Attic24

Festive Spirit

Helloooooo!!!! How are you all doing? I hope that you've had a good week as we prepare for Christmas to come, and that all is calm and bright in your nest. We've had a very chilled week pottering about close to home and enjoying the relaxed pace of our days. J is taking a break from work for a whole two weeks, and the Little Peeps are home from school too, so despite the huge amount of uncertainty in the world at large, life here at number twenty four is filled with happy.

I have twinkly white fairy lights strung along my mantels all year round and I absolutely wouldn't be without them, but it doesn't mean to say there isn't the need for a whole load more at Christmas. I've been enjoying the bright glow of our Christmas tree very much, especially in the early morning when I get to perform the daily switch-on. The magic of Christmas lights never gets old.

Candy canes made it onto the tree a little late (as per usual), but I think they were appreciated. They never hang around for long and as far as I know they are all now deceased. RIP candy canes, you lasted just over a week which is good going.

My second hyacinth grew, bloomed and faded and it was a blue delight, although to be fair it really was a stinker. Even I had to admit to feeling a bit nauseated by it towards the end when it was in full throttle. It has now been replaced by Miss Hyacinth the third, and I opted for another white one for Christmas. Unfortunately I mis-timed it as it's still tightly in bud, but I think it should bloom for the start of the New Year which will be just lovely.

I selected some colours to crochet up a Festive Mandala for the Christmas table, and I love the mix of red, greens and blues with a touch of sparkly gold added for good measure. Alas the days ran away with me this week and the yarn balls are still sitting patiently in the little project basket, so I feel a bit annoyed at myself for that. And being that today is Christmas Eve, I can't see any last minute hooky miracles occurring, particularly as there has been gin involved in my afternoon. But this could well be the perfect Twixtmas project so I shall see if I can make it happen.

Ah, talking of gin, this glorious bottle of festiveness has been making me ridiculously happy during the past few weeks. It's sooo beautiful!! It's this years limited edition offering from Marks and Spencer, a fruity clementine gin liqueur which also does double duty as a light up snow globe. I know!!!!!!!!!!!! Tis a magnificent idea beautifully executed - the "snow" being 23 carat edible gold flakes (oh, the luxury!), with a built in light in the base of the bottle which gives 40 seconds of enraptured entertainment for all ages. We've had so much joy from the bottle alone, never mind the scrummy alcohol it contains. 

We've been enjoying it with lots of ice, tonic and some fresh clementine slices and it tastes so so good. A real festive treat and I'll be sad when it's all gone.

We've also been enjoying our annual box of Extremely Chocolately biscuits, well the Little People have at any rate. This has become one of our festive traditions, and it amuses me to watch the Little People deliberate (at high volume) over which one to have as an after dinner treat each day.

Outside of the home we've been tramping around the woodlands as per usual, and I continue to take great pleasure in watching the seasons unfold in nature.

Winter is my least favourite of all, yet there is still beauty in the landscape especially when the low slanting sun comes out to play.

But oh my life, it's been a mud fest out there beneath the trees and I've never been more glad to have my feet tucked up warm and dry in hand knitted woolly socks and comfy wellies. 

We continue to walk most days, J and I, in all sorts of wintry weather. Of course I am happiest when it's sunny and bright but there is a certain calming pleasure to be found when the rain falls lightly through the bare trees making rings in the still water. 

We very rarely leave town at the moment and don't often use the car either, so a simple trip out this week felt rather exciting. This was on Tuesday, a quick drive out over the moor tops to walk at Bolton Abbey. I love this narrow rural road where I am required to leap out of the car and open the gate for J to drive through. It's a public road, but further down it runs right through a farm and there are often sheep free roaming the road here. We passed by the big barn where we spotted three glorious peacocks strutting around looking regal and fabulous, a bright jolt of vivid colour against the dullness of winter.

It was such a tonic to walk along the riverside, it was bitingly cold but with a welcome amount of brightness. We walked a long loop, criss crossing the river and stopping for a much needed hot milky coffee and a mince pie half way round.

I decorated the house for Christmas at leisure this year, and after the tree went up and our main mantel was complete, I took my time with the other bits. My granny star Advent Garland is still going strong (made in 2009) and it's such a pleasure to unpack these hand made decorations year after year. I do so enjoy the familiarity of them and the memories they bring to the fore. I find it crazy to think that when I made this garland I must have been heavily pregnant carrying Little B who was born in early January 2010. Wow. I can't even get my head around the the fact that it was over a decade ago. (Oh, I just hopped back in time to December 2009 to see my baby bump....hello Little B!!)

Although I do truly delight in keeping the same Christmassy things going year after year, it's also nice to occasionally bring in something new. I've always wanted a Christmas mug, one that gets packed away with the baubles and unpacked with ceremony at the start of Advent each year. I pootled around on eBay and found a pre-loved Cath Kidston one featuring a Christmas street scene which I fell in love with. It has even has a reindeer sleigh flying around the inside of the mug. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to drink coffee in this mug, and I know for sure that it'll make me giddy for years to come when I get to bring it out again and again. I am easily pleased, we have long established this simple fact I know.

About a month ago, I received an advertising email from the flower delivery company Bloom & Wild with a generous discount code attached. I was curious enough to go take a look at what was being offered up for Christmas as I do have a soft spot for seasonal blooms. I usually have cheap and cheerful red supermarket tulips on my table at Christmas, but when I saw that the "Florists Festive Pick" was discounted by 30% I decided on impulse to treat myself. Have you ever done this, ordered expensive flowers as a gift to yourself? It's ridiculously indulgent and I confess I did feel a smidge guilty for spending on myself in such a frivolous way......but well, I think every so often it's perfectly OK to have a treat.

I placed the order, choosing for them to be delivered to me on the day of the Winter Solstice. Of course I completely forgot  about it and was suitably surprised when they dropped through my letterbox on Monday. Happy Solstice to me!

I have to tell you the flowers (and foliage) are absolutely stunning, and seeing them on my table every day has been the best kind of visual treat this week. I want to show you my new jug too, it's an enamel water jug but I bought it especially for my annual festive flowers. I love love love to have my flowers in a jug rather than a vase, there is something so charming and homely about displaying flowers this way, even posh blooms.

So here we are on Christmas Eve and all is feeling quite wonderful in the Attic. Present wrapping happened very last minute of course (late this afternoon in fact, after we came home from a lovely but bitterly cold walk). We've kept things very simple for the Little People this year, opting for consumables (and by that I mean indulgent sweet treats and smelly body products) and spending money. Oh, and there are new pyjamas too as this is a tradition in our house and the Little People always seem especially excited about this bit of Christmas.

So we shall wait and see how the day unfolds tomorrow - it's all different this year as for the first time the Little People didn't write Christmas lists and I don't think we will be putting out snacks for the Big Fella and Rudolph this year either. It's all a bit precarious as Little B (who is almost 11 years old) hasn't come right out and said that he doesn't believe, but we are fairly certain that's where we're at. It's bitter sweet I can tell you. I'll still make sure the stockings get magically filled with (edible/smelly) gifts tonight as I can't imagine a time when that won't still feel like magic. It's like the candy canes on the tree - a few years ago I decided the Little People were possibly too old for them and didn't bother to buy any, but of course they gave me an earful and told me that there just HAD to be candy canes on the tree. I suspect it's the same with the stockings.

I would love to hear from those of you with older children - how do you do Christmas gifts and do you still hold onto any traditions and rituals from their childhoods? Do you still hang stockings?

Even though everything feels strange for the world this year, for us personally our quiet Christmas traditions remain intact. I shall continue to embrace this simple time staying home with my family as we always have done, enjoying the pleasures of good food, relaxation and a warm, cosy home. Holding onto the familiar rituals and looking forward to it all gently unfolding.

I hope that these festive days are full of light and sparkle, and that there are some brilliant moments of fun and joy, laughter and love, peace and calm. Enjoy and savour every moment, and I'll see you all on the other side......

Merry Christmas!

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Friday Feel-Good

Today has felt wonderful in a slow, quiet way and I've taken some time to reflect on the week and count my blessings. 

We had to go out in the car this morning to buy some more solid fuel for the fire. We support a small local business in our town and buy little and often because we don't have any space at home to store large quantities of coal and logs. So seeing as we were out and about with the wheels I suggested to J that we could perhaps keep on driving a few miles out of town and take a walk around the reservoir. I really felt like I needed a change of scenery and  there is something very soothing about walking beside still water.

It's been cold today, just a few degrees above zero. The air was unexpectedly still and the surface of the water was calm which hardly ever happens here as it's usually a very windy place. It felt exactly like winter with the blueish light and the chill in the air and I am certain that autumn has left us now.

This is such a lovely little stroll, it only takes about half an hour to walk all around the waters edge but we took some time to sit on a bench for a while, listening to the geese making their usual racket. I do like to see them flocking together on the water, but my goodness, they are huge disturbers of the peace.

I paddled in the sandy shallows for a while, wiggling my toes to send ripples out across the surface of the water which really delighted me for some obscure reason. 

It was a happy post day today as my subscription box from Cotton & Twine arrived - yay!! This months project is a very cute little framed Christmas picture, and after I mentioned yesterday about my obsession with little houses, you can imagine how much I am loving this design. I can't wait to get stitching, although hmmmm......black aida......not the easiest stitching experience. I shall be wearing my ready readers and my neck light for sure.

I realised that I never showed you the finished design from October which I finished a few weeks ago. I happened to have a red flexi-hoop in my Cupboard of Doom, so I used that to frame the finished piece instead of wrapping ribbon around a wooden hoop. I'm actually really looking forward to putting Autumn guff away very soon and decorating for the festive season....Advent arrives on Tuesday and I am excited for all the extra colour and sparkle.

My white hyacinth bloomed itself out at the start of the week, so today I purchased a replacement. I suddenly remembered that I have some real live moss growing in my front garden (I'm a Moss Mummy!!) so I gathered some to create a little mossy bed around the bulbs. I added a couple of weeny toadstools for good measure and felt so utterly delighted with the whole ensemble that I think I squeaked out loud. 

The kitty has been in a playful mood today and we had fun playing chase and other assorted games where she basically stalks me, pounces, then runs away and pretends it never happened. I do love her bold character, she is often very demanding for attention. Ooooo, looking at the above photo I just had a rush of excitement thinking that my Christmas wreath will be hanging on the wall next week, yaaayyy!!!! Very, very excited for that particular event.

It was a cold, clear, still afternoon here and the light was wonderful as we walked home from school. I am trying hard not to wish the days away but I can't help counting down to the shortest day now. Not long to go.

Remember my wall basket that I spent £6 on back last month? It's looking really lovely still, and makes me smile every single time I walk up my front steps. The little splashes of living colour against the grey of our stone wall  are a joy to me, honestly, it takes very little to keep me happy. 

Friday feel-good nearly always includes a glass of chilled fizz these days, it's become a ritual for J and I to sit down at around 4pm and enjoy a drink of prosecco together. I can't tell you how much I look forward to it  - I stay alcohol free for the rest of the week, but a little Friday tipple is just the best.

I'm looking forward to an early night tonight, in fact as soon as I've finished chatting to you I think I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and snuggle down to read for a while. I've actually been sleeping really well this week and have also done some great workouts every morning so I'm not especially tired, I'm just craving the comfort I think.

Well after writing that, I have actually started to yawn (!) so I shall bid you farewell for today and slink off to make myself cosy in my nest........byyyeeeeeeeeee!

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Slow and Steady

Life at the moment feels slow and steady and I think that twelve days into a month long national lockdown that's about as good as it gets. 

This weekend we spent a lot of time at home, only venturing out for our regular Saturday market/local small food shop and a quick walk round the woods. 

I got to wear my new wellies which I was stupidly excited about - splashing in puddles never gets old.

Just as we were heading homewards we got caught in a sudden rain shower - getting wet wasn't much fun but the beautiful rainbow made up for it.

After our visit to the Saturday market we came home with some new-to-us fruits - Persimmons, AKA Sharon fruit. I am honestly amazed that I've reached my fifties and have found a fruit which I have never eaten before. How???!!! I can report that Persimmons are delicious, kind of like the texture of a pear inside, with a sweet, subtle mango-ish flavour and definitely a fruit I'd like to eat more of.

And to balance out the healthy fruit, let me 'fess up and tell you what also went down at the weekend ↑↑

Uh-huh, a fully loaded jammy scone topped with the most lip smacking Cornish clotted cream. Oh. My. Goodness. It was heavenly. It's been over a year since I ate anything so indulgent and I enjoyed every single moment. This was part of a very generous gift sent my way through the post - a cream tea in a box no less, complete with prosecco and other goodies. Very grateful for the wonderful friends I've made through this blog of mine.

Much of the weekend was spent by the fire - we lit it in the middle of the afternoons and really made the most of the warmth, light and cosy vibes. I'm still loving my Autumn mantel, and this morning I realised that in just over two weeks it'll be time for another seasonal switcheroo when we decorate for the Festive season.....only two weeks! 

Sunday afternoon I picked up my cross stitch project again and completed the final part of the design. I'm so happy with it and have absolutely loved the slow, gentle process of completing each little Christmassy motif. I'll show you once I get it all stretched and framed up nicely.

Even though we are in Lockdown here, during the week our routines remain pretty much unchanged. The Big Teen has been most affected as he's currently furloughed from his pub job, but the Little People are still going to school as usual. J continues to work from home and we still enjoy our Mondays together. I am so grateful for the normality of our slow, steady days right now. 

J and I walked at Bolton Abbey this morning, and it felt so good to be out and about. I thought I would show you the above view - this is what the top of the stone aqueduct looks like (the bridge shown in the first river photo above) when we cross the river. Isn't it grand?

There were very few people out walking today as the weather was cold, grey and windy. But the café was open for take outs and J and I enjoyed our morning coffee with a riverside view. It was bloomin' good I have to say.

As always, by the time we'd come a full circuit I felt completely re-energised and so very glad that we'd decided to leave the comforts of home behind for a while.  

This morning I noticed that the first of my hyacinth flowers have begun to bloom......

.....and they look so pretty on my mantel. They don't have a scent yet, but I'm hopeful it's on it's way (J would probably disagree, but that's a minor matter of inconsequence I'd say).

I hope you've all enjoyed a beautifully slow and steady weekend full of small pleasures. Tell me a little of what has filled your days recently, I'd love to know?!

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 31

I woke up with a lovely weekend feeling this morning when I realised it was Saturday, and as there was nothing much that needed my immediate attention I dozed in bed for a while. I always look forward to heading into town with J on a Saturday morning to gather in food supplies, especially as we usually call in at the café for our breakfast on the way home.

It was wild out there this morning! Very, very windy with glowering dark skies promising imminent rain at any moment. When we got into town we realised there was no street market due to the stormy weather forecast, so we made do with what we could get from the shops. Breakfast and some very very most excellent cappuccinos were still on though, and my goodness I did so enjoy my plate of eggs on toast this morning. Perfectly weekendish I'd say.

In the early afternoon we noticed that the weather had brightened a little, so we set out for a walk while the rain held off. I love these little post boxes that are built into old walls, there is something so endearing about them I think. 

We took Little B with us on our walk this afternoon, even though he wasn't too keen. Sometimes you've just got to drag them away from their screens and force-feed them fresh air because it's the right thing to do when you parent a ten year old who thinks he's a teenager. 

I do so love getting out into the fresh air - I expect you've gathered that by now, eh?!

We had wrapped up in raincoats expecting it to be wet, but the strong winds actually blew in some very welcome blue skies for us to enjoy. It was such a treat to look up and suddenly see patches of blue when it had been so dark and grey earlier.

I'm certainly appreciating all the autumn colour at the moment as I know we are on borrowed time as far as the leaves go. Soon enough the branches will be stripped bare and brown will be the prevailing shade. 

I found myself really appreciating the simple beauty of these dead seed heads and I was reminded of the "dead-things wreath" I made some years ago. Haha, I just re-read that post and made myself laugh!

It was blessedly quiet in the woods considering it was the weekend, and we passed just a handful of dog walkers making the most of the unexpectedly dry afternoon. Hello, Stalking Horse, you look so at home right now with the copper beech leaves falling all around you. I love that you are here in our woodland, making me smile each time I walk past.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what a beautiful sight, would you just look at that glorious SUNSHINE!!! A very brief break in the clouds and the sun suddenly burst through the trees up ahead, it was absolutely magical I tell you.

Amazingly the rain stayed away and we made it home un-wetted. I always love this view of the terraced streets running steeply down and then back up again - these are the hills I was referring to a few days ago when I mentioned that daily exercise has really improved my fitness levels. You do need a reasonable bit of stamina to walk these streets at a brisk pace and there was a (long) time when I struggled, although I hated to admit it. By the way, I will be chatting about my exercise stuff in a separate blog post as so many of you seemed interested in what I'm up to.

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Around 3pm I made a start on the pumpkin carving. My top tools for the job are rubber gloves and a metal ice cream scoop - these are a winning combo and I had the innards scraped out in no time at all. I've saved some of the flesh to make pumpkin soup tomorrow and I'm already looking forward to it. To do the actual carving I just use a small vegetable knife, nothing fancy. I print or draw a design onto paper, place the paper onto the surface of the pumpkin and trace the design with a pencil, making sure to press down hard. This leaves the design lightly scored onto the pumpkin surface, it's just enough so that you can see where to cut.

I carved three pumpkins this year, one large one and two small ones. The Little People watched on with a mixture of fascination and annoyance - they know full well by now that pumpkin carving in this house is strictly a Mummy Activity, and they will not be permitted to "help" in any way, shape or form. I am just a weeny bit mean with it, I am sorry to admit it, but also.......not sorry. Mine, all mine.

In previous years I have purchased additional pumpkins and helped them design and carve their own creations, so I feel I have done my bit. This year nobody was at all bothered when I mentioned pumpkins to them earlier in the week, that is until they saw me at the table this afternoon and then suddenly they wanted in. Ah, shame, but then there's always next year.

As there was no trick or treating this year, we had a beautifully peaceful evening compared to the bobillion rings of the doorbell we usually get on Halloween night. I bought some large foil trays (the sort you buy for roasting a chicken) and spread out a variety of mixed sweetie treats, then left them on the steps for any passing witches or ghouls to help themselves. It seemed like the right thing to do, and I hope that the Littlies liked my pumpkins this year............

...........Ta-dah!! I think they turned out ok.....Happy Halloween🕷🕸🕷🕸🕷!!!

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PS....I know it's the 31st today and Blogtober has now officially finished, but I think I shall continue to be around in the days to come. I have thoroughly enjoyed being present here each day, it's been fun, hasn't it? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 29

Today has been a thoroughly wet affair from start to finish. It was raining when I got up, and as far as I know it's still raining now, although of course it's dark out there beyond the cosiness of home so I don't know for certain. I'm currently sat on the floor in front of the fire with my laptop on the coffee table and my legs stretched out underneath. It's warm and very snug in here as I lit the fire about six hours ago - it really is so lovely having an open fire, I know I keep saying it but it's absolutely one of the highlights of the season for me. J has just made me a cup of tea so I'm all settled in for a chat, although I do need to warn you that I feel pretty tired so I apologise in advance if I begin to drift or ramble.

We went for a jaunt around Bolton Abbey this morning and yes, it was a very drippy wet walk. We started out in a light drizzle and ended up in full on wet rain, but it didn't take away from the pleasure of it. The river was rushing by at a super fast speed, the trees looked amazingly beautiful and despite the crowds we still managed to find a sense of tranquillity in the woodland. Little B was in good spirits and very chatty - I had the pleasure of his company for much of the walk which is a rarity these days. You will be shocked to hear that we didn't stop for coffee (I know!!), we were just too sodden to think about sitting in a café and decided instead to come straight home to change into dry clothes and light the fire.

I spent the early afternoon snuggled under a blanket in the Big Chair with Tilly for company, drinking coffee and catching up with my October issue magazines. I'd only managed a quick browse through before today, but I do like to take the time to read through all the articles and examine the inspirational images in great detail. There was a "seasonal makes and bakes" feature in Country Living which obviously influenced me massively because I began to really crave ginger biscuits. So much so, I could not stop thinking about it so I did the only thing possible in the circumstances and went into the kitchen to bring some gingery goodness into my life. Unfortunately I very quickly discovered we had no ground ginger, so ginger biscuits were a no go. Waaaaahhh!!! I was so disappointed! But I was on a biscuit mission by then so I made an instant decision and knocked up some lemon shortbread biscuits instead. I had fun using some little leaf cutters for seasonal appropriateness, and the biscuits tasted wonderful - buttery and zesty and the perfect afternoon munchy material.

I haven't felt like stitching or hooking today so poor Granny Josephine is still in a state. I shall pick her up tomorrow and forge on with her recovery journey I promise.

Right my lovelies, I really do need to go now as I can feel my brain beginning to perform a bit of a spontaneous shutdown. I hope you've had a great day whatever you've been up to and I shall see you all 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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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 18

Thanks to the fact that we were the first delivery on the list for the humungous white Ikea lorry this morning, I was up and dressed by 7.15am and that doesn't usually happen on a Sunday. Seven Fifteen!! It was a bit of a shock to the system  as I was still completely and utterly sound asleep at 7am, so good job they phoned to a) wake me up and b) announce they were only twenty minutes away. I quite impressed my self at the speed in which I managed to make myself presentable.

It was all good though, because it meant we could get on with our day a little earlier than usual, heading out into the cool grey morning while everything was still sleepy and quiet.

We had Little B with us on our daily walk this morning, which basically meant that I did much of the walk in solitude (he is very much a Daddy's boy at the moment). I didn't mind, really. No really-really I didn't mind at all. It's so sweet to see him and J get along so well, and I was left to trail behind at my own slow pace taking photos as I went.

I notice different things when I am on my own as I generally walk a lot more slowly. I take time to notice the small details as well as the bigger picture around me - nature delights me constantly and I can't imagine living a life where these things go unseen. 

I have to tell you I am really, really, really, really missing the sea at the moment. October is usually a time when I feel an incredibly strong pull to be at the coast and most years I strive to make it happen. We've still got thirteen days of October left, so there is an uber-slim chance that I might be able to see the sea before the month is out, but I'm doubtful.

I stood next to this small waterfall today and appreciated the sound of it filling my ears. I thought to myself - this isn't the sound of the sea, but I mustn't start to be ungrateful wishing for things that I can't have right now.

I ambled along this pathway wondering if J and Little B would think to stop and wait for me to catch up at any point. You can see I was so far behind that they are nowhere to be seen up ahead....

....but I was too busy climbing up muddy banks and photographing my own feet to really mind too much. 

Eventually we caught up with each other and meandered out of the lower gate and along the little access road with it's cute view over to the castle. 

Paused at the top of this hill to take in the town like I always do, saying my silent thanks of gratitude for my home place. There is something very special about this little town, the history, the lively community and the rural down-to-earthness of it. It suits me very well indeed, even if there aren't any waves crashing on the shore here. 

We turned left at the bottom of the hill to head into town instead of going straight home. We had promised Little B a trip to a brand new café in town which specialises in all things chocolatey. The excitement was understandably high. Unfortunately, the exciting new café was unexpectedly closed, oh dear, the disappointment was tangible and Little B was very, very downcast and droopy. He's still at an age where his emotions play out across his little face in vivid openness, and it can be heart breaking to witness.

So we did the only thing we could think of to ease the upset and detoured to our favourite friendly coffee shop where the girls know our order and have it on the go for us before we have chance to even take our coats off. I guess we are "regulars" now then, how lovely is that? Cappuccinos for J and I.....

....and a hot chocolate for Little B. Not a bad second best, and it certainly put a small smile back on his face.

To put it into context, yesterday morning Little B sat the 11+ entrance exam for the grammar school, so it was a Very Big Day for all of us. Quite stressful really to be perfectly honest, even though he was quietly confident and unrattled by the whole procedure. When it was all over we took him to the new chocolate café afterwards for a very well deserved treat, but it was incredibly busy and we couldn't get a seat. So we promised to come back first thing this morning as soon as it opened, hence the ensuing anticipation and huge disappointment when it didn't happen for a second time. Shame eh....but we can look forward to it another day, maybe on Friday after school when we finish for half term.

Today was a slow cooker day, oh the joy of comforting foodie smells filling the house all afternoon! I bought some stewing steak from the butcher yesterday with this recipe in mind, and it was absolutely wonderful. I cheated a little and used a packet dumpling mix where you just add water to the dry flour mix - there is something about using "hard animal fat" for making dumplings which I just can't get excited over. I hate buying that white lardy stuff, let alone getting my hands into it. I made a big tray of roasted potatoes and parsnips to have with the casserole, and we also had sprouts and tenderstem broccoli. It was such a lovely meal, really comforting and tasty and perfectly suited to Autumn.

Part of my Ikea delivery this morning included four boxes of Jubla candles, the plain white unscented ones that are just right for my candelabra. I've missed not having these as they give off quite a lot of light alongside the glow from the fire, so we don't usually have any lights on downstairs in the evenings. It makes for a very cosy atmosphere.

The rest of the Ikea delivery was for Little Lady to finish off her bedroom that she spent weeks tidying and decorating at the start of lockdown. She did such a good job as her walls, ceiling and all the woodwork were painted pale blue, so it took a lot of work to make the whole lot bright white. She did it all by herself, and I was so proud of how hard she worked to transform her space. We bought her a new dressing table, two new mirrors and a bedside table, plus a desk lamp and a planter so that we could re-pot her very healthy and rapidly growing plant which she takes great care of.  J took on the flat pack business, and I got stuck in with the re-potting business, and she is absolutely delighted with it all. The only thing we need to do now is order some new carpet (replacing the dark blue one with a mid grey/neutral). Yeah - her colour scheme is white and pale grey, that's how sophisticated Teenagers are these days, it's all very tasteful and photogenic. I certainly wasn't like that at age 16, I was still all about the rainbows at that age, no real surprises there I guess.

And that about brings us to the end of Sunday, it's been a lovely gentle day full of nothing much, but I have felt contented and grateful for the low key nature of the day after the intensity of yesterday. 

I hope your Sunday has been perfectly weekendish, do tell me a little about your day, I'd love to hear x

 

 

 

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 16

❣ 8:39 ❣ walking to school along the side of the canal chatting to the swans and ducks as we go

❣ 8:40 ❣ the swans are diving for their breakfast - bottoms up!

❣ 8:.41 ❣ walking right next to the wall so that I can crunch in the leaves

❣ 11:10 ❣ café time! My second coffee arrived to the table and I started knitting the second foot

❣ 11:58 ❣ time to pack my knitting away and head home after a lovely morning

❣ 12:32 ❣ walking home - this is an unusual place where the beck (stream) flows under the canal

❣ 12.35 ❣ half way up the hill, stopping to catch my breath and take in the blue, blue sky

❣ 12:39 ❣ home again, and noticing my teeny violas sitting pretty on the step. I really must plant them!

❣ 12:43 ❣ that's better, all planted and watered in. Big smiles all round.

❣ 13:10 ❣ daily walk with the Hubster, along the farm track which leads into the top of the woods

❣ 13:26 ❣ sun dappled and beautifully peaceful, how I LOVE this little patch of woodland

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Right now it's ❣ 14:50 ❣ and in ten minutes I'll need to head out again, back down the hill to collect Little B from school. I usually sit and write my blog in the early evening after dinner, but in a grand change from the norm I'm actually going to eat out tonight, woohoo!!!! I'm really, really looking forward to it. I'm heading to the pub to enjoy a meal with one of my bestest friends, she is treating me to dinner for my birthday which is rather a lovely thing. As I think there may well be several glasses of Sauvignon Blanc involved, I thought it wise to do my writing before I go out so's that you get the sober version of today's events and not the slightly inebriated one. And you can be sure there will be absolutely no photographic evidence either. It's for the best.

So today's blog is rather short and sweet, it's been an extremely ordinary sort of a Friday, but nevertheless I think all the little moments that make up an ordinary day are well worth recording and documenting. Also, lets just note that I am celebrating because I slept extremely well last night, woke up feeling full of beans, and it has felt exactly like a Friday ALL DAY!!!! YAY!!!! Happy, happy Friday my friends, I hope  your day has been full of the most glorious ordinary goodness...

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 12

Ahhhh, Monday rolls round again and I am delighted to be seeing in a fresh new week - I may well be in the minority but I absolutely LOVE Mondays. J and I started today in our usual fashion, yup, you guessed correctly - outrageously good coffee! Blimey, maybe I should stop with the photographic evidence of my daily addiction....but in my defence it is only one coffee treat a day, I always switch to decaff after that first delicious cup.

I do so enjoy that morning caffeine pick-me-up though. I'm not sleeping too well at the moment, I am pootling towards the end of year three of the peri-menopause and over these years I have discovered that the symptoms ebb and flow as the months pass. But at the moment I'm in the midst of a full-flow episode where my brain is in a constant fog during the day and my nights are packed full of heat and anxiety. At least I know it will eventually pass over for a while, but this week I am feeling a little tired from these strangely disturbed nights. 

After coffee and attending to a little bit of life admin, we decided to totally ignore the terrible weather and head out to enjoy the countryside regardless of what was falling from the sky. As you can see from the above photo, I took your advice about the jeans and decided to keep them and wear them into submission. I can tell you that even after just one day they feel sooo much more comfy and most importantly I felt warm and cosy tramping around in them. Thank you also to the lady who suggested M&S jeggings, I'm going to look at getting a pair of those too I think, maybe in a colour of some sorts. 

For our countryside ramble we drove to the picturesque Yorkshire Dales village of Malham. It's been a while since we visited as it's become such a popular tourist destination in recent years that it gets incredibly crowded and hard to park in the summer months, well all year round it's a busy little place really. Today with the weather being so bleugh it was quieter, but still plenty of walkers out and about. We decided not to do a proper over-the-hills hike (too wet and muddy), but instead to make like tourists and wander through the village to take in the spectacular sight of Malham Cove. I snapped the above photo on our walk up the hill to give you a smile :) It was on the side of a hotel/restaurant ((Beck Hall - gosh, I've just looked at the website, it looks like somewhere truly lovely to visit in better weather, adding it to my list for 2021 potential jaunts!))

As you can see, it was incredibly murky out there today with that really, really low misty cloud and endless grey drizzle that just feels very, very wet. 

But no matter, we were in good spirits and set out happily along this easy pathway towards the famous Cove.

The pathway follows the meander of the little stream and the sound of the running water was really soothing.

Getting closer to the cove......

......closer still.....

.....until we were able to stand right under the natural amphitheatre and marvel at it's vastness.

WOW.

No matter how many times I come here over the years it never fails to take my breath away. Every time. It's just so damn BIG!!!!!!!!!

It's hugeness makes it really difficult to photograph, but if I tell you that it is 260feet high, then possibly you can imagine the scale of it.

If you look at the above photo, you may just be able to make out a couple of climbers about half way up on the ledge, preparing to climb up the sheer rock face. That really does blow my mind a little, imagine having the courage (and the desire) to do such a thing?! Nope, it's not for me. I'm not afraid of heights, but oh, I would much rather have my feet on solid ground, thank you very much.

Here I am look, taking a spontaneous selfie to remember this day when I celebrated fifty two years on planet Earth. Happy Birthday to me!

Despite the drizzle, we spent a happy time at the Cove perched on a rock under some trees drinking coffee from a flask and eating Birthday chocolate. I am a very, very low maintenance kind of Birthday Girl, and I'm pretty sure J is thankful for this each and every year.

When the coffee had run out we ambled back into the village, chatting about this and that and thinking (as we do every Monday) that we are so lucky to live this life. I wouldn't swap it for anything, well, maybe a bit more sunshine wouldn't go amiss actually. 

On the way to collect Little B from school I made a quick detour to the shops to purchase an essential birthday item, ie cake. Cake is a major treat these days as you know I've been on a healthy eating kick since the start of the year and eat very little refined sugar now. But I had such an undeniable craving for it this afternoon that I decided to indulge myself and make sure that I enjoyed every single crumb. I was gifted a little mini bottle of birthday prosecco (one of my all time favourite tipples) which arrived in the post this very morning, so that seemed like the perfect accompaniment to the salted caramel and chocolate cake I chose. I was in Birthday heaven!

I lit the fire and settled down to enjoy cake and fizz with J and the Little People and honestly, I've felt so much happiness and contentment today. I am really deeply thankful to be enjoying this stage in my life with good health and a very contented home life. Not a day goes by when I don't give thanks for the way I am able to live my days. I am so, so grateful for all of it.

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