Friday Chat Day

 Hello friends

Happy Friday and welcome.

Firstly thank you for your comments and ideas re: recipes. 

Yes please to those who are happy to email recipes -

hope-chances@live.co.uk 

I will endeavour to share so we can all have a nose.
I very much liked the idea of cauliflower cheese with garlic bread - 

thank you Lesley.

I made it this week - with broccoli (no cauliflower in the depths of my freezer).

It was equally delicious.  I could have shared photo but...

 I was so hungry I devoured it too quickly!

Crochet:

Pumpkin time.

I made these last year and thought it was time to display them again.

Pattern is from Bella Coco Crochet - YouTube video.

I have a feeling the stuffing in them may have deflated,

they look less round than last year (can't quite say the same about me!)

And, I've been meaning to share this photo that Tina kindly sent

displaying both my blanket and cushion in her conservatory.

 I do like a bit of teal.

The cushion commission is getting there. 

I've completed the front and back of two cushions in slightly

different colourways.

This is the more pastel version.

I have made a start on writing up the pattern and I will keep you posted.

Garden:

A few snaps from the tiny garden this week.

As much as I don't like seeing the lighter evenings disappear,

I do love to see how nature deals with each season.

A Passion Flower has seeded itself in a tiny crack in the concrete

at the front of my house and is happily growing amongst my cherry tomatoes.

Overnight the leaves have begun to turn red.

The cats still feel it is warm enough to snooze outside during the day.

This is very much Darcy's seat now, the cushion is grubby and personally signed.

Smiling happy little flowers!

Telly:

I've subscribed to Acorn TV.

There's a special offer at the moment £24.99 for the year,

 that equates to just over £2 a month which I think is a bargain.

There's lot of British dramas on there including:

Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime

Tommy and Tuppence, a crime-fighting duo, devote their skills and knowledge 

to solving mysterious crimes. 

Also, they are in search of enemy spies in Britain.

Starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine.

When this was first aired (2015) there were poor reviews

but actually I really enjoyed it.

David Walliams has also appeared in Agatha Christie's Body in the Library

and plays a great character in that.

Partners in Crime is very easy watching with beautiful parts of London and

countryside transformed into post war Britain.

Other stuff:

This weekend Elliott and I are going away. 

I am so blessed, I don't think there are too many 20+ year old sons

who ask to go away with their Mum! 

Pre-Covid we had planned a holiday but that didn't happen. 

Then, with us both working from home etc, time has just got away from us. 

At the risk of it being delayed again, I quickly went online and decided

upon a return trip to St Margaret's at Cliffe.

I will look forward to showing him the sights.

Despite it now being Autumn the weather seems very kind

so fingers crossed it lasts for a while longer. 

Charity Kit:

With booking this trip away it has meant that I have entirely run out of 

weekend time to organise October's Charity Kit!

I hope you will forgive me if I skip October and I will be on track for November.

I'll make sure I post a notice up here on the blog so that it doesn't get confusing.

The October chosen charity will be moved into 2022 so will not miss out.

And finally - Hazel asked if there was conservatory roof news...

it may happen in November! 

To be fair they have offered to do it late October but I am having a 

new boiler fitted then and I didn't feel I could cope with it all at once.  

Plus I'm pretty sure the roof builders will need water

(not just for tea) so that could be problematic 

with a boiler being installed at the same time.

I have put off having a boiler for years but water has started to pour

out of it so no option now - it is 30+ years old so I think it is

definitely inefficient too.

I'm looking at the positives re: roof - at least my garden will be clear

of bedding plants etc - less pots to move so they can get to the roof 

without hurdling over obstacles.

Oh...I've got to tackle that back alleyway again, 

everything has grown back - perhaps I can persuade the boys...

Well, I think that's this week's waffle up to date,

wishing you all a wonderful weekend (lots of 'w's' in that sentence!)

Take care friends and, as always thank you for stopping by.

Friday Chat Day

 Hello friends

Happy Friday!

Sunshine and rain...rain again tomorrow.
I think that is how the saying goes?
What a mixed up weather week it has been.

Now if I start a blog post talking about the weather you can

pretty much guarantee I've got slim pickings for you.

Compared to my previous weeks of photo heavy posts,

in stark contrast I have barely any photos this week.

Garden:

I do have some garden pics - a dahlia that I grew from seed.

I gave Mum quite a few and hers are doing far better than mine.

Mum and I were wondering if it possible to harvest the tubers for next year?

Every time my rose flowers I just adore the pink.

I have masses of this and it is super tall.

I need to (a) remember what is, and 

(b) whether I have to do something with it for Winter.

These few snaps make my garden look colourful, truthfully

a lot of the colour is disappearing now and I can see Autumn beginning to take hold.

Oh yes, I do have my new little shed.

Whilst I was away Mitchell put it together.

It's very cute and I like the colour.

I've yet had a chance to fill it and undecided what should go in that little top section.

Aldi were selling these in natural wood but if you fancy a coloured one,

I bought mine here.

Crochet:

I have finished the back and front of a cushion (one down four to go).

I'm going to join and have a go at putting in clear plastic press-studs/fasteners

so that a cushion pad can be inserted/removed.

The design is pretty simple and uses tried and tested granny squares

but I think I may actually have a go at writing this pattern up.

Something I haven't attempted before - actually writing a pattern.

Telly:

Again, very slim pickings this week on the telly viewing front. 

I've been going to bed way earlier than normal - 

commuting back to London is tiring.

I did catch a new Disney+ TV release - 

Only Murders in the Building 

Three strangers share an obsession with true crime and suddenly 

find themselves wrapped up in one.

Starring Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short.

Once I got over the fact how much older both Martin Short and Steve Martin look

(of course they do, in my head everyone still looks like they did in 1990!),

it was enjoyable - as the story unfolds there is little surprises and twists.

Just two episodes in and I'm eagerly awaiting more.

Cooking:

No recipe I'm afraid, in fact going to ask you lovely people

for some tips on healthy quick meals.

When I finish work (especially on my city days) there is so much temptation

to eat snacks instead of dinner and/or a takeaway.

I'm trying to get organised to batch prepare/cook meals.

I pretty much live on a diet of salmon fishcakes, jacket potatoes

and a bag of steam veg to tick the healthy box.

I'm not a meat eater apart from some chicken.

Any tips/recipes gratefully received.

Other stuff:

Work this week has been interesting in that my team of lawyers

had to come down to Kent to visit a company.

One of them needed to do a webinar literally minutes before the meeting

so he did it from my front room before we dashed off to the meeting. 

It felt a little surreal seeing my boss standing in my house,

bit like when you was a kid and saw your teachers outside of school.

I reckon I've earned a few brownie points.

This weekend - well, as I type this I'm imagining just sleeping through it

but I know I won't - I've got a long list of things that need to be done.

I'm going to hopefully get some crochet time.

I do hope you are all well and wishing you a lovely weekend.

Take care friends.

Friday Chat Day

 Hello friends

It's Friday again and I have another photo heavy blog post to share.

Time Away:

My sister and I had a wonderful time at St Margaret's at Cliffe, near Dover. 

Such scenic spots and just on our doorstep, well about an hour and a half away.

Our first stop was to St Margaret's Bay and a walk along the seafront,

to marvel at the cliffs and also at Noel Coward's home called 'White Cliffs'.

Interestingly, Ian Fleming bought the house from him in 1951.

There is a tea shop and museum here called Pines, unfortunately it was closed

which was a bit of a blow - their cakes are amazing.

After recovering from no cake (!), the next day 

we took a trip to Sandwich, an historic little town full of 

sweet little shops and cafes.

An interesting name for a street - 'No Name Street'.

Sandwich also sits on the edge of a beautiful park.

We were blessed with such good weather, just one overcast day.

On Sunday we drove up to the National Trust - White Cliffs Experience.

We chose to visit the cafe and take in the view down into

Dover docks, seeing the ships come in and out - 

it takes a lot of precision to 'park' one of those. 

As we drove away I managed to get a glimpse of Dover Castle.

We then went back to the bay and managed to get a seat in the pub garden

for a roast dinner and this was our view - perfect. 

On our last morning before driving home we took a trip to Walmer, 

again another beautiful town. 

It was blissful to get away and do very little, we watched lots of films

in the evenings and did crochet - oh we know how to party! 

On our last night we took a walk to watch the setting sun.

It was so nice we intend to go back soon.

Crochet:

I've made a start on the crochet cushions.
Each one needs 25 squares and a granny panel for the reverse.
 I had thought about doing all the squares at once but considered

I would get pretty bored with that - 125 in total.

Instead I'll work on each cushion individually and break it up 

with other projects.

Telly:

When heading off on my little holiday I planned to take the 

Fire Stick to be able to watch Netflix, Prime etc., 

but there's always one thing you forget when going away isn't there?
(Or is that just me?) 

Anyway, yes you guessed it - I forgot the Fire Stick. 

A quick trip to the charity shop to buy some DVDs (5 for £1)

and we were sorted with viewing.  

Here's just a few of the films we watched, 

quite a diverse choice!

 

 

Charity Kit:

Can I just say how super impressed I am with Jane ordering this month's charity kit 
just hours before her daughter was getting married! 

Thank you Jane, that's kit dedication.

It proved to be very popular this, as I type this there is just one kit left.

If you missed it please visit the blog post here.

This month's chosen charity was Happy Pants Ranch and you 

may have seen them in the news this week regarding their planning application.

Here is a link to the BBC News article - goodness red faces all round! 

Back to the office:

This week saw my return to the office, first time in over 18 months.

I admit to feeling quite nervous, I am out of practice with the commute 

and generally being in London.

I am pleased to say it was fine, my coach commute felt safe

(I had to pre-book my seat and there is plenty of spacing).

Once in the office they have gone above and beyond to make things feel

comfortable and reassuring. 

I'll be working 2 days in the office and 3 days at home for the next

couple of months and then it will possibly switch to more days in London.

It was incredibly nice to see colleagues again in real life instead of 

Zoom/Team calls.

Also whilst I've been away the loos have been redecorated

and the kitchen area seems ultra white and bright. 

If you've followed my blog for some time you'll know I work

in a very modern building.

I get to sit on the 12th floor, thankful for the lifts!

And that was my week, far more eventful than usual.

I hope you are all well and wishing you a lovely weekend.

Take care friends.

Charity Kit Day - September 2021

Hello friends

Happy Charity Kit Day.

Thank you for stopping by and taking a look at this month's kit. 
Each month a donation is made to a different charity and this month it is 

Happy Pants Ranch which is a safe haven for over 100 

unwanted and abandoned animals.

www.happypants.co.uk 

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

It details the 2021 chosen charities, clickable links and 

there's general kit info over there too

And here is this month's kit:

It's a sweet little cottage. 

I had fun making this project and discovered the hessian card

works so well for the roof pieces.

You can alter this to create a little gift box by affixing only one side of the roof

and/or make a small hole in the roof for a hanging tab.

Included in your kit:

Die cuts – Build a House  including roof pieces x 2 – hessian card,

house base x 2 – dark card,

house pieces x 4 – patterned paper (may vary from photo)

door x 1, windows x 3, small heart, small squares

Full instructions

(Items you will need: adhesives, distress inks)

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, all pieces are pre-cut.

The kit cost this month is £4.50.

that's the total payment - inclusive of postage and packing.

Payment is via the PayPal link below.

£4.50

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 with PayPal for that too.

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 etc used each month.

It is truly a great help each month with Ko-fi donations,

so lots of thanks to those who donate.

Please note I will be posting kits out on on Tuesday/Wednesday,

a very small delay due to being away.

Take care friends, as always - huge thanks for your support

and have a wonderful Sunday.