films | The Little Room of Rachell

Making: Ummm I’m not sure how this happened, one minute it was a ball of Hayfield Spirit and the next it’s half a cowl! Addicted to bobbles still

Cooking: spicy chicken with tomatoes & peppers, lots of mixed spices

Sipping: water, tonic, lemonade, lime & soda (Dry Lent)

Washing on the line, cyclamen in lots of corners of the garden, mid-March

Reading: Landlines by Raynor Winn. Nearly finished. It’s her third walking book and I’ve loved spending time with her and Moth again

Waiting: for my parcel delivery

Spot the daffodil? A bit invisible and crunched up to the others, but the people coming through on the double deckers will be able to see!

Looking: at all the spring flowers in the garden. So many anemones this year and the heathers are really vibrantly pink

Listening: to Conversations from a Long Marriage (BBC Sounds) Hancock (ditto) my latest Radar playlist on Spotify

Wishing: I planted my chilies, peppers and tomato seeds earlier

The leaves have been munched, but the hellebore flowers are looking good. The garden needs a good spring clean and tidy up

Enjoying: sunny blue sky days which seem slightly more frequent. Today’s one of the best in ages

Appreciating: blossom, daffodils and the smell of flowers’ perfume on the breeze

Eating: an epic goats cheese, onion chutney & rocket sourdough toasty in a cafe on Friday. I earned it!

Liking: my bed, I’ve got into the habit of heading up about 9:30pm to have lots of reading time. Then I wake at 1200/0100/0200 (latest so far: 0215) glasses on and Kindle in sleep mode, bruised side of nose from glasses! A huge D’oh!

Loving: watching Lockwood and Co. On Netflix

I took this photo on the 14th, now the pot is absolutely brimful of viola again. Best autumn purchase I’ve ever made! It’s been a really nice sight from the kitchen window over winter

Buying: local free range eggs (as always.) I’m having another phase of fried and scrambled for lunch

Baking: (this morning) mixed seed sourdough, what a great crust! It’s always a much deeper colour and crunchier, from the oils in the seeds probably

Managing: to get out for more walks lately, dodging the rain storms. It’s been really good to get up to the fields again and not have to wade through ankle-deep mud. It’s a bit slip and slide, but so far I haven’t…

Watching: The latest series of: Unforgotten, Vera and planning to start the new David Attenborough soon

Hoping: for peace, easier financial times for all …so much… positives for the environment, the homeless and disenfranchised …the list seems endless at the moment

Watching: films…Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (or as I called it “A lot of Biff Boff”) Billy Elliot (a modern classic, so worth rewatching!) Brian & Charles (well worth renting via Prime, particularly for those who like quirky British films) Empire of Light (Sam Mendes latest. We really, really enjoyed this at the weekend.)

Saturday. It won’t be long before the trees are in leaf again

Wearing: one of my favourite Seasalt tops. It’s green

Noticing: leaf shadows on the curtain

Forsythia just coming out in flower at the beginning of March

Following: an arrow shaped cloud tracking across the blue sky

Sorting: bits for the charity shop

Getting: a list written for the next groceries order, it’s one of those big order weeks. Why do all the tissues etc all run out at once?

Coveting: Spotify premium, mine’s just run-out

Feeling: the need to move again shortly

Hearing: the clock tick, the birds chirp, someone on a call, the fridge click off

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The clocks went forward this weekend, that loss of an hour can be so discombobulating! I woke up Sunday morning, asked what the time was and when I heard 9 o’clock, I nearly fell out of bed! And then of course I realised that really it was eight. Or, so my body still thought. I wish we didn’t have to change the clocks, although I suppose the extra long hours of daylight until October are good. I’d like to have a year where we try not moving them, just to see what it’s like. I was going to ask if anyone remembered before British summertime began. Then googled it, thank goodness, otherwise I would’ve looked a right idiot! It began in 1916.

To save energy and help the war effort, the Summer Time Act 1916 advanced the clocks in the UK for 1 hour from May 21 until October 1 in the same year. Summer time, or DST, proved so popular that it was named British Summer Time (BST) and the seasonal practice kept

From TimeandDate.com this has some good nuggets of information, although I admit ‘Time Zone History of the United Kingdom’ isn’t exactly a catchy title.

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Tell us a few things, what have you been up to during March? What are you making, enjoying eating, reading or watching on TV?

Making: the rest of the Gingerbread Man. I finally have eyes for him! Crocheting the Coast Blanket bit by bit

Cooking: Sausages with apple & onion in cider sauce

Sipping: Twinings tumeric, orange & star anise tea

Setting up for Christmas at Blenheim on 15th

November has been stunning for autumn colour – very calm, mild weather so the leaves stayed on the trees for much longer. Until we were visited by storm Arwen…

Reading: the lost bees article from The Guardian newspaper, so interesting. It’s HERE

Waiting: for orders to arrive. Actually I’m really waiting for my (December) gin box most of all!

November’s Craft Gin Box – I promised to show you

Danish gin. It’s delicious. Love the owl line drawing

If you’re in the UK and you’d like a half price box for £20, (free P&P) Here’s my referral code. I know I’ve shared this before, but it’s so good I just can’t not. (I get points to spend for successful referrals, which is nice for me too.) You can have a one-off box for a treat, or buy it for someone else for a surprise. Then you can continue a monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly subscription. Or never have another again. Whatever you want

Looking: out to see how frosty it is some mornings. Lately we’ve had some hard frosts. I’m wary of black ice when driving

Basildon Park, NT, our first Christmassy thing on 21st

Listening: Comfort Eating with Grace Dent podcast

Wishing: for a good December – everyone healthy and well

Basildon Park after a good look around the house

Enjoying: Jamie O’s ‘recipe’ for baked feta, eaten with fresh tagliatelle & green veg

Appreciating: family and friends

And tea & cake! Especially after a long chilly walk

Eating: Roasted vegetable pasta bake (Seeds of Change semi-wholemeal tortiglioni pasta – not something I’ve had before, but it worked well because it didn’t go claggy after baking. Not so keen on 100% wholemeal pasta, but would have this again)

Liking: seeing the birds back on the feeders now. The robin has been heartily chomping the mealworms after the cold and snow last weekend

As we walked back to the car at Basildon Park

Loving: meeting up with an old friend who’s over from Australia for a few months

Buying: Baptise Dry shampoo – it’s amazing. But not the part where your hair is covered with white residue, and you get a glimpse into what you’ll look like as an old lady. If you get some, the best tip I’ve read is to leave it on for at least 10 minutes before doing anything at all, so it soaks into the oil. Then do the massage step and brush it out. Be prepared for white flakes everywhere. Don’t wear your best top until afterwards!

Managing: multiple Christmas wish lists. Always try to get a head start in November

Watching: Friday night films. Here some we watched during November: Adult Life Skills on Netflix, The Last Bus on Prime, TICK TICK BOOM on Netflix

Hoping: no Lockdown restrictions are ahead, though if we need them, we need them

Worcester cathedral, before Remembrance Sunday

Wearing: a MASK! Wear a mask, protect others

Noticing: some are still flaunting the new rules that came in on Monday

Following: I’m a Celebrity when it started, not watching so much this year though. It’s just not the same when it’s in Wales, compared to Australia! Have you seen any eps?

Sorting: through photos from the summery summer

Getting: apples in from the garage

Coveting: a Mac Book, a whizzy new SatNav, more walking trainers…(the real Father Christmas might read?! I mean the real one. Not family. This is not a hint for them.)

Feeling: purposeful

Hearing: Hard-Fi’s Hard to Beat on the radio

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What are you planning this weekend? I think we’re heading to a National Trust house tomorrow to see more Christmas sparkles, as a sweetener after having flu jabs, cooking a roast Sunday lunch and I’m still planning to make that chutney! I need help to peel the apples