What a joyful bunch of mopeds!
Monday, 23 November 2015
Blue Monday
Browsing through the Italy photos I came across this, which I took in Florence.
What a joyful bunch of mopeds!
What a joyful bunch of mopeds!
Sunday, 22 November 2015
Weekend WIP
I came across a bit of a problem with this yesterday.
Basically, I cast on for the 47", intending to decrease to the 42.5" through the body of the sweater because I am bottom heavy. I duly worked out that instead of decreasing 2 stitches every 10 rows 4 times, I would decrease 2 stitches every 5 rows 9 times and then not increase as much (I think...still need to work out how many stitches I currently have. This was going to sort out the back perfectly.
However, I did not consider the front. In the original pieced pattern, there is no waist shaping on the front portion and it did not occur to me that I would need to decrease 16 stitches somewhere on the front.
Claire at knitting group encouraged me to drop back and add a decrease, as I contemplated ripping yesterday. I did that; it looks a little loose but I think it will block out and Claire is even more convinced so I am borrowing her confidence. So, in the end, I decreased 4 stitches every 6 rows 4 times - one at either "side" and one at either edge of the cable panel. This will achieve the desired effect and hopefully will not look too bizarre, or it will necessitate ripping back and redoing. I'm surprised to find that, for possibly the first time ever, I'd be willing to rip. It's so lovely that it deserves to be as close to perfect as I can get it.
I should have started increases at 9" and I'm close to 10" so I might end up with it a little longer in the body, which is no bad thing. Another 5ish inches and I will try it on before dividing for the armholes.
Basically, I cast on for the 47", intending to decrease to the 42.5" through the body of the sweater because I am bottom heavy. I duly worked out that instead of decreasing 2 stitches every 10 rows 4 times, I would decrease 2 stitches every 5 rows 9 times and then not increase as much (I think...still need to work out how many stitches I currently have. This was going to sort out the back perfectly.
However, I did not consider the front. In the original pieced pattern, there is no waist shaping on the front portion and it did not occur to me that I would need to decrease 16 stitches somewhere on the front.
Claire at knitting group encouraged me to drop back and add a decrease, as I contemplated ripping yesterday. I did that; it looks a little loose but I think it will block out and Claire is even more convinced so I am borrowing her confidence. So, in the end, I decreased 4 stitches every 6 rows 4 times - one at either "side" and one at either edge of the cable panel. This will achieve the desired effect and hopefully will not look too bizarre, or it will necessitate ripping back and redoing. I'm surprised to find that, for possibly the first time ever, I'd be willing to rip. It's so lovely that it deserves to be as close to perfect as I can get it.
I should have started increases at 9" and I'm close to 10" so I might end up with it a little longer in the body, which is no bad thing. Another 5ish inches and I will try it on before dividing for the armholes.
Sunday baking: Banana Blondies
I made these once in the week but have repeated them today, as I have a surfeit of brown bananas. This was good, as it allowed me to tweak the original recipe a little. While they really did come out with no hint of cakiness about them, I was actually a bit sorry about this, so I have added some raising agents to try to combat this. I also used brown sugar instead of white to up the fudge factor, in direct competition with the raising agents.
Ingredients:
Bars
150g white chocolate
125g butter
1 large egg
125g light brown soft sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Half tsp baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
Glaze
65g butter, browned
150g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Milk, to desired consistency
Zap the white chocolate and butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir until combined, then heat again in short bursts until all the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool a little.
Beat the egg and sugar until the mixture has gone pale in colour and increased in volume a bit. With the mixer running, pour in the chocolate mixture and vanilla and beat until smooth; then beat in the bananas. Sift the dry ingredients over the mixture and fold in gently - don't overmix. Turn into a square brownie pan (which you should grease and line unless you're using lazy silicone, like me) and bake at 180 degrees for about half an hour, until springy to the touch.
Meanwhile, make the glaze. Brown the butter - this involves heating the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat until it goes brown. Mine frothed right up so this was difficult to see so I was (unusually) cautious - you don't want it to go TOO brown. Place in a mixer with the icing sugar and vanilla and beat slowly until combined. Add milk slowly until you get the right consistency - this is a glaze, so you're looking for pour rather than spread.
Pour the glaze over the bars and resist the temptation to cut them up until the glaze as set - go on, I dare you.
Many thanks to Averie Cooks for this recipe.
Ingredients:
Bars
150g white chocolate
125g butter
1 large egg
125g light brown soft sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Half tsp baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
Glaze
65g butter, browned
150g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Milk, to desired consistency
Zap the white chocolate and butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir until combined, then heat again in short bursts until all the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool a little.
Beat the egg and sugar until the mixture has gone pale in colour and increased in volume a bit. With the mixer running, pour in the chocolate mixture and vanilla and beat until smooth; then beat in the bananas. Sift the dry ingredients over the mixture and fold in gently - don't overmix. Turn into a square brownie pan (which you should grease and line unless you're using lazy silicone, like me) and bake at 180 degrees for about half an hour, until springy to the touch.
Meanwhile, make the glaze. Brown the butter - this involves heating the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat until it goes brown. Mine frothed right up so this was difficult to see so I was (unusually) cautious - you don't want it to go TOO brown. Place in a mixer with the icing sugar and vanilla and beat slowly until combined. Add milk slowly until you get the right consistency - this is a glaze, so you're looking for pour rather than spread.
Pour the glaze over the bars and resist the temptation to cut them up until the glaze as set - go on, I dare you.
Many thanks to Averie Cooks for this recipe.
Saturday, 21 November 2015
Weeknote 21/11
This week I have been mostly...
Knitting:
Continuing with the Telluride. I did not manage to get to row 40 before the end of last weekend, but I am done with the decreases now and hanging out around 10 inches. I think I need to get to 15 before I do the sleeve decreases so that is not too far away. Maybe I'll be there by next weekend. Knitting the cable repeats is addictive.
Going to:
I went to Wagamama with Parpy Jo on Wednesday. It's a new menue since I last went so that was enjoyable.
Earlier today Mr Z and I went to Lacock to look at jewellery for Christmas. Something almost came home with us but it's being adjusted to be a better fit. EXCITED.
Eating:
Mainly soup. I have had the lurgy and have not felt like eating much at all, so there's been tomato soup, pea and ham soup and chicken and sweetcorn soup. And then fish and chips on Friday night to erase any benefits of a soup diet.
Luckily Mr Z loves making soup.
Learning:
About DNA, and the battles of Lexington and Concord. It hasn't been a very learn-y week, but I've been keeping my hand in where I can.
Obsessed with:
My own health. For a change.
Entertained by:
The Last Kingdom. I have been saving it up but tried an episode on Friday night - here's the trailer. Oh, it's very good. Pretty brutal and seems to be fairly accurate, based on what I know. Probably my favourite line from the first episode: "I feel like killing somebody. I choose him."
Feeling:
Ill, at the start of the week. I was off sick for two days. I dragged myself to Jenny for training on Wednesday and she said it sounded like a kidney infection, which seems to be the case; but combined with damaged sinuses from sneezing too much thanks to sleeping in an old, dusty sleeping bag; and a cough which I am fairly certain I picked up last Sunday in the supermarket. Little girl behind me at the check out was coughing her face off while her parents just stood there with sympathetic expressions on their faces, fussing her. Hey parents! There are two of you here: one of you stay at home with your infectious child. Or at least, remind her to cover her mouth when coughing.
This is why I usually shop online.
So, yes, it has been a sickly week, but I am thankfully seeming to be on the mend. I spent the latter part of the week worrying that it was going to be the 8 week cough of the start of 2015, but I think not. It just wasn't helped by having a shedload of schoolwork to do - the neglect I have offered it for the past couple of months is finally coming home to roost - and a parents' evening, during which one parent seemed to be asking me for a guarantee that there would be no terrorist attack during our impending (February) school trip to Berlin. There are obviously excellent reasons for her nerves; they were all in Paris last weekend. But unfortunately no such guarantee exists.
Knitting:
Continuing with the Telluride. I did not manage to get to row 40 before the end of last weekend, but I am done with the decreases now and hanging out around 10 inches. I think I need to get to 15 before I do the sleeve decreases so that is not too far away. Maybe I'll be there by next weekend. Knitting the cable repeats is addictive.
Going to:
I went to Wagamama with Parpy Jo on Wednesday. It's a new menue since I last went so that was enjoyable.
Earlier today Mr Z and I went to Lacock to look at jewellery for Christmas. Something almost came home with us but it's being adjusted to be a better fit. EXCITED.
Eating:
Mainly soup. I have had the lurgy and have not felt like eating much at all, so there's been tomato soup, pea and ham soup and chicken and sweetcorn soup. And then fish and chips on Friday night to erase any benefits of a soup diet.
Luckily Mr Z loves making soup.
Learning:
About DNA, and the battles of Lexington and Concord. It hasn't been a very learn-y week, but I've been keeping my hand in where I can.
Obsessed with:
My own health. For a change.
Entertained by:
The Last Kingdom. I have been saving it up but tried an episode on Friday night - here's the trailer. Oh, it's very good. Pretty brutal and seems to be fairly accurate, based on what I know. Probably my favourite line from the first episode: "I feel like killing somebody. I choose him."
Feeling:
Ill, at the start of the week. I was off sick for two days. I dragged myself to Jenny for training on Wednesday and she said it sounded like a kidney infection, which seems to be the case; but combined with damaged sinuses from sneezing too much thanks to sleeping in an old, dusty sleeping bag; and a cough which I am fairly certain I picked up last Sunday in the supermarket. Little girl behind me at the check out was coughing her face off while her parents just stood there with sympathetic expressions on their faces, fussing her. Hey parents! There are two of you here: one of you stay at home with your infectious child. Or at least, remind her to cover her mouth when coughing.
This is why I usually shop online.
So, yes, it has been a sickly week, but I am thankfully seeming to be on the mend. I spent the latter part of the week worrying that it was going to be the 8 week cough of the start of 2015, but I think not. It just wasn't helped by having a shedload of schoolwork to do - the neglect I have offered it for the past couple of months is finally coming home to roost - and a parents' evening, during which one parent seemed to be asking me for a guarantee that there would be no terrorist attack during our impending (February) school trip to Berlin. There are obviously excellent reasons for her nerves; they were all in Paris last weekend. But unfortunately no such guarantee exists.
Italy: Aida
On our first night in Verona we got dressed up and went to the opera.
We felt very cultured. We rented cushions (the stone was pretty hard) and bought wine from the friendly wine-seller who came through between each of the four acts. We studiously ignored the young men who encouraged us to move closer and closer together so that more people could squeeze in.
As it started to get dark, the show began. We'd all been given candles in little cardboard holders on the way in and we lit them as dusk passed, so the whole theatre was full of twinkly lights. Very picturesque; of course, impossible to catch on camera.
It was a very good show. We didn't know much of the background so I'd read a quick Aida synopsis before we left. The show was four hours long, mostly thanks to the massive breaks in between acts - in the last one I would have had time to go back to the apartment to get something to eat and something warmer to wear if I'd been so inclined. But then, the apartment was very close by.
This was a real experience, very entertaining and very moving, especially in this setting. I love being in historical places where you can feel the echo of thousands of previous visitors around you, so this was right up my street.
We felt very cultured. We rented cushions (the stone was pretty hard) and bought wine from the friendly wine-seller who came through between each of the four acts. We studiously ignored the young men who encouraged us to move closer and closer together so that more people could squeeze in.
As it started to get dark, the show began. We'd all been given candles in little cardboard holders on the way in and we lit them as dusk passed, so the whole theatre was full of twinkly lights. Very picturesque; of course, impossible to catch on camera.
This was a real experience, very entertaining and very moving, especially in this setting. I love being in historical places where you can feel the echo of thousands of previous visitors around you, so this was right up my street.
Friday, 20 November 2015
Fave Friday
Today, in honour of Starbucks baristas who really, really love their jobs.
I think I have mentioned before that my usual autumnal order from Starbucks is a pumpkin soy misto. I'm not really a lover of fancy coffees, but normal milk makes me feel a bit sick (possibly just a psychosomatic hangover from a traumatic experience at Guide camp), a latte involves too much soy milk and they won't serve me black coffee with pumpkin in it. So I often have to explain - half filter coffee, half forthed soy milk, add pumpkin.
I was walking to my exam board course last month and stopped at Starbucks on Southampton Row to attempt to order this drink. The poor barista was non-plussed. I explained it but he still did not seem to follow and struggled with it on the till - it's not on the menu but it is in the till, somewhere. Luckily a Scottish barista swooped in to save him.
"It's this," he said, and then to me, as I apologised profusely for ordering something difficult, "it's not difficult. It's fine. Have you ever had a red eye? Ooooh have you ever had a BLACK EYE?!"
I had not.
"A red eye is half filter coffee, half frothed milk with a shot of espresso. A black eye is the same, only two shots of espresso."
I expressed a preference for the latter, with pumpkin. The barista became very excited and swung into action. The original barista was still trying to follow the first order but was swept aside in the coffee maelstrom. I tried to explain.
"I'm having basically what I originally ordered," I said, "but we're replacing some of the milk with..."
"With coffee!" cackled the coffee wizard of Bloomsbury. "Put it in the till as this, we're nice."
It was a little cup of heaven. The extra coffee meant that it wasn't overly sweet, even with five pumps of pumpkin in it. And he even wrote it on a label for me, so I could order it again - which I have. Nobody really gets it. "Some weird...thing?" they call, when my order is ready. It's never as good. And I never know what it's going to cost.
I called it the Bloomsbury Bruiser, inspired by the name black eye, but I think it should really be the Bloomsbury Bright Eyes. Large cup, half filter coffee, a double shot, 5 pumps of pumpkin, top up with soy milk, whipped cream on top (because I love a paradox).
Well done, coffee wizard of Bloomsbury. You are doing an excellent job.
I think I have mentioned before that my usual autumnal order from Starbucks is a pumpkin soy misto. I'm not really a lover of fancy coffees, but normal milk makes me feel a bit sick (possibly just a psychosomatic hangover from a traumatic experience at Guide camp), a latte involves too much soy milk and they won't serve me black coffee with pumpkin in it. So I often have to explain - half filter coffee, half forthed soy milk, add pumpkin.
I was walking to my exam board course last month and stopped at Starbucks on Southampton Row to attempt to order this drink. The poor barista was non-plussed. I explained it but he still did not seem to follow and struggled with it on the till - it's not on the menu but it is in the till, somewhere. Luckily a Scottish barista swooped in to save him.
"It's this," he said, and then to me, as I apologised profusely for ordering something difficult, "it's not difficult. It's fine. Have you ever had a red eye? Ooooh have you ever had a BLACK EYE?!"
I had not.
"A red eye is half filter coffee, half frothed milk with a shot of espresso. A black eye is the same, only two shots of espresso."
I expressed a preference for the latter, with pumpkin. The barista became very excited and swung into action. The original barista was still trying to follow the first order but was swept aside in the coffee maelstrom. I tried to explain.
"I'm having basically what I originally ordered," I said, "but we're replacing some of the milk with..."
"With coffee!" cackled the coffee wizard of Bloomsbury. "Put it in the till as this, we're nice."
It was a little cup of heaven. The extra coffee meant that it wasn't overly sweet, even with five pumps of pumpkin in it. And he even wrote it on a label for me, so I could order it again - which I have. Nobody really gets it. "Some weird...thing?" they call, when my order is ready. It's never as good. And I never know what it's going to cost.
I called it the Bloomsbury Bruiser, inspired by the name black eye, but I think it should really be the Bloomsbury Bright Eyes. Large cup, half filter coffee, a double shot, 5 pumps of pumpkin, top up with soy milk, whipped cream on top (because I love a paradox).
Well done, coffee wizard of Bloomsbury. You are doing an excellent job.
Italy: Tuscany to Verona
Into the last few days of the trip, we drove back to Florence to drop off the hire car and pick up the train to Verona. On the way back to the car rental place, we stopped on that famous hill with the famous views for some pictures:
I don't know who this couple were but I couldn't resist taking a picture of them. It looked as though they had met at the top of the steps and were so happy to be back in one another's company.
Then we fought with Florence's one way system to get back to the rental car shop. I nearly got run off the road by an angry bus. Good times.
We were not unhappy to leave Florence.
The train journey to Verona was largely uneventful. No first class this time, and a change at Padua was required, but it was all quite straightforward. We decided to walk to our apartment, which didn't seem too far on the map. It was a bit further than anticipated, and it was very hot. But there was something good at the end.
We'd rented a two-bedroom apartment through AirBnB and it was a real gem. Very central - less than 5 minutes from the amphitheatre, with a coffee shop and beautiful fountains right outside.
Idyllic, quiet, and relatively cheap. And our first accommodation with separate bedrooms. Basically, we got there and both went into our rooms and shut the door. Tutt and I both appreciate our alone time.
I don't know who this couple were but I couldn't resist taking a picture of them. It looked as though they had met at the top of the steps and were so happy to be back in one another's company.
Then we fought with Florence's one way system to get back to the rental car shop. I nearly got run off the road by an angry bus. Good times.
We were not unhappy to leave Florence.
The train journey to Verona was largely uneventful. No first class this time, and a change at Padua was required, but it was all quite straightforward. We decided to walk to our apartment, which didn't seem too far on the map. It was a bit further than anticipated, and it was very hot. But there was something good at the end.
We'd rented a two-bedroom apartment through AirBnB and it was a real gem. Very central - less than 5 minutes from the amphitheatre, with a coffee shop and beautiful fountains right outside.
Idyllic, quiet, and relatively cheap. And our first accommodation with separate bedrooms. Basically, we got there and both went into our rooms and shut the door. Tutt and I both appreciate our alone time.
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