Tuesday 23 November 2021

Bits and Bobs

 Goodness, it's been rather a long time since my last post! I usually average about one per month but this time it is nearer two months. Owing, if I'm honest, to a combination of life and apathy. A few things have happened: L and J came to stay for a few days, which was wonderful; I met my friend, S, at Dyrham Park for a catch up; R and I have been out and about in Bridget, and a bit of autumnal knitting may have occurred along the way too! It doesn't sound much when I write it all down but the time has definitely gone somewhere!

Here then are the photos from my camera clearing session:

I attended a workshop at a local farm to learn how to make Emily Foden's 'Persephone Mittens'. Even though the pattern was a little tricky to understand in places, I could probably have worked it out on my own but the workshop was more of a social gathering with a yummy lunch included. I need to get them finished; they have been on the back burner whilst I worked on my Hallowe'en socks.

 The mug in the photo is the one that I bought in the Leach Pottery in St. Ives. I love it!

Talking of Hallowe'en socks, here they are. They are made with Stranded Dyeworks 'Fright Night' yarn which had been languishing in my stash for a while.

I also made L a pair of birthday socks with the yarn left over from my spiral wrist warmers. I had to add a mini-skein for the toes and cuffs. It is just the one mini-skein but the colour changed as I knitted making for an interesting end result. I don't think L will mind though.

We attended our local vegan market which is always nice. It seemed quite popular - either there are more vegans in the area than I realised or people were just interested.



R and I shared a Sri Lankan curry box sat by the canal - the jackfruit curry was particularly nice:
We also came away with a slice of coffee walnut cake and some free marshmallows. :O)

A trip to the Savernake Forest. I'm ashamed to say that, though this is very local to us, it is the first time we have ever visited it. What a missed opportunity as it was beautiful, full of ancient trees, and we shall definitely be going back.






Dyrham Park near Bath. This place is always good for a day out too. Sadly, the herd of 70 deer that I remember from our last visit had all been recently culled owing to an outbreak of Bovine TB. It was very sad as there have been deer there for over 300 years and the grounds seemed rather lacking without them.


Still, it was a lovely day - the weather was kind to us and the vegan pasty and soup at the cafe were delicious.

R and I enjoying a picnic on our Overton walk:


A walk along the Ridgeway with a rather ominous looking sky:

L and J's pumpkin carving for Hallowe'en. We had a spooky supper and watched 'The Exorcist' - I do love a good horror movie, provided there's not too much blood, spurt and gore! It was also Hamish's 10th birthday, which I think is quite old for a rabbit. He is definitely starting to look his age though, with cataracts and eye drops for his glaucoma. :O(
We had a walk and picnic en famille in Chawton. L and J wanted to see the 2000 year old yew tree and, at the end, we rested on a bench overlooking Jane Austen's house with coffee and cakes from the village deli.

Random autumnal shot of the garden. Most of the leaves are off the trees now:

Last, but definitely not least, Barbara from Coastal Ripples and I did a yarny advent calendar swap again this year. I have decanted the parcels into a basket, got my cosy memory blanket at the ready, and can't wait for December 1st!
Well, that's all for now. As I said initially, it doesn't seem as if that much has happened round here recently. I really don't know where the time has gone. How about you? Anything momentous happening at your end?

Toodle pip for now. xx

6 comments:

  1. Lovely to see Dyrham Park, but sad about the deer. Nice job on the socks, and good to see a bustling vegan market. I am loving all the interest in being vegan at the moment. When I went vegan, decades ago, people had very little knowledge about it and almost no provision was made. It's good to see that it's been made easier and that it's more popular now. Happy birthday Hamish, that is indeed a cracking age for a rabbit, a testament to his excellent care I think! Absolutely nothing momentous happening here except for I SAW A HEDGEHOG, which I am SO excited about. CJ xx

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  2. Goodness well done Hamish, you must be looking after him well. We almost made it to Dyrham but went to Westonbirt arboretum instead which I’m not sad about. Last time we were at Dyrham was probably over thirty years ago at least. You have been very busy with all your visits and that Jack fruit curry sounds delicious. I made a tomato one the other night with coconut rice. Very delicious. Well done on the knitting front with lots of lovely wool 😀 Looking forward to December 1st very much. Thanks for the mention. B x

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  3. Glad to hear that Hamish is plodding on okay-ish! The socks look wonderful, the Sri Lankan curry box looks yummy and I'd love to join you on your walk in the forest one day :) Enjoy opening the advent calendar.

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  4. Loving your Halloween socks and arty pumpkins! Also loving the ancient trees and shrooms. It's incredible to think how long yew can live, I came across a yew of a similar age in the Lakes. Bless Hamish, that is a grand age, I've never heard of a rabbit living that long, just shows how well he's looked after. I would have enjoyed that vegan market, that Sri Lankan curry box has my mouth watering. xxx

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  5. The vegan market looks amazing, mouthwatering food. Happy Birthday to Hamish. Enjoy your Advent knitting. xxx

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  6. The pumpkin carvers did a great job! I enjoy a good horror movie too. However, I like the really old ones, such as The Blog, that almost seem like comedies by today's standard. Sorry to read about the missing deer. You totally had me with the jackfruit curry. Yum!

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