September

Hello, my lovelies. Long time no see. It's been a while since my last post and there are a couple of reasons for this: Initially, it was because E was home and I didn't want to waste time blogging; then, it was owing to the fact that after I had taken her back to uni, I drove all the way home, opened the rear car door to retrieve my bag ........................ and realized that I'd left it on her bed in Bristol! We had already stopped in the city centre for lunch, so the idea was that I would just drop her at her accommodation, have a quick cup of tea and come home. Not wanting to leave my bag in the car whilst we unloaded, I had left it in her room and just popped my keys in my pocket while we did multiple trips to and fro. Then, naturally, I hugged her goodbye, hopped in and drove merrily home. Realizing my mistake, E had tried to ring me, but my phone was, of course, in my bag - along with my purse, my camera and the rest of my life. Bad words may have been uttered! I thought that I would have to do a return trip to collect it, but, fortunately, her friend was going to Bristol to see her the following week and she kindly carried out 'Operation Bag Retrieval' for me. I now have it back and all is right with my world again! 

L is back from Vietnam and Cambodia and has had a brilliant time. She had kept us updated on most of her activities via Skype, but kept some of them - eg. the renting of a motor bike! - to herself so as not to worry us. Though out at the moment, she is home until Thursday, when I will drive her to her new flat in London (trying very hard not to leave anything behind!) in time for her to start her pupillage next week.

Anyway, as I've finally got an hour to myself and am in full possession of my camera, here are a few photos from the past month:

'Yerma' at the cinema. Having only previously seen Billy Piper in Dr. Who, I was very impressed.

 E and I went to an open air cinema nearby. The film was 'Notting Hill' - R didn't fancy coming, but we loved it.

 There was a little rain before the film started, but, luckily, it soon cleared up.

 I have a glut of beetroot. If anyone knows any good beetroot recipes, I'd be very grateful - there's only so much Borscht a person can eat!

 Our green woodpecker returned. Sorry for the blurry photo - he was quite a way down the garden:

 A double first for me - trying to knit socks toe up and also using the magic loop method. I'm normally a dpn girl, but I am rather enjoying it:

 Working on my 'Exploration Station Shawl' by Stephen West. I've never tried to knit Brioche before and had fortunately put in a lifeline before starting that section. I say fortunately because I have since had to rip it back!

The day before E went back to uni, we decided to visit the local county show. R decided against it as he thinks that it's the same stalls in exactly the same places every year. To be fair, it was, but without someone with us pointing that out every 5 minutes, we had a lovely time!

 

 

 

 Our Mexican lunch at Wahaca in Bristol before the bag debacle: 

...............and finally, Hamish in his beloved cardboard box. Back in March on Mother's Day, the girls bought me some beautiful Narcissi bulbs which came in a huge cardboard box. I gave it to Hamish to play with for the day and before I knew it, it had become a permanent fixture in the kitchen. He did a bit of renovation work, chewing holes to make multiple exits and when he had it exactly as he wanted, we added his fleecy blankie and he has slept in it ever since. A few weeks ago, that box finally gave up the ghost and so during a trip to our local Homebase, we acquired another one for him. He is currently in mid-renovation again. I feel that we spoil this rabbit - I mean, who wouldn't want a great pile of chewed cardboard in their kitchen?!

Anyway, that's all for this week. I hope you are all enjoying the start of autumn as much as I am. We lit the stove for the first time on the Equinox. I would have taken a photo, but........ well, you know!

Toodle Pip for now. x

Hastings

Hello my lovelies! Is it just me or is there more than a whiff of autumn in the air today? We had a mini heatwave over the weekend but it seems to have cooled down again now. I'm not disappointed though as autumn is my favourite season. I feel as if I should be out buying stationery for the new term!
I've had an interesting week. It started with E and me dropping L off at the airport for her 5 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. I was more than a little nervous waving her off but a few people made lovely reassuring comments on my last post, and I have since had a few Skype messages from her and she is having a brilliant time, so I'm feeling a lot better about it.
Thinking that E would be terribly sad to drop L off and then just come home, we decided to have a mother/daughter jaunt to Hastings for a few days. We chose Hastings for several reasons - firstly, being at Gatwick airport, we were half way there already. Secondly, E is studying The Norman Conquest as one of her options next year and had never been, and, finally, because R and I went there pre-children and had a wonderful time.
We chose a small hotel on the seafront and spent 3 gorgeously sunny days (I had packed for cool weather and regretted not taking my shorts!) pottering around Hastings and Battle. Here are a few of our snaps:

The view from our room:

Part of Hastings Old Town. We discovered a vegan cafe here and got chatting to a lovely girl from Australia. She had been solo travelling since February and Cambodia was, apparently, her favourite place - you can never have too much reassurance! 

Crazy golf on the seafront - she thrashed me!

Battle Museum - this was a little gem:

The museum gardens:

The oldest Guy in the country. Battle was once famous for making gunpowder and was the source of the gunpowder used by Guy Fawkes and the others in their attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament:

The Gatehouse:

The battlefield today:

Beekeeping in the Abbey gardens. He was chatting away to the bees as he worked:

We paused halfway round and went to a little tea shop, The Nook, for refreshments:

William insisted on an Abbey being built on the battlefield to atone for the loss of life. The altar was sited on the spot where Harold died. The field was on quite a hill and initially the builders started it further away on flat land. William was furious and insisted that they tear it down and start again on the actual spot.

The Novice's room. Again, the tall ceilings are due to the hill - the room above was the dormitory which ran the length of the building. Consequently, the roof of the rooms below changes height with the slope:

Hasting's pier:

E rescuing jellyfish:

Hasting's Castle:

The funicular railway up to the cliffs:

We had a brilliant few days and would heartily recommend it as a great place for a weekend break. Other happies this week include:

Enjoying my sunflowers:

Penny, practising her perching:

......... and a trip to Westonbirt Arboretum with a my friend, S.

The treetop walkway:

Again, this is a fantastic place to visit. It was so beautiful and would be even better when the leaves start to turn more. It's a great place for children too, with plenty of cafes, 2 circular walks and wide, flat paths for them to ride their bikes/scooters. There's also a Gruffalo Trail and an activity centre.

Anyway, that's all for this week. Enjoy the last week of the summer holidays. I'm just off to attack the laundry pile!

Toodle pip for now. x

Jousting, knitwear and a shark!

Last year, the girls and I upgraded our Blenheim Palace tickets to an annual pass. With a view to their impending expiration date, E and I decided to pay a last visit this week.

Foolishly, we set off without a thought for the weather, and so naturally half way up the A34 it started pouring down. Ever hopeful, we continued on our way and after a 5 minute sit in the car park with the rain drumming on the roof, the clouds parted enough for us to make a speedy entrance.

E wanted to look around the palace itself, so we tagged onto the back of a tour and plodded slowly round. I didn't take any photos of the inside, but the guide was very interesting and my favourite bit was one of the tapestries showing a dog with rather peculiar legs - apparently, the weavers started at the bottom and assumed that they had just come to a small horse. It was only when they had done the legs that they realised their error. As the tapestry was huge, they couldn't undo it, so there is a dog with hooves!

Out again into the grounds, we dodged the rain, and at one point hail, and went for a walk by the lake. By lucky chance, there was also a jousting exhibition taking place that day. It was enormous fun, even if I did end up with someone else's child practically sitting on my lap. I think that the mother was so relieved that he was actually behaving and sitting quietly that she left him there! Anyway, here are a few photos of the grounds and jousting:

The Temple of Diana, where Winston Churchill and his future wife, Clementine, sheltered during a shower. He took the opportunity to propose:

Other happies this week:

I have finished a number of my knitting projects. First is my Pavement Sweater by Veera Valimaki. I haven't blocked it yet, as you can probably tell from the creases. The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in the Lettuce colourway.

Next are my 'Amsterdam Mitts' which were my travel knitting on our recent trip. The pattern is 'Hermione's Everyday Mitts' by Erica Lueder and the yarn is Hedgehog Merino DK in 'Sage':

Finally, these are my 'Sailing Socks' started on our holiday on-board 'Panopius'. They are just a plain vanilla sock with a fish lips kiss heel. The yarn was a Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett, bought at the Oxford Yarn Store:

With nothing left on my needles, I spent a merry half hour this morning balling up the yarn for my next project - Stephen West's 'Exploration Station' Shawl. The book and the bottom yarn were my sneaky purchases from 'Stephen and Penelope', the Yarn shop in Amsterdam:

L's boyfriend, J, has just moved into a house in Headington, Oxford. L is heading off to Vietnam and Cambodia this week for 5 weeks of solo travelling (I'm trying to be brave about it!)  before she starts her pupillage in London. Both will be sharing with uni friends, but I foresee a lot of toing and froing between London and Oxford next year. On our first visit, we passed the famous 'Headington Shark'. I'm not sure how I'd feel having this next door, how about you?

Finally, a gratuitous shot of Hamish, who is enjoying having both L and E home at the moment. There are lots of ear rubs, which makes for one very happy bunny.

Anyway, that's all for this week. I hope that you are all enjoying the summer holiday; sunny weather or not!

Toodle Pip for now. xx