I like meat, when I was a vegetarian for three years I really missed beef stews and steak and kidney pies. So, understanding the problems of raising animals (and eggs) intensively I try whenever possible to have gently raised meat on my plate.

These lambs (there are two residing in my freezer this is just one) have been raised as gently as is possible. They are a Southdown, Texel cross, Southdowns have the flavour but are a small sheep, carcass weight 12-18kg where as Texels are much bigger I think their carcass weight can go up to 30 kg, generally I think they are slaughtered at about 23 kg. They also both have wonderful conformation, if you notice there is not much fat on these lambs. Both my lambs came in at 18.5 kg.

They have been born and raised on a small holding in sunny and rather wet Warwickshire, with plenty of space per lamb to eat as much of the lovely lush grass as they want. And they have travelled less than three miles to slaughter. I may have forgotten to mention they taste absolutely wonderful, like lamb used to taste when I was a small child, they are incomparable to what one buys from the local supermarket these days. (however much you pay)

And I was given more apples yesterday.

I’m starting to realise something very important, I think I may have a touch of type A personality. I never thought this possible, I certainly don’t have it with my housekeeping skills, my family can testify to this. My parenting skills are firm but fair, the boys know where the line is, but I also have conversations about ‘anything’ with them and in that regard I have hippy tendencies. Mostly I live and let live and have a “Manyana” attitude to important household tasks such as ironing, window cleaning and other essentials that I simply do not find that important.

So having type A within me has come as a little bit of a shock. (although there was a slight indication of this when as a mature student I was invariably top of the class, but I just put that down to my being a genius, not the hours and hours of study that I was putting into it!)

Note, the nearly finished hot water bottle cover. Another hour and it would be done. All sewn up and ready to cozy up to tonight. Its not ‘right’, it does need to be looser to get that really cuddly factor that I so want.

So, son no.2 ‘was’ right, when he poked fun yesterday. He has the mathematical ability to be a brilliant knitter, he obviously has the eye, he can choose colours that compliment very nicely when choosing clothes, and he ‘always’ (out of the three men in my life, the other two don’t even notice!) tells me that I look nice when dressed up to go out for an evening. Unfortunately he shows no interest in the area of wanting to learn and has hands the size of dustbin lids. Maybe one day, I haven’t lost hope yet.

I started as I thought I would the hot water bottle cover late last night, far to late to want to swatch and I really thought it would not be necessary, after all its only a hot water bottle cover. My gauge always seems to be roughly about right, what harm can it do on a small project.

And when son no.2 came home for lunch and literally laughed and poked fun at my far too small hot water bottle cover, I became quite panicky and upset as up to that point I had rather enjoyed the idea of my own hand knitted hot water bottle cover (with hot water bottle inside) keeping my poor little tootsies warm. It does look small doesn’t it.

One found under a bed hot water bottle later…

It fits, quite nicely, (although I may need to find a matching colour hot water bottle)

Phew!

Ooooh, as the last sock is continuing its journey on my needles, I can feel the excitement of finishing my Christmas knitting and the joy of being able to knit just for me. (Hubby has serious doubts that this will happen as he knows what I’m like and I’ve already mentioned that my Dad needs some wrist warmers. ) I should get back to the cardi that I started or the gorgeous tapestry scarf, but no I’m looking at hot water bottle covers, complicated (for me) sock patterns, scarf patterns, three or four other cardigans, a waistcoat, the list goes on.

I know I’m a gonna, because I’ve promised myself that I can start on the hot water bottle cover tonight, because I can save the sock for Tuesday night knitting.

There is no hope, Hold On to my Ankles, I’m Going In!

The excitement, the sleepless night, the getting up very early and the constructing of goodies from the crack of dawn.

Yesterday evening I received a phone call of our allotment Secretary, telling me that the plot would be mine all mine and he would like to meet me tomorrow to walk me through my plot. Oh how my tummy tensed, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.

I was already awake before son no.2’s alarm went off at 5.30 a.m. I ignored as best I could his clod hopping around the house, breathing a huge sigh of relief when he finally closed the front door as he went out to work, hoping for another hour or two of blissful sleep. I tossed and turned, turned and tossed until, I finally gave up and got up. I had nearly four hours to kill before my arranged meeting. What to do? (Ironing never comes into this equation, knitting yes, ironing no)

After a nice cup of tea and a long chat with hubby who is, I have to say, as excited as I am, my thoughts turned to other things.

We were out of bread, so that was my first call, I prepared a batch of dough and left it to rest. Then glanced around the kitchen. A couple of bananas were giving me the eye, well they would have been if they could actually see out of there very darkened skins. A quick flick through the pages of the net gave me a recipe for banana muffins.

Twenty minutes later they were in the oven, time ticks on but not nearly quick enough.

Scones, that’s what I thought, scones are good, if we are going to be working down the plot, scones would fill a hole in an empty tummy. So I put together a batch of cheesy scones, with lots of cheese in. That took another twenty minutes.. So I read, reading is good..

and after reading, attempted my first ever batch of Fougasse, they must have been alright, because when we came back from the plot, they had taken a severe bashing.

and when a loaf for tomorrows sandwiches came out of the oven, I left the house immediately because by then we were running a little late! Would we be in time to meet up with the Secretary?

We were, Just! Wouldn’t that have been awful to have missed him by minutes, just because I was I was so excited.

This is it.

Its wonderful isn’t it?

I can see that your not nodding.

Trust me, give me a year and I’ll make it into a wonderfully productive plot.

And just because… visitors on plot no.1

No, not even a little guess…

This…

Is the very last cast on for the rib, of the very last sock, of my Christmas knitting. (9 pairs!)

I have been a very naughty sock wool stash enhancer.

I’m blaming Ravelry. People talk about things, I listen, … and then look and then find a UK knitter who is Selling, (not swapping) a little of her Wollmeise stash.. And I know it was expensive and I know its all hyped up, but then If I can call every toy purveyor in the land for a Tracey Island for son no.1’s birthday, eventually finding the last but one Tracey Island for sale in the land at Hamleys. (It was in the days before the net, you used yellow pages and directory enquiries) then I can treat myself to a little something for me. All in agreement say Aye.

And yesterday I came across these at the show. The sweets are hubby’s he loves sugar mice.

Could life get any better? No, I don’t think so.

Wednesday evenings are stained glass evenings. We arrived a few minutes late, (it always seems to be a bit of a rush) which meant that we were on separate tables. Which actually was quite good, its hard to explain but when you have been married as long as we have (almost twenty years!) its quite nice to chat with other people. I had quite a giggle with the girl opposite me, we seem to be on the same wave length.

After I’d successfully managed to ruin two large pieces of glass for no. 12, so it was my third attempt!, it came good, its the one above 11 the flash takes the number out. Then I made a mess of the other large piece of glass that is not numbered, (I’ve only just noticed that I haven’t numbered it) next to 8 and 25. Just the tiny tip has not run true and I’m hoping, in a crossed fingers and toes kinda way that the leading will hide my mistake. No. 24 came good though… until I started to nibble the edges to make it *perfect* and then I lost a large tip of it! I’m starting to believe that anger and frustration is a good thing in cutting and breaking glass, because after that, I thought ‘trollocks’ and changed my technique into a much more aggressive stance and 24, 20 and 21 came out exactly as I planned. I was firm with the glass, I was going to Rule It, not the other way around… (yeah right)

Towards the end of the class our teacher came around to look at my work, and she likes it. We both raised our eyebrows and nodded simultaneously, although I’m not sure if we were both thinking the same thing!

Hubby on the other hand has started to lead his up. Looking good isn’t it?

Some have nearly finished there stained glass windows, me, I may need another term.

Today I was a very brave soldier and ventured forth on my own to the Hobbycrafts and Crafts for Christmas shows at the NEC. I wondered whether I would be okay on my own, but I became so engrossed about how women could spend so much money on card, glue and glitter that I was fine! Seriously though, if I was into that sort of craft, I can imagine how wonderful an arena this event would be. There were huge choices, most of which passed my brain and me by.

Just when I thought I would pass out from the heat and humidity, I came across Web of Wool which is always (to me anyways) a place of wondrous gorgeous wool. After having walked around for such a long time (five hours without a stop, I was becoming dehydrated!) seeing Anna’s cheery face was most welcome. I rummaged through her 6ply (dk) sock wool, finding treasures that I must have missed in her shop. Giddy at having found 6ply treats to be made into seriously keeping your feet warm for the plot I wandered homeward bound, although there may have been a little sideways maneuver towards the food hall to buy some treats for hubby.

I seem to have the baking bug. I have many cookbooks as you might imagine, as someone being interested in food and having a family to feed, most are flicked through a couple of times, a mental note of who does what best for reference, a few of the recipes are tried and then they are placed on the bookcase to be referred back to as and when. At the weekend I picked up this simple book, ‘Easy Baking by Linda Collister’ and I haven’t been able to put it back down. When its says Easy the recipes are very easy and most of the recipes have a lovely big photograph of the finished item which appeals to my inner child.

The day before yesterdays bread was taken from there and yesterday I made biscuits for the Girls at Knitting. These are Demerara Shortbread…

and these are Almond Biscotti. They seemed to like them.

And then late last night, I was thinking about bread, the boys had complained that even though I had made them lovely savoury rolls, which are nearly all gone, they have nothing to put there Nutella on. A memory surfaced about Seed Cake and the lovely smell of caraway seeds. When the boys were young and I was walking them past that sweetie shop twice a day, they needed a quick pit stop when they got home. I didn’t want to laden them down with too many fats and sugars but they still needed something more than an apple, I became obsessive about seed cake, baking it constantly for months on end. My favourite recipe at that time was Mary Fords Orange Seed Cake, I just loved the smell of the orange and caraways seeds mingling, it was truly a hypnotic experience. I eventually moved on to other recipes, but the smell of caraway seeds still haunts me in a rather beautiful way.

Then, the Poppy seed bread that looks so inviting in Linda Collisters Easy Baking book became intermingled with my memory of caraway seeds, along with the need for the boys to have a bread suitable for Nutella spreading and so this idea was born. Linda’s poppy seeds were swapped for caraway seeds (although only one and a half tablespoons, not the full forty grams, that would have overpowered things) , the rest of the recipe is the same.

It was raining yesterday, all day.

A perfect day for bread making. These are Cheddar and Spring Onion Baps.

And these are Garlic Knots.