January, mostly

:: Once again I am surprised at the passage of time. January has been a bit of a blur. Time off, illnesses (not serious but enough to make you feel a bit sorry for yourself), work and birthdays have all played a part. I’ve been busy but not ridiculously though. It’s just prioritising time at the computer when I’ve been on a computer all day at work or when I’ve been cuddling a poorly child and it’s habit I’ve gotten out of. Anyway, I will be catching up with everyone’s blogs and in the meantime…I’ve been trying to appreciate January and all that sit has to offer. And also working out how 1/12 of the year has gone already!!

:: I’m STILL unravelling the hideous mess that is the yarn from hell. It’s taken hours…probably longer than it’ll take me to knit the hat! It’s got a tight tangle at the moment. So I’ve put it to one side less I take to the scissors to unravel it! In the meantime I bought some more wool and am going to make the ABO a scarf. I’ve selected mistake rib stitch as it looks fairly simple and fairly achievable, for me. Socks have been side lined for now. I’ve chosen Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Charcoal. Right now it’s still sat in the bag it came in!

:: I’ve been admiring my yarn bowl (thank you ABO) mixed in with my cookery books. As yet it contains no yarn but it does look very nice. We had a bit of a declutter and rearrange which resulted in a trip to Ikea. The trip to Ikea necessities some new frames and a rug too. CDs and DVDs (of which there were many) were moved into a series of wallets and the cases disposed of. CD cabinets moved and replaced with book shelves. Books transferred (this is just a very small sample....can you believe I reduced my book collection when LittleR was born? This was so she fitted into the house) and a myriad of child clutter put where the books once lived. The resulting tidiness lasted about an hour before normal service was resumed. I know I'm fighting a losing battle. Perhaps if the ABO and I moved out there might be enough room for the girls? I'm particularly enjoying reading through Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries. I received book 2 for Christmas. He does have a magical way with food words.

:: LittleR turned two in the middle of the month and has definitely mastered the art of ripping open a present. I made my usual birthday cake of a Victoria sponge with person specific topping. So in this incarnation Peppa Pig jumped in a chocolate puddle. All of a sudden she's a burst of language - sentences flow and there's a constant chatter.

:: I’ve also been admiring Leeds’ hotel ceilings during a break at a work training day. I did do some work too.

:: I’ve listened to the entire Serial podcast series. And now I’m mourning its end. Once again late to the party.

:: I’ve been lazy and watched a lot of TV. Not sure quite what as I keep complaining there’s nothing  much on. Football mostly I think. We're now out of the FA cup but still in the Capital One cup. And there I betray my honorary Yorkshire-ness (although I've lived more than half my life in Yorkshire) and show my true Essex/London/Southern colours.

:: I've been cooking but mostly the usual things that we always have. A very tasty chicken, chorizo and butter bean casserole featured. It looked a little anaemic but some broccoli livened it up.

:: I've enjoyed bringing in the first daffodils of the year. They've definitely brightened the kitchen.

:: We built the world's smallest snowman with the lightest snow shower. I only had HUGE carrots. A snow bump with an enormous nose.

:: I've been making plans for the garden this year. Deciding what we're going to do with it all. We need a more secure gate this year so the children (well, LittleR really, she's utterly fearless) can't escape when my back is turned for a second. A couple of roses have seen better days so I need to dig those out and replace them...not sure with what yet. I've been browsing the seed catalogues for inspiration for the summer. We're definitely growing strawberries again...they were a hit last year.


:: Thank you so much for all your helpful comments on my precious things. There are some really useful suggestions for keeping on top of all that precious child art.

Where I plan to blog but end up complaining

I planned to spend time this evening visiting your blogs and posting a long post of my 2015 so far. 

Instead there is much tooth gnashing as I undo 9 billion knots and lament the potential of going out of the FA cup. 

Don't ask how it happened. The knots not the football. 

Normal service to be resumed shortly, meanwhile enjoy a picture of my knee and my very cosy slippers. 

A year in books :: April

Well I seem to have my reading mojo back.

This has been a really good prompt for me to get back into reading and I’m enjoying it thoroughly.

So March included The Snow Child, Raven Black, Tales from the Secret Footballer and The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Phew! I don’t know how I did it.

I loved the Snow Child – recommended by so many bloggers but especially Sarah. The descriptions of the inhospitable Alaskan winters and the hope that the child brings to Mabel and Jack in times of despair I found incredibly moving.

How had I not come across Ann Cleeves before? I’ve not been watching Shetland on TV (but I’ll be catching up on iplayer when I’ve read the books!) but I thoroughly enjoyed the first book. The close, small community where everyone knows everyone else’s business and the prejudice against those that are outsiders even though they’re from within. Gripping stuff. So much so I’ve now bought the remaining 4 books for my kindle and will be attacking (unfortunate turn of phrase given the subject!!) one of those in April. 

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox was read almost in one sitting with the majority overnight as I listened to a small child cough. Incidentally, the small child was asleep….but I wasn’t! Was I waiting for her to wake up so I could administer calpol or just so I could read? Anyway…another amazing story. This took me back to my GCSE RE class where every Christmas we would make cards for the long term in-patients at the local psychiatric hospital. In the last year we went to visit the patients and hand out the (much appreciated) cards and presents. It was the first time that I’d realised many of the elderly patients had been ‘locked up’ for so many years on extremely flimsy (by modern standards) reasons, many for having epilepsy for example. Anyway I’ll be returning to Maggie O’Farrell again very soon! 

My final book of the month was Tales from the Secret Footballer. An easy read that you can dip in and out of. The author is extremely scathing of how football is and how it didn’t help him with his (and others) mental health issues. An interesting read. And yes I did spend the next hour attempting to finds out who it is. The ABO and I have narrowed it down but we don’t know for sure….yet. 

So I’m not expecting April to anywhere near as prolific as March. Now the ABO is at home and not away I might spend some of my evening talking to him rather than only reading. I’m starting with the second on the Ann Cleeves Shetland series and moving on to another crime favourite Lynda La Plante…how I missed an Anna Travis novel Wad published I don’t know.

Joining in with Laura at circleofpinetrees.