Friday Chat Day

 Hello friends

Thank you for joining me again for another Friday Chat Day.

It's Friday the 13th but honestly...things cannot get any more unlucky can they?! 

Recipe:

The Christmas cake is baked, possibly a little too baked! 

Definitely darker on one corner. But it will be fine, 

with slatherings of marzipan and icing, no-one will ever know!

I recklessly combined three recipes to make this 

(that's about how reckless my life gets right now, haha)

So here's the recipe...

1kg mixed fruit, 6 eggs, 1tbsp marmalade, 1tbsp golden syrup, 

250g butter, 250g dark brown sugar, 285g SR flour, 

1tsp mixed spice, 1tsp cinnamon 

(you can add further festive ingredients such as glacé cherries, nuts etc). 

Soak dried fruit for 2-3 days in half a pint of sherry or your 

chosen alcohol or cold tea. Stir daily.

Grease and line a 9” round tin or 8” square tin. 

Preheat oven to 140 C, Gas Mark 3 

Using a mixer/whisk, cream butter and sugar in large bowl. 

Add eggs gradually (add a little flour to prevent curdling if needed). 

Add the flour and mix well. 

Add all remaining ingredients and mix to combine. 

Pour into prepared tin and cook for 2.5 hours. 

Remove from oven and leave in tin to cool. 

Wrap in greaseproof and place in an airtight container, you can ‘feed’ your cake 

with more sherry by inserting a skewer to create small holes, 

drizzle over a spoon or so every few days. Hiccup! 

The recipe printable is available here.

I will be popping on the marzipan next month and tackling the icing, 

I tend to have grand ideas for decorating and then last minute go with a snow scene!

Out and About:

Bella walking and delivering food are my only excursions but I'm not complaining,

especially when you espy something like this at the local Church.

Made for Remembrance Sunday.

Garden:

At about midday on Tuesday the sky was wonderfully blue, most welcome

after days of grey, it is quite incredible how much the weather impacts upon us 

don't you think? 

Anyway, I dashed into the garden just to see how my plants were doing.  

These little chaps are still happy.

And this Clematis is possibly confused with the seasons.

And then this...

I was so worried when Darcy had to have her eye removed some years ago. 

How will she jump and climb I thought?  

Foolish foolish me! 

Her impersonation of a weather vane, she was up there for hours.

Crochet:

 Squares and more squares.

Working on the final rounds for a Vintage/Winter Harmony.

I am switching to another project when I finish, I think it is time to move on

to something different.

And this one would much prefer a dozen walks a day as opposed to 

watching me crochet.  Don't be fooled, she does get lots of walk.

Also happening...

I am back at work now - working from home on Thursdays and Fridays

so my week does feel more structured. I am enjoying it and thankful

I haven't forgotten how to do things.

Biggest obstacle is pets, they see me sitting down at my desk and fight over my lap.

Charities:

Thank you all so much for your suggestions, these are the selected charities for 2021.  

2021 Charities:

Alzheimer's Society

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

The British Lung Foundation 

Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital

Caenhill Countryside Centre

Fibromyalgia Action UK

Silver Fox Dog Rescue

Prostate Cancer UK

The Happy Pants Ranch Sanctuary

Thin Blue Paw Foundation

The British Sjogrens Syndrome Association

The Donkey Sanctuary 

I did receive some further nominations which I am carrying over to 2022.

 And I'm always happy to receive suggestions - 

I cannot see me stopping the charity kits for a long time to come.

Telly:

At this time of year the channels are flooded with sentimental, cheesy,

Christmassy films and I LOVE THEM! 

I give my brain licence to watch them from November onwards with the

promise of far more challenging viewing in the New Year.

This series is in a similar vein...

When Calls the Heart - Netflix

Elizabeth Thatcher, a young teacher accustomed to high society experiences

a culture shock when she moves and begins to teach in a mining village.

My best description - imagine Little House on the Prairie for grown ups.

And my friends that is another week.

Hope you are all doing okay, it is tough in so many ways but ultimately

keep safe, keep strong and pop a mushy film on! 

Much love,

Friday Chat Day

Hello friends

Welcome to Friday Chat Day and I hope it finds you well.

Yesterday, first day of Lockdown 2.0 and ironically my first day back at work,

I count myself very lucky at being able to work from home.

Never did I think my working day would consist of having Bella on 

my lap whilst I type and being able to walk her in my lunch break. Thankful.

Although this is what she looks like at the end of a working day...

Recipe:

Preparation is going ahead to make a Christmas cake.

The recipe is a combination of three, I've decided to pick and choose

dependant upon what is in the larder and what I can buy.

I've started with a critical step - soaking the dried fruit in alcohol!

Feel free to follow me with the making and you can blame me too if 

it doesn't quite work out (although I'm secretly confident it will be fine!) 

I've placed 1kg of mixed dried fruit in a bowl with half a pint of sherry.

You can use apple juice or cold tea if you do not like it boozy.

Cover, soak for 2-3 days - mix and inhale daily.

I'll be baking this over the weekend and setting out the full recipe next week.

Finally my labels arrived to get my larder organised. 
I used the online facility at Avery labels to design these.

And here's the progress so far - still more to do but happy with how it is going.

Garden:

Being a newbie gardener I now understand why Gardener's World comes

to a close at this time of year - nothing is really happening.

Although saying that, I espied tiny buds appearing on my new Clematis.

This is the winter flowering - Winter Beauty.

And I think it seems quite happy in the old chimney pot.

Charity Kit:

As always, thank you to those who purchased.

There are still some charity kits available, I definitely made lots this month 

due to last month's running out so quickly.

Details to purchase are here.

And I would like to say thank you to those who support me through Ko-fi - 

I've been able to purchase all the 'do not bend' envelopes needed

for the next couple of kits which is wonderful.

As you know each month the kits donate to a different charity,

a mix of hooman and furry/feathered. 

There are still spaces for 5 charities next year so please feel free

to make suggestions, either by commenting or you can email

hope-chances@live.co.uk

If I receive lots of suggestions I will pop them in a hat and make a draw.

These are the 2021 charities so far:

Alzheimer's Society

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

The British Lung Foundation 

Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital

Caenhill Countryside Centre

Fibromyalgia Action UK

Silver Fox Dog Rescue

Silver Fox Dog Rescue - my sister's Romanian rescue dog came via this

charity - he went from this...

to this - hogging the sofa!

Lucky Bear.

Crochet:

This week's progress of the Winter/Vintage Harmony blanket.

I am in a rhythm with this pattern and love doing it.

I had created the tags only to realise I had got one colour wrong so had to 

do a bit of scribbling.

All sorted and three more rounds of each to do.

The Cupcake Harmony blanket is still available - all the details on the yarn

page here. I appreciate the price may seem high - 

did I mention how many ends I sewed in - haha!

I realised I omitted to mention that a percentage of all sales of my blankets 

go to charity.

And talking of crocheted blankets and charity, I am seeking a place to send

small blankets to - a local cat rescue place was accepting but they now have plenty.

So, please let me know if you know of anywhere.

They are blankets ideal for small dogs or cats -

their travel baskets, cages etc.  All done in plain stitching - 

double crochet, no open weave for their paws to get caught.

And that was my week. 

Weekend - baking the Christmas Cake and possibly sanding my worktops,

(not to be done at the same time!)

I've decided Lockdown 2.0 needs a project so my wooden worktops

could be it. They were so nice when first installed - 15 years ago

but upkeep is the key and I've most definitely neglected them.

Take extra care friends.

Much love,

Charity Kit Day - November 2020

Hello friends

Welcome to this month's Charity Kit Day.

Lots of thanks for visiting.

Each month a donation is made to a different charity and this month

it is Action for Stammering Children who help children and young 

people to have the same opportunities and quality of life as their peers.

To keep track of charities there is a tab at the top of my blog 

here with lots more kit info.

I am also asking today for charity suggestions for 2021,

please feel free to comment.

And here is this month's kit:

Its a mini kit - a 4 x 4 Autumnal 'Blessed' card.

Kraft card base, matting, sweet little die cuts including leaves,

acorns and a pumpkin.

 

Included in your kit:

Kraft 4 x 4 card

Kraft envelope

Gold foil card border mat

Patterned paper card mats x 2 (designs may vary - all lovely and Autumnal)

Die cuts - leaves, acorns, pumpkin, kraft circle, sentiment *

Full instructions

(Items you will need: adhesive, foam pads, inks/chalks/pens)

* There may be a little waxed paper on your die cuts from cutting -

rubs off easily before you apply colour.

The kits are packed in recyclable paper bags and sent in a 'do not bend' 

envelope so they arrive in pristine condition. 
To make up the kits you just need a basic craft kit, everything is pre-cut.

The kit cost is £4.85, that's the total payment -

inclusive of postage and packing.

Payment is via the PayPal link below.

If you wish to purchase but would prefer not to use PayPal, 

please email me:

hope-chances@live.co.uk  

I'm happy to help with alternative payment arrangements.

It is possible to purchase multiple kits,

there's an option for that too.

The card also looks nice in a frame, I purchased this one on eBay,

bargain at £2.99 - link here.

If you would like to support the kits but do not need one right now,

there is a 'Ko-fi' button', at the top of the blog, it's not really for coffee.

All donations enable me to purchase card blanks, envelopes, the paper bags,

sticky labels and more -

I am very grateful thanks to those of you who help through Ko-fi,

it makes a real difference each month.

Thank you so much for your valuable and wonderful continued support.

Take care friends, enjoy your Sunday.

Friday Chat Day

Hello friends

Welcome to Friday Chat Day.

It was touch and go with getting a blog post written up this week, this was my computer two days ago...

Apparently the motherboard had fried [sob].

I thought I was being sensible when I suggested buying a replacement 

motherboard but oh no, according to my computer savy sons my PC was "ancient",

"It still has VGA cables Mum".  That was me told.

I was also told to be thankful the hardrive was intact -"

you haven't lost any photos, documents, crochet patterns(!)" - PHEW! 

It was a rush to order a new computer 

(thank you Amazon for a bargain refurb one delivered the next day).

It then took Mitchell hours to install applications and transfer onto the new computer 

my important items (although I swear he said "crap")!!! 

Tragically what did not transfer were all my email folders and contents that I had 

diligently set up for years.  All my past workshops, demos, trade shows,

all my correspondence with you lovely blog followers and more.

I feel rather traumatised about that.

I also cannot believe how much time this week was consumed by a metal box of 

wizardry, it put me so behind with everything so a rather a shortened blog post

this week and no recipe, I had plans to make a Christmas cake - sorry.

But...I have a new computer up and running - I am thankful.  

Honest!

Garden:

The weather has been awful this week hasn't it - rain and gusty winds.

The clocks going back - always hard initially, I bet we ALL said 

'oh look how dark it is already'.

So with the clocks and torrential rain I did not venture into my garden but 

I did snap this photo, it is poor quality but ...here he is!

The naughty squirrel that is enjoying replanting my bulbs in next door's garden.

Now affectionately known as Squirrel Biggs.

Cute...very naughty...but cute! 

Crochet:

It is finished - the Cupcake Harmony Blanket.

Did I mention I was selling this one? 

I am going to but I confess I'm struggling to part with it,

I adore the colours, they really do look edible.

I see frosting, sprinkles, ice cream, chocolate.

Bella has given it her seal of approval.

It is now listed on my Yarn tab page here with lots more photos.  

It took 15 balls of yarn, just under a month to make and in total there was 

1,210 ends to sew in.

Guess what?  I'm really good at sewing in ends now.

I am now starting another blanket, squares again with a vintage colourway.

Home:

Last Sunday Elliott came home for a roast dinner and to cuddle the cats.

(Yes that was his priorities).

You can see Darcy is overbrimming with excitement at seeing him,

cats are truly superior beings.

Once all felines were duly hugged and dinner done, we sat down to watch

some telly.  

Telly:

Elliott introduced me to Taskmaster.

It used to be on Dave, won a BAFTA and now acquired by Channel 4.

Hosted by comedians Greg Davies and Alex Horne, they challenge

famous contestants to complete a series of weird and wonderful tasks.

Just seeing Johnny Vegas trying to paddle an inflatable boat on wheels 

with oars was silly but funny.

I don't think I've laughed so much in ages, it is a tonic of a show,

I definitely recommend.

And if you happen to have Britbox - 

This polished up my Wars of the Roses history.

House of York versus House of Lancaster.

Based on three of Philippa Gregory's novels, the series is from the viewpoint

of Elizabeth Woodville (she's a white rose - House Lancaster)

and her marraige to Edward IV - (he's a red rose - House York).

Great series although I did have to overlook the fact 

that she had about a dozen a children and did not age at all. 

And just in case you fancy this, Britbox is £5.99 a month - first month is free. 

I have no affiliation but perhaps I should tell them...haha!

I certainly get my money's worth each month, so many shows I'm keen to watch,

I still haven't got to the end of Midsomer Murders.

And finally, this Sunday is Charity Kit Day.

I've gone Autumnal this month, here's a sneak peek.

This month's charity is Action for Stammering Children.

A cause very close to my heart as Elliott had a stammer growing up.

After intense speech therapy he was cured but others are not so fortunate.

Please stop by on Sunday for all this month's kit details,

it goes live at 7am with notifications on Facebook and Twitter.

Oh yes, I have just one Advent Frame left with the lovely gold and ivory

Anna Griffin design papers.

Pop to the bottom of this blog post here for more details.

And that is this week wrapped up,

A rather pared down blog post - apologies, I hope to be back to all 

my usual babble next week.

Take care friends, have a lovely weekend.

I have crochet planned and stepping away from a computer.

Friday Chat Day

 Hello friends

How are you? Another week gone by way too fast.

As I am writing this the rain is hitting my windows, it's a far cry from those roasting hot sunny days. Although there is some comfort in hearing the rain outside whilst warm indoors, that is until a soggy cat arrives home and jumps on your lap!

Garden:

Earlier in the week, before the rain took hold, I took a couple of garden pics. I mentioned last week that these flower heads look like faces, happy ones at that.

It is pretty much the only colour remaining in the garden.

And here's Bella questioning why I need to take this photo.

I've cleared a lot of the garden ready for winter, I'm still doing battle with a 

particular squirrel who likes my bulbs.  It may not be just the one squirrel, 

he could have dashed home excitedly and shared the bulb location info with all his mates!

 The funny thing is he is digging them up and burying them in next door's lawn, 

come Spring they will have lovely daffodil ring around the base of their  rotary washing line.

Crochet:

Little crochet update, Cupcake Harmony Blanket progress. 

The colours are very cupcake, I'm seeing chocolate icing, vanilla sponge, sprinkles. 

I plan to sell this blanket if I can bare to part with it! 

I just adore this pattern, so mush so I've got a winter/vintage colourway lined up next.

Telly:

Vienna Blood - all episodes on BBCiPlayer

Max Liebermann, a student of Sigmund Freud, helps Detective Rheinhardt in the investigation of a series of disturbing murders around the grand cafés and opera houses of 1900s Vienna.

This was released last year and I did watch it then but chose to re-watch whilst having 

a crochet afternoon.  Period telly is truly my cup of tea and Detective Rheinhardt has a 

rather dreamy voice!

Season 2 is hopefully in the making.

Recipe/Cooking:

Let's talk bread and bread making machines.

Do you bake bread?  Do you own a machine?

I've had my bread making machine for many years, in fact I'm on my second one as the first one expired due to over-use. It is a basic Morphy Richards, I know you can get all singing and dancing machines but I steer away from those.

 It is so easy to pop everything into the pan, switch it on and forget about it until that 

lovely fresh bread aroma fills the house. 

I confess if I had to make bread traditionally we would be bread-starved! 

I've discovered by keeping the bread machine on the worktop it gets used,

the minute you put something in the cupboard it joins the realms of 

dusty forgotten kitchen gadgets.

I have got my tried and trusted basic white recipe which is:

Written out circa 2005, incredible how scraps of paper last.

I do often substitute the butter for oil, either olive or sunflower.

And this is yesterday's loaf, half of it devoured within minutes by Mitchell.

Occasionally I feel ambitious and reach for this book.

It's wonderful and along with bread recipes it also explains how you 

can make cakes and traybakes in a bread machine.
Available on Amazon used for around £3 here (bargain) or 

reprinted with a new cover for £12.25 here.

Home:

I've made a tiny bit of progress in sorting my larder/pantry.  

The storage jars arrived from Ikea via the little computer shop up the road.

I walked to collect them completely forgetting how heavy the box would be,

my arms felt a lot longer once home.

I selected the Ikea 365+ range of jars as I had read the lids fit nice and securely.

I'm awaiting the Avery clear labels to arrive and then I'm going to have a go 

at designing and printing. I'll be sure to keep you posted - riveting stuff!

Craft:

I ventured into my cabin this week and tackled a shelf that has needed sorting for months. 

I realised it contained some advent frames (kindly made by my Dad) so I then 

became totally distracted and decided I would put together a few Advent Frame Kits.

If you've followed my blog for some time you may remember that previous designs when completed look like this...

The frames are bare wood that you can leave, varnish or paint.

The boxes slot into the frame and are perfect for advent treats - 

sweets, charms, coins, notes, lottery tickets, IOU's and more.

I've put together just three kits with gorgeous Anna Griffin gold and ivory cardstock.

This is really lovely card, double sided so nice and thick.

The box bases are also lovely - ivory linen card 255gsm.

This photo shows the lovely gold patterns sparkling, 

please imagine me wiggling it around to catch the light on a dreary day!

Also included in the kit is the little die cut box tabs and printed and punched numbers 1-25.

Full instructions included although they are super easy to make, 

you just need a bone folder/ruler, liquid adhesive and foam pads.

As said, just three kits available in this Anna Griffin gold and ivory design.

If you would like to purchase please click the PayPal link below.

They are £24 each and that includes free postage and packing.

And that shelf in the cabin... it still needs sorting!

Little Mum update. 

So kind of you to ask after her, she's had another scan this week so awaiting results.  

She's eating a little more (rather partial to a pain au chocolat) but still frail and 

feeling frustrated at not being able to do things.  

She is very much a 'do-er' and misses jumping up and doing housework, 

the garden and more. 

And, like so many others, Covid has exacerbated the whole situation.

Difficult times for so many.  

And that rounds up my week.

I hope to see Elliott again this weekend, sweep up some leaves in the garden,

a little bit of baking, housework and definitely a whole lot of crochet.

Take care friends, keep safe.