Saturday, October 10, 2009

A woman needs a bicycle like a fish needs a man...



This will probably be your first, and last, chance to see me on a moutain bike (at Grizedale Forest Park). Or at least it will be once the pics are downloaded (watch this space, should be sorted later).
It's a tricky one. C loves his mountain bike, and P already shows a keen interest in wheels, pedals and anything else that moves and is covered in mud and oil (he loves his Daddy...) And I love being outdoors and going up hills, but oh my lord, introduce a bike into the equation and it just isn't fun anymore. Am I the only person in the world to find it so incredibly painful to tackle even the smallest of hills? Okay, so the first few were on a bike towing P in a trailer (hired from here) , but even when I swapped for C's fancy-pants bike and got the hang of gears it was so horrible I seriously felt sick. I am just not one of life's cyclists and I think I just need to accept it. Next time I'm on foot. Actually this time I was on foot quite a lot since I decided that the only way to enjoy myself was to push the bike up the hills and ride on the flat and down bits. Oh well...
At least a bit of exercise meant we earned our tea. Our veg box (helpfully unpacked by P) from Howbarrow Organic had all sorts of locally sourced goodies this week, including purple cauliflower. I decided purple cauliflower needed to be made into posh cauliflower cheese, so I made the sauce with brie instead of the usual cheddar. Yum! Mine was with veg burger and mash, C and P had bangers and mash- food of champions all rounded off with carrot cake (carrots also from the Howbarrow box).
Knitting in front of Strictly Come Dancing tonight I think, with a big cushion under my saddle sore bottom!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Patience rewarded...






Just back from a lovely overnight at the farm. P was determined to help move the grass clippings! This morning we accompanied the bride-to-be to a flower wholesaler to look at all the fabulous blooms that will decorate the country church, candlesticks etc. Even without any sign of Eliza Doolittle, it was like sweetie shop only less fattening. Makes floristry tempting, until you remember how cold you'd get, lugging buckets of flowers around...
Sitting in front of the open fire and inexplicably hooked on watching Steve Martin in 'The Lonely Guy' last night I managed to finally get the mini fairisle vest finished, even weaving all the ends in. As a bit of sewing effort also finished the crowns at the weekend, it meant that I was able to give in to temptation and start on the new jumper for the boy. Pic doesn't do it justice, the tweed effect of the wool looks lovely and the blue/green colour changes in different lights.
Would love to hear what people think of the crowns- I have to admit to the acorns being my favourite...