Taking Stock – January

Posted on January 30, 2019 by The Little Room of Rachell

Making : piles of things to take to the charity shop

Cooking : Thai Red Curry Butternut Squash Soup from Olive magazine’s website – recipe here. It’s delicious. I doubled up the onion, garlic and red Thai curry paste. And used 1 kilo of (frozen) BNS cubes. If you like thicker soups definitely don’t use all the stock

Drinking : a mug of soup

Reading: The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Wanting: to find out who’s who now. I’m up to 94% read on my ebook, the app estimates it will take 25 minutes to finish

Playing: Kermode & Mayo’s Film review podcast (they’re talking about the Bohemian Rhapsody film)

Deciding: what to read next

Wishing: for a smart Boden bag

Enjoying: cooking lots of new recipes

Not a new recipe, just a colourful tray of veg for roasting: carrots, yellow and red pepper and fennel with sprigs of rosemary

Waiting: for SNOW

Liking: snowdrops and croci appearing

This verge will be full of a host of golden daffodils soon

Wondering: when I’ll meet a rather lovely friend for lunch, we need to find a date that doesn’t clash with anything else. We’ll get there

Loving: ebooks – from the library! All without going to the library. Choose what you fancy on the library app, place a hold for a popular book, an email comes when it’s available and I use the Libby app to download and read it. They are FREE! ❤️

Pondering: posh coats, bags and leather gloves

Considering: a new foundation – do you use liquid/double powder or nothing?

Buying: I got a rolled eyes reaction when I got home from the dentist and a quick visit to one of my favourite yarn shops. Yes, I know I can’t actually use it at the mo, but you don’t pass up Rowan when it’s £2 in the sale! Sheesh!

Watching: Cold Feet, our old friends are back

Hoping: that varying the strength exercises will progress the healing of my hand

A cheeky G&T on Thursday night

Marvelling: at the slowly slow progress of my hand but it’s definitely improving. Had another Physio Hand Therapy appointment yesterday

Cringing: at how reconciliation, communication skills and empathic behaviour seem to be missing from some people’s emotional intelligence

Needing: chocolate

Questioning: whether I can keep thinking, typing and listening. Nope. See you later Wittertainment

Such a fun girl’s weekend away: so much chatter, laughter, tasty food, gin, prosecco and a large Baileys too

Smelling: my perfume

Wearing: a tunic with big front pockets, leggings, chunky red cardie

Following: so many things on TV, Netflix and Prime that I’ve written a list! We’ve stuck to the trad viewing habits of tending to watch an episode, or two at most, a week despite the constant availability of complete series

Knowing: binge watching can spoil the impact and enjoyment of programmes

Thinking: I sound like the forty something I am!

The fridge has spoken again

Admiring: bright colour wearers

Sorting: socks, I’m putting pairs together, then folding and folding them again, rather than pairing them into a lump. I wondered if it stretches the ribbing otherwise. I think my sock drawer looks pretty cool, (if that’s not a total contradiction of the definition of what’s cool….) with all sets in order and like colours together

Frozen single gloves seem to be in abundance on fence posts this month

Getting: nerdier by the year

Bookmarking: recipes, Guardian article and helpful quotes which I rarely go back to read

Coveting: a book of labels

Disliking: the book of labels and stickers I ordered online, they didn’t show many pages online

Opening: the book, wondering why I need a huge Bon Voyage or an Ex Libris sticker which take up half a page

Still going strong

Giggling: at The Navy Lark despite it not being very funny

Feeling: full of soup

Snacking: not necessary right now

Helping: Mum find the BBC World Service so she can record The Beatles Last Concert on Freeview tv (BBC R4 play a selection overnight of The WS programmes. It’s on tonight on The WS if you’re keen to hear it live)

Hearing: Someone saying “I thought you were going to put the heating on!”

Mixing: radio stations. I’ve tried Chris Evans on Virgin, Zoe Ball on BBC R2 and Lauren Laverne on BBC 6 during the early mornings

Mixing II: spices for curry powder

Worrying: it’s pointless, I try not to

Slicing: cucumber. It’s been in the fridge for weeks now

Celebrating: blue skies and sunny days

Forgetting: to put the heating on. Oops, but it’s an hour or more since I said I would, so it can’t be that cold in there!

Winning: nothing since a raffle at Christmas

Pretending: this time next year Rodney, we’ll be millionaires!

Sneaking: marshmallows

Embracing: birdwatching, though our RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results on Monday included just the usual garden birds, no woodpecker like I ordered and which came one year, during the hour!!!!!!!

You? Tell me two things, three if you’re feeling particularly chatty

Five more

Posted on January 18, 2017 by The Little Room of Rachell

On a very rainy Monday I trotted along to my local wool shop and restocked. It’s the blanket which keeps on going! I did think I had only one or two more rows of silver to finish the body, but checked a notebook for my previous ripple lengths and decided it needs to be another 20 inches. I grew up with proverbs echoing in my ears, and currently: “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly” is the one voicing itself again. Fine, it’s no hardship and I’m still enjoying the cosiness while I crochet.

We are all Completely Beside Ourselves is the third book from my pre-Christmas grab and run library visit (see here.) I think it might be the weaker link, for me at least. I’ve got past the spoiler on page 77 and now I barely care. Before I was enjoying running theories about what might have happened through my mind, now I feel a bit ho-hum about it all. I’ll read a bit more and see how I feel by page 100!

Last night we went to a preview showing of the film Lion – go and see it! It gave me goosebumps.

I’m joining in with Ginny and the Yarn Along again.

Spring Day and inspired by another Rachel

Posted on April 22, 2016 by The Little Room of Rachell

One walk – so many flowers, the air smells so sweet, the birds are singing their hearts out, the thwack of the cricket ball on the bat, warm 16 degree sunshine. England really does put on a beautiful Spring show.

Inspired by a talented friend who speed crocheted a cardi to wear to a wedding last Saturday, I borrowed Anna Wilkinson’s book from the library yesterday to check out the pattern. It sounds rather dodgy making part of an outfit for a wedding, but it looked so good on her; not dubiously homemade at all. She’s one stylish chick and just doesn’t seem to do naff. It must be the Art Degree, I always think people who are arty have a certain pizzazz.

I’d forgotten how good a source of inspiration the library shelves can be, I’ve lost the habit of popping in to see what’s there. Reading The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan over the last few days has reminded me to use my local libraries.

Want to see my haul? There’s so much I want to make now, after a bit of an uninspired time, visiting the library was a good move.

The question is can I crochet a cowl in an evening, tonight, to give to my friend tomorrow? As well as drink G&T and a glass or two of white?

Yarn Along

Posted on August 7, 2013 by The Little Room of Rachell

This week I haven’t done any knitting and only a little bit of crochet. To be honest I just haven’t felt like it; I’ve not been well for a week and a half, but hopefully am on the mend. If not there’s going to be a blood test for glandular fever. No thank you very much. It’s quite hard to tell if I’m feeling perkier today since the antibiotics make me feel so unwell, but I think I’m feeling better. Time will tell.

I popped to the library this morning though as I though it might be a good idea to get out.

The little grey paperback is my current read – Goodbye to all That by the writer and poet Robert Graves. Originally published in 1929 then reread, for the first time since publication, and revised by the author in 1957 it’s an account of his childhood and experiences as a young officer in the First World War. I wanted to read something by Graves after reading Pat Barker’s superb Regeneration trilogy.

I’ve been watching a bit of The Barefoot Contessa for the first time on The Food Network this last few days. I’m not altogether convinced by her ‘recipes’ but then the series is titled ‘Basics’ or similar. Seeing some lovely foodie places in San Francisco on one episode made me grab Jamie Oliver’s book. I’m definitely convinced by his food, especially after using others of his cookbooks and eating at his restaurant Fifteen when it opened and several times over the years.

I pounced on the Alice Bliss novel as I’ve had it on my Audible wishlist for ages, but if I can read it for free without using a credit then even better.

My audio book this week is The Brimstone Wedding by Barbara Vine, read by Juliet Stevenson. I wonder if she was told to go fast for this one as the measured pace of Sweet Tooth is definitely not evident! It’s a gripping story; the main character’s just gone to a long abandoned cottage and apart from discovering lots of dust, finds mostly furnished rooms with touches like a vase of dried brittle flowers in place, paintings and photographs and also a 1960s car in the garage. Intriguing!

The yarn part of my post today is starting to knit a foot for the (hopefully not too deformed looking) cat. But you probably guessed that I cast on the 7 stitches just for this post. He’s coming along slowly.

I realise my Yarn Along posts are far more about what I’m reading than yarn, but think that’s ok – I love to see what others’ are reading and enjoying, or not. If you do too check out Kate’s library posts for a start.

I have been feeling a bit funny about the whole blogging thing lately, it sometimes feels as if it’s a bit show-and-tell for adults with a bit of pointless thrown in but I ignore the feeling, which passes, and carry on. But do you ever wonder about this aspect of blogging too? (Those using it to advertise and link to their business need not reply. I also know about inspiration and other positive aspects. )

I’m joining in again with Ginny. What are you crocheting / knitting and reading at the moment?