Snow, snow and more snow

Well we woke up to a beautiful white crisp snow covering this morning and I have to say it was gorgeous and felt very much like Christmas (although it very rarely snows at Christmas here).

But then reality sets in and we still all have to trek off to work.....or at least attempt to. I decided that I would work from home as I had no appointments, but that plan was soon scuppered. On Monday we moved into a new office and I now desk share with a colleague, which meant I had to swap laptops so that we have compatible IT. It soon came apparent this morning that my new (older) laptop couldn't connect to the network at work from home.....grrrrr.

So I rushed to get the kiddywinks up and ready to drop off at my very kind friend's house, who takes them to school. In the meantime, DH had set off to work, knowing now that I am going into the office. Within 10 mins, he had rang to say it was treacherous and gridlocked. The kiddywinks and I are up ready in our walking boots/wellies and it was only 7am!

I decided to email my boss to request to take the day as annual leave (which was later agreed via a conversation....no snow where he is, or at work....typical). My DH had travelled a mile down the road and decided the remaining 7 or so miles was too stressful as it took 1 hour to travel that 1 mile. I began to walk the kids to school (after checking that it was open) it was a good job we did walk, this was the traffic jam on the main road on my way home approx. 9.20am.

So DH and I both had annual leave today, I hope the weather is better tomorrow!!!

Knit and Natter was also cancelled, hopefully I can get there tomorrow...weather permitting.

Biccies and Boogaloo

I had a dose of the dreaded lurgy this week so couldn't attend Knit & Natter, which I really missed.

But before I got the dreaded lurgy DS2 and I had a practice run at making some Christmas Biccies. (I am also getting into taking photo's at every opportunity for my blog!) This is My DS2, he lurves cooking!

The recipe was from BBC Good Food Christmas Mag and turned out well enough. Maybe we need a bit more practice so that they are perfect......I mean who would complain at that!

But what I haven't mastered yet is taking any photo's of completed recipe's, we eat them too quick!

On the knitting front, I am really pleased with my latest finished object. I have called it Boogaloo Booga Bag. I think I am going to add it to my Christmas Present knitting, although I would really like to keep it, this means it is obviously (hopefully) going to be a nice gift.

It is a couple of milestones for me, in knitting. It is my first felt project and secondly I really love it (did I say that already?) You can check it out on my Ravelry page, or here is a sneaky flick just for you!

But then there is always an opposite, you know Heaven and Hell, Ying and Yang, Knitting Success and Knitting Failure....I am never going to attempt Branching Out again (it is the pattern of the devil).

Frustrations...

I was beginning to feel really confident about my knitting, until this evening!

Last night I bought some new yarn at "Knit & Natter". Just one ball to add to my Christmas Knits. I had the Branching Out pattern set in my sights as it states that this is an easy lace pattern to begin with!

So tonight I confidently cast on my 25 stitches, I got to row 5 of the pattern and had to frog because I only had 30 stitches and by this point I needed to have 31. You really need to know a this point that when I frog I have to go the whole hog and rip it back to the beginning.

So I cast on again and this time got to row 7 and had to frog because I had 1 stitch extra this time. AAAAGHHHH it is so frustrating.

I wonder if it is just that tonight I am not up for knitting and maybe should cast on again tomorrow night.

Another frustration is, you guessed it, John Sergeant! Should he be leaving Strictly Come Dancing without being voted out? NO !

I admit in someway the Great British public are perverse by voting for him each week, but you have to support the underdog. But what today's debacle has shown is how pathetic & hypocritical the behaviour of the judging panel has been, along with some of the professional dancers and how John (yes I feel that I should be on first name terms with him) has risen above all of the panels sometimes offensive comments and remained a gentleman throughout!

John Sergeant ..... We salute you!

Germs....still!

My household is still a poorly one!

DS1 still has his cough, DS2 now has a temperature and a sniffle and DH had a visit to the Doc's and he has an inflammed vein!!!


I can't believe it, you know what they say, it never rains it pours.


So I thought enough! We need a good dose of vitamins and home cooked food. I really enjoy cooking and sometimes wish I had more time to do more. I had visited ALDI this weekend, the first time in a long time, I did go for something specific but came out with a couple of 69p Butternut Squash amongst other things that are not on the 5 a day list!.
I thought I would make a lovely soup, quite similar to the pumpkin one I made whilst on holiday in Ireland at the end of October (which reminds me, I need to retrospective blog about that!!!). So 2 butternut squash, one onion, a handful of carrots and voila!








Don't you think the colour is fabulous? It reminds me of a beautiful autumn day!







Here it is simmering away....




And no photo's of the final offering because it didn't last that long, it was so scrummy.

Blogging didn't last too long

Ok, so I haven't blogged since last week, not sure if I am going to be any good at it! In fact the only reason I have blogged now is that somebody has actually read my blog!



Well, this week I have been In a heap of......

1. Bulbs - After watching Gardeners World a couple of months ago I sent my DH out to get some spring bulbs as I thought our garden could do with a bit of spring cheer. So they sat under our patio table looking at me longingly everytime I went to the back door, desperately wanting me to put them into a nice little hole in the ground......I just ignored them for weeks and weeks. That was until my DH reminded me that there was a credit crunch and that £10 we had spent on bulbs was wasted. "Oh No It Isn't" I said (a little too early for pantomime season I admit!), so off I went on Sunday planting approx 120 bulbs, both dafs and crocus. That was all fine and dandy but that left me in a heap of......



2. Pain - oh did my left buttock ache the next day. I am sure therefore it must have been good for me, you know no pain no gain, but I have to admit on Monday it didn't feel like it was good for me. Watch this space for piccies of my bulbs as they prosper (fingers crossed) in my garden.



3. Application forms - I have been so busy this last couple of weeks at work, which has included application forms for a vacancy that I have on my team. We had an overwhelming response, which is a sad sign of the times, especially when there is only 1 vacancy.



4. Germs - one of my darling kiddywinks has had a virus, which thank goodness seems to be clearing up. Although he has been left with a terrible cough. Luckily both DH & I have understanding employers who at short notice accept that we need to take leave with kiddies being ill etc.. so DH has looked after him one day, my parents another day and then I worked at home the last day. I am not sure if this a result of my parenting, but he wanted to go to school each day and not stay at home. He says it is because he wanted to play football.....I am not sure!


5. Knitting - I have decided at this late stage I am going to try to knit a gift for as many people as possible. Now that is a challenge as I am quite slow and I still consider myself a novice. I have been knitting for about 10 months now and had some success, but to go along with that a lost of failure. I have started my first Christmas Project, which is a scarf, it's going ok. Other friends and family may receive a washcloths/dishcloths as these are much quicker to knit. (My first blog picture post, lets see how it goes.)

This is a washcloth that I made for my toddler cousin, quick, easy and effective, I think anyway.

bloggers!

Ok, so everybody else in the world blogs except me, so I thought, well, give it a go.

I have titled my blog In a heap of..... because I am always in the middle of something or another and today it is bloggers!

So who am I and what do I like to do?

I am a wife, a mother and I work full time. I sometimes think that is all I do, well how do you fit anything else in? But I do...
I have done lots of volunteering for school, you know like the PTA and I was part of a group who established a Youth Group, my DH is coach for one of my kiddywinks football team, so somehow I ended up in a heap of volunteering there too!

I also started to knit this year, so I am often in a heap of stitches, knitted, purled or even dropped. I love it and am addicted and think I am getting better at it.

Oh yes and I also have embarked on an MA this year so I should be in a heap of books, but that is at the back of mind at the moment, which often leave me in a heap of guilt!

Well, i think that will do today!

My first blog done!