Conkers and fridgecake, magazine inspiration

Fridgecake: Yummy scrummy! More of this later.

CONKERS! We did well in the end and this is a small selection of our pickings.

Ha ha now laundry is sooo much more fun! I used to have this enormous whicker logbasket and all the laundry ( and toys and unworn clothing etc) got chucked in by one and all and I had to sort it several times a week to identify which load to wash next etc etc Boooring.

Now I have invested in 3 lovely new laundry baskets: Crisp clear white for whites, Royal papal purple for darks and coloureds and a pale blue( not shown) for bedding and towels( boil wash).

As soon as one is full I can take it direct to the machine and voila: more time to enjoy the better things in life: like crochet or reading.....

Of course I'm still working on educating the members of my family but we ARE getting there!
And these 3 take up the same room as my elderly logbasket which has moved to it's rightful place by the open fire! Nights are getting colder after all. The Liberty bag holds all my pegs and it's been a joy to have been able to dry washing in the garden for all of September!
This was my happy haul in late September! I'm still enjoyong them all. How about THIS AMAZING BUS!!!! Miss E wishes THIS was the bus that takes her to school....
These mukluks are in the NEXT isse( #5) of Inside Crochet : aren't they beautiful? I'M IN LOVE!!! I was tickled pink by this picture....What can we feed such textured lips? Fridgecake!
Now I have to admit this is another recipe from the whicked-but-wonderful- Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.

This is how their slices look: tempting? Well YESS SIREEE!

Miss E had been haranguing me for weeks for me to make this so I finally gave in:

2 packs of digestive biscuits and a load of raisins...

Almost 2 ( WHAT TWO??!!!) entire packets of BUTTER and oodles of golden syrup and cocoa.....

( Gosh I was really surprised it didn't use real chocolate...)
Combine the two really well and weight down with all the cans you can muster...

Then when it's cooled, deposit in fridge for as long as possible: try to play deaf to the many cries of: IS IT READY YET? CAN I CUT A SLICE?

We cut ours into small-ish squares due to my phobia of what so much butter would do to us and then they just flew out! I made this on a Friday and a week later it was all gone. And there was loads and loads of it....

They do look a bit like the book don't they?

P.S. Do not take out to take on walks or late treats on a warm-ish day as it goes very gooey and sticky and drops crumbs EVERYWHERE. Best eaten straight from the fridge.

Cuttlebrook dewy morning- autumnal start to a day

WHOOOOPEEEEEE!!!!!
This day in late September started with THIS in the post and then just got better and better....
Above is FUNFAIR in BA T'AT pure merino wool from the shop in Ilkley I have mentioned before in my Yorkshire holiday posts. I'd ordered some wool by phone and the colours were beautiful, but just not my cup of tea so they were ever so sweet and helpful and let me swap it for THIS!!!!AMAAAAZING! I LOVE IT.

Only problem is: so do both daughters.... Eldest particularly claimed it as hers for fingerless gloves/ arm warmers even though an earlier skein called BUDS OF SPRING is already a scarf she wears ALL the time..... The pattern for which , by the way, is coming your way on 20 November in INSIDE CROCHET magazine!!!!!!!!

I have to calm down. It's all so skippety hoppity exciting!

Ah. Quite a poor harvest of conkers so early on- well about Mid-September.

What's this then?

NO! Lucy you CANNOT eat conkers....She gave it a good try though.

We went for a very early walk: before 9 am. What a blue!!!! I just loved this sky and those silvery and white tones with the soft beige against the blue--oooh I feel a jumper or scarf coming on...

Flowers at this time of year?

Lucy: not on a lead: waiting patiently as asked to do by a ''WAIT and STAY'' .She's watching me take the photos above. Having galloped ahead. Sparkling silver dew: MAGICAL.

Capturing a dewy moment. The day is promising to be quite warm later....

Lucy jumping through all that wet grass: she's soaking wet and very happy.

A glimpse of glories ahead?

Lovely colours!

It will be even more red in a week or so. Still I like the contrast with the green and red together.

Nature knows a thing or two about colour theory!

Home again: sighing contentedly over such a skein of beauty.

Found some late roses in our garden....I wonder if Debbie Bliss has the same rose? I have seen some of her new wool- Autumn 2009 range- and it is EXACTLY this colour pink.

In situ, the kids trampoline in the background.

Oh no! Lucy saw me holding the rose and now she's decided to EAT it.

C'est la vie! It is still a magical day!

See you again soon. I have banana muffins and chocolate fridge cake to share later....