes, actual, real sunny-sunshine, yaayyyy!! It was so so so lovely to feel the sun on my face for a little while, no matter how brief it was.

Many of the trees are looking bare now, although there are some still managing to hold onto their leaves. 

I stopped for a moment to look up through the treetops at the blue sky, loving the brightness of the still early day. My feet were cosy in my hand knit socks and boots, and my hands were cosy in my hand knit mitts. I was wearing a new sweatshirt top which has a hood that kind of sits quite closely around my neck (it's this one) so I was toasty warm, but the chill of the cold wind on my face was really exhilarating. I felt happy and full of morning energy, it was such a great feeling I have to say.

We paused at the top of the hill to take in the view of the hills before jaunting down the steps and following the footpath all the way to the farm shop. Because we were so early it was wonderfully quiet in the shop. This is something I've come to appreciate when we have to wear face coverings as it can feel very claustrophobic very quickly when it's warm and busy. We only really wanted one thing (well two things if you count the coffee) so it was a speedy in and out pop-n-shop, just the way I like it. 

By the time we were walking back through the park the weather had already begun to change and the sun was gone. I appreciated my al fresco on-the-move latté very much, it tasted pretty good with a back drop of Autumnal nature.

The thing we had walked all the way to the farm shop for was meat, specifically lamb. The meat at the farm shop is always great quality and super fresh so I always think it's well worth the walk to get the good stuff. I made another favourite recipe from the slow cook book for tonights dinner - Lamb Rogan Josh. This is a truly excellent curry, one of the best recipes I've ever come across. As well as dried spice and a generous dollop of spice paste from a jar, this recipe uses fresh cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods to add a really rich, aromatic flavour. It's a long, slow cook (up to 8 hours) which makes the lamb melt-in-the-mouth tender....oh it really did not disappoint, it was absolutely delicious. 

With dinner in the slow cooker, the rest of the day was open for me to get busy with my own thing. So after lunch I fetched Granny Josephine from the naughty corner and prepared her for surgery.

It was a tricky procedure, unpicking parts of the lining, then unpicking the carefully darned in ends so I could frog back the joining seams enough to release the top four corner squares. Granny remained calm, and even with a bit of her top missing she still managed to hold it together. 

I am so so glad that somehow in the midst of my foggiest of brain-fog times last year I managed to not only create a half-square from scratch, but also miraculously managed to write up the pattern for it. I am not kidding when I tell you that I really do not remember doing any of it, it's a complete blank (hahaha, I just type "blanket" instead of blank, and had a little chuckle to myself). 

So I had the joy of following my own pattern to create four new half squares......

.....to replace the ones that I extracted from Granny earlier. I used the same colours for some sort of continuity, although I'm well aware that the photo tutorial is going to be a bit of a mess because of having to re-do this bit but not being able to photograph it properly. Ah well, I trust that you won't mind too much and I'll do my best to explain it all as best as I can. 

In the dwindling daylight this afternoon I managed to join the four half squares into Granny's top half, giving her some dainty sloping shoulders. Ideally I would have liked her to have more depth, but in order to make the handles work, this seemed to be the least tricky path to take. 

As I ran out of light and energy in the late part of the afternoon the lining is just pinned in place for now. Tomorrow I hope to really make some good progress and advance to the handle attaching stage. I am determined to drag Granny Josephine into her Ta-dah spotlight, and take her out on the town when she's all embellished and ready to wow her public. I absolutely can't wait.

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 27

I had a lie in this morning and it was absolutely lush, I woke up around 6.30 but immediately gave myself permission to go back to sleep and my second wake up was around 8am I think. Getting a little extra morning shut-eye is one of the very best bits of the school holidays, especially when the weather isn't playing nice and there are no plans to speak of. As is my usual weekday routine I got up and did a workout this morning and actually really enjoyed it - I never thought this would be me as I've always been more of a lazy pyjama person than a lycra fitness person. But life is full of surprises and finding my way into an at-home exercise routine was one of the very best things that happened for me during Lockdown.

Seven months later and I am really feeling the benefits from regular exercising, not necessarily in the way I look (although this is certainly noticeable) but more to do with my energy levels, state of mind and ability to climb hills without feeling like I'm about to pass out. The latter advantage is a real bonus living in a place full of hills. I generally do five days a week (weekends are for slobbery) and only about 30 minutes maximum a day. If anyone is remotely interested I'll happily give you more details of the kind of things I do - it's all free YouTube stuff where you don't need any equipment, just a small amount of floor space, probably a decentish sports bra and the willpower to commit to it when you are only accountable to yourself. I always feel great afterwards, a bit of a red sweaty mess, but those endorphins are really super little things when they go swimming around in your brain. 

As it was raining this morning, I decided to enjoy my morning coffee treat in the comfort of home. It did mean a wet dash to the coffee shop to collect a take-out, but it's a very short dash which I'm very grateful for. When I came home I cosied up in the hydrangea and felt all kinds of happy just being home with J and the Little People and having nowhere I needed to be, and only the basic chores to get done. I changed over my bedding today, sorted out some recycling, cleaned around the bathroom a little and that was about the extent of today's housework.

Breakfast was a bowl of milky porridge topped with fresh fruit and seeds, my current fave. I ate it quite late this morning (10.45) and by then I was really ready for it. I try and practice some sort of mindfulness when I eat my meals so that I can savour the flavours and enjoy the pleasure of freshly prepared food, but I confess that sometimes I do just scoff the lot without a whole lot of mindful activity. I devoured the above bowl in a matter of minutes, but I'm pretty sure it was utterly delicious.

The weather has been wet, wet, wet all day long and as I sit and write this it is still raining. We were expecting it, the weather forecast for the whole of this week is pretty bad. J and I ventured out to the shops for a few groceries that got forgotten when I placed my online supermarket shop at the weekend. It was nice to get out for a bit of a leg stretch and some fresh air, but honestly it was pretty horrible walking with hoods up and heads down against the driving rain.

We walked along the wet canal, and I took the above photo as I was sheltering under one of the bridges. It was so gloomy and dark, even though it was just after midday.

The churchyard stopped me in my tracks though, all that glorious autumn colour looked spectacular in the gloom of the wet, grey afternoon.

When we got back, I set about making some soup for a late lunch, even though I was pretty sure that I would be the only one eating it. This was to be a green concoction made without a recipe but I was hopeful that the giant market celery would make the soup into something special. My green soup contained two leeks, two cloves of garlic, two ginormous celery sticks, a little bit of broccoli and a whole big handful of fresh green celery leaves. Oh, and a potato, and veggie stock.

It turned out green, but not the vibrant green I was expecting - maybe I needed spinach for that kind of colour and I didn't happen to have any. Taste wise it was very good - I think I overdid the celery leaves a bit but it was kind of like a leek and potato soup with a very strong hint of celery. I made rather a big batch of it, so I'm hoping Little Lady might be tempted to join me for a soup lunch tomorrow, otherwise I guess I'll be freezing it to have at a later date. 

The soup gave me an energy boost and afterwards I felt inspired to finish J's socks.

I have the magic kitchener stitch written out on a piece of paper so that I can chant it out loud as I work the needle, it's a bit like casting a magic spell.

I in no way understand how it works, but by meticulously following the chant with extreme concentration I can manage to make it happen. It really does feel like magic and when it's done properly you can't tell that the darned stitches weren't knitted as it makes a seamless graft. Clever eh?

As soon as I'd finished darning in the ends I asked J if he would like to try them on and he honestly couldn't get them on his feet fast enough....

.....Ta-dah!!!!! One pair of Man Socks complete and already in situ on size ten man feet. I asked him to take them off so that I could wash and block them (they always feel so much nicer to wear after they've been washed and blocked) but he point blank refused. I could not persuade him to remove them, so as far as I know they are still on and keeping his extremities cosy and warm.

I've had a few people on social media ask about the yarn, and I'm sorry to say that since I bought it I've found out that the range has been discontinued. It may still be possible to find it online if you search for it - it's Opal yarn ::

Opal Fairytale : shade 9797 "Heroic Deed"

So I think tomorrow may well be the day for the Naughty Granny Bag to be given a seeing to, I feel ready to get stuck in again and kick that WiP into shape. Wish me luck, and I'll keep you posted!

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 26

Daily blogging is such a strange thing to embark on, and if you've ever tried to describe your days in photos for any length of time you will recognise the slight craziness of the attempt. I was in the café this morning with J having my usual very-very-good cappuccino, and I had to force myself not to take a photo of my coffee to show you. Yet again. I mean, there is only so many times you would want to see evidence of me drinking coffee, surely?? Taking photos for a daily blog means that there is bound to be a slight obsessiveness creeping in, as I think about my blog content a huge amount throughout the day. But at the same time I'm mindful of living my life as normal and pointing my camera only when something really inspires me. Oddly enough, my daily coffee nearly always inspires me haha! There is something about the quiet familiarity of enjoying a favourite drink in a cosy environment which just feels a little bit magical to me. And even though it's something I do most days, it still feels special because I view it as a luxury (both having the money to indulge, and having the time too). I feel almost compelled to try and capture the feeling I get when I am there, to share it with you, to tell you how happy it makes me. But yeah, daily coffee reports are probably a bit unnecessary.

So today I'm showing you my £2 Very Large pumpkin instead of my coffee because it is seasonal and because I am thrilled to a) have the excitement of the upcoming carving fest on Saturday to look forward to and b) chuffed that I remembered to buy a pumpkin a whole five days in advance. That's something to be celebrated, especially after last year when we spent a ridiculous amount of time on the actual day of Halloween driving around various supermarkets and farm shops desperately trying to find one. You'll be pleased to know that I have decided on my design already, but I still need to buy a couple of smaller pumpkins for the effect I have in mind. I don't think trick or treat will be happening this year, but I know we have a few neighbours with young children who still plan on dressing up and going on a pumpkin-spotting trail without knocking on any doors. I'm all for that, and will do my bit.

Speaking of Halloween, I couldn't resist buying some spooky chocolates for my own Little People. I know they are way beyond an age where they get excited when Mummy buys them special seasonal treats, but I don't think you can ever be to old for chocolate.

Today we were back on familiar paths as we took to the woods this afternoon for our usual daily tramp. 

We had a slightly reluctant Little B with us, but he is of an age where he can recognise the benefits of taking some exercise and getting fresh air, especially as it does always feel really good to come back into a warm house afterwards.

It was beautiful in the woods and miraculously stayed dry for us right up to the point where we were about 5 minutes from home and then it absolutely lashed it down. So yeah, we got wet, but it made coming back into the house feel even sweeter.

After changing out of my wet clothes I decided to light the fire a bit earlier than usual.

I made myself a milky coffee and settled on a floor cushion right in front of the fire to soak up the warmth. Nothing beats the comfort of an open fire, I absolutely love love love it. It helps me cope with this long stretch of low-light months and I wouldn't be without it.

I sat there looking at the flames and thought about my yarny projects and pondered grafting the toes on J's socks or tackling the Naughty Granny bag, but I wasn't really in the mood. I am finding it ridiculously hard to concentrate at the moment, my brain feels like a big floofy thing with holes in it, incapable of any kind of decision making or anything that requires me to pay attention for longer than a few minutes. Thoughts and decisions kind of waft away before I can grasp them which makes life quite interesting. I'm looking forward to this crazy hormonal phase passing, I'd quite like to have my old self back again. Any time soon would be good.

So it's been a very average kind of a Monday, and honestly I am more than grateful for this fact. As the days, weeks and months slowly tick by and we are all still in the grips of Covid, I keep saying my quiet thanks for the fact that so far it hasn't troubled me too much. I had/have worries for friends who have been struck down with the virus, and of course like most of us I have been frustrated many times this year by the disruption to planned events and travel. But I am well and healthy and even during weeks like this past one when my sleep has gone haywire and I have felt bone tired, my wellness and health remains good. Like I say, I am grateful.

I hope you've had a tip-top day, and that your head isn't full of airy floof like mine! If you've had yarn in your hands, do tell me what you're working on, I'd love to know xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 25

It feels like a while since we took a family walk in the countryside as usually J and I take advantage of our childfree time during the week and head out to walk just the two of us. We had been prepared to walk in rain today as the weather forecast was a bit grim, but it actually turned out pretty good. So after a lazy start to the day (with an extra hour to play with after the clocks changed last night) we eventually rounded up the two youngest kidlets and drove out into the Yorkshire Dales to appreciate the weather and the seasonal colours.

We parked the car at Linton Falls so that we could follow the footpath all along the river. The falls were spectacular today, with very high and rapid water and an immense amount of noise. I love it when it's like that, it really does take your breath away. I thought you might appreciate seeing a little more of this location, I found a short video on YouTube which gives you an idea of what it's like in Autumn/Winter - click HERE to watch (and listen).

Our usual thing when we do this walk is to head for the Old School Tearoom in Hebden for a half-way refreshment stop. It takes maybe an hour to walk there which means that by the time you arrive you are generally pretty ready for a sit down and a drink. However, the Cappuccino Gods were not looking after me today as the café was incredibly busy both inside and out with not a single seat to spare. There was also a big queue going on for takeout drinks and the whole place was overwhelmed and overcrowded. J took one look, shook his head and made tracks to leave immediately, he doesn't like crowded places and especially not in the midst of a global pandemic. I was disappointed but not a lot to be done other than suck it up and walk back along the pathways to enjoy the scenery.

It was a lovely walk, but my goodness it was really busy out there along the riverside and that kind of took some of the pleasure away. Passing through gates, over stiles, and along some stretches of the path that were narrow felt tricky as there were just so many groups of people. It was still very enjoyable to be out and about though, soaking up the sunshine when it broke through the clouds and breathing in the fresh country air. And do you know what I did when I came home? I made myself a mug of milky coffee and a hot water bottle and tucked myself up in bed for a while, just for the absolute comfort of it. It felt quite decadent to get back into bed in the middle of the afternoon (I even had a little snooze, living my best weekend life).

I do like Sundays, especially ones which are at the start of the school holiday. No alarm for me tomorrow, hooray!!!!

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 24

I had the best nights sleep last night (finally) and woke up thinking that after a pretty tiring kind of week physically speaking I can feel my energy slowly coming back. I am beyond thankful as I really haven't felt like myself this week and I think it's mostly down to my sleep being so disturbed by my crazy out of whack hormones.

I've also come to recognise that during my forties and now into my fifties I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. I can definitely feel the SAD creeping in as our daylight hours shorten, it's the strangest thing to recognise and witness it in my own self, as if I'm looking in from the outside. I find I can cope because my life is generally very happy and low in stress, but close friends tell me they do see a noticeable dip in my mood, energy levels and general wellness between October and March. Time to dig out my daylight lamp, wherever it may be, I have a feeling it might be under my bed so will need to go rooting later. 

Saturday mornings are market mornings, and J and I set out around 9.30 ish usually. I really do appreciate this gentle routine we have going on, it's just so ordinarily lovely and weekendish. In the years when we lived our city life in York we often talked about how much we would like to live in a small market town one day. We fantasised about walking to the market for fresh produce, visiting little independent shops and stopping for coffee in a small cosy café. And here we are, living the life we once dreamed of, and how very beautiful is that thought?! I feel so lucky, really I do, and trust me when I say that I do not take it for granted. 

Up this little cobbled street we go.....

....and half an hour later here I am walking back down the same cobbled street laden down with fresh produce and looking very pleased with myself. The monstrous green leaves you can see poking out of my bag belong to the biggest bunch of celery you ever did see. It's absolutely ginormous and I couldn't resist it's leafy charms and impressive size. Today's market haul consisted of apples, pears, plums, grapes, oranges, cherry tomatoes, Yorkshire black tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, sprouts, celery, leeks and a butternut squash. Oh, and a dozen eggs too. I'm planning on making more soups this week - I'm thinking a green "swamp" soup using some of the celery leaves and the leek (along with some other greens and potato), and a roasted butternut squash soup too. 

Following the road as it crosses over the canal, it was raining and I suddenly felt a little weary with my heavy bag of veggies. But in just a few minutes we were heading into our usual Saturday morning café spot.....

......ahhhhhhhhhh, that's better! Just what I needed! We treated ourselves to breakfast today, just a simple plate of eggs on toast but what a treat to sit in the warmth of a cosy café and wait for someone to bring me food. I love cooking and I especially love making myself breakfast but it's still a nice experience having someone else do it for a change. And did I ever tell you how outrageously good this coffee is (?!) I start to look forward to it around Thursday, no joke. 

The weather has been absolutely horrid today. HORriD I tell you. Gusting winds and driving rain, the poor trees are being stripped of their leaves at a fast rate of knots. The little cherry tree in the above photo is in my neighbours garden - you can see how it looked just four days ago (4th photo down on Day 20) and now look at it, it makes me feel a rising sadness for the loss of the leafage and the true onset of the cold season. It's less than nine weeks till Christmas, can you believe this is true? 

Mind you, horrid weather makes it feel all the more cosy inside and I made sure to set myself up for a top notch cosy afternoon with full blanket coverage and kitty warmth. She was on my lap before I had even spread the blanket out properly, having spied me settling down on the sofa and reaching for the hydrangea blanket she came leaping across the furniture to make herself comfy. Fortunately I already had my phone and my knitting to hand (plus a mug of hot coffee which isn't in the photo) so I was all set for a lengthy cosy-sesh.

Forty five minutes later and we were both still in situ, Tilly having spread herself right out making me feel super-warm, sleepy, comfortable and cosy-content. I managed to keep my eyes open and my brain engaged long enough to finish J's second sock (yay!!). Well I mean I finished the knitting but still have the kitchener toe closing business to see to, and I shall do that tomorrow when I'm not nearly so sleepy.

I lit the fire at four o'clock and J and I enjoyed a small glass of prosecco together. I've started buying the mini 200ml bottles as it's just enough for us to have one glass each in these beautiful vintage champagne saucers. These were given to me by my Dad's partner Lady B, she remembers them from her own childhood in Canada and tells me they were gifted to her mother in the 1940's. I absolutely adore them.

Before I go, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the commiserations you shared with me over the granny bag debacle. I was upset and cross yesterday but I woke up this morning with a workable solution of sorts in my head and in the next few days I think I'll be able to free the bag from the naughty corner. It's all good, and a reminder that the design process doesn't always run smoothly, but that's absolutely OK. For this particular project though, it means that the tutorial will be a bit out of kilter as the photos won't quite match the reality. But I'm hopeful that if I explain it as a general How-to, then you'll be able to understand the basics of it enough to give it a go should you wish to.

Right my lovelies, on that positive note I shall love you and leave you for today, thank you so much for reading my ramblings and for your wonderful comments and dialogue here of late. I appreciate you!

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 23

Ahhhhhhhh, Friiiiiiidaaaaaayyyyy, how happy I am to see you!!!!! Is it just me or has this week felt supremely long? It's the last day before our half term holiday week and I'm pretty certain we are all very ready for some down time next week, an ease up on routine and some serious slobbing time. Pyjamas on until lunch time, nothing planned at all except for extensive relaxation. Bring it on, I am so ready to switch my morning alarm off and allow my body to go with it's natural flow. However, I am secretly hoping for one great-weather day where I will try my hardest to press-gang the fam into a "spontaneous" trip to the seaside, and I won't be doing that in my pyjamas. I am keeping all crossed, I really do need a sea fix quite badly.

I spent this morning having a laugh with good friends, four of us plus an iPad with one of our other fab friends joining us via zoom. It was such a tonic, a real happy few hours where I drank lovely coffee and finished knitting the second foot of J's socks.

When I came home I sat quietly and finished hand stitching the lining into my bag and it looks so neat I have to say.

However...........I'm afraid to tell you that there is some very, very bad news to deliver. Sigh. I almost don't want to tell you the story because I am that mad at myself and the bag is currently sitting slumped in the naughty corner.

You have to keep in mind that it's around 18 months since I was last working on this bag, and honestly last year was really not a good year for me. I was in a peri-menopause induced brain fog for so much of it, and really I am hard pushed to remember an awful lot about 2019.

I shall try and give you the brief run down.....

In the above photo, you can see two things. At the bottom is the 4 x 4 square bag that I have spent the past week constructing and lining and photographing for a tutorial. And at the top you can see one of the handles, plus some additional squares and a magical half-square that I found in the bottom of my project bag. Hmmmmm, a half square??? This has really been puzzling me as I confess I don't even remember making the half square. My brain has drawn a complete blank on that, I remember nothing. 

This afternoon when I  started to think about joining the handle to the body of the square bag, I realised with a sinking heart that it wasn't going to work. There is just too much crochet to gather in, and no way is it do-able. I couldn't understand it, because I recall last year I actually physically sampled the gathering and attaching method and it worked a treat, so I assumed I was good to go.

And then it came to me in a flash........the extra squares and the half square....Oh. My. Goodness. Of course!! There is meant to be an extra layer added to the top of the square bag body, two central squares with a half square either side!!! It was like a lightbulb went on and I remembered what I had planned. I am SO CROSS with myself that I didn't think to write this down, to make notes, to even take a single photo to remind me. What was I playing at?!

Anyhow - the upshot is that I now need to crochet a couple more squares and 3 more half squares, unpick my super-neat hand stitches, remove the lining, attach the additional squares to the top of the bag, make the expedition back into the eaves to drag out the sewing machine, cut and sew a new bigger lining, stitch it in place and then.......then I can crochet the gathering in handle attachment bit. I feel a bit defeated by it all at the moment.

There is one bit of good news.....I've just gone to look in my Word doc files to see if there is any remote chance that I might have thought to write up the pattern for the half-square. I was very, very doubtful as I have no recollection of doing it. But what do you know???? It's there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost burst into tears when I found it - high emotion indeed!!!!!!

So. I think I shall leave the bag in the naughty corner for the time being, until I feel ready to tackle the adjustments.

In the meantime, I am very close to finishing J's sock, yay, at least that's going OK! I finished one foot this afternoon and will work on the other tomorrow, then it's just the toes to graft. I know he's really looking forward to getting them on his feet.

When we went to collect Little B from school he was in very high spirits as we were finally making the trip to the new chocolate café. I love that we can easily walk wherever we need to go in this little town and within fifteen minutes of leaving the school gates we were seated inside a very busy café.

Oh my. It did not disappoint. Little B went for the signature hot chocolate which came with all sorts of additional extras as standard. As well as the drink itself (which was pretty amazing) there was gourmet popcorn, chocolate buttons, a chocolate cigarello, a chocolate flake and a small slab of double chocolate brownie. Wowsers, it was a very impressive chocolate feast and his little face was a picture when it arrived to the table. He demolished the lot, declared himself absolutely stuffed and said it was the best hot chocolate he'd ever had. Well worth the wait apparently.

We walked home in the late afternoon sunshine feeling glad for the upcoming break from school and the prospect of nine free days stretching ahead. I am thankful, truly.

It's been a day of ups and downs, but despite the bag fiasco I think the ups have out weighed the downs.

Right now it's 6pm and J has cooked dinner tonight (such a treat for me), the fire is lit and I have a mini bottle of prosecco waiting in the fridge. Not a bad way to end the day if you ask me. 

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 22

Well today hasn't quite been the productive go-go-go hive of creative activity that I thought it was going to be, but the slowness has suited me very well to be honest. After the school run I went to have coffee with a friend which was really enjoyable. I appreciate my modest social life very much, and meeting up each week with different friends is just the nicest thing. I missed this part of my life very much during our lockdown months and am making the very most of it right now while it's still possible to go to a café with a few others.

I had a late breakfast when I got back home, then faffed around seeing to the laundry, catching up with emails, and generally just excelling at procrastinating. Even though I am so excited about finishing my bag, I couldn't seem to settle down and get on with it this morning. Oh, I've just remembered that I did go for a woodland walk with J very late on in the morning, but I decided (for once) not to take any photos and just appreciate being in the moment. 

I made carrot and coriander soup for lunch today, and it was absolutely delish. By the way I forgot to thank you for your wonderful soupy suggestions on my Day 10 post - Thank You! I made a little list of the ones you mentioned in the comments and am excited to extend my basic soup repertoire. Here they are, in no particular order.....

Swamp soup - love this! (it's leek, potato and spinach)

Red lentil and bacon

Curried butternut squash

Roasted butternut squash

Chicken leftovers with root veggies and a little milk

Potato and corn chowder

Green soup (watercress, spinach and kale, green pepper, stock and a bit of potato)

Broccoli and stilton

It was especially nice today because Little Lady now comes home from school for lunch and the timing was just right for her to have a hot bowl of fresh soup with some buttered toast. She is more than willing to rustle up her own lunch, but the mother in me still jumps at the chance to provide nourishing food whenever possible. I just can't help myself.

I've got some of the biggest, juiciest oranges in the fruit bowl at the moment, they really are magnificent. The above plate is just half of one (I ate the first half before thinking about taking a photo), and I ate it while browsing through the October issue of Country Homes and Interiors. It's very autumnal and a bit brown inside those pages I can tell you, but dahlias and pumpkins are always good for a hit of seasonal colour.

After lunch I set about catching up with the October #yarnfriendsrock challenge, only a day late. I don't know what it is about Wednesday but I can never seem to hold that day in my head properly. I either think it's Wednesday on a Tuesday or a Thursday! The prompt for this week was " Granny Squares" and although I have lots of archive images involving granny squares I thought it would be fun to take a new photo. I moved furniture, gave the floor a quick whizz over with the vacuum cleaner and set about having a play with my blankets. I do have a good few granny square blankets, shall I list them out for you? Ok, well in the above photo, starting from the back....

1. Patchwork Granny - this was a stash bust project using up lots of odds and ends of yarn.
2. Colourwash Granny - 44 shades arranged in a rainbow-ish wash of colour.
3. Summer Harmony - this uses my Harmony Square pattern worked with my Original 17-colour yarn pack.
4. Aria - my current crush, I love it SO SO MUCH.

And not pictured but still in residence we have....

1. Sweet Flower Granny - a stash bust blanket made for our old carava.n
2. Harmony - a rectangular blanket which uses 14 colours for the squares, all edged in Parma Violet.
3. Baby Granny - cashmerino blanket made when Little B was born.
4. Big Blanket - huge monster double bed blanket.

After all the blanket excitement I did eventually settle down with needle and thread and began making weeny stitches to attach the lining into my granny bag. Very gentle, therapeutic work, slow and steady.

I got about half way round before I felt the need for a refreshment break, then half way through my milky coffee I realised that crikey it's only ten minutes until I need to shoot out for the school run. It's been that kind of day, the hours have wafted by and I feel like I didn't really achieve a huge amount. 

I needed to use up these tomatoes which we bought from the market on Saturday, aren't they strange? The veggie man calls them "Yorkshire Blacks", they are a variety of heirloom tomato which is very juicy and has a great flavour. I'm rather thrilled that my basil plant is not only surviving but thriving on the kitchen windowsill, and I've remembered to water it twice, which is something of a miracle. 

I sliced up the tomatoes, drizzled them with a little olive oil, seasoned them, then ripped up some basil leaves to add that unmistakable summery flavour. They really were delicious. Tonight's meal was a bit thrown together, we had the tomatoes with some other salad things and some falafels (not homemade, but very nice). It wasn't really salad weather to be honest, but I enjoyed all the fresh flavours, plus it was a doddle to pull the meal together - the only thing I actually cooked was some garlic bread which meant I had some time to knit.....

I managed a few rows of my sock in the lull between ripping up the basil and putting the garlic bread into the oven. I pulled the wooden coffee table right up in front of the fire and sat with my feet in the hearth, it was oh so cosy, warm and comforting. My hands have been achey today (cold, wet weather I suspect), did I tell you I've started taking turmeric capsules to see if they help ease the discomfort in my joints? I hope they help, I really do. I've got socks to finish, bag handles to attach and a CAL blanket to work on, I need my hands to be tip top. Fingers crossed.

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 21

Gah, those pesky ends!!!!!!! I woke up just after 4am this morning and I kid you not, the very first thing that I thought of was those bloomin' ends, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. Of course it was still pitch black at that hour and J was fast asleep beside me so I resisted the temptation to get up and see to them. I eventually managed to fall back to sleep but there was a lot of tossing and turning. Never again.

After dropping Little B at school I called into the shops for a few groceries, stopped off at the coffee shop just at the bottom of my street to buy a latté-to-go (such a treat to be able to do this) before coming home. I didn't even have one single coffee slurp before running upstairs and unpinning my freshly blocked squares, I absolutely could not wait a moment longer.....oh, the joy! Such a wonderful thing, they really are transformed after their steam spa treatment and overnight rest.

I then had the job of darning in the pesky wigglers, it was a little bit tedious but I was sipping my delicious coffee as I worked my way around and soon enough they were all done.....

.....hooray!!!!! Done and dusted, goodbye for ever!

I ironed out my lining fabric (gorgeous Tilda fabric from the Lazy Days range, purchased from here) and realised that I have bought far too much, probably three times as much as I needed. At the time I ordered it I couldn't really work out the dimensions of the bag as the squares were still sat in piles, but no matter, I'm sure I'll be able to use it.

I'll be writing up all the details for constructing the Granny Bag but just to give you a rough idea, the squares measure around 35cm x 70cm once they are all joined and blocked (they will be folded in half to make a 35cm square bag). So that gives you an idea of how much fabric you would need if you wanted to do something similar. 

I managed to create the side seams of the bag during the morning before it was time to head out for some fresh air and a stretch of the legs with J. 

It wasn't very nice weather today, a little spitty rain and lots of murky grey gloom, but the woodland still looked beautiful.

Back home again, and straight back to the job at hand. I won't bore you at this point with photos of me making the lining (although they will be included in the "how-to" tutorial). I have to tell you, I had some "help" from Tilly who TWICE managed to sneak onto the table where my fabric was laid out and remove the pins. Yup, you read that right, she actually took the pins out of the fabric and threw them on the floor. With her teeth. Yes indeed!!! Have you ever heard of a cat who needs to be so utterly involved in human life? She is quite cray-cray.

I had a major job getting to my sewing machine which lives in the cavernous under-eaves cupboards in the Attic along with a whole mountain of other stuff. At one point I almost abandoned the idea of mechanical stitches in favour of some good ol' fashioned hand sewing because the task of actually getting to the sewing machine seemed unsurmountable. But I eventually managed - it probably took me a good half an hour to unearth the machine, carry it downstairs, find some thread and get it all set up, and about five minutes to actually stitch two simple side seams. 

But hinderances aside, as you can see from the above photo, the lining is in the bag, yippeeee!! It's only pinned in place for now as I ran out of time/daylight/camera battery to get any further, but it worked out really well and I'm excited to continue my journey tomorrow.

I spotted the above spectacle on the way home from school this afternoon and asked J to capture it on his phone as I didn't have my camera with me. There is a glorious cherry tree growing at the side of the tow path here, shedding it's leaves straight into the water and I thought it looked absolutely magical. 

I also noticed how well my cyclamen are doing on my front step, I think the way that the new flowers look all twisted before they open and perk upwards is beautiful. Ahh.....nature is just so inspiring, every single day I find something that literally stops me in my tracks in wonder.

And so that's about it for today, I am really enjoying this bag project and being able to share the daily progress with you is such a treat. Tomorrow I will be :

• Stitching the lining in place (weeny little hand stitches).
• Crocheting wide bands along the two top edges - these will effectively draw the top of the bag into gathers and allow me to attach the circular handles. It's a bit abstract at the moment, but I can see it inside my Creative Mind, which is good enough for now.
• Decorative embellishments (oh, this is ME, of course there will be decorative embellishments!)
• Attaching the handles (if I have time, I might need to roll this over to Friday.

I can see we are rapidly heading for a grand Ta-dah moment and I am SO ExCiTeD for it!!!!!! Lets hope I sleep well tonight because I need all the bag making energies for tomorrow.

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 20

Firstly, thank you all so much for your kindness after yesterday's post, I felt very much better just for reading your words. I think we can all relate to those days when the internal battery feels flat and yes I agree that it's good to acknowledge life's natural rhythms. There are bound to be downs as well as ups and both should be celebrated as they represent life in all it's richness. 

This morning I still felt incredibly tired, but my overall mood felt lighter which I was very glad of. The weather was extremely bleugh this morning, we had a lot of rain in the night and during our walk to school the clouds were still very low and heavy and a dark moody grey. It was very uninspiring out there this morning I have to say. I ended up coming straight home and just sitting for a while in the comfort of the Big Chair where I was soon joined by Tilly (hee-hee, I got there first!) I stayed as long as I could manage with her snuggled on my lap but eventually I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom, you know how it is when you hold it in for aaaaages and then all of a sudden you HAVE to go??!! Yeah, that. Sorry Tilly, I evicted you at great speed and I apologise for the dreadful indignity of it.

I made porridge for my mid morning breakfast, the theme of the morning obviously being Comfort with a capital C. It was really good stuff - I cook my oats with milk and a few chopped prunes (the plump sort that come soaked in juice) as they give a lovely hit of natural sweetness. I add fresh fruit to the top once the oats have cooked, usually half a sliced banana and whatever berries I have in the fridge. Yummmmmm, its a wonderfully comforting meal this one.

After breakfast I decided to get busy with my Granny bag WiP. This project is just begging to be completed, and well, I really want to be able to actually use the bag so I feel highly motivated to take it over the finishing line. I spent quite some time arranging the squares and deciding on the best layout, faffing with the colour placement and taking photos. It was fun! I love the thrill of immersing myself in a colourful crochet project, it certainly helps massively in the mood-lifting department. 

I had to down squares at eleven o'clock as J announced that it was time for our daily walk. Oh, OK then, I can come back to the squares afterwards, lets go.....!

Joy of joys, when I stepped out the front door the weather had completely altered and there were no more heavy grey clouds. They had all been blown away leaving a bright blue sky up above - happy, happy, happy me!

The first part of our walk is quite a steep climb, it's all residential streets but they are very hilly. Usually I can walk up here at quite a clip as I've been working hard on improving my fitness levels this year. However today was a much slower affair, I am definitely not quite at full throttle this week.

With the sun streaming through the trees, the woodland was looking mighty fine this morning.

J spotted this intriguing looking mushroom at the side of the path, it's not one that I've ever seen before I don't think. I figured it would be quite easy to identify so I've just googled "UK tall shaggy mushroom" and found it straight away. It's appropriately named a "Shaggy Inkcap" or sometimes known as a "Lawyers Wig", how cool is that? And furthermore, it's edible!! Would you eat it do you think? Chopped up and gently sautéed in a little butter and garlic? I don't know if I would be brave enough.

I found a beautiful big leaf too, it was so pristine as if it had only just fallen from the tree. 

I wonder how many photographs of the woods I've taken since the start of Lockdown? Hundreds probably. This place has come to mean so much to me, a sanctuary even on the toughest of days.

By this point in the walk I was ready to be home though, itching to get back to my granny squares. I felt like I could actually hear them calling to me, well not really, but I did feel kind of desperate to see them again. I'd left them all laid out ready and waiting for my return......

....awwwwwwwww, I'm back again sweet squares, and you are looking so very, very PRETTY!!!!!!!

I decided on a 4 x 4 square layout for the bag sides, so in the photo above I've got the front and back all laid out and they'll be joined into one flat piece. I'll then fold the piece in half and create a seam along the two sides. Well that's the rough plan - I am winging this project from this point forward, making design decisions on the fly as I go. I really hope it's all going to work as well as I am imagining it in my head.

I've chosen Duck Egg as the joining and edging colour, it's one of my favourite shades and I think it'll work well with the lining fabric too.

I'm joining my squares using the crochet slip-stitch method - this is a tutorial that already exists on my blog, but I've photographed the whole process of joining the squares for this bag so that I can create something of a how-to for you to follow, should you wish to create your own version.

The idea is that you first create all the long seams (three of them in this case). You can see in the above photo that I've completed the first two long seams and am just about to start on the last one. 

Once all the long seams are complete, you then swing the whole thing around 90 degrees and crochet across the short seams (seven of them). It's slow work, but I really enjoy it. It's repetitive and rhythmic, just the sort of thing you can sit quietly with and allow your mind to wander for a while as you perform the slip of hook and yarn. 

Soon enough it was 3pm and time to down my hook and pull on boots ready to head out on the school run. It can be irritating to have to stop right in the middle of something (I hate having to stop mid row, absolutely hate it) but that's the nature of the school day and there is not a thing I can do about it.

It's only half an hour round trip though, so not too bad really.....

......and the scenery isn't too shabby to look at either.

After coming home I immediately sat back down to finish off my seams, gosh it was so satisfying to fasten off that final end and have all 32 squares neatly joined together. As you can see in the above photo it all looks a bit uneven, but fear ye not, all is well. As I sit and write this, the squares are pinned out and blocking on a towel just behind me and I absolutely cannot wait to perform the magical unpinning tomorrow once it's all completely dry.

In a show of uncharacteristic impatience I decided to block the crochet without darning in any ends.....very un-Lucy-like behaviour and I can tell you that it is really bothering me. Twenty wiggly ends shouting at me, I probably won't be able to sleep tonight because they will be shouting so loudly. I hope I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to darn them in.

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 19

I have felt a bit out of of sorts today, nothing drastic, just a low grade weariness of body and mind that I don't often experience on a Monday. I felt a weensy bit irritable to be honest, and that's not like me at all. Maybe it's the hidden pressures of the weekend catching up with me, or maybe it's just the damn hormones, who knows?

After we dropped Little B at school we took a slow walk to the bakers for a loaf of bread, walking along the narrow pathway that runs between the canal and the beck. This is the same pathway (and beck) that eventually winds it's way up into the woodland. The building on the right in the above photo is a row of very old terraced cottages, they are extremely cute with windows that look out directly over the water. Some are permanent homes and a few of them are holiday lets - I actually booked one of them for my Dad and Lady B to come and stay in the Spring but of course it had to be cancelled when Covid arrived. Next year I hope.

Coming home from the shops I felt like I couldn't decide what to do with myself. I didn't particularly want to be indoors but J said he didn't want to go for a walk and fancied a quiet, slow day at home. I didn't have enough concentration or patience to get to work on my Granny Josephine crochet bag, so instead I decided to bake.

I don't bake nearly as much as I used to but every so often I will turn to an old recipe that I know by heart and produce something sweetly edible. It was flapjack today with dried apricots.

This is my recipe from my blog archives of 2008 ::

Fruity flapjacks

Into a heatproof bowl, put the following ::

80g soft brown sugar
100g butter/margarine
60ml Golden syrup

Into the microwave for a minute or two until the butter and sugar are melty. Stir well.

Add 200g porridge oats and 80g dried fruit (snipped apricots, sultanas or cranberries are my usual choices)

Press into a lined tin (make the flapjack around 2cm deep) and bake for 20mins at 180C.

Press down the mixture to firm and cut into flapjacky size squares.

Leave to cool in the tin before hoiking them out. Consume with a steaming hot brew/glass of milk, depending on age. Indoors or outdoors, preferably not in rain. 

On the spur of the moment we did venture out in the early afternoon, driving a few miles out of town for a short amble across the moor tops. This is one of J's favourite places, it's quite a bleak place in many ways but there is such a peaceful atmosphere up here and it's remarkably good at "blowing the cobwebs away".

We heard the unmistakable sounds of red grouse doing their thing as we walked along the track. They're such comical birds to listen to and I found a short clip ((HERE)) if you wish to familiarise yourself with grouse language.

You can see one in the photo above as it ran across the track in front of us.

We didn't have enough time to do a full circular route so we simply walked and talked and admired the view until we'd had enough fresh air and scenic therapy, then turned to walk back again. 

I felt a smidge better when we got back to the car, but the feeling of mental fatigue is still with me. Hoping very much that I'll feel more like my normal self tomorrow.

I guess that if I wasn't committed to Blogtober, then today would be a definite no-show for me in Blogland as I find it very hard to write when my energies are low. But I do think it's good to be honest and let you know that I don't feel full of beans all the time, I have my off days, of course I do. My instincts are usually to retreat until I feel more like myself again, but as it's Blogtober (which I am really, really enjoying by the way) I am here in the Attic giving you the slightly washed out version of myself today.

Keepin' it real, my friends! ;)

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