The perfect dinner for one

Wednesday night is Mr's bike club night, so I was home alone for the evening. One of the perks of this, I find, is that I can cook and eat whatever I like for tea and last night it was asparagus with a soft-boiled egg. I think this would only count as an appetiser in the Mr's eyes!

I love asparagus, to eat it feels like such an indulgence. Maybe because British asparagus has such a short season.

My local grocer had big bundles of it on offer. Lovely organic eggs from there too...

Last night I chose to brush the asparagus with a little olive oil and cook it on the griddle, all 24 spears of it, all for me...

Soft boiled egg and asparagus soldiers and reading at the table...

The perfect tea for one!

One of the other perks of bike club night is that the TV does not go on (Mr is an addict and will watch ANYTHING, even darts) and I can indulge in a little nostalgia...

The first album I owned and I still know all the words 28 years later. Hang on a minute, 28 years? Can that be right?

Oh.

Tired

I am tired today. I didn't sleep well last night and was dreaming of granny squares (I wonder why). I've also gone low-carb in an effort to lose a few unwelcome pounds that have been hanging around since Christmas. This, combined with training for a 10K run, may not be good for the energy levels.

Also, I think it doesn't help that 2-year old boys are just a bit rrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrr! from morning 'til night. Sometimes it feels like my days are just one big wrestling match!

Anyway, today I came home to find a new magazine behind the front door, so while #2 is napping, I am going to ignore the housework and sit down and read with a cup of chai tea and maybe a bit of crocheting.

And look, what do we have here?, 'living proof that 40 is so much hotter than 20' - just what an exhausted 39-year-old needs to hear!

Now, does anyone know if home-made Shrewsbury biscuits count as low-carb?

A birthday and a breakdown

On Saturday we all went over to my sister's house to celebrate my niece's 1st birthday. It was lovely - the weather was sunny and warm, we had a barbeque lunch, the children played beautifully together and there was a rather impressive cake...

Then on the way home the car broke down and I was on my own with the two children as the Mr was cycling home. Thankfully I could stop in a garage forecourt and buy drinks and a comic to entertain #1 (#2 was sleeping). When I rang the RAC they told me someone would be with me within 90 minutes - 90 minutes!!! - so I played the 'I'm on my own with 2 children card' and someone arrived within 30 minutes. So now we are car-less for this week at least.

Now I am thankful that I live somewhere with fantastic local shops and a good public transport system. #2 and I were able to get where we needed to go this morning and get there on time. It actually makes me wonder why I think we need a car.

Under construction

My 196 granny squares are now ready to be put together...

I'm slip-stitching them together - I prefer it to sewing as I'll be left with less yarn ends to sew in, but it does leave a ridge on the underside of the blanket. I'm also trying to decide what to do for the border. Any suggestions?

I finished painting the chest of drawers at the weekend - that turned out to be more of a job than I was expecting. 3 coats of primer and 2 of paint. The colour is Farrow and Ball's 'House White'.

You can see the 'before' in this post.

#1 child is complaining that the drawers are not pink. The Mr was heard to say that she could have them pink when she was old enough to paint them herself - I am just waiting for the day we go in there and she is getting busy with the poster paints!

Blue

Isn't it amazing how much bluer the sky looks without vapour trails?

Ooooooohhhhhhh, I've only gone and won something

So, today is already shaping up to be better than yesterday. A good night's sleep was had by all and I made time for strong coffee and the application of concealer before setting off for school. Ha! That'll show the other mothers!

And, I have won a lovely crochet pattern from Michelle over at the Royal Sisters for helping to suggest a name for her latest creation - Grandma's Loopy....Love.

If you like crochet you should check out her blog as she is extraordinarily generous in sharing her creations and posting easy to follow tutorials. My heart garland came from one of them.

Thanks, Michelle.

Tell me why I don't like Mondays...

...tell me why I don't like Mondaaaaays!



Well, actually I don't usually mind Mondays at all, but I am not liking today for the following reasons...

#2 child decided that he didn't need to go to sleep last night and was still awake and singing 'Row, row, row your boat...' at 11pm - consequently neither of us is at our best today.

Before 9am this morning I had been told by another mother on the school run that I looked like she felt which, let's face it, is just a thinly-veiled way of saying 'My God, you look like shit this morning'!

Despite my legs still aching from running 10k yesterday I had a gym session booked and was forced to, amongst other things, dead-lift 32.5kg.

The sun has disappeared behind rain clouds.

I have to go childrens shoe shopping after school. Enough said.

But's let look on the bright side...

I have strength 5 coffee.

I am fit, strong and healthy.

I have make-up, including 2 kinds of concealer!

There is left-over roast chicken and freshly made chicken stock to make chicken noodle soup for lunch.

If I time the shoe shopping right I'll be there at tea-time and the children can have their tea out.

See, there's nearly always a bright side.

I've changed my name...

...since I decided that if I'm going to post about the fact I've got children, it is better that the blog name and URL don't let people know where we live.

I am hoping people in blogland can still find me...

Recipe :: Mini chocolate buns

On the way home from school today I was told, in no uncertain terms, that there was a need for cake.

So, into the bowl

1 1/2 oz each of softened butter, caster sugar and self-raising flour

1/2 oz cocoa

1/2 tspn baking powder

1 egg

and onto the baking tray 32 petit four cases...

beat the ingredients together until blended and smooth. Put a scant teaspoon of mixture into each case...

Into the oven at 180C (gas 4) for 10-15 minutes...

Make a simple glace icing using 2oz sifted icing sugar and decorate as you wish...

They went down very well - as far as #2 is concerned they are the perfect fit for his mouth! One in the mouth, another in the hand and all I can hear is a muffled "more?"!

I'm sorry the measurements are all imperial, but this is the system that I prefer to use. I don't know why - I'm not that old! - but if a book gives both imperial and metric measurements I always use pounds and ounces. Probably it's what my mother did!

Blossom

There seems to be something extraordinary about the blossom this year.

I can't decide if there is more of it or whether it is just because it has been so long coming. And has the cold weather meant that all the trees have blossomed at once rather than over the space of a few weeks?

Whatever, everywhere I look there seems to be a tree laden with the stuff.

Pink blossom...

white blossom...

yellow blossom...

Just beautiful.

And here's some things I keep forgetting to show...

A bargain chest of drawers bought in the Red Cross shop, destined for #1's room and in the process of being painted..

Some lovely tea-towels bought on offer in BHS that are almost too nice to use...

And my new stash of Rowan handknit cotton...

Easter Holidays - Part 2

A trip to Knowsley Safari park...

The lions and baboons were our favourites.

Visiting family for a belated Easter chick hunt; a walk down to the river to feed the ducks and spot some lambs; and then on down to the farm to watch the cows eating their lunch...

Back to school tomorrow. And the Mr goes back to work. I think I'll miss them.

Easter Holidays

So how was your Easter? I am hoping I am not the only one that over-indulged.

I think I may have eaten more chocolate in the last 4 days than in the previous 3 months put together! Impressive, no? The truth is that I normally eat very little chocolate. Cakes and sweets, oh yes, but chocolate, not so much. Now I just have to work it all off - I think the 5K I ran on Easter Sunday will have hardly made a dent, but I have been positively tortured this morning during a session with a personal trainer at the gym. Just packing the shopping in the supermarket afterwards was making my arms ache. Aaahhh well, 'no pain, no gain' as the saying goes.

On Easter Monday we managed to acquire even more chocolate doing an easter trail at Little Moreton Hall.

It was fun, if very, very busy. The hall is a National Trust property just south of Congleton and is very picturesque. I don't think it's clear from the photo above, but the house is buckled and bowed from the weight of the long gallery on the top floor. 'Tis well worth a visit. The children were more interested in running/rolling down a small mound in the grounds than they were in the house...

but they did enjoy running the length of the long gallery pretending to be butterflies...

We only got a few disapproving looks!

Easter Saturday

The Easter treats are out and proving hard to resist...

For the first time we've made an Easter tree...

I love this tree! It's really just some twigs hung with felt butterflies and eggs with a few clip-on birdies for good measure. But it's so jolly - it makes me smile every time I catch sight of it. I think I'll make one every year.

Here's a closer look at some of the decorations - the birds came from John Lewis...

we made the butterflies and eggs ourselves. The butterfly shape is a template from Lupin...

And the daffodils have opened up to reveal the most beautiful frilly blooms. Aren't they gorgeous?

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

Cheep cheep!

Crochet pattern by Nicki Trench