Socktoberfest ends today and mine didn’t particularly work out the way I had planned.
I did get the fellas socks done and they took up most of the month, and with illness I didn’t progress on any other sock projects till this last day of Socktoberfest; I finally figured out the Turkish Cast On! That tiny thing in the picture is the start of my first ever toe up sock!
I’ll keep you updated with its progress 🙂
I had planned to tell you about the lovely sounding recipe I was going to try out this week in the slow cooker and it all went horribly horribly wrong.
I also haven’t baked sultana oatmeal cookies even though I still really want some.
So, to make up for my lack of culinary exploits this week I have a picture to show you. She’s from the wonderful “Good Food Shop” in York.
Isn’t she fun?!
I’ve just had a better look at my hexagons and around 70% of them aren’t true hexagons, so my evening will be spend taking all the tacking out to start again. 😦
Well, I wish I had a cacophany of things to show you but I don’t.
So far this week I’ve knitted the grand total of 1 hexagon for my blanket – its magenta (which is more purple than magenta) for anyone who is interested. I won’t bore you with yet another picture of a knitted hexagon.
My energy levels are still horribly low and I only got that knitted because now I’ve knitted 50 of them I pretty much have it memorized.
I’ve done very little crafty since my WISPless entry last week.In addition to the knitted hexagon I’ve also tacked a dozen patchwork hexagons. I was going to make a cushion but I may make a patchwork teacozy inspired by the one in this post over at HenHouse…(Yes, I am addicted to this blog…she makes me smile). I also discovered half my home made hexagon papers aren’t true hexagons…I’m gonna have to suck it up and buy a hexagon template aren’t I?
Instead of knitting I’ve been dreaming about the things I’d like to knit and sew and am currently daydreaming about cotton flannel fabric that doesn’t come in baby appropriate colours and is available on this side of the Atlantic, and learning to knit fairisle/colourwork.
I’m also dreaming of having a decent button box again with suitable contents. I have lots of shirt buttons, and a couple of nice ones, but I am feeling I lack buttons at the moment..and I need something to keep them in.
Today I have managed to organise the slow cooker for tea and will tell you about that on Friday.
I am trying to remain cheerful, I promise!
Work has begun on the defeating of the laundry mountain however, and I hope to have it sorted out soon. Plus its probably time to swap out the summer clothes for winter ones…Or at least think about it. Thats proactive, right?!
I am officially sick and tired of being ill….indeed, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired…(sorry, couldn’t resist).I’m plodding along, doing my best to keep my spirits up and trying not to get too down and disheartened. It can’t carry on all winter, right? I’m slowly getting my knitting drive back although I am still so muggy headed that concentrating for any amount of time is hard. I’m working on different things in little spurts when I feel up to it.
I am getting really fed up. I managed 3 whole hours at work last week; I missed my birthday treat (Tickets to see my favourite band 3 Daft Monkeys live), I missed the New York Sisterhood inaugural meeting and Victoria sponge competition and I missed the trip to the Keithley and Worth Valley Beer Festival on Saturday which had been a whole year in the planning.
Which is just making me feel even more fed up and disappointed.
The weather in my neck of the woods:
Damp and grey mainly, although there was some fleeting moments of sunshine yesterday.
One of my simple pleasures:
Two today.
Those fleeting moments when you first wake up when you are ill when you don’t feel terrible.
Finding the will to knit again after being knitted out/just too sick to concentrate enough.
On my bedside table:
Deciding White Crow was physically a bit heavy at the moment, the Fella found me a copy of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book in our local charity shop.
I love Neil Gaiman’s books. He has an odd but beautiful mind only comparable to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. The Fella found me a hardback copy for very little and immediately the cover illustration by Chris Riddell caught my attention. He does wonderful pen, ink and wash style illustrations – the sort I wish I could do. There’s a gallery of the books illustrations at the books website.
Also on my bedside table amongst all the accoutrements of being ill is my Mercedes Lackey Last Herald Mage trilogy.
My friends Thene and Jess introduced me to this “exploding pink fluff” while I was at university. They call it that because, well, it is. I love Lackeys writing, shes like a huge literary duvet that envelops you and makes the world go away for a while.
On my TV:
West Wing DVDs. My “go to” comfort viewing along with Mrs Marple (Joan Hickson of course) and Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett).
On the menu for tonight:
Whatever is in the freezer/cupboard/fridge/shop across the road that the Fella can be convinced to cook.
On my To Do List:
Carry on making myself and my friend Keep Warm sets for the winter; hat neck-warmer and mitts.
Get some of the laundry mountain sorted out.
Getting better dammit!
Done from last weeks To Do List:
Getting through the week (Tada!) All the impending busyness got completly swept aside by the advancing army of congestion and pain in my system.
Making sure the fella had a nice birthday; Mission accomplished! Presents were given and there was videos rented and general being nice to the fella around coughing, sneezing, sniffling, and napping.
New Recipe I tried last week:
None at all. Cooking relied on tins, packets and ready meals due to lack of energy.
New Recipe I’m trying this week:
I’ll see if I feel up to actually cooking this coming week.
In the craft basket:
Whatever I feel up to working on to be honest.
Looking forward to:
Having clean clothes, feeling well again and getting to
Favorite photo from last week:
This one from Little Cotton Rabbits:
I love hedgehogs and I love all things autumnal, and it bought a smile to my face this week.
Favourite blog post from the last week:
I followed some of the suggestions on Greed (Googles RSS feed aggragator) so have been reading several new blogs this week. I may tell you about some of them next week…but my favourite one so far is HenHouse.
You must go and read this one and this one on her recent holiday to Yorkshire and all the wonders they found here; oh and admire her outfit!
Lesson learned the past few days:
That he really did love his birthday socks, in part because even though they drove me round the bend, I did my best to finish them for his birthday.
TTFN!
There’s been very little cooking in the flat this last week. I’m still to get over whatever this virus is although its currently taking the symptoms of a stinking cough and cold so cooking has relied on tins, packets and preprepared foods.
If I felt up to cooking, I would be comfort eating, but even heating up a tin of soup seems to be hard work at the moment.
Last Sunday, between naps, I was reading an article on the Telegraph website about comfort foods. It was reporting that an academic study has been conducted to produce a “comfort food” formula. Apparently three of the best comfort foods are sausage and mash, beans on toast and macaroni cheese and there is actually theory behind this.
Apparently some foods have neuropsychological effects relating to smell, appearance and taste that they recorded and then worked out this formula from. They found that dishes with simple ingredients and uniform colour got better responses. I can see this theory having some validity.
The Fella is a fan of beans on toast and poached eggs on toast, scrambled eggs, bacon butties and crumpets as his comfort foods.
I’m more in the camp of macaroni cheese but my macaroni cheese isn’t that simple. The sauce made from scratch with wholemeal flour, herbs and mature cheddar. I use tricolour fusilli instead of macaroni and I add bacon pieces and carrots to the pasta. Its delicious, but I don’t think they would get good results from the comfort formula with it!
My sisters Lamb Lasagne is another comfort food (lamb mince instead of beef, spinach lasagne sheets, and homemade tomato and wholemeal white sauces) as is my mums bread and butter pudding (wholemeal bread, sultanas and demerara sugar).
Why are so many of these things homemade? Because my mum was on exclusion diets for ezcema and so certain things were cut out of the diet of the whole family and then there was the mad cow disease scare and we stopped eating beef hence lamb mince instead of beef in lasagne etc.
Other of my favourite comfort foods include porridge, museli and half dried chewy banana chips. Though I’m still obsessing about chewy sultana oatmeal cookies…and probably will be until I’m well enough to bake!
So, what’s your comfort food(s)?
No knitting to tell you about today. I’ll have worked on something by next week to tell you about.
Its the Fellas birthday today so other than working on his socks I’ve done little to no knitting or sewing or anything much.
I’ve been ill again; that or I just hadn’t really got better and then caught something else. Either way I’ve been ill for nearly 6 weeks now so am understandably a little fed up.
I’m sure I’ll feel better soon. It can’t carry on much longer, right?
Anyway, I’ll get pictures of his socks to show you soon, and do some knitting, and see when I feel up to baking some cookies…am still obsessing about raisin oatmeal cookies!
The weather in my neck of the woods:
We seem to have entered the grey part of the autumn. The sky has been grey for several days and its been half heartedly raining now and then.
One of my simple pleasures:
the crisp new pages of my favourite magazine and a cup of hot chocolate.
On my bedside table:
Still White Crow by Mary Gentle; These are very big books and even with my normal speed reading abilites in the short time I read before sleep they take a while to get through. There is also a notebook, a pen, a variety of painkillers and and some vapour rub…
On my TV:
Tonight: Flashforward which I’m really enjoying and it will be interesting to see where they take it, and I find the idea of someone trying to affect the world’s collective conciousness on mass very interesting and mildly scary; True Blood for similar reasons – I want to see where they take it; Star Trek repeats on Virgin1 because I’m an unashamed Star Trek Fan(I am in order a fan of: TNG, DS9, Voyager, Classic and then Enterprise) and maybe some B5 or West Wing.
On the menu for tonight:
Something soft. My throat hurts. Possibly Spinach and Ricotta Cannaloni. Storebought probably. I don’t feel up to cooking.
On my To Do List:
Make myself and a friend warm winter hat, neckwarmer and mitts; although as shes in Canada where they can get temps of -10 to -15C so I may make hers first!
Get through this week.
Make sure the fella has a nice birthday.
Done from last weeks To Do List:
THE SOCK IS FINISHED!!!!
New Recipe I tried last week:
I tried two. Gingered Squash and Pear Soup and Autumn Sausage Casserole. Both were delicous and I combined the left overs for lunch on Friday and that was also delicious!
New Recipe I’m trying this week:
Something out of the slow cooking cookbook the boy bought me recently. I’m also slightly obsessed with the thought of making some chewy raisin oatmeal cookies at the moment.
In the craft basket:
I want to do some sewing on my doll at some point and just get back into the crafting groove again.
Looking forward to:
This week being over. This week is looking to be very busy and I’m still unwell. The thought of curling up under the duvet with a book and melting into the world of a book for a while is keeping me going.
Favorite photo from last week:
This one from Ornamental.
She makes the most beautiful jewelery that I may hope to be able to afford one day. She was recently burgled and it must have been awful for her.This photo just made me smile; its the brightly coloured leaves against the wet floor and the stripy socks. It just gives me hope.
Favourite blog post from the last week:
This one, at Tiny Happy. I’ve followed her blog for at least 2 maybe 3 years I think…So long, I can’t remember when I started, at least and she makes beautiful things using recycled and lovely textiles and this post is about the reading corner she has created for her kids and at some level this is the kind of reading corner I want, with big pillows, a bookcase or two and a small table for a tea tray.
Ooh and you want to go and look at the quilt in this one..its beautiful.
Lesson learned the past few days:
That with good kind friends tough times can be made a lot easier and that poisonous people aren’t worth your energy..
(Posted from phone hence odd formating; will fix when I’m on a PC)
TTFN
I’m curled up on the sofa under a duvet writing this on my phone.I’m dosed up on ibuprofen and strepsils and am smothered in vapour rub. I spent just under two hours yesterday morning sat in the walk in clinic waiting room to be told that I have a virus which is making me congested which is affecting my balance and making my lymph glands hurt like anything; mainly down one side of my body which is making me feel all lopsided and wobbly.
I’ve been ill for literally weeks now and I am understandably fed up.
On the upside not being up to doing anything means that last night I finished “THE SOCK” ahead of schedule which means the pair are completed, done, finished, finito with 3 days to spare and I can knit something else, journal properly (“THE SOCK” and illness had taken over) and think of creative projects again without adding – when I finish THE SOCK – to the sentence. I’ll get photos when he tries them on properly on his birthday.
In other news; I actually won something…I never win things!
I entered Cosymakes draw to win one of her hat patterns…In this instance the Snow Cat Hat…mainly on a whim. I thought the pattern was cute.Well, I was amazed to find the pattern appear in my inbox, and I have a few things to make first but someone I know is getting one of these for Xmas. 😉 Thanks Cosette!
I’ve had an unfortunate fortnight crockery wise and the demise of my new birthday tea cup and my favourite mug mean I’ve been looking at teacups and mugs online. I’m rather taken with theÖDMJUK series from IKEA, which would be a beautiful tea service to own but I’ve fallen in love with a particular range of cat related items called Cats in Waiting.
The mug that got broken was from this range and so it seems somehow meant to be to be wanting the teapot/teacup for one set.
Tea is important to me, or at least the little rituals that tea can involve. Its been part of my healing “program” for my anxiety; part of my efforts to get better; part of my cushioning myself from the world when things get too much and an excuse for leaving the house – a bit like my knitting.
Cabin fever has somewhat set in and I am becoming far too well versed in the intricaties of daytime tv; I’m struggling with pain and energy levels all the time at the moment, and just hoping I’m going to start getting better soon.
Thanks for listening to my small rant/whine thing, but unfortunatly it appears to be nap time again.
TTFN.
Blogging seems to be easier for me at day intervals and it gives it a routine so I am starting my own Foody Friday over here at Purplestocking HQ.
On Wednesday I cooked the rather lovely Autumn Sausage Casserole from A Year of Slow Cooking ( I LOVE this blog!)
I made a few changes to the recipe, using good quality pork sausages and omitting the brown sugar as I think it will be sweet enough with apple, carrot and sultanas (instead of raisins) in it. Its an American website so the recipe using cups, but as long as you use the same cup to measure things its fine, and I happen to own an American measuring cup.
1 lb sausages, cut into chunks and browned and drained of excess fat.(a pack of 8 sausages is about right)
2 apples, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped (about one medium sized carrot)
3 cups precooked long-grain rice
1/2 cup sultanas
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp black pepper( I have a mill so I just did a few twists)
1/3 cup water.
Put all your ingredients in the crockpot and stir well. Cook on low for 5 to 7 hours or high to 3-4
It smelt lovely as it went into the pot and already looked autumnal. (Photo taken precooking.) I cooked it for 5 hours and was a gorgeous spicy caramelised brown colour when its cooked. The fella had extra for tea and “reserved” the rest for his pack up lunch!
When I went to our lovely local greengrocers, Millies, to pick up the apples and fresh carrots for the Autumn Sausage Casserole they had a big basket of locally grown Butternut Squashes so I bought three small ones and also tried out this recipe;
Gingered Squash and Pear Soup which I found at Jo’s Second Act. I’m lusting after her autumnal table runner in the photo over there!
INGREDIENTS
1 chopped onion
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 large butternut squash
2 ripe pears
4 cups low fat low salt chicken broth
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Cook off the onion and ginger with a little oil until onion is tender and transfer it to the crock pot. Puncture the butternut squash skin and microwave for a minute to soften the skin and then peel and chop into 1 inch chunks. Peel, core and chop the pears and add those to the crock-pot. Add the chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the pears and squash is tender. Cool slightly, then purée until smooth.
This soup is GORGEOUS, and I served it up with fresh baked crusty rolls and butter…though I cheated in the bread department; some of those half baked rolls from the supermarket that you finish off in the oven. I cooked it for about 2 hours on high. Make sure you remember to fit the lid on the blender properly though…guess how I know…
The rest got portioned up and frozen for future lunches.
Enjoy cooking these, and tell me what you thought!
A Bluestocking in Red Lipstick 