NaNoWriMo 2009

I'm sure the irony of me signing up to NaNoWriMo again isn't lost on anyone who has noticed that I haven't updated this blog for 2 months. The purpose of this blog was to record the changes I've been making to my lifestyle. Many of these changes have become second nature and I don't feel the need to record them any more as they're just normal to me now.

My knitting and crochet adventures are now recorded on Ravelry and all my other cooking/gardening/recycling etc interests are talked about on the Creative Living forum. I still regularly write in my other blog so maybe the time has come to end this one. I'll need to think about it.

Things I'm loving today

This lovely cross stitch and embroidered picture is hanging on my kitchen wall and makes me smile when I see it. It was my gift in a forum swap on the theme of bees and I just love it.

I'm also loving these 4 wee liqueur glasses that my mum found in a charity shop for the grand sum of 80p!

And who wouldn't love home made strawberry jam made with organic strawberries? I made 10lbs of the heavenly stuff yesterday. No3 son had some on toast for breakfast this morning and gave it a big thumbs up.

Finally, one more thing I'm loving right now. My first crocheted item that's bigger than an ipod cover! My friend patiently taught me how to crochet in November and since then I've been practising by creating long narrow strips using up leftover yarns. Yesterday I sewed 9 of these strips into a lap blanket. I've had some nice compliments on it already which really made my day.

Drummond Castle Gardens

Every morning I drive No3 son to school and pass the entrance to Drummond Castle Gardens. We've lived here for nearly 3 years and yet we've never been there. Mainly because it's only open 1pm to 5pm from May to October but also due to someone telling me the gardens looked like they'd been designed by 'someone on acid.' I didn't think they were worth looking at. How wrong was I?

The castle itself isn't open to the public. The original castle was built in the 15th century although it's been destroyed and rebuilt a few times. Queen Victoria visited it in 1842 for 3 days and wrote in her diary "We walked in the Garden which is really very fine, with terraces, like an old French garden."

The formal gardens are amazing. It's based on a St Andrew's cross just like the Scottish flag. It has lots of statues and urns, a grotto and classical archways.

Somewhere to the left behind the trees in the distance is my house.

You can just about see the cross in this picture. Sadly my camera died before we got to the kitchen garden which is accessed through a classical archway. I loved how they'd set it out. I need to go back another day and take some more photos.They also had huge glasshouses which were in much better condition than ours!

I came back home full of ideas and enthusiasm for what could done in my garden. I just need to convince The Runner that statues are a good idea! He he!

Stash sorting

When I joined Ravelry I had good intentions to sort out my yarn stash. I was going to photograph each type and add it to my notebook. I was going to decide what I was going to knit with each yarn and work out some sort of storage system instead of stuffing it all in bags and boxes.

So this morning I started gathering all my bags and putting it together in one place. Oh my! There's a lot more than I thought! And I've been good this year, only buying one skein of Lorna's Laces for Cold Mountain and a couple balls of sock yarn (you can't have enough sock yarn right?)
I've also rediscovered some UFOs, like the Never Ending Jumper (in the spotty bag) or a black cardigan in a ribbon type yarn (in the pink bag). And there's my crochet strips waiting to be stitched together into a lap blanket.

Seeing it all together (well most of it) makes me realise it's now a priority to get it sorted out. Then once that's done I can move on to sorting my beads, my card making and fabric stashes as well!

Happy Anniversary

Today The Runner and I celebrated 23 years of marriage. I really don't feel old enough to have been married that long. I must have been a child bride.

We managed to sneak away for an overnight night stay in a lovely hotel near to Crathie and Balmoral Castle. It's good to get a chance to be a couple every now and again, away from hectic family life. We just ate really good food and drank lots of alcohol and talked and talked and talked. I didn't even take my knitting or book!

Happy anniversary honey!

More home grown produce

I hope the thrill of picking veg that I've grown myself from seed never goes away. This morning I picked some runner beans, courgettes, carrots (just some thinnings but they're big enough to eat) and some dwarf beans. I'm especially thrilled with the carrots as I've never been successful with them before. I've no idea what we're eating tonight but I know what veg we're having!

These peas and strawberries were picked earlier this month

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I've still got some Spaghetti squash growing. I've not tried these before so no idea when they'll be ready. They've got some small round fruits but so far none seem to be getting any bigger. I'm considering pulling up my pumpkin plants as they just don't look healthy. They have some flowers but no sign of any fruit yet.

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My potato shaws are starting to die down so they'll be ready for digging up soon. My tomato plants have got plenty of flowers but no tomatoes.

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I love growing my own veg! I'm not sure The Runner gets it but he's happy to eat what I grow.

Life is short

Last week the The Runner and I lost a very dear friend. He was only 46 and at the peak of health and fitness. Since then I've heard many people say that life is too short and that we should make the most of it while we can. We should stop procrastinating and just get on with things instead of thinking one day I'll get round to it. I must confess that I'm a huge procrastinator and always put things off. Not any more. I'm going grab life by the scruff of the neck and get on with it. Hopefully I'll put some of it on here.

I found this quote and liked it very much.

"Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile."