What happened this weekend?

Another dreadfully wet weekend.

Fortunately the arrival of a carpet kept Himself and I fully 'exercised' as we lifted, shifted, rolled and unrolled and cut to fit a HUGE 25 metre sq cream coloured adiposity.

All this activity was obviously put on purely for the entertainment of the cats who 'helped' as much as they could - bless 'em.....not.  How we did not stand on them, trip over them or cut their whiskers off as they inspected closely - a bit too closely, I will never know.

Then there was the small issue of moving all the furniture out of the room (the attic bedroom) down the narrow stairs and stashing it in Eldest's bedroom.

Then another small obstacle (well 12 obstacles)  were the 12 wooden structural uprights that are randomly arranged in a sort of vaguely straight (ish) line running down both sides of the room - entailing 12 cuts and fittings and an awful lot of cussing and swearing.

Oh, and the 'minor' inconvenience of two STONKING GREAT ROOF TRUSSES running at hip height that require you to take on a folded double stance. Even this scrunched up pose did not guarantee a pain free work zone as we both clunked our heads and our backs toiling beneath their unforgiving girth.

Then there was the squishing out the kinks and the fold marks and the cutting to fit round the quirkily shaped room.

But - when, at the end of the ' manoeuvres'  Youngest was happy, the cats were fully entertained, Eldest was relieved (to evict his brother's paraphernalia from his room) and Himself and I were exhausted - the carpet was down and looking like it should - phew.

Strangely enough, Sunday took on a slightly more sedate pace (apart from the rain which lashed and hailed and pelted on and off all day...) I pottered around tidying the house, dabbling in the kitchen and just appreciating a day at home with my boys.  

Himself decided to fill the house with a most delicious scent of baking fruit pies and Youngest baked biscuits entirely (AND cleaned up! gasp) on his own for the first time. 

 
 Yes, that tray of oat biscuits does have a smiley face made out of sultanas - Youngest was in a happy mood :)

Told you the cats were worn out by all the carpeting activities.......... think she has rather let herself go......!

life is full of little treats

I have been super hard on myself - I have had to step away from the crafting (well most of it) and give up my knit and natter group (temporarily I hasten to add) all in the name of study.............grrrrrrr.

I do however allow myself a small snatched moment of knitty-licious therapy at lunch time. I can be found in the staff lounge, tongue tip sticking out sideways, eyes screwed up in concentration, knuckles white with activity,  the rest of the staff have got used to my ways...! I look forward to those few short minutes before dashing back to work - it is lambing time and we are super super busy and getting busier by the day.

I must admit that this particular glove (yes glove as 10 knitted little finger covers) has at times been challenging but  I am enjoying this particular challenge and I am LoVinG knitting in brighter colours - the next section has a diamond fairisle pattern in a dusky blue and a mustard yellow and seeing it slowly develop has me grinning like...well.. like a grinning happy thing!

Right - a moment's escape from the clutches of past papers and research, along with a delish steaming mug of herbal tea and a happy chat with you makes the end of today a gently contented one.

G'night dear bloggy friends, will chat again when I can escape my self-imposed woolly exile xx

February already.

My head is full of facts (fleeting - I am sure they will fall out fairly shortly) of the fasciola hepatica (urgh) and if you want to be put off your next meal just follow the link. gah.

Ooh, quick change of subject please!

Well, my knit and natter Santa KAL is finally finished, as hinted at my last post, so  I gave a show and tell at our last gathering so I can now do the big reveal here.

I made hanging 'pods'. I'd seen a variety of styles of these hanging baskets some time ago and mentally filed them for later. The pattern for the first one is HERE and for the second and Youngest's versions, I just did my own thing.

My two pods are crocheted out of the KAL yarn which is Jaeger Trinity and the third pod was crocheted from out-grown T-shirt 'yarn'.

I keep my bracelets and bangles in mine and Youngest has very cheerfully chucked in his socks and boxers and hung it up on his clothes rail.

It did take a bit of effort to complete my challenge - but now I have finished them and they are hanging on on my cupboard doors, I am quietly pleased with them and they are certainly going to be used for a long time to come. Thank you 'Purple Threads' for your Santa KAL gift - it certainly got my grey matter going xx

 I must admit that making the T-shirt 'yarn' was quite cathartic but took longer than I anticipated. It was, however, a wonderful way of using up favourite T-shirts that were definitely far far too small for Youngest. I am actually inspired to make some from some sort of 'sea-grass' or sisal type thread to use in the bathroom. Large enough to hold a couple of rolled up hand towels or flannels.

Ok, back to studying - I just needed a break - thanks for listening and lightening up my afternoon. You are much more fun than studying about sheep liver fluke!

Have yourself a lovely week and I hope to try and pop in some time and dash a blog post off here and there between the books. Especially as I am knitting something NEW to ME (again!) and I can't wait to show off :) (if you wonder how I manage to get some knitting done, I am using it as therapy during my lunch hour in work  - no yarny goodness makes hawthorn a very unhappy girl!)

Go on - what is getting in the way of your crafting mojo?
What are you HAVING to do when there is wool to cast on?
Please tell - I need all the encouragement and support I can get :)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Knittin' nuttin' and nuttin' was goin' right!

If I had to frog my KAL one more time - I would have have had an entire frog's chorus !

Uhuh - frog frog

 Actually I have finally finished frogging and FINALLY have something to show for my crafting madness. 

I think the main issue was down to having a new type of yarn that I'd never tried out before and a colour I would not usually choose. So this was a CHALLENGE indeed!

 I tried all my usual choices - a scarf or a shawl (several types and different patterns) but each time as the garment grew big enough to start seeing how the finished item would be, I didn't like....so frog frog frog.

What didn't help either was the amount of college work loitering on the desk, on the computer, at work, in my head and just generally hanging around and menacing me! (grrr frog frog frog)

So, given there is a KAL 'deadline' I had to really get the knitting out of the way so I could get on - well - get on with life in general!

So - yes, I have FINALLY found something that looks good in the yarn, is useful, I have made two and  amazingly enough Youngest saw the value of my work and requested one for himself.

This third one (notice I haven't revealed what it is yet??!) needed a little more thinking about. So, four outgrown T-shirts later, a bit of cutting and 'yarn' making, a third version of my KAL has been finished and is hanging up in his room already being used. One happy chappie!

Sigh of relief all round then :)

I will reveal my crochet/knitty-madness in February (not so long away) xx

PS this is my 200th  post !

Rainy days and plays days....

......are one and the same this time of the year.

We had a mission and the weather was not going to get in the way. Eldest had to pick up a birthday gift he'd seen a couple of weekends ago. We could not purchase it then as the birthday girl was within arm's reach.

Our destination - Grassington - a vibrant little village which has made the most of it's charm by having the sort of shops that just draw the visitors. Tea rooms, gift shops, walking and camping outlets, craft shops and themed weekends like music festivals and the 1940s weekend.

Our plan was to park high above the village, have a walk for the dog and a picnic lunch for us, then to return back down and collect the birthday pressie. Well, you know what they say about plans...... the weather certainly had!

We sat, parked high above the village - as planned and had a carnic (as in car picnic) and watched hail, sleet and rain roar up the valley and over the moors. We were definitely NOT getting out - just yet.

The boys read their books, I crocheted (a story for another day) and Himself listened to music and watched the elements churning overhead, tearing clouds and bending trees double.

The last crumb from our sandwiches gone, our tea drunk and all the carnic accoutrements away, we watched through the rain streaked windscreen a small break in the clouds and Himself roused us from our snug positions as we wrapped up and braved the weather.

 We marched sharply up the gravel track, over the brow of the hill, dropping into a marginally sheltered valley. The wind was sharp enough to cut right through but at the cracking pace we had set we soon warmed up.

The small break in the clouds widened and the sun flooded through - the colours sharpened and the sky became more dramatic, losing it's leaden sullen expanse.

A turn through a stone wall revealed a wooden post with it's exposed rings.

History abounded on our little walk - mining stories and scars covered the moors. Pits, whims, tramways, tunnels, tracks and  chimneys. We have walked here before and just soaked up the archaic feel. 

Another wall and style exposed us fully to a chilly breeze and we picked up the pace again, only stopping briefly to explore mine pits and read some information boards. The car called us and the clouds were definitely closing in rapidly.

Time to drive back down into the valley and do our birthday shopping. Our cheeks red and our hands brittle with cold - but we all had a silly grin on our faces, the walk - as brief and as snappy as it was - was brilliant!

A tea-junkie's gratitude list

Making : (and frogging and knitting and frogging) my knit and natter secret santa kal
Cooking : Soups - rich tomato, leek and potato, thick chunky veg. Salmon pie and loads of veg (and boys ACTUALLY eating it all up!) Lots of slow cooking.
Drinking : Far too much coffee, lots of tea, peppermint tea, ginger and lemon, hot 'RIbena' and orange vitamin C - yum.
Reading: Anything about sheep, cows, liver fluke, ecto-parasites, endo-parasites, twin lamb disease, hypoglycemia, lambing, dystokia, baa baa baa. 
Wanting: to knit more, blog more, walk more, crochet more.
Looking: at the layer of dust on the shelf I am sure I wiped not so long ago - Or did I miss it??
Playing: The delicious Rudimental CD - 'Home', the deep soul grabbing Peatbog Faeries - 'Dust and the wistful  London Grammar - 'If you wait'
Wasting: Time.
Sewing: Absolutely nothing! Although my Mom is sewing curtains for our bedroom (does that count?)
Wishing: That winter would just slip off quietly and allow the sun a little more time to play.
Enjoying: Walking at lunch with the dog, working with some really delightfully dotty friends.
Waiting: for spring to really kick in.
Liking: How our bedroom walls look now they have been painted.
Wondering: Why on earth we waited so-oooooo long to decorate?
Loving: My new food choices - given up wheat as best I can, no I am not gluten intolerant but have noticed how much better and healthier I feel since July when I waved bread (and other wheat based foods) bye bye! (Along with the weight :) )
Hoping: That with gentle persistence I can get the boys to reduce their sugar intake - managed to get them down from one teaspoon of sugar in every mug of tea to just a 'sweet' little 1/4 teaspoon!
Marveling: A how quickly we can make a tidied room into a mess.
Needing: Wrap my fingers around my mug of tea - they are cold and need a little tea-love.
Smelling: Olbas oil splashed on the back of my dog's neck - she has the sniffles and the oil helps clear her nose (and ours!)
Wearing: My crocheted blanket on my knee - so-oo snuggly and cozy. *love*love*love* my blankie :)
Following: (Well trying to) - following a more gentle way of life.
Knowing: I don't have much time left before my exams - and a lot of work still to get through.
Thinking: About the next few days - work is going to be extremely busy with meetings and talks for farmers about lambing time issues, sheep-themed giveaways, lambing lists, power-point displays.
Feeling: Tired, but not ready for bed.
Bookmarking: Sites on worming preparations, lice treatment, sheep medicines and cow care!
Opening: (And closing) the door for the cats.
Giggling: At the boys pulling a shoe box for Pan (she loves being towed around the house in a box - strange cat).
Feeling: Cold and appreciating our wood-burning stove as it quietly exudes a gentle but wonderful heat. 
Anticipating: A new wool event where I will not only be an exhibitor but helping give a workshop - left hand crochet!

My life is full, yet I feel that there is much more to do - which is why I am trying to slow down - to calm my thoughts and to be more focused. Difficult for some one with a butterfly brain........

Things that make me happy

Texting dear knitting friends and family to kick start the knitting year.

Driving home in pale evening light - not pitch black darkness.

Coming home to find my boys have put the kettle on.

Walking at lunch time with giddy dog - she is at work with me now. Don't want to go through the distress of losing her again - she is going gently senile, partly deaf and dimly sited. Bless her, she has been a good dog.

Himself.

Hearing the cats yelling cheerful greetings. Pepper shouts at the top of her furry little lungs a huge meouwderling hello as I park the car in the garage. Pan sends loud thought and 'eye-messages'.

Friends.

The fact that despite it just being the festive feeding frenzy - I've not put any weight on! (phew)

Eating freshly made fruit salad.

Planning things for the new year.

Family.

Having a relatively tidy house (a rare occurrence with 2 whirlwind cats and two teenage lads)

Having a lovely happy gossippy chat with a neighbour.

Being lent a pair of a football boots instead of having to fork out a small fortune for a short 6 week school compulsory football training scheme. (Especially as Eldest detests this particular sport and tries to avoid the ball at all costs.....)

Sitting in my cozy home, surrounded by my boys (all four *of them) either reading or on their laptops while the radio quietly churns out music and the cats stretch out in front of the fire with smug looks on their furry chops.

Happy?

To right!

And you?

What has set off your happy button?

What has made you smile today?

What has given you a fuzzy glow of happiness?

*I actually mean three, I promise I only have my three - oops!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend 

and hoping you all had a Happy Monday!

Simple pleasures

A gentle day.

Filled with simple plans and pleasures.

Opening the door to let the cats out.

Slow cooking a vegetarian  curry.

Opening the door to let the cats in.

A bit of homework before returning to school.

Opening the door to let the cats out.

Up-dating the new wall planner with holidays and exam dates.

Opening the door to let the cats in.

Cutting up chrimbly cards to recycle into gift tags.

Opening the door to let the cats out...........

 Listening to a wonderful explanation of the imperial system of measurement 

From the Barleycorn to the Roman mile

2 minutes and 18 seconds of measuring madness :)

Enjoying the fact our favourite Scandinavian crime noir with 

Saga Noren (at her strange best) and Martin Rohde is back on TV.

The Bridge 11

Leaving the door slightly ajar so the cats can sort their own lives out!

And you? 

How is your Sunday? 

What simple pleasures (including being a cat doorperson....) do you find comforting?

Enjoy what remains of your weekend xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Moments

As a colleague and I left work this evening - we both exclaimed that 'it is still light!' and we giggled and gave a little skip of delight as we said goodbye to each other.

For the first time in several weeks the evening sky was not a thick black covering. It was a pale grey blue streaked with the remains of the storm clouds.

Wonderful - summer is returning.

Then, to top it off, as I drove home with a silly smile on my face I saw a sliver of a new moon and a heron flying home after a day of forage - Brilliant. That silly smile turned to a huge grin - what an encouraging start to a new year :)

One of my most treasured seasonal rituals, is to walk to is a twisted hawthorn (my Celtic tree) in Grass Wood and stop for a mug of tea and watch the world quietly move through time before continuing our walk over the Dales.

And - of course, with a mug of tea, you have to have something to nibble - the last of the festive mince pies just seemed to fit the bill.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤Happy FRIDAY to you all❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A bit of this and a bit of that x

I took the decorations down last night - it felt excessive and cluttered to still have the tree up in the new year. So, unceremoniously,  it was banished for another 12 months and the house instantly looked bigger and felt tidier.

Some years ago, after a particularly long and dull and grey weathered winter, I 'accidently' forgot to put some fairy lights away and their cheerful bright spots of light quietly kept our house happy. Ever since then,  I have kept lights out all year round. Perfect for those moments when I crave a little mood boost or we have company or just for the simple 'need of it'.

Any hoo - chrimbly clutter gone - it certainly feels right to continue to de-clutter and do a little preemptive spring cleaning! Just not right now, nope - going to do some therapeutic knitting -**happy sigh**

Now, before I start - some knitting news..... I was tempted not to show progress pictures of my KAL knit and natter challenge but - having never knitted lace before - I am privately SuPer ExcITed at my progress!

Ooh isn't this so very grown up of me!? It is called the travelling vine pattern and I CAN'T BELIEVE that I am knitting it - heart flutter :) sqweeeeeeee.

In all honesty, I think nearly every stitch has been knitted at least twice. I have spent a fair bit of time frogging and cussing and counting and re-counting and checking and getting befuddled and I am enjoying the pattern as it creeps off the needles and gently gently grows.


Going to now put blogging aside, reach for my knitting and my mug of tea that Eldest has just presented to me (I did have to ask him to put the kettle on - you should have heard the teenage mutterings and groanings).

G'nite my dears, keep warm and keep crafting :) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx