11/11 Lest we forget

                                                                                                                                  

                                  They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
                          Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
                          At the going down of the sun and in the morning
                          We will remember them.

                           Laurence Binyan, For the Fallen                                                                                                        

 Sergeant Thomas William Saunders 1895 - 1917

My Great Uncle

finished baby gift

I have been knitting this blanket for what seems like forever, and even put it aside for a while, but when I got the news that my friend's granddaughter had been born I had to get it finished pronto. It is a very simple pattern, just garter stitch, and then the slightly fancy looking but very easy border is knitted separately and stitched on.  I am really, really pleased with the finished article. I decided to make a little cardigan with the leftover wool, and I think it makes quite a nice matching set. It has all been parcelled up this evening ready to post it off to little Libby Rose tomorrow. 

I discovered a new magazine this week, Homemaker. This is the first issue and I am loving it! It is a  lovely mixture of knitting, craft, interior design, cooking, and all sorts of other bits and pieces. I might even have to subscribe, I will see how the next couple of issues go first. A friend recommended Stephen King's On Writing to me today. I've had it on the shelf for a year or two and have only browsed through it,  so I decided to give it a go. I also have a book here to read for my book group, but as I have until 28th November and I don't really fancy it, I am putting that off. 


Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along

and just like that, it was Autumn

So here we are, Autumn already. I have been missing from my little online space for too long, and I have really missed it.

We had a few days away in Lincolnshire in September which was lovely and so relaxing. The main reason behind our trip was the Prof's Christmas present from last year - I had to book a whole year in advance as it is so popular. His present from me was a VIP day at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, which is an old wartime airfield, now the largest Bomber Command Museum in the UK. The main part of the VIP day is experiencing a tail down taxy ride in a real Lancaster Bomber, of which there are only three in the world which can still move under their own power. The Prof's Dad was a flight engineer in Bomber Command in the second World War, so it was a really interesting and special experience for him. A long time to wait for his Christmas present, but I think he would say it was worth the wait. 

We chose to stay in a cottage this time rather than a bed and breakfast as we sometimes do, and we much preferred it. We got up in our own time each morning and ate breakfast outside, looking out over the fields and watching the red admiral butterflies on the buddleia. A couple of times we even saw a stoat, which was a first for me. We went out each day to visit various places, and then returned to the cottage in the evenings to prepare and eat a simple meal. We spent the evenings relaxing. I would read or knit and the Prof worked on his dissertation. The cottage was just lovely, we could quite happily have moved in.

This shrub in the garden had the most beautiful bright red berries. We asked the owner and he said it is a 'Gerda Rose' (I am not sure about the spelling) and native to Lincolnshire. Despite much googling, I can't find any reference to it anywhere, which is disappointing as we would like one for our little garden. 

My kind of breakfast: in the morning sunshine with tea, buttered crumpets and the Telegraph crossword. 
 
It was my first visit to Lincolnshire and I think we will definitely be returning in the future. A large part of the reason for that would be the cottage, I think I would happily stay there for a few days and not even go out! It was so nice, and in such lovely surroundings. I would so love to live somewhere like that, wouldn't it be wonderful? 

I've been...

..spending happy weekend hours outside with good friends

..grateful for my lovely Dad, who said we could have their Dyson after ours died last week

..discovering I have moths in my wardrobe and throwing several items of holey clothes away

..doing lots of laundry, mine to get rid of the moths, my Mum's as her washing machine
has broken

..enjoying home-grown apples from our friends' tree

..reading. 47 books so far this year.

..thankful for the blue skies and sunshine, and trying not to complain about the heat

..revisiting an old favourite from the 90s

..(still) knitting a baby blanket for a little girl due in October

..looking forward to a few days away soon with the Prof in a cottage in the countryside

..feeling better and having more energy than I have done for years

sticker shock

Today we bought what I thought of as a few bits and pieces, and I was shocked when the bill came to £26.68. Two days ago we spent fifty-odd pounds, and we haven't bought any meat this week yet. Every week, our grocery shopping seems to cost more than the week before. Thankfully, we can manage the rising prices, but I feel so sorry for those who can't - apparently the number of food banks in the UK has doubled in the last year, and I am not at all surprised. I don't know how I would manage if I was still a single parent, or if the Prof was still out of work. 

Three or four years ago, I could do a week's shopping for three adults and the dog for forty or fifty pounds. These days it costs more like £100. A large part of the increase is due to the price rises, but I also think that I am probably not shopping as carefully as I did in the past, when it was second nature to me to be frugal as our income was so low I had no choice. 

This month, when the Prof gets paid, I am going to try the envelope system for some of our day to day expenses such as groceries. I am curious to see exactly how much we do spend, and if we can stick within the budget amounts I will be setting. It should be an interesting exercise! 







Joining the August Break

coming home

Joining the August Break

Yarn Along

I have read such a lot of books this year I can hardly keep up with myself. I am keeping a record and I think this book, You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik, is about the 44th I have read this year - not including the several books I have got partway through and given up on. I started it in bed last night, and am really enjoying it. 


I am still working on the baby blanket for a friend's granddaughter, due to be born in October. I should have finished it by then, it's the sewing up that will be my challenge. I have a bag full of finished projects that I need to sew together. I need to find someone who doesn't like knitting but likes making things up and we could have a collaborative joint effort to make things! I finished the main white part of the blanket, this is the pink edging. I am pleased with how it is looking, rather pretty I think. 






Joining Yarn Along and August Break