☀ Just when you think it's all over...☀

Just when we think the summer is over and autumn is creeping up on us, out comes the sun to say 'not yet, summer's not quite over yet'.  Hooray! After some distinctly autumnal days we've had a few extra days of glorious sunshine. Of course, you have to make the most of any such weather round these parts and where better to go than the seaside?????

Last week my friend Ab, her little one, Flori and I headed to Hastings for a girls day out. I didn't manage to get many pics because little Flori kept us on our toes.  Yes, we were dashing here, there and everywhere to keep up with her. Before you knew it she'd be off having seen another dog (She ❤'s dogs) although she insisted on stroking the dog on the 'wrong' end! Ewwwww.

When Flori had reached a sugar low and, quite frankly, so too had the grown-ups (!!!) we stumbled upon this rather quaint little tearoom in a children's bookstore.  Cute isn't it?? Pink milk was on the menu along with smarties cookies. YUM!

Yesterday was another ☀ day so we jumped in the car for an impromptu late afternoon trip to catch some early September ☀. It was hot, hot, hot! Mr C wanted to take me somewhere special, somewhere he knew I would love so.....destination Whitstable it was.

On the journey I got on with my ripple blanket.  I'm doing well with my CAL one-a-day and it's growing at a rate of...well....ripples!!

Fresh seafood was on the menu for our lunch and oh my, it felt soooo summery!

Oysters for the Mr.  A bit too slippery for me.

After our late lunch the sun was beginning to set and the sky was delicately painted with brush strokes of subtle colours. We sat and watched the unfolding scene, enjoying quite possibly our last seaside sunset of the summer.

There was just time for one last summery ice cream before we got in the car and headed for home.

Tea break

Hello there! Grab a cuppa and join me on my tea break.

I have to admit that today's tea break is a happy affair as I'm drinking from my NEW mug (see my last post for news of my newly discovered pottery love ♥).  What is it about new things? This mug just feels GREAT and drinking tea from it is making me deliriously happy. Weird, huh?

Sorry I'm a bit blurry - Mr C was driving rather too fast!

I'm thinking about my road trip from the weekend and want to show you some shots of the non-beachy/non-pottery (!) scenes in Sussex. It really is a beautiful place.

Steep hills!

We stopped off in the village of Alfriston which is well worth a visit.  It is full of character with cute-sy shops, art galleries, old fashioned pubs and tearooms.  Need I convince you more?

How cute is this post office?

The boys were flagging after being dragged into various gift shops and art galleries and then my friend and I saw them looking out of the window before running out of the art gallery and down the street.

What could they possibly have seen?????

A vintage car show was in full swing on the village green! The boys were like kids in a sweet shop!

Of course, we couldn't leave for the beach without having a cream tea could we?

I could certainly manage a few of those scones right now!

Well, I'd better get back to my crochet.  This blankie has turned out to be a bit of a beast, a HUGE undertaking and it is taking me F O R E V E R.  Maybe I was a little ambitious with making a king-sized bed cover?! A few stripes back I almost considered sticking with a stripy scarf but I mustered up some enthusiasm from somewhere to Keep At It. Has anyone else felt like that at the 1/3 of the way point??? I've signed up to a one-a-day project here to motivate me to complete the striped beast! I'm aiming to do 1 stripe (or at least 1/2 stripe) every day.

Wish me luck!!!

Fancy a cuppa?

Oh what a dreary day in London it is. 
Bleugh.
I've been busy the last few days on a little crochet project.  I'm still rippling my heart out on my giant blankie but I fancied a mini project that I could start, and thankfully finish! Oh, I could hardly put it down.  My fingers were working overtime on this one.
What is it, you ask? Well.....ok then.....here it is.......

A tea cosy!!! This was a joyous little project! The basic pattern came courtesy of the brilliant Alice at Crochet with Raymond which you can find here.  I used some left over Rowan wool and a gorgeous Liberty button.  Do you love buttons too? They make me feel so happy.

Last night I went out in London and happened to walk past Liberty.  It has the BEST haberdashery department I have ever seen and is packed with amazing eye candy of the crafty variety!
I managed to escape with only a few *modest* purchases including this assortment of buttons.

Oh they make my heart leap!

I remember as a child that sorting my mum's button box was the ultimate treat! She had (and still has!) this huge old-fashioned tin full to the brim with interesting buttons.  I loved touching them, counting them and looking at all the shapes and colours.  They still haven't lost their charm for me!

Anyhoo, I'm desperate for a cuppa to cheer up this dreary day (see the light in the next photo, tsk!!).

See you later!

Liz x

Snow Joke!

Well, the snow continued to fall in our little corner of the South East! As you can see, on Thursday we had so much snow that it was tricky to open our back door to feed the birds! This door is 15 inches off the ground so that's a lots of snow!

 And this heap of snow used to be my car! Hee hee!

My workplace has remained closed so I've had three whole days at home so far with the occasional trip to the local shops.  Whilst it's so cold outside we've stayed indoors where we are as snug as a bug.  We've been playing board games, planning all the pressies we're getting everyone for Christmas, drinking Winter Pimms and cooking up some scrumptious delights in the kitchen.  As much as I LOVE snow, I have to admit that cabin fever is starting to set in and I'm looking forward to being able to get out and about again, especially as my crochet has ground to a halt as my wool stash has run out half way through a stripe! Ahhhhh!

For dinner tonight I've cooked one of my all time favourite recipes; Tartiflette with melted cheese, bacon and thyme.  Do you have those recipes that you like to recreate time and time again? This one is a winner.  Bigtime.  Sometimes I like to play around with recipes but this one is pretty much perfect just as it is, especially on a cold day when the oozing, creamy Reblochon is sooooo comforting. 

Trust me, you should try this!

Enjoy! x

Winter Wonderland

I love those mornings when you pull back the curtains expectantly........and there before your eyes is a beautiful blanket of snow. 

Whilst parts of the UK have been blanketed in the lovely stuff for over a week, in the South East we were only hit with snow yesterday. I can't remember seeing this much snow before - it's so deep and, in parts, up to the top of my wellies! I'm one of those people who finds this weather event VERY exciting.  My workplace has been shut so we're all having a "snow day" Whooooo!

I love that life in the fast lane suddenly slows down, giving me time to chat and natter away to my neighbours.  Last night, after all the children in our road had gone to sleep, the adults all went out for a snow fight! Exhausting but so much fun.  Tonight our block of flats are going to enjoy some winter Pimms and mulled wine together.  Gotta thank the snow for giving us some good, old-fashioned community spirit!

I've been making the most of my snow day by baking banana bread whilst enjoying copious cups of tea and the occasional gulp of sloe gin. Mmmmm.  This recipe is so simple and scrum-didly-umptious and very useful to use up any mushy bananas! I'll post it later on for you.

I've also been working a little more on my stripy blanket and have been adding to the red row throughout the day. 

As I've been working I've been reminiscing over the past few months as every stripe has a story and a memory attached.  See that moss green stripe? I did that one whilst travelling to and around Dorset on my summer holiday.  Here's a copy of my mental picture that goes with that stripe.   The red stripe that I did today will always remind me of my unexpectedly cosy snow day.

What a blissful picture to end on!

Post birthday goodies!

OH MY!  I thought that my birthday excitement was over but no...there was this one little latecomer! Squeeeeeal! It's just so gorgeous and looks lovely against my coat.

I've been wearing this delightful piece of crocheted goodness all day long and oh! - how many lovely comments I have had.  Many people have been 'cheered up' or 'brightened up' just by seeing this.
I don't think my lovely friend could have a selected a more perfect item.  I like the idea of crocheting scarves like this - another idea for my to do list!