Mostly yellow (with some red)

We spent most of the weekend doing our RYA Powerboat (level 2) courses with EAST. The weather wasn't particularly warm, but at least it wasn't snowing, and we did have a few hours of sun. It was rather windy, so we did get quite wet, but it's not spring without wet foulies, so there you go.

We finished earlier than expected on Sunday, so we drove up to Woodbridge to take a walk in the sunshine.

This little chap was very proudly standing on a boat trailer.

And here were some dinghys. Things organised neatly? What does one do with a stack of dinghys, I wonder.

In other odd pictures, this garden nymph was obviously deemed to be a bit chilly in the recent snows and sub-zero temperatures. A nice frock to keep things warm, then.

And then, when the sun came out, we found this very well-loved yellow VW van. See the exhaust pipe?

Yep, it's heart-shaped. As you do.

And then, in the Quaker Burial Ground, one very upstanding daffodil.

Thank you, Spring. Please feel free to stick around for another month, until your good friend, Summer, arrives.

Spring!

Spring made an appearance this weekend. It meant that I did lots of gardening (Mr. Honeysuckle, you may NOT go and visit the neighbour's garden. kthxbye), went for a few walks and ate my annual Creme Egg (oof...so sweet!). 

I also pruned the forsythia and brought the pruned branches in to bloom in the kitchen (and festooned them with my Easter Critters).

And then, because I have the Best Husband Ever, we made an impromptu stop at Baylham Farm to see the lambs. Unlike this chap, we didn't get to ride on a sheep.

I did, however, get to hold a lamb. A warm, wooly, sleepy (but still nibbling on my sleeve), soft, elbow-filled lamb. Pardon my outfit - we had been scraping the boat so I was in epic grubbies. All the better for lamb snuggles.

Bliss.

If anyone needs a sheep farmer, please call.

Because I say it is

It's spring. These are from last year. Ours aren't out yet. 

I'm bored of snow.

I like my super-warm LLBean down jacket, and my hand-knit sweaters, hat and mittens.

I'm also bored of them.

Spring, please?

Misshapen-taschen

It's a little late for Purim. But it's perfect for rhubarb season.

I was making Deb's apple cake for work (we raised £800 for Comic Relief on Red Nose day), and flipped to the recipe for Rhubarb Hamantaschen. (Recipe's not on the web...you'll have to buy the book! Her other hamantaschen recipes are here.) I suddenly had a rather overwhelming urge to make some. We used to buy them at Riesterer's Bakery in Garden City, where they were always perfectly shaped with pretty, glassy centres. However, they're traditionally either filled with prunes (blech) or apricots (meh). But Deb says we can make them with rhubarb. I LOVE rhubarb!

Onward, then.

Here they are before being folded:

And here they are fresh from the oven. Apparently my shiksa hamantaschen-crimping skills need work.

Some of them turned out quite pretty. We're not really in commercial-bakery-on-Long-Island territory, though.

I can verify that the rhubarb hamantaschen still taste excellent, regardless of shape. In case my New Rochelle Jewish-food credentials were in doubt, I make excellent latkes.

I can also verify that rhubarb appearing at the farm shop also means spring is coming, despite the fact that we had about 3 inches of snow yesterday and today. Blech.

Cold, wet, windy bank holiday

Bad news: the weather has continued to be grey, rainy, and horrible.

Good news: the grey skies make the yellow rapeseed flowers positively glow.

More good news: grey skies + cold weather = knitting under a quilt on the couch while watching iPlayer, drinking tea, and intermittently savouring Bitterblue on the Kindle. Quite wonderful, actually.

Lentil salad

I bought myself some tulips. They were on sale because they were starting to open - I LOVE the colours.

My go-to lunch has changed recently - I randomly had a craving for lentils, so I cooked some of the wholewheat giant couscous that we received in our Swag Bag from the Delia workshop last spring, along with some pardina lentils. They both cook in simmering stock, the lentils for a few minutes longer, so I throw them in five minutes before I add the couscous. Then, I mix it all in with whatever yummies are in the fridge. Yesterday, it was canned artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and some feta.  Extremely tasty.

See, all mixed in! I've eaten it warm straight from the pan and cold as a supper a few hours later - both are great.

Spring rabbit

A spring rabbit, spotted on a pew-end at the Ladies' Guild day out. I feel like he's probably there year-round, but spotting him in spring feels rather appropriate.

I've come across a few things on the internets that shall require making:

Best Banana Bread Ever from Cup Of Jo

Handmade piping from Noodlehead

Potato Knish from Smitten Kitchen
This adorable Tova top from Film In The Fridge
Millet with mushroom and kale from Oh She Glows

I can't do them all this weekend because I'll be singing in the sold out Messiah concert, with the ever-excellent Bury Bach Choir. WOOT! SOLD OUT!

Review: The Museum Street Cafe

I went to Ipswich yesterday for a haircut, and after some window shopping (and buying Selvedge, squee!), I had lunch at the Museum Street Cafe. The stepson had recommended it on a number of occasions, but we'd never gotten around to eating there. Well, I'll definitely be back. They had a small but enthusiastic (and fresh) veggie menu, with what looked like some vegan options.

I was originally after a lentil salad, but since it was so revoltingly cold and rainy out, I went for the red onion and cheese tart. It wasn't called a tart, it was something else, but I can't remember the name. I did, however, take a picture. It was delicious - really light but also quite cheesy and sweet and sharp because of the caramelised onions. More, please!

I also finished my latest book late Friday. It was a Persephone book. That I found at the Stowmarket Library. While browsing. I know, shut up. I never find anything while browsing at the library. But there it was, in its pretty grey cover, waiting for me! Book no. 72, to be specific, House-Bound, by Winifred Peck. I got a little stuck towards the end, but otherwise enjoyed it. It's a pre-McCall-Smith satire of wartime Edinburgh (called Castleburgh in the book), with entertaining characters and a few fairly emotional moments. What? We're Scottish! We don't have emotions. Well, they seem emotional to this overly-emotional and perky American. There's one of those in the book, too. Teehee.

In springtime news, I kidnapped some forsythia from our back garden and put it in a vase in the kitchen. So yellow and springy! (John brought me some begonias, also yellow, in the background.

Giant Couscous

I bought myself some yellow tulips. It was an excellent idea. Don't you agree?

We took the mother-in-law for lunch in Norwich, at Frank's Bar, again. New menu, different but equally amazing food. I had grilled aubergine over giant couscous with roasted-fennel creme fraiche. SO yummy.

I finished reading The Gift, by Alison Croggon, last week. It reminded me a bit of Eragon, but I think I liked it better. I've reserved the next one at the library, which I guess is a good indication!

Grey, green & orange.

My Kindle case arrived. Charcoal grey wool with a green ultra-suede tab. I felt a little guilty ordering it, since I probably could have made myself one, but Husband pointed out that I'm supporting an Etsy-er and probably wouldn't have gotten around to making it. It's not reinforced or anything, so I need to not sit on it, but I really wasn't interested in one of the enormo-Kindle-shells, since the whole mission was to make my reading material smaller.

Still going through Mom-withdrawal, I thought this picture was really funny. Pretty much what each of us saw all week! And yes, that's an ill-fated Flip. If you were thinking about it (or thinking about any video camera, really, or have kids, or a dog, or anyone you want to video, BUY ONE NOW). They're super-easy to use, take great videos, and are otherwise awesome. Cisco, please resuscitate the Flip, or at least release the patents onto the open market so someone else can make them.

And in a quick tribute to Jane Brocket, whose tulips are amazing. These were pretty rockin' though. (Spotted at Osterley Park on Saturday.)

Pretty Things

Ribbons and a fat quarter.

 

Fuzzy.

The Downton Abbey box set for the M-i-L for Mothering Sunday, 

all wrapped up in ribbon and brown paper.

Spring!

Spring is finally here. As demonstrated by our garden: 

And our "Easter tree". The boys think I've lost my marbles. But I love it. This little dude is rockin' his branch.

And, no the front hall table doesn't normally look like that. I cleared all the clutter off first. :)

And, finally, since the rest of the "on the road to spring" quilt-along peeps have finished their quilts, I bit the bullet and did some free motion quilting. Some of the stitches are very small and perfect, some are really teeny and a little bit scrunched, and some are h u g e and rather spread out. Oh well - when you look at it from a distance, it's perfect. I love the crinkly look that it gives the quilt - it makes it look very casual.

I was reading a Sainsbury's Magazine at the in-laws yesterday, and came across a recipe for tomato, olive & spinach quiche with sauteed leeks, in the "quick meals" feature. I got all excited.

Then, I read the recipe.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 200C.
Step 2: Open a 400g packet of Tomato, Olive & Spinach quiche, and put it in the oven.

EPIC FAIL.

More Ginger Ale

I wasn't feeling well at all on Friday. Achy, a v. unhappy stomach, and general ickyness. We left work a little bit early, and the ickyness continued. So much so that on Saturday, John brought home a Mr. Men thermometer and some flowers, along with some ginger ale. Which, obviously, made me feel much better.

 Yellow chrystanthemumbles. Very nice. And rather springy.

I finally found our Easter decorations, too. My favorite is this little chap. I mean, c'mon. A bunny, riding on a carrot, with a purple egg for company? What's not to like? Now I just need to snaffle a spring-y twig/stick thing for the front hall table so I can hang all of the decorations on it. Yes, there are more.

In honor of spring, and the fact that I was feeling better, and the glorious sunshine we had today, we went to visit the lambs at Baylham House farm. I always feel a little weird going there without a small child, but nobody seemed to notice. The lambs are several weeks old, so rather than being in the lambing shed, they were out in the fields, springing! Ok, not this guy, but what a face!

James managed to catch this action shot - the little guy in the center of the picture has all four feet in the air. SPRING lamb! I could have stood there for hours, but the boys were getting cold, so we walked back to the car. Which has now been washed and vacuumed. Spring, indeed.

Winter, followed by Spring

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry on Tuesday night. I really loved it and am rather sad that it seems to take A.N. forever to write books - it's going to be years before the next one!

I also finished knitting my hat, while watching men's and women's Ski Cross on iPlayer. The commentary was somewhat inane - the same commentator kept repeating phrases in the same places on the course. I know they're paid to fill the air with patter, and that the skiers all race down the same course a zillion times, but change it up, dude. I eventually had to put it on mute - I'd heard one too many times that the skiers in the start gate had "adrenaline coursing through their veins."

Anyway, my hat didn't turn out exactly right - I had a lot of trouble keeping the tension in the carried-over yarn and it's scrunched a bit. It's also too big at the top. And looks a lot like I'm wearing a tea cosy on my head. HOT. Yesterday was not a good day for my knitted things - I went to the library to drop off some books and somehow dropped my mittens in the road. They were there when I walked back the other way, but were v. mucky. They've now been washed and are recovering on the radiator in the bathroom.

The in-laws came over yesterday and brought with them some SPRING (also known as daffodils)!! I should really put them outside so they last longer but I'm enjoying them too much in the kitchen. I'll plant them out once they're done. It's pouring again today - I think it might have to be another iPlayer day. Maybe even soup for lunch.

The bulbs in the garden (daffs, some tulips, and various hyacinths) are all starting to poke up from the ground. They won't be flowering for a while, though. These will just have to tide me over.

First flower and a little light crafting

Here is the first outdoor flower of the year (in our garden, anyway). Pardon the focus issues - I took the picture with my iPhone.

It's a dwarf daffodil, although it looks more like a yellow snowdrop in this picture. The regular daffs are very nearly open and the tulips have started popping up through the dirt. WOOT!

I have some crafting to report. I bought a very cute, cream cable-knit turtleneck sweater from J.Crew, about 5 years ago. And had washed it in woolite a few times. Not a problem.

For some reason, I decided a few weeks ago to wash it in woolite using the cold, delicates cycle in the washing machine. BAD idea. The sweater didn't shrink as much as if I'd put it in the dryer, but it was definitely too small. And it was a little short to begin with. Result: unwearable.

It doesn't look so bad in this picture, but the pillow form is pretty small. And my torso is kind of long. And my muffin-top does NOT benefit from short sweaters.

So, before:

And, after!

The button is wooden, which I really like, and since my sewing machine (kick-ass antique Singer Featherweight) doesn't do zig-zag, there's no buttonhole. It's all just sewn together. I can clip the threads and re-sew the button if I need to (hand) wash the sweater-pillow.