Time out

It's 7 o'clock on Friday morning. Gary has gone to meet a friend for breakfast and the girls are sleeping - they each have their own rooms, but lately seem to be sleeping together in each other's beds :) And I am awake, cause once awake, I can't get back to sleep. So a coffee and a muffin later, I decided to update our blog with the week's happenings


Not that we have been too busy this week - it has been our week off in our 6-week cycle. It is always amazing how we can keep going and not recognize our need for a break until we actually have one! (Although, this time round, I did know it was time when I thought last Wednesday was Friday!)


The girls baked condensed milk biscuits - see recipe in recipe tab. They outdid themselves working out how to get the chocolate dough inside the vanilla dough :)

I outdid myself  knitting this week - those needles clacked overtime - most I've ever done :)

 (My mother's comment when she heard I was knitting was "You? Knitting?? Well, that's surprising!" - says it all, doesn't it?)

Alexandra completed her scarf and I completed Sarah's for her - she just did not take to knitting. Alexandra is asking for the next project.

I then knitted a pair of mittens for Alexandra. I only had very thin wool, so I used 3 strands of different colours and it really worked! I started a pair for Sarah, but she asked to rather have a beanie, so I knitted that for her instead - amazingly, that also worked out fine - and more importantly, fits! And I have yarn over to make her the mittens as well.

And I used circular needles for the first time to complete a cowl. Now, this was a bit of a challenge! My friend told me it is easy to knit with circular needles, but only told me after, that she has never actually knitted in a round!! The first few rows were a nightmare, trying to keep the yarn from twisting and trying to remember where I was in my knit/purl combination, working with 96 stitches (so it takes a while if you need to count your way through the stitches to see where you are!) and not being able to see the pattern till about row 4! But with help and encouragement from my friend Elsje and other friends on facebook - as well as an offer of a whiskey to help me get my head around it...mm, not sure how that would have helped :) - I did it!! Brownie points for me :) OK, so the cowl did not come out the way the pattern shows - not surprising, seeing as I used 8mm needles (all the shop had), instead of 10mm and chunky wool. It now fits twice around my neck instead of fitting snugly, but it works and I've worn it - so very chuffed. (But yes, will have to go back and do it "properly", the way the pattern intended it to be)

Maybe socks next?...

We also visited MShed - and amazing museum of Bristolian history. Lots to see and do, including finding where you live on a large aerial photo (on the floor)

Also, some grissly reads, like the cover of a book made out of tanned human skin. The victim was a criminal, executed for murder - his body was given to the doctor to use for research - the only legal way to obtain cadavers for study purposes in those days.

On Wednesday evening, we had a movie and popcorn evening -  watched 

Disney's "Tangled".

Managed to get some housework done - a bit of spring cleaning - although I think I prefer "autumn cleaning" - for one, it's cooler, and on cool, rainy autumn days, there's no temptation to go out somewhere :) 

We also had dentist appointments - never an exciting prospect. But apart from possible future orthodontics, both girls came away with a "no problems here" from the dentist, so they were relieved. Gary had a filling. Me? Well, somehow, I didn't have an appointment. Wonder how that happened?? I'm sure I made one....

Psalm 34:8

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.