Eleni Drinks Tea

The Mean Reds

2012-02-22T21:14:00.000Z

Hello, hello! Yikes, it's been ages since I did anything blog-worthy, but I did dye my hair again, and I thought you'd like to see (was I wrong?).

I've been trying to become Rita Hayworth using the natural herbal powers of henna since the summer, and while it worked really well once and was really good for my hair, I just couldn't get it quite as red as I wanted it to be. Plus it faded pretty quick and was a right faff to apply each time. So, I gave up and paid my hairdresser to dye it for me! Now, as a partial punk, I would like to point to that this was the first time I had ever paid someone else to dye my hair for me, but I thought maybe it was time to bow to someone else's expertise!

Here's the decidedly browny-red which my hair has been for the last few months:

...and here's what my hairdresser made of it!

OK, OK, it's still browny-red. but it is definitely more red, and that's what I wanted. In the sun it's quite luminous, but I see so little of it at the moment that the opportunities to take outdoor photographs have been few and far between. To compensate, here's a photo of me pulling a silly face, because I was tired of posing for self-portraits and feeling self-conscious:

Yeah, I'm zany like that :)

A Day in the Life

2012-02-05T19:13:00.000Z

Sarah over at Wearing It On My Sleeves (hilarious blog, by the way) was just saying the other day how weird it is that we all read each others' blogs every day but we actually have no idea what these people are really like. I read a ton of blogs, and I often ponder how the authors actually spend their days (and how some of them can afford their lifestyles without ever seeming to go to work, but that's another story!), and I really like the Ten on Ten series that Melissa of Miss Sew & Sew did, where on the 10th of the month, she posted 10 pictures, one every hour, just showing what she was up to that day. Now, I don't have the commitment to remember to take a picture every hour on the dot (nor are my days that varied, to be honest) but today started off rather well, as you'll see below, so I though it might be fun to do a little 'Day in the Life' post, in case you were curious. Naturally, I'm not going to do this on a work day ("9am, this is me sat at my desk at work...11am, this is me sat at my desk at work, nearly time to eat my sandwich..." you get the idea!) but a Sunday, now that's something worth documenting.

Here's what got me started:

Breakfast of Champions, in my humble opinion. I don't do this every weekend, but I am all in favour of making breakfast just that little bit fancier of a weekend. It is the most important meal of the day, after all. It looked so perfect sizzling away in the pan that I thought it would make a rather lovely photo, and so I hatched my plot to share they key moments of this Sunday.

After breakfasting like a king, I changed the water in Bill and Ted's tank:

Happy fish! I bought them some new plants yesterday so it's quite the party round theirs this weekend.

Next up I set my computer to work doing a full system back-up:

I know what you're thining, "wow, thrilling." But now you're thinking, "actually, I really ought to do that on mine." Right?! Mine took hours, but I'm glad I did it, and what Sunday would be complete without at least one really mundane task ticked off the list?

The focal point of this Sunday was actually going out for tea and cake with Sarah. We decided to go the the Tea House Emporium: a wonderful tea shop which we had both purchased from on several occasions but had somehow never made it downstairs to their tea room. Silly us, look what we'd been missing:

This is the handle on the bathroom door - so decadent!

I'm glad Sarah's a fellow blogger, because she completely understood me when I said I was taking pictures of everything today for a blog feature on A Day In My Life! Look at the size of those slabs of cake:

I had a cherry and almond cake, and Sarah went for a lemon drizzle. Both excellent, but the tea, oh, the tea! I was a complete geek and wrote down what I'd ordered (purely for your benefit, my inquiring readers). I started off with a Nilgiri, which is a black tea not unlike a Ceylon, but not quite as woody. Sarah went for a delightful concoction called a 'Tropical Midnight.' We chatted about cruising on the Nile when we retire, and taking ourselves a pair of toyboys ("This is Carlos, he doesn't speak a word of English but he's ever so loyal").

For Round Two I tried a Chinese Sencha, which is, apparently, the most popular tea in China - and they should know what they're talking about! It was a green tea, and we both agreed that, although it's healthier, green tea isn't always the tastiest option, particularly if, like me, one doesn't like bitter flavours (that includes coffee and olives, by the way. Yeah, I'm Greek and I don't like olives. Allow it). However, the Sencha promised a delicate flavour with a hint of sweet chestnut, and a pleasant aftertaste, so I thought I'd give it a go. I was most excited when it arrived in a teapot which looked, and felt, exactly like a dinosaur egg:

The tea did not disappoint. It was incredibly refreshing, and there was definitely a savoury, almost vegetably flavour to it. And no bitterness whatsoever!

I must warn you, readers, that this is where my Sunday took a turn for the unexpected: as we were declaring that this was the kind of establishment where one ought to make a point of ordering something different every time one attends (they have a staggeringly diverse tea menu), we noted how everyone always promises to do this in Wagamama, but always ends up ordering their favourite thing anyway. As we gleefully described our favourite dishes to each other, we both said "cor, I haven't had a Wagamama in ages!" Well, there's one opposite my house, and Sarah said (quite adventurously and on the very spur of the moment) "let's have dinner there!"

I didn't take photos of the food in there, as I'm sure you all know what Wagamama looks like (if it hasn't made it to your country yet, it's a totally affordable Japanese diner chain, where the food is always yummy and filling and the service is usually prompt and always provided by very trendy Europeans with cool hair, piercings, and the occasional facial tattoo - in a completely non-intimidating way, of course). I bravely strayed out of my Yaki Udon Comfort Zone and took a chance on a Chicken Raisukaree, which I did not regret. Sarah remained faithful to her tried-and-tested Amai Udon. Oh and by the way, they've started doing pork ribs as a side dish - we absolutely wolfed them down.

So, a quick cup of tea turned into a full-blown afternoon dinner-date, which was extremely pleasant. Now I'm home, full up, and working on this:

It's a birthday present for a friend. As I mentioned in my last post, the pattern is by Miss Elle and is available on Ravelry here. It's a simple lace scarf - my first ever lace project - and I've never worked with such lightweight yarn before. I chose a light grey Debbie Bliss 'Party Angel' yarn (terribly cheesy name) which is a silk/mohair blend with the most subtle silver sparkles...it's like knitting with a piece of cloud! So fluffy and dreamy! I would thoroughly recommend this pattern to any fellow novice lacemakers out there - it's very simple and an absolute joy. And since it only uses one ball of yarn, it's very easy on the wallet and shouldn't take me too long to complete - both crucial factors to consider when knitting gifts!

So, that's my Sunday so far. Once my eyes get tired from knitting I'll probably watch The Darjeeling Ltd (Sarah and I were fantasising about India over lunch, too) and sigh quietly over Adrien Brody's sad, sad eyes and Owen Wilson's charming, scruffy vulnerability.

This was a pretty fun post to put together, and I hope you now feel like you have had a glimpse into a bit more of my real life, and that we are now somewhat better acquainted. Please let me know if you do a Day In The Life post of your own, I'd love to have a snoop!

Hat Trick

2012-02-02T18:33:00.005Z

Hello lovelies! Sorry again for my prolonged absence: I have mostly been trying not to freeze to death (damn my beautiful, listed, ice-cold flat!) and have done few Blogworthy activities, but I have managed to keep up with a little craftiness: I have taken up three maxi skirts and a rathe rmarvellous new pair of trousers, which I just might show you, if I ever find myself at home in some daylight to take a decent photo! but the craftiness has not been confined just to sewing minor alterations, oh no. Make yourselves comfortable, I have another crafty tale to tell:

I left my favourite hat at my sister's house way back in November, but instead of posting it to me, I said "don't worry, bring it to Ma's at Christmas." She forgot to bring it, and has subsequently forgotten to post it to me, so my bonce has been left to survive these most wintry months in my Emergency Hat. The problem is that my Emergency Hat is bright red and makes me look like a gnome:

...especially when I wear it with my red raincoat (seen here). It's also the kind of shape that makes me look like my name should be Myra and I should be pushing a shopping trolley full of tin cans and cats around, do you know what I mean?

So, I decided to make myself a new hat. I have been meaning to get better at crochet for months, and so I thought I'd crochet myself a hat - surely that's a nice easy project to get my teeth into? Well, I found a nice vintage pattern in one of my books, had the right size hook and yarn already, and set to work. To cut a long story short: some time and several expletives later, I gave up. I just can't seem to get my head around crochet! I kept losing my place and losing count, and it wasn't looking anything like hat-shaped, so I thought bugger it, I'll just knit myself a hat. I know how to knit. I trust knitting. So I rummaged through my collection of books, magazines, and random patterns, and found what looked like a simple cabled hat - it was in the Quick Knits section of a magazine, what could go wrong? It wasn't the exact shape I wanted, but I thought it would be good cabling practice, and in the meantime I was bloody freezing and needed a damned hat, so I set to work.

Now, some might call me a quitter, while others might appreciate the value of knowing your own limits, but after only about a couple of centimetres into this pattern...I gave up. It was taking forever and I really wasn't that enthusiastic about the end product, so I knew I wouldn't enjoy the process. Don't judge me. But ARGH!! By this time (about teatime on a freezing cold Sunday) I was getting rather cross with myself - "I just want to make myself a hat!" So I calmly went on to Ravelry, found myself a nice free pattern for a nice slouchy hat, which all the other knitters said was nice and easy and shouldn't take too long, and began a third attempt. They were right: it was quick, and it was easy, but oh, my patient readers, I'm afraid this Tale of Three Hats does not exactly have a happy ending...

Yes, it is a hat. A rather nice hat, I think you'll agree, but here's the problem:

I have a massive head. Maximus Big Bonce. See how my new hat perches atop my giant noggin, trying but not quite managing to cover my ears (OK I know you can't see my ears but you know where they are)? And it is far from slouchy. Here it is from the front:

I know, it doesn't look that bad, it's just not what I wanted! And it's certainly not going to keep me warm, so, the quest for a new hat pattern commences. Actually, I am planning to make a scarf for a friend's birthday at the end of February, so I will start that next to make sure it's done in plenty of time. At the recommendation of one of the ladies in my knitting group, I will be making Miss Elle's lovely lacey scarf - it only uses one ball of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, a most beautiful and usually most expensive yarn, but rather wallet-friendly in this case. I haven't picked which colour yet, but I shall go to Wool (my local knitting shop) on Saturday and give them all a squeeze, to see what grabs me. Hopefully I will have more success with the scarf than with my hats!

Casual Kitchen

2012-01-17T18:33:00.003Z

How do you like my new blog design? I've been wanting something a little calmer for a while, and so off I went to Shabby Blogs (since I know nothing about html design and they do it so well) and found this lovely grey floral pattern, which I would totally wear. I'm not sure if it's too calm though, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Being bloggers, you will understand how excited I am by the following bit of Web Fame news:

Casual Kitchen published my question! If you haven't heard of Casual Kitchen (where have you been?) you are missing out on the greatest food blog there is. You want healthy recipes, right? But you also want them to be affordable, preferably "hilariously cheap"? From someone who loves good food? With a conscience? And, as the name suggests, with minimal effort? Get thee hence. If you can't be bothered, then you may be wondering what my question was: it was butter vs half-butter-half-whatever else spreadable things. Cholesterol vs trans fats. Cows vs scientists. As ever, Casual Kitchen (and his readers) put forward a well-researched, thoughtful response, and offered their own suggestions as to what they use in their own homes. I am honoured :)

While I'm here being a blog geek, I ought to mention that my lovely housemate (she of the impromptu cookie offerings) has started her own blog, In it For The Honey! It's in its fledgling state but she is such a busy, creative person that I have every faith it will be a roaring success. She picked a great name to start with, right?

And while I'm sharing the love, I'd like to say a special hello to my new followers! It really is such a sweet surprise when I log in to discover that a new person has popped by my ponderings and finds them worthwhile. Thank you, truly, you make me very happy :D

Bibliophilia

2012-01-11T18:08:00.000Z

OK, I know I promised you a proper post instead of more video links, but these are too good not to share.

Do you like books?

Of course you do, but wouldn't you like them better if they could do this...?

Actually, who am I kidding, "if"? Of course they can, they just wait until we're not around...

Thanks to Jess for pointing me in the direction of these videos :)

The Artist

2012-01-09T18:59:00.002Z

Hello and Happy New Year, everybody! So long, 2011, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out :P

Actually, 2011 was mostly an excellent year, if I'm honest: I achieved nine out of the fifteen things on last year's list of resolutions, including buying a car, driving away for a weekend, taking a dressmaking class, making at least one new friend (hello, Sarah!) and learning to knit socks (I know, I've been a bad blogger, and I didn't share my sock-knitting experiences with you! I'm sorry, but to be honest I didn't really enjoy the process, but I made a very simple ribbed pair for my sister for Christmas and she loved them, but I doubt I'll be making any more!). There were also some great gigs, shows, parties, and visits, and I think if my fella hadn't split up with me in November, it might have been the best year ever. Meh.

My plans for 2012 are much fewer and simpler: I'd like to make another dress, and to go on holiday by myself (I'm thinking Berlin or Barcelona), as well as visiting my family in Cyprus (didn't make it last year because of ongoing Nerd maintenance!). The big one this year is that I am finally, absolutely, permanently, and definitively, going to clear my debts in 2012. OK, not my big old student loan, I admit, but I mean my stupid, unneccesary, everyday credit card debts, which I slowly but steadily accumulated in the lean post-university years in London, mostly on gig tickets (and possibly on a flight to Tokyo in 2009). Man, if I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to never, ever get a credit card. You don't need them, youngster, save up for a rainy day instead! I've made huge progress paying them off since I moved to Bath (bye bye, overdraft!), having been unable to make any kind of dent in them for eight under-paid years in the Big Smoke, but I've done the sums, and this is definitely the years it's going to happen. It might be a weird thing to talk about on a blog (let's be honest, nobody likes to talk about money troubles, do they?) but it will be a very proud day for me when it finally happens, and I will celebrate by chopping up the little plastic bastards, never to darken my doorstep again! And I won't be keeping one "for emergencies" either, because while I've been paying them off I have also been upping the ante on my monthly savings, and in the future it will be this little nest of (real!) money which I will turn to in emergencies.

Phew! Things got a little serious there, didn't they? I make no apologies, but I will now offer you a huge slice of whimsy to balance things out (everything in moderation).

The main reason I wanted to blog today is to rave on (and on) about The Artist, the film I went to see yesterday and which I can't wait to see again! Have you seen the trailer? I'm sure you have, but let's watch it again, anyway:

It's a slient film, set in the 1920s, about a silent movie star, who meets a girl who becomes a talking picture star: "An encounter, the fall, the fame" as the trailer says. But oh my, the energy that comes off the screen! You can feel it in the advert, right? I can't stop watching it! I happen to love musicals, and the 1920s, and tap dancing, and a dapper gent with a charmingly lopsided smile, so I wasn't at all surprised that I loved the film. However, there are some ingeniously surprising scenes and lots of clever details, so if you are undecided, let me tip you over the edge. Go!

PS: I'm sorry it's another video link on the old blog! I spent most of the festive season hybernating at my mum's so there were not many blog-worthy photo opportunities, but I did manage to finish knitting my excitingly-sleeved jumper, so I'll be sharing photos of that as soon as I've stitched it together!

One More Sleep!

2011-12-24T13:25:00.000Z

Merry Christmas everybody, I hope it's magical!

Foxtails Brigade Christmas Album!

2011-12-20T18:09:00.019Z

Remember those lovely musicians from California who came to stay with me this summer, the Foxtails Brigade? Well, shiver me timbers, they've made a Christmas album! And they've filmed a video for their song "I'm Not Really in the Christmas Mood This Year," look:

So sweet and sad, I really love it! So off I clicked to buy myself a copy, and lo and behold, a Christmas miracle! If you click here you will see that their record label, Antenna Farm Records, have declared a sale - 25% off until the end of 2011. Marvellous!

PS: Fear not, I realise after my last post that you might be thinking this is going to be my theme song this festive season, but in truth, I bloody love Christmas and, even though this will be my first without a partner for many years, I am still super-duper excited about it :)

Eleni Drinks Festive Tea

2011-12-16T18:23:00.001Z

Now, here's an idea for a Christmas party: Holiday High Tea! It was Sarah's idea, she spent Thanksgiving in Boston and went for the best afternoon tea, featuring apple-spiced chai amongst other delights, so she decided to re-create the experience in Bath, for our little Christmas get-together. Behold!

On the left you can see my contribution of cranberry scones (my first ever attempt at scones, but Rachel Allen has never let me down before, so I knew they would be a hit), accompanied by a splendid apple tea cocktail which our glamourous hostess threw together. It was completely delicious. There were also turkey sandwiches, mince pies, and Sarah made wheat-free cheese biscuits in Christmas shapes, and a pot of proper loose leaf tea. I was in seventh heaven: tea, cake, sandwiches, and cocktails - what a feast! I would definitely recommend putting together a celebratory afternoon tea for a few friends, rather than trying to organise a drunken night out over this most hectic and over-crowded time of year. I still managed to get very merry and not leave until midnight, but it was all from the comfort of Sarah's delightfully warm flat and her unbelievably comfy sofa - a far more civilised affair, if you ask me.

In other news, my Google account was deleted yesterday. I have no idea why, but I was in the middle of logging in to leave a witty remark on someone else's blog (and in the trauma of the events that followed, I can't for the life of me remember whose, nor what my brilliant comment was going to be) when I was denied access. Faced with the sudden and unjust prospect of losing two years' worth of blog, Gmail, and Picasa photo albums, in addition to the total amputation of all my bloggy friends...I'll be honest with you, bloggers, I burst into tears. I've been having a pretty rubbish time recently: my boyfriend broke up with me a few weeks ago (in case you hadn't guessed) and in addition to dropping a cactus onto my foot and accidentally putting my hand through a window, this was just the icing on the shitcake. But fear not, dear readers, all is not doom and gloom. Much like the parking ticket that ruined my day a few weeks ago but was subsequently cancelled following a politely-worded email, I was reminded, once again, that the universe always has a way of righting itself. As you can see, my Google account was eventually restored and I don't appear to have lost anything. See? Life isn't always as bleak as it looks. As the inimitable Alabama Worley once said "Usually, that's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too."

Vintage Jane

2011-12-11T11:46:00.001Z

Yes! Another beautifully-wrapped purchase from another lovely blogger! You've seen my necklace from City Birds, and my dress from Red Velvet, and now we have a delightful mystery package from Vintage Jane:

OK, it's not a mystery to me, I know excactly what's in there, but it's a Christmas present (a most excellent, couldn't-be-more-perfect-for-its-recipient kind of present) so it shall remain under wraps. In fact, I'm not even going to re-wrap it, as Jane's done such a marvellous job for me (although I must admit I'm dying to take a peek!).

The painted wooden darning mushroom, however, is for me. I've mentioned my dabbling with darning before, and I am convinced that having the appropriate equipment will encourage my efforts, particularly since it is so adorable. My woolly tights desperately need it!

Vintage Jane hosts regular stalls at Bridport market (oh yes, remember Bridport?) and many others, but you may also do as I did, and if you see anything on her blog which takes your fancy, send her an email and she will respond in a jiffy with a price you can't refuse, and send you your beautifully-wrapped goodies faster than you can say "vintage."

Thank you again, Vintage Jane, so, so much!

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

2011-12-09T18:30:00.002Z

We put our Christmas tree up on Sunday! And she's a beauty:

Can you believe this is the first Christmas tree I've ever bought? I'm surprised at myself! But you'll be even more surprised to learn that she only cost £10! Oh, yes. From these two crazy farming brothers just outside of Bath (if you live in the area, email me and I'll tell you excactly where - any tree for £10!). One of my housemates and I drove off in The Nerd on Sunday morning and came home with this giant (I'm 5'4", by the way, to give you an idea of scale)! Between the three of us housemates, it turned out we already had a ton of Christmas decorations, so we made short work of the decorating. Baubles aplenty and, being girls, we each had about three sets of fairy lights. Our living room is now the most gorgeous room in the house, and we all keep popping in there just to look at the tree.

New Goggles

2011-11-28T18:25:00.000Z

I got new glasses! Out of pure vanity, I must confess. I only need to wear them for close work, when I'm on the computer, or knitting or reading if the light's not great, but I had never really been happy with my first pair (which you can see here). I've always fancied myself as quite the eccentric, and my old specs were just so...safe. Luckily, I'd developed the nasty habit of peeking underneath them at my fingers (I can't touch type) or over the top of them at my knitting patterns, so I decided that I ought to get some Bigger Glasses. Bigger Glasses would eliminate this peeking-over-and-under habit, and would make me significantly more trendy, so off I went.

It took me forever to find a pair I liked - why is it I never worry whether sunglasses suit my face, but when it comes to regular glasses I think they all make me look like "Ghostbusters, what do you want?" After much umming and ahhing, and trying the patience of the nice young man in the shop, I decided upon a pair of Goks:

Nice square geek frames, with a hint of tortoiseshell colouring. "Great," said the nice young man, "now what about your second pair?" For lo and behold, readers, they were buy-one-get-one-free! So I went for something a little girlier, a little sillier, for my second pair:

A little rounder, with the vaguest suggestion of horn-rimming. These are the Party Glasses. The square ones are my Business Glasses.

Given my penchant for chunky boots and knee-length skirts, I am luxuriating in my new-found Daria phase. I want to wear my new goggles all the time! But alas, they make me feel a little sea sick out in the open air, so they shall remain desk-bound.

Thanks

2011-11-24T18:19:00.037Z

Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'm not American but you can probably tell I'm a big Americanophile, and I think it's a wonderful idea for a holiday. It's not about presents, there's no panic shopping, it's just about seeing your family, eating good food, and spending quality time. I've seen lots of lovely bloggers on the other side of the pond writing out lists of things they're thankful for, so I thought I'd put a little one of my own together:

1. My family, my friends. They send me tea and text messages to let me know they love me, and it fills my heart to the brim.

2. My new draught excluders. I live in a listed building. It's hundreds of years old, which means it's cold! This weekend I finally splashed out some some winter-proofing. This was the gap under my bedroom door...

I'm not kidding, it was 3cm (by far the largest gap in the house, we discovered). But now it is banished!

So simple, so effective. Should have done it last winter! I also stuck foam draught excluders inside my window frames, and I already think they've made a huge difference. No more shivering in my own home!

3. My new friend:

This is Bill. Next week I'm going to get him a friend, who shall be named Ted. I've had goldfish before, but not for some time. I do love having someone to look after, and I find fish particularly soothing. They remind me that life doesn't have to be complicated.

4. Knitting. I know I'm preaching to the converted for most of you, but I just wanted to take a moment to say how much I love having a passtime which doesn't involve electronics, and which engages my brain and invests my time in producing something. Currently, in making Christmas presents. Which leads me onto my next point...

5. Warm clothes. Yesterday was the first day I've left the house and felt a proper chill in the air. I hate the winter, but for some reason today I realised just how lucky I am that I can simply put on another jumper and cosy up under another blanket in my own room, in my warm home. We shouldn't take these things for granted.

6. The internet. Yes, really. And that means you! If I'm bored, upset, feeling uninspired or lonely, you bloggers are always there, and I love it. Across oceans, time zones, and work schedules, I can always rely on coming here and finding a little highlight from someone else's day to pick me up. Somebody always has something new to share. I've never know a more inspiring resource, and never before felt such fondness towards strangers.

So thank you, one and all. Count your blessings and give them all a little cuddle today.

The Circus

2011-11-16T18:43:00.000Z

The Circus is the most beautiful street in Bath. So named because it forms a perfect circle, with five giant plane trees in the centre (to get an idea of just how huge those trees are, click here for an aerial view). Naturally, at this time of year it is breathtaking. I had to stop and snap these on my way to the laundrette the other day:

The architecture was inspired by the Colosseum in Rome (I passed out in the Colosseum once, remind me to tell you about it sometime) except it's kind of inside-out, since these buildings were designed to be seen from within the circle.

Each building is carved with symbols which represent trades, guilds, or Masonic mystery stuff:

The architect, John Wood the Elder designed so many of the iconic streets and buildings in Bath in the eighteenth century, and he was totally into all that Freemasonry fandgango. Apparently, when seen from above, the Circus, Gay Street, and Queens Square form the shape of a key -a common Masonic Symbol. The Circus forms a perfect circle, with three roads entering it (divided into equal lengths, of course), so you can draw a triangle within the circle, which is the Masonic symbol for eternity. Clever, eh?

Eleni Receives Tea

2011-11-14T18:45:00.001Z

As Alanis Morisette once said (and don't try to pretend you didn't totally love that album when it came out!) "life has a funny way of helping you out when you think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up in your fay-ace." You mention you're having a terrible week, and one of your friends sends you a present. Don't ever let anybody tell you that this isn't a wonderful world.

Look what I received, completely unexpectedly, in the post:

Tea hand-picked by trained monkeys (seriously) and a Penguin of Death mug to drink it in. Are you familiar with the Penguin of Death? "Things you need to know about The Penguin of Death: He is strangely attractive because of his enigmatic smile. He can kill you in any 1 of 412 different ways."

Funnily enough, this isn't the only gift of tea I have received recently. Can you tell I like tea? Did you know that about me? I wasn't sure if I'd made that clear enough to you, my readers. As you can see, my friends and family are well aware of this fact:

My splendid stepmum sent me this from Cyprus a few weeks ago: an advent calendar of tea! 25 different teas, one for each day of advent. I was going to wait until December to share it with you, but since I was rabbitting on about tea gifts, I thought now would be a good time to bring it in.

Good job I baked those Spicy Chocolate Pumpkin Puffs, eh?

Spicy Chocolate Pumpkin Puffs

2011-11-12T15:46:00.003Z

Yes, you heard me correctly, Spicy Chocolate Pumpkin Puffs. Remember that Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I tried last year? Well, I tried again, and, remembering how they all splurged together on the baking sheet last time, this year I decided to pop them into their own little tins to try and keep them separate. Here's what happened:

Aren't they cute? I noted last year that the recipe definitely turned out more cakey than cookie - I think it has something to do with it being an American recipe, and apparently we have different flour, or something. So, I re-named them Spicy Chocolate Pumpkin Puffs (officially, change it in my recipe book and everything) and they have been a roaring success. Bite-sized vegetable-based snacks, anyone? I have eaten five already.

Take any old crap and sell it in a basket.

2011-11-10T18:42:00.003Z

Look at all this yarn I got for a fiver!

700g Lyndale 4ply - a "Tartan Green" wool/acrylic mix (machine washable - yay!). No, I've never heard of the brand, either, but 4ply is so versatile, and I loved the colour so much, that I nabbed the whole bunch. There will be a cardigan, most definitely, and perhaps a pair of socks, if I ever figure the buggers out (my first pair is on the needles, but we are not getting along so well. I'll show you what I mean in another post!).

I got it at the Farmer's Market, which I have avoided because I always assumed it would be expensive. Don't judge me! Bath is quite a well-to-do town, and many things (such as markets, sandwiches, and Sunday Roasts) tend to be over-priced around here. However, there is a Farmer's Market every Saturday in Green Park station (a beautiful old Victorian train station which is now a half-open-air-half-enclosed space used for gigs, markets, and those frightening miltary-boot-camp-style workouts. And it's right next to a big Sainsburys (that's a major supermarket chain, for my international readers). Now, Sainsburys is not my usual supermarket of choice, purely based on its location in Bath, but I happened to be walking past it on this particular Saturday morning. I needed supplies, so I went in. And as I picked through the dismal broccoli selection, I remembered that it was, in fact, Saturday, and that meant that the market was on. "Screw you, Sainsburys," I thought, "I'm going to give the market a chance!"

Don't get me wrong, I love markets. When I lived in London I got all my fruit and veg in Lewisham market. But Lewisham market is a Proper Market - shouting stallholders, £1-a-bowl, Eastenders-type market. Where stuff is cheap. And Lewisham market is huge and varied, so I really never wanted for anything, and I resented paying more for the same stuff in the supermarket. Farmer's Markets though...now that's a different thing.

Let's get one thing straight: of course I want to support local farmers, like any other local business. And of course I'd prefer my food not to have travelled halfway round the world to get to me. And if it doesn't come covered with chemicals, then so much the better. However, let's be honest, Farmers Markets (in this country, anyway) can sometimes be a bit like Christmas Markets: any sensible shopper knows that they are only designed for tourists and people with more money than sense. I will allow Armstrong and Miller to demonstrate this point beautifully:

And so I haven't actually tried to do a full weekly shop there, although I have mooched around and bought some fancy bread once or twice, for a treat. No, this time I was going to try and get everything I needed, and do a little mental comparison of the prices as I went along. It goes without saying that the quality of food at a Famers Market is not what's in question here - it's guaranteed to be seasonal and fresh, plus no pointless plastic packaging, a lot of it's organic...all in all, it's a great idea, but I must confess that money is, unfortunately, all-too-often my main decision-maker. I eat healthily and I cook most things from scratch, but I do have to work to a budget (don't we all?), so if courgettes are cheaper than peppers one week, I'll be eating courgettes instead of peppers, you know?

Well, dear readers, I was not disapppointed. I was, in fact, impressed! I got all the fruit and veg I needed (including a pumpkin), plus some beef mince, and even some halloumi-style* cheese, for pretty much exactly the same as it would have cost me in the supermarket. Hurrah! Except the mushrooms, I must point out. I regret, the mushrooms were over-priced. But hey, lesson learned. Faith in the Farmers Market restored.

* Since it turns out one of my housemates didn't know what halloumi was, and in the name of national pride, I would like to explain at this point that halloumi (like my dad!) is from Cyprus. It is a salty, yummy cheese made from sheep and goats' milk - which of course makes it lower fat than regular cows' milk cheese. It has a rubbery, squeaky texture (a bit like mozarella) and it grills up a treat, which is why vegetarians are so fond of it - it's a great meat substitute. It is currently registered as a protected Cypriot product within the USA, which means that you are only be allowed to call it "halloumi" if it was made in Cyprus - like champagne is from Chapmagne, camembert is from Camembert, etc. Alas, the EU is lagging behind in this department, due to disputes over whether or not it should have cows' milk in it (apparently). It shouldn't.

PS: I have been nominated for not one, but two Liebster Awards this week! By my lovely new blog buddies, In My Wild Eden and Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String. A pair of poetic ladies with an eye for the deliciously beautiful in the everyday, I beseech you to pay them a visit. Protocol dictates that I pass the award onto five other blogs, but since I nominated a bunch of my favourite blogs recently here, I thought I'd best not repeat myself, but rather redirect you to my orignal list. I still love them all, you see.

Eleni Drinks Tea in Bristol

2011-11-08T18:08:00.003Z

I needed cheering up on Saturday so I took myself out on a date.

And what's a girl to wear out on a date with herself? Why, a very happy maxi dress from Red Velvet, of course:

Sorry it's a bit blurry, the sun was shining and I didn't feel much like posing, I just wanted to get out and play. Still, I have heard other bloggers say it and I definitely believe it's true: when you wear something from Red Velvet, you feel just a little bit of their magic rub off on you. Such inspirational girls, Elsie and Emma (and the rest of the gang).

I decided to take myself off to Bristol for the day. It's really close by, I could have driven in The Nerd, but I didn't want the added stress of trying to figure out parking and directions, I just wanted to get there, so I hopped onto the train. Since leaving London, train rides have become a treat again, rather than a daily chore :)

It was a beautiful autumn day:

I had a vague notion of getting some Christmas shopping done, but beyond that I didn't plan what I was going to do, I just followed the signs to Harbourside. I stumbled across a stunning church, St Mary Redcliffe:

Covered in lovely details:

It was beautiful inside, too, and the organist was practising, so the mood was utterly serene. Sorry, but I'm a bit funny about taking pictures inside churches, so you'll have to click here to see a picture of the Chaotic Pendulum - a scientific demonstration inside the church. It's kind of like a set of scales, with water dripping onto the centre, and once it's full it will either tip to the left or the right so the water can pour out. The crazy thing is that there is no way of predicting in which direction it's going to tip. With all the science and all the facts in all the world (and I am a big fan of facts), nobody can figure out how this baby's going to tip up. The notice next to the pendulum says: "Some people look to science for certainties on which to base their lives. Increasingly we realise our knowledge can never provide certainty, even for this simple machine. The world is a more wonderful and a more surprising place than we could have imagined."

After a spot of contemplation in the church, I continued on my pootling. As I crossed the river I dreamed (once again) of living on a houseboat...

...or at least in a house that looks out onto a stretch of water:

...or perhaps in a converted old warehouse-type building...

I wandered round the shops and got a couple of presents, but didn't find any treats for myself (although I very nearly bought myself a ukulele...I'll put one on my Christmas list instead, I think).

I spent most of the day marvelling at the weather and the architecture. Here's a pub called The Elephant:

...and here's a joyfully colourful churchy-looking building, now sadly converted into a bank:

And just to prove that I am not exclusively interested in old things, here is a cool bendy glass wall/door which took my fancy:

I know at first glance this would appear to be another old buiding...

...but the tunnels either side of the gateway were covered in the most amazing graffiti:

In fact, much of Bristol is covered in amazing graffiti:

I even found a tree covered in knitting.

I've hardly been to Bristol since I moved out here to the West Country, so I was glad I got the chance to explore it a bit. It was nice to get out of Bath for a day, but although I discovered a 1950s-style bowling alley that plays The Ramones and has a vintage shop inside (SO awesome!) I wasn't entirely blown away by the shopping in general. Eight years in London definitely spoiled me. As luck would have it, it's my sister's (30th!) birthday this coming weekend, so I shall be back in London town with my nearest and dearest, and I will be able to visit all my old favourite haunts.

The Canary

2011-11-05T10:21:00.000Z

Before the gig last week, Sarah and I met up at Bath's newest team room, The Canary. Now, I was a bit miffed when they were in the process of decorating/opening, because they are located opposite The Wild Cafe, which is my absolute favourite place to eat in Bath. Everything in the Wild Cafe is local, seasonal, and organic (they're working on making a bacon sandwich with a carbon footprint of zero!), they use renewable electicity, and all those good things. It's a small place with an open kitchen, and the owner is a friendly chap who is in there every day, taking your order or cooking your food. But that's all secondary, in my opinion, to the food itself. It is so good. Hearty, earthy, rustic, and substantial. Huge portions all round. I'd walk a mile for their Eggs Benedict, their scrambled eggs with chorizo will put you into a blissful food coma, and the rabbit pie will make you forget all about Watership Down. Hell, even their vegetarian stuff is amazing. I think I've taken every visitor who's stayed with me in Bath to the Wild Cafe.

So, you can imagine my indignation when teacups and teapots started appearing in the empty shop across the road. "Who's this?" I harrumphed, "how dare they open up a cafe opposite the Wild Cafe?" Oh yes, I had my doubts about The Canary. But it turns out, The Canary is not a foodie cafe, dear readers, it is a tea room. A team room with a twist (I know you're intrigued now!). What's the twist? Well, here's what we ordered before the gig last week:

"Oh, how nice," you're thinking, "tea for two in mis-matched vintage china....hang on, that sugar looks a bit funny..." Well, bloggers, hang on to your vintage hats, because every day between 6-8pm, The Canary has a Prohibition Tea Party. Yep, you guessed it, there be gin in that teapot! Let me repeat that for you: gin & tonic, served in vintage tea sets.

One lump or two?

They also serve 'Prosecco with Dainty Sandwiches' and 'cider and a pork pie' for the boys. Actually, they do cakes, sandwiches, and all kinds of food, but I think I'll save my appetite for my beloved Wild Cafe. The Canary, however, can definitely provide the drinks.

Hidden Treaures

2011-11-03T18:29:00.001Z

The guy who owns the garage next door to my office was clearing all the climbing weeds from our walls and roofs the other day, and look what he discovered:

Isn't it perfect? Luckily, the residents were long gone. I'm so glad he kept it intact and placed it carefully on top of this little rock pile. I guess nobody can resist such a delicate little treasure.

Pet Cemetery

2011-11-01T18:46:00.000Z

Happy Halloween! I hope you all had as much fun as I did! My housemates and I hosted a Pet Cemetery themed party - you had to come dressed as a dead animal. Didn't necessarily have to be a pet, but it had to be dead. We dressed as Mad Cows:

I made our costumes! They were pretty simple actually, just shift dresses with hoods and ears. We felt like a strange, cow-print version of The Supremes. It was fun. Can you tell I'd been practising my Mad Cow Face? I must also point out that the bird on my head was not a permanent fixture, it was actually on the wall, but it makes for a pretty silly photo (not that I needed any help with that).

I also baked Zombie Muffins, and my housemate and I had a jolly good time making these little marshmallow monster heads:

Absolutely everybody dressed up, and we were super-impressed with the effort everybody went to. Sarah came as a sea serpent (seen here with another Sarah, dressed as a strangled peacock):

My fella came as a sack of kittens (seen here with a very scary rabbit):

We also had a Tamagotchi...

...and a giant pigeon head:

There were also a zom-bee, goldfish heaven, and Schrodinger's Cat. We were all up until the very wee hours, drinking Bloody Maries and Virgin Sacrifices (our non-alcoholic punch), and enjoying a playlist consitsting entirely of songs with either an animal theme ('Hungry Like the Wolf', Be Your Own Pet, etc) or a horror theme ('Bad Moon Rising', 'Killing Moon', etc). It was awesome.

Maniere Des Bohemiens

2011-10-29T12:32:00.004+01:00

So, that gig ticket that I bought Sarah for her birthday was for a band none of us had heard of before, called Maniere Des Bohemiens. I only found out about the gig because I am on the mailing list for the venue: The Chapel Arts Centre. Have I mentioned it before? I must have...oh yes, my friend Robin played there a while back. It is such a cute little venue, and I love being able to sit at a dainty round table to watch a band by candlelight.

So, the monthly venue email came around and there was a thumbnail of this band with an accordion, a violin, and a double bass. What's that? Gypsy jazz, you say? Sold! I clicked a little bit, watched some videos, and was convinced that I must go and see them. You will be, too, observe:

They were sensational! You know that Dualling Banjo scene in Deliverance? Well, imagine if you were watching two musicians trying to out-smart each other like that, but one was playing a violin and the other was playing an accordion? Mindblowing! Honestly, I've never seen anything quite like it (live, anyway). Man, I wish I could play an instrument! The energy onstage and their obvious joy from being able to play like that - it just looked like such a fun band to be in, and we all left the venue grinning. They're from Nottingham, and they're currently on a mini tour of the UK, so go and see them if you can!

The support band, Bartoune ,were also marvellous (I want them to follow me around everywhere and soundtrack my life) and it turns out they're local! So I shall definitely be attending their next Bath/Bristol show, and I'll just have to hope that Maniere Des Bohemiens will come back soon, too!

A 1920s Party

2011-10-27T18:06:00.000+01:00

I know, a fancy dress party so close to Halloween? Well, why the hell not? It was Sarah's birthday, and she loves the 1920s, what more of an excuse did we need?

Well, you know me, I need no excuse at all:

I got the dress from Ebay, but I already owned everything else. In fact, I already owned a pair of black opera gloves which might have been appropriate, but I decided not to wear them. That's how many fancy dress options I have on hand for such emergencies. Perks of being a magpie. I also wore my all-time favourite coat, who you can just see hanging up to the right. She doesn't normally make her seasonal debut until Bonfire Night, but it has been slightly chilly of late, and she matched the theme so perfectly. It's always so good to see her again after a frivolous summer of not-wearing-a-coat, to transition to a coat of such substance.

I also pinned the back of my hair up to give myself a temporary bob (based on a much-simplified version of this You Tube tutorial), which went down such a treat that I am now wondering whether my ambtition to Grow My Hair is as momentous as I am making it out to be - maybe it suits me better shorter, after all? Who knows? I'm getting a haircut on Saturday, as it happens, so it will either be All Change, or just a brief pruning. My hairdresser is also in the process of growing out her hair, so we do egg each other on. We'll see who caves first.

Anyway, back to the party. Here's the whole gang:

That's the birthday girl on the left - she's usually blonde! I was mighty pleased with the array of tassles and feathers we amassed between us.

We started off at Sarah's (stunning) flat, and ate enormous slices of a beautiful cake, made by a work colleague of Sarah's. We had scoffed the majority of it before I thought to take a photo, but here are the remains:

How gorgeous is that cake stand?

We then went to Opium (an extravagantly-decorated local cocktail bar) and drank insane amounts of gin (well, actually, I was the only one on the gin. Sarah's more of a Whiskey Sour girl). A jolly good night and a jolly good theme for a party, I must say. I got Sarah a gig ticket for her birthday, which turned out to be one of the best ideas I've ever had, since the gig was sensational! To be continued...(I know, I'm such a tease).

Feed me, feed me now!

2011-10-20T18:53:00.003+01:00

Hello lovelies, apologies for the prolonged absence but I really haven't had much to blog about lately. The weather's taken a turn for the Wintery and I've got Man Flu - yes, women can totally get it! It's when you just have regular old cold but you feel disproportionately sorry for yourself. I'm not usually such a whingebag but I got caught in the rain without an umbrella yesterday, which NEVER happens to me. I ALWAYS lug my umbrella around in my bag, but for some reason yesterday morning, I decided that I wouldn't need it - "sure, it's cold, but it hasn't rained for days" I boldly declared - and so I took it out of my bag. So, my umbrella got to sit on my bed all day long while I got completely drenched on my lunchbreak. Wet-hair-plastered-to-my-head, coat-and-scarf-still-wet-at-home-time kind of drenched. Ah well, pride goes before a fall, so I hung my wet head in shame and grumbled my way back to work, cursing my own lack of weather-predicting abilities.

However, help is on the horizon! My Auntie Andry has recently started a food blog - Andry's Kitchen. She's on the Greek side of the family, so you can imagine my excitement when she announced it on Facebook (we are ALL about the food). The first thing I asked her was, "are you going to put Yiayia's macaronia recipe on there?" I've mentioned my Yiayia before ("yiayia" is Greek for "grandma"). She lived with my Auntie Andry for years and years, so Andry really is the best one in the family to pass on her recipes. Macaronia, to those uninitiated, is my favourite Greek food. It's a bit like lasagne, I suppose, but with a bechamel sauce instead of a gooey cheese sauce, and, as the name suggests, you use long macaroni tubes instead of flat sheets of pasta. Here's what it looks like:

(image from Andry's blog, of course - I know my own auntie won't sue me for borrowing her photos!)

I know, I know, it doesn't look like much, but believe me when I tell you I could eat that entire oven dish-full! It's creamy, meaty, pasta-y, and just the ultimate comfort food for me. I guess it reminds me of my family, and I'm beginning to suspect that it's the cinammon which makes all the difference - it's been the missing ingredient from all my previous attempts at Greek cooking until now, and what's more cosy and comforting than the smell of cinammon?

So, my lovely, hungry readers, go forth and copy the recipe. Bake yourself a big old batch of macaronia and eat it in my poorly honour. If you want to bring me round a piece (or five), that would be awfully good of you.

Purple Rain

2011-10-08T10:37:00.000+01:00

One good thing about the evenings getting darker earlier, is that I tend to be out and about to observe moments like last night, when the sky goes purple:

I swear I haven't edited this photo - the sky was purple!

My New Favourite T-Shirt

2011-10-05T18:33:00.000+01:00

It really needs no introduction:

All I feel I need to say is that I got it for a fiver on Ebay, it's in immaculate condition, the perfect type of cotton, and apparently, H&M boys' t-shirts in a size small are, in fact, my ideal t-shirt fit! I want to wear it every day. Every day.

My sixteen-year-old self would be proud. Do you ever catch a glimpse of yourself and think, wow, my sixteen-year-old self wouldn't recognise me now? Or that she might, in fact, be horrified at what she saw (wearing homemade dresses and going for walking tours with the WI springs to mind)? Well, fear not, Sixteen-Year-Old Me, even though I end up leaving London to knit socks and join women's groups, there is still a huge part of me that would quite happily gallivant around in a Star Wars t-shirt all day long.

By the way, this is my sixteen-year-old self:

I told you, I am incapable of keeping a straight face for a photo. It goes way back.

A Stolen Summer

2011-10-03T18:49:00.000+01:00

Hello, October, you're looking mighty fine this year, I must say.

We had a really wet summer this year in the UK. A couple of weeks ago I had my woolly tights and my winter coat on. But last week, as if by magic, the sun came out and it was warm. So warm. Even more magical: it stayed warm and sunny for five whole days. I sat in the park and ate ice cream this weekend - I didn't get to do that once this summer! Sun cream, hair tied up. Dress + sandals = dressed. Bliss.

This was the view that greeted me each morning from my bedroom window:

You can feel it, can't you? The anticipation of a warm day, pure sunshine. No umbrellas, no scarves.

I can hardly express how good it was for my soul to get a great big dose of sunshine this late in the year. Unprecedented - the hottest October day since records began. Everyone was out enjoying it: the parks were packed, the shops were empty. As it should be. And everyone was smiling. It felt as if we couldn't believe our luck that we got to steal a little bit more summer, right when we needed it most.

Even the birds were sunbathing:

[sigh] Hailstones predicted for Tuesday. Normal service will resume.

Foxtails Brigade

2011-09-26T18:11:00.005+01:00

My Patron of the Arts lifestyle continued this weekend when I entertained half of the delightful Foxtails Brigade in my humble home. They make beautiful music. Wrap your ears around this:

I know what you're thinking: how did these these melodic San Fransiscans come to be crashing at my Bath flat for a September weekend? It's a tenuous link: Laura (the singer) and Anton (the violinist) are friends with my buddy Cameron, who wrote a musical when he was doing the Songwriting Masters degree at Bath Spa with my boyfriend. Still with me? The Foxtails were travelling around Europe for a month (they came to me via Reykjavik, Paris, and Normandy) and Cameron had mentioned that not only is Bath great for busking, but that he might just know a little Greek who loves feeding people English breakfasts and sharing cream teas with them...so they got in touch! We had a lovely weekend: there were many cream teas, several pies, at least two outstanding breakfasts, and of course I got to hear their ethereal tunes being played with Bath Abbey as a backdrop. Laura also bought a dress that I have been coveting for weeks but have yet to muster the balls or the funds to procure for myself - a grand souvenir, indeed. Clothes make the best souvenirs, don't you think?

Anton was a complete gentleman, offering his awesome fiddle-playing skills to my fella's album-in-the-making, the deadline for which is this coming Friday - I can't wait to hear it! He's been working on it for SO long, and I'm hugely proud of him. If you like your folk with a country twinge, then maybe I'll share it with you, if you like?

I love the city I live in, so naturally, I love being able to share it with newcomers. A Being-A-Tourist-In-My-Own-Town kind of weekend was exactly the kind of weekend I needed. Plus, who doesn't love meeting new people, and hearing the phrase "if you're ever in San Fransisco..."?

Home Sweet Housemate

2011-09-14T19:36:00.002+01:00

My housemate, Verity, is so sweet. When I met her, just over a year ago, it was with the usual pessimistic sense of disillusion that only flat-hunting (and, as I was reminded this very weekend, bra-shopping) can induce in an otherwise optimistic, worse-things-happen-at-sea sort of person such as your gracious host on this here blog. I'll be honest, I was expecting the worst - you always do when searching for new flatmates - Shallow Grave, Single White Female, you know the drill. But as she was showing me around the (spacious, perfectly-located, and ridiculously cheap) flat, I could hardly believe my luck - not only was the flat amazing, but she was just so nice. She bought me flowers when I moved in. She owns an art gallery. She hosts pottery parties for her birthday. Just this weekend, she proposed that we host a Halloween party this year (hell yeah!) and we both got carried away deciding on a theme (Pet Cemetery seems to be the running favourite), decorations (cobwebs made from leftover knitting yarn), and food (my infamous Zombie Muffins may have to put in an appearance) and I observed that we are both the sort of lady who hosts parties mainly so that she can bake stuff and decorate the flat. I think that says a lot about why we get along so well.

Anyway, a couple of evenings ago, suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my [bedroom] door. I opened it to find this outside:

Verity had been baking Apple Pie Spiced cookies, and she saved some for me:

In a hand-decorated bag, no less. Just because. There were two, but I made swift work of the first one before realising that they were indeed quite a blog-worthy gift, so I ought to document the occasion.

Gold Rush

2011-09-12T18:47:00.001+01:00

Look what arrived in the post this week...

That's right, bloggers, my new Gold Rush necklace, all the way from CityBirds Nest in California - hi, Cristie!

She really is such a lovely blogger - always so cheerful and kind in her comments - and when I saw her new Gold Rush line I just couldn't resist!

I'm sorry, but I'm struggling to get a decent photo of the necklace, because the weather's all grey and gloomy here in Bath at the moment. There's just not enough light. I feel a bit sorry for my new necklace: born into the California sunshine, imagine his excitement at being shipped off on his great adventure, to his new home. I wonder if he knew much about England before his journey? Alas, he was greeted by rain, rain, and more rain. I have decided to hang him in my window as a talisman, to bring some of that California sunshine over here to banish those grey skies (plus, he's just a little too special to be bunged into my Necklace Tin just yet)...

See how grey the sky is! Here's the brave little adventurer, looking all War of the Worlds-y in a close-up over the chimneypots of Bath:

May he bring me sunshine!

The End of Jessica

2011-09-10T10:43:00.001+01:00

At last, Jessica is finished!

I think this has to go on record for the longest-running knitting project, ever. Unless it has taken any of you more than a year to knit a short-sleeved top? Do tell!

Although technically, I finished her in May, but we had some problems. I unravelled the whole of the front panel, because I just couldn't figure out where I'd gone wrong, so I thought a complete, clean-slate, Etch-a-Sketch approach would be best, and I was right.

As you can see, there are still a few niggling things around the neckline which are less-than-perfect: it's not quite sitting flat (I may have been a bit over-zealous when I was blocking that part) and the shoulders are a little puffier than I would like (I could have done a better job of gathering) but I'm going to see how she settles down after a few wears and washes. To be honest, I'm just so happy that she's finished!

Bath WI

2011-09-08T18:40:00.000+01:00

That's right, the WI. The Women's Institute. I have succumbed. I am now officially one of those new-age, granny-chic, cake-baking, dress-making, sock-knitting stereotypes...but you knew that already, right? And so, to seal the deal, when my friend Sarah (of Strawberry Fields fame) invited me to join her at her first WI meeting, curiosity got the better of me, and off I went.

Instead of their usual monthly, indoor meeting, for September they decided that a guided walking tour of Bath would be a good idea. If you're reading this in the UK, you will now be laughing, because you will know what a not-so-brilliant idea it turned out to be. If you're reading in the States, let me explain: we are getting the (thankfully much diluted) arse-end of your recent hurricanes. And, if you're reading from anywhere else, I'll sum it up for you: it's been blowing a gale and raining cats and dogs ALL WEEK. Like, too windy for your umbrella, all week.

So, what's a Crafty Blogger to wear to a guided walking tour of Bath, with the WI, on a rainy, windy Wednesday evening? How about something like this?

Obviously, I had to wear the dress that I made, to establish my Crafty Blogger status. And I dug out my marvellous I-look-like-a-Spanish-tourist green waterproof jacket. It's been to Japan and back, and several festivals, but I rarely wear it these days, due to its aforementioned touristy tendancies. However, after last night, it's my new favourite jacket. Competition is stiff: I have many coats and jackets and they are all brilliant, but I had forgotten just how warm and impressively waterproof this £25-from-H&M-about-seven-years-ago little bargain is. All in all, I felt a bit like a Land Girl...a grungy Land Girl. But at least I was warm and dry.

The WI were all older than Sarah and I (sprightly twenty-somethings that we are) but they were mostly in their 30s, rather than their 70s, as one might have expected. They are mostly mums as well, which obviously isn't something I can relate to, but they meet once a month (which is not too much of a committment), they are planning some craft evenings, plus a private view of the Marilyn Monroe exhibition at the American Museum in October. Their next talk is about self defence. They're Facebook friends with The Makery and the Holburne Museum. I've never really been one for "sisterhood," but they don't sound too creepy, or cliquey, so...I think I'm going to join. I do like learning and making stuff, after all (don't we all?) so if that's what they get up to then we can't go too far wrong.

Let's just not talk about what an absolute grandma I'm turning into. Let's just put that to one side, OK? Thanks.

A Versatile Blogger

2011-09-02T18:18:00.001+01:00

Ooh, I've won a blog award! The lovely Claire at That In Black Ink has granted me a Versatile Blogger award:

I am, needless to say, flattered. Protocol dictates that I tell you seven things about myself:

1) I like being described as "versatile". An ex-boyfriend once described me as "volatile," which I thought was unfair. I think he meant "mercurial." That sounds much nicer. (Incidentally, he shall now and forever more be known as C*nt Face - it's a despicable tale of breaking a young girl's heart which I won't share with you today. Suffice to say, if I ever see him again, he's getting a drink thrown in his face. Or, his face put through a wall, depending if it's his lucky day or not)

2) I grew up in Portsmouth. It's a navy town, therefore, I swear like a sailor (see above). I do apologise if it causes offence and I try to keep my potty mouth under control on my blog, but in real life, I find nothing quite as emphatic as a well-placed f-word.

3) My GCSE English teacher, Mr Tapp, once commented that I needed to expand my vocabulary. It is a commented that has haunted me ever since, which is why I try and use nice juicy words (like "mercurial" and "emphatic") on my blog.

4) I am pedantic. I have mentioned before that I keep dictionaries and thesauri bookmarked on my web browser, but unfortunately it extends to an (I'll admit, unkind) inner seething when I see people using the wrong there/their/they're, stationery/stationary, where/were, it's/its, etc, and for God's sake, can everyone stop using this new, made-up word "addicting"? It's "addictive."

5) Luckily, I have good manners enough not to point out, or (heaven forbid!) correct other people's spelling/grammar mistakes. I believe good manners are important.

6) I have hinted at Secret Dream Jobs before. These include, in no particular order: fashion/costume designer, florist, rock star, vet, therapist, vintage/handmade clothing boutique owner, tea shop proprietor, hairdresser, zoo keeper, and, of course, Lady of Leisure.

7) In real life I am an Office & Warehouse Administrator, which suits me just fine.

And now I must pass this honourable award on to fifteen of my favourite blogs, so, here we go:

Yours Truly, x - looks just like a doll. She has the sweetest vintage fashion style (although when she va-va-vooms, she sure can va-va-voom, I assure you), takes lovely pictures, and is fond of jaunts in the countryside. Oh yes, and her hair is amazing. As is her boyfriend's. In fact, I would describe his hair as spectacular.

Time Won't Wait For Me - she's working as a nurse for Operation Smile in India. If, like me, you've always wanted to go to India, then get thee hence to this blog. Not only does she post plenty of photos of her travels, she is also a very honest writer, which I appreciate.

Pretty Far West - is hilarious and eloquent. My favourite kind of blog, and, indeed, person.

Hattatt - dividing their time between Brighton and Budapest, the Hattats write as beautifully as they live. They also happen to be extremely well-connected to all manner of artistic characters, and they are not stingy with their anecdotes. A treat, every time.

Backwoods Mom - over the pond now, all the way to Alaska. A foster mum who's building their new home, she is full of heartwarming and heartbreaking stories about how her (dozens of) children have come and gone into her life, as well as some real, intelligent, down-to-earth parenting advice. And, of course, she's hysterically funny.

Dottie Angel - I'm sure you are already familiar with this one, but she has inspired me endlessly, not only to stay on The Goodly and Righteous Path of craftiness, but also to develop one's own voice through one's blog, and to give cameras, sewing machines, irons, etc, their own names.

Casual Kitchen - a male blogger! And a food blog, to boot. The focus is on not wasting your money, and I have adopted dozens of recipes from here already. There is also plenty of healthy debate to digest, as well - an intelligent and infinitely useful blog.

Dear Friend - an artist, who always has beautifully braided hair, just brought a kitten home, and is in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. A real sweetheart.

Needled - crafty bloggers know who Kate Davies is - she designed the Owl Jumper! She is also fiercely clever and regularly tromps around the Scottish countryside. Um, she also had a stroke a year ago, and I've learnt more from her honest and insightful posts about her recovery than they probably teach you in medical school. She's a marvel.

Food Coma - OK, you all know Elsie Larson of Red Velvet fame, but I sincerely hope you are equally familiar with her sister Emma's blog, Food Coma. Emma's style of writing has so much personality, it's easy to feel like you're really getting to know her just from reading. And, of course, she's a girl after my own heart: food is always a priority.

Craft Hope - I've mentioned them before, but they organise crafting projects for charity. Get involved!

An Apple A Day - Amy Merrick writes the Living In posts for Design Sponge. She posts the most dreamy photos on her blog. She'll make you wish you had a summer house.

SamARTha - a real-life blog buddy! We met up on a recent trip to London, and she's every bit as delightful as I'd hoped. She blogs about knitting, plants, and lindy-hopping. She has an awesome cat.

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String - she's Australian, she's crafty, she takes excellent photos, and now, she keeps chickens!

Strawberry Fields - she's my real life friend in Bath, and she's just starting blogging but I think she's off to a flying start: she's compiled a list of life goals and is talking us through the process of ticking them off. We all love a list, right, bloggers?

Phew! There's always so much to say when extolling the virtues of others. I tried to go for the less obvious choices, so hopefully you'll find a new blog that you haven't stumbled across before. Thanks again, Claire!

Breadwinner!

2011-08-31T18:42:00.001+01:00

I made bread! I have never made bread before. I may have cheated slightly and bought an easy bread mix (to break myself in gently, as it were)...

...but you still have to get the water-dough ratio right, and do all the kneading...

...and leave it to rise for hours...

...but it jolly well worked! Look!

Isn't she a picture? She was yummy, too, although very dense at the bottom - I think we could do with a slightly larger loaf tin. I am now eating bread for every meal and dreaming about making a proper loaf from scratch. Although Hannah's homemade bagels have got me thinking...mmm...

Another New Years Resolution ticked off the list! I have also just begun to tackle another...learn to knit socks! No pictures yet, but I have already learnt the figure eight cast on (which I am a huge fan of, although I admit to being biased, having never cast socks on before...) and learnt that my foot is 23cm around the ball. Naturally, I'll keep you informed as to their progress, they are rather exciting socks :)

I Take My Hat Off To You

2011-08-27T10:48:00.000+01:00

Darling readers, may I present to you, as promised, my amazing new hat:

Isn't she a dream? But if I'd told you she was green with purple feathers you'd have thought I'd tipped over the edge onto the wrong side of Bag Lady style, right?

I have always wanted a floppy felt hat like this, so when I finally spied her on Ebay for (brace yourselves, bloggers) just four shiny pounds, I knew we were destined to be together. She is the epitome of my current favourite fashion era: '70s does '30s. Faye Dunaway, basically. Anything starring Faye Dunaway. So, I am putting my new hat on top of an ancient Forever 21 buttoned-all-the-way-up bib t-shirt, my charity shop flowery skirt from this post, and my Birthday Shoes, in a bid to look suitably tailored and ladylike, with just a dash of melodrama.

Oh yes, I got new shoes for my birthday back in June! Well, it took me until July to convince myself that they were worth spending my birthday money on. The rest of it went on The Nerd, the greedy little bugger (an alternator and a tax disc this time). The shoes are from Fly London, and I have been coveting them for years and years, always convincing myself that they were too expensive for a pair of summer shoes which would probably rub my feet, like all other summer shoes, and given our beautiful British weather, would probably only be worn or a couple of weeks a year at most. However, I kept spying them on Ruby Slipper Journey's toes, so I asked her for her verdict. She confirmed that they are, in fact, miraculously comfortable, and most definitely worth the money. Thanks, Emily, I've never looked back! I have worn them at least four times a week since I got them, and they've never rubbed my feet. Not once. Not to mention, the soles are rubber, which makes them unbelievably bouncy and squishy! Because they're closed toes, I can wear them with tights, too, which is just as well since I think it is definitely autumn now. It rained constantly yesterday and this morning all the windows are closed against the chills. Luckily, I think this is a most autumnal hat, don't you?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-08-22T18:15:00.001+01:00

The Ingenious Indoor Garden has acquired some new members, so I thought I'd introduce you all. It's like a soap opera, my plant collection: many colourful characters, new faces, deaths, the occasional cliffhanger...it's all go.

Sadly, the tomato, strawberry, aubergine, and even the bay, have long since departed. Miraculously, the pepper seems to be doing rather well, though. Here he is (on the left) with his new friends, The Bulbs (there be daffodils and tulips under there, I promise), Eleni the Cactus (a birthday present), my succulent, who is looking decidedly Dr Seussian these days, and a new rose.

Yep, just like the song, I got a new rose. I am very sad to report that Adventurous Rose's adventures finally got the better of her, and she is no more.

Jasmine's still hanging in there, and she's made some new feathered friends:

And the new kids on the block this week are...The Caped Primrose (she's a cape primrose)...

...and The Calandiva...

Between you and me, The Diva's my new favourite, and not just because she has a cool name. She has thick, juicy-looking succulent leaves - which are my favourite kinds of leaves - and teeny tiny pink flowers. As you can see, I am displaying such blatant and shameless favouritism by elevating her to The Desk. No bedroom floors for The Diva, oh no.

Any new potted, or indeed feathered friends in your nests? Autumn is whispering around the edges, isn't she? Socks in bed last night, for the first time in months...what better way to ward off the chills than with some new greenery about the place?

I Made a Dress!

2011-08-19T20:06:00.001+01:00

Hello, lovelies, sorry I haven't been here all week, I've been on a course. Oh, what kind of course, you ask? Only a bloody dressmaking course - I made myself a dress! From scratch! From a pattern! Hell-freakin'-yeah I did:

I don't want to gloat...OK, I do. I am proud of myself and my marvellous, marvellous handmade, homemade dress. Look! A shirt collar! Buttons! Sleeves! A gathered skirt!

And it fits, oh, how it fits! This was probably the trickiest part, actually, and the moment when I was the most grateful I had finally taken the plunge and spent money on doing a proper course. Don't get me wrong, you can learn a lot from books, and even more from You Tube videos (see the majority of my knitting projects as evidence of this joyous fact), but there is nothing better than having a real-live expert there, in a room with you, to ask your questions and fix your mistakes. And to have her for a whole week? Suffice to say that I enjoyed it very much. Very much indeed. Here are just a few of the things I learnt this week:

1) My accurate measurements: bust, waist, hips, waist-to-hips, neck-to-waist, neck-to-shoulder, shoulder-to-wrist, chest, back...the works.
2) I am three different dress sizes. I already suspected this, and since most women are in the same boat, it's not that surprising, really.
3) I am not sizes 10, 16, and 18, as the pattern would have had me believe: it turns out that sewing patterns (even modern ones) are still based on 1950s measurements! This was a pretty startling revelation, and one that could prove extremely useful for future vintage purchases. So ladies, you should always go by your measurements, not by the size on the label.
4) Sewing is less about talent and more (much, much more) about patience.
5) Irons are now my friends.
6) I want an overlocker.
7) No matter how much of an expert or a novice you think you are, there is always more to learn, and there is always someone else who knows less than you, and someone else who knows more than you.

I've had a really wonderful week. I like my job, but it's still nice to be out of the office for a week, particularly if it means I get an extra hour in bed and I'm home by 5 o'clock. I got to know the people in my local haberdashery much better, got to while away the days with five other ladies chatting about this and that while we puzzled over our padstitch and ogled our organzas, and, of course, I learnt a life skill that I've been hankering after forever. Well, I started to learn more about it...like I said, there's always more to learn!

If you're interested, the pattern is New Look 6587, my teacher was Cherry Windmill, and the venue was Husqvarna Studios in Bath. I love them all to bits!

"SQUIRREL!"

2011-08-09T18:12:00.001+01:00

Well, here I am pondering blogging (thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments, by the way - you are an insightful lot) while out there in the real world my very favourite city is being destroyed by idiots. Puts things into perspective, doesn't it? My friends and family could be in very real danger, not to mention all the innocent people whose homes and businesses are being attacked. It breaks my heart. It's such a waste. Why? What makes people think they have the right to behave like that? Among the long list of businesses I have heard were being looted: Carpet Right, H&M, and The Body Shop. Yeah, nice work, you're really making a political statement there. I just wish I had a magic carpet so I could swoop in and rescue all my London lovelies and bring them back to Bath, where it's safe! Mother Hen wants all her chicks in the nest!

See, stuff like that doesn't really happen in Bath. Stuff like this happens in Bath: you go to play a round of mini golf before you go to see Captain America, and a squirrel interrupts play:

I saw Captain America on Wednesday, This Happy Breed at the Theatre Royal on Thursday, and Arrietty (the new Studio Ghibli film) at the Little on Saturday. Action, anime, and a bit of Noel Coward - a very good week, if you ask me. Of the three, This Happy Breed was definitely the best, and perhaps the most poignant this week, in hindsight? It's the story of a London family and their day-to-day lives between 1919 and 1939. When the play was originally written, it was finished just before the Second World War broke out in 1939, and so it wasn't performed until 1942. It's not particularly political (bar one or two scenes), it's really just a peek into an ordinary family's lives, the small day-to-day dramas we all experience. If it sounds like a soap opera, then I'm not doing it justice. It's a warm, wonderful play about how a family gets through life: births, marriages, deaths, moving house, with some major world events going on in the background. I laughed out loud and cried my eyes out all at once. Beautiful. There was a film version made in 1944, which I happened to catch on telly once, and that's what made me want to go and see the play, so you might be able to get hold of a copy if you'd like to see it for yourself.

Captain America was also set during the Second World War, which is a big part of the reason I wanted to see it, but I was delighted to discover that Hugo Weaving was playing the villain. I think he's marvellous. Who else can play an elf, a drag queen, an evil computer program, and now a mutant Nazi megalomaniac? I thought the movie was pretty good, by the way, although it did feel a little rushed - like they had too much to cram in. But I loved the ending - surprising and sad. I enjoyed Arrietty, too. It was sweet, although it wasn't nearly as magical as My Neighbour Totorro (is anything?).

Pondering Blogging

2011-08-05T18:54:00.002+01:00

Well, having assured my new readers in my last post that I do not go on about my hair all the time on this here blog, I was surprised to find that that very post illicited a rather high number of comments, including one from (yeah, I'm going to name drop) the Queen of all Blogland, Miss Elsie Flannigan herself (oops...I mean Mrs Elsie Larson, of course!). I was a little gobsmacked to be honest. I mean, she literally gets hundreds of comments on everything she writes, but it would appear that she really does take the time to respond to people. I'm not going to be so smug as to assume she'll ever come back or start following because my blog is so awesome, but rather, to imagine that her response was out of politeness. Still, it got me thinking...

The Littlest Polly recently did a post on how to make your blog better for yourself (and the Red Velvet girls have a whole e-course on the subject) and I thought she was spot-on in recommending that you should always use your own photos and not just regurgitate other things you've seen online. On the other hand, I've lost count of the number of cool things that I've discovered purely because Oh, My Darling reported back on them on her blog.

Of course we would all like more readers, and - even better - more comments on our blogs, because it's human nature to want a little feedback on your efforts once in a while. A touch of reassurance that we are on the right track. That we are not alone. Blogging takes time and it does take effort, and while sometimes it all feels like some hideous popularity contest (do you feel that way sometimes, or is it just me?) perhaps it equates to the buzz you feel when a stranger says they love your outfit, or indeed your hair. You didn't get dressed up that day, or dye your hair, just to impress that person: you did it because you thought it looked good, and who doesn't want to look good? But somehow that external observation makes you feel even better. How much of a kick is it when your partner one days says, "you know I really like that dress on you" - that dress that you've had for ages and never knew they liked? Or even that dress that you just agonsied over spending your hard-earned pennies on?

How about when your boss tells you you've done a good job, or they liked the way you handled that shitty customer? Again, you didn't double-check your numbers or handle that shitty customer with professional courtesy even though you were being irrationally screamed at and what they really deserved was a kick in the teeth...no, you did those things well because you want to do your job well. Buck 65 (who I am unashamedly in love with - he kissed me on the forehead once, but that's another story...) has a song called Craftsmanship, in which he talks you through the process of doing a really good shoe shine. It's all about taking pride in your work and taking the time to do things properly. "You've got to give people a reason to want to come back." But at times, I feel the line between "taking pride in your achievements" and "showing off" is a very fine one indeed.

I started blogging because a couple of friends of mine (Ray Makes Do, Seeds and Stitches, Dreaming of an Aga, Mama Wolf) wrote their own blogs, and I loved reading them. It's a much nicer way of getting to know a person that Facebook or (don't get me started...) Twitter. So, when I moved out of London and away from these friends, I thought it would be a nice way for them to see what I was getting up to. To share my excitement at discovering a great market or wool shop, or buried treasures uncovered in charity shops. These are also the ladies I used to crochet with (Ray taught me how!) so I hope I don't just speak for myself when I say that we like to see what the others have been making, what new Knotty Arts they have conquered lately. I wouldn't write about learning to knit with DPNs on Facebook - do you think my 15-year-old male cousin in Cyprus wants to read about that? Or my old work colleagues? Or my boyfriend's housemate? Or course not! They want to know if I'm having a party they can come to, or if I've posted any photos of us being silly, or if I'm engaged/married/pregnant/"it's complicated" (seriously, who uses that one?!). To me, that's what Facebook is for. It's a different beast. But I wrote a blog post about learning to knit with DPNs. Of course I did!

I guess I've been pondering what sort of blog I have, and which bits people like to read and which bits they don't. Other posts which have resulted in a lot of comments were about Bradford-Upon-Avon and a watch repair shop. The most recent post I did that illicited no comments whatsoever was about my friends' t-shirt designs being sold at ASOS, which I thought was pretty amazing news! It just goes to show that you (I?) really can't predict what other people are going to appreciate.

So, how does all this affect my blog? It might not: I can't stop writing posts because I'm worried that nobody will read/care about them, and since I can't judge which posts are going to be popular and which ones will flop, then I'll just keep writing about whatever nonsense pops into my head (or onto my head: I promise I will show you my amazing new hat very soon!). I enjoy writing, and I've already noticed a certain style/voice emerging from my blogging (although I think it comes out more in my comments on other people's blogs - perhaps the necessity of brevity encourages one to choose one's words more carefully?) which I wasn't expecting. Here I am writing an essay - can't remember the last time I did that. I've got online dictionaries and thesauri bookmarked and I'm the kind of geek who enjoys that sort of thing (see? I just got to look up the plural of 'thesaurus'!).

I've been toying with the idea of sharing some of my (better) outfits with you, because once in a while, I have to admit, I really think I've nailed an outfit. I've avoided outfit posts up till now because of the aforementioned juggling act between "taking pride in your achievements" and "showing off". Nobody likes a show-off, do they? But we all seem to like looking at other people's outfits, and not just online either - I am constantly scrutinizing what people are wearing when I'm out and about, and not just to judge or criticize (although we all do that, too, even just internally - admit it!). I don't read any purely fashion/style blogs. All the outfitty blogs I read also include details about the authors' lives: their work, their families, where they live. My blog is already about those other things, so I don't know if sharing my Bag Lady style is going to help you get to know me any better. But I know that in the blogs I read I do like to have a face to go with the name, and I do believe that your clothes reflect your personality, so maybe I will dip the ocassional toe into these murky waters.

(Obviously, this is not one of those days when I've "nailed an outfit." This is just me, on a normal scruffbag day, pondering blogging.)

As ever, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Adventures in Henna

2011-08-03T18:16:00.005+01:00

That's right, readers, I've joined the redheads! I'd been toying with the idea for ages but I wanted to wait until my hair was a little longer, as I was worried that a) I would look like my Auntie Loula, who has had short red hair forever, or b) short curly red hair might look a bit clowny, depending how red it got! And secretly, I just wanted Delightfully Tacky's hair. Or Karen Elson's (note of caution - her website plays music, don't open it at work! Not that we read blogs while we're at work, do we? Never!)

So, off I went to Lush (where else?) and came home bravely clutching a block of their Caca Rouge henna. I'd used it before, years ago, and although the process is a little messy (it will look like someone's been mud-wrestling in your bathroom by the time you're done) and lengthy (you can leave it in for anything between 2-6 hours) I knew it would be much nicer for my hair, as it's a natrual dye (no chemicals) which is infused with cocoa butter, so it really softens your hair at the same time. So, bye bye brown!

...and hello, erm...slightly lighter brown...

What the what?! As you can imagine, I was pretty disappointed, but I only had myself to blame: I only had two hours spare but I thought it would do, and after half an hour with my head wrapped up in cling film I noticed my hair was really changing colour fast. Now, here's the part where I have to admit that I must be getting old, and am nowhere near as punk as I used to be...I panicked that my hair would go too red, or orange, and so I unwrapped it (which is what Lush recommend if you want a brownier-red. Keep it wrapped for a redder-red).

Still, it made me realise that I did actually want a redder-red, so I tried it again a couple of weeks later...

Ah, that's more like it! I left it wrapped in cling film for four hours, and so now it is definitely red! I am pleased. Here I am looking pleased:

It's hard to tell from this slightly blurry photo, but the new hair colour sort of makes my eyes look a different colour - an unexpected bonus! I think they look lighter, more hazel I suppose, when I'd always just thought they were plain old brown. Oh yes, and I have also said bye bye to my fringe. A change of colour has satisfied my Hair Boredom for the time being so I will no longer be needing it's distractions...for the time being...

Can I just say hello to my lovely new readers while I'm here? Don't think I haven't noticed you! Oh yes, and don't think I just go on about my hair all the time (although I might just have procured the most amazing hat, so you can expect some more blurry headshots in the not too distant future...) Welcome one and all! Put the kettle on, I've got chocolate Hobnobs :)

The Bird Whisperer

2011-08-01T18:10:00.001+01:00

I am beginning to think I am some sort of Bird Whisperer. They just can't seem to get enough of me. That blessed baby seagull stayed on my window ledge for WAY longer than he needed to: he was bigger than his mum by the time he finally flew away last week:

And let me tell you, the bigger he got, the noisier he got. In the end it was like having a baby (exactly like having a baby, so I'm told): being awoken at around 5am every day by a young thing screaming. Squawking. Screeching. Cheeping. Whatever you want to call it, the little bugger was NOISY. I must have stuck my head out of my window a hundred times and said "either go away or shut up" but alas, he clearly hasn't learned English, as he never seemed to oblige. Please also note the nice pebble-dash job he and his mum did on my gutter - gross. I can report there were also numerous (what I hope were) chicken bones and two soggy old socks in this gutter during his residence, but after some precarious dangling out of my window in rubber gloves and last week's monsoon rains, I am very pleased to reassure you all that my gutter is now back to its former clean and tidy state.

All that said, I do kind of miss him, and I really wish I'd been able to see him learning to fly. Never mind, maybe he'll be back next year with a baby Cheepy of his own to keep me awake for a couple more months? I'll be sure to let you know.

As it happens, I have made a new avian friend! This little fella landed outside my office window today:

It was actually quite a feat, since there isn't really a windowsill to speak of outside, so he must have really been clinging on. There are three trees opposite my office window, and they are, at present, covered with red berries. The birds will eventually eat them all, but the funny thing is, they do it one tree at a time - I observed this last year and they are doing it again this year. They started with the middle tree, ate all the berries, then moved onto the tree on the right. They have just about finished that one now, so the tree on the left will be next. It's a mixture of blackbirds and thrushes and sparrows, from what I can see, but I was also lucky enough to spot a sparrowhawk there last autumn. It's a lovely view :)

It's Not Easy Being Green

2011-07-30T10:36:00.003+01:00

Ugh, this has been the wettest July I can remember! At least it's been warm this week, but seriously, I'm still carrying my umbrella in my bag every day, and I really need to take my red raincoat in to be dry cleaned ("dry clean only" in my wardrobe means "usually dirty") but I don't want to run the risk of being caught out in another torrential downpour while it's out of action.

To cheer myself up, and distract myself from this most characteristically unpredictable of British Summers, I decided to wear my green tights with what I like to call my Mary Poppins shoes...

...and my green bubble ring from Octopus...

You know, just because.

Eleni Drinks Tea in Petworth

2011-07-28T18:19:00.006+01:00

I went to visit the Old Dears at the weekend, as did my sister, and a Nice Long Dog Walk was proposed for Saturday, weather permitting (you may remember the Nice Long Dog Walk we had at Christmas?). Petworth was suggested, so we all donned our wellies (my sister has navy Hunters, I have some red flowery ones which are patched together with duct tape - this speaks volumes about our respective personalities) and clambered into the back of the van with the dog, unaware that we were actually travelling to West Sussex. Why? Because, I found out, this is where my stepdad grew up. And I mean, right on the estate at Petworth House - his dad worked for the household - so as we drove past he pointed out the house in the grounds where he was raised. He's a lucky boy: this is what Petworth House looks like:

It's a 17th century epic - Turner used to paint it quite frequently, apparently. The site is now owned by the National Trust, and since The Old Dears are members, we got to pootle around the grounds for free (I think non-members have to pay for parking). There were some enormous tree stumps...

...and this tree somehow looked very ladylike to me...

...but what Petworth House is famous for are its deer. That's right, the Old Dears took me and my sister and the No Eye Dear* to see some deer. There were hundreds of them, actually. Way more than I expected to see. I thought we might catch a glimpse of a Bambi or two, flitting timidly between trees, but no, this lot were out in force, and more or less ambivalent towards us all:

Naturally, after a Nice Long Dog Walk we were all in need of a cup of tea, so we ventured into the town (village?). Petworth is extremely pretty. Every other shop sells antiques, and this is where my stepdad learned his trade (he and his dad love to fix up wooden antiques - previously for a living, now as a hobby).

Dozens of adorable cottages...

...and delightful shopfronts...

...and since I have noticed that I only ever seem to take pictures of buildings when I go exploring these days, here is a picture of my family:

L-R: Old Dear #1, Old Dear #2, my sister's fella, my sister. I actually had to call them to attention to get a picture All Together On The Nice Cobbly Street, like a good blogger. The No Eye Dear was snoozing in the van at this point, as we figured he wouldn't be allowed in a Nice Tea Shop. We found a lovely place called Tiffin's and had a stonking cream tea all round. The ladies who run Tiffin's were absolutely charming, as was the mis-matched vintage china, so I am sorry to say that I lose Blogger Points for not taking pictures in the cafe, but it was pretty busy and I had an overly creamed-and-jammed scone in my face for most of the duration, so in the end I think it was for the best.

*Since I last introduced you to my stepdad's dog, he has had to have the other eye removed, so he is now the No Eye Dear, get it? He's totally cool with being blind, by the way. Even though he bumps into more stuff than I do (which is quite an achievement, considering how famously clumsy I am) he is generally a very happy dog, and still likes to run around the park, bless him.

The Caped Crusader

2011-07-21T18:44:00.003+01:00

I think we're long overdue for a crafty post around here, don't you agree? To be honest, I haven't had a lot of time for sewing/knitting etc lately (who does?), but I miraculously had not one, but two evenings free last week, so I jumped at the chance to get cracking fixing a [ahem] cracking maxi dress I found on Ebay for £6. I wanted to wear it to the 'It's Darling!' Vintage Fair on Saturday, you see. You may remember that I unknowingly stumbled across the last fair and wasn't dressed even remotely vintage on the day. Call me shallow but I like to make an effort for such occasions. Any excuse really. (As it happened, it was chucking it down on Saturday - beautiful British summertime - so I decided that a full length dress would be unwise, but that's beside the point.)

Of course, being a short-arse, the dress needed to come up by a couple of inches:

I really debated with myself whether to remove the cape:

I actually really love it, but I decided in the end that the cape made it just a tad too dressy (as if a bonkers 70s maxi dress isn't dressy enough already) so I would be far more likely to wear it if it had a more normal neckline. Yes, I suppose I could have detached the cape and added it back on whenever I was feeling fancy, but underneath it, the dress was sleeveless, and I much prefer sleeves. And so, after only one small fight with my sewing machine (my bobbin case keeps popping out, jamming the needle. Most frustrating.) behold the results:

I have discovered that it is nigh on impossible to get a full standing shot of myself without either an assistant or perhaps some kind of tripod, but since I was lacking either at the time, and my eyes were tired after squinting at the sewing machine for hours (I'm SO glad that even professionals experience the same discomfort!) I opted for my tried-and-tested Blurry Mirror Portrait.

Taking up the hem was easy-peasy, as it turned ot the dress had been (hand?) made from one of those brilliant 60s/70s man-made fabrics that doesn't seem to fray or crease (although doesn't like being ironed - oops!). However, I pushed my crafty limits at the top: I wanted to change the neckline a bit and, as I mentioned, add some sleeves. I really struggle to think in 3D, so structural alterations like these always take me forever to figure out. However, the fabric really helped me out at the neckline, as it is stretchy as well as non-fraying, so all I had to do was cut it to the shape I wanted (using another favourite dress as a template) and fold it over once to make a tiny hem. Viola:

I wondered briefly whether to take the dress in a bit as well, or to leave it as a fairly loose fit. I have found that by showing a bit more skin - be it at the neck or on the arms - you can get away with a slightly baggier fit (if the neckline is high then one can end up looking as though one is merely wearing a sack). I also used the cut-off material from the hem of the skirt to make a tie-belt, but I didn't attach it to the dress so I can swap it for a different one as the mood takes me. Plus, I'm not very experienced at taking dresses in, so it saved me a job. Simples!

As you can see, I used the materials from the cape to make the sleeves, because I liked the contrasting edges. The design/construction was complete guesswork, achieved after a LOT of pinning, trying on, cutting, re-pinning, tacking, trying on again, etc, etc. I also ended up hand sewing them as they were so fiddly (I have mentioned before that I don't trust my machine when it comes to precision), but I have discovered this week that two of my dress-altering blog idols - New Dress A Day and Wearing It On My Sleeves - both resort to hand-sewing when things get complicated, so I felt well and truly justified.

This feels like a fitting opportunity to mention that I have signed up for another sewing class, and this one is super-exciting: it's a whole week of sewing! Monday to Friday, 10am until 4pm. Yes, I've booked a week off work to do a sewing class. You understand, you're bloggers. It's at Husqvarna Studios in Bath, who are a fabric/sewing machine shop who very kindly un-jammed my sewing machine the last time the bobbin case popped out and the needle got stuck (actually, that wasn't the last time: it was back in April. This bobbin-popping/needle-jamming fiasco occurs pretty much every time I use the machine, but after I watched the nice man in the shop get it un-stuck, I have been able to fix it myself at home. Which is handy, since it happens all the freakin' time). The idea of the class (or 'sewing workshop' as it's officially called) is that you pick a pattern, pick your fabric, and by the end of the week you'll have a finished garment to wear! A dream come true! It's not until the third week of August, so I have plenty of time to find a pattern I'd like to make. I am looking for a knee-length dress, with short sleeves, preferrably a 1950s full-skirted kind of shape, or perhaps a shirt dress? Something like this, or maybe this? I'm going to go into the shop at some point before the class and see what they've got. Of course, there are a countless vintage patterns out there to die for, but as I'll be learning from scratch (I have never worked from a pattern before) I want to make it as easy on myself as possible, so modern sizing and terminology is definitely the way to go. Once I've been talked through my first pattern, then I can buy this and live the Pushing Daisies dream every single day. Oh, yes.

Are any of you experienced at working from patterns? Any brands you could recommend for a beginner? Any idea why Vogue patterns are three times the price of Butterick? Any input would be most welcome!

Fiddler on the Roof

2011-07-19T19:13:00.097+01:00

Something made me want to watch Fiddler on the Roof yesterday - I don't know what, but I had the flat to myself for the evening so I hunkered down for some nostalgia. I have such a huge emotional attachment to this film. I have mentioned before what a bunch of luvvies my mum's side of the family are, and I have seen both my grandparents in separate stage productions of 'Fiddler': my grandma played Golde (the family matriarch), and my grandad played the Rabbi - a role which, even as a child, I associated with him, due to the quiet authority and reliability of the character. And the beard. My grandad always had a beard. When it's all kicking off and everybody's frantically asking the Rabbi what to do, he says "let's...let's sit down." He might as well have said "let's put the kettle on," it so neatly fits in with my own crisis management techniques!

'Far From the Home I Love' was also my mum's audition song of choice, back in her teenage Am Dram days - lots of semitones, quite a tricky number. These days it completely breaks my heart: it's the scene in which Tevye's second eldest daughter is leaving home to follow her heart to Siberia to stand beside her revolutionary-minded fiance. When we were little, this was considered a "boring" part of the film and we'd usually given up watching by this point (typically after the wedding scene). But don't you just love it when a favourite film from your childhood starts to mean completely different things to you, the older you get? Now, of course, I understand the different directions that your heart and your family can pull you in ("far from the home I love, yet there, with my love, I'm home," as the song says), and of course I also understand how hard it must have been for Tevye to let his daughter go. Particularly in turn-of-the-century Russia: no telephones, barely a postal system to speak of. There was every chance that he would never see nor hear from her again. As the train pulls away and he says quietly, "take care of her, make sure she dresses warm" I go to pieces and cry like a baby.

Tevye completely reminds me of my dad: the accent, the mannersisms, the attitude. The way he casually chats to God and shrugs off life's troubles. He even dances like my dad (and I wouldn't be surprised to discover that my dad sings and dances around the house when nobody else is home. I know I do.). I know this is probably the only song that you know from the movie (except maybe 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker'?) but I absolutely adore it. It sums up the character (and my dad) so well: he works hard, he loves God, and he accepts his place in the world, but he's a dreamer (aren't we all?)

"Would it spoil some vast eternal plan if I were a wealthy man?"

My housemate came in part way through the film, having never seen it before, and asked if Tevye spends the whole movie shouting at people. My dad's a shouter, too! But he's not angry, he's just Greek! We're loud! You've seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Well, my Greek family love and quote that film plenty - it's practically a documentary. I explained that Tevye is actually a really loveable character (as is my dad - a total charmer) because he loves his family, and all he wants is to provide for them and for them to be happy. And through it all, he has a great sense of humour. But none of us would complain if we won the lottery, "right? Of course right!"

I think there are a lot of similarities between Jewish families and Greek families (and probably Spanish, Italian, Persian, and anybody else within sight of the Mediterranean, too. And, if the wedding scene from The Deer Hunter is anything to go by, Russian families as well): the traditions, the music, the sense of community, the importance of religion, the big, loud family gatherings. I love Fiddler on the Roof because it has both sides of my family embedded into it: the performers on my mum's side, and the characters on my dad's side.

"You might say every one of us is a fiddler on a roof: trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck."

A Wonky Water Closet

2011-07-17T13:19:00.000+01:00

It's been a year since I moved into my marvellous flat, and ever since I did I've been wanting to show off our bathroom (is that weird?). And so, inspired by a recent post by the Hattatts (warning: if you've never read their blog before, prepare to get jealous. They have the most fabulous life.) I though it was about time I shared my favourite room in the house.

Bathrooms are not generally my favourite room in a house, but as soon as I saw this one I was utterly taken in by its unashamed jauntiness. Behold:

Everyone always comments on what wonky floors we have (it's a 1950s flat inside a Georgian townhouse - go figure), and nowhere is this better represented than in the bathroom. Notice the complete misalignment of the floor, door frame, door, cabinet, and the hanging light pull. Notice also the yellow bathroom suite, which I genuinely love - I am not being kitsch or ironic, I think it's sunny and charming and if I am ever in the position to decorate a bathroom of my very own (don't hold your breath) I shall try my hardest to re-create what we have here. Although where I might find a floor as fantastic as this one, I do not know:

And now, thanks to my housemate's marvellously impulsive decorating habits, I am convinced that every bathroom ought to have a navy dress coat hanging within, to add a sense of occasion.

Tell me, dear readers: have you ever become as fond of a bathroom as I am of mine?

Eleni Drinks Tea in Cornwall! Part Two: Tintagel Castle

2011-07-15T19:16:00.001+01:00

We hadn't made any specific plans for the Sunday of our trip, although I had vague ambitions to see the sea (oh, I do like to be beside the seaside...who doesn't?). We had a snoop through some of the flyers and maps at our B&B and settled upon a trip to Tintagel Castle, as we could geek out to a nice bit of history and get our seaside fix at the same time, plus it was vaguely in the homeward direction. Perfect.

The castle ruins which remain are 13th century, but the area has long been the subject of Arthurian legend. There is absolutely no evidence to back the rumours up, but as far back as 800 years ago it was claimed that King Arthur was conceived there, and that Merlin lived in a cave below, on the beach. It enjoyed a resurgence as a tourist destination during Victorian times, and has been ever since. Subsequently, we were expecting the town to be full of Arthurian tat, but it was actually all very understated, apart from this chap on the high street:

I know, I know, I look like SUCH a tourist! I was actually channelling the 1930s, with my cloche straw hat, navy-and-white striped top, and turned up shorts, but hey, I was on holiday and I'd primarily dressed for comfort over style, so allow it.

It was a pretty village, with bookshops appearing to teeter on the very edge of the cliffs...

...and the most marvellous slate walls:

It's a gentle walk up a coastal path towards the castle ruins, and we were blessed with the most amazing weather that day, so we took our sweet time. That's my man:

Ah, and there's the sea...

Even though I grew up by the sea, our bit of sea back home in Gosport isn't anything like this bit of sea in Cornwall. For that's the Atlantic, my friends. We waved across to my fella's family over on the other side of that awesome pond (and I secretly waved to you, my trans-Atlantic blog readers!).

It was then a gentle scramble up the hill to the castle itself:

...and a further scramble up the hill to look back and see the ruins in full:

We sat in the sunshine with our legs dangling over the cliff edge for what felt like hours, just listening to the sea and drinking in that view.

Ah, such a tonic!

We then scrambled back down the hill for a paddle in the ocean. Shoes off, straight in. It was freezing cold, of course, but it felt fantastic. As our feet were drying off, we sat and enjoyed the scenery underneath the castle. There's not many cliffs where I grew up, so I was thoroughly enjoying myself. There were mossy green waterfalls...

...stones like bookends...

...stones like cakes...

...oh yes, and that cave I was telling you about...

My fella's a lot more adventurous than I am, so he went straight in to explore. I followed a little sheepishly (we don't have many caves where I grew up either, and I've seen way to many horror movies to assume that they are safe places to hang out - ghosts and pirates and whatnot, you understand) but it was still pretty exciting, and I surprised myself by clambering through the darkness holding my shoes, listening to that omnipresent dripping sound and watching that unmistakable shadow of water reflections on the ceiling of the cave. I didn't get any good pictures though - I was too busy concentrating on not falling over.

After we got our Famous Five thrills, we pitched up for a pub lunch, then got an ice cream for dessert. We walked along the coast and past a very heavily-populated field:

But cows couldn't care less about tourists, so we finished up and made our way back to The Nerd for the long drive home. Oh yes, I didn't even mention that I did all of the driving, did I? Over three hours each way! I was extremely proud of myself, and extremely grateful that The Nerd stayed in one piece (I'd had to buy him a new alternator the week before...he sure is demanding!). But trips like this were the reason I got The Nerd in the first place, so it made every new part and every RAC callout (yes, there have been more than one) since March totally, totally worth it. A weekend away with my fella...can't wait until the next one! Although it will probably have to wait until he's finished his Masters in September, as he has a tonne of work to do between now and then. So, while he's busy recording an album (he's studying songwriting) I shall be occupying myself with vintage fairs and flea markets, and hopefully catching up on some knitting and sewing projects (apologies for the lack of craftiness round here lately. There will be a resurgence soon, I assure you!). I may also have bought myself some henna, so that might be taking up a Saturday in the very near future...

Eleni Drinks Tea in Cornwall! Part One: The Eden Project

2011-07-13T18:10:00.000+01:00

You may have been wondering what my fella and I got each other as birthday presents, being that we share our birthday and all. Well, I think this year we outdid ourselves (although the Lego pirate ship he got me for our one year anniversary set the bar pretty high): we went to see Fleet Foxes play a gig at the Eden Project, then made a weekend of it in Cornwall! It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend, so I've split it into a game of two halves for you.

Now, I'm sure you've all heard of Fleet Foxes, so you can imagine how perfect an outdoor concert by them on a summer's eve would be, but if you haven't heard of the Eden Project, then you're about to get your mind blown, just a little bit. It's essentially a conservation project, in which a bunch of botanists took over an abandoned chalk quarry in Cornwall and turned it into an enormous garden, but what it is most famous for are its "biomes". If you never saw Bio-Dome (starring Pauly Shore, one of the Baldwins, and Kylie...what do you mean you never saw it?!) then imagine Total Recall and you're getting close (minus any triple-boobed aliens, mind). Here's how they look during the day:

And here's how they looked at night, during the gig:

Magical! (Thanks to the Royal Wedding, I now can't use that word without thinking of that nutcase from Bucklebury - go on, click it and have a giggle if you don't know who I'm talking about).

The gig was excellent - the members of Fleet Foxes play about a million different instruments each and they all swapped round during the show. The singing was beautiful and the venue was perfect. We (The Nerd, the boy and I) may have got somewhat lost driving back to our B&B (dear Cornwall, would a few more roadsigns kill you?!) but that really was the only downside to the whole weekend (well, that and the fact that I couldn't get a cup of tea after about 9pm at the gig, but that was made up for the next day, as you shall see...).

The gig tickets also gave us entry to the Eden Project the following day, so we went back to have a proper look around. There was plenty to see, like giant bees...

...and flowers the size of my face...

...picture-perfect hibiscus in the Rainforest Dome...

...and giant palms...

...and some totems made from burnt driftwood from a shipyard:

Even the dead things were pretty:

After over-heating slightly in the Rainforest Dome we stopped for (a sensational) lunch in the cafe, before sauntering into the Mediterranean Dome, which was a perfect 20-25 degrees (that's mid-70s, for my US readers). There were actually a lot more flowers in the Med Dome that in the Rainforest, which I was a little suprised about. My family's from Cyprus, and (as much as I love it) I never associate Cyprus with being particularly green or particularly flowery, but I guess it's that crucial bit further east than the rest of the Med, so it's a little more Middle Eastern in its climate and plant life. When the boy reminded me that France, Spain, and Italy are also Mediterranean (I do get possessive about these things) it all made a bit more sense.

We were greeted at the entrance by the offer of a 10 minute massage, which we both eagerly signed up for (we're both cursed with poor posture, tight muscles and crunchy joints, old biddies that we are). What a dream job! Massaging people all day long in a Mediterranean biome. Sigh...Secret Dream Job Number 6.

Once we emerged, refreshed, from the Meditarranean Dome we decided to treat ourselves to a cream tea. I may have (as usual) gone a little overboard with the cream, but when in Cornwall...right?

We were at the Eden Project until closing time, and I absolutely loved it. I would really love to go back in the winter to soak up some of that heat and tranquility when I need it most!

As a final bonus, I discovered, whilst sauntering back to the car, that my snazzy little point-and-shoot has a pretty impressive macro setting in my beloved Foliage Mode:

I only discovered last year that dahlias are my second favourite flowers ever (you know what my favourites, are, right?).

We made it back to our B&B at around 7pm, with vague ambitions of walking into St Austell and finding some pub grub, but we were actually so full up from the massive portions at the Eden Project that we decided to stay in and get cosy. There were tea-making facilities in the room, of course.

Next time I'll tell you what we got up to on the Sunday!

Bath Vintage & Antiques Market

2011-07-08T19:08:00.004+01:00

I mentioned that there had been a vintage fair, did I not? It was, in fact, the first ever Bath Vintage & Antiques Market on Sunday 26th June. My parents were visiting, and since my stepdad restores antiques as a hobby (previously as a living) I thought it would be a jolly good jaunt. Unfortunately, we were a little disappointed on the day: as with so many vintage markets, there was a lot of over-priced tat, but The Old Dear came home with a lovely tea caddy and I came home with a couple of paperbacks, chosen purely for their titles:

I seem to have been lamenting to anyone who'll listen lately how I never seem to have time to read any more. In London, I used to read on my way to and from work, on the train, which was about 45mins each way, so I used to plough through novels at a great pace. Alas, since moving to Bath I now enjoy the luxury of a mere ten minute walk to work, and so there goes all my reading time. Knitting and blogging make up for the rest. My boyfriend and I have decided that we should read more, in each other's company. Perhaps watch a few less films and a lot less You Tube videos. I'm still gently working my way though The Foxfire Book (yes, I've been reading it for seven months!) and of course there's my copy of War and Peace glaring a challenge at me every time I pass my bookshelf, but a friend has just given me her highly-recommended copy of The Slap, which I think should make a nice segue between the two. Did you ever see the Twilight Zone episode called Time Enough At Last? I'm totally that guy these days. Oh yes, and having all 156 episodes of the Twilight Zone on my laptop might also contribute to my lack of book time...but I'm sure you will agree that it is time well spent. :)

Corsham Court

2011-07-06T18:55:00.000+01:00

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I am told. So, by now you must be very fond of me! I'm sorry but life's just been busy! Wonderfully busy, of course: visits from parents and old friends, comedy nights, vintage markets, open mics, and a rather spectacular gig, which I will keep you in suspense about for the time being, as I like to keep things in chronological order around here.

So, dear readers, cast your minds back to Sunday 19th June: the day after The Birthday Party. Naturally, some of us were feeling a little worse for wear, but our buddy Cameron has written a musical (seriously!) and its debut showcase performance was on that very hungover day. My boyfriend's beautiful Fender Stratocaster guitar had been asked to make an appearance (for 'Chico: The Musical' is, in fact, a rock and roll musical) so we had to take it up to Corsham in time for the tech/dress rehearsal at 2pm. Corsham is a little way outside of Bath, only accessible by car, and so we decided to make a day of it - my boyfriend's been telling me all year what a gorgeous campus he gets to study at, and he wasn't kidding:

Yep, Bath Spa University runs some of its postgrad classes in a stately home, complete with gargoyles (I do love a gargoyle):

It's called Corsham Court, and it is the enviable home of James Methuen-Campbell, the eighth generation of the Methuens to live there, and the Heir Presumptive to the title Baron Methuen. Apparently it has a marvellous art collection, but what I'd really come to see were these beauties:

What is that, hiding amongst the trees? Let's have a look round the other side of the wall, shall we?

That's right, folks: peacocks! Dozens of them! Apparently the owner hates them - they are incredibly noisy - but they've been there longer than he has so he's stuck with them. I would gladly take them (and indeed, the house) off his hands if he should ask (or, good sir, if you happen to be reading?). I was extra-specially lucky to have visited in June, and here's why:

Sorry the picture's a little blurry but baby peacocks are really fast little movers! There were several peahens with chicks, and they were such a pleasure to see. But I know what you're thinking: "yeah, they're cute, but that's not really what we want to see when we're talking about peacocks..." Well, just for you:

Wonderful :)

We discovered that a picnic of party leftovers (cheese and bacon muffins, anyone?) in a beautiful garden, in the sunshine, is the most marvellous cure for a hangover. The gardens at Corsham Court are full of daintily manicured hedges...

...secret dooors leading to who-knows-where...

...wonky trees...

...and a beautiful bath house, covered in climbing roses:

We sat by the lake and watched the coots chase the ducks and the geese, and whiled away a blissful couple of hours until showtime.

The musical was wicked, by the way (no pun intended!) so keep your eyes and ears peeled for Chico: The Musical! It's actually not finished yet but I really hope it gets a proper run in a proper theatre. I've seen a lot of musicals (including a lot of bad ones) but I can confidently say that I thought it was great, and we wish Cameron all the best with it!

Wise Children and Jazz Morley

2011-06-25T15:39:00.002+01:00

On Tuesday last week our friend Robin was playing a gig at the lovely little Chapel Arts Centre in Bath. My boyfriend played there with his old band and we've been to various nights there - they put tables out so you always feel very civilised, sitting around a table whilst watching a show. Robin's band are Wise Children - although technically he's a one-man band with guest musicians. Here he is with our friend Guy on the old ivories:

He has a MySpace but I'm not sure how up-to-date it is. He has some more recent tracks up on Sound Cloud, including the duet he wrote with Jazz Morley, Tuesday night's headliner. According to the aforementioned MySpace page, Wise Children's influences are: "Nick Drake, Sigur Rós, Frightened Rabbit, Efterklang, Million Dead, Balmorhea" so if (unlike me) you've heard of more than two of those bands, go and click and have a listen! I would say Jazz's music is somewhere between Regina Spektor and Kate Nash, which is no bad thing. She does a great song about being stood up, which brings a lump to my throat (once upon a time I may or may not have waited in the rain for hours by Big Ben, waiting for a boy to turn up...). Here they are together:

Since I consider myself a patron of the arts (read: my boyfriend and all his friends are musicians so I go to a lot of gigs) and I live slap in the middle of town, these guys both stayed at my flat after the gig, and we all enjoyed a big bacon-y breakfast the next day (hint: if you are ever entertaining touring musicians in your home, they will be hugely grateful if you provide them such luxuries as "food" and "a shower"). To express their thanks, they did all the washing up - lovely!

Food, It Puts Me In A Good Mood...

2011-06-23T18:17:00.001+01:00

Hello, I'm back! Sorry it's been a while. I should have known that a week off work would make me far less inclined to get onto a computer than normal, so I'm sorry you were not kept up-to-the-minute on my goings on.

So, how did my week go? Well, as you know, I went to Bradford-On-Avon on Saturday 5th. Sunday was a Very Rainy Day, but I made it down to Green Park Station for the Love Food Festival, got a 10-minute backrub, and purchased the most enormous courgettes I've ever seen:

The flyer is a standard A6/postcard size, to give you an idea of scale. I love their artwork, incidentally. See all those cherries? £2.50 - a sweet, sweet deal in every sense. I had a nice chat with the farmer (a proper farmer - flat cap and everything) about how terribly brief cherry season is, and British cherries? Well, all too few and far between. I can confirm they were delicious.

Then on Monday, The Nerd failed his MOT (for my international readers, that's an annual compulsory inspection on your car) so I had to fork out £300 for two new suspension arms (no, I don't know what they are, either) plus I'd paid extra to give him a full service, in the hopes that after a little pampering he would be on his best behaviour for the test. Alas, he is a 17-year-old, and we all know that 17-year-olds are rarely on their best behaviour. Despite such expenditure, the little bugger has decided to break down again within the last 48 hours! It seems the spiffy new battery that I bought him in April is not quite doing its job...

So after pouring all my hard-earned pennies into The Nerd at the very start of my week off, I was loathe to go out and about spending any more of it during the rest of the week (although the dentist somehow got £17 out of me on Tuesday for telling me that there's nothing wrong with my teeth). The rest of my holiday (apart from a lovely gig, which I'll tell you about next time) was spent catching up on some quality time with my boyfriend: lie-ins, cooked breakfasts, movies in bed, you know the drill! It was wonderful. And of course, it was all building up towards Saturday: the double birthday party! Oh yes, I also did quite a bit of baking on my week off, as you can see:

On the cake stand on the left we have honey loaf and banana bread, both Rachel Allen's recipes of course. The honey loaf has changed my life somewhat, being ridiculously easy to make, and using honey instead of sugar, so I have convinced myself that it is better for me than the average cake. On its own it's lovely, but toasted, with butter on? Good Lord, it's a revelation! And, I have discovered, it is appropriate for literally any time of the day.

A further revelation were the muffins in the middle: cheese-and-onion and cheese-and-bacon! That's right, bloggers: savoury muffins! These were a conglomeration of Hugh's recipe here, and Delia's recipe here. I took Delia's idea of splitting the batter in half so you could have two different flavours (and the idea of adding sage) but I couldn't resist Hugh's wholemeal flour and additional bacon. So, the veggies and the carnivores were all accounted for, and everyone (including your gracious hostess) was surprised by how yummy they were. These would be great to bring to work for lunch (although none survived the weekend to prove this theory) and also for picnicking (more on that another time...oh yes, I did manage to squeeze one fun day out into my week off work!).

Let's see, what else is on the table? The usual crisps and pizza of course, plus on the right hand side you can see two plates of fudge, handmade by my good mister at his place of work, the Fudge Kitchen. Yep, I get handmade fudge pretty much on tap! They whipped up a particularly spicy batch of chilli chocolate fudge for the party, plus some peanut butter fudge and cherry bakewell fudge...I'm drooling just reminiscing!

And last but not least: the cakes. The Birthday Boy requested a Coca Cola Chocolate Cake (of all things!) so that is what he got. I would like to reassure my British readers that not only do such things as Coca Cola Chocolate Cakes exist, but that they are by far the moistest, tastiest, most eye-rollingly good chocolate cakes, and I suggest that you click here immediately to try the recipe out for yourselves (apologies for linking you to the Daily Mail, but this version of the recipe was the simplest, most English one I could find, lacking ingredients such as mini marshmallows and vegetable oil, which I didn't like the sound of on the official Coca Cola recipe page, plus, I'm not entirely sure what the English equivalent of confectioner's sugar is...)

I wasn't planning on making us a cake each, but I wasn't sure how many people were coming, and it would have been a complete social disaster if there had not been enough cake to go round, so I threw together a Victoria sponge with cherry jam at the last minute and used up the rest of that useless red food colouring for the icing, all the while marvelling that I am now the kind of person who is able to whip up a Victoria sponge at the last minute. I am also, for the record, the kind of person who is incapable of keeping a straight face for a photo, as you can see here:

Good times!

Eleni Drinks Tea in Bradford-Upon-Avon

2011-06-13T13:07:00.001+01:00

Indeed, I have been travelling beyond the Bath borders! Bradford-Upon-Avon is but one train stop away, and I had heard how pretty and villagey it was, so when Debbie of Jumble Jelly invited me to celebrate World Wide Knit In Public Day with them in the park round the corner from their delicious new yarn shop, I jumped at the chance.

They had put together a cosy gazebo and plenty of blankets for us, but it turned out to be a beautifully sunny day, so I was glad I had brought sunscreen and shades as well as a jumper, umbrella, and raincoat - ah, British summer time!

Naturally, I brought a flask of tea, too, and Miss Elle delightfully exclaimed "wow, you really do drink tea!" For yes, this was something of a Blog Date for me, as Miss Elle and I have been mutually admiring each other's Knotty Arts online for months, but Saturday was the first time we got to actually meet face-to-face. Here she is spinning:

And here is Knit Cave (a regular at my Tuesday night pub knitting group) also spinning:

She is sitting upon a quilt that she made herself. I was impressed and jealous.

After the knitting dwindled down and we all went our separate ways, I had a little wander around Bradford-Upon-Avon, to make the most of the sunshine - I'm glad I did, as it seems to have been grey and raining ever since!

It is a very, very pretty town. Plenty of higgledy-piggledy hills and lanes, and some seriously enviable architecture. There were tall, majestic buildings like this:

And this, which is the Catholic Church:

Apparently I am already so accustomed to the sight of Bath stone, that a painted house makes me squeal with delight:

How about this little beauty?

What's that you say? Established in AD 1500? Oh yes, Bradford-Upon-Avon has history in spades. I do like a bit of majesty, but I go quite weak at the knees for a more cobbled-together kind of history. Observe:

Spare a thought for The Bridge Tea Rooms, which are quite literally buckling under the weight of their heritage:

And what of the river, you ask? The Avon herself? Of course you, my enlightened readers, know that "avon" was the old English word for "river," but the Romans didn't quite get it, apparently, so this is essentially named, "The river River."

Although perhaps they thought she was so pretty, that they decided she ought to be the standard against which all other rivers are measured - the be-all and end-all, the river of rivers? Can't say I blame them.

So, you crafty bloggers, did you Knit In Public on Saturday?

Springwatch - Part Two

2011-06-12T10:19:00.000+01:00

Well, hello my lovely readers - and I must say I am delighted to have gathered a few more of you recently - welcome, welcome, one and all! Let's put the kettle on, shall we?

I'm sure you've all been dying to see how my new neighbour is getting along, so I thought I'd post a Baby Gull update. Here's Cheepy (as he is now called) two weeks later:

My, how he's grown! Look at those long legs - he's definitely mastering his Seagull Strut. He's just beginning to develop his proper feathers (his wings have grown quite a bit, too) but he's definitely still very fluffy and spotty and sweet for the time being. He's hunkered down in this photo because it was chilly and rainy - poor little fella, he does cry when it rains! Oh, it breaks my heart! But hey, he's a gull, so I guess he needs to get used to it, right?

Nothing else particularly blog-worthy happened last week, but this week is going to be tremendous: I am on holiday! It's my annual Birthday Holiday, in fact - I make a point of taking my birthday off work every year (and you should, too), and in recent years this has become even more rewarding, because I share my birthday with my boyfriend! And Sir Paul McCartney - it's a magical day, the 18th June! Interestingly, I shared my birthday with my first proper boyfriend, too, the 16th-19th birthdays, in fact. You might think it's less fun having to share your birthday, but I really love it. It's like an extra Christmas! To celebrate this year, we're going to see Fleet Foxes play at the Eden Project, then spend the weekend in Cornwall - I am HUGELY excited about this, but it's not for a few weeks yet, so we all have that to look forward to!

I don't usually take a whole week off for my birthday, but as it falls on a Saturday this year and my fella's lectures are finished for the time being, it seemed like a jolly good idea to make a week of it. We're not going off abroad or anything (this makes it one of those "staycation" things, right?) I'm just going to enjoy being at home, catching up on some blogging, some knitting, hopefully some sewing, and a whole lot of birthday baking! Oh yeah, and taking The Nerd in for an MOT (fingers crossed nothing expensive needs replacing!), and going to the dentist, and just generally catching up on life a bit. So, this might mean you will be hearing a lot more from me this week, or it might mean that I'll be nowhere near a computer for a change, so I might just have to inundate you with it all my crafty endeavours after the event. We shall see.

Ticking Along Nicely

2011-06-02T18:59:00.017+01:00

My watch stopped. So attached am I to constantly having something on my left wrist, that I contemplated wearing it anyway until it could be fixed, but I wisely decided that my new-found tardiness needed absolutely no further encouragement. I'm sure I used to be ever so punctual, but these days I seem to be rushing everywhere - I could blame a comparative lack of knowledge of my "new" city home (yes, a year and a half in a new place still makes it new!) and how long it takes to get to places, but frankly, I live slap bang in the middle of town and nothing is more than 10-15 minutes away, so this is no excuse. Maybe it's because I now rely on my own two feet to get me around, and am no longer a slave to the unforgiving timetables and signal failures of Transport For London, but my ability to leave the house on time has declined rapidly in recent years. It's not that I don't care about being on time - quite the opposite, I think it's rather important, actually - I just can't seem to manage it these days.

Luckily, Bath has a clock shop, Tupra Jewellers. They don't have a website, they're not that kind of place. They're this kind of place:

And this kind of place:

Is anyone else in heaven when faced with walls and walls of clocks? Cabinets and cabinets of watches?

It's that sound. Oh, that hypnotic ticking of hundreds of different tocks. As I sat waiting for my humble timepiece to receive it's new battery, I closed my eyes and just revelled in that most gentle of noises. Somehow I don't own any clocks, just my little wristwatch. If I had my way, I'd have a wall of clocks in my living room (or perhaps such a feature would best be suited to a library/dining/drawing room?) and a ticking clock in every room in the house. It's not that I am obsessed with timekeeping, I just think there's something comforting about a clock. I mean a proper clock, of course, not just a watch or an electronic alarm clock or (heaven forbid) a phone. It's furniture. The sort of thing a "home" has, but never a "house" or a "flat". Actually,we have one clock in our flat: a jolly red retro number in the kitchen, but my housemate sets it five minutes fast (which of course we all know, so we know we are not running late, then we take our sweet time and end up being late anyway) which is not how I would set my clocks. No. I would phone up the Talking Clock himself to get the correct time - do it properly.

(By the way, if I sound unusually dreamy today it's because I'm listening to the Amelie soundtrack while I type. I know it's childish of me, but I genuinely want to live and breath that film. )

Two more quick thoughts on timepieces:

1) I wonder if a ticking clock would help with my boyfriend's tinnitus/insomnia?

2) I always used to insist upon the chunkiest of watches (remember Pop Swatches and Baby Gs?) a habit which caused both the bones in my forearm to snap clean in two when I fell off a horse at the age of 11.

Springwatch

2011-05-28T14:48:00.002+01:00

When I got home from work yesterday, I looked out of my window (snooping on the people in the cafe downstairs, as is my wont) and was a little startled to notice something fluffy in the gutter outside my windowsill. I assumed it was mammalian, but as I leaned over to get a better look I realised it was a baby bird! Look how cute!

It must have fallen (slid?) off the roof - I'm glad the little blighter landed in my gutter and didn't go all the way down to ground level (we're three storeys up). It's been very windy this week so perhaps he just got blown off the roof? He was making little cheeping sounds and my heart just melted, I desperately wanted to adopt him! I had Brontë-like visions of taming him and keeping him on my shoulder, to be my lifelong companion and spirit guide...however, judging from his webbed feet, he was most likely a seagull, which is slightly less romantic, I have to admit. Still, who can resist a little baby chick, all fluffy and spotty?

Alas, my housemate was the voice of reason - she said that the parents were probably not far away (we have many birds on our roof), and while she agreed that he was immeasurably cute, we concurred that any kind of interfering we did would probably lead to the parents rejecting the little fellow if they should find him again (small mammals also do this - if you touch a baby animal, the scent you leave behind can be sufficient to make the parents suspicious, so they will abandon the baby). Still, I resolved that if he should still be out there cheeping when I got back from the pub, then I would leave him some kind of snack and maybe a jumper to keep him warm.

I need not have worried though, for who should turn up just as I was about to leave the house?

That's right, the Peeping Seagull from the other morning! Turns out he's a she, and she's a Mamma, and she gave me the filthiest look when I came back to the window:

I was just making sure that she was, in fact, the Mamma Seagull, and not a different seagull who might attack the youngster (Bath gulls have a reputation for being vicious, although to be fair I've only ever seen them bully pigeons). She soon confirmed her identity by regurgitating some worms and feeding the littl'un, which made me happy and sad and slightly squeamish all at the same time. They're out there now, squeaking and squawking at each other. I could happily sit and watch them all day long, but I don't thing Mamma Gull appreciates my watchful eye, and it just so happens that I watched The Birds again a couple of weeks ago so I really don't want to mess with her.

Eleni Drinks Tea in a Maxi Skirt

2011-05-26T18:54:00.105+01:00

Bloggers, I have bought a new and fashionable item of clothing! You may have noticed that this is not a style/fashion blog, but forgive me a little indulgence in a conversation about skirts.

Now, I am not deliberately anti-fashion, but I rarely go shopping because a) who has the time? b) I have better things to spend my money on, like food and beer and gig tickets, c) I have more than enough clothes already, and d) I tend to keep my clothes for years and years because, well, I like them. So, for something new to make its way into my wardrobe - particularly something that is nothing like anything else I own - is quite the event round here. I do hope that my small army of knee-length dresses and full skirts have made the new addition feel welcome, and that you, my good readers, will do the same. Here she is, the maxi skirt!

It's been a long time since I wore a full-length skirt, because we all know that if you're short they make you look shorter, right? Erm, totally wrong, actually: this little baby makes this little lady look positively willowy! And it sits on the waist instead of the hips - again, something I've avoided for years because I thought it would make my tummy stick out. It just goes to show, I suppose, that you never know until you try something. It must be the pleats - this skirt hangs so beautifully. It flows, it's graceful, it's elegant! These are adjectives which are rarely, if ever, applied to me (I'm an incurable klutz, and scruffy by nature) but I tell you this skirt makes me feel like quite the lady. Maxi skirts always make me think of Margo Leadbetter, and who wouldn't relish a little more Margot in their life? All good manners and formal evening wear - yes please.

I'd seen (I'd like to say on The Sartorialist but probably more likely on Grazia's website) floaty maxi skirts paired with chunky boots and jumpers, and being the owner of several versions of both, this was how I'd planned to wear it, so here it is with one of my favourites - an ancient H&M number which is sparkly and has a most excellent cowl neck:

Oh yes, I should probably mention that the skirt itself is, sadly, by Primark - champions of suspiciously cheap and morally dubious fashion apparel - but I got it on Ebay, so I like to think it has been recycled somehow (although, given that it is a current season item, I have an awful feeling that I might, in fact, be supporting shoplifters rather than sweatshops - oh, the ethical minefield that is the High Street). Naturally, I wasn't actively searching for "Primark" on Ebay, I just wanted a grey pleated maxi skirt, and this was the only one that I found in my budget.

I must also apologise for the slightly blurry mirrored outfit shots. I was getting ready for work and in a bit of a rush, and I'd tried to line up a nice timed self-portrait by the window (as seen here and here) but I was more than a little put off by an unwanted observer:

A giant Bath gull came and perched on my windowsill, and man, those boys are huge up close! Honestly, about a foot tall - since I'm only 5 foot 4 myself, this is significant. So, what with this peeping Tom glaring at me, and trying not to be being late for work (again), I had to improvise.

So, my little fashionistas (for I am sure you are all an incredibly stylish bunch) - are you forging bravely into unknown fashion terrority this year? Do tell!

Eleni Drinks Tea at Bath Coffee Festival

2011-05-25T18:22:00.002+01:00

I know what you're thinking: what's a die-hard tea-drinker like myself (never a coffee drinker) doing at a coffee festival? Well, drinking tea of course!

We were greeted at the entrance by a Yorkshre Tea van, giving away free cups of tea. An excellent start to any day, I'm sure you'll agree. I know some of my readers are fond fans of the Yorkshire brew, and if you go to their website you can officially become their friend, and they will send you taster samples and discount coupons and all sorts of goodies!

Once inside we were given a free organic yoghurt from Yeo Valley (click to see their hip hop video!) and read some wise words from the good folk at Teapigs:

I also ate cupcakes. Many cupcakes. Brace yourselves, bloggers:

The best looking cupcakes I've ever seen! They are by Get Cupcaked (no website but an email if you're curious) - baked by a boy no less! I had to bring a Cookie Monster and a Belgan Waffle (top left) home with me, although I very neary brought home a wee gingerbread man:

I tucked into a gluten free red pepper quiche (and maybe also a pear and hazlenut muffin) from The Cake Hole - they can deliver gluten free goodies to your door! I unexpectedly got to say hello to my good friends from The Fudge Kitchen - they can deliver fudge to your door! My boyfriend works in their Bath shop, so I think I've tried every flavour of fudge that they make. I can confirm they are all amazing.

Later, I stuck my hand into a jar of bugs, in order to retrieve a small packet of Smarties and save the rainforest:

That probably needs a more detailed explanation, right? Cool Earth are an environmental charity whose focus is on protecting the rainforests, and they have just launched their own coffee - for every jar you buy, they will save a rainforest tree. Brilliant! I just went onto their website and found out that Dame Vivienne herself is a fan, which is enough of a recommendation to almost make me start drinking coffee (almost). As an alternative to purchasing a jar of coffee, you could make a donation on the day to "experience the rainforest yourself" and stick your hand in a jar of bugs (I chose the crickets, pictured below) to fish for sweeties.

Local hero Mrs Stokes was there with her vintage china - she organises secret tea parties, and her gift boxes really are the perfect present for tea lovers. She's a marvel. I bought myself a jar of delicious chai latte mix from Drink Me Chai, and very nearly bought myself some remarkable chutneys (the spicy tomato and the red onion were my favourites) from the Kendrick Street Deli. I also spent a bit too long gazing adoringly at the wonderous pottery wares of Polkadot Lane. Do you like blue and white china? Perhaps with a folky edge? Go to their website. Now.

However, the most exciting discovery of the day was this:

"Make your own teabag," free top-ups...I was already smitten with this stall before I'd even tasted the tea, but I wasn't disappointed that I went for their Afternoon Tea darjeeling blend (although the myrtle, lemon verbena, and manuka honey were all very popular amongst my fellow festival-goers). Have you heard of Tregothnan? I hadn't, and I am almost embarrassed to admit it, because I discovered that THEY GROW TEA IN THE UK!! On their family estate in Cornwall. I nearly swooned when the nice young man told me (OK, I'll be honest, I nearly proposed to him). It's a proper working estate, been in the same family since 1335, and they actually grow everything you need for a full cream tea (English tea, cereals, cream, honey, and plums for the jam) as well as producing flowers and charcoal, and being home to a number of endangered plant and tree species. Adjectives fail me, I was so impressed. They only open their gardens to the public once a year, for charity, and apparently it's usually in late March/early April, so remind me next year, OK? Thanks.

So, that was how I whiled away most of my Sunday. I'm actually glad I wasn't interested in the coffee as well because there was SO much to see! I'll definitely go again next year, and in the meantime I'll see if I can get myself a job on that estate...

PS: I'd just like to say hello and thank you, there have been quite a few new commenters and even some new followers round here of late, and I just had to say how welcome you all are! With literally thousands of blogs out there to choose from, I am hugely flattered that you took the time to stop by and say nice things about my Lady Gaga knitting and, of course, The Nerd. You're too kind :)

The Nerd

2011-05-22T15:42:00.000+01:00

I have some pretty big news that I haven't shared with you, dear readers, I do apologise! Well, it's big news to me but I imagine to the vast majority if you this will not be exciting at all, but...

I bought a car!

This is The Nerd. Isn't he a cheerful, smiley chap?

What is he, silver? Bronze? I don't know, I like to call him "grubby grey." OK, he's not the prettiest, but I love him just the same.

He's a 1994 Vauxhall Astra, and I bought him for £200 - yes, just £200! Long-suffering readers may remember that I was taking driving lessons all last year, and I passed my test (first attempt!) in November. After a brief perusal of the internet for cheap second-hand cars in the Bath area, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that, well, there weren't any. I couldn't find anything for less than about £700, which, although I now realise this is cheap for a car, was beyond my meagre savings at that point. I had also discovered that one cannot rent a car unless one has had a full license for at least one year, so I was worried that my shiny new driving skills would languish, un-used, for months and months and months until I could muster up some cash to buy myself a vehicle. So, imagine my delight when a friend of my boyfriend's announced that she was selling her old Astra! This was actually doubly-delightful, since my driving instructor had an Astra - that's a pretty good recommendation, wouldn't you say? So I jumped at the chance, and The Nerd came to Bath in March.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing - I have already had to replace a wing mirror (which I knew about in advance) and the battery (OK, that was my fault...) and although we ("we" = The Nerd and I) have been all the way to Gosport and back twice visiting my family without incident, I keep managing to get lost every time I come back into Bath - although Bath is a notorious black hole of one-way systems and illogical lane disciplines. And let's not talk about how much my insurance cost as a new driver, albeit an aged one (hint: significantly more than I paid for The Nerd).

I've also just realised that the top picture isn't The Nerd's best side - he's flashing his asymmetric hubcaps at you, but he's also proudly showing off his best new wing mirror, and to be honest it's the first time I've been able to park him anywhere where he wasn't squeezed in too tight between an Audi and a BMW to be able to get a decent photo, so you'll just have to excuse us. We're doing our best. We are getting very good at parking, which is another infamous flaw of the beautiful city of Bath - The Nerd and I have a permit, but if we didn't, we pretty much wouldn't be able to park anywhere near my flat - he's usually two streets away as it is, but since I live in the Central Bath zone (somehow Bath has 14 parking zones!) he is allowed to rest at such illustrious addresses as Royal Crescent and The Circus, which I think he's secretly quite pleased about. It pleases me too, because I'm fairly confident that nobody's going to try and steal a grubby old Astra when there are so many, swankier cars nearby! I drove to my fella's flat a couple of times this week which (forgive my carbon footprint!) is a short journey, but ever so useful for practise, and it was so nice to be able to see The Nerd out of the window! I think my boyfriend is already sick of me talking about The Nerd (he doesn't even like the name!) - after all, he's American so he's been driving since he could crawl - but hey, it's my first car and the novelty hasn't worn off yet!

What was your first car, and more importantly, what was its name?

Jessica has Pointy Shoulders

2011-05-20T18:45:00.000+01:00

Eagle-eyed Ravelry friends may have noticed that I have finished my Jessica jumper. Technically. However, there was a problem (see my "unimpressed" face):

What's with the pointy shoulders?!!

I don't know how I managed it, but in the pattern there's a little gap between the frills and the shoulders, and the neckline is much lower (read: more flattering). Only one thing for it: yep, unravel the bastard and start again. Not the whole thing, just the front panel. I tried just ripping it back part of the way, but since I'd dropped a couple of stitches right at the front (which you can see a bit in the second picture) I figured why not just start from scratch? It was months ago when I knit this, so hopefully my skills have improved a bit since then. [sigh] She might be ready in time for winter...

Craft Hope Project 12 - Orphan Outreach

2011-05-18T18:49:00.011+01:00

Have you heard of Craft Hope? It's the most wonderful, inspiring website that organises craft projects for charity. You may remember I made some granny squares for Crochet a Rainbow earlier this year, and it felt so good to use my Knotty Arts towards a good cause that I promised myself I'd try and do it more often. I'm off to a good start: look what I'm sending off to the States today:

Friendship bracelets! These are for Craft Hope's Project 12: Orphan Outreach. A church group from Grand Rapids, Michigan is heading out to Russia, to St Petersburg's Crisis Centre, which is a drop-in centre where orphaned children and teenagers can go for emotional support, company, and also to learn essential living skills for when they leave the orphanage system and have to make their own way in the world. The group are taking over as many friendship bracelets as they can, just as a gesture to let these kids know that someone is thinking of them.

There are approximately 750, 000 orphans in the orphanage system in Russia, and who knows how many others living on the streets (estimates range up to hundreds of thousands). How about this: in Russia, around 60% of female orphans become prostitutes, and about 70% of male orphans become criminals. Heartbreaking. There are loads more statistics on the website, so please do click if you want to learn more.

I am not a church-goer, and I know this is being run by a church group, but I don't care in the least, and I hope it doesn't put any of you off in case you are tempted to join in (I know some people are sensitive about that sort of thing). It's such an easy thing to do - I knocked about 20 of these out in one evening, and I didn't have to buy any new materials, I just used up some bits and bobs from my ribbon and yarn stashes - but I hope that whoever receives one of my bracelets will know that I sent it with lots of love, and that I really want good things to happen for them.

The Crafty Charity doesn't stop there! Closer to home, I am hoping to take part in the Big Knit-In at Bath Recreation Grounds, as part of the Bath Fringe festival. We'll be knitting mats out of plastic carrier bags, which will then be auctioned off for The Genesis Trust - a local charity which helps socially vulnerable people: homelessness, mental illness, addiction, you name it. Bath may be a fairly posh city but it has its share of unlucky people as well, so I hope it will be a jolly good fun event (we're supposed to bring a picnic!) where I can meet some more local knitters and learn more about the Trust and what they do.

I know Rachel over at Smile and Wave is making pillow case dresses to send to children in Haiti - this looks like another easy project, but I just don't think I'll have time to make them up and get them shipped to the USA in time for the deadline (1st June). Maybe some of my readers on the other side of the pond would like to get involved?

Are you a Crafty Blogger? Have you ever done a project for charity? (I know Martha did a naughty one!) I would love to find out about more (particularly UK-based), there are SO many out there!

Banana Bread

2011-05-16T18:36:00.002+01:00

I can't share the recipe with you, as it's from Rachel Allen's 'Bake' book, which I'm sure is copyright, but I baked my first ever banana loaf at the weekend and it turned out so beautifully that I just had to take a picture and show it to you (because I know you bloggers appreciate a nice-looking loaf as much as I do):

I'm not usually a huge fan of bananas, but my fella had bought some and forgotten about them, so they'd gone a bit brown, so he offered them to me in the hope that I would be able to bake something nice with them. The recipe called for rum-soaked raisins (yuk!) and glacier cherries (only on a bakewell, thanks!), but I skipped them and just added some mixed chopped nuts. I can confirm that it tastes just as good as it looks.

So, if you have some bananas going brown, dig out your recipe book and rescue them from the dustbin! And if you're in the market for a great recipe book, 'Bake' has yet to let me down; that Rachel Allen's a marvel.

What's your favourite, tried-and-tesed recipe book?

Do you have any great recipes for rescuing food that's a little past its prime?

How It Should Have Ended

2011-05-14T16:21:00.000+01:00

Oh my, I've just discovered the funniest website:

How It Should Have Ended

If you like movies, please feel free to lose a couple of hours watching animations of alternative endings for classic movies. The Terminator is my favourite :)

Bats about Bath

2011-05-12T18:21:00.000+01:00

There's a cornucopia of cool things happening in Bath in May, and I was just entering them all into my diary to remind myself not to miss them, when I thought I'd share them with you lovely lot as well. After all, my intention with this blog was to big up Bath just as much as to share my knitting habits with you. If you're nearby, come along! And if not, then I hope I'll get to go to as many as possible and tell you all about them from a Crafty Blogger's perspective.

[I'm afraid there's no pictures to accompany this post - just a bunch of links - because I've decided not to "borrow" pictures from the internet anymore - at worst, it's a legal minefield, at best, I'm pilfering somebody else's efforts - not cool.]

First up, tomorrow there's a free Bat Walk! It's organised by Avon Wildlife Trust, and apparently despite being a city, Bath is close to some prime bat habitat, so I shall be donning my wellies and flashlight and heading off into the woods to find some. Bats are strange little creatures. I have a friend (who shall remain nameless) who, until she was about 15, didn't think bats were real. Because they are always in horror films with vampires, and she'd never seen one in real life, she had always assumed they were fictional.

Also starting tomorrow (Thursday 12th) is a Joan Miró exhibition opening at the Adam Gallery, which runs until 28th May. Even though I don't live in London anymore I am still on the Tate's mailing list, and I was kind of hoping I'd get to see their Mir ó exhibition at some point, but apparently, I don't have to go to Miró, Miró comes to me! I love his paintings so I'm dead chuffed that a local gallery is showing his work. Factoid: Bath has the third highest number of art galleries in proportion to its population, out of all the cities in the UK (first is London, second is Glasgow). Makes me proud :)

Next week there's a play about the Brontës on at the Theatre Royal, which I must look into getting some tickets for pronto - it's only on for five days! I've only very recently got into the Brontë sister's amazing literature, so I can't wait to learn more about how three spinsters living in the middle of nowhere could have come up with such wonderful stories and characters, so full of passion when clearly the girls themselves can't have experienced that much themselves.

Also next week, by some marvellous coincidence, Bath is hosting an Americana Festival! This is a coincidence because my boyfriend, a genuine American from Atlanta, Georgia, is currently here in Bath studying for a Masters degree in songwriting, and his genre is mostly Americana/Alt Country. He's writing his dissertation as we speak, so this little spate of gigs couldn't have come at a better time. There's a lot of bluegrass/skiffle bands, which isn't exactly the same direction as his music, but they're all local artists so we should be able to get some good schmoozing done. Who knows? He might land a job out of it! High hopes indeed :)

This weekend I'm taking my laptop in for repairs (AGAIN!!!) and getting a haircut, but next weekend, Bath is hosting a coffee festival! Now, I don't actually drink coffee myself (obviously I'm a tea-belly) but it's local and it's free entry and I know a lot of people who love that old java bean, so I imagine I will saunter down to the Recreation Grounds to have a snoop. In fact, there is a talk about tea, too (and an oolong tasting - yum!) and there will be plenty of cakey bakey stalls to tickle my fancy as well.

Then finally on Saturday 28th some friends of ours have organised a one-day festival called Rosy Glow, which will be at the Chapel Arts Centre as part of the Bath Fringe Festival (oh yeah, that's going on throughout May as well! But to be honest it's a bit too sprawling and overwhelming for me to figure out which events I want to go to yet, so I'll stick to what I know for now). During the day it will be a family-friendly event with face painting, mask and instrument making, and all sorts of fun, but there's also an evening session for us grown-ups featuring bands, art, and...more face painting!

Phew! I think that should be quite enough to keep me busy over the coming weeks. Unless of course I break myself at the rollerdisco on Monday...

Soko

2011-05-10T18:00:00.002+01:00

I am SO behind the times. How have I only just heard this song?

I am in love. Hook, line, sinker. She's so cool and so goddam French, it hurts. It's a good job she's not English, I'd probably stalk her.

A Tale of Two Weekends

2011-05-09T18:46:00.050+01:00

Oops, a whole 'nother week has gone by and I haven't blogged! I know I'm not exactly the most productive of bloggers, but this week I've felt the need but simply not had the time - so I suppose it's frustration at having my fun plans thwarted by boring things like work. Fear not, 'twas not all doom and gloom: I've actually had two of the best weekends in a row...

After all the vicarious excitement of the Royal Wedding, I was lucky enough to have another party to go to last weekend - it was the birthday of one of my bestest buddies from uni, so I hopped onto a train for London (the day after the wedding - many thanks to the Birthday Boy for sparing me from having to travel into the Big Smoke on the actual day!). I was thoroughly spoiled: I got to have dinner with one friend, pre-drinks with another, then on to Giant Robot for the main event. Apparently Giant Robot has Special Balls, but by the time we got there they had stopped serving food (thanks to the good old Hammersmith and Shitty Line picking and choosing which stations it wanted to stop at, plus a somewhat heated verbal altercation with a cyclist who jumped a red light...but that's another story) so the Special Balls remain a mystery to me.

That's me on the left, plus Hannah, Sand, the birthday boy Alex, and Ray (loving your hair red, by the way, Ray, absolutely loving it!). Yes, they are all bloggers, but this was not some kind of blog date (although there is one of those coming up, as it happens!) - these are my actual friends in real life, and 2011 marks the tenth year of our acquaintance - yikes! We all met at Goldsmiths, on the hallowed E floor of Raymont Hall, and we have been housemates in various combinations ever since.

Ah, I do so miss my London buddies! Here's to many more birthdays, my dears. Particularly if they accidentally end up at late night karaoke bars...

Mr Seeds and Stitches got straight in with a 'New York, New York...' Always a crowd pleaser.

...and Mama Wolf and her fella wowed us all (musically and semantically) with a little 'Ebony and Ivory.' It's a good message, people.

Outstanding!

I then got to stumble back to my sister's flat for the night - she was out of town but she's looking after her friend's cat, Phil, for a few weeks, so I had some kitty company! I'm suffering from terrible Pet Envy at the moment, so a little fix of Phil was just what the doctor ordered - he is the most affectionate cat I think I've ever met! Sadly, he's always too busy climbing all over you and wrapping himself around your legs to pose to have his picture taken, so you'll just have to take my word for it when I tell you he's awesome.

Sunday morning meant more cuddles with Phil and some guilt-free Gok over a bacon sarnie, before I went off to Shoreditch for my Blog Date with Martha! She's such a sweetie, it was so nice to meet her in real life! She showed me around some wicked rummaging spots in Spitalfields, and I am sort of regretting not coming home with one of these embroidered (silk?) bird/flower pictures, although I think the Horror Movie Monkey had unsettled me too much to make rational decisions at the time:

One of the reasons I started my blog when I moved to Bath was the hope that I might get to meet some like-minded Bath bloggers, but I haven't found any yet! Are you out there? Come say hello! One of my New Year's Resolutions was to "make at least one new friend," and so I've been making myself do brave things like joining socialising websites and meeting blog friends in real life, and you know what? It's going really well! People are nice! I was so worried about making new friends when I moved here - how do you meet new people when you're an adult, no longer thrown together by the Random Friend Generator that is University? I still haven't mustered the balls to ask the Nice Girl in Lush if she'd like to hang out - how do I make it not sound like I'm asking her out on a date?!!

With this in mind, I have set up an email address to accompany my blog, so please, click away and email me at elenidrinkstea@gmail.com Let's be friends :)

One major hindrance to making new friends is of course the blissful fact that I really couldn't be happier than when I'm staying at home watching films with my fella. This weekend was the perfect case in point: he's busy with coursework for his Masters at the moment, so he's pretty much housebound, but this weekend my housemates were both away, so he brought his books over to mine. He read, I knitted, and when he'd had enough, we hunkered down for plenty of food, tea, biscuits, and movies. It went something like this: Predator, Ratatouille, The Birds, Ironman, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi (those last two ended up becoming an impromptu double-bill last night: I only have the "special edition" remastered Star Wars trilogy, and we went for Empire as it contains the fewest irritating additions, but that's one cliffhanger that surely nobody can resist! So we stuck Jedi in straight after and just bitched about the stupid dance routine in Jabba's palace). Pure heaven.

How was your weekend?

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T18:02:00.021+01:00

Aw, didn't she look lovely? Very Grace Kelly, and also spookily like my mum's wedding dress back in 1981...I thought Kate's sister looked amazing, actually, and she was wearing something a lot closer to how I imagined Kate herself would be dressed, but I guess if you're going to be queen someday you want your wedding photos to be timeless and tasteful (obviously Diana never got that memo...). I really hope this heralds in a new era of chic, understated wedding dresses with a 1920-40s feel. As I was walking home I passed an actual wedding going on in Bath, and surprise, surprise, the bride was wearing a strapless dress with a fitted bodice and a big puffy skirt. It's been done to death, ladies, it's time for a change!

And what did I wear? Well, I'll admit I wasn't planning on really doing anything to celebrate what was essentially another celebrity wedding, but I got a last minute invite to watch it on TV at a friend's house (on Royal Crescent, no less) so I ended up getting into the spirit of things eventually (there may have been Pimms involved). She requested we dress up, so I went for red-white-and-blue:

Mostly because it gave me an excuse to practise tying my hair up (something I haven't really done since I was about 17, due to my hair being lopped off on a fairly regular basis since then) and also to wear my jaunty red hat:

And what's in the cake tin? Strawberry and cream muffins, that's what!

2 eggs

1teasp. vanilla extract

200g sugar

400g self raising flour

3 teasp. baking powder

half teasp. salt

1 pint single cream

200g fresh strawberries

Pre-heat oven to 200 C/390 F/gas mark 6
Beat together eggs, vanilla, sugar & cream until the sugar is dissolved
In a separate (large!) bowl mix together flour, salt & baking powder
Chop strawberries into small pieces and stir into flour mix
Pour in the liquids and mix it all together
Spoon into muffin trays/cases and bake for 20-25mins
Lick the bowl

Despite the fact that this recipe makes about 18-20 muffins, I'm afraid that none survive to be photographed, and in fact I forgot to take any pictures of the delicious spread that our host had laid out for us: cucumber sandwiches, scones, the works. Oh yes, and enough Pimms to sink a ship.

The Ingenious Indoor Garden

2011-04-27T18:37:00.008+01:00

Due to health and safety reasons, the once Wonderous Windowsill Garden has now become...

...The Ingenious Indoor Garden!

I went to visit my parents for Easter and on Saturday we went to a garden centre, as they were looking for a plant/tree to give as a birthday present (note to self: brilliant idea!). I bloody love garden centres, particularly when they have a good pet department, as this one did. Unfortunately I was going far too gaga over the bunnies, lovebirds, and fancy goldfish to take any pictures of them, but believe me, they were ADORABLE, and did nothing to appease my ever-growing Pet Envy (our landlord doesn't allow pets. Or plants on windowsills, as you know).

Luckily, I was able to bring home some plants, and The Old Dears gave me some nice big pots to house them in, so the Ingenious Indoor Garden is coming along in leaps and bounds:

Left to right: my new strawberry plant, jasmine (she's been with me for a while), and wintergreen (not looking too happy about being brought indoors, but I'm persevering)

All new entries here, from left to right: yellow bell pepper, cherry tomato, aubergine, and a baby bay tree!

Obviously I'm being very optimistic about the growing conditions on my bedroom floor, but they do get good light and I'm going to be really careful about not over-watering them (which has been my downfall with many a houseplant). Being the crafty blogger that I am (and not having thought to pinch some proper canes from my parents' garden) I have propped the newbies up using odd knitting needles and scraps of ribbon and wool. I rather like the effect. And of course I am sure you all use charity shop china instead of those nasty plastic trays to catch the excess water, don't you?

I'll let you know how the harvest develops!

Quelle fleur est-il?

2011-04-25T14:27:00.000+01:00

Do you remember last year when I pinched some wildflowers from outside my office? Unfortunately, the orange poppies had finished blooming by the time the idea had occurred to me, and I regret to report that the seeds I collected have not taken well to my once Wonderous Windowsill Garden, now that it has been relegated indoors. Luckily for me, the ones outside my office have just sprung back into life! Aren't they sweet?

And now I have a question for you, dear readers. Can anybody tell me what this little beauty is?

It's a climbing plant which you can see in quite a few gardens around here, spilling out over walls and fences.

I noticed about a week ago that there were round pinkish buds all over them, then suddenly, sha-zam! These preposterously pretty flowers have burst out all over them. Is it a clematis? Does anybody know a decent website for plant identification? The RSPB has the best one for identifying birds but I am equally uninformed when it comes to flora. I know Marthaa's championing a Learning Our Surroundings game, and I'm game! I think it's a lovely idea, so let's channel our inner Attenborough and get learning!

A New Knitting Project, and a Note of Knotty Caution

2011-04-23T11:59:00.001+01:00

Here's a before-and-after for you, readers: this was, I think the first garment I ever knitted for myself, probably back around 2006. I got the pattern from a Rowan book (Classic Knits: 15 Timeless Designs to Knit and Keep Forever) that I had excitedly purchased from Liberty, no less. As the name suggests, it is full of classic knitwear, so I was convinced that I would never need to buy another pattern again (oh, the naivety!). The pattern was for a sweet, simple cardigan, whose name was Kelly - Grace Kelly came to mind. It should have been a dainty, fitted, three-quarter-sleeved, round neck cardigan. A quick glance on Ravlery tells me that 128 people have successfully knitted this piece, and it looks lovely. But what happens when you use completely the wrong size yarn, just because you've found a nice light brown with a gold thread running through it and you simply have to use it, even though you know nothing about tension squares and needle sizes? This is what happens:

A shapeless nightmare. If any of you are new to The Knotty Arts, I cannot stress this enough: you have to use the right size yarn and needles! You have to get the right gauge and tension! However, you do not have to use the exact yarn the pattern tells you to. The reason I didn't, in this case, is that I think Rowan yarns are fairly expensive, so off I went to find a cheaper alternative. In retrospect, I'm impressed with such pioneering spirit in my very earliest days of knitting, but I really wish I'd known how important it is to get the right size! At the risk of sounding completely patronising (I know many of you have such mad knitting skills that they put mine to shame) let me give you two quick tips for getting it right, just in case you are new to this game - I really wish someone had explained it to me when I was starting out. Luckily, this was a modern pattern, so it listed the yarn's gauge (how many metres of yarn you get for the weight). I could have used this as a basis for finding a suitable replacement yarn. Of course, the pattern also included instructions for a tension square (even vintage patterns have this), which tells you approximately how many stitches and rows you need to knit to make, for example, one square inch of fabric. If you're too small, use bigger needles. Too big, use smaller. Or, you can change yarn thickness/weight. Simples!

(As a general aside, it's also worth looking up conversion charts for UK/US/Australian terminology: yarn thickness/weight and needle sizes are called different things in different countries, so make sure you know where your pattern comes from!)

Ignorant as I was of these simple facts, I forged bravely ahead and finished the cardigan, and of course, I was heartbroken when it was completed and I realised that not only did it look nothing like the pattern, but it looked pretty hideous on me, too. It was baggy and bulky, and I had to wear it as a wrap-around because it was so wide! I decided to shorten the sleeves, to try and make it a bit more flattering, and on the two or three occasions when I did wear it, I fastened it with a fancy brooch, to try and make it all look a bit more deliberate. All to no avail. It has been languishing in drawers and then storage boxes for months and months (possibly years?) unworn: a terrible waste of my time and of a yarn that I still really like.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I bit the bullet and decided to unravel the bastard. Yep, the whole cardigan! I had been too scared (and, I must admit, ashamed) to destroy something I had worked so hard on, but I know I am a much wiser and better knitter now, and that I would be able to re-use the yarn to make something I could actually wear and be proud of. So I spent a blissful weekend pulling it apart and rolling the remains up into lovely little balls. I had a one-and-a-bit balls left over from the original project, too, so I have ended up with a satisfying stash:

And what, you may ask, do I have in mind for this glorious glittery bounty? Here's my new goal:

She's called Flatter Yourself, and you can download the pattern free from Ravelry - yes, free! I am doing well with free goodies this week, aren't I? As with my Owl Jumper, I will have to learn a new Knotty Art - the sleeves are done in Coin Stitch, so I will have learnt a new skill by the end of it. We're ticking along nicely, and I am very happy to be working with this yarn again. It's Sirdar Romance, if you're interested, but I don't think they make it anymore because I couldn't find it on their website. It is lovely and soft. According to Ravelry, it's technically aran weight and the pattern calls for DK, but I have recently discovered that I am a pretty tight knitter, and I was a good girl and made tension squares and everything, so I am fairly confident that I am on the right track.

Progress so far:

Er, slow, I'm sure you'll agree! The dark brown is the waistband, which you knit in a long thin stocking stitch, then you pick up the stitches for the body from the side, so the rib ends up horizontal - a cute detail I've not come across before. Doesn't it look chocolatey?!

It's Nice That

2011-04-21T18:04:00.023+01:00

You may have noticed a new blog has appeared in my blogroll over there to your left: It's Nice That. It's a brilliant website which is updated daily with inspirational (and jealousy-inducing) news from the art and design world. The reason I mention it to you is that they have done a collaboration with ASOS, and I happen to know not one, but two of the t-shirt designers (I'm so down with the kids) so I wanted to spread the love.

(Sorry the pictures are not the best quality, click the links below to go to the ASOS site and see them properly!)

This t-shirt was designed by Owen Silverwood, of my old Brockley crew:

link

Not only is he a designer and photgrapher extraordinaire, he has the most stylish wife (start a blog already, Emily!) and they now have an adorable puppy to boot. They are so ridiculously cool that their wedding has been featured in a bunch of magazines and websites (Cosmo Bride, anyone?).

The second designer is none other than my lovely cousin, Sophie Kern:

link

Sophie is a graphic designer, illustrator, and collage artist, and she does a lot of quirky splicings of images of animals, people (or pieces of people) and ghosts with smiley faces on them. There are loads of images from nature, and lots of pattern. She makes me very proud :)

There are ten different designers included in the ASOS/It's Nice That collaboration, and although they are all technically for men, they go down to a size XXS (32-34 inch chest) so they would definitely fit girls, too. Obviously they are limited editions, so I hope there will still be some left in my size come Pay Day! Oh yes, I nearly forgot to mention: with every t-shirt you purchase you get a free A3 print of the original artwork - sweet!

A Friend of Dorothy

2011-04-19T18:59:00.062+01:00

Hi bloggers! No time for blogging this weekend as I had my honorary gran visiting - she and my grandad were together since before I was born, but since they were never married and she's way too young and funky to be called a gran, she has always just been known as Dorothy. It suits her well. She was telling me the story of a civil partnership (that's a Gay Wedding, for my international readers) she was at last month, and when chatting with another friend of the couple she was naturally asked what her name was. "Dorothy" she said, and the reply was "well, you would be wouldn't you?" I've mentioned before how theatrical my grandad was (and my whole family is) and Dorothy is no exception - she was a music teacher for years and she now works at the Tower of London. What Dorothy doesn't know about musicals (particularly Gilbert & Sullivan) frankly ain't worth knowing.

We spent a sensationally sunny weekend sightseeing in beautiful Bath. We went to Number One Royal Crescent, where I was delighted to learn that TEA SAVES LIVES: when it first came to England it was a very expensive luxury, but after the tax was changed in 1784 (by William Pitt the Younger's Commutation Act) and it became obtainable for the general public, there was a sharp drop in the number of deaths from cholera and other such horrible water-born diseases. You've got to boil water to drink tea, right? Amazing!

After such life-affirming discoveries, we wandered around Bath a bit, and observed how perfectly Dorothy's hair matched the flowers in Victoria Park:

We had one of Sally Lunn's buns (which was a first for me!), spent hours in Pink Lemons (a perfectly peachy gift shop which really ought to have a website), visited the Abbey and The Antique Map Shop on Pulteney Bridge, and went to the theatre to be completely blown away by Journey's End - it's on tour, if you're in the UK, I beseech you to go. You go in thinking you sort of know what to expect - it is a First World War trench drama - but we were both absolutely stunned by the end of it. Superbly acted and so brilliantly written, it seems a shame that the author, R.C. Sherriff, didn't write more. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to go to the theatre more (and since Dorothy's such a theatre nut, this was the main purpose of her visit) and, as ever, I was not disappointed that I'd made the effort to go.

It was a fabulous weekend - I felt like I was on holiday. We're already planning Dorothy's next visit for the summer, when the Holburne Museum finally re-opens (it's been closed for renovations since before I moved to Bath, so I haven't been inside yet). Here's another G&T (for several were consumed this weekend) to stonking good theatre and being a tourist in your home town!

Shabby Blogs

2011-04-12T18:46:00.022+01:00

Why yes, I have had a bit of a spruce-up, what do you think? I loved the old wallpaper I had on this blog, but the writing space was irritatingly narrow, and as it was one of Blogger's most basic templates, the widths were not customisable. So, a little Googling ensued, and I stumbled across a rather marvellous website, which could only have been created by a blogger, as it's such a lovely idea:

www.shabbyblogs.com

The site is full of pretty backgrounds and templates that you can use for your blog, and they are all free! Only a blogger would do that. Only a blogger would understand the need for such a service in the first place. Only a blogger would have such a fine collection of vintage-postcard-inspired designs, under categories such as "shabby", "floral", "vintage" and such. The best part for a techno-fool like me was that there were very clear instructions on how to use them, and once it was on, I could easily play around with the layout and colours to get it looking just right. I chose the 'French Flea Market' background, on the basic 'Picture Window' Blogger layout, and I think it has just the right infusion of brown tea-coloured text and teetering-between-eccentric-bohemian-and-crazy-cat-lady-florals to suit my purposes.

Go onto the website and have a look around, I'm sure you'll find something you like!

Little bread-and-butterflies kiss the tulips...

2011-04-09T12:14:00.005+01:00

Isn't this the most joyful array of tulips you've ever seen?

It made me think of Alice in Wonderland. I don't care what you think about Lewis Carroll or Walt Disney, or that Tim Burton Tim-Burtoned it or that Disney Disney-fied it, this is pure magic:

I also love the idea that flowers sit around singing and gossipping all day. "You can learn a lot of things from the flowers," don't you know?

A Doll's House

2011-04-07T18:34:00.003+01:00

The sun was shining brightly yesterday, so I seized the opportunity to take some sunny-blue-sky photos of another set of Dream Houses that I pass by regularly. They are two adorable cottages stuck together, on a quiet and otherwise unremarkable street:

Covetable cottages, complete with climbing camelias.

The one on the right is actually called Dollhouse Cottage, can you bear it? Although it looks like it belongs to a seagull, rather than a doll. Did you spy him atop the chimney?

Bath seagulls are huge compared to the ones where I grew up (although the bad-ass Brighton gulls could probably give them a run for their money). Bath gulls strut. You know how most birds bob their heads when they walk? Bath gulls do not. They remain perfectly upright, with a definite air of propriety. It seems the locals are divided as to which they hate the most - seagulls or pigeons - and there is a lively ongoing debate about the best ways to tackle Bath's "gull menace" (er, residential wheelie bins perhaps? Less rubbish on the pavement = less scavengers? Don't know why I'm the only person who has come up with this solution but you bet your granny ass I wrote the Bath Chronicle an email about it). Personally, I love birds of all kinds, and I have never subscribed to the "rats with wings" mentality (for the record, I like rats, too). I'm a live-and-let-live (not to mention, wash-you-hands-before-you-eat) kind of girl, so I don't care how dirty wild animals are.

Hooters

2011-04-05T18:23:00.001+01:00

Well, folks, this is it, the one you've all been waiting for: the owl jumper! See my triumphant face:

I started it in August 2010, and completed it in March 2011. Yes, that is a long time, but I was knitting and crocheting other things in-between, plus all the usual sewing/baking shenanigans you have been reading about on this here blog, so it's not like I was knitting this every night for seven months.

My boyfriend came up with the title for this post - he calls it my "hooters jumper". He's very mature. But since I've pretty much used up all the owl metaphors/puns/song titles I could think of in every other post I've done about these and other owls, I figured I'd go with the boy's idea.

I actually finished knitting the jumper weeks ago, but the search was on for the perfect buttons for the owls' eyes. I am delighted with what I found:

They're actually beads, from Bijoux Beads who have a shop in Bath. I don't know how keen your eyes are but they're like little brass flowers. I didn't want anything too bright or plasticky-looking (although I had toyed with the idea of tiny pearl buttons for eyes, but decided against them as they would probably have looked too Sloanie, and I am no Sloane Ranger, readers).

Needless to say, I am very, very pleased with how this turned out. I had never done cabling before, nor knitted with DPNs (remember my frustrations at this new fangled skill?), but I figured that if I was working on something that I really, really wanted to succeed at, then the skills would just come - they would have to! It was a lot easier than I expected, to be honest. My only slight disappointment is that it's a tiny bit too tight for my taste, so I am looking into this whole "blocking" thing that I keep hearing about. Knitters - I have tried ironing it under a damp cloth, but this had minimal results. Will I be better off spraying the whole thing with water and pinning it into place overnight? I'm wondering if it might naturally stretch a bit with wear? I have worn it a couple of times this week and by the end of the day I had either forgotten that I thought it looked tight, or it had eased up a bit.

I am still working on Jessica, the pink jumper, and I am about to embark on a new knitting project, which of course I will share with you. So far it's not going too well: in the process of making up tension squares to figure out if I'm using the right size needles/yarn, I have discovered that the pattern is much trickier than I initially thought! Still, as my adorable owls have taught me: practise really does make perfect.

A Pocketful of Posies

2011-04-03T14:16:00.002+01:00

Another skirt from the Christmas Charity Shop extravaganza (this one was £1.99 from the Sally Army), another crucial two or three inch reduction necessary to save me from frumpiness. Somehow I had remembered this as a pencil skirt, but I was very pleased to discover, upon retrieving it from my Sewing Pile, that it is actually pleated (more room to manoeuvre!) and that it has those most precious commodities in a skirt: pockets!

I have finally figured out how to crop my photos to get them the right size (and edit out all the messy corners of my room) using Picnik via Picasa Web Albums - I didn't realise they were all connected through Blogger! So, we now have the added bonus of tidy photos, and maybe when I have a bit of time to sit and play around with it, you might also be seeing some colour/exposure editing, too. In the meantime, you'll just have to cope with me being pale and pasty, but since that is how I am (Greek hair, English skin), I'm sure you will be polite enough not to mention it.

Anyway, I digress. Here's the amended skirt!

Yes, I am wearing my new peacock necklace, as she matches the fabric of the skirt to a tee:

Next time I'll show you the finally-finished owl jumper! Eyes and everything!

It's Darling - Vintage & Artisan Fair

2011-04-01T18:57:00.120+01:00

Well, I got my sewing machine fixed eventually, although I was very sad to discover that the Sewing Machine Service shop on Walcot Street has closed, and will probably remain so, as the owner is terribly ill. There goes another specialist. How many dedicated sewing machine repair shops do you know? Such a shame. Luckily the lovely lovely people at Husqvarna were able to fix her up for me - I knew they sold sewing machines, but they are mainly a fabric shop, so I was really pleased to learn that they also do repairs. It was embarrassingly simple to fix actually: it had just got stuck because there was a little piece of thread caught down where the bobbin lives, and the needle had got bent and jammed itself. He literally popped one section off with a screwdriver and then cleaned it up for me. He only charged me a fiver and he gave me some really useful tips, too (did you know you should always have the foot up when you thread the needle? It releases the tension, apparently). Hurrah for good service, it really is a dying art.

Since the repair only cost me £5 instead of the £40 it cost me to get it fixed last time (and since I got paid this week) I thought I'd go into town and get myself a little treat. I had spotted a peacock necklace and a floral headband last time I was in Accessorize, and hadn't been able to stop thinking about them - a sure sign that they ought to be mine! Actually in real life they both look nicer than they do on the Accessorize website, but I haven't had a chance to take photos yet, and I thought you might be a bit bored of my animal jewellery phase by now anyway.

While I was out and about, I was reminded once again that no matter how wonderful the Internet is, sometimes you really do have to leave the house to find out about exciting things. This is partcularly true of Bath - so much cool stuff happens around here, but it all seems to be done on a word-of-mouth basis: unless you know somebody who knows, you'll never find out. For example, I was gutted when I saw a poster in a pub informing me that Spring Awakening (the best musical I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot) was showing at the Theater Royal, only to discover that it was only on for a week and that night was the last night of the run. On Saturday, however, I had much better luck, as I happened to spy a poster in a shop window informing me that the "It's Darling! Vintage & Artisan Fair" was taking place in Bath that very day! A vintage fair in Bath? I practically skipped to the venue.

It was at the Friend's Meeting House, which was the perfect name and the perfect size for such an event:

As usual, I got distracted gazing up at ceiling roses:

Personally, I would have preferred to see more clothing stalls (I think years of attending the Hammersmith Vintage Fashion Fair in London have spoiled my judgement on these things) but overall it was really lovely, and the stallholders were the epitome of charm and chattiness. In the second picture you can see Faith Barber, who I got chatting to about knitting while drooling over her peacock feather hair clips. I have since discovered that she is the wardrobe mistress at Ballet Black - wow! She was next door to Scrapiana, who sells vintage darning mushrooms! I should have got one, but I couldn't pick a colour, or decide whether to go for wood or bakelite. And it turned out that she knows Jess from my knitting group, who turned up at that precise moment, which made me feel like a proper Bath resident, bumping into people I know when I'm out and about (I still feel like the new kid in town, so I cherish these little moments that make me feel at home).

The It's Darling Fair blog has listings for all the stallholders, but I have just a couple more honourable mentions for you:

Elsie Belle had a beautiful stall selling the most exquisite jewellery. In her own words: "the cutest collection...featuring vintage and inspired charms, trinkets, and treasures." Lots of flora and fauna, she's like a blogger's dream come true. I nearly bought myself a pair of swallow earrings, but after my recent jewellery binge I decided to hold back and earmark them as a treat for a later date.

Despite a general lack of clothing stalls (there were only two!) the fates came together as I was perusing through the wares of L+F...

I had a pair of white boots when I was at uni (from Deptford Market, of course) and I wore them to death. They were plastic, so they weren't easy to look after: once they'd died, they'd died, and there was nothing I could do to save them. In the seven years since, I have always kept half an eye out for another pair, but white is a difficult colour for footwear, and until this very Saturday, I had never found a suitable replacement. I saw them peeking out from under the table, and thought "they're awesome" but nearly walked on, as vintage shoes in my size are very rare indeed (I have mentioned this on previous cowboy-boot-buying occasions). However, I paused, looked closer, and thought "they actually don't look too tiny". I dared to turn them over, and lo and behold, a size 40! I may have gasped aloud. I already had one foot in when I checked myself, remembered that I was at a vintage fair, and thought I'd better check the price tag before I went any further. Well, bloggers, as you can see for yourselves in the photo above: eight English pounds. Thank you very much!

So, now that I am one of those people in the know, I will not miss the next It's Darling fair in July. I plan on getting some girlies together and getting a little dressed up for the occasion. They had a stall upstairs doing vintage hair and make up, so we can get ourselves all fancy and take ourselves out for a cocktail afterwards, what do you think?