Goodbye Fatty

I went back to Weightwatchers tonight, because - I have been overeating lately, not counting my points, eating when I'm not hungry and generally eating food that is high in fat and sugar and calories. The result - I am almost one stone heavier than my goal weight of 8 st 7 lbs. So I decided to take the problem in hand.

And then my neighbour popped by with this delicious cake and I thought it was a fitting last indulgence before I get on the programme, tomorrow.

I reckon it'll take me two months to lose one stone :)

The first egg

Our first egg, laid by Shelley. It reminded me of when I first started gardening many years ago and being amazed at seeing food GROW. Of course, I know that vegetables grow, and that hens lay eggs, but somehow being involved in the entire process, from planting the seed and watering my tubs every day, to the point of picking and eating a carrot or a courgette, made it all come into focus and it was amazing and awesome and almost unbelievable. Well, that's how I felt when we lifted the lid and saw the first egg today.  

The boys helped me out by holding it to show the scale of the egg. It was small but perfectly formed.

And it was still warm!

We were ecstatic to see it had a yolk! I was charged with turning it into something we could all share so I made:

Scones, glazed with Shelley's egg, and Lemon Curd, made with the remainder of Shelley's egg. We met on the lawn at 3pm and enjoyed them together. Hagos missed out on all the fun as he's been away for a few days working. Home tonight.

I'm looking forward to many more hen-associated treats in the coming weeks.

I love Meg

I LOVE MEG

AND MEG LOVES ME

Care No More

Our friends came to visit us last weekend and on Saturday we decided to visit Cairn O' Mohr, a Scottish berry wine-making company. We were lucky enough to tag onto a tour, which was great fun and ended with a tasting session.

We started off in the cafe for lunch, and I had a Ploughman's Lunch, which was really lovely and far too big for me to eat.

Every year the staff put by two bottles of each wine and keep them for ten years. Initially this was explained as being for control purposes - but later in the talk the tour guide revealed they would drink them on a Friday night!

This is me at the wine tasting. The plastic cups we were given were so tiny I initially thought they were being stingy, but then the wine flowed (lots of it) and I tried every kind, red and white, then we moved into the shop to try the sparkling wines and the cider, and a couple of others. I got very drunk very quickly. Good fun as I had a partner in crime in Ba! 

All of us at the end; we were so drunk we bought lots of wine in the shop (good ploy, wine people!). Hagos and I only bought the Strawberry wine and a bottle of cider, but our friends took orders from their friends.

It was an unexpectedly good, adventurous day. Just the kind I like.

Sokken

I've been enjoying The Bridge (Danish/Swedish crime drama on BBC4) so much that I now believe I can speak Danish. Especially after watching all 30 episodes of The Killing too. 


So I present to you Sokken: The Sock! There is only one so far. I made it using leftover wool from this jumper, knitted in Jaeger 4 ply. I still miss that wool and wish it hadn't been discontinued. I like the triple stripes. I can even knit while reading subtitles and most of this sock was knitted while watching The Bridge. The final two episodes are on this weekend.


I've always been drawn to Scandinavia and I'd love to go to Iceland. A friend of Hagos has just moved there and I'm angling for a visit.


After finishing The Socks I might finish my purple and green jumper, just one sleeve to knit. And  I've still to sew together my slippers. 

Hens!!!

We have hens!!! And we're all very excited about them. We picked them up from a farm last night. This is them arriving at their new home.

We've been talking about it for just over a year and finally, suddenly, my neighbour Chloe made a date to meet the hen woman. We have six hens shared by three houses. We've still to clarify the exact flavour of each.

The kids were very excited about them and kept saying they were very 'cute'.

Chloe popping the hens into their new home. They all seem to get on well together so far.

This isn't a great photo. It's much cosier inside than it looks, and there are five little egg-laying sections to the left. 


It's been a steep learning curve for all of us. I like to thoroughly research things before I take them on, so thankfully our neighbours are on the first week's rota for feeding and cleaning them. Hagos and I are next week. I went to the library today and got four books out on keeping hens.


They're all incredibly beautiful and vibrant and prehistoric. Gorgeous girls. The first egg will be beyond exciting :)

New socks

This is my new sock. I'm looking forward to finishing the pair as I think they're rather jazzy.


I've had three mornings at the kitchen table, which is one of my most favourite ways to spend time. At the kitchen table I: watch The Bridge (fantastic Danish/Swedish crime drama; I loved The Killing too), knit my socks, cuddle my cat, drink percolated coffee with frothed milk, read my book (currently still To The Lighthouse), wait for my bread to rise and bake, wait for my chocolate chip cookies to bake, read gorgeous rustic blogs, and daydream.

Saturday

There's a line in a Scarlet Thomas book that says once you've had hand-knitted socks you can't do without them, or something like that. Anyway, that's how I feel about hand-knitted socks. I have two current pairs, the yellow pair with red beads, and the orange pair, BUT the yellow pair is now wearing out on the sole, so it's time to knit a new pair. Rowan has a gorgeous blue Pure Wool 4-ply out at the moment, but I thought I should make use of the leftover wool I already have, and so I chose the muted purple above and will add an occasional green and green and orange stripe to the foot. I think it looks good. No one else in the world will have socks exactly like them.

Whitmuir today. The shortbread is really delicious, and it makes me think I should make my own shortbread again, though tomorrow I will make an apple crumble for afternoon dessert with The Burnses.

I got new shoes recently. They're Campers. I really like them, though maybe not with those socks!

It isn't a good photo of me. My hair needs washed and perhaps I should have put on make up, but Meg, as always, looks beautiful. And I like taking photos of us together. Today she came in smelling of something animal-related and honking. Really awful. And the mouse body count continues to rise. But she is my little darling.


I'm still reading To The Lighthouse and enjoying it immensely. Slowly though. And while I knit I watch The Bridge. I do love those Danish/Swedish crime dramas.  I like a lot of things about the Scandinavian sensibility. On the whole, they're a pretty cool bunch.