Monthly Ironman

Each time I take part in IronMay I find it does wonders for my back. Each time I resolve to do it more frequently than once a year. Each time I fail. Or, should I say, so far I have failed?

I don't care how many attempts it is going to take to get this to stick, I am going to keep working at completing a slow IronMan triathlon each month. It has possibility to be a tad tricky as the swimming pool has not yet re-opened, and no date has been given. I'll do what I can.

Singer Sewing Machine Table

Work is continuing in the sitting room. The CD rack has gone, as has the two-seater sofa. The new stove and fire surround has been installed. The furniture has been moved around.

Today we were looking in a couple of antique shops for a pair of side tables. Instead I found an old bureau that was going to be binned. The plan is to remove the top and use it for the sewing machine table, and use the sides for shelves.

I had not anticipated anything so ornate, but I think it will work.

Stormy Hat

Another ball of yarn in the sales bin caught my eye, King Cole's Big Value Tints in the colour Storm. 

Yarn: King Cole Big Value Super Chunky Tints

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: Storm

Pattern: Super Chunky Hat

Size: Adult
Needles: 10mm

Amount used:  

Started:  20th June 2019

Finished: 22nd June 2019

Cakes for Civil Defense

The Police work very hard during TT. The wonderful people at Civil Defense have also been working hard. CD is made up almost exclusively of volunteers, people who have ordinary jobs, but who choose to make themselves available when the need arises.

In the last little while they have been called out search for five missing people. A few years ago, they provided security at the site of a helicopter crash. They have evacuated schools when there were bomb scares. They have helped flood victims, also helped prevent flooding. These fabulous people are most deserving of cakes!

From the top down, there's walnut cake, spotty dotty (chocolate and vanilla marble cake),  luscious lemon cake, vanilla and strawberry cake, and chocolate brownies. To the side, there's  Bakewell Cupcakes.  Also taken along were a punnet of strawberries and one of grapes.

----

The feed back was 'om nom nom nom!' and other very happy noises. I've been told I can bake for them when every I want too.

It was so much easier to take the cakes along to Civil Defense than it was to take them to Police Headquarters. All large bakes will now be done in these trays. I used my standard recipe quantities for the brownies and lemon cakes, and the others were based on a 4-egg sponge cake. This worked really well.

Proud Moment

I'm feeling rather proud of myself.

1. I didn't buy yarn at work today, despite really wanting to.
2. One of the balls bought yesterday has been knitted up. The first hat was all in the Shadow Chunky, and the second one had some blue Luxury Merino added to the mix. The merino is a light weight DK yarn. To bring it up to the same sort of thickness, I use a triple strand. This finished not just Shadow Chunky, but the merino as well.

Blueberry Hat

Yarn: King Cole Shadow Chunky
Composition: 100% acrylic
Colour: Blueberry
Pattern: Blueberry Hat
Size: Adult
Needles: 6.5mm
Started: 17th June 2019
Finished: 17th June 2019

Cast on 56sts on 6.5mm needles. Join. Work in 2x2 rib until it measures 30cm.

1. (K2, p2tog) repeat to end.
2. (K2, p1) repeat to end.
3. (K2tog, p1) repeat to end.
4. (K1, p1) repeat to end.
5. K1, (k2tog) repeat to last stitch, then k2tog the last first, and the first from the next round.
6. K to end
7. K2tog, repeat to last stitch.

Break yarn, leaving a tail, and draw through the remaining stitches. Weave in ends.

A Longtime Dream?

Is there something that you've dreamt of doing for a long time? Why haven't you done it?

The Beloved would love to visit Canada and New Zealand. We haven't taken these trips yet because 'Money'. It would be lovely to visit, and perhaps we need to start saving.

My dream for the last 12 years has been to lose weight. I'm working on it, and have dropped 5 dress sizes. My goal is to do this in a slow, steady, sustainable way. Slowly means the skin has a chance to shrink back. It would be horrible to lose loads of weight and to instead be a thin person in a fat person's skin.

Crystal Ball Of Truth

If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?

I would use a crystal ball to find out the true intentions of politicians. It would be fascinating to find out their true motives regarding the decision they make and the alliances they forge.

Gain A Quality Or An Ability

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be?

We decided to work are a team. The Beloved is going to become super intelligent, and I am going to be able to communicate effectively to all.

I did consider becoming a teleporter, and setting up my own SuperUber personal transport service. I could become fantastically rich if I was able to teleport, and there's so much good that could be done with this ability.

Normal Service Will Now Resume

My laptop died. It was case of terminal drowning in fruit tea. Ava knocked over a teapot, and the tea landed on the computer. We were out at the time, and did not notice for several hours.

I now have a new laptop, but it is stuck in Micro$oft S mode. This means only Micro$ft products can be installed. There is supposed to be a simple solution, click on the M$ Store, and switch out of S mode, but it's not working! I can not stay trapped in M$ Land. There are some nice places to visit, like Word and Excel, but there are horrors like Bing and Edge.

Levels of frustration are running high. There is a danger of a flying laptop.

A Life Story in Four Minutes

Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.

We have spent more than half our lives together. We know each other's stories very well.

Change Anything

If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

My first thought was 'I'm not going to air dirty laundry in public'. My second thought was 'Too right!' and my third thought was 'So choose something else.'

If I could change anything, I would want my Grandma to have lived a long, healthy life. One evening she wasn't feeling too well, and she went to bed early. She either had a huge stroke or heart attack, and died instantly. Grandma was a very practical person, very generous, and incredibly loving.

If I could change anything about the way I was raised, I would choose to have my Grandma have a hand in raising me for longer. We lived next door to Grandma and Grandpa. We would see them multiple times each day, and they were a huge part of our lives. When Grandma died, Grandpa slipped away from us too.

One of my favourite memories of Grandma was the annual birthday shopping trip. It would start in her sitting room. She would tell me the price limit, and we'd talk about what sort of things I might like to receive as a gift. Then we'd walk into town and hit the shops. We'd go from shop to shop, talking, laughing, comparing possible purchases. When the right gift had been decided upon, Grandma would pay and then we would head off to the Italian ice cream parlour.

The gift was wonderful, but it was spending time alone with Grandma that was the best part. She was always busy, always doing. However when a grandchild wanted to talk to her she would give them her full attention. "Wait a moment, and I'll be right with you." and she was.

It was also such fun baking with her, making ice cream, and learning how to sew and knit.

Most Grateful

For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

We are grateful for many many things, but the thing we are most grateful for is our family. Eccles and Stitch are pretty fantastic human beings. They are both kind, loving, generous, and intelligent.

I'm a pretty grateful person, especially small things. A clear blue sky, a rainbow, a bacon butty, these are a few of my favourite things. Little things make me happy, and make me smile. They cause me to express wonder and awe, and I am grateful.

Bakewell Cupcakes

Ingredients
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
100g ground almonds
100g Dove Farm Gluten Free self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
strawberry jam
300g icing sugar
12 glacé cherries
25g toasted flaked almonds

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, adding 1 tbsp ground almonds after each addition. Add the flour and remaining almonds and stir well.

Spoon half of the mixture into 12 muffin cases. Then add 1/2 teaspoon of jam to the centre. Cover the jam with the remaining mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes until well risen, firm and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, mix together the icing sugar and 3 tbsp water to make a fairly thick icing. When the tart is cold, spoon the icing on top, spreading evenly. Decorate with glacé cherries and flaked almonds and leave to set. Cut the tart into squares or rectangles and arrange on platters to serve.

Notes To freeze: Make the cupcakes, allow to cool, but don’t ice or decorate. Wrap well in cling film and foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost fully before icing and decorating.

Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common. This was a fun one. We discussed it on our 26th wedding anniversary. We started naming our common things, but it quickly turned into things we both loved. We were snuggled up together on a sofa in a coffee shop. The Beloved was drinking coffee, and I was sipping hot chocolate. There was a lot of love in the air.

A Secret Hunch?

Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

Neither of us had a hunch about our deaths. The Beloved would like his death to be sudden. I would prefer to have a short, serious illness, oh painless too. This would be to allow family and friends to say goodbye, and for me to sign any paperwork that would be useful to have signed.

I do however know what I would like after I die. First of all, the medical profession can have any bit of me that would be useful to someone else. Afterwards, I'd like a 'green' burial, or woodland burial. The body is wrapped in a linen shroud, and placed in a cardboard coffin. There's no embalming. Then the body is buried in a field, and a tree planted on top. Over time, the field becomes a woodland. I'd also rather like bluebell bulbs to be planted too. That would look lovely.

I most definitely don't want to be embalmed, have lots of fillers, or be 'made presentable'. I'd also hate an expensive coffin. Go for simple.

Mind Or Body

If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

I wonder which 30 year old we are talking about! I am really bad at either/or questions. I want far more information than is presented in the question.

We both have decided our preference would be to reach 90 with bright, sharp, inquiring minds. We would far rather have health, happy minds, than have wonderful bodies,  but only be able to remember memories created long ago.

Could I have an average? Might it be possible to have the body and mind of a 60 year old until I'm 90?

Sing!

When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

Um, I have no idea. I am a singer of silly songs, mostly ones I an in the process of making up as I sing. It's all fun and nonesesne, so I don't pay a great deal of attention. I suspect the answer is 'Within the last 24 hours'.

As for singing to someone else, it will have been on Monday. One of my co-workers sang a line of a song, and I responded with the next line.

I do love it when my Beloved sings to me. He has a beautiful, deep voice, and it feels like a warm embrace.

Cakes for Cops

The Police receptionist beamed at me, then exclaimed, "Oh, it's you again. We're always glad to see you, and your cakes!" What a lovely welcome.

Bakewell Tray Bake

Ingredients
500g sweet shortcrust pastry
6 tbsp strawberry jam
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
100g ground almonds
100g Dove Farm Gluten Free self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
300g icing sugar
24 glacé cherries
25g toasted flaked almonds

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to fit the base and sides of a 30cm x 20cm baking tray. Spread the jam over the pastry base.

Place the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, adding 1 tbsp ground almonds after each addition. Add the flour and remaining almonds and stir well. Spoon the mixture over the jam, spreading to make an even layer.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until well risen, firm and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

In a small bowl, mix together the icing sugar and 3 tbsp water to make a fairly thick icing. When the tart is cold, spoon the icing on top, spreading evenly. Decorate with glacé cherries and flaked almonds and leave to set. Cut the tart into squares or rectangles and arrange on platters to serve.

Notes To freeze: Make the tart, allow to cool, but don’t ice or decorate. Wrap well in cling film and foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost fully before icing and decorating.

A Perfect Day

What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?

This is the question that sparked an interest in the whole "36 questions that lead to love" thing. I had managed to plan the first hour of my perfect day, and it was shaping up to be really, well, perfect. It would start around 6-6.30am, with light coming in through the curtains, wakening me from a deep, refreshing sleep. I'd check social media, then snuggle with the Beloved. After a while, Ava would join us. I'd then get up and cycle whilst the Beloved would make bacon and cheese puffs, and a cup of berry tea. I'd have time to have a shower before eating breakfast. Then we'd head out to do something interesting. Rewind, get dress, then head out.

I couldn't decide what would happen next, so I set it aside knowing I would come back to the subject today. However, I've just been listening to David Tennant, Michael Sheen and Neil Gaiman talking about the television adaptation of "Good Omens". The last question they were asked was "How would you spend your last day if you knew Armageddon was arriving tomorrow?" Neil's answer sounded very much he was crafting a perfect for his 3 year old son.

This answer flipped my perspective. For my perfect day, I'd like to spend it with family and friends, doing the things we enjoy, but most of all taking the time to love and care for each other.

Rehearsing Telephone Calls

Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

We approach this a little differently as I am much more at ease speaking on the telephone.

The more important the call, the more I want to ensure I have at my fingertips every piece of information I will require. 

When Will I Be Famous?

Would you like to be famous? In what way? 

We have decided we would not like to be 'recognised in the streets' famous, and most definitely not famous for being famous. We could cope with being famous for the things we do, or have invented.

Dinner Guests

Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest? 

Raconteur polled 400 people, and gave them 3 votes each. They were asked who would be their fantasy dinner guests. The top six were: Mohandas Gandhi, JK Rowling, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Barack Obama, and Beyoncé.

The Beloved and I have talked, and we would like to invite Stephen Fry, Tim Berners Lee, Ada Lovelace, and Margaret Hamilton. Three of them are/were pioneers in their fields in computing, and Stephen is a very early adopter of all things computery. It would be fascinating group of people to chat with.

I'd also love to have my daughter, Stitch, pop over for dinner. She lives in a different country, and we don't get to spend enough time together. It would be lovely to have her over.

Ribbed Aran Hat

Yarn: King Cole Fashion Aran Combo
Composition: 30% wool, 70% acrylic
Colour: 2343 Hint of Berries
Pattern: Ribbed Aran Hat
Size: Child
Needles: 5mm
Amount used: 50g
Started: 1st June 2019
Finished: 2nd June 2019

Cast on 68sts. Join. Work 40 rounds of 2x2 rib.

Decrease for crown.
1. (K2, p2tog) repeat to end.
2. (K2, p1) repeat to end.
3. (K2tog, p1) repeat to end.
4. (K1, p1)  repeat to end.
5. K1, (k2tog) repeat to last stitch, then k2tog the last first, and the first from the next round.
6. K to end
7. K2tog, repeat to last stitch, k1. (9sts)


Break yarn, leaving a tail and draw through the stitches. Weave in the ends.

June Goals

Goals:

1. #CakesForCops
2. decorate front vestibule
3. finish Stitch's sweater
4. cycle each day
5. launch knitted Christmas tree