Memorandum Monday

The one in which I bond with a cat

I have a bit of a chequered history as far as cats are concerned.  I'd like to like them, but they don't always seem to like me.  So when my neighbour approached me to ask if I could look after their cat for a few days as her husband was going into hospital and she needed to stay there whilst he was in the high dependency unit, I was a little apprehensive, but given the circumstances - how could I say no?  My first experience of cat sitting was many years ago when we were first married and some friends of Paul's who lived just along from us asked us to feed their cats while they went away on holiday.  Now, this wasn't just one cat, this was three cats.  Three rather expensive Siamese cats.  Giselle, Elvis and Blue.  Now, I have since learnt that Siamese cats aren't the most affectionate of cats and have quite a mind of their own.  So the instructions of 'just call them in first thing in the morning for their breakfast, then let them out for the day and call them back in the evening for them to stay indoors' sounded, to a cat novice, fairly straightforward.  But oh no, Giselle, Elvis and Blue had not listened to their instructions and were not keen on coming home when called.  Oh the embarrassment of standing in a garden calling for Elvis!  They would congregate in their own sweet time, at the bottom of the garden but no way were they coming in while they could see me.  Paul hit on a solution, we would open the patio doors, put the cat food bowls inside the house then we would run upstairs to the bedroom above, open the window, and once all three had slinked inside the door, would close the patio doors from above by dangling a broom out the window.  So why on earth, when the owners returned and asked how things had gone, did I say 'no problems at all, they we absolutely fine'?

 

My reservations about cats were further entrenched when I once arrived home from dropping my daughter at school to find a strange cat on my doorstep.  'Shoo' I said in what I hoped was a confident tone.  The cat did not budge. 'Go on, go home' I said as I stepped forward to put my key in the door.  Next thing I knew, the moth-eaten moggy had thrown itself at my leg and had sunk its teeth into my calf.  With blood pouring out of the wound, I took myself off to the hospital where they told me it had punctured my calf muscle and as it was a bit of a flea bitten scruffy old cat who did not belong to any of my neighbours, it was probably best that I had a tetanus injection.

 

However, I may now, for the first time, have bonded with a little ball of fluff that waits for me in her garden, comes in and is pleased to see me, eats her dinner and then demands a bit of TLC before trotting outside on her best behaviour.  She is a cutie, although Coco does not like me coming home smelling of cat!  And I'm slightly concerned about the responsibility of looking after her as her owner casually dropped into the conversation that she is 15 which sounds pretty old in cat years! 

 

So what else have I done for the first time this weekend?  Well, this is a hint I saw on the internet, and was something I never knew so let me share  ...

 

... the easy way to crumble an OXO cube without ending up with beef smelling, brown crumbs all over your fingers.  Turns out you do not just unwrap the cube and crumble it between your fingers - no, you carefully prise open the bonded edges ... gently squish the package between your fingers (still in the foil) and it will turn into a soft little parcel of stock cube which you can easily open and sprinkle into a jug of boiling water.  Who knew?  Please don't tell me I'm the only person who's been doing it wrong for years!

It's the first day back at work after the Easter holidays for me so I really do have that Monday morning feeling.  Linking in with Sian and the rest of the Mondayers, all sharing something new!

Memorandum Monday

The one in which I seriously consider checking out the price of flights to Northern Ireland

I was literally going round and round in circles this weekend.  Or trying to.

It was a weekend of emotions ranging from excitement at starting a new project to frustration, anger and finally contentment.  The things I do just to join in with Sian's rather brilliant idea to see if we can all learn something new at the weekend.   Having been moderately successful with my first effort at sock making (positive side - I ended up with a wearable pair of socks, negative side - stitch tension was variable to say the least) I was eager to get going on a second pair.  Sian makes amazing footwear using a circular needle and it seemed to me that if I too had a circular needle, all my tension issues would be resolved.  New wool and a circular needle arrived in the post on Friday and at the beginning of Saturday afternoon I couldn't have been more wrong.   Never mind the tension on the needles, the tension inside of me was at breaking point!  It looks relatively straightforward on a YouTube video; cast on here, slip stitches there, start knitting.  But there was something I was missing.  Some vital clue on why I could not see how on earth 64 stitches in a straight line were going to end up in a tubular shape. I watched clip after clip of various video lessons until I realised that the clips I saw went from

1. Cast on stitches - to -
2. Knit in the round

No one mentioned the fact that there was a '1 ½' stage where you slid the stitches down onto the flexible bit and pulled the loop through so you could then divide the stitches onto both needle ends.  Once that penny had dropped I sank back in my chair with relief and got to grips with it.  But, just be aware of what a lucky escape you had Sian, I was definitely thinking that the only way to sort it out would be to get on a Ryanair plane and head off to the Emerald Isle to sit round your table and have a cup of coffee and some one to one tuition.  I would even have picked up one of those airport sized giant toblerones at Stansted to bring as a thank you.  Hey, actually that doesn't sound such a bad idea!

 

Practice makes perfect

 

It's mid way through the Easter Holidays for me, and I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes.  We have friends coming over for dinner in a couple of weeks time and I wanted to try something new for dessert.  My mum used to make the most amazing meringues, and although I've got her old recipe, mine never taste the same as hers did.  Looking through my new cookery book I came across these little beauties.  Tiny meringues sandwiched together with crème fraiche, lemon curd and crushed raspberries.  So having learnt my lesson on Saturday about concentrating properly, and looking at instructions from start to finish rather than skim reading over the bits I think I know, I decided to give them a whirl.  This was so much easier than starting a new sock - I think I've found a new favourite dessert!

Quick off the mark

The weather was so glorious on Saturday that we decided the time had come to uncover the summer patio furniture which had been carefully packed away at the end of last year.  We wiped it down, brought out the cushions, put a throw over the seats, went indoors to make a coffee to bring out and enjoy it sitting in the garden, (another first for this year) however, look who got there first ...

My March in Numbers

Joining in with Julie's idea of sharing the contents of the last month, I have to tell you that I ended the month much older than I started it.  A whole year.  That's what happens when you have a birthday in the middle of the month.  You can't possibly expect me to share the actual number though, can you?  Just because the meme is called My Month in Numbers?  OK, if I must share, it was 58.

 

It was actually a month of eating and drinking - a lot.  What with Mother's Day, Birthday and Easter I think it's fair to say that I may have eaten my own bodyweight in chocolate in the last month.  Plus I may have been in danger of over indulging in my favourite foods (if you're planning a dinner party and you are thinking of inviting me, a good menu would be a main course of anything involving lamb and a nice lemon dessert). 

 

We have a tradition at work where every half term, the people who have had a birthday in those 3 weeks all get together and bake cakes for everyone else in the office.  It kind of takes the pressure off having to individually cater for about 16 people - plus all those teachers who just 'happen to be passing through the office' as soon as a cake tin opens.  So the early Marchers chose a date  and I spent part of my day off on the day before cooking a lemon drizzle cake and some double chocolate chip cookies.  I took them into work the next day, only to realise that I'd got the date wrong and had baked a week early.  Surprisingly, the ladies in the office selflessly offered to eat what I'd taken in, just so I didn't have to bother taking it home again, you understand, they're so kind!

 

 

It was the month we bought a Aeroccino milk frother to go with our Nespresso coffee maker.  We ummed and aahed a lot before buying this.  Was it a bit of an extravagance?  Would we use it much?  What difference would it make to heating up a bit of milk in the microwave?  And the answers are Possibly.  Yes. and Lots.  Let's just say if my school secretary gig comes to an end I reckon that I could update my CV to include Barista and apply to join the local coffee shop.  This little piece of kit is amazing.  It heats the milk to the perfect temperature and froths it like any self respecting Italian coffee expert would do.  My cappuccinos are the talk of the town now.  Well, the talk of inside our house is probably more accurate.  If you like cappuccinos and you don't like giving your hard earned money to overpriced coffee shops - this piece of kitchen gorgeousness is well worth considering.  In fact, if you need convincing, next time you're in my area, pop in and try it for yourself!

 

Liberating Art

 

I signed up to join in the Liberate Your Art project, where you print off some postcards of your art and send 5 to Kat of Kats Eye Studio along with some stamps.  She then sends yours to 5 people elsewhere in the world and you, in turn, receive 5 back from other people taking part in the swap.  I've received four postcards, and now wish that I could ask for mine back so that I could tweak them and improve on them to get them up to the standard of those I've been sent!  There's such a variety of 'art' being shared, from photos to pictures of mixed media projects.  One of those I've received is a photo of the sender in her band, saying that her 'art' is music.  A clever twist!  I love joining in with anything like this, and think that I'm starting to show my age, because there really is something special in receiving something in the post that isn't a catalogue, a bank statement or junk mail.  (Since reaching my advanced age, there seems to be rather too much coming my way that refers to stair lifts and Saga cruises.)

 

Being a bit of a knit

 

One of my more 'are you sure that's what you want?' birthday presents this year was a ball of wool and some double pointed knitting needles.  Having seen Sian's amazing socks I knew this was something I had to try (who knows, she may one day organise a sock swap project and I need to get a bit of practice in) I love learning new crafts and although knitting wasn't new to me, juggling 4 needles and going round and round in circles was a novel experience.  As soon as I had casted off the final stitch, I knew that I wanted to make another pair; this was just a prototype, a practice session to see where I could improve, and I also needed to have a go at ditching the 4 little needles for one long circular one.  I was soon browsing the Wool Warehouse website and am now the proud owner of some rather gorgeous wool and a shiny new circular needle.  I would put money on the fact that by the time I go to bed tonight, there will be stitches on that needle!

 

Food glorious food

As for meals out, that happened 3 times.  The best one was a Puddings and Pies evening at a local restaurant.  It was exactly what the title of the menu suggested, every item on the menu was either a pudding or a pie.  This is my husband's idea of heaven.  We don't often have pies at home, due to my messiness is the pastry department.  Even if I don't make it myself and use ready made, my kitchen always looks like an explosion has happened in a flour factory. 

Mum's the word

The biggest number to share this month is 17.  The number of weeks into her pregnancy that my daughter has reached.  You can see the picture of Junior's scan in the photo collage above.  If you look carefully, you may be able to guess what she is having!

 

So that was March; I think the saying is 'In like a lion and out like a lamb' and weather wise it certainly lived up to that expression.  At the time of typing this, the sun is out, the dog is sunbathing, the husband is doing something that involves building a 'raised vegetable bed' in the garden and it's clearly time for another cappuccino! 

Memorandum Monday

Turning the tables

I thought that as it was a rather special weekend, it may be fun to give Sian's idea of sharing something we've learnt or tried for the first time since our last meeting a bit of a twist.  After all, I've learnt something momentous so it's only fair that you do too. 

 

So sit down, put your feet up and I'll begin ...

(Putting my feet up and showing off my finished socks)



We've recently been running some e-safety courses at the school where I work, reminding the girls that not everyone tells the truth on the internet.  Be wary of making new 'friends' on Facebook if you don't actually know these people in real life.  It got me thinking about how much you would learn about me if you only knew me on social media. ( I do tell the truth, in case you were wondering!) 

• If you check out my Instagram account (Debs14) you'll see that I'm owned by a mischievous Cavapoo called Coco, I enjoy cooking and sewing, am partial to a G&T on a Saturday night, and enjoy trying out new crafts. 
• If we are friends on Facebook, you will see that I will never get on the Bake Off programme as I am probably the messiest cook in town, my summer cocktail of choice is a Margarita or a Mojito, I work as a secretary in a school, I keep fit by letting Coco take me for a walk and going to Fitsteps classes, I enjoy meeting up with old school friends and love spending time with my family.  If you look at my photos you will see that my favourite holiday destinations are Italy and Portugal.  (You'll never see me advertising the fact that I'm at Stansted Airport about to embark on a week's holiday in the sun as I don't think it's wise to advertise the fact that my house will be empty for seven days, but you may see that I am sadly checking into a foreign airport on the day I'm coming home.)
• On my blog you'll see a mix of all those things, and know that I enjoy joining in with postcard swaps, blog hops, Summertime Scavenger Hunts and friendship quilts. 

You haven't learnt anything new yet have you?  There must be something about me that you don't know, surely?  Well ... there may be one thing ...  On each of the above things you'll probably deduce that I have a husband, grown up 'kids' - a daughter of 29 and a son of 26.  But here's something very exciting that I've known for a little while and figure it's time to share ... I'm going to be a grandmother!  That makes me feel pretty old I can tell you!  My daughter is expecting a baby in September.  We're all very excited and our wish is that the dreaded morning all day sickness nausea would stop so that she could really enjoy the pregnancy.

 

So that's a fairly big thing to learn, I hope you'll agree!  But it doesn't quite fit the criteria that Sian laid down does it?  I'm supposed to share something that I learnt.  Well, there was one pretty big thing; on Saturday a 16 week scan detected whether the baby is going to be a boy or a girl.  On the scale of learning new things, I think that rates pretty high! So now we know.  What?  You want me to share?  Oh no, I think we've all learnt quite enough for one week, all will be revealed at a later date!

Memorandum Monday

Quite a 'feat'

A sock is finished.  Just one.  So the knitting needles are still out ready to make the next one.  I've learnt a lot along the way; from the basics of juggling several knitting needles at once to how to do a Kitchener stitch to close up the gap at the toe.  Now, although this feels like a huge accomplishment, it's also been a bit of a trial run as I can see where I can make many improvements.  The whole process of how it comes together is clearer now and I can see how it all takes shape.  Let me be the first to tell you that mine are nowhere near as neat and precise as Sian's are!  I need to tighten up my tension, or maybe use a smaller needle and I'd like to have a go at using a circular needle to avoid the slight change in tension where I move from the end of one to the beginning of the other.  Look at me, already planning my next pair!  I liked the fact that it didn't take long to make either, when you only have a few stitches on a needle, the rows soon fly by.  And I also liked the way that there weren't huge lengths of stocking stitch to do as I am easily bored! 

So that's what I've learnt since we last met. 

 

Liberation Day

 

In a moment of madness, I signed up for Liberate Your Art 2016.  I loved the postcard exchange that we did a while ago and thought that this sounded fun too.  I do love receiving Happy Mail!  So after signing up, I wondered what the heck I was going to use for the images on my postcards.  I am rubbish at the drawing/painting side of art, but with a bit of imagination wondered if photos of some of my quilts would be appropriate.  Does sewing constitute art?  Plus a few photographs that I'd taken which I quite liked.  I had them printed, wrote my messages on the back and sent them off before I changed my mind.  So what have I learnt this weekend, now that the first ones from other people have started arriving on my doorstep?  I have learnt that there are a lot of very talented people out there and I fear that the poor people who receive my postcards are going to be a bit disappointed!  I'll know better for next year!

 

But I wanted to also mention something else that caught my eye this weekend. 

Friends

One of the blogs that I follow had an interesting discussion post this weekend.  The blog is called 'A Beautiful Mess' and the post is here.  It's about making friends on the internet.  Something that would once upon a time have been considered a bit odd and I'm not sure that my husband always understands how I can have a friend that I've never met. 

 

But it's very true that before blogging, your group of friends was limited to the people you met in your own locality.  When I was first married, I met the wife of someone I went to school with who happened to move round the corner to us.  We got together for a meal one evening and found out that we had so much in common.  She became a firm friend and my partner in crime as we discovered various crafts that we wanted to learn.  Oh the fun we had at lace making - we were by far the youngest ones there by about 40 years - and I've never met anyone locally since who would have fancied having a go at some obscure craft.  Her husband very thoughtlessly found a job which involved them moving to the New Forest and although she enjoyed going to evening classes with me and spending Sunday mornings at local craft fairs, her loyalties appeared to be with her husband and she moved away. 

 

The person who introduced me to blogging was my dear friend Denise, her enthusiasm for scrapbooking was contagious and before I knew it, I'd ordered a scrapbooking kit off QVC, bought various cutters, alphas and glue and was signed up to on online class with Shimelle.  The rest, as they say, is history.  I've 'met' so many people through blogging that I would never have met in real life.  And whilst my scrapbooking mojo packed up and left a couple of years ago, I've discovered other crafts along the way that I would never have had the confidence to try without reading blogs of those who have the same interest.  The pile of quilts that is growing in my lounge is testament to that.  I would never have even thought of trying quilting if I hadn't seen the work that Abi showed on her blog.  And through sharing that on my blog, I took part in the Friendship Quilt project, which in turn meant forging more bonds with fellow bloggers. 

 

There are people whose blogs I love just because of how they write; their personality shines through and you just know that they are people who would be fun to spend time with.  I love the way a little community forms, to support in times of hardship and also sharing the good times.  They are no less friends than those people we know in real life.  Please do have a look at the Beautiful Mess blog post and let me know what you think!

You're never too old to learn something new

I love to learn new things.  When something takes my eye that I fancy trying, I am a woman on a mission. 

 

You've probably guessed from my blog that I'm a keen cook.  Which is why I attend a monthly Cookery Club at a local restaurant.  The chef gives demonstrations on a theme and we watch how to make the dishes and then sample them along with a drink that complements the dish.  Today's theme was chocolate.  Which explains how, by 11 am today I had eaten a double chocolate chip cookie, a slice of dark chocolate and almond torte and two different white chocolate baked cheesecakes.  And a glass of sherry.  Only small portions I have to say, but boy did I not need any lunch when I got home! 

 

And I was keen to get home because, inspired by Sian , I am trying my hand at knitting socks.  She's showcased some amazing works of art on her blog and she makes it sound like it is a relaxing and rewarding pastime.  Whilst I've knitted quite a lot in the past, I've never tried anything quite like a pair of socks.  I asked Sian for recommendations on wools and general advice and made a list of what I wanted that I could pass it on as part of my birthday 'wish list'. 

 

So, with a ball of self striping wool and 5 double pointed needles I set myself the task of finding an easy pattern suitable for beginners.  Not so easy as you may think - once you start reading them you realise that some involve language that only an experienced knitter will understand.  After an hour or so, I found one that spoke my language, the pattern was printed off and away I went. 

Have you any idea how awkward it feels to be knitting on 4 needles?  Well if you have ever wondered, it feels very awkward to start with.  After three false starts, I was off.  The tension on the needles was very similar to the tension in my shoulders as I concentrated hard on keeping stitches on needles and wool unknotted.  I was just settling into a bit of new found confidence when Coco decided that the only place in the whole house that she wanted to sit was on my lap.  On top of the wool.  By the time I went to bed, 6 rows of ribbing were looking ok. 

I started afresh the next day and was soon knitting back and forth in a happy routine.  Confidence was high, and I was already planning the colours of the next pair.   As I stopped for a coffee I thought I'd read the next bit of the pattern.  Which involved heel flaps.  And gussets.  Slipping stitches, decreasing stitches, picking cast off stitches back on 4 needles, condensing the stitches to 3 needles, then back to four and don't even ask me about the method for doing the toe area. 

Still, I quite liked the look of the tube of knitting that I was achieving and decided that if it all went horribly wrong, maybe I could turn them into ankle warmers and bring back a bit of 80s fashion.

But I'm persevering and I'm half way through my heel flap,  I still don't really understand the next bit on joining bits back and turning the corner but I'm working on the assumption that it will become clearer as I work through it, one stitch at a time.  Failing that, there's always YouTube!  Anybody else out there having a go at something new this year?

A Special Memorandum Monday

Sian, over at From High in the Sky is giving us a wave as we celebrate another Memorandum Monday.  'Celebrate?'  I hear you ask.  'It's Monday, what could there be to celebrate?' 

Well, it's a birthday Monday here. We had a gathering of the clans yesterday and had a fab family day.  Our daughter and her fiancé came round and our son and his girlfriend visited and took over my kitchen - they are both very keen cooks and dished up an amazing feast of slow cooked shoulder of lamb with pomegranate, salsa verde, roasted spiced potatoes,  broccoli, green beans and tahini butternut squash.  After a brief interlude we sat in the conservatory enjoying the sunshine, enjoying dessert of lemon posset with homemade shortcake biscuits and fresh raspberries, along with a glass of prosecco.  My ideal dinner, I was in 7th heaven; not only was someone else cooking but it was all of my favourite things. So, nothing there that I experienced for the first time, these were tried and tested favourites.  But, as Marie Antoinette always said -

Let them eat cake!

 

  It was my son's birthday last weekend but he was in Edinburgh visiting friends so we had a belated birthday celebration for him here on Saturday.  He loves a bit of chocolate cake (who doesn't?) and I tried a new recipe from my newest favouritest baker - good old Mary Berry.  Malted Chocolate cake.  It was fab.  Even fabber than our previous favourite chocolate birthday cake recipe.

 

And it was thanks to our trusty and reliable Coco to find me something else that was new.  After so much food, we needed to walk off a few calories and there's always one member of the family who is up for a bit of exercise, any time, any day, come rain or shine.  Fortunately it was a day for 'shine' and we set off for the local Country Park.  Where we found that the new bridge that crosses from one side of the lake to the other is  finally open to the public. 

 

Now, in no way can it compare to the Oresund bridge that was the focus of the recent TV programme; it certainly isn't as long!  (And hopefully unlike that one, there will be no dead bodies found half way across it)

 

So that's it from me.  I guess the biggest new thing that I've done since I last blogged is get another year older.  Oh, and whilst I'd love you to pop round and have a birthday cuppa with me, I'm afraid there are only crumbs left from the cake!