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Sunday 4 November 2012

Rock buns...I have eaten 3 and I am absolutely stuffed. Totally delicious because I followed the receipe to exact. Well, I actually doubled the receipe from my new cook book called 'The Great British Bake Off' which incidently follows the tv series that has just finished. I hope, when Frank comes home, he is going to eat some of them cause my diet is totally ruined today.
I also cooked a 'Cottage Pie' yesterday but put on top of the mashed potatoe some chopped leeks and grated cheese. It was yummy and we have got left overs for dinner tonight. The picture you see is a bit steamy because I wanted to get a photo of it when we first served the meal.
Craft Section now....I finished the Comfort Wrap for Charlotte. I used 9.5 balls of Cygnet Seriously Chunky and I added some tassels too. This is my friend Charlotte modelling it and she loves it. I machine washed it on a wool wash and short spin and used Comfort Exhillarations Softener which smells lovely. I enjoyed using the size 12mm needles but boy did they make my wrists ache. It was a pleasure to make for her though, she is worth it!
All I want now is for someone to make me one please! I have also been busy looking up a lace project that is quite popular lately on 'ravelry.com'. If you are an avid knitter or crochet and would like to join, its totally free. There are reviews of designer patterns, free patterns and you can make friends and chat about a whole load of stuff involving around knitting and crochet. I have got over 100 friends on there now because of commenting on peoples projects that they have posted onto 'chat forums' and 'groups' and the best bit is if you want to make something, you just look it up on the 'rav board' and you can get helpful hints and comments. (That's just in case you have difficulty with a project or want to find out if its worth purchasing a pattern). I have got a library too in ravelry which contains patterns that I have purchased/free and they are so handy to have because I refer back to them all the time. Plus, because of Ravelry I have been following 'podcasts' and 'videocasts' which are totally wicked because you see people's projects first hand and in real life. This is the blog I am recently following and she is an avid fan of 'Lord of the Rings'. Does anyone remember the beautiful lace circular shawl that Arwin wore. Well thats the pattern I want to have a go at. Its called 'Evenstar'So watch this space when I start it. (Finger's crossed).
This is my next and final christmas project so I can concentrate on the Evenstar. Its called 'Evergreen' but I have changed some of the pattern to make it a bit easier to introduce other colours. It's a popcorn and lace crochet stitch and am really enjoying it. I hope to get it as big as a lap blanket. Am using Cygnet Double Knit and a 4mm hook. Right, I am off to do some more crocheting before Frank comes in from work. Catch ya later.

Saturday 20 October 2012

Fudge...it's only taken me almost 10 years to get it to set right and today I did it my way (I think that's a song). I finally got it to look like this at the first stage where you melt all the ingredients into the sauce pan and let it get to a certain temperature.
So far so good. They are the famous last words! I poured it into two non stick but slightly oiled tins and left it out to set. Did it heck! This is what it looked like at first
The colour is a bit pastie and there are walnuts in one tin and plain fudge in the other. I bashed the walnuts to make smaller and added directly to the tins. Well, as I said before it didn't set so I got the saucepan out again and thought sod it, I am doing it my way. I put it all back into the saucepan and boiled the hell out of it (I think I may not have had it reach the softball stage before and because I don't have a thermometer, I guessed it).
Can you see the colour has got darker, so I got a cold tea plate from my rack and poured a little of it onto it. Hey presto, it only set straight away. I tipped the plate to its side and it didn't go nowhere. So tip 1. The mixture gets very thick whilst simmering and darkens and I used a wooden spoon this time. Tip 2. Boil the hell out of it but use a big big saucepan and then simmer it whilst stirring with a wooden spoon on occasion. Tip 3. Slightly grease the tin and put your walnuts or fruit etc into the tin. Tip 4.Leave it alone on the worktop. It should set within a few minutes but don't touch it yet. Leave it a good 20 minutes. Do the wobble test and it shouldn't move at all. That's when you can get a knife to cut it into the pieces you want but still leaving it in the tin to cool. I on the otherhand, didn't do that and I started cutting it into pieces as soon as it was cold and some of it went crumbly and other bits kept it shape. The fudge with the walnuts tended to be the crumbliest and the plain fudge kept its shape when I cut it. As you can see from this photo, the plain fudge is on top and look's lovely.
The pieces are mishapen but then again, so am I so who cares. I did another 6k jog this morning and intend to do another one tomorrow so that's my excuse for eating fudge and some egg and bacon for dinner tonight. At least now I know where I went wrong last time but am not sure if I will do another batch...we will see. If anyone has got any 'methods' of cooking fudge, please let me know because I would love to make some perfect and give as gifts at christmas. Bye for now.

Friday 19 October 2012

This is Tipsy, who is the ripe old age of 12. She has not been the hardest of cat to look after either. She has never ventured out far, only ever gone to the neighbour's garden and any sounds she runs back indoors. I am kind of hoping she puts a little weight on, now that greedy peanut is no longer with us. I miss him terribly but he was a bit of a greedy sod and scoffed his food like there was no tomorrow and then would push tipsy out the way to eat hers. Warning next..I have a tree picture for you cause I just could not resist taking this photo.
Yep, these gorgeous trees are bang in the middle of Parsloes Park and they look great bunched up together. I was tempted to walk over there from the footpath but decided not to because of the wet conditions and didn't want to get my boots dirty.
Here is another picture close up of my favourite tree with its beautiful golden leaves turning. I have seen a load of squirrels too in the park but they are quick little buggers and I can't get a decent photo yet. It has definetely turned bitterly cold now at night, I had to give up and put the heating on a couple of evenings because it felt so chilly. Even with the big blanket on me that I am knitting, I still feel cold.
This is the progress on Charlotte's comfort wrap made with the chunky yarn and size 12 mm needles. God, they make your fingers and wrists ache when your not use to knitting with such big ones. The work you see there is 3 balls so far and I am averaging about 14 rows per ball and around 6 inches in length so not bad. I reckon it will be about 60 inches when completed with the 10 balls that I purchased. I will put it on a wool wash when its done so I am sure it will stretch slightly..I am worried about that but lets face it, it has to be washed. Tammie wasn't impressed with me covering her over with it for a photo shoot but I will treat her later. I haven't really been doing anything else, apart from work and home. I did my jogging Sunday just gone and did 6k and hope to do more this weekend. I finally got delivery of my big recycling brown bin which will be a lot easier than the stupid orange bags the council provided. Apparently, it costs the borough too much for the bags so everyone is given these bins and the collection is now only every two weeks. I will put the bin out the back garden cause there are already two other bins out front and I can't stand that. Oh well, I am going to go and start some housework which is never ending and get fed up with it. I might have a go at making some fudge later, if I do, I will post a picture on here before it all gets scoffed. Bye for now.

Sunday 14 October 2012

Autumn pruning...
After a trip to Romford today Frank decided to prune back some of the shrubs because lets face it, I wasn't in the right frame of mind last year or the year before to look after anything outside of the house. Don't you think it looks bare but tidy. The exciting thing about it though is what's growing in the soil. We planted the Frit bulbs, as per my previous post and we are both looking forward to that. I have decided that Autumn is not one of my favourite season's. Why! Because I hate the dark mornings. It make's it difficult to get up in the morning and you just know it's going to get worse because before you know it, it will be dark when I leave work in the afternoon. Oh well, moan and groan over.
The next photo is of a project I started a few hours ago. I bought a size 12mm knitting needle from Hobbycraft and the yarn, Cygnet Seriously Chunky, from Greenwich & Bexley Cottage Hospice. I paid £2.20 per 100g ball and 49 meter's per ball. I am making a comfort wrap for my friend at work called Charlotte. The pattern is from a book called 'Knitting in no Time' by Melody Griffith. That piece of knitting is only 4 rows of the pattern so it's going to be huge, I can't wait to see how many row's I get out of one ball.
This is the start of a crochet christmas project called 'Crochet Reader's Wrap'. It's from ravelry and I purchased it thinking it would keep my attention. Well, it didn't, I ended up mixing up the pattern and designing a few rows myself. The picture doesn't do it justice but wait till it's done. That's it for now. Oh yeah, I forgot to say, I jogged 6 kilometer's this morning so am very pleased with myself. I could have gone on longer because my breathing is amazing when I jog. Trouble is, I was flipping starving when I got home...sod's law.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Here you are, as promised a photo of Big Ben in August whilst we were walking across Hungerford Bridge. It was a bright sunny day and was getting quite busy on the bridge and surrounding area. I remember this now, cause we went into a McDonald's nearby and we ended up walking out again because it was so busy. When you think it was only the middle of the week and the amount of people around was quite surprising. I do realise now how much there is to see in London. The next picture show's you a close up of Big Ben for all you fans of the history of London.
A few weeks ago we ended up going a different way home from Woolwich Arsenal Train Station. We walked to the bottom, past the MArk's & Sparks Outlet and would you adam and eve it, there was Woolwich Ferry and it looked really interesting. It was a bright day and Frank said do I want to go through the foot tunnel. 'What foot tunnel', I said and we walked down the stairs going down which were winding around an old 'lift' that was not used but the stairs were very steep. Here's a picture of the actual tunnel which was quite spooky. It was very echoey and by the time we got to the end, we realised we had a hell of a lot of stairs to walk up.
When we got out of the tunnel, we had a little walk to the bus stop and then it drove past the old Tate & Lyle Sugar Factory. I never ever realised I have missed so many sites around London because of my lack of confidence in travelling. Well, that's it for now, its getting rather chilly and need to walk the dog. I am going to end this post with a picture of my cat Peanut, who died on Monday from Pleural Effusion (collapsed lungs). He was only 5 years old and we are going to miss him terribly.

Sunday 7 October 2012

Two posts in 24 hours.....that's a record for me. Why do you say! Well, firstly here is a photo again of the Fritilleria bulbs that Frank put it, the yellow one is my favourite..
We have planted 6 altogether, two yellow, two orange and two that are like a redish black. I can't wait to see them in the spring. The next bit of news is I have achieved something that's taken me a year to do. Now those that follow my blog know I have been dieting and exercising. Well, the dieting has stabled at 13 stone so that's a 3 stone loss and i feel much better for it. Plus, when you get comments from friends, family and work colleagues as to how good you look, it makes you want to stick to it. Then there's the other goal, I have been aiming to jog the 'couch to 5k' challenge and after a year, I have done it. In fact, I did my 5k this morning and could have gone on longer but wanted to get home to my poorly cat. I bought myself a dress and a pair of boots yesterday and the dress is a 16, out of Asda, and fits lovely. Normally, Asda clothes are not very forgiving with their sizes but I can actually get into a size 16 dress and feel comfortable. In fact, I feel quite 'modern' now. My next goal is to get to 12 stone by christmas. It's not going to be easy because lets face it, those that know me, know I love my food but am determined to get to my target and possibly getting into a size 14. If I can do that, I will be really happy because 1. I did it all myself and 2. You don't need to pay to go to a weight control clinic. Its taken me a long time to realise that if you exercise to match what you eat, then you will lose weight and trust me, after eating cakes, crisps and biscuits in one day as well as a two dinners and a bit of chocolate, it can be done. That's me off my soap box now. I'm sorry if I have annoyed anyone.
My final picture today is my obsession with cushions. Do you think I have got too many of them on my bed. I am off now, I have got my new dress and boots, hair looking pretty darn good at the moment and am now waiting for my Frank to come home from work...have a good sunny day...

Saturday 6 October 2012

My, that's a big one. The bulb you see is the smelly 'fritillaria' that Frank is planting at last. They absolutely stank the cupboard out under the stairs and because its been a lovely bright, sunny and warm afternoon, we decided it was time. Luckily, when Frank opened the pack they come in, the roots on tbe bulbs were getting quite long.
so it's a good job they got planted today. I haven't really been doing much since my last post, just the usual work, rest and play. I have almost finished the final pair of gloves to go with the scarf set that are christmas gifts. I aim to get them finished so I can start on this gorgeous shawl that yarnharlot has just finished. That will be for me, but I will be making aa 'reader's wrap' crochet project on ravelry.com as another christmas gift. I am still having problems transferring pictures from my mobile phone to my computer. I can't wait to show the photo's of big ben..so please keep reading. Anyway, I am off now to walk the dog before it gets any colder and darker. Have a good evening.

Sunday 23 September 2012

Autumn beckons...and my feet and hands are cold. I love Autumn but I don't like the lack of sunshine through the day. At this precise moment it is chucking it down and rather chilly. We went out yesterday (Saturday) and had a little adventure but will post some pictures for you when I get my cable to transfer photos off my phone. We also went out on the 15th September to the Real Food Festival, London's Southbank and also had a little adventure there too. We saw The London Eye, The Embankment and I have got a lovely photo of Big Ben when we went over the Jubilee Bridge and there was a charitable rowing event going under us. I apologise for not putting up a new post in such a long time, my excuse is I have been too tired of an evening and just want to crash and knit. I have however, finished a Christmas project for F's Mum. She ordered 3 sets of the scarf & fingerless gloves because she wanted them as gifts for her friend and relatives. I just love the colours of the orange riot.
It's made with King Cole Riot DK and the Scarf is a pattern by Wendy Johnson called Tango 2 Shawlette. The gloves are my own design and I knitted them two at a time which is doubly quick. I have got another orange set to make and am doing a green and purple set now. F was working last Sunday and so I decided to do a little baking and made some fruit muffins. I finally realised that, after reading Lorraine Pascale's cook book, you should not beat the mixture too much for muffins cause that's what stops them from rising. (light bulb moment).
Well, that's it for now. Will try and post a bit more later in the week, At this moment in time my hands are so cold I may have to go and get my gloves to warm myself up. Have a good week everyone...

Monday 10 September 2012

A change in the weather...creates a lull of needing sunshine when all summer we have been moaning 'its too hot and humid'. That about sum's me up at times, mainly because I don't like the humidity. Today, Monday 10th September 2012 starts off with an autumn breeze, leaves starting to fall off the trees, a threat of rain most of the day so far and a slight chill in the air. Sound's quite miserable doesn't it, but I love AUTUMN and it's my second favourite season. My first favourite season is SPRING and that's because the long winter nights and dark mornings soon disappear. I have felt under the weather today and have absolutely no energy so I decided to stay home and try to relax. Did I, sort of! I ended up planting this Dahlia in a hidden spot in the garden
just to try and boost my energy levels but that made me feel quite 'lethargic' so I came back indoors and did some knitting whilst slouching on the sofa with a cuppa. I feel quite tired and rough again, so am going to go and have a nap. I did however, forget to post the next two photo's for you to see. I brought the Dahlia and Conifer Tree home on Friday using a box to carry it and as soon as I put the box down, my eldest cat Tipsy decided to investigate.
Did I mention she is around 14 years old and really sweet. Has never ventured very far from the house and tends to mainly stay in our garden. She does occasionally visit next door's garden but any slight noise, she is back home again. I also meant to post a photo of the Conifer Tree (just to bore you a bit more)
I fell in love with this Conifer the minute I saw its bright green leaves poking out from the middle of a display of boring plain green conifers. We are going to wait to get a nice large tub to put it in for the patio. My partner F also decided to take some cuttings of the ivy that is growing out the front garden and ended up taking 120 cuttings...gord knows what he is going to do with them but they do look good. That's all for now, have a good day everyone and thanks for taking the time to read my blog...

Sunday 9 September 2012

Christmas Present No.3 is almost done. Just got a pair of fingerless gloves to make to go with it.
This is a pattern that I downloaded from ravelry.com and I have made quite a few of these already. I used King Cole Riot DK and always end up with around 40g of yarn so I don't like to waste it, cause its not cheap, and decided to have a go at making a pair of fingerless gloves to go with it and even more shockingly, I am going to have a go at doing the gloves 'two at a time on two circular needles'. Yes, I have lost the plot already because for the life of me could not remember how to get the second glove on the needles so I had to revert to my 'bible' for this kind of thing. I would recommend this book to anyone with some experience and not afraid to try new things.
Do you want to see my progress so far on the gloves...they are driving me mad but I am a patient girl and here it is so far.
I shall post an update later on in the week, (if I survive it). I am off now, sorry its a short 'post' but its gone 10pm and I am ready for bed cause I have got to go and earn the pennies tomorrow. Have a good week...

Saturday 1 September 2012

Blankets & Bulbs. The time has come to get my bum into gear and start my Christmas knitting and Crochet. I have finished Lily's Blanket....wanna see.
It measure's 49 inches square. I spent Friday evening completing the last two rows and then Saturday morning crocheting around the edge twice. I was going to do a single crochet stitch but decided to do a half treble instead and am very pleased with its outcome. I still haven't thought of a name for the block that I designed so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
Moving on, F and I have been collecting 'bulbs' for the garden and F said he liked a bulb called 'Fritilleria' which is not cheap. We found some in Wilkinson's at the Heathway and everytime we go in there, we buy a couple more. They are £3 per bulb but I am sure you will agree, they are unusual and pretty.
I first stored the bulbs in the living room (in their boxes) but I kept noticing a horrible disgusting smell that I can only describe as 'POT'. For day's I was hunting everywhere thinking someone has been in my house smoking and I was ready to explode with anger. However, when I noticed my dog Tammie pointing her nose up at the shelf where the bulbs were I picked a box up and smelled it. OH MY GOD..they stink of POT. F said that they do smell quite bad but didn't realise how bad. So they ended up in a big plastic bag out of the way and the smell finally went.
I got this book out now to refer to when I start my next crochet project. I want to do something with cables in it and this book is so good for ideas. It's called 'The Book of Knitting and Crochet' and is edited by Thelma M. Nye. It's an American book and the ISBN Number is 1-8231-5031-3. It was first published in 1968 and I can recommend this to anyone who wants a good reference book of stitches. I don't like having more than one project on the go because it tends to become a UFO (unfinished object) but I think if I can sort out a knitting project to have in my bag when I am out, and a crochet project at home, it won't be too bad.
I have got 3 of these scarf's to knit using my King Cole Riot Yarn that I posted about previously. The pattern is a Wendy Johnson pattern and is called 'Tango & Two Step'. I have made a few of these and I prefer to call them 'neckercheif's'. I also decided that I would knit two scarf's at once, well, the lace part anyway. Oh well, that's it for now folks. I haven't been doing much other than work, family stuff and crafts. Take care and make the most of the light evenings and mornings cause it won't be much longer now and Autumn will be here.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Para-Olympic's start tomorrow and I feel more excited for it than I did when the Olympic Ceremony a few weeks ago. There is hardly any noticeable chaos on transport links at the moment and hopefully, it will stay that way. I am intending to watch the young girl with 'dwarfism' who got Gold in the Beijing Olympics and who is now 17 years old. I will be keeping an eye on her definetely. Today I got a second Christmas Present. Wanna see....
We had our Summer Fete at the care home on Saturday and in between the downpour's of rain, I managed to get to a China stall. This cup, saucer and tea plate was only a £5 and it's a discontinued design of Minton ware. I love it. I checked the actual price on ebay and other specialist websites and it turns out the teacup alone sells for £14.99 so I got a good bargain. I didn't do much the weekend, I have slowly progressed on the Lily Blanket and have only 8 'willow' squares to complete and then I can crack on finishing it. On Sunday I went to an outlet shop of Thornton's and bought these for a bargain. Just £3 instead of £6 and they are sitting at my bed side table with only a few missing..I swear..only a few.
I am off now to do a bit more crocheting and to watch a bit of gems.tv. Don't you think that tv at the moment is a bit boring. Nothing decent on, not even a good documentary and I would absolutely love to get a crafting channel like they do in USA, I think its called PBS cause they broadcast Knitting Daily TV. Oh well...dream on.

Monday 27 August 2012

Oops! Can't believe its been over a week since I posted last. I haven't been doing much other than going to work and doing the usual chores of household duties. I have been jogging but no weight loss this past week (that's cause I keep eating crap) and have only really been doing my crochet. Wanna see....
The blocks are called 'willow' and 'briar rose' and there is a block that I designed myself. There is also one block on its own called 'lily' with blue background because that's the name of the 3 year old girl who is going to receive the blanket for christmas. She has got the most gorgeous big blue eyes you have ever seen. Has anyone noticed that its dark by 8pm now, looks like winter is on its way again. Once August is finished, it seems that the rest of the year rushes past. Only 4 months till Christmas (Yikes). Oh well, I am off now to get ready for work but just wanted to make sure you knew I was still around. The para-olympics start tomorrow and I might watch some of that because lets face it, people with disabilities have to work double hard to achieve their goals. Catch ya later.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Do you remember these two tree's I posted about around earlier in the year,
and obviously, this was taken when we had some serious fog. I love walking through the park at various times of the day and when you first walk in, these two tree's greet you. Especially when its springtime and they blossom together and join like holding hands. Anyway, the tree to the right has GONE. Yes, GONE. It didn't get any blossom on it this year and sadly, it had died. I noticed a few weeks ago some graffiti marks on it but alas, F said that they are probably going to cut it down. THEY DID! There is nothing left, and that poor tree is standing all lonely. Now I know if my friend Jo is reading this, she will think 'you sad cow, just go and hug the damn tree', but I can't do that. Not when there are people around. I am hoping to catch the Park Keeper to see if they have any plans to put a new one there! Watch this space.
Do you like our corner. We picked up some Bamboo Screening from Wilkinsons at the Heathway a few weeks ago and then planted up some geraniums. We got a bargain at Homebase too, a Palm Tree that was £3.99 instead of £20. It needed looking after a bit but after around 4 weeks, its thriving. We also got some Canna Lilly's and they are thriving, my first Canna Lilly will be flowering soon and we can't wait...here's a pic of it
The garden is coming on a treat now and all I really have to do is do the wood treatment on the decking. It won't last another winter so had better get my finger out soon and get it protected. I went back to work this week and so far, so good. Missed my mates Jo and Paul but everything is back to normal now. I have been jogging of an evening and managed 2.3 miles yesterday evening. (couldn't breath much or walk much afterwards) I spent an hour doing another square for Lilly's blanket....
and am now cooking some chicken for dinner. That's about it folks...will post again in a few days when something exciting happens....

Sunday 12 August 2012

Day 13...Olympic Closure & Annual Leave Over. Yep, where has the two weeks gone? Back to work tomorrow and the Olympic Closing Ceremony starts at 9pm tonight. (That's in 40 minutes). I spent the day catching up with housework and preparing for work tomorrow, plus I finished the 16 green square's called 'willow' for Lilly's Christmas Blanket. Wanna See....
I shall be starting the next 16 squares in a mo and I intend to do 'Briar Rose' out of Jan's book. I forgot how much I enjoy my crocheting and how addictive it can be. We went over my brother D's for dinner and Michelle cooked us a lovely meal and we were totally stuffed. We got back around 7pm and now intend to relax cause we are both knackered. F has got his head in a book again and I am writing this, but alas, not for much longer. I hope that those who have been reading my blog for the past two weeks have enjoyed it and I will keep it updated regular now that I know I am getting read from time to time.

Saturday 11 August 2012

Day 12. Not much happening today. Had a lay in, after an uncomfortable warm night, went jogging and feet and legs have been aching a lot today. We went out to look for some plants and then walked into Romford. Oh yeah, funny thing happened today. Before we went to Romford, I went into Boot's at Heathway and bought a Max Factor Mascara. Anyway, went to Romford, walked into WH Smiths and the alarm went off and thought nothing of it. When we came out, it went off again so we went to security who rummaged through my shopping bag and said it was the Mascara. Apparently, the security tag on the mascara had not been deactivated at Boot's. Weird really, considering we had gone in and out of a few other shops before we went into Smith's and the alarm wasn't set off then. Oh well, that was about the highlight of the day! We got home around 4pm and ended up having a nap, whilst F read his book. Then had dinner, walked dog and tonight, decided to watch 'knitabulls' podcast. Hopefully, will have a bit more news to post on here tomorrow...night night cause I am tuckered out.

Friday 10 August 2012

Day 11..Olympic Wrist Bands & More
Why did I put these two pictures on here? Well, after my recent trips to London and experiencing the travelling, the few crowds, seeing the sites and feeling the atmosphere I was going to purchase a 'souvenier' for my blog but when I saw the prices of Olympic Mugs, Bags and T-Shirts I thought again. I don't have a tight purse but refuse to pay 'tourist' prices for something that should be available to all. Anyway, that's Moan 1 over with.
When we were in London, we got our lunch at McDonald's, I love McDonald's as a treat, and you get a free Coca Cola Glass with Olympic 2012 embossed on and an Olympic 2012 Wrist Band. (In the photo you can see there is a red one and white one). I obviously can't send glass in the post abroad but thought, 'some people can't afford McDonald's or even have a outlet near them' so as a 'GIVEAWAY' I wanted to send out the two Olympic 2012 Wrist bands to the first person who comments on my post. I know its not much but just think, they were purchased in Central London during the Olympic Games. Day 11 was a quite stay in day. I am glad I did stay in cause it was absolutely baking outside. I ended up getting a heat rash on my shin bone on both legs by mid day. I watched loads of podcasts yesterday, Knitabulls, Around The Twist, The Knit Girlls and even tried a couple of new ones and I made quite a lot of progress on my next crochet project...wanna see.
I ended up doing 12 green 'willow' squares and saved the last few rounds for when I go up to Kent tomorrow. I will be dog sitting 3 gorgeous little Jack Russell Terrier's so I will have something to do whilst watching a bit of tv and sitting in the garden. The weather forecast is suppose to be 'heatwave' so I won't be doing much jogging either. I might wait till late evening to see if I can get in an hour's worth. By about 3pm I had an urge to bake so I ended up baking a homemade Syrup Sponge Pudding. I got the book from the Charity Shop in Romford and I intend to make more from it because just look how it came out..
It came out of the dish quite easily and was expecting the syrup to run down the side of the pudding but it didnt, pooh. It seemed to have got soaked up in the sponge. Never mind, it was very tasty and I even made another one to take over with me tomorrow. That's all for today folks, have a good day.

Thursday 9 August 2012

Day Ten....Went jogging and did 4 miles all round, that was a big achievement for me. I ended up meeting F at his Mum's and decided to take Tammie with me on the two trains and a bus. She was really good, well, apart from when she shuvved her nose into the ladies shopping bag when we were on the bus. The woman was only stroking her and her nose went straight in to sniff what she has. She did laugh. We ended up going to Danson Park in Welling, Kent for an hour and it was relaxing. Then on the way out Tammie decided to roll around in duck pooh and had to put up with her smell on the bus and trains coming home. It wasn't nice, cause the Jubilee Train from North Greenwich Station was packed and I had to hold Tammie in my arms and kept getting a whiff of her (she didn't care). She had a bloody good shower when we got in and she still stinks of it now.. That's about it really. Did some housework when I got home, my brother D and his daughter came over for a while and then we went to bed to watch a film. Sorry folks, I know its sounds boring but trust me, it wasn't for me. Tomorrow, I am going to have a lay in, watch some podcasts and chill cause F is out working tomorrow with his family. By the way, thank you, I have had 32 page views today.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Day Nine..Shopping & Leadenhall, London Before I start this post, I forgot to put this picture on here from the Olympic walk around London.
This is a back turning on the way to Bishopsgate called Leadenhall Market. I thought it looked very 'british'. Can you see the 'hotel chocolat' shop on the right, very nice but very pricey. Cobble street, victorian like building's that have such a lot of character. I would love to sit there and watch the world go by. I would suggest to anyone to look Leadenhall Market up on google.
This next picture you see is of some building work's going on in London. It's right near Liverpool Street and if you look hard enough, to the left of the photo, you can see the 'gherkin' as we call it here in London. The reason I took this picture is because how on earth can they build such high, big buildings in such a small space with such restrictions all around. Yep, didn't do much today other than went to Romford to return an item at Marks & Spencers and then we got the bus to Upminster to have a look in Roome's at their China Sale. I stupidly broke a new mug that I absolutely love and we wanted to replace it but the store had sold the last 3 mugs so I ended up buying two salad bowls that match. I will keep an eye out for the mug in case it turns up in a charity shop...you never know.
What did we do next....we went home and then had a late dinner. I sat up and watched tv for a bit while crocheting a new project. I just love starting new projects, its exciting plus its the start of my christmas craft list I want to get going on. I purchased the yarn at Roome's too and it was quite reasonable. It's acrylic of course, because lets face it, a child's blanket is going to get a good bashing.
It's a square called 'willow' out of Jan Eaton's 200 crochet blocks book. I have 16 to make of these in this colour combination. I also finished off a birthday present. Its a crocheted blanket, pillow and bag for a child's toy pram. It didn't take as long as I thought and I enjoyed making it. Oh well, am off to sort some dinner out. Bye for now.