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This Weekend ...

This weekend ...

• I attended Reading Group where we discussed Aldous Huxley's Crome Yellow.  Listening to other readers' observations is always enlightening but I remain of the opinion that this is a very boring book.  Apologies to all Huxley admirers.
• I worked my way through an enormous pile of ironing.  I had planned to to do more in the way of preparation for the arrival of my sister on a visit next week but, as usual, I found other activities to 'distract' me from the housekeeping.
• I made Spicy Moroccan Chick Pea Soup from a recipe in the Waitrose newspaper.  In truth it was red kidney beans rather than chick peas as I had none of the latter but a stockpile of the former.  I love it when I come across a recipe that I can make straight away.
• I tried out one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Three Good Things.  It was a salad of roasted beetroot, boiled eggs and anchovies, all from stock, and it was delicious.
• A and I followed part of the West Bristol Art Trail.  The venues are considerably more dispersed than its Southbank equivalent but the views from the houses and gardens are superb.  I met Susan Taylor who designed the Glasgow print I bought for my elder daughter, and a singing friend who turns out to be an accomplished card maker.
• I had dinner with a couple of friends in a local pub to celebrate two of their birthdays.  

Granny Squares Blanket - Work in Progress

This post is in response to public demand ... well 'd' asked to see it!

For some time now, longer than I care to remember, I've been crocheting granny squares for a blanket for my younger daughter.  It's for the bed in her attic bedroom, and I've chosen colours that will go with the walls which are a pale blue and a Cath Kidston floral print.

The beauty of granny squares is their simple versatility.  Now that I've memorised the pattern I can crochet away while talking to friends or watching the telly - but not, as I discovered last week, while sitting on a coach.  I shove a couple of balls of wool and my hook into my bag and take them to school to work on during my lunch break, or to a coffee morning.  I can squeeze in a square between other activities or spend the whole day building a small pile.

The plan is to work a row of white around each square, sew them all together and finish the blanket off with a couple of rows around the outside, perhaps with a fancy edge.

I'm not working to a deadline but it would be good to have it ready for her birthday at the beginning of June.  Let's see.  I am completely in awe of Karen over at A Quiet Corner who has managed six gorgeous blankets in one year!  I'm also indebted to Lucy at Attic 24 for her cheerful inspiration in all things hooky!

Easter Holiday Plans Revisited

Now that the Easter holidays are over and I've returned to work it's time to revisit those challenges I set myself.

1. Spring clean the house:  Well, I managed a few cupboards in the kitchen, throwing out a bag of food dating back to the early 90s.  Yikes!  I also binned a bag of old cassettes and lugged two sacks of clothes down to a charity shop.
2. Read Colm Toibin's Story of the Night and Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife:  I'm still only half way through the first, but I finished the second just in time for our reading group last Friday.
3. Draw up a 4 week menu plan:  Success!  And it's colour coded, and it comes with a shopping list, and it's now clipped to the fridge door for everyone to see.
4. Create a sourdough starter and start making my own bread:  Another tick!  My wild yeast starter took over a week to get going but when it did it was quite dramatic, erupting over the sides of the jar and spreading out over the piano.
5. Knit 5 granny squares a day:  I only met this challenge on one day but my pile of finished squares is several inches higher.

 Well done?  Could have done better?  I'll leave you to decide.

As for me, I enjoyed a break from work, spent time with my family and friends, went to two concerts, saw two films, visited the Tower of London,  ate out , baked buns and cakes and managed to post most days!  I'm happy!

Easter Holiday Plans

Tomorrow is the first day of my Easter holidays.  Weekends don't count in my book.
Now although one of the purposes of holidays is to relax, take it easy and recharge the batteries,  I know, from experience, that I am rather inclined to take this too seriously and reach the end of my break from work without having achieved very much, if anything at all.

So this time I've  decided to set myself some challenges, namely

1. Spring clean the house
2. Read Colm Toibin's Story of the Night (in addition to Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife which I must finish in time for our next Reading Group meeting a week on Friday.
3. Draw up a four week menu plan
4. Create a sourdough starter and start making my own bread
5. Knit 5 granny squares a day for my younger daughter's blanket

To achieve these goals I will need to be organised and cut down on the time I spent watching the television and surfing the net, which is a good thing in itself.  I will, of course, continue to blog and post regular reports on my progress.

Day 22 - Kitchen Sink

This is the photograph I've been dreading.  It crept up and caught me on a day when I had no time to tidy it up.  So here it is, warts and all!