Christmas Eve

I am sitting in the lounge at my in-law's with the lights dimmed and Carols at King's on the TV, their beautiful voices getting us ready to celebrate the birth of Christ.  This Christmas Eve the weather has been sunny and bright and so, as the last few days have been wet, we took advantage and went out to Saltram House, a National Trust property, for a walk.  Some of the rooms in the house had been decorated for Christmas; they were lit with "candles" and other discreet lighting.  They were very atmospheric and quite beautful. Sorry about the shaky photos but I was using my phone.

 

In the kitchen - The temple at the back was made of sugar cubes

In the kitchen the Saltram chef was making bread, mince pies and soup.  We had some of the soup but didn't wait around for the mince pies. 

Photo from the Saltram Web site.

 We had lunch in the very busy café and then walked around the gardens making the most of the weather.  We are now settled in and getting ready for tomorrow where nine of us will exchange gifts and share Christmas lunch; we are so blessed.

We here at Su+2 wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful new year. 

Christmas Thoughts, Angels and a Crocheted Wreath

There has been quite a long gap since my last post but life gets busy, especially at this time of year. 

On the 1st day of December I got out my Advent calendar; I love Advent calendars - ever since I was a child they have seemed magical and exciting, you never knew what was behind the next window.  That was in the days when Christmas decorations didn't go up until Christmas Eve and the shops started putting Christmas stuff out in the Middle of December rather than the end of September.  So the calendar really was all about waiting and anticipation just as Advent is. 


When I was a child my Grannie lived with us and had her own sitting room/bedroom.  Every year she would get out her own Christmas tree; it was a small silver one which she would put on a little table near her fireplace and around the base would go cotton wool snow and a plastic church that lit up.  For me as a child it was completely magical, it was even better than the tree we had in the family lounge which was bigger and green.  When she died and I helped to clear out her things, the Christmas tree was a rather scraggy balding scrap of silver but the memories it provoked were very precious.

This year we have an artificial tree as we are not at home for Christmas; we do have a house sitter but we thought it a bit unfair to ask them to water a tree. 

As you can see we have a nativity scene as part of our decorations, for me this is central to everything for the Su +2 household.  Advent is the waiting time and Christmas day and season the celebration.  You may have spotted that I have rather a lot of angels in the scene - these stay out all year round, scattered about the house but they come together to be part of the heavenly host for the nativity scene.  (and yes, there is the odd snowman, star and a Winnie the Pooh too)

I have made a Christmas Wreath; it took a while but I am happy with the result.  Its jam packed with holly leaves and berries, pompoms, stars and snowflakes, all crocheted and is definitely very Christmasy.

Cooking and a Curly Leaf

As last weekend was so cold I spent it washing (or rather the machine did) cooking and drawing.  I love my slow cooker; I batch cooked Caribbean pepper pot stew, beef bourguignon and chicken curry.  There are two meals for two in each batch so these will be our ready meals when we are home late.  I also did a delicious roast (the Engineer's words, not mine) and used up the remaining butternut squash from the pepper pot stew, roasting it with the potatoes - yummy.  With enough of everything left over for my lunch at work and for another chicken based meal for two at home later in the week, it all worked out rather well. 

 

I have been doing a leaf in pen and ink and am quite enjoying it.  Although I know it’s a curly leaf, I’m not sure anyone else looking at it would see that. 

 

 

We also took the Teen into town to get a new mobile phone and new contract.  Luckily I was able to slip away to the library for a little bit as the choices are diverse.  Happily the Teen is quite sensible at times and we told her how much things were costing - how can she know the value of money if she doesn’t know what the costs of things are?  She now has a new phone and a reasonable contract for a phone with an i in front of it so she is extra happy!  Oh, the power of the media. 

 

We had our first proper frost this week too; I had to scrape the car before venturing on the roads.  Out came the hat gloves and scarf - finally a touch of winter. 

Remembering.

Today was another damp and grey day, but very mild.  I am glad it didn't rain this morning as the Teen was taking part in the Remembrance Day parade as part of the Girl Guides.  For two minutes around the local war memorial people of all ages were silent, some remembering friends and loved ones and some thinking about what they had seen on the news or learnt in history lessons.  But hopefully everyone was thinking of the same thing at the same time.  I thought of my dad for whom remembrance Sunday was very important; he saw active service in Korea and lost friends.  He never talked about his experiences but they helped to shape who he was.  He was a large gentle man who loved his family and friends and would help anyone who needed it.  His faith remained very strong throughout his life and he always said it was the prayers of his father that helped sustain him when he was fighting.

Picture from Wikipedia

In the garden at home it is so mild at the moment that I have flowers on my broad beans (in November) as well as some very persistent slugs that have taken a liking to my broccoli.

Broad beans

Indoors, I have finished the scarf I have been crocheting.  It has turned out well and it's warm but light and I have enjoyed the rhythm of making it.

One of the few times we've lit the fire recently

Ta-da!

I'm not sure what my next crochet project will be, maybe another scarf but in a silk or cotton yarn, as although this wool is soft, its still a bit scratchy next to the skin.

Pen and Ink workshop

I have had a very nice weekend.  I spent two days at a pen and ink drawing workshop in Bosham.  I have never used pen and ink before so it was all new and very exciting. 
There were some beautiful dried things to choose from as subjects and I went for a poppy seed head.

Not a good photo, but you get the idea

One day, before lunch, the "chef" had just chopped the onions when there was a power cut that lasted about an hour and a half so the chef went out and got fish and chips and very nice they were too, along with pickled onions and gherkins. 

We were supplied with plenty of biscuits and a slice of black forest gateaux to keep our energy levels up; In fact at one stage you could have heard a pin drop we were all concentrating so hard, very unusual. 

The final image is my completed piece.

It was, as usual, a very good workshop with excellent teaching and food.  The only thing I found frustrating was I didn't feel I could get as much detail in as I would have liked so next time I do some pen and ink I will use a finer nib.

Thursday 29 October 2015

A Damp Day

It was a wet and miserable day today, the sort of day I really don't like.  It dampens my spirit and reminds me that winter is on the way.  So, in effort to think positive I walked into town and went to the library where I borrowed the latest Wexford book on CD.  I then had to buy an umbrella as the drizzle that had been falling was now proper rain.  I squelched my way home. 

I was booked in for a haircut in Wickham and after that I took myself to Lilly's for lunch.  It was warm, cosy and welcoming, especially as I am a regular and the staff know that my first request is almost always a decaffe tea.

I chose a warming dish for lunch; my favourite risotto.

Risotto with cherry tomatoes, goats cheese and pesto.

I popped into the local hardware shop and bought some small jars as when I got home I planned to make chutney.  I had saved some jars but not enough.
A colleague from work had brought in a carrier bag full of cooking apples so the plan was for spicy cranberry and apple chutney and some apple crumble (the Engineer's favourite as long as there is plenty of crumble and some ice cream too).

 

The chutney is a really easy Nigella recipe, just put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes.  Once its gooey and sticky put it in the sterilized jars and allow to mature for a couple of months.  Perfect for Christmas.

Hopefully it will taste better than it looks

On another note, I was reading silverpebble, one of many blogs I enjoy, and fell in love with the crochet shawl that Emma made so I bought some soft snuggly wool and am going to attempt it.

I am joining Emma in her 'making winter 15 - 16' which hopefully will help me and lots of others to get through winter by making and sharing.

Tomorrow I am off to a pen and ink drawing workshop.  I am really looking forward to it as I've never used pen and ink before but I often used to use a biro over an initial sketch and use hatch marks for shading.  In fact you can do some quite good shading using a biro and long as the pen tip doesn't go all splodgy.

Sunday 25 October 2015

Su+2 and Harry Potter



Fizzing wizbies, chocolate frogs, peppermint toads, wands, cats, house elves, puking pastels, broomsticks, Quidich, cloaks and a whole lot of excitement!  Yes, last Friday the Su+2 household went to Warner Bros studios near Watford, UK and immersed ourselves in the world of Harry Potter.

Chess men from the Philosopher's Stone

The first thing to say is this is not a theme park; there are no rides or experiences, you walk around the various sets used in the Harry Potter films and all the props and creatures are there for you to see. 

You can hire a digital guide which plays audio and video clips for you while you wander around, this gives you information without giving you information overload.  We moved around at our own pace, taking about 6 hours and it was all brilliant.

 

The sets really do take your breath away, they are almost all plaster and wood but look like stone or brick.  The great hall really is great and the only bit that was real stone was the floor. 

 

 At the top end of the hall there are a set of mannequins wearing the costumes of the teachers and you can see the detail and care that has been put into them. 

 

In fact everything looked amazing - it was all so detailed and you could see how much thought had been put into each thing, from the tapestry around the walls of the Gryfindor common room to the house elf armour. 

Gryfindor Common room

We spent the day just staring and asking each other “did you see?  did you notice?”.  My favourite bit was the creature shop where many of the masks and mannequins used for the film are housed.  I have to say they are stunning, its quite disconcerting to look up and see the head of John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick looking down at you. 

Dobby

We took lots of photos, of which I have only put a few on the blog.  You can have a go at flying a broomstick using green screen magic (the Teen did that) and you can sit in a carriage of the Hogwarts Express so you can have your photo taken. 

Hogwarts Express, a real steam engine much to the Engineer's delight

Magical creatures - full sized with animatronics

Dumbledore's office

Quidich

Eyelops Owl Emporium, wands, a golden snitch, the Knight bus and much more - all real props from the films

All in all there is so much to see and the sets are so big and interesting that we were there all day.  The Teen started reading Harry Potter when she was about 7 years old is a die hard fan and can pick holes in the films.  But she loved the attention to detail that is part of the film making process and the way they brought the magical creatures to life.   Even the drawn plans for the props, sets and creatures were amazing.  As you can probably tell we had a brilliant time.

 

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Slow down.

Google images

 

I have noticed over the past few of weeks that my life seems to be speeding by in a bit of a blur. Suddenly its October! The thing that really brought this speeding along home to me was a realisation that I was bolting my food; I would start to eat, clear my plate, look up and see that everyone else was still eating.  This made me stop and think - what else have I been doing at breakneck speed?  I seem to be trying to fit a lot in.  Like everyone else who works part time, you have to fit the domestic and pleasure bits in when you are not at work and this seems to be causing me some problems of late.

Google Images

 

 

So on Saturday I decided to have a slow day, when I woke up I asked the Engineer if he would mind bringing me up a cup of tea in bed: in over 20 years of marriage this is only the third or fourth time I have asked.  He said of course and brought me up a steaming cuppa and I read the latest Louise Penny book whilst sipping my tea.  Once I came down for breakfast I made sure I ate it slowly, then I had a slow shower - usually I am in and out, so it felt quite luxurious.

 

I had to do the shopping so off I went with a comprehensive list and I wandered rather than ran down the aisles.  I even stopped for a cup of tea in the coffee shop and read some more of my book. 
 

 

I took the rest of the day slowly too; I still put on the washing and put a nice bit of brisket in the slow cooker but I did everything a bit more mindfully.  It was relaxing and everything still got done.  I have nearly finished my pepper in colour pencil; amazingly coloured pencil work is something that hasn’t speeded up.  Its still relaxing and sometimes it feels like everything is in slow motion, except when I look at the clock and see how long I have been at it and my neck and back are starting to complain.


Copyright Su+2

Life can be stressful sometimes, that's just the way it is, but I seem to add to my own stress by trying to do everything too fast and taking responsibility for things that I should let go of.  So lets see if from now on I can slow down, enjoy life a bit more and let go when I need to.  Oh, and do more colour pencil work.
 

Tuesday 29 September 2015

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew

I have been looking forward to last weekend for a number of weeks.  The Teen had a Girl Guide camp to attend so the Engineer and I decided to do something just for us.  In fact, as I have been allowing the Engineer to spend as much time building his workshop as he needs (and I've even been helping on occasion) he suggested we go to Kew gardens.  My mum in law, C, had suggested I go to the Marianne North gallery at Kew and had bought me a book on her work for last Christmas, so I was eager to go and thoroughly approved of the Engineer's suggestion.

 

So, on Friday afternoon we dropped the Teen off at her camp and then drove to London.  We had booked a room at a Travel Lodge near Kew Bridge.  I have to say although the room was a little tired it was clean and well equipped.  We had our evening meal in the hotel and the food was quite good, the bed was very comfortable and we both slept very well.

On Saturday morning it was sunny and bright - a perfect day for a visit to a garden.  The view from our hotel window was across to some maisonettes and in the front garden of one was a lady sitting in the morning sun crocheting a blanket; this made a smile for the rest of the day.

 

Breakfast was good and we were joined by what must have been a school rugby team from Australia, large teenaged boys with voices that cracked.  They were all polite and well behaved. There were a lot of other Australian voices too and one family who were from Wales.  They were all in London for the Rugby world cup which we had forgotten about until we tried to book a room for the Saturday night and found that the Travel Lodge was the only place that had rooms left.

 

After breakfast we walked over Kew bridge to the nearest Kew gardens entrance - Elizabeth gate.  It was a 10 minute walk which started on a typical city street, crossed the Thames and finished by a village green and cricket pitch and beautiful big houses with gorgeous gardens and huge ornamental gates outside.  The whole area near the Elizabeth gate had a nice feel to it.

Some Alpines and the dew of early morning

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day; we walked and walked, so much that our feet were hurting.  The Engineer liked the Alpine house as a piece of engineering, I just liked everything.

 

We visited the vegetable garden and I got very excited about the kale; it was such a wonderful colour that I wanted to take a leaf and draw it then and there.  I pointed out the carrot fence to the Engineer who had not been convinced about the whole concept when I suggested I grow carrots.  Next year it will be carrots and courgettes in our garden.

 

It was a lovely late summer's day and as we had arrived so early the gardens did not seem to get crowded until much later.  Just before lunch we went to the Shirley Sherwood gallery of botanical art to look at the works on display; some of it took my breath away, it was so beautiful.  The Marianne North Gallery was mind blowing too, not because of her work, which is lovely, but because of the sheer amount of it.  Every wall is covered in paintings - there is absolutely no space between them.  It really was an overload for the eyes.

I have no photographs of the art works as photography was not allowed in the galleries and I respected that, although some people didn't.

Victoria water lilies

 

We left the gardens just as they were shutting and went back to the hotel via a shop for some real milk for my cup of tea later that evening.  We had an early dinner and watched Dr Who and then the England - Wales rugby match which was nail biting. 

The following day, Sunday, we had breakfast early and drove home, stopping off at the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens at Wisley as it was on our way.   

 

Its a very different garden to Kew with some very formal areas which were beautifully kept.  There was a sculpture trail in the garden and many were very nice but these two were our favourites:  The hare is part of the trail but the bear is a permanent fixture.

 

After some lunch we drove back to pick up the Teen who had had a good time at camp.  I think I would like to revisit Wisley on a week day as it may be a little less crowded. 

 

I am now trying to finish off my pepper as I would like to draw some acorns and conkers, maybe a composition with both. 

Sunday 20 September 2015

My day

What a beautiful day it was today, warm with a gentle breeze.  Not like autumn at all, hooray!

I had a healthy breakfast:

A handful of strawberries and raspberries with a sliced banana and some shredded wheat crumbled on top.  Just add a pot of fat free yoghurt, yummy.

Then I hung out the washing: it was a little misty outside to start with but I hoped that would burn off.

Next I prepared another meal to go in the large slow cooker, once cooked it will be portioned up and frozen for later.

While the slow cooker was gurgling away I popped to the local garden centre.  I had a cup of tea whilst sitting in the sun and then bought some cyclamen, beautiful colours and interesting leaves.  The only down side was the Christmas decorations that were on sale, yes I said Christmas decorations!  No wonder this year is seeming to speed by, retailers are blending one season into another. 

It was so sunny that my sedum, which is usually covered in bees of one kind or another, was visited by a butterfly which stayed long enough for me to get a photograph.

While all my business was going on the Engineer was finishing putting the shingles on the roof of his shed.

All in all a busy and productive day.  I even started to do a pepper in colour pencil .....watch this space.

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