Drying off

I gathered up the onions that had been drying outside 

and ...

… strung them up. They will dry even more hanging in the greenhouse and then I shall hang them up in the garage out of the way. We'll use the smallest and bruised ones first. 

There's about 60, not a massive number but they should last us for a while.

xx

Keep learning

For this little project I had to learn Something New again. It was FDC (Foundation Double Crochet) and CSDC (Chainless Starting Double Crochet) and both techniques were new to me. The wool I used was from my stash which seems to keep growing no matter how many things I crochet!

The pattern for this little coat is here and is a quick and relatively easy make - when you've learned the Something New of course.

xx

Ain't that nice!

Broad beans given to friend.

Recipe given to me.

Ain't that nice!

xx

From my seat

Ahead of me is the ornate decoration in the Tower Ballroom and many people enjoying an afternoon of dancing to the Wurlitzer organ.

To my right is one of the pillars and ...

to my left I have a view of the stage just after the change over of organs. The Wurlitzer rises up from below the stage.

Behind to my left is some decorative fretwork ...

and behind to my right a tiled picture showing the height of the tower compared to others around the globe. It is of course no where near as high as these other towers ...

being about half the height of the Eiffel Tower.

I changed seats to one in the balcony so my view now is of the whole ballroom floor. The tables around spill out over the floor at the sides.

Well that's my exercise done for the day!

xx

Why?

Why is it that every jam that I try to make never seems to have or reach a setting point?

Why do my nails always split or chip before they reach a suitably long stage?

Why do my kitchen cupboards always get untidy?

Why do the weeds come up the day after I've weeded the garden?

Why does it rain just before I've finished weeding the border?

Why is a banner popping up at the top of the blogs that I'm reading saying that the site is using cookies from Google to personalise ads and analyse traffic? They give me no option to agree - isn't that blackmail?

xx

I can't do it

I can't bake without a mess. Even with a mixer there's always a pile of batter that sticks to the whizzy thing. I do try to spatula it off and spoon it off and knife it off but it just won't come clean without the use of fingers!

There's always a drip or two or three that runs down the sides when spooning it into the tin. How should I get that off so it won't burn in the oven?

The floor gets covered with flour when I open the flour bags. I've never opened a flour bag yet that doesn't spill its contents all over.

It even sticks to the bowl and ends up around the sink. The bowl, the bowl - just won't come clean no matter how much I spoon out. I end up chasing little bits around the sides and the bottom. Oh woe is me. I hate baking - such a mess.

Mind you the the finished item is not so bad.

I didn't use my fingers to rescue the drip!

xx

PS A very warm welcome to my new follower.

A Lidl bit of this

I transplanted some Lidl growing lettuce and lo and behold they've grown into large lettuce which I can eat with my salad.

The tomatoes are now ready to eat ...

and the grapes are plumping out. They won't be ready until September.

But I can eat some poppy peas with my salad. These were a swap for a tub of strawberries. Here's to friends who grow.

It's been warm today - DD's fences have been mended, a load of invasive ivy pulled out, broad beans picked, curry with home grown veg cooked and courgettes ready to gift to friends. I'm going to start another ripple to be used as a cover for patio furniture cushions. All is well.

xx