Froglet

I don't think I've ever been good in the heat!! I was at Sudbury Hall today - they have an exhibition of the costumes used in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice which were beautiful. Came home to a new book (The Story Collector by Evie Woods) and a slice of the blackcurrant cheesecake I made yesterday (delicious!) Quiet weekend here too.

Only incidentally - I like it but rarely sit down to watch on purpose. And… How we’re they? I’m having homemade cream tea!

Hope the granddog was ok Sunnyday. How lovely to hear those stories of meeting former pupils all grown up! I was out for dinner with friends last night which was lovely and had a friend round to my place for a meal and catch up the other day. The garden is going well - I've picked my first strawberry and a couple of handfuls of sweetpeas and my 'herb garden' shelf is settling in nicely. Right now my garden is at its hottest so I've retreated inside to the cool for a little sock knitting! Have a lovely weekend all.

Oh Louby colds are miserable at the best of times but especially in this kind of weather - I hope it clears up soon. I have had a gentle week. Some reading and sock knitting (I won't wear them for a bit but they are good small projects for hot weather). I made a rhubarb and custard cake, got my hair cut and spent the first part of the day reading in the garden whilst it was still cool out there.

Everything is crossed for you Sunnyday! I remember the last time! It's very sunny but also very blustery up here - I wonder if the storms are heading north.

Happy Friday! I've had a busy week with a couple of days away exploring Norwich and Norfolk. I spent a lot of time going round various lovely gardens and came back inspired to do more with mine. So, this morning I have cleared and cleaned the shelf opposite my back door and then went plant shopping. It's going to be a shelf for herbs mainly with just a couple of flowering pots. It's one of the few parts of my garden I can see straight out of the back door/kitchen so really want to keep it looking nice. I've been working on the mandala kit that I bought at the yarn show last week. It's not hard but you need to count and I've undone it several times! I have a friend coming for tea/coffee tomorrow morning although with the beautiful weather and an excess of lemons in my fruit bowl I'm contemplating making a bottle of lemonade to offer her something chilled too. I also have a load of rhubarb from my last veg box which I need to use up. Does anyone have any favourite rhubarb recipes? I've been googling and found a rhubarb and custard cake which looks interesting. I'm also thinking about just cooking a few sticks to have with yogurt with my breakfast. Right now though am inside hiding from the hottest part of the day before going out to my garden again.

Did you ever read any of Alison Uttley's other books? A Country Child, A Traveller in Time or her fairy stories? I loved all of them! I did like Beatrix Potter - as much for the illustration as anything and then when I was older and discovered that her first name was the same as mine I was convinced that I could become a famous author too! There are lots of amazing books out there for children now but I loved the gentleness of those country tales and actually learned a lot about nature too.

I love the Friday chats although I don't always get my days right. I 'check' the forum a couple of times during the week but always make a point to look for the Friday chat. Well now 'tis Saturday - I'm not honestly sure what happened yesterday. I felt fairly wiped out and spent most of the day curled up on the sofa not doing much. Today, however, I have been to visit my first ever yarn show which was lovely - I treated myself to a beautiful hand dyed skein of yarn and a kit to crochet a manda just because it was intriguing. After that I headed back towards home but stopped off at Hardwick Hall for a walk round the gardens which were lovely - lots and lots of herbs there which I'm fascinated by. I didn't go in the hall today. Now I'm back home, admiring my yarn and indulging in a spot of childhood nostalgia as I'm reading Little Grey Rabbit - did anyone else read those stories?

So sorry to hear about your granddog Sunnyday. Enjoy your upcoming babysitting. I took mum out for afternoon tea yesterday which was lovely but so filling! Today has been very lazy - a little crochet and much pootling. I must get my act together tomorrow! There are some arts events over the bank holiday which I'm hoping to get to. Other than that - have a lovely weekend everyone.

It was just dates and some candied peel instead of the usual raisins. I threw in some chopped walnuts too (can you tell I'm clearing out the baking cupboard?!). It's fine although it feels less fruity as the dates have kind of blended into the cake. It's very moist though. I'm having no problem eating it! 😉

A little belated! Hope you had a lovely day Cait!

I am eagerly awaiting my sweet peas and strawberries to see if anything actually grows - that will be a huge achievement I went to see War Horse at the theatre yesterday - was awesome, I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone! Today has been a day of gentle errands, picking up some new walking shoes, baking a loaf of bread and a tealoaf which is in the oven at the moment although I didn’t use my usual dried fruit so I’m interested to see how it turns out. I’ve finished crocheting a blanket and am half way through knitting a pair of socks. I will hopefully get to see my brother tomorrow as he’s heading down south for a canoe tournament and next week I’m hoping to go to a quilt show.

I have had a lovely week with lots of reading and crochet. Visited a local nursery and bought some sweet peas and strawberries to plant at home - I've always wanted to grow sweet peas. Am gradually getting the downstairs of my house sorted out and have bought some theatre tickets for the future. The sunshine has been beautiful - lots of meals outside although my garden is such a suntrap that I can only do about 15 minutes in the afternoon when the sun is full on it!

Congratulations Mousey - lovely news, can’t wait to see what you make!

Hello all, Well, to get myself over the hurdle of not going back to school when everyone else I knew was I went to York for a couple of days. Gentle pootling round the Minster and other sites and sitting eating icecream (it was a beautiful day) in a park. Since coming back I'm gradually building a new way to do things for me involving lots of rest, reading and crafting (I have a pair of socks and a blanket as my main projects at the moment although there are SO many unfinished projects in my house). I'm also steadily sorting out my house and tidying/cleaning so it starts to feel loved again. I'm enjoying a daily walk and starting to realise that it's not necessary to try to do multiple things at the same time!