A new pair of hand knitted socks
A few pictures from a trip to London with Rose at half term. The plan was to go to the Natural History and Science Museums, and to see Big Ben and the London Eye. The queue just to get into the Natural History Museum was crazy so we skipped that. The Science Museum was also very busy which was overwhelming for my sensitive small person, so we didn't stay long. After we had exhausted the quieter bits of the museum we went sight seeing.
Big Ben
The weather ... Just the tiniest hint of spring in the air.
I am wearing ... Jeans, long sleeved navy t-shirt, long blue hand knitted sweater, white furry slipper boots
I am reading ... The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. Stalled.
I am creating ... A pair of blue lacy socks. Just the toe of the second sock to go.
I am listening ... To a cello concerto by Russian composer Miaskovsky.
I am watching ... Not much other than Call the Midwife on Sunday evenings
I am enjoying ... Lighter evenings. It is so nice not to have to drive home from work in the dark.
From the learning rooms ... Rose was pupil of the week for her class last week, which made her very happy. I have just started a short module on reading Latin documents for my archivist's course. I've realised that my Latin is better than I thought it was, which is a nice position to be in! It means the course won't be as time consuming as I expected.
On the menu ...
Monday: beef stir fry
Tuesday: fish and chips
Wednesday: chicken breasts (bought ready marinated) with green veggies and some sort of potatoes
Thursday: maybe vegetarian cottage pie?
Friday: probably salmon
Saturday: baked potatoes and chilli at a band quiz night. I have been delegated to cook a batch of the potatoes
Sunday: roast chicken
On the calendar ... Mostly the usual routine. Helen has a week's holiday from her shop job, and Tevye and I are going to the quiz night on Saturday.
A picture from last week ...
The weather ... today was clear and sunny and at one point I even felt a tiny bit of warmth in the sun. The forecast is for temperatures to drop again tomorrow and to stay barely above freezing for the rest of the week. I am very ready for spring.
I am wearing ... dark blue skinny jeans, pink and burgundy striped knitted tunic, pink hand knitted socks.
I am reading - The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, following up on the Richard III discovery a couple of weeks ago. I could have sworn this was a re-read, but it doesn't seem familiar so maybe I just thought I read it!
I am creating ... the same blue lacy socks. Just got to the heel of sock number two.
I am listening ... to the news on TV. Apparently there has been a huge diamond heist in Belgium.
I am watching ... Call the Midwife and nothing else that I can think of.
I am enjoying ... a quiet evening. Both older girls are out and Rose is tucked up in bed.
From the learning rooms ... Rose has been made a "free reader" at school, which means she gets to choose reading books from the school library instead of from colour-coded reading scheme books (these come from a number of different schemes and are banded by roughly equivalent level). She was particularly excited that she got shown how to use the bar code reader to check books out for herself.
On the menu ... it is half term, so menu planning is a bit hit and miss and the plan is likely to evolve.
Monday - baked chicken breasts, potato croquettes, green beans
Tuesday - chicken in breadcrumbs, chips from the chip van, peas
Wednesday - pasta bake (ready meal as no time to cook)
Thursday - casserole made with frozen turkey leftovers from Christmas?
Friday - vegetarian cottage pie
Saturday - baked potatoes
Sunday - roast beef, roast potatoes and veggies
On the calendar ...
Monday - work for me, meeting in London for Tevye, half term holiday from school for the girls all week
Tuesday - medical appointment for Marie in the morning; Rose's not-so-little-anymore friend N and his mum came for dinner. We don't see them as often as we used to due to busy lives, but it is lovely to see how Rose and N still have a special bond and slot back quickly into imaginative play mode.
Wednesday - I am taking Rose to London to visit the Science Museum, which she loves. She also wants to go and see Big Ben and the London Eye.
Thursday - orthodontist's appointment for Marie. Her braces broke. Again.
Friday - work for me, hospital appointment in the afternoon for Tevye
Nothing on the calendar at the moment for the weekend.
A picture from last week ... or rather, a link to several. A very early collection of photographs of prisoners (they date from the 1860s) that we hold in our archive made the news and then went viral - the mugshots ended up being printed in several newspapers and one of the major TV companies came along to film a news article about them.
The weather ... The snow melted, was replaced by unseasonably warm temperatures marred by wind and rain, and is now back to cool but dry.
I am wearing ... Black and white knitted fair isle dress (three sizes too large, but warm and cozy and just about still wearable, and about the only piece of pre-weight loss clothing I haven't yet thrown out), black cardigan, black tights, black shoe boots (the comfiest pair of heels I possess, which I can happily wear all day).
I am reading ... Kind of ground to a halt, but have lots of books stacking up on my Kindle and hope to get some reading in over the next week.
I am creating ... Blue lacy socks
I am listening ... To Mumford and Sons, Noah and the Whale, Handel's organ concerto No.13, and Freitas Branco symphony No,2, among other things.
I am watching ... Call the Midwife, Miranda.
I am enjoying ... The news that King Richard III's body has been positively identified after being found under a car park in Leicester last year (for American English speakers, you might like to know that Leicester is pronounced Lester)
From the learning rooms ... Rose has developed a liking for maths and has decided it is her favourite subject, along with science, Marie, on the other hand, is disliking it (despite having a maths brain) thanks to a personality clash with her teacher.
On the menu ... Playing it by ear this week
On the calendar ... Marie leaves for Bulgaria tomorrow, and Tevye and I are looking forward to a long weekend away on our own.
A picture (or two) from last week ...
A shiny sink. I'm very slowly dipping a toe back into FlyLady.
The weather ... Snow!!! An inch or two last Friday, followed by more on Sunday giving about 4 inches in total. Helen and Marie's school had a snow day, but Rose's stayed open. Tevye decided to stay home, but I made it to work ok, doubling up with a colleague who lives nearby. The roads were actually surprisingly good - usually any significant snowfall in the UK creates traffic chaos.
I am wearing ... Black jeans, black t-shirt, black and maroon striped sweater
I am reading ... Swiss Watch (but haven't read much this week)
I am creating ... Cream sweater for myself. Just the neckline to go.
I am listening ... Still on an English classical composers kick
I am watching ... Miranda and a new series of Call the Midwife
I am enjoying ... The snow turning everything into a winter wonderland.
From the learning rooms ... Two GCSE science exams for Marie last week. I don't think she is very optimistic about the results.
On the menu ...
Monday: Sausages and mash, sweetcorn
Tuesday: Fish and chips
Wednesday: Chicken, veggies
Thursday: Something from the freezer (I have to work late)
Friday: ??
Saturday: Chicken soup
Sunday: Turkey leftovers with roast potatoes and parsnips
On the calendar ... Not too much!
Thursday: Open evening at the archive to celebrate our centenary
Saturday: Local drama group panto - I know a few of the cast so Tevye and I are going along to watch. Pantomimes are considered too scary by
Rose.
Sunday: Helen has her final assessment for her gymnastics coaching qualification
A picture from last week ...
The weather ... an inch or two of snow yesterday. Now thawing slowly, but freezing temperatures predicted for the rest of the week.
I am wearing ... warm winter pyjamas. It is Tuesday night already. Decided it was better late than never with this daybook.
I am reading ... Swiss Watch. Enjoying the book, but not much time to read.
I am creating ... a sweater for myself, knitted in the round from the bottom up. I've reached the yoke so not much more to go and I want to finish it while the weather is still cold enough to wear it. I am repurposing the yarn from last year's aran cardigan that had become ridiculously large thanks to a combination of weight loss and having deliberately knit it oversized.
I am listening ... to English composers. I have started back at orchestra after skipping it last term and we are playing Vaughan Williams' London Symphony, In the South by Elgar and Walton's viola concerto. I'm enjoying listening to all three.
I am watching ... Miranda, and not a lot else.
I am enjoying ... playing my violin again.
On the menu ...
Monday: chicken stir fry
Tuesday: fish in breadcrumbs, potato waffles, green veg
Wednesday: chicken fillets, sweet potato, carrots
Thursday: baked potatoes and chilli
Friday: ??
Saturday: vegetable soup
Sunday: left overs of Christmas turkey with roast potatoes and veg
On the calendar ...
Tuesday: orthodontist for Marie, and a meeting about her trip to Bulgaria in the evening
Wednesday: brass band for myself and Rose (who is beginning to read music, although her ability to actually play the notes is lagging behind her ability to read them - most kids do it the other way round!)
Thursday: orchestra in the evening, and I have promised to go to the gym with Marie while Rose is in her swimming lesson.
Another quiet weekend with nothing on the calendar.
A picture from last week ... we received two large archive collections at work last week. This was about one-third of the total amount that had to be reboxed and shelved during the one weekday we are closed to the public. It was a long, hard day, but we made it!
The weather ... miserable. Last year was the wettest on record for England. This year has started the way last year ended - grey, damp and depressing. I have had enough of rain in all its forms.
I am wearing ... pyjamas. I forgot to finish this post earlier and now it's bedtime.
I am reading ... Swiss Watching: Inside the Land of Milk and Moneyby Diccon Bewes. I was inspired by the posts of blogging friends who live in or regularly visit Switzerland to pick this one up in Amazon's Kindle sale and learn more about this beautiful country.
I am creating ... belated Christmas socks for my brother. I gave him a ball of yarn and a knitting IOU. I'm part way through the foot of the second sock so should be done in a day or two. Then I have more socks to knit and a sweater to finish.
I am listening ... to silence!
I am watching ... Miranda. Ridiculous but funny.
I am enjoying ... a box of chocolate covered marzipan. No one else in the family eats it, so it's all mine!
On the menu ... I have to think about menu planning again? Yikes! I have no idea. Brainstorming what is in the fridge and freezer:
... left over turkey for a casserole
... marinated boneless chicken thighs
... box of Costco's seasoned sole fillets (love these!)
... bagels and salt beef
... various root vegetables - roasted veggies? soup?
... frozen cauliflower (cauliflower cheese?)
... baking potatoes
... minced beef (cottage pie?)
On the calendar ...
Monday: Rose back to school
Tuesday: Helen and Marie back to school
Thursday: our larger, older car is being serviced. Hoping no major repairs are needed. Busy, physical day at work as we are expecting delivery of lots of stuff previously held in a museum store.
A quiet weekend?
A picture from last week ...
We celebrated New Year with local friends so were actually about 40 miles from London, but we enjoyed the fireworks on TV (the pictures are iPhone shots from the TV screen). Marie was planning to go and watch them live, but changed plans at the last minute due to the damp weather and some of her friends not having enough money for the train fare.
Oh my goodness! I knew it had been a while since I posted, but not that long! December is always a busy month, with lots of carol playing with the band and all the other pre-Christmas stuff, but this year it just ran away with me. It was busy in a good way - despite working full time everything got done without it becoming stressful - but blogging and reading blogs got pushed out by all the extra stuff. For some reason I tend to prioritise keeping up with other people's blogs over writing my own. I finally caught up with my overloaded feed reader yesterday, though I'm afraid I didn't do much in the way of commenting, so now I am back here.
A little late I know, but I'd like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas season (what's left of it!)
The weather ... alternating between dull late autumn weather and bright late autumn weather.
I am wearing ... Black trousers, dark red long sleeved t-shirt, black cardigan, black boots
I am reading ... almost finished To The Island by Meaghan Delahunt on the Kindle. I picked it up as a deal of the day because of the Greek setting and have found it well written and readable, though not the type of book I would normally choose.
I am creating ... socks and sweater. Still.
I am listening ... to Rose snoring. She climbed into my bed ten minutes ago, apparently awake. Not that awake, it seems!
I am watching watched ... Skyfall at the cinema, and Testament of Youth on DVD. This was a dramatisation of Vera Brittain's book about her life during the First World War which made a deep impression on me when I watched it as a teenager in the 70s. Well worth watching again
I am enjoying ... the Oxford English Dictionary word of the year for 2012, "omnishambles", meaning a situation which is so badly managed that every aspect of it is shambolic. Last week my life was an omnishambles, hence the lack of blogging. Nothing major, just a series of family issues (across three generations) and minor mishaps which accumulated into a state of overall chaos. I was delighted to find I could encompass the whole situation in a single word!
Learning notes ... Rose has just started violin lessons at school. She brought a letter home about it a few weeks ago, but by the time she had remembered to collect the letter and give it to me the teacher's list was full. She now has an extra slot so was able to take Rose, who is having a shared lesson with a friend in her class.
On the menu ...
Monday: chicken pie, butternut squash, sprouts, potato
Tuesday: fish and chips
Wednesday: chicken casserole with dumplings
Thursday: toad in the hole, carrots, cabbage
Friday: cod and mushroom bake
Saturday: Marie and I will be out, so leaving the rest of the family to fend for themselves!
Sunday: roast lamb
On the calendar ...
Friday: non-uniform day for Rose
Saturday: going to the Christmas market and fair at Birmingham with Marie
Sunday: taking Helen to see the Twilight movie (no, I'm not a Twilight fan, just a kind mother!)
Rest of the week normal routine I hope!
A picture from last week ... nothing on my iPad from last week, so here is a gratuitous butterfly picture, taken at the zoo in the summer.
The weather ... Chilly but at least it is dry after a miserable, wet day yesterday.
I am wearing ... Green skinny jeans, black long sleeved t-sort, old grey cardigans, soft spotty purple socks.
I am reading ... I'm not making any headway with The Happiness Equation. Time to move on to something else.
I am creating ... A scrapbook for my mother for Christmas. Still knitting the cream Bedford sweater and stripy socks.
I am listening ... To the news on TV.
I am watching ... Downton Abbey series 3 finished last night. At least there is a Christmas special to look forward to.
I am enjoying ... Path. This iPad / iPhone app seems to mix some of the best aspects of Facebook with Instagram. I have no friends using Path (yet?)so I'm playing all alone, using it as a way of keeping a pictorial diary. I think it is meant to be used as a smaller, more private social network than Facebook, ideal for families or small groups of friends, but it can also be used to post to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.
On the menu ...
Monday: turkey steaks, potato wedges, mushrooms, green veg
Tuesday: chicken, chips and sweetcorn
Wednesday: sole fillets, sweet potato, green beans
Thursday: pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs
Friday: vegetarian chilli
Saturday: soup
Sunday: roast chicken
On the calendar ...
Wednesday: band practice (assuming the flood outside the village hall where we practice has subsided. Sunday's rehearsal had to be cancelld)
Thursday: medical appointment for Tevye; parent-teacher consultation for Marie
Friday: going to the cinema with Tevye to see Skyfall (not sure yet whether this will be Friday or later in the weekend)
Sunday: playing at two Remembrance Day services with the band. Then going to Helen's boyfriend A's house to celebrate his 18th birthday.
A picture from last week ... Our miniature sized Rose still fits comfortably in an IKEA shopping trolley!
The weather ... back to more of the dull, grey autumn weather after a cold weekend. It was frosty here, but some parts of the country had snow. Thinking of all my American friends who are in the path of hurricane Sandy. One friend just posted on Facebook that they have been warned to expect their power to be out for a week. I can't imagine! I am old enough to remember the power cuts and three day week of the seventies, but have never known a power cut lasting more than a few hours. The girls are so unused to anything more than a momentary one that when our power went out for 30 minutes several days ago they were quite panicky - they couldn't get their heads around the concept of not having electricity at all!
I am wearing ... Black and cream floral tunic, black cardigan, black skinny jeans, black boots.
I am reading ... The Happiness Equation. I'm still ploughing on with this, though I can't say the economics of happiness is grabbing me. I may give up.
I am creating ... Another Bedford jumper, in cream Aran this time. I had to unravel my painstakingly knitted Aran cardigan for last winter due to the weight loss. I intended it to be generously sized, but it had turned into a sack so I decided to unravel it and repurpose the wool into something I could wear. I'm also knitting a pair of cheerful socks for a friend.
I am listening ... Christmas music which Marie and Rose have latched onto on Spotify. No point in telling them in isn't even November yet.
I am watching ... Downton Abbey. Only one episode to go.
I am enjoying ... my birthday presents, in particular a pair of blue suede, wool lined Converses. Toast for feet, and in much demand from the two daughters hose feet are the same size as mine. Also enjoying the mug Marie had made for me to take to work, with the slogan "Keep Calm and Carry On Archiving".
On the menu ... it is half term and the girls are home from school. That means we are out and about and random numbers of people turn up for meals. No point in menu planning this week. I'll just take things as they come.
Learning notes ... Rose has asked if we can do experiments. Will have to see what I can come up with. Maybe a vinegar and bicarbonate of soda volcano?
On the calendar ...
Monday: going out for a meal with a friend tonight, and Tevye is going to take the girls to a cheap carvery
Tuesday: Helen is working at the gym in the morning, then going to an induction session for her new job. Marie is planning to sleep over at a friend's.
Wednesday: band practice. No work for me - I'm taking Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off to spend time with the girls.
Thursday: doing something with Marie, but I'm not sure what yet. Rose is going to a friends for a tea party.
Friday: Tevye is also taking the day off. Eating out as a family, using up some Tesco clubcard vouchers.
Saturday: going to a fund raising murder mystery evening put on to raise funds for a "Second Skin" for a colleague's son who has severe cerebral palsy.
Sunday:
A picture from last week ... the main course I made for our round-the-world meal last week. Helen was the only person in when our neighbour called with the back of country names for her to pick one. She picked Egypt. Eek! My ideas on Egyptian cuisine amounted to zero. Thanks to Google and Food.com we ended up with beef in a rich onion sauce, green beans in tomato sauce, leeks (apparently in Roman times Egypt was known for producing the best leeks - who knew?) and rice. The starter turned out to be Croatian wild mushroom soup, and the dessert was pumpkin pie and blueberry pie. No prizes for guessing that country!
Some short takes for Sunday as I didn't get round to writing any on Friday!
1. The bright spot in what was otherwise a rather stressful week (dealing with other people's issues - nothing major, just frustrating and time consuming) was that Helen acquired a second part time job. A new retail park is opening at the end of November in the nearest large town and she applied for jobs in a couple of clothes stores. She was offered both and accepted this one. The other was a well known pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap, disposable fashion chain.
2. Helen and her boyfriend A have been together for a year now. Although we had met and chatted with his parents in passing we decided it would be nice to get to know them better and invited them over for tea. As we talked it became apparent that A's grandmother and my father both came from the same village and were almost certainly related. A bit of digging around on Ancestry and I worked out the Helen and A are fifth cousins. Small world!
3. When buying hair dye that is called "dark chocolate", do not be seduced by the word chocolate into ignoring the word dark, or you may end up with hair that is more Morticia Addams than the natural brunette you were anticipating. Just saying.
4. As I think of things that I want to include in these quick takes posts I make a brief note of them as there is no chance of me remembering them otherwise. Unfortunately it is not a foolproof method. One of my recent notes reads "chocolate mousse". Huh? If I ever remember what I was thinking of I'll let you know.
5. Rose is given a homework project once a term. The whole school gets given the same task which is very broad, allowing them to do pretty much anything they like on a given topic. This term the topic is Amazing Feats. After disentangling "feat" and "feet" and some discussion of what might be considered amazing, Rose proposed a suitable topic ... the inventor of the tooth fairy. Sadly I felt this was not a viable option. She is now dithering between doing something about the Games Makers (the 70,000 volunteers who helped with the London Olympics and Paralympics) or something about amazing women.
The weather ... foggy and damp. Blah.
I am wearing ... black skinny jeans, black and cream floral tunic, black cardigan, old black socks (one of them developed an irritating hole in the toe mid-morning!), black boots
I am reading ... The Happiness Equation , but haven't got very far with it.
I am creating ... a second Bedford sweater, for myself this time. I finished Marie's yesterday. I have a scarily long list of Pre- Christmas knitting to get through, but I also need a cosy winter woolly. I can knit quickly!
I am listening ... to Fun., Mumford & Sons, and Jllohn Williams movie themes.
I am watching ... Downtown Abbey, Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor. Who Do You Think You Are and Great British Bake Off finished last week. Apparently a new series of Call the Midwife is starting soon. I gather the first series has recently started in the US. We loved it, though found it slightly alarming that a "historical" drama was set I. The time and place where Tevye was born!
I am enjoying ... making plans for various social evens and trips out over the next couple of months.
Learning notes ... Rose's teachers gave her the most glowing school report last week. Not only is she doing very well academically, she is also hard working, polite and caring. Marie had various test results back, with excellent marks in French and maths. The less said about science the better!
On the menu ...
Monday: chicken stir fry
Tuesday: fish and chips
Wednesday: ready meals from the freezer (crazy busy evening!)
Thursday: cod with mushrooms and courgettes
Friday: veggie chilli
Saturday: round-the-world meal with our neighbours (we are responsible for the main course. Helen picked a country out of the hat for us. I think it was a country that got added after we had drunk a glass or wine too many! Think I can rise to the challenge though)
Sunday: roast chicken
On the calendar ...
Wednesday: Rose has her first ballet exam in he afternoon; band practice in the evening
Saturday: meal with neighbours
Sunday: band practice
- otherwise a quiet week
A picture from last week ... found on my photostream! A certain small person is very fond of the Fairy Colors iPad app.
I still haven't managed to edit the pictures I took at the Harry Potter studio tour - iPhone 4 combined with fairly low lighting levels means they need s bit of tweaking - but I did play with some on Instagram. I applied the same filter to them all and thought the results were quite atmospheric.
The great hall, which was built as a permanent set, apart from the roof which is just a studio roof. All the magical ceiling effects were superimposed using a scale model of the roof and carefully synchronised camera angles.
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