Hard Week

This last week has been rather hard. The Beloved came home from work on Friday rather exhausted. He was sent to bed for a pre-dinner nap. But the map didn't sort him out, and neither did a night's sleep.

On Saturday evening we saw the out of hours GP, and the Beloved was whisked off to the Emergency Department.

He was diagnosed with cellulitis (and not cellulite as my Mam misheard). After four hours his respiration, pulse and temperature was down to normal levels. It was at this point he was told they'd be keeping him in for a few days.

In the summer, I often see 4am, but usually it's from weakening after a refreshing night of sleep. It was so strange experiencing it from the opposite direction.

I was so tired, yet very much awake, and had no idea how I would sleep. I decided to simply lie down in bed and listen to an audiobook. Although I can't actually remember my head touching my pillow.

The next few days were spent either walking the dog, at work, or in hospital. At each visit I saw significant improvements, and he was discharged on Wednesday.

It was glorious on Thursday morning to hear the sounds of him breathing. It's a fantastic, comforting noise.

I had not realised how tiring all of this would be on me. Thursday and Friday were spent doing the bare minimum, and I'm still tired (as is the patient), but it's going.

Today will involve brownies, laundry and tidying the sitting room.

A Morning To Myself

I have a full program of events for this morning. It started with getting dressed - a very good way to start a morning, and making the bed. Next I started drying the laundry from last night, and I've set aside 3/4 of my rainbow of fabrics for the Sugaridoo Quilt-a-long. They are nicely damp, and I shall iron them dry after walking the dog.

My plan is make dinner (pasta pollo al spinache) before I go to work at lunch time and there's a need for a clean cooker too. 

Six Things To Do Before Bed

Whilst pootling about on Pinterest I cam across a link to "Six Things To Do Before Bed". I was annoyed by all the advertising, but thought the six things were rather useful. In my annoyance, I don't think to save it. 

I've remembered to put on a load of washing, wash the dishes, wiped down the counters, and deal with the post. My bed was already made. And, I've no idea what the last thing thing was. ... Oh! Clean an area of the house. I remembered them all.

Making my bed is part of my morning routine, so it doesn't really belong in the list. I'm going to leave off 'clean an area of the house' until March, just to ease myself into this. Work lunches and clothes sound like more fundemental things to get right.

1. wash clothes 

2. wash dishes

3. wipe down kitchen counters

4. deal with post

5. check on lunches for work

6. check bag and lay out clothes for tomorrow

The Knights of The Talking Hat

I love this image of  Sirs Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. At it's most basic, it's a photograph of two great friends, but it's two great friends who are portraying tragedy and comedy. It's a cracker of an image, the emotions show, the age and wrinkles, the friendship, but also the way in which they wear their age so lightly. They are little boys having fun.

Whilst thinking about this image my brain took me to a bench in a city park. and these two guys came and sat with me. I wondered if I might be able to turn it into a writing exercise, trying to get down a good description of a conversation with small0ish number of words. This is how The Sirs of the Talking Hat started.

Stormy Seas, but Happy Dog

The weather was beautiful for travelling home yesterday. Today, it's a bit of a mare! Although the sea looked absolutely stunning. We took a walk along Douglas Prom/beach after collecting Ava from the kennels. She loved being back with her pack, and wasn't at all phased by the size of the waves crashing down near the entrance to the Prom parking area. All she cared about was the smells, and being close to her humans.

We collected her from kennels, and she was delighted to see us. She just ran from one to another getting cuddles and expressing her happiness. The guy at the kennels was telling us how beautiful she is, and how well she had behaved. He's been walking her with a husky, and the two were an absolute dream, and never pulled. They enjoyed spending time together, and would sing from time to time. 

New Techniques

This morning, I was telling Margaret about my Sigma 10 challenge. My Sigma 10 list is:

10 hats 

9 audiobooks listened to 

8 short stories written 

7 new techniques 

6 patterns written 

5 quilts 

4 blanket 

3 cardigans/sweaters 

2 skirts made 

1 guest bedroom created

I have made 13 hats this month, and as of yesterday, I had learned how to do loom knitting. Whilst talking with Margaret I explained I pick up a hook, twist and hook and do stuff. There were a few stitches I could already do, but had no idea what they were called. Margaret helped me put names and stitches together, and she also taught me to work 'corner to corner'. 

That was an interesting one as I was trying, and trying, and thing were looking weird, then suddenly I said "I know how to do it!", ripped things out and executed the stitch perfectly. I don't know what I was doing wrong, nor what clicked, but I can do it now.

Chicken in Mustard and Vinegar

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1.5 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon bbq sauce

4 chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil (for frying)

Mix the vinegar, mustard, oil and bbq sauce in a wide bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Then let the chicken marinade for 4 hours plus. Turn the chicken pieces at least once.

Heat a large skillet, add the oil and cook the chicken breasts. Turn half way through. When the chicken breasts have cooked through add the marinade and cook for 4 minutes. 

Serve with roasted vegetables, or rice, or potatoes.

A Few Hundred Years Ago

This weekend Blackfriars, a restored 13th century Dominican priory, is home to a LARP Kit Fest. I'm not a fan of the latex weaponry, apart from a frying pan! But the handmade items from leather, wood, wool and paper are exquisite!

The highlight for me was the time spent with the Sealed Knot people. I was deeply entranced by their clothes. One guy took a lot of time to answer my questions and was very understanding that I wasn't interested in battle what so ever, but the history of everyday people, what they wore and how they lived was of far more interest. I enjoy historical costuming on YouTube, but this was so much better, being able to interact with people, and to touch and feel the clothing (with permission). One of my favourite items was a black cassock with red cloth buttons. It could be worn as a jacket, or a cape simply by unbuttoning and rebuttoning in a different way.

Just before we left Blackfriars, the Sealed Knot put on a display in the courtyard.  The officer explained who people were, their clothing, ranks etc. When the black powder man started preparing his musket, a couple of the guys cordoned off a section of the courtyard. This was the area they were going to be firing into. The sergeant stopped people from entering the firing zone, and was smiling at them. I barked out 'Sergeant, stop smiling at the civilians, and turn them back!'  He did this, much to my amusement. 

The sergeant came very close to where we were sitting/standing, at the edge of the exclusion zone, and gave us far more information than the officer was bellowing out. One little nugget is that when fired at night, a musket flash can extend to 5m! Another nugget is blacksmiths would sometimes fire a shot at a steel breastplate from 100m, and this would leave a dent in the armour. This was seen as a mark of quality and safety. However, at 50m, the musket shot would penetrate the steel and cause a huge deal of damage to the flesh and bone behind.

At one point I looked at the sergeant and remarked "Sergeant, you are smiling again." He grinned and said he liked us. We were interested in what was happening. I hadn't realised the armoured sergeant was the guy I'd been talking with about clothing etc. 

The Blackfriars Priory is also very interesting. It is a place I will need to visit in a subsequent visit to Gloucester.

February Hatathon

A standard hatathon is completed by finishing 26 hats in one month. This year, I'm going crazy, and I'm attempting a double hatathon. That's right, I'm planning to finish 52 hats this month.

Goodbye EU

It is with great sadness I type, "Goodbye EU". The huge amount of good the UK has gained from membership of the EU has been stripped away by a tiny number of self serving individuals who have dragged many older English people with them. This is a huge, huge mistake, and it was created by lie after lie, after lie. The departure helps only the very wealthy, and robs the average person of so very much.

Leaving the EU has created a raft of problems that will need to be resolved. Not least amongst these are the ways the Irish and Scots have been treated. But this is nothing new. It's just the latest round of dictatorial behavior from Westminster, and England.

Enough! This is making me morose and grumpy. That's no way to start a beautiful holiday Saturday. A bit later, we are off to a LARP fayre! There will also be some time in Cheltenham too. These should be good.

Wild Rice and Halloumi Salad

When we stop at motorway service stations, we try to stop at one with a Marks and Spencer Food. I can always find something to eat in their offerings. Their Salmon and Potato Salad is a particular favourite. Yesterday, we sort of missed our mark and ended up at a service station with a Waitrose instead.

It took quite a bit of hunting, but I settled on a little salad of Wild Rice and Halloumi. "It will do, I suppose." were the thoughts going through my mind. Then, "Oh blast, I didn't pick up a fork!", but when I started eating all those thoughts disappeared. It was rather delicious and I want to try making my own version of the dish. 

The ingredients listed are: white rice, wild rice, onion, halloumi cheese (milk) (7%), chickpeas, orange juice, spinach, jumbo raisins, lemon juice, rapeseed oil, red chard, coriander, dill, parsley, sugar, salt, black pepper, cumin seeds, cornflour, cumin, turmeric, garlic purée, coriander powder, sunflower oil, cayenne pepper, and allspice.

In addition, I bought sour cream and chive Popchips. It was like eating thick Pringles. How I have missed Pringles!

Welcome to Gloucester

We have arrived! It is so good to be on holiday, a time to see family, and stop working. This Christmas we didn't get much of a break, but now we have 10 whole days before it's time for work again.

The travel felt easy this time. Sailing is so much simpler with a cabin. It's just a little bit more expensive than the lounge, but we all find having space means we are much more rested by the time we reach England. 

The last few times we have visited Gloucester we have spent quite a bit of time travelling to visitor attractions etc. This time around, we have plans to visit Margaret in Wales, and Cheltenham, and very few other things are planned.

We are after a gentle holiday.

Brutti ma Buoni

Ingerdienti

300g di zucchero

300g di mandorle tritate(non troppo grosse)

3 albumi d'uovo

Sbatterelo zucchero con gli albumi in un contenitore a bagnomaria fino a quando diventa un coposto bianco latte (lustrente).

Togliere dal bagnomaria e aggiungete le mandorle alla "crema".

Mettete l'impasto in frigorifero per 15 min.

Sistemare l'impasto sulla placa del forno a cucchiaini non occore che siano tutti uguali. Infornate per 15 minuti a 160°

Conservare in un contenitore sigillato.

Questa dose e per 60 biscottini.

Woolly Chewy

How best to keep warm on a cold winter's night? Snuggle up beside Chewbacca!

A good few years ago, I made a Cookie Monster hot water bottle cover for Stitch. It has served her well. Unforunately, her partner, Lilo has taken a liking for it, and regularly smuggles (or is that snuggles?) it.

The time has come for Lilo to have his own snuggly hot water bottle cover, and that's why I've just started knitting Chewbacca.

Shut Up and Write!

The blurb is "We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at 11 on Saturday mornings. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done."

The first meeting was on the 18th of January, and the second was the 25th. It's great meeting with others who write/writers, and taking the time to be creative. It's so much easier to do it this way than to carve out time whilst I'm at home.

As the 25th of January is Santes Dwynwen's Day, I decided to write a story around the bare bones of Dwynwen and Maelon as described below.

The history behind Dwynwen’s story is that she was the prettiest daughter of the Welsh king Brychan Brycheiniog, but she fell in love with a man named Maelon Dafodrill. Unfortunately, her father had already arranged for Dwynwen to marry someone else.

Dwynwen was extremely distraught and she prayed to God to ask for help in forgetting Maelon. That night an angel visited her whilst she slept and gave her a potion. This potion erased her memory of her feelings for Maelon and turned him into a block of ice.

But God provided Dwynwen with three wishes – her first wish was Maelon should be thawed, her second wish was that God would meet the hopes and dreams of true lovers and thirdly that she would never marry. As all of her wishes were fulfilled, she gave her thanks by devoting herself to God’s service for the rest of her life.


There were no problems picturing Dwynwen, Maelon and Brychan. They each popped fully formed into my mind. My problems came when I tried to describe Dwyn and Mae's first meeting, and how they fell in love. Everything I tried seemed to reek of Disney.

I'm currently trying to think of as many clichés of love, just so I can avoid them!

Lemon Soap

When my daughter was visiting at Christmas, she raved about the soaps I have made for her. She has problems with eczema, and the soap do not exacerbate the situation, but helps. As we are going to visit soon, I decided to make some more.

One of the requests was to keep it simple. In a previous batch, I had great fun creating a rainbow of clear soap, set in white fluffy clouds. It looked great when it was first made, but the colours leached out into the white fluff, and it became somewhat muddy and less appealing. 

This time, I decided to make a clear lemon bar. A tad too much yellow colourant was added, but I thought I could get around this by making a white opaque layer on top. Then I thought, "Oooh, how about adding the white before the yellow has completely set?"  Great idea, but I was impatient, and poured the white whilst the yellow was too warm. The result has been a very gentle mottled lemon appearance rather than rivers of clear yellow and opaque white. Ah well. It looks nice. It isn't going to discolour, and it smells great.

Good Intentions

It had been my intention to blog every day, and make it an interesting read. It seemed appropriate to restart thing habit on the 1st of January. And, well, as the saying I've never heard before goes, "Good intentions are not enough. They've never put an onion in the soup yet."

My soup is distinctly lacking in onions! and it definitely needs them.

I liked the idea of restarting on the first day of a new year, the first day of a new decade, but I was busy. Then I was busy again, and again. Next came some illness, followed by busyness. 

Earlier today I was thinking about writing a heap of blog posts and backdating them. But how about I don't? This blog is primarily been written for my benefit. What benefit would I achieve through back filling posts. Nope. Today is a new day, and today get's a new blog post!

Endless To Do Lists

What's with all of the 'To Do' lists? I want to get back into regular blogging, but my brain is still a bit foggy due to recent illness. The 'To Do' lists give me a chance to keep track of what I need to do, and have done, as well as helping be back into blog-life. Actual content will return soon.

But first, a few To Do/Ta Das.

To Do
lay out clothes for Wednesday
Italian class
Quilting
wash and dry a load of laundry
declutter, clean and tidy metal utensils drawer

A New Day, A New Week

To Do
mend Ava's harness
This task proved a little tricky as I managed to leave it at work!

Ta Da!
mend Christine's wrist warmers
prepare for Italian class
prepare for Quilting Guild
lay out clothes for Tuesday

Today's Ta Da!

We have loved having the huge star light in the window, and weren't ready for it to be put away with the rest of the Christmas things. Instead, we have hung it in a corner of the sitting room. It's light continues to bring us joy.

To Do
(everything done!)

Ta Da
wash dishes
tidy kitchen
wash and dry a load of laundry
wash and dry a second load of laundry
put away Christmas decorations
tidy my corner of the sitting room
finish hat
lay out clothes for tomorrow