The pain of no internet access, thermal cooking and the bread maker goes kaput

It’s amazing how we all rely so heavily on the internet. Our router went kaput earlier this week and it’s been uncomfortable not having easy access to the worldwide web. The kids are complaining and I’ve discovered just how often I go on to look up something because I keep finding myself thinking ‘Oh I must Google that’ then doing a mental slap when I remember I can’t. Sigh. The new router came today. It’s such a relief. I love the internet, it’s so full of interesting information.

Anyway, how are you? Hope you are hale and hearty. This week has been great because the weather has been amazing: sunshine and warmth all week. It’s gotten colder today and we’re expecting bad weather over the weekend, but that’s okay…we had a few days of fabulousness and it was great.

Been busy making things recently. Firstly, I completed my thermal cooker/cooking bag. Basically, it acts a bit like a flask and a slow cooker in that you put already heated food in, it keeps it hot and the food continues to cook for hours. I’ve made a chilli and some soup in it and it’s great. I only need to heat the food for ten minutes (as opposed to half an hour or, in the case of the chilli, 45 minutes) and I can leave it all day safe in the knowledge there is absolutely no way it can cause a fire or burn the food. If you’re keen to make one for yourself, you can get it from this lady – Elaine Collier of Mortgage Free in Three. I reckon I made mine for about a tenner, you can buy something similar for about £45.

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Talking of food, my poor old bread maker breathed its last yesterday. I was making bread, the dough was a bit too enthusiastic and rose and spilled over the edge of the metal dough basket. It went all over the element and then started burning. I tried to clean it out, but there was too much burnt dough and blackening inside, and I didn’t feel safe using it, so into the bin it went. I like home-made bread, so will possibly be looking into getting another one.

Secondly, I knitted up a wee hedgehog for my friend’s daughter. It’s an Alan Dart pattern. She’s a hedgehog lover and she had a birthday recently, so I thought it would be the perfect gift. I bought her other things too, including this lovely hedgehog mug. She was really happy with it.

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Still reading Gormenghast (well the first book Titus Groan) and I must say it has really grown (or ‘groan’ – sorry, terrible pun) on me. I love Mervyn Peake’s way of writing, it’s lovely and he describes scenes and paints characters beautifully. I think I could learn a lot writing-wise from these books.

Watched a really interesting and enjoyable film recently. Only Loves Left Alive stars Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as two vampires living in the modern age. It’s quite a slow film, but there’s something really beautiful and engaging about the storyline, about the characters. I loved it and the soundtrack was excellent. There’s a fair bit of humour in it too and it’s…well…really calming. It makes a change to watch a movie that’s not all action, CGI and rock soundtracks. Thumbs up from me.

Can’t go on any further without mentioning Game of Thrones. I am so happy it’s back. I just love it and this series is proving to be good already despite the first two episodes setting it up. But that’s what always happens with GoT…the storylines don’t really hot up until at least chapter three. However, I’m already stressing about which characters will die in this series. Please don’t make it Tyrion! Still haven’t read the books…my reason is this: I am worried that if I get into them I will have to keep reading them til the end and then I’ll know what happens and that will spoil the tv series for me. Sad, but true.

Right, am away to do something else…okay, I’m off to explore the internet. Til next time!

Dawn xxx

Lunch in Luss and the road to recovery

Luss

Luss

So how are you all? Well I hope. Life has been returning to semi-normality after hubby’s stint in the hospital last weekend. He’s still not 100%, but is on the road to recovery…slowly, he’s getting there.

Luss

Luss

Right, so what’s been happening this week? I was back at work at the beginning of the week, so didn’t really do anything except keep up with the housework and cook dinners. Today, we decided to go out for a little while. Hubby got out of hospital on Monday evening and has been indoors ever since, so we went out for a small spot of lunch. We drove to Luss on Loch Lomond for lunch at the Village Rest. It’s a nice place to eat and the food is nice, but they’ve bumped the prices up, which is disappointing. They used to be such good value for money. I mean £10.95 for a nice, but not special burger, salad and chips isn’t good value in my books. I’d expect to pay at least a couple of quid less. Hey ho.

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Anyway, we ate, we went for a short walk and came home. The trip took it out of hubby who went for a wee lie down after.

This afternoon, I worked on a knitted gift for a young lady whose birthday sleepover my daughter attended on Monday night. I had intended having it finished for her before Monday, but fate took me away from knitting and over to hospital! Anyway, I will have that finished (and I will show you the finished product) within the next couple of days. I watched All About Eve whilst knitting, it’s one of my all time favourite movies. I love Bette Davis, what a performer! It’s a great movie and hilarious in bits. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Meanwhile, the girl spent the afternoon cleaning the pit that is her room. The boy had finished his this morning, but hers was still messy. This is the expression she had on her face when I told her to clean it…

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And then it was this…

Noooooooo! I don't want to clean my room! You can't make me!

Noooooooo! I don’t want to clean my room! You can’t make me!

Needless-to-say she was sent up to her room to clean it! It’s still a pit, but better than it was. I hate keeping her indoors when the weather is so nice, but I’ve been asking her for weeks to clean it and had to put my foot down.

Right, I am off. It’s nearly 9pm, I’m not long in from my bi-weekly walk with friends and I’m desperate for a wee cup of tea. Til next time!

Dawn xxx

 

 

 

Annie, the Moneyless Man, Gormenghast and Easter Cakes

 

Annie

Aileen Quinn, the Annie of the original 1982 movie.

 

It’s been one of those weeks where I feel I’ve been chasing my tail. The girl was one of the orphans in her school’s rendition of the musical Annie. She was performing on Monday and Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoon. She’s also been rehearsing for weeks with her schoolmates.

Anyway, we didn’t go and see the Monday night show, but we did see Tuesday’s. It was late nights for the girl both nights, but the performances were excellent especially young L who played the lead. She’s a friend of my daughter’s and was amazing. Well done young lady! The rest of the cast (kids from P6 and P7) were great too!  Beforehand P4 and 5 put on a school version of the Jungle Book and were also very good. Well done all of you.

I can’t believe we’re at Thursday already. This week has truly flown by. I know I say that nearly every week, but this week has been particularly quick.

What have I been doing? I’m nearly finished a little blanket I’ve been knitting for premature babies for the knitting group I’ve attended.

I’ve started (again) the first of Melvyn Peake’s Gormenghast books. It’s really very good. I was waylaid by re-reading Mark Boyle’s Moneyless Man, which is the tale of his going without money for a whole year, living off the land and swapping skills for food and other necessities. It’s really interesting. I find people like him fascinating and admire the fact that he’s really stuck to his principles. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t fancy living without money in a freezing cold caravan for a year, but I enjoyed reading about his adventures.

mary francis sewing book

The girl and I had a sewing afternoon last weekend. She was desperate to use her sewing machine and make her favourite teddy a dress. She chose her material and we made a simple dress from the Mary Frances Sewing Book which is a lovely book first published at the turn of the last century. It’s aim was to teach young girls to sew using a story. It’s lovely – the story is lovely and the images are gorgeous. The girl’s dress turned out really nice (I did help her with bits, but she did the main parts herself) and she’s really pleased with it.  Hopefully we will be able to do another over the Easter holidays.

Talking of Easter, the boy wanted to make cakes and sell them ‘for cancer’ so we’re doing a wee coffee morning next week in aid of Cancer Research. Of course I’ll be doing most of the work, but he’s happy he’s doing something. He’s been wanting to do something like that for a while having been impressed by a girl in his school doing something similar. He’s quite excited about it. The girl’s keen too. Wee souls.

Anyway, must get on. Only got a few hours before the kids stop for Easter, so am going to enjoy them. Am currently watching Dangerous Liaisons – an all time favourite of mine. So, I will say adieu and wish you a happy Easter. Enjoy the holidays, chocolate and decorating and rolling of your boiled eggs.

Dawn xxxx

 

Ballet debut, the mouths of babes and being on a roll

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So my girl made her debut as a ballet dancer last weekend and I couldn’t have been more proud. She was just lovely up there in her white ballet dress. Lovely and very graceful (unlike me!). I had that ‘mum moment’ when I felt I would just burst with pride watching her up there with her friends. She was gorgeous.

Anyway, enough of my boasting about my lovely daughter. How has your week been? I’ve been quite busy attending the ballet show (which was excellent) and gutting various bits of the house (my study mainly which was in desperate need of being cleaned out). I re-started the baby blanket I was knitting for prem babies. My husband and I also celebrated our nineth wedding anniversary this week (I made hubby home-made kebabs courtesy of the Hairy Bikers fab recipe…we all love it).

In the middle of it all was Mother’s Day. My hubby gave me tea and toast in bed. The kids gave me a lovely necklace and cards. I got lots of cuddles and kisses. Hubby also made lunch and bought in  a curry for dinner, so I didn’t have to cook at all that day, which was a nice treat. Of course, the shine was somewhat taken off the mum glow a few days later when my son, who is seven, was extoling the virtues of hubby as a good dad and then turned round and said to me: “Dad’s always doing stuff for us mum, but I don’t know what you do!” I couldn’t help but laugh. From the mouths of babes eh? My husband thought this was hysterical…he knows I basically run the whole household. Weans!!

Did a training course on social media on Tuesday at the Albany Centre in Glasgow and it was really good. I now know a lot more about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Hootsuite and more. It was an intense course, but very good. Unfortunately, I’d had very little sleep the night before (I shouldn’t drink tea before going to bed…was up for the toilet) and yawned a fair bit during the day. Hope the lecturer didn’t think it was him! It wasn’t, he was very good.

Anyway, it’s now the Thursday of a very busy week and I’m just taking five minutes to do my blog. Have already done my housework AND (get this) the ironing!! I know – it’s not like me, I usually leave ironing to the very, very last. I’ve also worked out my meal menus for next week (and my shopping list), I’ve made bread in the bread maker and I’ve baked biscuits (admittedly they aren’t working out the way I’d hoped, but they’ll still taste nice…I hope). I am on a roll today! Later today I will probably drop from exhaustion, but just now I’m feeling good.

Right, I need to go now. Got all the ironing the put away. Til next time!

Dawn xxx

Weather for ducks, the Primevals and a ballet stage debut

mary poppins

It’s been a strange bag weather-wise this week: we’ve had mainly nasty, horrible, cold and wet, blowy and windy weather…you know: the type that makes you wish you were still tucked up in bed all cosy and warm. On a couple of nights the wind was so strong I thought the roof was going to be ripped off our house. I didn’t go outside for fear of ‘doing a Mary Poppins’ – being whisked off to who-knows-where, umbrella up, toes pointing out but without the beatific smile of the good lady, but more a look of horror! Then on Tuesday we had the most stunning day – all sunshine and spring warmth, the birds were singing their wee hearts out and all was good with the world. The weather’s gone potty…I’ve been saying that for a few years now.

Anyhoo…how have you been? What have you been up to? For regular readers, you’ll know I was at two 50th birthday occasions last weekend: lunch with my friend Tracy and a party at Glasgow’s Sloane’s bar on Saturday night for my friend Laurina. Both excellent occasions. The party was excellent. I danced the night away to live bands: the Beat Poets (the original Glasgow band, not the one from Northern Ireland)

The Beat Poets

The Beat Poets

and the Primevals. Fantastic! Spent Sunday recovering from all the dancing (achey body – it’s been a while since I danced my socks off!) and wine. Was so worth it though!

The Primevals

The Primevals

NB I should point out that the last two pics were taken many moons ago and the lads are a little bit more mature but can still rock with the best of them!! When are they next playing that’s what I want to know?

Moving on…

Unfortunately, the girl has been unwell with a sore throat and earache. She got this from her dad who is also suffering and can’t hear out of one ear. His has been going on for a couple of weeks, hers came on on Sunday and she seems to be recovering. She was off Monday and Wednesday and half of Tuesday though…wee soul. She’s away today having declared yesterday that she was bored and desperate to get back to school. My built in mum radar is wondering if there’s an alternative reason other than boredom? Hmmm. She is in the school show (they’re doing Annie) and she does love to sing so that might be it. The boy, however, is well, but extremely put out that his sister has been off and he hasn’t. He’s been cranky and extremely cheeky about it. Some time in the pokey (in this instance his room) soon cured him of that though. Weans!

Am feeling all smug with myself just now. Not only have I got all my housework done, but the dishes and washing is done too. I also had my piano lesson this morning, so have been really busy. I am one of life’s writers of lists so have ticked off a fair few ‘must dos’ off that. Kitchen cleaned – tick. Bathroom cleaned – tick. House dusted and hovered – tick. Piano lesson – tick. Blog written – almost tick.

This is what I'll be knitting for the fish and chips babies.

This is what I’ll be knitting for the fish and chips babies.

Joined a local knitting club this week. It’s a monthly meet and started when some ladies from our local church decided to get together to knit for Africa’s Fish and Chips babies and premature babies in our local maternity hospitals. The group recently advertised in the village for more knitters, so I joined. I thought it would be fun. The ladies all range in age from their 80s (I’m guessing) right down to me and another mum who I think may be about my age. I think we’re the youngest there at 44 (well, that’s what I am). Anyway, I am in the process of knitting a blanket for premature babies and I want to knit something for the Fish and Chips babies, so called because they are sent home from hospital wrapped in newspaper because their parents can’t afford to clothe them. Wee souls. Anyway, I went on Tuesday, was made very welcome, had a good blether and felt good for doing something nice for others. Unfortunately, I knitted my blanket whilst tired and made a few mistakes so had to rip it out and start again. No probs. Am looking to get the blanket, a top and a couple of hats finished by next month for the next meeting.

This weekend looks like it’s going to be a busy one: the girl has her ballet show on Friday and Saturday nights. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m going with my mum – the boys opted out, it’s not their kind of thing. My mum and dad are coming down for dinner first and then me and mum will go and see our wee ballerina strut her stuff. In between now and then, she also has a couple of rehearsals too so I will be taxi-ing her around most days this weekend. On Sunday, though, I will be putting my feet up and enjoying Mother’s Day. We don’t make a huge thing of it in our family. I have got my mum some nice gifts and a really lovely card. My boy has already presented me with a home-made card and apparently the girl has one for me too. I like these the best. I know what I’m getting because I ordered it…a pearl necklace which will go with my 50s dress. I’m really looking forward to a cup of tea in bed on Sunday morning…that’s a real treat for me!

Anyway, must be off. If you’re a mum, enjoy Mother’s Day on Sunday. Am I right in thinking the clock goes forward this weekend? I’ve heard from a couple of places this might be so…will check it.

Til next time!

Dawn xxx

Stripes and Burns

A couple of wee snowy pics from earlier in the week...

A couple of wee snowy pics from earlier in the week…

Had a really busy week this week. Firstly, I attended our local school’s Burns event…the kids (including my two) sang Burns songs or those written in Old Scots (loved the rendition of The Welly Boot Song…reminded me of my early childhood, we used to sing it at school on rainy days when everyone wore wellies), poems (again Burns or other poets’ work, well done P7 for their Address to a Haggis) and Scottish country dancing. Was a lovely event and we even got haggis, neeps and tatties at the interval (washed down with Irn Bru of course)…delicious! I love haggis. I don’t care what it’s made of, it’s sublime! Our school started the Burns event last year and invites parents, grandparents and carers. It’s a good way of getting the community together and I find it’s a chance to not only see my weans perform, but to catch up on folk I haven’t seen for ages. More importantly (because when I was growing up we celebrated everyone else’s culture except our own – my first Burns supper was in sixth year at high school!) I like the fact that they are celebrating the Bard and being Scottish…it’s important.

...These were taken about 3.30pm in the afternoon. Look how dark it looks.

…These were taken about 3.30pm in the afternoon. Look how dark it looks.

Also, apart from seeing friends, piano lessons and the kids’ stuff, I’ve been writing up the knitting patterns for our new project at Yarntastic (the knitting group we started at the school). I give to you little bags (for use for tablets or just to put your stuff in). Last time, we concentrated on casting on, casting off and garter (or knit) stitch. Now we are moving on to purl stitch and shaping. So the girls who returned again and are now fluent in garter stitch can move on. The newbies, including I was pleased to see, a young gentleman, can knit the same bags in garter stitch. Feels good to be passing on a skill such as knitting. I think it’s really important particularly when, having talked to the kids, I found out that if they could knit before it was their granny and not their mum that taught them. It seems that knitting missed out on a whole generation (mine). I was lucky, my mum knitted, my grannies knitted, it was normal in our family. It was my mum who taught me to knit and I took it from there. I don’t think I’ll ever be as lovely a knitter as my mum, but I try my best.

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Just finished reading Molly Keane’s Time after Time. Loved it. She’s such a vivid, perceptive writer. It is a lovely, humorous book about an elderly brother and three sisters whose staid lives are completely thrown into chaos by the arrival of their mischievous and equally decrepit cousin Leda. Really enjoyed it. Now I can’t decide whether or not to read another of hers or something else…does Terry Prachett call? Hmmm…maybe. Or what about another Claire and Jamie story courtesy of Diana Gabaldon? Decisions, decisions. Still reading Nora’s book…it’s one of those books you can pick up and put down. Still enjoying it. I think Terry wins out just now. Now…which one???

Right, I need to be off. Til next time.

Dawn xx

Picking up the needles, picking up the pen

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Hello again! How’s things? Did you have a nice time over the festive period? I hope you did. We did. Was great waking up naturally and pottering about the house for two weeks. Now we’re back to normal and are very quickly back into the swing of things.

This week has been a bit of a mixed bag. Of course we are all feeling horrified by what’s been going on in France and my heart goes out for the friends and the families of the people who died and were injured. Last night and the night before were really stormy…it was so bad in the wee small hours on Thursday night, it woke both myself and hubby up. It sounded like the wind was trying to rip the roof off our house. Luckily there was no damage to the house. Poor folk up north though…especially in the islands, for they got it far worse.

On the positive side, I’ve been catching up with friends and planning a new short knitting course with two of them. We taught knitting and crochet to P6 and P7 kids in our local primary before Christmas and we all enjoyed it so much that we are doing it again. The girls who took part last time – and unfortunately we couldn’t persuade any of the boys to take part – produced some lovely mini scarves as gifts for grans and mums. This next session we’re got plans for a new project…I will reveal that once we’ve told the participants of this one.

Okay, time for a quick look at some of the gifts I made my hubby and kids this Christmas…

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The Minions – one each for the kids

Munkee

Monkey for hubby (it’s an in joke)

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rabbit 2

Rabbits for the girl and boy respectively.

 

Christmas time was also great for giving me more time to read. I got through the three Hunger Games books in the run up to Christmas. I read Molly Keane’s Devoted Ladies and am now on Queen Lucia by E F Benson. I watched the BBC version of Mapp and Lucia and loved it. Talking of BBC telly and I’m pleased to see Father Brown is back on the box. I really enjoy it. It’s gentle murder mystery…just what I like. I’m not into really dark, scary murder mysteries. They give me nightmares…it’s that mad imagination of mine.

Regarding writing. I’ve been lazy on that front lately. I intend to get into it again this week. I’ve written up a schedule (if I write it down that I’m going to do it, I am more likely to do it), I’m going to go over what’s been written so far and I plan to finish it by the end of May. There I’ve said it, now I just have to do it!

Right, am off to do some reading. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and see you soon.

Dawn xxx

There’s a pheasant in my garden

pheaasant 2Walked out to fill the bird table earlier today and nearly had a heart attack when something relatively big and fast ran into the bushes. I was just in time to see the streak of brown and the long tail. It was a female pheasant. I don’t know what she was doing in our garden, but I threw down some seeds for her. She was really shy and flew off when I tried to take a pic so I’ve had to borrow a pic of what she looked like from the web.

We get quite a lot of different types of birds in our garden. Apart from the usual crows, rooks, the odd gull, blackbirds, tits, finches and robins, we also see the odd bird of prey, ducks (in the stream running down the back of the garden) and herons. More recently, what we think was a peregrine falcon used our back fence as a resting place.

falconIt’s really nice. We’ve also had hedgehogs, neighbours’ cats, our guinea pigs and the odd feral child in the garden too!!

Anyway, how’s your week been? Busy getting ready for the festive season no doubt!! I’ve been the same. I’ve been finishing a lot of projects up for work and also completing various home-made gifts. I haven’t taken pics of them yet (apart from the bears and the hat), but I’ll do that before I give them. So there’s been a fair bit of knitting and sewing going on. I’ve also been getting food etc in for Christmas. I don’t know about you, but I hate Christmas shopping…it’s always too busy, too hot and too full of very rude people. I do most of my shopping online and in October!

This week has been interesting weather wise. We were hit by what the press are calling the ‘weather bomb’ earlier on in the week. That meant we had everything the weather could throw at us: heavy rain, very strong winds, hail, sleet, thunder and lightening (a new one for me – I’ve never known it to do that in winter), low temperatures, ice and sun. Thankfully it’s died down and it’s just very cold and icy here. Makes me glad we’ve got a cosy warm house to go into. We’re lucky.

I’ve had one of those weeks where I’ve been forgetting a lot of things. I think it’s because we all have a cold and it’s making my head a bit woolly.

Went to the boy’s nativity during the week. He was one of the singers being one of the older children. The actual nativity play was called Baubles and was a take on the Christmas story. It was enacted by the Primary 1 pupils who were all incredibly cute and very good. All of us parents, grandparents and carers really enjoyed it. Well done P1-3. You all did very well.

Next week the girl is doing a carol concert, so I’m looking forward to that. I like attending these, it really starts off Christmas for me.

Anyway, I’m off to have a little read of my book – Elizabeth Hunter’s  A Fall of Water – before I start dinner.

Til next time!

Dawn xxx

A riverside walk and that tricky ceilidh dress

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We took a walk along the riverside last Sunday and it was lovely. The sun was shining, it was quite mild and there were signs of winter everywhere. I love all the seasons for different reasons…for autumn (this feels more like autumn to me, not yet winter), it’s the changing colours, the low sun, the feeling of everything going to sleep for the winter. It’s also getting home to a warm house and snuggling up on the sofa with a good book.

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The things I don’t like about this time of year: how dark it gets at 3.30pm and the fact the kids can’t get out playing after school (they love getting out).

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For winter, I love the snow and the dark, stormy skies and hurrying to get out of the ice cold rain and into a warm house.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. How are you all? Hope you’re well. What have you been up to? I’ve been working hard getting my Christmas knitting finished…I am nearly there. I just have three gifts to complete and that’s me.

Talking of Christmas and the kids are already getting a bit hyper about the big day. The wee man keeps counting down, asking me if I know how many days left they are and then telling me. It’s getting to the annoying stage, but at least this helps him with his maths.

I’ve been doing a fair bit of running around, taking dresses back for the girl. Sigh. I bought her a dress online, it was too small, I took it back. I bought her a dress from Frasers, it was lovely, but she didn’t like it. I took it back. I have now ordered her a third (and final) dress from Next so she’d better like it cos it’s not going back!! I should know to let her pick her dress herself from the word go. She has her first ceilidh coming up (pronounced kay-lee for our none Scottish readers – it means a gathering, but nowadays it’s more about a dance with a ceilidh band and everyone doing Scottish country dancing. It’s great fun and often a bit wild!) so needed the perfect dress. Hopefully this one that’s coming is it! I don’t think I could take any more. She’s not even ten yet, God help us when she’s a teenager and really into fashion!!

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Am currently reading Elizabeth Hunter’s third of her Elemental Mystery series The Force of Wind. Am totally hooked on this series. If you like fantasy and supernatural with a bit of romance thrown in, these are the books for you. I am racing through them. Still got the fourth to go…A Fall of Water…having read books one and two: A Hidden Fire and This Same Earth. After I’ve finished these I’m on to the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I love the films, so am thinking the books are bound to be even better!

Right, am aff! Got things to do this morning. Got piano practise, housework and yet more ironing (the bane of my life, I hate ironing with a passion). Until next time!

Dawn xxx

Confessions of a writer, Elizabeth Hunter and the Hedgehog Who Froze

Autumn a

I cannot believe it’s only four weeks until Christmas! Where did this year go? My parents were right: life does speed up the older you get! Just goes to show you should enjoy every minute if you can.

Anyway, how are you all today? What’s been happening in your world?

Autumn c

I’ve been busy getting things ready for Christmas. I am almost there with my preparations…just got Christmas cards to write and a couple of wee things to buy and that’s me. I hate Christmas shopping, there’s nothing pleasurable in it so I like to get food etc in well before the big day so that I only have to drop round to my local shop to pick up the necessities (bread, milk, veggies etc).

I have a confession: having signed up to Nanowrimo, I have been unable to keep up with it. I simply have too much on and am too tired at night when I have any free time. I’ve decided that I’ll just write on the days I’m not at work…it’s the best I can do I’m afraid. I feel a bit guilty, like I’ve let myself down, but I have to be realistic about what I can do. I’m not superwoman after all. I’ve written around 30,000 words, so that’s still an achievement.

Autumn b

Does anyone know anything about the winter habits of blackbirds? We have a mating pair in the garden and normally I’d still see or hear them around at this time of year (especially as I’ve been putting seed out on the bird table), but I’ve not see a single feather of them. I am worried one of the cats that live around here have got them. They’ve been with us for years (well the family has, not sure how long they live for). I am hoping they turn up again. Maybe they’ve just moved to warmer climes. Hmmm.

Autumn e

Talking of winter visitors, the squirrels and crows (can’t say that word without thinking of Ygrit in Game of Thrones!) still raid the bird table. I also saw a hedgehog taking an evening stroll down the middle of the road the other night. I was out walking with friends when I spotted the little creature frozen in the road. My friends thought it was dead, but I’ve seen them do this before…if threatened, hedgehogs seem to freeze and pretend they are not really there in the hope that you go away and leave them alone. It barely moved a muscle apart from the almost imperceptible twitch of its nose. We left it there worried it would be squished by a car, but we didn’t want to terrify it any more. Hopefully it got home safely.

I love hedgehogs.

What else have I been doing? Knitting socks as Christmas presents. Have also a started a new book called A Hidden Fire by Elzabeth Hunter. She’s a self published, this is the first of four books and is really good. It’s supernatural, mystery and romance all rolled into one book. I am really enjoying it. Recommend it if you like a well written romantic adventure with vampires. It was my mum who put me on to her (I’ve borrowed all four books from her), so thanks mum. This book comes hot on the heels of Bleak House by Charles Dickens, which I loved. In saying that, I have loved nearly all of the books of his I’ve read (I haven’t yet read them all): the Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations. The ones I didn’t enjoy as much were Little Dorrit (I found Little Dorrit too insipid for my tastes) and Hard Times. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked the books, I just didn’t like them as much as the others. Still have a fair few to read, but I will.

Autumn d

Right, I suppose I’d better be off and do my housework. I am procrastinating, hoping the housework fairies will come and do it for me. Sigh. Still, I’ll just put on some good tunes and have a dance and a singalong while I do it.

Til next time.

Dawn xxx