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!

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...

Temptation and To Do lists

Now, a girl likes to have a project, but when I looked at just the tip of the top of my 'To Do' list it was really quite alarming!
For a start, there are four vintage Brown Betty teapots sitting around completely bald in this chilly weather, waiting to be transformed for the shop. I even have some Cornish Organic aran wool to turn at least some of them into what I think I'll call the 'Super Naturals' (geddit?!)
But they should probably wait because a certain very important wedding is happening at the other end of this month, and having been given the honour of organising children's party baskets by the bride to be I really should get the felt crowns (a la The Creative Family) finished...
And hot on the heels of that, as a knitted item voucher given as a birthday present in May has now been redeemed, I think a response (in the form of a stripy, grey shades of wool hat) is needed. Then again, there's another birthday on the horizon and a request for a knitted present (inspired by Burberry no less!) has been made. Can I meet a Bonfire Night deadline?
Then again, there's also a teeny-weeny Fairisle item I've already begun for a baby who has actually been around for a few months now and who has been promised a knitted item in person a good month ago. It's not going to take long to finish, unless I get completely tangled in those pesky multi-strands and I have just treated myself to some new Brittany Birch 3.25mm needles to replace the ones I (eek!) broke earlier in the year, which I can use to finish it instead of metal needles. That should be an incentive but...
...Of course I got the Brittany Birch needles in the lovely Williams yarn store in Kendal. And they are so lovely and helpful and we got to talking about a 'Book Worm' jumper I'd like to knit for P from Miss Bea's Rainy Day and we decided that Rowan Felted Tweed Aran would work as a soft, cosy and washable substitute for the All Seasons Cotton suggested... so of course now I am desperate to start it, because who on earth can resist a stack of brand new balls of wool, not to mention a gorgeous little model to make for? Temptation, temptation, temptation!

If this is Autumn, then bring it on!

The sun was literally winking at us from across the rooftops this morning, reflected off windows across town. It made us even more sure that today was the day for a Lakes walk.
Writing (or rather freeform drawing) on Pop's birthday card inspired a post-breakfast painting session. Maybe P should have his own Folksy shop.
We made our very winding way up past Coniston and Little Langdale to Blea Tarn and were greeted by so many gob-smacking views that you're lucky there aren't more pics here. The path looks really smooth in these images, but actually we fully tested the off-road potential of the buggies (and the mummies, we will have biceps like Fatima Whitbread at this rate) and got a flat tyre to show for it!
Brocolli soup al fresco was even better than at home last night (and no, I hadn't licked the mug clean, I used bread to mop up the last tasty dregs), especially as we insist on bringing proper mugs for soup and separate ones for redbush tea. Outdoors does not have to mean uncivilised ,although P's open air nappy change perhaps challenged that somewhat. Still, talk about a nappy change with a view, through the Scots Pines to the tarn and sunny fells beyond.
Welcome to October!

Soup!

Hooray! Finally managed to achieve pictures on the blog. Okay, so an interesting first choice maybe, but this Soule Mama Soup is yummy and will hopefully fuel another walk tomorrow, this time at Blea Tarn. P and I are entertaining our new pals from up the road for lunch before we set out for a buggy run. He decided to help with the cooking...
Fingers crossed the weather will be reasonably kind and the footpaths less overgrown than the one we took to Furness Abbey the other day- machetes would have been useful!
As for the last picture- well it's a bit of a teaser, as it could be part of the 'To-Do list' post I'm working on, or even the 'Wedding Preparations' one I have in mind. Suffice to say it's harvest-y and autumnal and much as I'm a knit-nut at heart I am enjoying the calming rhythm of hand stitching. I've learned that doing a decent job with sewing means s-l-o-w-i-n-g down and working methodically, which is definitely good for me and my usual whirlwind ways.

Fells and Tarns and Becks Oh My!

Springtime is meant to be the time of new beginnings, but for us it's been late Summer and Autumn. A new place to live, a new job (for C) and a new role (as stay-at-home mummy) for me, and new online adventures (of which this is one).
As far as our new home goes, with the tide of boxes finally receding, I have been a-baking and a-making in order to make it home rather than a house. Amanda Blake-Soule's latest offering 'Handmade Home' has been invaluable inspiration- more on that at a later date, as well as my trusty collection of favourite cook books, rediscovered from yet more boxes! Penelope, our hen, has even begun to lay eggs again, so she must approve of our new home.
When not homemaking, P and I have been welcoming the (sometimes kind) weather of these late summer days by getting out and walking whenever we can, whether en famille or with friends old and new. Our current bible is 'Easy Miles' which has lots of buggy/newly toddling friendly walks in this heavenly county we can now call home. I think we have explored 6 so far- not bad for being here just over a month! We even did one walk two days running, the second time with plastic tubs at the ready after we spotted major blackberry treasure to be had (picture above)- fresh air, exercise and free fruit for jam, the good life indeed.
One of the best things about our new home is that I have a crafting corner to call my own again, after I sacrificed my work space to make room for a cot in our old house. It used to be just a question of housing a whole load of balls (of yarn, that is) but now that I've caught the sewing bug, my corner resembles a pile of fabric and haberdashery with a sewing maching perched on top. Just to add to the clutter, I've got the completed items for my Folksy shop and three more gorgeous teapots found by my sister, and waiting for cosies...