Walks with the dog

What a lovely and amazing message to discover on a little bridge?!
The start of the walk on the 9th January: the local allotments.
The chickens startled and worried Lucy a bit.
The cock kept crowing and she didn't know where to look! On a lead she didn't try to chase him.

The path ahead.
More allotments further up the path.
View to the right. Chilterns in the far distance.
Straight ahead please.


View on the left.
A raised path between fields, which last summer were shoulder high rapeseed.

Is that St Mary's church tower, in Thame?
Turning left when the raised path forks due to a river.
sky reflected in the river.
Come on let's explore! Lucy is always ahead and loving this.
First time ever I discovered this wood, but it was too muddy to continue.

Lucy waiting for me to catch up.

Luckily Lucy wasn't attracted to the dung heap.
Over the bridge on the way back, where the message is.
The only puddle for miles and lucy had to lie and then roll in this.....
A walk the day before Sunday 8th at Cuttlebrook.






I got really excited when I saw these letters at Tesco: they are in CROCHET!!!!

Speaking of which I have finished the back of the cashmere pink a while ago now:
Lovely zigzaggy EMMA stitch...
We had a lovely fire tonight, but as JJ was on the sofa, there was nowhere to sit?

Also in crochet still playing with samples to try out new stitches, this is from the crochet in photography book.
And this is the progress to date on the WHITE SALICE jacket from KIM HARGREAVES.

I am ALSO soooo excited because BODEN have a CROCHET jacket in their SPRING 2012 catalogue and online!!! Not allowed to show a picture of it here, so google it and have a peep at their site?!! It's in half trebles and dc on alternate rows, in 100 % cotton with turned back and scalloped front edges. Finalised with domed or bobble crocheted buttons and mock pocket flaps also scalloped with a fan stitch. £99!!! WOW. In NAVY , ECRU or mustard yellow.
Finally apart from the two jackets that I'm making, there's the ripple green one and this multicolour cashmere one too.busy busy busy! But why can't I sleep? Am still up and it's now 4:55 am on Sunday 15th January.

more culinary delights

This was today's- Saturday-lunch including the freshly baked home-made bread I baked last night! It's broccoli and stilton- an old fave in a baxters canned category BUT this is freshly made by MOI with Nigella's recipe of course. I can't tell you how delicious it was, just that eating it made me feel very very happy and a teeny bit spoiled and pampered. Blessed even. To have the chance to sample such a delight.

If you have the ingredients handy - especially 1kg frozen broccoli and 200 g stilton: then it's a quick and easy make. It took me just 20-25 minutes when we got home - hungry!- from our house-hunting escapade.

The bread I made last night even though I was exhausted after 5 + hours of driving and a long day at work and in Chichester....AND we had the roast buttermilk chicken again- see later.
Today late afternoon I knocked up two more batches of breakfast bars as those delicious 24 bars made on Tuesday 10th - yes ONLY 4 DAYS AGO- were all eaten by yesterday afternoon!

Above is one batch- from those foil baking dishes again, the above was made with cranberries and apricots cut up small as well as a few raisins.
Then also a big one in a new square baking tin: this one was cut into 20 bars and was made with a fruit mix as well as the cranberries and ''light'' evaporated milk. Above is the base, below the top.


This morning I was woken up by Miss Y yelling that I'd missed the 9 am music school visit and would need to hurry and get up... No lie in then? ( It was already 9:30)
I got up and walked Lucy on the Phoenix way admiring the heavy frost of last night and the fabulous sunshine and BLUE skies of the day. I also spotted this parasite in a tree, it's mistletoe isn't it?
The view
The path, we had to cut our walk short to arrive at music school by 11:25!
Late on Thursday evening I'm marinating the chicken quarters in buttermilk and spices for dinner, I had to get up at 6 am, not an easy feat for an ''owl'' and I couldn't sleep so was still prowling about after 2 am....
This is the half size cello we returned to the centre, Miss Y has moved onto a 3/4 size cello now, but we have yet to hear her actually play in on a regular basis..... It seems to be only the night before a lesson?!!