I went somewhere pretty!

And had the best time ever!

I had such a great weekend with Dan in Malham (North Yorkshire). We walked for most of Saturday and Sunday, drank lots, ate lots, and just loved every minute of it. Here are some photos...

A good time was had by all

I have had a really great week off. I finished a whole sleeve of my Samus, attached it, did the i-cord and it looks great. I just need to get the other started tonight.

I knit 4 dishcloths and 2 hats last week and am sitting them to one side until I have enough stuff to take to a craft stall, maybe in winter. I sorted through a lot of my stash last week so there are some definite possibilities for hats and scarves. I also want to dye some fibers and spin some chunky yarns to make more hats. They only take about 4 hours to knit, and should sell well during winter.

We finished the patio/balcony/porch/deck/fence thing (we basically built a fence around the edge of the foundations because there was a 7-8 foot drop off the sides into sharp and pointy weekds and it was quite scary and open.) Its looking really nice and I have pics to come. I also sorted all my plants out so they are in some sort of order now and they are less likely to blow off the side. I am actually growing quite a bit this year, I just started a little late. The onions and garlic I put in last autumn are great. I thought they would have failed as some went to seed last month, but the last 3 weeks off rain have helped out and I pulled out 2 garlic, 2 red onions and 2 yellow onions yesterday. My beans, peas and beetroot are slowly coming along, and the brocolli is almost a foot high. On the patio I have 4 grow bags, 2 with tomatoes, one with aubergines, and one with strawberries. I also have a basket with tomatoes, a red gooseberry (very sweet!) a rhubarb, a blueberry and we got a blackcurrent on Sunday, which already has some fruit. The wild blackberries are gaining on the garden too, so we should be picking them in a month or so. I need to get some nets since the squirrels like all of the above!

All the Elderflowers are now Elderberries - anyone know what I can make with them?

I am back in work today and not really loving it. I feel like I need a career change. I really enjoyed the hands on woodwork last week. The highlight of today (apart from all 4 phone messages being of people hanging straight up) was that we went to buy lunch for a meeting, and then the meeting was cancelled so we got free food. Which considering I got paid today and am almost overdrawn already, is a very good thing.
Tonight I need to do a quick food shop on the way home and hopefully pick up something cheap and quick from the death shelf so I can enjoy some knitting on the patio.

I have a week off work

This is what I want to achieve this week (I will bold the stuff I have already done):

• order wood for front deck
• take delivery of wood for front deck
• build front deck (partially) - just need to paint it and fix the screen tomorrow/this weekend.
• get some tyres
• start building tyre wall
• take Escort for MOT
• take Rover for old mudflap bolts removing
• take Rover for front wheel judder problem fixing - we did this and it wasn't as bad as we thought. Just need to get the wheels balanced tomorrow.
• watch some jousting
• watch some ferret racing
• watch some tractor pulling
• block all outstanding unblocked items
• knit some more Samus - sleeve 1 almost done
• silicone seal the gaps in the cabin bedroom
• seal the bathroom sink
• take Squee to the vets to be registered and ok'd for his snip - gonna do this next month
• paint kitchen floor - weekend?
• plant my tomatoes out
• visit Tewkesbury - decided not to as its too far and is probably flooded from all the rain.
• visit Newent
• visit Littledean Jail - decided against this after looking at the website :s May go to Clearwell Caves instea
• go to some garden centres
• go food shopping
• spin something
• (NEW) Knit a LOT

Holidaybobs

Morven got me a 4 gig memory stick for my birthday (as well as other stuff) so I have moved all my photographs and other stuff onto it, meaning I should always have them with me, meaning I should be able to post them on here more often! At least this post will have photographs, I can't promise anything for the future...
We got back today from a really great holiday. Despite the fact that it rained every day, it was really really fun. As you can tell from this photo of Morven... (click for bigger) Heh, actually this one better shows the happyness...
We went to Paignton, stayed in a really nice B&B, went to the cinema to see Juno on Thursday night, Paignton Zoo on Friday, Living Coasts and Torquay on Saturday, and came home today via Exeter. Photos of the zoo are on my Flickr here.
Sadly no knitting was done during this break.
And also, a rat ate the Wii cable whilst they were supposedly being looked after by Morven's mum - who appears to have dumped anything belonging to me and Mo in the cabin whilst we were away - just what we wanted to come back to!

Writing for the sake of it.

I often feel that I should write more, but to be honest, I dont usually have that much to say. I like to sit and listen (or read in blog terms) more than actually add to the conversation. I suppose there are a few bits to update. I just picked another marrow, the last 4 beets, a ton of carrots and chard from the garden. The pumpkin were taking over so I cut them back too. The foundations for the cabin are coming along. This is really happening now. We paid the deposit yesterday, added a foot to the roof height, and made one opening a little wider. Its on its way - 6-8 weeks from now it will be here! I'm scared that something is going to go wrong - worried I guess. There is no reason that we should be breaching planning laws but I still have a niggling doubt. Its not over 4 metres high, its not within 20 metres of the public highway - I cant remember if its meant to be under or over 10 metres from the house, but whichever, we do comply. So its just worry. I have been taking my mind off it by pricing up Ikea kitchens using their planner tool. I can get everything we want for £530. Plus we need to buy a stove but I was going to Freecycle for it or check the papers for something used in decent condition. If all else fails, I will put it on my Christmas list, or me and Morven can get married just for the gift list lol. I really wanted the red kitchen, but I decided on the gloss white version of the red kitchen. The red one meant I would have to buy red filler pieces and end panels which just adds to the cost. So white it is. Oh yeah, we will need some tiles for the back walls too but I will ebay for those. I have also been knitting today - I frogged a bag and decided to make a hat - later - and I have been working on a lace scarf because I need to finish something in the hope that it will motivate me to make something else. And the annoying thing here, is that I wanted to take pics so I could post them tonight, but my phone ran out of charge, so I couldn't. I have washed all the vegetables and left them on the drainer, so providing they are still there tomorrow I will try to remember to take some pics. And the scarf will get a new pic when its finished. In the meantime it is on my Ravelry projects page (xampx) if you have your invite. One last thing. I got my postcard from my Mum today. She got back on Monday LOL. She has been to Salou in Spain? for 2 weeks - only £350 ($700) for a 4star hotel. I wish I could go somewhere like that, but I can't afford the £60 for a passport :(

Quick picture post

It has rained all damn day. Started yesterday, but since i was in the garden i finished planting things. But today ive avoided leaving the house, except to change my car stereo over and go get petrol for Morven.

Im just about ready to go to bed, but since im on the laptop i might as well post some pics of last weeks holiday.

Here is Mo driving us there - it only took 3 hours, we stopped once for food and petrol. I have more pics of the tent etc, but they are on the other hard drive and i dont know where it is :s

This is Carlyon Bay, or the beach part of it at least. There is mass construction going on there at the moment, i think there are plans for hotels, bars etc. Its looking pretty good, i got some nice pebbles and stuff, not that i know where they are since we got back.

And this one is the view on the walk down to Eden. Its pretty impressive, those things are HUGE!

One last one which made us both laugh...

Sadly they were closed... :)