Friday 10 July 2020

Friday Chat Day

Hello friends

Firstly, wow what a speedy sellout for this month's charity kit.
I increased the number of kits this month too.
I know a couple of you missed it so I will increase the amount again 
for the August kit, hopefully everyone can grab one.
It is always on the first Sunday of the month, the blog post
is published at 6.30am (automatically, I've not quite managed to be awake then)
and I follow it up with notifications by email and on social media.

Crochet:

I seem to be trying to break a record for how many WIPs I have.
I'm slowly joining together the squares for my Harmony Blanket and
then I started this project, a blanket following the 
Attic 24 Hydrangea pattern using Deramores Studio DK.
This is an order so I felt entitled to start it and let other
projects fall by the wayside.


But...in between I thought I would make a start on the squares for an
Attic 24 Summer Harmony Blanket, a brighter design than the original.
This is me organising the squares for round 3 
with very little help from Bella!


The crochet has taken over the lounge, dining table and bedroom.
The boys comment - often!

Recipe:

I've failed on the cooking front this week but I do have a little excuse.
We had an issue in the Emberson household  - no hot water.  
We thought the heating programmer had died but it turns out it
was a fuse in the boiler isolation switch.
It took Mitchell and I three days to work that out.
For those days we boiled kettles, washed hair over the sink,
it wasn't so bad but they balked when I suggested getting a tin bath! 


So with no recipe this week let me proffer up something else - 
a little cooking appliance/kitchen gadget that I purchased and we love.
It's a Tower Mini Panini Press Grill.

  

We've had it for approx 3 months now and it gets used every day.
So far we've used it to cook bacon, burgers, pork loin, 
courgettes, green beans, mushrooms, filled wraps, re-heat pizza slices, 
toasted sandwiches and for what it is actually designed for...
a panini, but that was just the once! 
It is worth stressing it is diddy, but that hasn't really hindered us.
The plates are not removable but it wipes clean very easily with 
just a cloth and warm water. 
Available on Amazon here - price at the moment is £23.00,
when we purchased it was £18.95 - cheeky! 
I'm not affiliated with Amazon, sharing as it is fabulous little item. 

Garden:

Someone please keep me away from the Thompson and Morgan website!
It is safe to say I've got the gardening bug.
These are little Phlox plant plugs that arrived this week.
They do ingenious packaging.


And here's two of my plants from Freecycle.
No idea what they are, hoping the larger shrub survives,
builders had ripped it out of the soil to create a driveway
so it had suffered a little.


And trying my hand at some Passion Flower cuttings.
Chimney pot was also a freebie on Freecyle.


And all our herb seeds have now sprouted.


My garden bin has arrived from our local council,
I’m excited about it – that’s a tad worrying!  
I’ve subscribed to a ‘mini garden bin’ as since I’ve been doing more gardening 
I cannot  dispose of garden waste in my general bin and
trying to get to the tip is like a military manoeuvre,
you have to book a slot online and 
fill out a 25 page form (slight exaggeration). 

Telly:

This week I've stuck with the BBC iPlayer.
Caught up with all episodes of Last Tango in Halifax.
Starring Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid, a couple who rekindle a passionate
relationship after 60 years apart. 
What starts out to be romantic and sweet soon develops to be complicated.
Faultless acting, charming with twists and turns,
British drama at its best.


Still with BBC iPlayer - Strike.
Based on the books by Robert Gailbraith (aka J K Rowling).
A retired soldier-turned-private detective solves difficult cases.


I have read all the books, often in that situation the books are better and
again that is the case.  You imagine the characters in your own mind and 
the casting of this didn't quite work for me but, still watchable and 
crochet-able to!

Bits and Bobs:


And talking of books, Carole Matthews' latest is now available.
Summer Days and Sea Breezes - I adore the cover.
I have every single one of Carole's books, they take up more than half
of my bookcase and look bright and wonderful.

On a ferry bound for the Isle of Wight, Jodie is looking for some peace and quiet on her brother Bill’s houseboat Sunny Days. But from the moment Jodie steps aboard it’s clear she’ll struggle to keep herself to herself. If it isn’t Marilyn, who is under strict instructions to look after Jodie, then it’s Ned, the noisy wood sculptor on the next-door boat. Bustled out of the boat by Marilyn and encouraged to explore with Ned, Jodie soon delights in her newfound freedom.  But out of mind isn’t out of sight, and when her old life comes knocking Jodie is forced to face reality. 
Will she answer the call or choose a life filled with Sunny Days & Sea Breezes?
Carole's books never fail to be uplifting and addictive,
I guarantee if you haven't read one yet go for it and you'll then be reading them all.
Take a look at her website here.

This weekend: some cooking, I'll definitely have a recipe next week.
Hoping the sun comes back out to do some more gardening and,
of course, plenty of crochet to be getting on with.

Take care friends, wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

8 comments:

CraftyCoffey said...

Great to hear all your news. I love the rescued chimney pot & plants. The crochet is looking great-why do our hobby’s tend to take over the house??!!
Hoping everyone is well?

Michele

kittyedavies47@gmail.com said...

Morning Christine,
Thank you a lovely chat again.
My charity kit arrived yesterday it is so pretty thank you.
I too like Carol's books, and Last Tango in Halifax.
I can remember the old tin bath it was every Sunday nit also the
dreaded nit comb, it was followed by doorsteps of toast cooked on the open fire, with real
Welsh butter.
Take care stay safe and have fun Kitty.


Anonymous said...

Hello Christine, well done to all for working out what was wrong with the water system. Whilst it's always great to be inspired by other people's recipes it's not mandatory, so don't beat yourself up. Love the Carole Matthews books and have read just about all of them. Wow, what a great chimney pot, your garden is going to look absolutely fabulous. WakeyL

Jackie Durrant said...

Hi Christine, well full marks for keeping Deramores in business!! You have some lovely colours. I don't know about the shrub from your picture but the blue flowers in front of it look like agapanthus. I'm amazed you managed to work out what was wrong with your water system. Luckily I have a British Gas contract for emergencies even though it is a lot of money each month but you just never know when you might need it. Looking at you panini thingy reminds me I have a sandwich maker in the back of the cupboard that ought to see the light of day occasionally. I must have had it since the 80's? I wonder if I can grill on it. Need to investigate. I'll have to put in a request at the library for Carole's new book. We can't go browsing yet but they will take orders and see if they can help so I may be lucky. Have a great weekend, Jackie xx

karenlotty said...

Your crochet and garden look amazing That freebie idea is such a good idea
I totally forgot (again) about the charity kit! Darn! Sorry
Don’t worry about the recipe
I’m glad the boys were able to sort out the boiler
I love Carole’s books and was lucky enough to win one in a competition you ran
I love your tele suggestions Last Tango in Halifax is a favourite of mine
You may have already watched this but I have just binge watched The Detectorists A lovely gentle series Well worth a watch
Take care til next week x

Littlelamb said...

Your plants are coming on well and the crocheting. The new squares look lovely as well. I also loved a last Tango in Halifax. Good you got the boiler working again. . Yes remember the old tin bath. Shows my age. I have been doing some stamping and water colouring.. Got some lovely large Emma Blake stamps this week. Shall cut them out and put on cards. Should be easy to cut, no fiddly bits. Thanks for this every a Friday. Really look forward to hear and see what you have been up to.

Patricia Howarth said...

Hi Christine, A great chat day, I think the two plants with blue heads are agapanthus, I tried to grow some a couple of years ago, but to no avail sadly. Your cuttings have bursted into life, and I love how T & M send out their plants in their own 'little greenhouses', yours look to have lots of root growth too.
Fabulous crochet, no wonder you are having orders. Bella looks totally disinterested haha.
So glad you have sorted out your boiler, we always take these things for granted and when they stop working it is awful. Boy do I remember having a tin bath in front of the fire as a kid, can you just imagine the youth of today having to do that hahaha.
'Strike' - fabulous !! I loved it when it was on tv, I love the bloke who plays Strike too, he was in The Three Musketeers I loved him in that too.
Take care, stay safe, stay well.
Lots of love from Patricia xx

hazel young said...

Great news on the charity kit sell out, well done. Loving the colours and pattern of the new blanket. I love your vibrant yarn colours you are sure keeping yarn businesses in business. whilst I love a recipe it is not mandatory, so glad you managed to sort out the boiler. Lol the tin bath in front of a roaring fire. We have a George Forman grill which you can do lots with. Its great to have a gadget that does a lot of things in a small space. Lol Thompson & Morgan is so addictive make sure you stay away from the gardening shows on the shopping channels they are addictive too. If that is the creeping phlox it is lovely we have had 3 lots of it the first lot a few years ago is rather big now. The greenhouse are a clever idea.
The freecycle plants the blue flower is an Agapanthus, there are expensive for a plant that size what a great find it likes its roots to be restricked like pot bound. Can't see the other plant well enough to try to identify. Good luck with the passionflower cuttings it is such a beautiful flower love the chimney pot. love how your seeds are coming on, I picked my first courgette of the season yesterday, sadly I had to cut one off as well as all the rain had made it start to go mouldy on the stem. I with you on the garden waste bin definitely something to get excited about. I have watched last tango in Halifax before but not seen Strike so will look at that one. Thank you. ooo a new Carole Matthews book, I have only read the one about you and that was a good page turner. Have a great week xx Hazel

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