Monday, 5 December 2011

10 things

  • The baby has some mittens to go with her kicking bag.  Full details on Ravelry.  I think this is a really lovely baby mitten pattern - very simple, and they end up a sweet tulip shape.
    • Mittens for Miss B
  • I took the children to Oxford Street on Saturday to do their Christmas shopping.  We were fast, we were focused, and we were home for lunch with our sanity intact and our list ticked.
  • Only two weeks until the end of term for C and O - thank goodness.  The autumn term always feels so long.
  • I am knitting myself another shawl.  It is from this pattern, and I am using a discontinued organic 100% wool yarn from Rowan, which is deliciously soft and sumptuous.  I am sad this is discontinued because otherwise it would have been my new favourite yarn.  Full details on Ravelry again.
    • Victoriana shawl in blue organic wool
  • A new discovery is New House Textiles - my favourite thing from a whole load of favourite things is this excellent biscuit tea-towel.
  • Now he is no longer spending every waking moment training for the Ironman, G is enjoying rediscovering old hobbies.  The snare drum is down from the loft, and he is tapping away on the practise pad too.  I find listening to him drumming remarkably soothing.  I think it's the repetition.
    • Livvy likes adjusting the snare
  • Off school for the public sector strikes last week, C spent the day making a sock monkey from a pair of O's old socks.  The monkey has been named Advent.
    • Advent, the sock monkey
  • I start to feel Christmassy once I have bought some Christmas tins of biscuits from M&S.  I prefer the tins to the biscuits inside; but other people in the house seem to like the biscuits more than the tins, so that's all right.
    • Christmas shortbread tinChristmas biscuit tin
  • I am reading Dombey and Son for the first time, and enjoying it very much.  I do like a bit of Dickens.  If I finish Dombey and Son before Christmas I shall re-read Dickens's Christmas stories, which is almost as Christmassy as an M&S biscuit tin.
  • The slow cooker continues to enhance our lives.  A game casserole, pimped with chorizo and sweet potatoes, is cooking at the moment.  It smells extraordinarily good.
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13 comments:

  1. Peeriemoot5 December 2011 at 11:25

    That shawl's going to be lovely :-). Wools I like always get discontinued - I'm still annoyed with Rowan about the discontinuation of Tapestry!

    I like the M&S tins too - so cheery!

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  2. dragonfly5 December 2011 at 13:28

    I've been eyeing up the blue tin too, purely for the tin!

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  3. Janine Ellis5 December 2011 at 18:44

    Need a trip to M&S I think!! And I love Advent! He's very cool!
    The color of that wool is lovely x So many great things in one post!

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  4. olympic fan5 December 2011 at 21:10

    Do you have a slow cooker recipe source to recommend? You have inspired me to get mine down from the top of the cupboards!

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  5. www.daisyley.co.uk6 December 2011 at 08:59

    Love the colour of the shawl, just gorgeous; V impressed with sock monkey called Advent; Am keen to finish book so I can start on Dickens - watched Christmas Carol at the weekend so feeling Christmassy too. Love your 10 things posts!

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  6. Wendy6 December 2011 at 09:36

    I like Advent - and I like that he was made by a 12 year old boy - and so cool that he didn't spend the day playing on a Nintendo or something similar- and it looks better than a lot of things in Etsy. :)

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  7. Julia6 December 2011 at 13:18

    Advent is very cool. And it's also fun that we have the same M&S cookie tins here! I haven't picked up one yet but the stag has called our names several times.

    Have you read Bleak House? I never thought I'd say this about Dickens, but it was such a page turner I stayed up two nights in a row to finish it.

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  8. driftwood6 December 2011 at 13:46

    the m&S tin that is a music box called my name to me a lot. I have resisted so far, but who knows.....

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  9. Anonymous6 December 2011 at 19:06

    I have the Swiss biscuit tin sitting opposite me as I type! Although I had to confess to enjoying the biscuits as much as the tin.

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  10. The Coffee Lady6 December 2011 at 20:42

    As a baby Littlest used to fall asleep to the sound of drumming in the next door neighbour's teenager's bedroom. She found it relaxing, too.

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  11. Tessa8 December 2011 at 15:52

    Thank you for the link to New House Textiles - the biscuit tea towel and the custard cream bag have both just been added to my Christmas list!

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  12. Fenwitters9 December 2011 at 20:55

    Is Dombey free from the comedic moments? I do like Dickens, but I totally disagree with Inanucci in his beeb promo that he was funny. I skip over the "amusing" sections and whip ahead to the tragedy and love.

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  13. Jo9 December 2011 at 21:42

    Those baby mittens are a gorgeous addition to the baby bag. What a lovely gift they will make.
    Jo :)

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