She Weevil's Moveable Feasts

Almost gone and entirely forgotten, if you would like to submit your favourite recipes for this little weblog, here, they would be most welcome.

There is already a glut of tantalising little treats there (well, perhaps glut is overstating it somewhat but it they are there nonetheless) and yours could join them. There is no prize and no reward other than the knowledge that you have been immortalised on tinternet.

Politics of envy

I am a nice person. This is a truth universally acknowledged. So why am I sitting here smouldering? Google, and more especially googling, is bad for my health. Today I found someone who used to be my best friend and she has done very nicely for herself thankyou very much. All I can think is horrid thoughts about the "golden ones". You know the ones who happen to be standing next to you when the cosmic shit hits you full in the face.

I should, as a nice person, think "Oh! Jolly good for her" but the best I can muster is a muttered "Spoiled cow" and a teeny (it was really teeny) "lucky bitch".

Tomorrow I may have come to terms with it all but today I am just plain jealous and I hope she gets a huge boil on her pretty, upturned nose.

For Diana ...

No, not that one. The nosey one from two posts down. *Waves* .

Things I should be doing today:

Minutes, minutes and more minutes. A couple of agendas. More minutes.

Things I am doing today:

Pondering on baby status over here and thinking about baby status over here. Thinking about lovely weekend on the Lizard and looking at new to us caravans on ebay. I am also thinking about how to get roughly £13,000 so I can get one of these.

And when matters of import such as those are not at the forfront of my thinking organ, I am pondering shed situation, permission and purchase.

It's all go in the house of Weevil, I can tell you.

Happy Christmas Fairy and the scottie dogs

These wonders can be found here.

Back to school

LTB and Surrealo Son (oh, and me) are all back to school this week. The summer holidays have been a fantastic break and we had really lovely weather down in our little caravan. Since we have been home we have finished the bathroom, started the garden in earnest and made five pounds of blackberry jam.

I have planted out two of the rescued roses along with some crocosmia, some lilies, a Bishop of Llandaff Dahlia, some catmint, and rather a lot of herbs. There are also various things that I planted from mixed packets of seeds that are yet to be identified - some look a bit like sunflowers and the dog keeps eating them (who knew?) and the other has glaucous foliage with a red vein - keep your smutty thoughts to yourselves - and may well be a brassica of some type. Whatever, it has provided an attractive addition to the border.

I was also lucky to have been given some lavender plants and honeysuckles and jasmines by my mum for my birthday along with another beautiful David Austin rose "Heritage". Thanks Mum.

The Happy Christmas Fairy and the back to school bags.

I may have forgotten to mention for some time, that I have have two lovely sisters; one grumpy one and one Happy Christmas Fairy one. They are both variously talented individuals but in the absence of anything concrete from the grumpy one to show you, I would just like to point out that the Happy Christmas Fairy one makes beautiful personalised PE bags like this:

Or this:

She even makes grown up bags for grown ups like this:

Best of all, they are available here, so go and buy one this second!

The kindness of strangers ...

While we were away at Easter people from other allotments started nicking bits and pieces from ours, supposing it to be abandoned (which in effect it was). My allotment neighbour came round and told Arty Daughter to get me to call him when we got home and I did. I was very upset as I was having to give up not only the allotment but also my lovely roses; presents from my mum and my dad before he died.

The news of the new house and the prospect of a garden seemed somewhat ironic; if only I'd known a couple of weeks ago, I might have been able to salvage them!

My delight this morning, to go downstairs to meet my allotment neighbours wife, with not even my hair brushed to be told that they had saved the roses and potted them up for me and I could go round and get them whenever we got a house.

The kindness of Tom and Mrs Tom is overwhelming. Those roses are really loved and I am so pleased that they will be coming home to our new house with us (on or about next Thursday).

Good-bye to all that

Well we've only been here, in Urine Towers, for the past two years seven months and three days but if you all keep your fingers crossed really tightly we may indeed be on the move to Urban Decay Grove.

As you can see from the little picture on the right it has a pleasantly sized garden and the little crescent is tree-lined.

Of course not much has happened in the intervening three years. We arrived here in such traumatic circumstances and the trauma seemed to lurch from bad to worse. In spite of it all Surrealo Son and Arty Daughter are blooming in to wonderful young people and two year old genius is now four and knows everything there is to know about Harry Potter.

It won't miss anything at all about this dank little dive. I won't miss the humiliation of having things delivered and the delivery person snearing, or not being delivered and the delivery person and the company snearing.

We are not going to miss the "Slugs". They haven't featured much because what I took at first as a rum eccentricty actually turned out to be something a little more sinister. I thought it wise not to report on the majority of activities from below but one is a matter of public record. Save to say that this and other things have had a grave and detrimental effect on all of our lives and have made our little escape to the country an absolute necessity. I may be a little quiet over the next few weeks but this will be a good and busy quiet, not another post stroke hiatus. With love and hugs to all my blog friends near and far.

Headbangers ...

No, I haven't gone over to the dark side, Ella is still my drug of choice on the musical front but I do seem to be surrounded by headbangers. In the jobs I mentioned below I have recently had to deal with a few individuals who need their heads banging together.

In addition to those who would benefit from a short, sharp block knock I have also encountered others that are inducing me to bang my own head hard against a brick wall in order to maintain the illusion of my own sanity.

In other news we may be moving from Urine Towers to Urban Decay Grove but it is semi-detached and has a garden (front and back); who cares about the crack den next door and the prostitute in the bus shelter?

In other other news I may have invented something brilliant but only if you are over 6 foot tall and own a caravan.

Red hot teddy peppers

Well green to be precise but it didn't fit with the theme. Weather attrocious here today so bad that they have had to cancel the Ten Tors. For all the children taking part, I'm sure it's a major disappointment but for all the parents, and in light of this, I'm sure it's a great relief.

This little feller and all of his friends can be found here.

Out of touch ...

It's official. I'm out of touch. It's now six and a bit (soon to be seven and a bit) pin money jobs and juggling the blog the allotment and work has just been a bit too much. I tried to keep up but waht with bees and bumps and spooky ear infection sickness (I had that too) and computers going bang and council workmen (we've had those too in bath collapse saga or should it have been 6 week epic?) I just haven't quite managed.

So a big hello to everyone and I'll try to make it once a week from now on.

The times they are a-changing...

You, the more astute amongst you, will have noticed a distinct lack of posts. Tick VG.
There has been a bit of a shift around in Urine Towers and from one and a bit little "pin money" jobs. I now have a number of "clients" which I won't go into here and a new venture here.
Consequently, I have decided to give up the allotments as I just don't have the time.
If anyone has the need of seed potatoes, I have 30 (10 First Early and 20 Maincrop) that you would be welcome to for the cost of the postage.

In other news, downstairs neighbour has been sent away for some time ....

PS The Artist has just noted that the above sounds a little like I offer a very dubious variety of "personal services". If only life were that interesting.

... and one for the pot

Following a request from said friend in the wilds of Wales I found this on an old RNIB website and also found a pattern in the charity shop downstairs. I also happened to find a pattern book for Robertson 'golly' Sweaters for all the family, comme ca:












Bargain! Also found a Rupert book on ebay this morning and a Raymond Briggs the Snowman one yesterday.

But enough dithering; here is the pattern from the RNIB website, courtesy of 'My Weekly':

Two for the Pot
Size and materials
A delightful, easy to knit tea-cosy which can be made in two sizes.
Materials required:
Patons Beehive Tumble Dry Double Knit, 1 x 50 gram ball in each of two contrasting colours; for 1-pint size, one pair each of 3 3/4 mm and 4 mm (Nos 9 and 8) knitting needles; for 2-pint size, one pair each of 4 mm and 4½ mm (Nos 8 and 7) knitting needles. Quantities of yarn are based on average requirements and therefore approximate.
Measurements:
Small tea-cosy to fit 1-pint tea-pot; large tea-cosy to fit 2-pint tea-pot.
Tension:
1-pint size, 26 stitches and 38 rows to 10 centimetres (4 inches) measured over garter-stitch using 4 mm needles; 2-pint size, 24 stitches and 36 rows to 10 centimetres (4 inches) measured over garter-stitch using 4½ mm needles.
Abbreviations:
k = knit; st(s) = stitch(es); tog = together; ml = make a stitch by picking up horizontal loop lying before next stitch and knitting into the back of it; M = main colour; C = contrast colour.
NB
The difference in size between the two tea-cosies is created by using different tensions, therefore take extra care to ensure that your tension is correct before starting. Pleats are formed by each colour being drawn across back of colour just used and keeping all strands at wrong side throughout.
Figures in brackets ( ) refer to the larger size; where only one figure is given, this refers to both sizes. Figures in square brackets [ ] refer to both sizes and are worked the number of times stated.
Method
With 3 3/4 (4) mm needles and M, cast on 56 sts and knit 4 rows.
Change to 4 (4 ½ ) mm needles, join in C and work in pattern as follows:
** 1st row: K1M, *6C, 6M; repeat from * to last 7 sts, 6C, 1M.
Repeat this row 5 times more.
7th row: K1C, *6M, 6C; repeat from * to last 7 sts; 6M, 1C.
Repeat this row 5 times more.
13th row: As first row.
Repeat last row 25 (29) times more.
Shape top
Next row: K1M, *K2togC, 2C, K2togC, K2togM, 2M, K2togM, repeat from * to last 7 sts, K2togC, 2C, K2togC, 1M.
2nd row: K1M, *4C, 4M; repeat from * to last 5 sts, 4C, 1M.
3rd row: K1M, *[K2togC] twice, [K2togM] twice; repeat from * to last 5 sts, [K2togC] twice, 1M.
4th row: K1M, *2C, 2M; repeat from * to last 3 sts, 2C, 1M.
5th row: K1M, *K2togC, K2togM; repeat from * to last 3 sts, K2togC, 1M.
6th row: *K1M, 1C; repeat from * to last st, 1M.**
Break off C.
7th row: with M, K1, *m1, knit twice into next st; repeat from * to last st, ml, K1 - 30 sts.
Leave these sts on a spare needle.
Make second half in the same way, but reversing colours from ** to **.
Top
With M, and wrong side facing, knit across both halves - 60 sts.
Knit 10 more rows.
Cast off.
To make up
Join sides, leaving openings for spout and handle.
Cut 4 x 30 cm (12 inch) lengths of yarn (two of each colour if you would like a two-tone cord). Make a twisted cord, knot ends and fray them to form tassels. Thread through top and tie in a bow.
(Reproduced with the kind permission of ‘My Weekly’).

A nice cup of tea ...

.. goes to my neglected [blog] friend in the wilds of Wales. In fairness, she's not the only one I've neglected and I had resolved not to do the whole mea culpa thing again I've just been so busy and my juggling skills were never up to much in the first place.

So, sheepish waves to everyone. I'm out of the loop because when I don't write I feel guilty about lurking; I'll just draw a line and get on with it.

My small job has escalated and now seems to be breeding. The initial small job may well be in terminal condition though following a particularly nasty encounter at the weekend. However other associated small jobs seem lovely and cuddly at the mo.

Despite making several sales the artist has suffered what you might call a crisis of confidence - not helped by the uncertainty of the Urine Towers situation.

As for the allotment, apparently someone blithering idiot has cut down all our fruit bushes - I don't know, the artist went. It's just another of the things I haven't had time to cope with. On a brighter note I have 50 seed potatoes to chit: 20 Red Duke of York and 30 Desiree.