Loving Life

Hopefully no longer on facebook

2011-05-03T14:57:00.001+00:00

Have I managed to unlink these two things? I'm hoping so. Maybe I'd even use it again...

Brainstorming the bedroom 'issue'

2010-01-28T10:22:00.005+00:00

Eesh, I just can't remember to do this every day, which means I can't get into the habit, which means I only do it on those rare occasions I remember. Blimey.

SO! The boys bedroom is DONE! dark bamboo flooring (that also goes out his room & along the landing), white walls, new skirting, and his awesome high sleeper bed with wardrobe, shelves, desk underneath. It leaves him plenty of floorspace to lay out his train tracks or hot wheels tracks, his clothes all have a home, some of his toys can live in his room AND he can tidy them away afterwards, and he has space for some of his books. As he gets older he'll be able to sit as his desk to do drawings or homework and maybe he'll eventually have a computer...when he's OLD. Because of the bed style, there's still space for an ottoman/blanket box in the bay window where his bedding & assorted cuddlies live, and we think there will be space for a narrow bookcase too. I'm *really pleased, and it looks really nice - I even put bunting up - red white & blue, and in the open shelves we have red storage boxes, blue bedding and curtains, and the wall is blue above the picture rail. He has a blue clock and a couple of star shaped blue lights on the wall (to go with the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling) and of course the toys that are out on the shelves are all 'nice' toys - a red wooden ark, a wooden farm with a red roof, and so on. It looks smart and attractive and SO FAR (nearly a week) he's even kept it tidy by putting his toys away again after he's played with them - which of course was half the point.

SO! two more bedrooms upstairs. Our room is the smaller of the two (but it looks out of the gardens and allotments and the field beyond that, whereas the bigger room looks out onto the road and the houses opposite) and ours is alomst more junk-dumped than the front bedroom. That room is filled with J's guitars, amps, leads, pedals, and so on, and also his home-brew equipment - including some demi-johns with wine in - his CDs on shelves, three bookcases (which I colour-coordinated and they look so much better!) and the rest of the boys toys. Our room basically has everything else - one whole wall taken up by mirrored wardrobes - and opposite the bed, eek -obviously filled with clothes, shoes, coats etc. We also have things like photo albums, my almost-entire yarn stash (which obviously needs some whittling but I can in no way do that), my shoe collection, my nail varnish collection, my make up, two jewellery boxes (one for good, one for 'junk' jewellery) and also a jewellery manniquin on my bedside cabinet for everyday stuff. I've got a mini handbag with hair clips bands ties and flowers, we've got a chest with bedding and spare duvet. Under the bed is the suitcase, my camera equipment, my studio lights, tripod, etc, and we've got sleeping bags, backpacks, holdalls and I have just a few handbags ;) Then there's a box of fabrics I use for lining knitted bags or making cushion covers or what have you, a box of out-of season clothes - at the moment filled with swim gear, sun hats, and shorts, a box of cosplay gear - clothes that are needed for our costumes but really don't need to be in the wardrobe as we use them maybe 5 times a year in total (two Expos, one film and comic con, one usually-pirate party and one halloween!). There's my one and only wedding hat, a box of spare bathroom supplies - buying in bulk is the cheaper way to do it, but when you have no storage in your bathroom, maybe not the best - a box of sentimental stuff - childhood memories, things from our engagement, our wedding, the boys birth & some birthdays. There's a box of Jem dolls who are desperate for a place to live out on display :D oh and there's a box of birthday party stuff - pirate tablecloths, bunting, banners, balloons, paper plates etc. There's probably more but this is just using my memory...

I have to clear all this out before I can even *begin* to do my room. EEEEEK.

Okay - so some can go up into the loft, I suppose. Party box, out of season clothes, maybe even fabrics if we can guarantee that the loft is NOT damp (some of our Christmas decorations were not perfect when we got them down last year). We're hoping we can put in a dressing table type area, which will hopefully give my girly stuff a home - well, make up, hair stuff, nail varnish (I class it separately as I have a lovely sized collection and YES I do where them all. Sometimes 10 at one time ;)), jewellery boxes (one is a beauitiful silver box with indian elephants on, and one is my nans old jewellery box I used to browse through for hours playing with her trinkets, so I do have to keep both - useful, attractive, AND sentimental all in one. I'm hoping to keep the blanket box for duvet & bedding storage, but the suitcase can go to the loft as we holiday maybe twice a year - maybe with the out-of-season clothes in it as timing would be roughly correct. We could then use under the bed still for my photog. stuff but maybe also a clear underbed thing for my yarn..? sleeping bags, spare duvets - maybe loft. Photo albums want to be somewhere accessible - and I'm looking forward to putting so many pictures up in frames on the walls, once we've got rid of the different busy-textures on every wall - so they should also take up less space as there won't be so many to hang on to unframed. Studio lights can go in the loft (how strong is our loft!?) but the rest should be accessible else I'll never use them. Holdalls can also go in the loft as we rarely go away for short breaks and when we do we're likely to know about it enough in advance to get them down. Sentimental stuff should go into a beautiful box and maybe go on top of a wardrobe with the photo albums so it's accessible but not in the way, and Jem dolls can stay in the new wardrobes until I work out the perfect place. Bathroom stuff WILL go in the bathroom once I've bought a storage cabinet and maybe cosplay gear in the loft too. That way - my wardrobe can have shoes and handbags in the bottom of it, like a normal person.

Blimey. How strong *is* the flooring in the loft? Maybe we should lay proper floor down up there before we take all this up there.

We're going to redecorate...the entire house.

2010-01-05T13:32:00.003+00:00

Well, so we've lived here three years in March. It was always alright though and we've not done anything really with it - apart from fill it full of junk, of course - and we've worked out now that we want to change pretty much everything.
The boiler is 25 years old and has never been serviced, and we can't have hot water on without also having the heating on, and vice versa. Yes, our bills are lovely, thanks. In summer, we *really* need the ceiling fan.
The doors / windows / double glazing are nice - wide bay window at front, patio doors at back, SO much light in our through room, and when we park on the front we can see the trees in our back garden through the windows - for some reason I like this. It's also dark wood and leaded and I think it quite pleasing to the eye. It's rarely been weather treated though, is gappy and drafty, and front and back doors both stick in the damp weather, so it needs some work too.
The porch roof tiles are slipping and the gutters front and back leak something terrible when it rains (sorry mr postman).
The front of the house is ORANGE AND YELLOW. Yes.

Hallway! decent size but the wooden panelling below the dado rail is getting tatty, the wallpaper above the dado rail is *awful* (looks like nicotine stained pattern but I *think* it's intentional) and above the picture rail is textured artexing - a different one to the ceiling artex, and both of them clash with the pattern on the wallpaper.
Open-plan living/dining room has BUSY (but lovely) wallpaper all over it - TOO busy - as well as a crazy-paved fireplace and hearth surround, oh and the archway between the two rooms has a stone edging too. They've GOT to go. Once it does, we'll also have to replace the floor throughout as it's been cut (wooden floorboard style laminate) to fit the 'paving'. Alcoves either side of the fireplace - one is the boy's 'toy store' and other is tv / xbox area. Dining room has huge display/storage units to ceiling, my cluttered computer desk / yarn store area and a huge dining table that seats 6-8. This is rarely used for more than us three because...
Kitchen! - tiny, galley kitchen. Can't fit two in at once. Not much workspace, even less cupboard space, curruntly also boasts boiler cupboard. Old oven that doesn't really work, though the hob is okay. New! Washing machine and dishwasher since we moved in and new-to-us fridge freezer as well (which meant having to lose a couple more cupboards). Basically, one cupboard for cups & glasses and a so-called 'useful' drawer, one double cupboard for plates bowls pans etc, one double cupboard for foodstuffs, one narrow cupboard for baking supplies & spices and one end cupboard for storage of bulk & spares ie unopened rice & pasta, oats, dried milk etc.
Upstairs - one tiny bathroom, door opens onto the loo, sink nect to loo, bath next to that, one shelf underneath window, built in cupboard under sink is not enough space to store spare toothpaste AND shampoo let alone towels, mouthwash, medicines, soaps, bath products etc. Quite nice (balck laminate floor, white tiles, reasonably newish) but no storage at all so everything has to be out and clutters the room up to look even tinier.
Our room - smaller of the two double bedrooms but is out back - trees and foxes rather than cars and buildings ;). Opens to entire wall of mirrored wardrobes. Ugly mirrored wardrobes, too. Only storage in house but eesh. Also have bed (nice black iron look bedstead, bought with employees discount when I worked for a bed manufacturer), one ottoman / blanket box (dark wood, old neighbours antique-ish, needs a polish) and one chest of drawers which we bought when Isaac was a baby as a shelf on it folds out to a changing table - very clever AND a nice looking peice of furniture. Oh and two rubbish bedside cabinets. We have to edge around sideways to get anywhere. The above-dado rail wallpaper is awful and old-lady ish. The below-dado rail wallpaper is even worse Both clash with the awful curtains. They all manage to go really badly with the horrible carpet.
'SPARE' room - sometimes called Daddys room, sometimes called Isaacs playroom, this is full of toys, cds, bookcases, 7 guitars, assorted demi-johns full of wine, empty wine bottles, and boxes. Once in a blue moon, these things at least partially fit inside the wall full of mirrored wardrobes in here, but most of that is taken up with amps and guitars and so on. I've been informed this room has both carpet and curtains, and that they are both horrid.
Isaacs room - has a bed, a cubey-drawer unit, a clothes rail, and a bookshelf/blanket box area. Is about 3 steps long and one wide. Wallpaper has been torn off and scribbled on. Posters (dr Who, pokemon, dinosaurs etc) try to hide this fact. Bed - was COT, now converted - has not lasted 5 years - broken slats all over the place. Curtains are fine, but curtain rail is hanging off the wall.

It's going to take a lot of work, and I don't know where to start!

2010-01-03T18:15:00.003+00:00

Wow. And to think, I wanted to post here at least weekly, if I didn't have time for daily. Heh.

2010. At the moment, it sounds kind of scary. As the clock was still chiming, I shouted 'welcome to the future' or something equally champagne-inspired (what? It's the bubbles) but it does feel kind of strange that now it's that year, you know, of that film. It sounded so far in the future 'back then'. I can't wait, though. It's going to be a really good year. Not because there's anything in particular I have planned, but because this year I'm going to improve on the things that were good from last year, and cut out the things that were bad from last year. I'm in a good place, and my boys are my world, and the allotment, and health and wealth and so on. We're moving in the right directions every year. This year? Bit healthier & fitter, house sorted rather than allotment (as we concentrated on clearing that for the last few years and ignored the house) and we're going all minimal/simple living / chemical free / and obviously some kind of japanese-meets country type interior. Clutter free and japanesey works, clutter free and country style does NOT, so we'll work out some kind of in between that works for people who grow & make their own as much as we do and will. We'll still like comics and x-box games and culty tv but I think evreything else is pretty much back to basics - growing and eating fresh and unprocessed foods being the main thing I'm looking forward to.

My house smells of home made bread as we speak. Mmmmmm.

Exciting things...

2009-06-23T09:36:00.004+00:00

I'm so excited at the moment! Not only have we booked our family holiday, but I've just this morning paid the deposit for a short break for JUST Hubby and me - no boy pestering us, asking us for things to eat, getting bored of waiting for things to eat, talking non-stop, etc. I can't wait!

The family holiday will, of course, be in Uncle Toms Cabin in Hemsby, as ever. We're going to have a whole two weeks there, which is *great* - and gives us plenty of time to relax as much as possible while still having plenty of days out. We'll eat at a few lovely pubs by the broads, we'll visit a few gorgeous long sandy beaches, we'll wander around a few broads, we'll visit a windmill. It'll be lovely.

The just-us-two holiday is at a village called Wilmington in Devon, 6 miles from Axminster. We will be visiting the River Cottage Canteen & food store, and we'll go to Lyme Regis too. The place we're staying is rather plush and has amazing views, and I plan to sit at the picnic benches in the wildflower meadows eating local fresh food, and take as long as I want to about it all! It's going to be starnge without the boy, but it's going to be *quiet* too. Today he went on his first ever school trip (to the beach!) so at the moment, quiet is something that quite appeals to me...

Knitting projects update

2009-06-18T15:44:00.002+00:00

The knitting I have on the go at the moment :

Beach Bag from jute twine, for the beach, duh.
Chevron Scarf (which I'm going to save and take on holiday with me in August)
Full Metal Alchemist bag - yes, the THING thats' been hanging over me for so long, I've pulled it off the needles and I'm just going to start again. I've cast on and st st-ed a few rows...and put it down again. One day!
Wrap with birthday wool - okay, I'll be finishing this tonight, so it's almost cheating to include it, but it's pretty and sparkly and I might even wear it to the summer ball, so that's exciting.
Teachers Gift scarves - one for Mrs Sparks, one for Mrs Sharp. Okay, not actually cast on, but I know what patterns I'm doing, and I need to finish them both in about a month, so I really should get round to starting...

AND the stuff I want to start soon: A chevrony blanket to use up all my odd balls of cheap dk. A 'toxic' nappy cover for my rock friends baby (due in July). Some interesting yet manly gloves for my husband, possibly for Christmas. (any suggestions?) A gardening bag for my mother-in-law for Christmas. The Brea Bag for my sister for Christmas. A tea cosy for hubby's grandmother for Christmas. An Odd and an Adipose for my son and his cousin to fight over for Christmas. Some fingerless mittens (Princess mitts, I think) for hubby's cousin for Christmas. And to finish those damn socks. Hmmph. Wish me luck.

Allotmenty updates

2009-03-18T09:32:00.003+00:00

Well, March and it's mad-oh-god-there's-s-much-to-sow season is half way through. We've got way too many tomato seedlings jostling for space on the windowsills, and also have leeks, cabbages, turks turban, chillies, peppers, marigolds, rudbeckia, nicotiana, and assorted other flowers I can't quite remember. In the garden, the crocuses are finishing, the daffs are opening, the buttercups are taking over, the hop is coming back (yay!), the bleeding heart is shooting up so fast you can practically see it growing. The angelica and the foxgloves are both doing their big thing this year, and one of the japanese quinces is still flowering, after getting very confused in December and peaking too early.

In the allotment we still have a few leeks in the fground and the perpetual spinach is still going pretty strong. The overwintered onions, shallots and garlic are all doing fine, and the new season red onions are finally being left alone by the birds, who love pulling them up as soon as we put them in. What's that? Netting. you say? Well, where's the challenge in that?

The broad beans are starting to emerge, and *some* of the peas have made it over winter, but we'll shove a few more in for good measure next weekend. I don't think it's possible to have too many pea plants, after all...We've been manuring the 'other beans' bed in preparation too, and have our seeds ready to go.

We've sown half a beds worth of assorted lettuces and salad leaves, and I think this year we'll be transplanting some of the lollo rosso and little gems into their final position as that worked really well last year. We're growing some saltwort this year (land seaweed!) as our 'unusual' salad, although I'd like to get some perilla out there as well. The rest is mostly mixed salad leaves for the cut-and-come-again goodness. Oh, and radishes as well of course - we've got some french breakfast as usual but some lovely looking ones called amythyst that look really good from the packet.

The gooseberry is going great guns and we're hopeful that this will be it's first year of fruiting, as it's looking really healthy. Both the blackcurrants we took as cuttings from our bush in the old house are doing good things too, so we're hoping that this year they *might* fruit. (We've lived here just over 2 years now, huzzah!). The new raspberries are showing a couple of leaves so we'll see if they do anything this year, dunno. The redcurrant isn't doing much but it's not dead either, so maybe it'll cheer up as the weather warms up. The plum trees are budding - including some activity on the dead side (previous owners were even more clueless about pruning than I am) and this year I've decided to leave the apple tree alone, as I gave it it's first pruning in 20 years for last year and it didn't fruit so well, so I'll give it a rest this year and see how it gets on, and prune it again next year. My vine looks pretty dead, but I'd rather get a new one anyway - a named variety rather than a random cheap vine.

The flower beds in the allotment are slowly being cleared, I've got plenty of seeds for them but I want to sow indoors and transplant into it, rather than not knowing what's weed and and what's wildflower when they emerge. The globe thistle is still in there somewhere, but it's a pretty late flowering thing so I'm still okay with it being quiet. The borage looks like it's done some self-seeding, which is brilliant, and I want borage in every single area I've got - allotment flower beds, tea garden, actual garden, and maybe even the front garden - as it's a really nice looking plant and constantly had bees on it last year. Haven't unearthed the passionflower yet, but our jasmine is doing very well and is desperate to be planted somewhere with sun and trellis.

We are diggin out the tea garden, which is our first real foray into the second allotment. It's basically made up of bindweed roots with a covering of soil, so is slow work - but very satisfying. We've *nearly* dug out the whole bottom third of the second allotment, and once we've done, we can level it out and make a circular bed, with a circular path around it, and curved beds around the outside. The middle bed will be split into eight and planted up with the most invasive sort of tea plants - mints, lemon balm, etc - with others around the edges, and access to our hedge at the side as well (sloes, blackberries, rosehips, etc). The path will be covered in gravel to differentiate it from the rest of the allotment (which is / will be barked) and also to help drainage for the non-frost-hardy tea plants (lemon verbena, for example) which will stay in pots so we can move them inside in the winter. Any seeds that are coming up already for it will go into pots until we've finished prepping the ground for them, and I'm *really* excited about this area. Justin is looking forward to making beers from most of my tea plants too...

The woodland area is basically being ignored at the moment, I've got a few things I want to put into it, but at the moment the nettles, bindweed and brambles are a bit too invasive. A lot of the seeds I've bought for the woodland might well be better to overwinter them anyway - they like a bit of cold to help germinate - so it might have to wait till autumn, or at least until the made new season rush dies down a bit. Come May, June time things are mostly looking after themselves as wlong as we harvest regularly and do successional sowing where we've got the space, so maybe we'll look at it again then.

The pond and bog garden seem okay. The bog was new last year, so we're keeping an eye on it, and this year we're going to give up on hoping to afford a pond liner, and we're going to move the rigid pond into the hoel. We'll build up the sides with cobbles and so on, but it's been sitting there over a year waiting for us to afford the right thing. To move it, well decant into buckets and refill it once it;s in place, so the plan is that at a later date we'll do the same in reverse to get it out and put a soft liner in place instead. It's not a bad shape after all - your typical kidney shaped pond, with one shelf, and a *bit* of a slope up that we can build on - and I'd rather have something in the ground than a big rigid liner full of water, plants and snails, but so high up in the air that nothing else can get in or out. We'll keep an eye on it that things can get in an out - we want to make sure it's safe for our slowworms, in particular, and I know that rigid ponds sren't, usually, hence the need for plenty of sloping sides that aren't as steep as the ones the thing comes with. It was free!

Costs for the allotment are still balancing okay. The raised beds were free - wine bottles collected over the year, top soil from freecycle, manure from a local organically-fed stables. The pond liner was free - found in the back garden of my ex-boyfriends mums house, and kept for me all these years in my mums garden. Considering I've been married for 7 years this year, that's not bad! We're moslty using coppiced branches from our unwanted trees to stake beans, raspberries, and other things as they need it. The bog garden is using the punctured water-feature base we unearthed from the old water feature at the bottom of our garden, and with the fence panels our nieghbour gave us, we've got enough wood there to edge all the planned beds in the second allotment, and still have enough complete panels to build a shed. (Which is coming along slowly). I'm starting to suspect we might have enough plastic bottles to start making a greenhouse now, so when we've cleared more of the second allotment, we'll find a space for it.

Things that we *have* spent money on - compost, bark, and seeds, mostly. Compost to improve the soil in a few beds, or to them up, as neccessary. We've got one compost bin but it takes a while, we've got soem turf loaming itself too. It just takes a while to get that going, and we plan to build a compost bin with the spare pallets as soon as we've got time and space for it. We've been using the bags to line the access paths with, and then putting bark down on top of that, but we might buy some weed supressing fabric instead, as couch grass finds it's way between the bags. We have a shredder which we were hoping to make bark with but it's a bit dusty, so we'll probably still buy bark. And seeds? Well, this year I spent £50 on seeds (so far!) but I've bought a lot of weird and wonderful plants for the tea garden and the wildflower area so the costs should be much lower next year what with perennials, self-seeding, seed-collecting and sp on. We're starting to grow our own collected veg seeds from last year as well, so it's an exciting start. Our re-planted garlic from last year is so far doing better than the newly bought stuff, which is interesting...

Christmas Knitting update

2008-12-09T14:38:00.003+00:00

Weeeell, I'm getting there.

Mum's bag - DONE
Cath's gloves - practically DONE (2 rows left)
Joe's scarf - DONE
Isaac's hat - DONE
Pamela's scarf - DONE
Karen's bag - done but for felting
Darren's dice - done but for sewing up
Pepop's hat - DONE
Marjorie's bag - half way through, going quite well
Auntie Dithery's scarf - DONE
Keira's hat - done but for one ear & sewing on face
George's bear - not done yet
Joyce's bear - not done yet
Di's scarf - DONE
Peter's socks - NOT DONE and WILL NOT GET DONE so will do something else quick - probably a hat
Mike's scarf - NOT DONE and WILL NOT GET DONE...
Ian's scarf - half done
Megan's scarf - DONE
Justin's blanket - DONE
Justin's socks - NOT DONE and might not get done - but at least done enough to show him and carry on.

So at the moment I'm doing Marjorie's bag - it's quite nice so far. After that I''ll finish the end of Cath's gloves so I can wrap them, and then sew up Darren's dice. Then I will panic. Yes.

Getting a bit silly now...

2008-11-07T14:22:00.003+00:00

Currently in progress :

Rose's Wristwarmers. 1 glove done, 1 glove started, paused, got ill, put down.

One bear : Started, got distracted, have since forgotten how to crochet.

One pair of socks : went a little wrong on the heel turning, so ripped back and now can't face going back to them until I know I can give it my full attention. Yeah, with a 4 yar old in the house.

One lacy scarf : I had been enjoying knitting this but then I got distracted by knitting something else on circulars, and now these looooong needles are just annoying me.

Hello Kitty hat ears : The hat is done, the bow is done, but it's such a struggle pulling the loop of my circular, plus I knitted 2 ears and they weren't the same, so I just can't face doing another.

Police tape scarf : long, slow and boring, there's no way this is going to be done in time for Christmas.

Grace shawl : Well, this one is for me (unlike all the others) so of course it's on a backburner. Plus, I suspect it may take me about 7 years to finish as it's so delicate and lovely.

Socks mark 2 : Different style entirely, and this one is mostly waiting for when hubby and boy aren't about AND i'm not doing other things, as this is a secret knit for hubby.

Cable scarf : used 1 ball as stated, is way too short, haven't got the money to buy another ball.

FMA Bag : After drunkenly purling what should have been a knit row, and being fully aware of my complete inability to pick up stitches, I can't face this one either (as much as I really want a Full Metal Alchemist bag).

Hat: I cast this on last night. Why, for gods sake why? It's not like I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE I COULD BE KNITTING...

I also take the boy to school wearing one stripy glove and one plain glove. And the stripy one doesn't have it's ends sewn in yet.

Vegetarian hundred (two hundred..)

2008-09-24T10:19:00.002+00:00

This is from http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/09/04/the-vegetarian-hundred/

1. Real macaroni and cheese, made from scratch and baked
2. Tabouleh
3. Freshly baked bread, straight from the oven (preferably with homemade strawberry jam)
4. Fresh figs
5. Fresh pomegranate
6. Indian dal of any sort
7. Imam bayildi
8. Pressed spiced Chinese tofu
9. Freshly made hummus
10. Tahini
11. Kimchi
12. Miso
13. Falafel
14. Potato and pea filled samosas
15. Homemade yogurt
16. Muhammara
17. Brie en croute
18. Spanikopita
19. Fresh, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes
20. Insalata caprese
21. Stir-fried greens (gai lan, bok choi, pea shoots, kale, chard or collards)
22. Freshly made salsa
23. Freshly made guacamole
24. Creme brulee
25. Fava beans
26. Chinese cold sesame peanut noodles
27. Fattoush
28. New potatoes
29. Coleslaw
30. Ratatouille
31. Baba ganoush
32. Winter squash
33. Roasted beets
34. Baked sweet potatoes
35. Plantains
36. Chocolate truffles
37. Garlic mashed potatoes
38. Fresh water chestnuts
39. Steel cut oats
40. Quinoa
41. Grilled portabello mushrooms
42. Chipotle en adobo
43. Stone ground whole grain cornmeal
44. Freshly made corn or wheat tortillas
45. Frittata
46. Basil pesto
47. Roasted garlic
48. Raita of any type
49. Mango lassi
50. Jasmine rice (white or brown)
51. Thai vegetarian coconut milk curry (dont really like coconut or lemongrass so I avoid Thai)
52. Pumpkin in any form other than pie
53. Fresh apple pear or plum gallette
54. Quince in any form
55. Escarole, endive or arugula
56. Sprouts other than mung bean
57. Naturally brewed soy sauce
58. Dried shiitake mushrooms
59. Unusually colored vegetables (purple cauliflower, blue potatoes, chocolate bell peppers…)
60. Fresh peach ice cream
61. Chevre
62. Medjool dates
63. Kheer
64. Flourless chocolate cake
65. Grilled corn on the cob (straight from the allotment!)
66. Black bean (or any other bean) vegetarian chili
67. Tempeh
68. Seitan or wheat gluten
69. Gorgonzola or any other blue veined cheese
70. Sweet potato fries
71. Homemade au gratin potatoes
72. Cream of asparagus soup
73. Artichoke-Parmesan dip
74. Mushroom risotto
75. Fermented black beans
76. Garlic scapes
77. Fresh new baby peas
78. Kalamata olives
79. Preserved lemons
80. Fried green tomatoes
81. Chinese scallion pancakes
82. Cheese souffle
83. Fried apples
84. Homemade frijoles refritos
85. Pasta fagiole
86. Macadamia nuts in any form
87. Paw paw in any form
88. Grilled cheese sandwich of any kind
89. Paneer cheese
90. Ma Po Tofu (vegetarian style–no pork!)
91. Fresh pasta in any form
92. Grilled leeks, scallions or ramps
93. Green papaya salad
94. Baked grain and vegetable stuffed tomatoes
95. Pickled ginger
96. Methi greens
97. Aloo paratha
98. Kedgeree (the original Indian version without the smoked fish, not the British version with fish)
99. Okra
100. Roasted brussels sprouts
---------------------------------------------------------
Now to add the other main one (but I will exclude any duplicates)
Feel free to play along. Rules are the same as the Omnivore's Hundred, bold the ones you've had and cross off the ones you aren't interested in trying. Feel free to leave a comment over at Feeding Maybelle with your results! Note: "?" links to what it is in case you need to know.

Edamame (?) (my favourite thing to eat in the world)
Cha Soba (?)
Arame(?)
Earth Balance Buttercream
"Homemade" sprouts
Green Bamboo Rice (?)
Absinthe
Eat at a raw restaurant
Fresh (real) wasabi (can't get it easily over here)
Deep fried pickle
Fiddleheads (?)
Garlic stuffed olives
Smen (?)
Goji Berries (?)
Shiso or Perilla (?) /
Amaranth (?)
Pomegranate molasses (?)
Water convulvulus (Water Spinach) (?)
Pea eggplant, Thai eggplant, green eggplant, Japanese eggplant, Indian eggplant, Sicilian eggplant...
A Zen Buddhist Vegan Meal (?)
Kohya Dofu (?)
Wild Asparagus (?)
Elderberry (?)
Candlenuts (kemiri) (?)
Salsify (?)
Nutritional Yeast (?)
Pandan (?)
Roman cauliflower(?)
Anything with acorn flour (?)
Poi (?)
Chaya (tree spinach) (?)
Pitahaya (dragon fruit) (?)
Asafoetida (?)
Fried plantains
Basil seeds (?)
Cardoon(?)
Durian (?)
Ground Cherry or cape gooseberry (?)
Fresh waterchestnut (?)
Cashewnut cheese
Nettles (?)
Fake duck from a can, tofurky, or any prepared vegetarian product to resemble meat
Kimchi (?)
Masala Dosa (?)
Lotus Seed (?)
Matcha (?)
Loubie Bzeit (?)
Quince (?)
Blue Potatoes (?)
Injera (?)
Nasturtium (?)
Turkish Delight or Lokum (?)
Spruce tips (?)
Breadfruit (?)
Mangosteen (?)
Swede or Rutabaga (?)
Garlic Scapes (?)
Lavash (?)
Candied Angelica (?) (But I am growing some)
Rambutan (?)
Sambal (?)
Bhutanes Red Rice (?)
Candy-cane or Chioggia beets (?)
Mango
Ras el Hanout(?)
Vegan marshmallow (?)
Umeboshi (?)
Red Currants (?)
Puy or French lentils (?)
Millet (?) (I have some in the cupboard)
Fresh Bamboo shoot (?)
Jerusalem artichoke (?)
Wild strawberry (?)
Jambool (?)
Po cha or Yak butter Tea (?)
Adzuki beans (?)
Shirataki (?)
Manioc, yuca, cassava (?)
Quinoa (?)
Ramps (?)
Chufa (?)
Purslane (?)
Curry Leaves (Kadipatta) (?)
Sorrel (?)
Sumac (?)
Vegan cupcake
Montreal bagel (?)
Peri-peri (?)
Syllabub (?)
Chartreuse (?) (*gasp* I luuuurve Chartreuse...still)
Kamut berries (?)
Kalamansi Lime (?)
Aloe (?)
Morels (?)
Raw “bread”
Dandelion wine
Rosti (?)
Loomi(?)
Stinky tofu (?)
Something grown by you

Hmmm. I need to work on some of these...

Foodie meme, stolen from Heather :)

2008-09-24T09:52:00.002+00:00

If you have questions about the list go here for answers.

Here’s the rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk (the origin of the meme) linking to your results.

Clairefun's Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. ~~Venison~~ (not now I'm vegetarian)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. ~~Crocodile~~ (n.n.i.v.)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. ~~Carp~~
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush (will have to look this up..?)
11. Calamari
12. Pho (mmmm, Pho...aw man I need some Pho now)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (often)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (to look up)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. ~~Foie gras (veggie!)~~
24. Rice and beans
25. ~~Brawn, or head cheese~~
26. ~~Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper~~ (no thank you!)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (?)
31. Wasabi Peas
32. ~~Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl~~
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac (with a cigar)
37. Clotted cream tea (I was born in the west country so this one goes without saying...)
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. ~~Curried goat~~
42. ~~Whole insects<~~/p>

43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer (I even made it, once)
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. ~~Frogs’ legs~~
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. ~~Hare~~
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I don't know what half of these are, and most of the rest I wouldn't eat any more 'cause I'm vegetarian. Hmm, I wonder...?

It's autumn and no mistake

2008-09-24T08:05:00.002+00:00

I've just got back from walking the boy to school and brrrr, I've got that cheeks-been-slapped look to my face (oh yes, always a stylish look for me...). Luckily, I have the knitting to keep me warm! (and the tea, which hubby made this morning as we *think* I'm coming down with the boys cold...). I've finished the twisted drop stitch blanket and it's very cosy and rather lovely - I'll add the pattern as soon as my ravelry user is merged with my ravelry designer profiles - and now I'm making the boy a hat - again, couldn't find the exact pattern I was after so I'm making it myself - dk in the round with a ribbed brim and loads of teeny little stripes - he chose the colours he wanted, and I shall bust my stash to use them! (well, at very least the little odds and ends left over from other things).

My other works in progress are Christmas knits - socks for Uncle Peter, Rose's wristwarmers for my sister, a jute 'gardening bag' for my mum, a knitted police tape scarf for one cousin, a more grown-up cabled scarf for another cousin and for my nephew, a scarf for my mother-in-law...that's all I've started so far but obviously I have more I need to do. Waiting for some wool to arrive for my sister-in-laws bag, and I still don't know what to do for the boy or his 4 year old cousin. I need to add the ears / bow to the Hello Kitty hat for my 5 year sister-in-law and I need to crochet 2 bears, one for Nana and one for baby-brother-in-law. Hats for the father-in-law and the mother-in-laws boyfriend, and I'm not sure what to do for hubbys grandma either. Still, it's mid-to-late September and overall I don't think I'm doing too bad.

Other stuff to do today? Finish placing a Tesco order (boo, hiss, there goes all my green credentials), play about on 'Lil Green Patch' - yes, the facebook application, have a problem with that? - browse about on Ravelry just for the joy of it, and this afternoon do some more tidying of lounge and kitchen, as Ant is coming over to see us tonight and we'd really rather he didn't think we live in a hellhole. Even if we do.

Photographs tomorrow of the hat-in-progress and maybe something else...betcha can't wait,, huh?

Link / Legend of Zelda gloves

2008-09-23T08:40:00.003+00:00

I was desperate to knit something 'cool' for my 15 year old nephew's birthday, and one thing we share is that we like to cosplay - I tend to do anime characters, and he does Link, from the Legend of Zelda games (and is pretty good!). He had 'gauntlet issues' once and decided he wouldn't be wearing them, so I came up with these - gloves he could wear while cosplaying, but that also would not look out of place at school or on a 'normal' day with his friends, whilst still showing his love of Link. After a few dry runs, I decided that knitting flat and duplicate stitching on after was my preferred way, though obviously this is a fairly simple and extremely adaptable pattern, and you should be able to convert it to knitting in the round easily enough.

I used KellesBelle's triforce chart for the duplicate stitched pattern. She's kindly allowed me to link to it, and if you like the Linky goodness here, you should also check out her Link scarf and hat pattern (I wonder if my nephew would like the hat...?). They're entirely made of awesome.

I used Sirdar Click Chunky with wool (2 skeins, but it didn't use all of it) and size 6.5mm needles (US size 10 1/2). The Click chunky is an acrylic and wool blend, so washable, but still soft. For the tri-force itself I used a cheap acrylic dk weight! The colour was more important than anything else...but sadly I don't have the details anymore. (If I can hunt them down I'll edit this post, pesky ball bands!)

THE PATTERN (wait for it...it's *really* complex...)
Cast on 40 st and work in 2x2 rib for 8 rows.
Work in st st until desired length, and finish with 8 rows of 2x2 ribbing again. Cast off in pattern.
Sew the sides together, leaving a thumbhole.
Duplicate stitch THIS chart onto the back.
Weave in ends!

Tricky, huh? Though, if you have any problems, please give us a shout, I'll be happy to help.
Hope you enjoy it and please show me any you do! Oh and - DON'T SELL THIS PATTERN OR ANYTHING MADE WITH IT, thank you very much.

Keeping track of the obsession, 10 months in...

2008-09-16T13:12:00.003+00:00

I am currently knitting :

Rose's Wristwarmers (about half way through 1st glove)
Regia Kaffe Fassett socks (done about 1/3 of one sock)
Wish Scarf (Roughly halfway)
Hello Kitty Hat (Only just cast on today)
Yo Drop It scarf (Only cast on today)
Police tape scarf (as far as 'police lin')
Grace shawl (enough to know it's beautiful, enough to know it will take me forever...)
Frankie bear (well alright, that one's crochet).

I also plan to make in the next 3 months :

- skull & crossbones wristband (a birthday gift)
- Mighty Boosh wristband to wear when I see them live
- Mary Mary jute gardening bag
- 2x quick and easy cabled scarf
- a blanket
- knitting bag
- fuzzy dice
- another crochet bear
- photo frames or tea cosy or something grandmotherly
- a hat for the boy
- something fun for my 4 year old nephew
- another pair of Regia socks
– Helping hat
- very warm hat

In the last 10 months (that's as long as I've been knitting!) I have finished :

2 x pairs baby booties
2 x garter stitch scarves
1 x kitsch kerchief
2 x Instant Gratification scarves
3x Yo! Drop It scarves
1 x skull & crossbones wristband
1 x 'geek' wristband
1 x stormtrooper wristband
1 x 'foxy' wristband
1 x Miyavi wristband
1 x pr fingerless gloves a la Sweeney Todd
1 x pair fingerless gloves a la Link / Legend of Zelda
1 x Banana Republic Hat
1 x Pro Bono hat
1 x neckwarmer
1 x bear
1 x slippers
1 x skull & crossbones tote bag
1 x tie
1 x headband
1 x Branching Out scarf
1 x Bride & Groom dolls
2 x chainmail armours
1 x chainmail helmet

And to make as soon as I can :

a school jumper for the boy.
more Rose's Wristwarmers
a baby apple hat
a baby yoda hat
2 x pairs baby socks
1 x baby kimono
1 x baby cardigan?
lots of baby bibs
a music/guitary wristband
a Jack Skellington wristband
a topsy turvy cinderella doll
a grocery bag holder
a loo roll holder
a beret
a husbandy satchel
a set of coasters & placemats
a husbandy jumper
a cat bed.

I can't think about anything else. I hope this will help...

2008-09-15T08:59:00.002+00:00

Knitting Meme

Here’s what the formatting stands for:

Bold = have already tried this
Italicized = Plan to try this
Unemphasized = Have no desire to try this

• Afghan
• I-cord
• Garter stitch
• Knitting with metal wire
• Shawl
• Stockinette stitch
• Socks: top-down
• Socks: toe-up
• Knitting with camel yarn
• Mittens: Cuff-up
• Mittens: Top to Cuff
• Hat
• Knitting with silk
• Moebius band knitting
• Participating in a KAL
• Sweater
• Drop Stitch Pattern
• Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
• Slip stitch patterns
• Knitting with banana fibre yarn
• Domino knitting
• Twisted stitch patterns
• Knitting with bamboo yarn
• Two end knitting
• Charity knitting
• Knitting with soy yarn
• Cardigan
• Toy/doll clothing
• Knitting with circular needles
• Baby items
• Knitting with your own handspun
• Slippers
• Graffiti knitting
• Continental knitting
• Designing knitted garments
• Cable stitch patterns
• Lace patterns
• Publishing a knitting book
• Scarf
• Teaching a child to knit
• American/English knitting
• Knitting to make money
• Buttonholes
• Knitting with alpaca
• Fair Isle knitting
• Norweigan Knitting
• Dyeing with plant colors
• Knitting items for a wedding
• Household items
• Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
• Olympic knitting
• Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
• Knitting with dpns
• Holiday-related knitting
• Teaching a male how to knit
• Bobbles
• Knitting for a living
• Knitting with cotton
• Knitting smocking
• Dyeing yarn
• Steeks
• Knitting art
• Fulling/felting
• Knitting with wool
• Textured knitting
• Kitchener BO
• Purses/bags
• Knitting with beads
• Swatching
• Long Tail CO
• Entrelac
• Knitting and purling backwards
• Machine knitting
• Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegating yarn
• Stuffed toys
• Knitting with cashmere
• Darning
• Jewelry
• Knitting with synthetic yarn
• Writing a pattern
• Gloves
• Intarsia
• Knitting with linen
• Knitting for preemies
• Tubular CO
• Freeform knitting
• Short rows
• Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
• Pillows
• Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine (Knitty.com)
• Rug
• Knitting on a loom
• Knitting a gift
• Knitting for pets
• Shrug/bolero/poncho
• Knitting with dog/cat hair
• Hair accessories
• Knitting in public

Allotmenty goodness

2008-06-10T08:50:00.003+00:00

Dandelion tea, mmmmm.

So, another weekend in the allotment, the poor garden is being entirely ignored! It was a hot one though and we couldn't do a great deal of work. The hubby with his azada finished off the new bed that's the other side of the 'fennel divide' and managed to plant a few of our beans for drying out in it (butter beans, cannelini beans, borlotti beans, and kidney beans) as well as sowing some more bean seeds for a later crop and transplanting our leeks from the seed bed. I did a bit of weeding, and generally melted.

Exciting stuff:
- not only are the 3-crowns-of-asparagus-for-£1 or whatever silly price they were, growing, but also the row that we paid £1.05 for SEEDS have mostly germinated! Woot - we DO have an asparagus patch after all!
- the mangetout are arriving - and we've eaten 3 teeny ones of the plants already - absolutely lovely...nomnomnom.
- the peas are getting fat
- the redcurrants are turning red
- the potatoes are flowering
- the little gems are hearting

It's just all happening at the moment, faster than we can keep up with it, really.

In other news, hubby got some new XBox games for his birthday (Mass Effect, Bioshock), I'm knitting myself a headband before I go back to 'sensible' stuff 'cause it's soooo hot. Learning to crochet next weekend as I got 'The Happy Hooker' for my birthday last month, and on Thursday, the new 'Let's Knit' will have a beginners guide and some bamboo hooks, so I'll have no excuse. Fathers Day on Sunday as well as the Farmers Market, so that's nice, and end of the month is Miyavi gig folled by Hemsby-holiday which I'm trying to plan our activities for. So far they mostly involve pubs.

Things we're currently excited by include :
-Hugh F-W making Dandelion & burdock beer - we're growing Japanese Burdock in the allotment. Hmm. *chin-stroking, pondering*.
-Just general wine, beer, and tea making from, well, everything growing in our garden that won't poison us, basically.
-Oh and of course the River Cottage Spring 'cause we love River Cottage and it always makes us feel like we can do that too.
-Cosplay plans for October London Expo...got a few ideas, not sure where we're going with them yet, we shall see.
-and again - MIIIIIYYYYYAAAAVVVVVVIIIIIIII in a couple of weeks! eeeeeeeee! I have the tickets out on display and I keep catching 'Miyavi' out of the corner of my eye and having very squee moments.
-Ooh and talking of squee - the Moffat 2-parter in Doctor Who? Everything I hoped it would be and more. *happy sigh*.

New week

2008-05-19T13:47:00.002+00:00

Lotus tea today, Korean, it's lovely.

We had a busy weekend (as ever) - Saturday went to shovel bag after bag of lovely old horse poo for the garden, and treated ourselves to a pub lunch afterwards (we'd worked up quite an appetite). The boy was really well behaved in the pub and it was lovely to spend time together as a family - it doesn't happen enough, really. I got tipsy on 2 pints and so we came home, looked glumly at the torrential rain turning the allotment to mud, and then watched telly and drank more cider. Fun.

Sunday, after a slightly slow start, for some reason, we spent all day in the allotment. Hubby earthed up the potatoes, manured up the squash bed, dug over the brassicas bed, swore a lot when he discovered the slugs have had half the contents of the seed bed. He planted out some of the squashes - well, a bit of everything really - turks turban, soya bean, cucumber, pumpkin, and so on...

I cut down the long grass around the raised beds, weeded most of the beds, including the bindweed that was wrapping itself around the nasturtiums, the evil thing. We planted out the sweetcorn and put up all the canes and wigwams, though we still want to add some support for the mangetout.

We tried out the new-from-last-weeks-boot fair bread maker and had a lovely loaf, so had bread, cheese and jam, sitting on a picnic rug in the garden, along with a few radishes from the allotment. It won't be long before we'll have broad beans either, so that's really exciting. We finally planted out the redcurrant bush too so that's going to be exciting as well, and I still can't quite believe we have a full row of parsnips, mmm.

After the boy went to bed, we finished watching 'A Cook on the Wild Side' at last, and I very-very-nearly finished knitting Rach's 'foxy' wristband, needed for the Expo next weekend. I should finish that tonight, as it's just sewing in ends, and then I can look into what next - birthday gifts? baby presents? something for me, or the boy? I can't wait. After doing Joe's Link gauntlets, and Jo's headband, it feels like ages since I knitted something for me...

Today I'm looking at MoneySavingExpert.com again - it's been a while - and reading up on breadmaking and that kinda thing. I need to get back in the swing of being Old Style :) Tonight when hubby gets home we're going to go do some work in the garden, then after the boy is in bed, we're going to sit in the garden and drink some special tea - maybe pai mu Tan, or lotus. We usually go out with a glass of wine, which then becomes a few glasses of wine, and before we know it, we've spent a fortune on wine for the week...so tea instead, nice posh tea. Much healthier and cheaper in the long run...and probably more soothing.

I'm also making the hubbys birthday list - he sent me some ideas and I'm adding some to them - although it's 2 weeks away, we'll be at the London Expo all of next weekend, so it'll be good to get this off to everyone and out of the way. I need to find our complete costumes and check them as I have no idea where the boys clothes have gone...

I have unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. I've put a load of washing on (I'll hang it up after I get the boy from nursery). I've tidied the kitchen. The breadmaker is on (again). And now to get ready to pick up the boy :)

blogging options

2008-05-15T07:51:00.002+00:00

It appears blogspot / blogger, despite my lack of love for it, is the only place I can have a blog without getting so annoyed I stop writing it. Hmmph.

Potential things to cover (otherwise known as my life activities) :

Tea. Mmmmmm, tea. Currently in the house is jasmine, green sencha, kukichi, lotus tea, oolong, pu-erh, uki uki, gunpowder, dandelion, pai mu tan, white tea with acai berry, 'normal' white tea, and a few fruit ones too. We love tea. I plan to start making home-grown blends this year too.

Knitting. I'm obsessed. Ravelry is my favourite site, I'm currently working on 4 projects, most importantly is a little wristband for a friends birthday. I like small projects as I only started last November, and I have an energetic 3 year old, interrupting me as I type, who makes it nigh impossible to knit around him.

Family. My son is 3, and I'm a stay at home mum. He is quite a character, and has a rather good sense of humour, although he's a loon. I'm also married to a man who would have been best off in life being some kind of absent-minded professor.

Allotment. Ours is about 60ft long, and as we've got the neighbours too, it's almost the same width. We're out there every chance we get at the moment. Broad beans, peas, salad leaves, sweetcorn, courgettes, leeks, tomatoes, mangetout, parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic, beetroot, fennel, lettuces, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, aubergines, artichokes, asparagus, runner beans, french beans, beans for drying, soya beans, salsify, peppers, chillies, potatoes, cabbages, brussels sprouts, cauliflower...and fruit. Lots of fruit. and herbs.

Japanesey stuff. Whether it be watching anime, buying kimono, or just eating japanese food, this is our other main activity. Last night we ate japanese food (thank you hubby) and two days ago we were at Oriental City spending £75 in the supermarket and having a bento lunch. I read 2 mangas I got for my birthday, and in 2 weekends time we're cosplaying at the London Expo (as Ranma, girl type for me and boy type for hubby, and P-Chan for the boy).

Foodie stuff. I'm vegetarian and hubby just loves his food. We're hoping to become self-sufficient-ish (well I am, anyway, we're not planning on having our own cattle just yet) and we often holiday based around gastropubs in the area. We perve over Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (for me, it's not *just* about the food) and love those foodie shows that are seeing different foods around the world and things like that. We don't often get to eat at restaurants (a 3 year old, and no money tend to be the main issues) but we like trying out new recipes at home.

There's a few other subjects - music, books, gigs, money-saving, being green, films, and loads of other stuff really, but nothing else is quite as huge. Those are a few of our favourite things. :)

2007-12-21T12:30:00.000+00:00

Today : NOT cooking, 'cause today is my husband Justin's last day at work before Christmas, so I'm spending my time tidying the house and getting out the Christmas snacks When he gets home we're going to a nearby street that does an awesome amount of christmas lights (I'm hoping to take some photographs, we'll see!).

LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Justin being at home for Christmas
Seeing the Mighty Boosh live next year
IT'S CHRRRRIIIISSSSSTTTTTMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAA
AAASSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Tidying the house 'for Christmas' with a 3 year old and husband.
The crowds at the shops, if I have to go to the shops at all
Christmas ending, and life going back to normal!

Recently : dusted off my old myspace account - still like facebook more than either of the others. Finished a re-read and re-watch of all the Harry Potter films & books. Must watch 'Muppets Christmas Carol' at some point over the weekend, as it is entirely made of awesome.

2007-12-20T12:28:00.000+00:00

TODAY, Wednesday 20th December, I am :
COOKING:
Chilli Bean Bake (topped with tortilla chips with melted cheese over the top, mmmm)
Vanilla Christmas cookies - some for the tree, some for gifts, and some for nibbling.

LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Voyage of the Damned, of course. Go Astrid
The giving and recieving of Christmas gifts - I certainly know I've bought some good ones this year. Hope the same can be said in reverse
Captain John and Captain Jack together in Torchwood. *sigh*. 'Heykids...did you miss me?' awesomeness itself.
Hubby and I treating ourselves to an X-Box 360 in the sales, if we're even slightly disappointed by any of our gifts

NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Spending Christmas day with the family who aren't that bothered about seeing me any other time.
Isaac going without an afternoon nap for 3 days straight (Christmas at my mums, boxing day at mother-in-laws, and day after at father-in-laws). He WILL be hell.
The post-Christmas 'oh-mi-god-the-house-is-full-of-crap-and-we've-all-got-really-fat' routine.

TODAY I AM MOSTLY WEARING:
Stay indoors, not opening the door kind of crap. Look, I'm doing a lot of cooking, okay?

2007-11-22T16:36:00.000+00:00

I finally got myself up and ready to cook (after getting sucked into the Great Teacher Onizuka manga I was reading - good stuff) so toddled off into the kitchen to start preparation for the chestnut and sage cobbler I'm making today - you know, the possibly-taking-as-my-veggie-Christmas one. WHY does every recipe start with cutting an onion! And every single time, My eyes get so sore and watery I have to leave the room!?! I swear the salesman that came to the door thought I was crying (worked well to get rid of him, though...).

Um, so yes, I had to come back in the lounge and of course to my coomputer. Isaac went to sleep at last, and I've been doing more weeding on flickr, some of it proper deleting of photos that I know aren't even on my hard drive (but...I have enough photographs, so will I ever miss them?) Strict decluttering!

Yesterday I didn't cook, but I did clear out the kitchen, so all was not lost. I want to sort some of the pile of death I have lingering by my computer - it mostly seems to be catalogues I'm keeping to see if I want to buy Christmas presents from them for people, but maybe I should just have a really good look NOW, working out who I need to buy for still. I always find it hard to shop for everyone like that - I'm better at buying for one person at a time - so for example looking through first for ideas for my mum, then again for ideas for Justin, then again for ideas for...you get the idea - and you probably see why I've not touched this pile, and why it is now know as the pile of death. Hopefully I'll have time to cook, tidy a bit, and still go through the pile, or at least begin to - with Isaac not sleeping for a while you feel like you have to be quiet to let him sleep and by the time you kow it, it's...uh...4.12 in the afternoon and you've not started cooking or tidying yet. Yeah, I'm pretty shit as a housewife. Just as well I'm a stay at home mum, right? I'm good at that! :D

I also want to (want may be too strong a word) change the cat litter, put some more washing on, hang some clothes up, see if I can pair any more of Justin's socks before he explodes one morning of pent up rage, sort out these three million piles of CDs & DVDs hanging obout into a serious collection of things we actually want to keep all on a few discs we can actually find. I need to make more Christmas Cards - and start deciding who I'm making them for, too. I have more presents to wrap, including some that have to be done when there's no one else here. I need to look up the garden plants & work out what needs frost protecting & how, as this garden gets frost (our last one was really sheltered, so I've never needed to know before). I need to finish clearing out the clothes piles in our room and get the suitcase away (it's still out from a wedding we went to last month). Isaac needs to tidy his room (which usually takes up more of my time than his, getting him to physically do it). I have a lot of stuff to get on Ebay but to get to that stage I need to have less crap & clutter down here as I'll have nowhere to put the ebaying stuff when I get it out. I need to sew up Isaac's sleeping bag, dye my hair red for Christmas again, compile all my torn out recipes into one recipe scrap-book I have set aside for this very task. I want to do the same with some of the cardmaking designs I've seen (as I've bought a few magazines for inspiration and I already have enough magazines scattered around the house - I'm obsessed, I tell you!). Oh yes and there's some books I'd like to read before they have to go back to the library - where did those new library books go? - and I have to go to the library tomorrow to take the Dvds back, one of which we finally saw last night (Walk the Line, at last - excellent) and one of which we may potentially watch tonight. We want to make friends with the library staff as they like the same things as us and are funny and interesting and have kids too and read the same books as us and are the same age as us and and and...

I think for too long our friends have been either moving to London for work / giggles, or have settled down to the degree that they never see any of 'us' any more (whatever did happen to Steve? Oh yeah he got married and had a baby...) - We are married and have a baby! surely that means you can talk to us! - OR are just those few years younger than us that makes a difference, or I guess aren't settled enough - still all about the clubs and pubs and bands and drinking. Not to say we don't like bands (we're seeing the Montain Goats next month, we saw Polysics and Guitar Wolf this year and they were fantastic) and certainly not to say we don't like drinking (though again, I have been reminded of that recent wedding...mm. Maybe I don't like drinking, after all). It's just - we did all that. We did it really, really well. We would have bought the t-shirt, except it wasn't low-cut or skintight enough, and was only available in the same boring colours as everyone else. I perseveered, I really tried, and did it for about 15 years...that's a really big part of my life there. Some of those days / nights I'll remember for years. (Some I can't even remember now). At least I can proudly hold my head high and say I did it, and scraped through, and am now a normalish human being - which none of us ever expected would happen.

The carrots are calling. *sigh*

Day two...

2007-11-22T14:15:00.000+00:00

The Country Garden Cottage Pie was rather lovely, I had seconds for lunch today as well. Not the healthiest meal due to the volume of cheese, but pretty good without that, so next time I'll do it with less. Today I've not yet decided between ' Chestnut & Sage Cobbler' and 'Bobotie' - both one pot meals (less mess, yay). The chestnut & sage is a potential 'meal-to-take-to-someone's-house-over-Christmas-instead-of-meat' as I'm the only vegetarian in the families (at least the families we'll be seeing over Christmas that is).

We go to my mums house on Christmas day - this year is going to be the easiest 20 minute walk now we live so close - most other years we've had to go up a really steep hill & a 40 minute walk, one year we even drove 3 hours down the motorway from Stoke on Trent! Hopefully it'll mean that we can have a really good little 'just-the-three-of-us- Christmas before we go, which will be nice. At mum's is my sister and her 2 children (and my mum, of course) Joe (15) and Nathaniel (3). Joe I think is at his dad's house till mid afternoon / early evening so at least Justin can be with us rather than going upstairs to play computer games with Joe - I have to keep an eye on Isaac by myself then, which is tricky when the two younger boys are together as they are buggers :)

The day after, Boxing Day, is Pamela's birthday (that's my mother-in-law) and we go over to hers, and usually there is Karen (Justin's sister) and Darren (her boyfriend) and Marjorie (Justins Grandma) and Peter (Pamela's boyfriend). It's a birthday and Christmas celebration all in one which is nice, though it is the complete opposite of my families celebration - far more polite and well behaved!

The day after that is Colin's birthday - that's Justins' dad - my father-in-law - so we either go to his house or to his sisters house (Di) - I think now Colin has a bigger house it'll probably be there all the time, which is good in one way - very child friendly, as they have children Isaac's age and now younger - but also a shame in a way as Di's house is very traditional and is in the country and feels a bit 'old' - in the sort of 'olde' way - not all modern clean lines and so on - and we like that, it feels ever so cosy. Still, it's usually fun with so many people - Karren and Darren again, but then Colin, his wife Nicki, their 3 year old Keira, Justin's Nana Joyce, Di and her husband Peter, and sometimes people from Nicki's side now as well - her Mum or Dad usually. This year as well will be Isaac's Uncle George who is only a few months old!

I managed to get 4 cards made last night and was very pleased with them, it's something I only started doing a little while ago but, like the knitting, I find it quite relaxing, and I'm really pleased with the results. I'm starting to wonder if I might find it hard to part with them...On that note, I've also signed up to Crafts 365 - photograph something you're making every day for the next year - so I think that getting my camera out for taking three photographs will be more likely to happen than just for one. Every day! They might overlap a little as well, I would imagine. I'm trying to clear out my flickr account a little bit to make way for all these photographs that are going to be coming in, but that's about a weeks constant work by itself, as I used it for storage when I moved house / PC and so I have to open and save them all before I can delete anything. Not the quickest job!

Today Justin was working locally - his current job is in London - auditing London hospitals - but starting the last week in December (before Christmas I mean) he's going to be working in our home town! No more getting up at 6 am! This morning I was woken by the sound of the ironing board being taken out of the understairs cupboard at about quarter past 7 and it just makes *such* a difference to how I feel during the day. Mind you saying that, I haven't got any more work done in the house than usual - mainly thanks to Isaac refusing to sleep - but I have got a lot of secret things done for Christmas, so I guess it evens out a bit.

Todays plans? Cook soon, moar cards!! and we really *have* to watch a film tonight, as I've got to take them back in two days time. I can knit while I watch too. Dofus would be good but hmm, I doubt it :( Apart from that? My house is filled with STUFF. Stuff where it doesn't need to be. Why is there a spanner on my kitchen worksurface, and a book of poetry, and a ukelele? I need to have such a little amount of stuff that when things don't get put away after use, I still have a house underneath, rather than a dump.

2007-11-20T18:17:00.000+00:00

So : I've been trying out Live Journal, but didn't get on with it. There seemed to be too many things you should or shouldn't do, and I'm not really very good at that sort of thing. I think you might have to be a bit clever to be able to make the most of it, and of course sociable as well.

I considered facebook notes, but probably not adjustable enough for my tastes, and I know nobody would ever read them. Somehow, that doesn't matter on here - but on a place where I'm connected to coming up to 100 people, I feel that would be kind of disappointing. Also, I don't want to think to myself that people *are* reading, else I'll get self conscious and start writing to an audience, whereas this isn't to be about that at all. (Not to say that you can't comment at all, or anything, as indeed that would be most welcome).

Oh and I know there's others - I'm on so many sites dotted around the web - I'm thinly stretched over all of them but without enough free time to be active on any of them. So just use the few I like and understand. Flickr for mass photos, deviantart for cosplay event photos and the better photos (maybe some of my old peoms up there too now I no longer use allpoetry). Facebook for friend connecting, as I never use myspace anymore anyway and besides, there's barely any difference between them now, thanks to myspaces status updates and facebook applications. Plus, you know, I'm 30, so that waves goodbye to a whole load of others (bebo, orkut etc - well and myspace to be honest). I'll stick with money saving expert for my life advice, along with hot uk deals and zen habits for my proper life changing stuuff (you know, like becoming vegetarian mainly thanks to that blog, for example. It's wonderful).

Back to this old blog it is then. First on blogger, I had Isaac's diary - from before he was born, up to he was about a year old. It just became way to hard to look after him and keep up with writing about his life in that way. I've still got the 'photography blog' where I just posted my best photographs...not that I ever update that either. Then this blog started as *my* diary (effectively). I got bored and forgot, so I changed it to an allotment diary for a while when we moved earlier this year. Then that fell behind too...

I posted on my livejournal a while back about starting anew (and no, I'm not posting the link, as there's only about 3 things on there). It didn't happen, as I wasn't happy with the format. To be honest, I'm not that happy with the layout of this one, but at least I know I can change that...something outdoorsy, I should think...

I'm signing up to the Project 365, uh, project, and the Kids 365 project. (These are 1) taking & posting at least one photograph a day and b) taking a photograph of Isaac every day - both for a year. I'm not doing the self portrait version, but I'll try and appear in a daily once a month or so, for recording purposes only! Isaac is three now, and starting nursery after Christmas (hmm, if I
ever fill in that form). Before I know it, he'll be off to school, loving his teachers more than me, untucking his shirt, slouching, and then leaving home (well, I hope...wonder what house prices will be like by *then*?). He's so very, very photogenic and it seems a shame not to record at least just a little bit of his daily life, especially as it's going to change so much soon. The joy of this place is that I can send my daily photographs here from flickr and vice versa.

So my friends moving to Belgium can keep up with my allotment news (if she starts using the internet more, anyway). Isaac's auntie can read up on how he is from up in Bedford. I can keep track of what I'm making in my weekly meal plans and what we've tried & not tried, and what we've planted in the allotment and how it's going...So - it'll be a bit of evertthing, and
probably not every day, but hopefully every couple of days. If not, someone prod me on
facebook. I'll be starting the photographs on December 1st, but I'm going to try and start
regular blogging again before then...in fact...

So, I'm making 'Country Garden Cottage Pie' today with ingredients from the weekends
farmers market. I want to make a few more Christmas cards later this evening, as I got my printer rigged up at last yesterday and have run through a whole colour catridge already printing assorted background papers out. (Only £9 a cartridge! Might need to get a different printer...). I want to knit some more of Justin's scarf (and the speedy rate of about 5 rows a day before I fall asleep, it's going to take me till *next* Christmas at this rate). We do have a couple of dvds we need to watch before Friday - Walk The Line and Grave of the Fireflies (at last we have relented... we know it will be sad) - when we need to return them to the library. I would also like to spend some time on Dofus, do some tidying up, and catch up on lolcats. Any questions?
Good.

20th March

2007-03-20T11:52:00.000+00:00

Over the weekend, the weather took a turn for the worse, and we were fairly busy with visiting family and so on. We collected a lot of our opts from Pamela's garage, and we also collected things from my mum's house as well - including pea netting, some plastic bottles for cloches, toilet roll tubes for beans & sweetcorn, a portable potting sation, and so on. We also went to Wyevale on Saturday and picked up four varieties of potato, a mother's day gift of an azalea, some much needed compost, and two huge whisky barrel pots, as well as this, my mother's day present from Isaac was a hydrangea petilialis (sp?) for the non sunny side of the patio - very excited.

Justin dug over the potato bed and the lettuce bed, a fairly quick job as there was no turf there - so now only the carrot and parsnip beds on that side to do. The previously forecast snow may have missed us at it's worse so I'm wondering when it might be safe to start planting out, but it's fairly wet today as well as blustery, so not for now.

Thyme, Broad Bean, Sweet Pea and Nasturtium are the only thing not germinated yet, the salad leaves are probably ready to thin already. The radishes need potting on (but as I'm not sure where to put them yet, they haven't been).Nearly all the okra has germinated and there are three leeks arriving, also a couple of the onion seeds have germinated as well. There are three healthy looking calendula and nearly all the tomatoes are up too, in both varieties. The mint has one seedling today which looks pretty good. I'm about ready to sow some more, I reckon...

16th March

2007-03-16T11:51:00.000+00:00

I did decide to get the garlic and onions in straight away, mostly because we're getting a cold snap soon and that's good for garlic. Not as good for onions, but I'll be sowing some in pots as well in case of any losses. Which might just mean that the bed is done! - apart from watering and weeding, of course. This morning I found a small poo on it - probably a cat I guess - but no signs of digging up, so that's pretty good. Yesterday I also spent a while using the lawn edger to mark out the edge of the bed, at the front (I'll do the back as I go along each individual crop). It's kind of helped us to see where we need to do things, and was fairly satisfying, though also fairly worrying - there's a lot to do and this is the 'quick' garden, we haven't even looked at the long term allotment plans.

Today I went out but Isaac was trying to move stones - INTO the destoned bed. I tried to explain that wasn't what I was after and so he started to add them to pots instead. We came back in. I did manage to slot the bamboo canes into their wigwam holders (couldn't be faffing about with string - at least this way if the boy grabs them, they'll stay together...) and pop them into the ground, so it's something.

Our seeds? The salad leaves are starting to germinate, the radishes are coming along nicely, we have one of the out of date leeks poking up it's head, and quite a few okra are appearing. A couple of calendula seeds are popping up too! No Tomato, Thyme, Mint, Broad Bean, Onion, Nasturtium, or Sweet Pea yet, but then it has only been 3/4 days, so not really surprised...