Sunday 31 May 2015

Time out for half term

Good morning everyone, hope you are enjoying the weekend.

Last week I managed to get a couple of days off work as it was half term, I didn't have the whole week off this time as I have so much to do, but I was very grateful to have some time out from the usual hectic schedule.

On Friday afternoon, after a trip to the newly opened Range store in our town (and delighted with my investment of £1.79 for a balloon whisk AND an ice cream scoop - last of the big spenders or what?!!) I decided to go on a very short drive with my DD around a couple of local villages.  We ended up here for a quick look around...




Mount Saint Bernard's Abbey, it is a monastery very local to our town, a very nice quiet place for a wander around, some lovely grounds and a very interesting building as well to visit.  The church is made from local stone, the photos don't really do the colour justice.  I love to look round places of worship, my days of being head of Religious Studies in a 6th Form College must still haunt me!!

Arriving back home I cooked this cornflake tart, my DS#2 had been asking for this as he could remember it from his days of eating school dinners!


It was declared a big success, and all eaten very quickly together with custard.

Yesterday we had visitors, so much cleaning and cooking, but this morning is grey, raining and dull so a bit of crochet by candlelight is in order...


I am loving my blanket challenge this year, each granny square is made of 3 colours from a palette of 5, with 3 different types of double knit yarn to try to replicate the texture of birch bark.  Each square consists of 10 rows, so takes about 45 minutes to do if there are no interruptions (otherwise the longest it has taken is 3 days - don't ask!).  I have made 17 squares so far as I started the project in April.  I was aiming to do 30 squares in total, but I might make a few more to make the blanket a bit larger, will just have to see how it all shapes up after the summer holidays.

Have a lovely Sunday, and if you are in my part of the UK, lets hope the sun will come out later on!

Helenxx

Friday 29 May 2015

Road trip to Derbyshire

Half term is properly under way for me at last!!  Hooray!!!!

So my bestest friend Sue my darling daughter and I have had a lovely day out in Derbyshire.

So many lovely flowers and blossom everywhere. ..






 
 
the May (Hawthorn) blossom was at it's very best...
 






Adorable animals...




Bakewell was quite busy...

 


Lots of padlocks on the bridge, this seems to be such a growing trend...


It drives my husband absolutely mad, he can moan about this trend for ages...


Love this shop selling hand made baskets of all types...


Reminds me of Domestic Science lessons, when we would carry our ingredients to school in baskets like the one below, covered by a freshly laundered tea towel...


Old police station complete with blue lamp...


We trawled the charity shops, which are usually very good indeed, but only managed to get a few bits and pieces as I think they had been pretty much picked over during the bank holiday weekend.  By this time we really needed coffee and lunch so went to our favourite café.  I love the pattern on my latte - wonder how they do that?

 
The café is within a Thornton's chocolate shop, so they give you a chocolate smile...
 
 
 
Sue was the driver so on the way home I managed to snap a few more photos en route.  The Peacock Hotel in Rowsley, dates back to Elizabethan times...

Big old Victorian Mill in Belper...


Matlock Bath, with the Horsechestnut blossom at it's best...


Tunnel of trees between Matlock Bath and Whatstandswell...


 
A wonderful day out with a lovely friend and DD, just what was needed after what has been a very hectic few weeks. 
 
Helenxx





Monday 25 May 2015

Winter Forest lap blanket project completed

Morning everyone!

Here in the UK it is a bank holiday it is so nice Not to have to rush out for work on a Monday morning :-)

Before our trip to Jordan I finished a stash busting project: a  lap blanket using scraps left from my 2014 blanket.

I have called it my winter forest lap blanket, would you like to see?




Here is the whole thing...

It is basically a huge granny square with extra rows at two sides to make it into a rectangle.  Just trial and error  but I am pleased with how it turned out.  Just right on chilly spring evenings when a big blanket is a tad too much.

Mind you it is chilly and dull this morning,I have lit  a candle on the mantlepiece just to cozy things up a little...


I am now working on another big blanket project,14 out of 30 biiiig squares completed far.  Hopefully back soon to show my progress!

Helenxx



Sunday 17 May 2015

Catching up

Hello everyone, long time no see!!

It has been a very busy time, I just can't believe how quickly the last few weeks have flown by.  So many things happening, all of which have resulted in a definite neglect of all things blog-related.

One of the reasons I have been out of the loop so to speak is that we were lucky enough to go to again to visit the beautiful Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for 12 days.  It is such a fantastic place to visit, a real treat of culture, great food and friendly people.

So, to start off with my catching up I thought I would share some photos from our holiday- hope you find them interesting!

Downtown Amman is a very interesting place to visit, with a Roman Theatre dating back to Biblical times....


Zoomed in you can see pictures of key members of the Jordanian Royal family...


We went to visit the Citadel, one of the highest of Amman's seven hills, it is home to some wonderful Roman ruins, such as this...

 



 

The view of the city from this hill is incredible, so many things to look at and wonder about...






Loved this flight of steps painted in all the colours of the rainbow...


This is the tallest free-standing flagpole in the world, the Jordanians are very proud of their country...

 
A lovely old palace, sits amongst the Roman ruins...
 
 
We were also able to visit some interesting caves and tombs in another part of the city...
 





 
Spring is such a lovely time to visit the Desert Kingdom as it offers a few short weeks of spring weather...
 



 
All of this exploring certainly works up an appetite...




Lemons from a neighbours tree, lovely with a cup of black tea..


Knafeh, best dessert in the Middle East - fact!!

 
These are totally yummy too...
 
 
And this slice of Napolean Cake was a very welcome refreshment...
 
 
All too soon it was time to get back on the plane to come home, but this cheered me up in the airport...yes, a Formula One Ferrari...


Flying to Jordan we experienced very severe weather, quite a rollercoaster ride, with the plane pitching and dropping, mega-turbulence, not very nice at all, even the pilot sounded fed up when he gave his pre-flight announcement, but on the way back things were much calmer thankfully...


Mountains in Anatolya...



And even had time for a bit of plane spotting at Vienna Airport.  We flew from Heathrow via Vienna on Austrian Airlines, who, I have to say, gave fantastic customer service.


All in all a wonderful but very tiring trip!  Then it was straight back to work, which has been, to say the least, very intense.  Oh well, it is half term soon!!

Have a lovely Sunday, Helenxx