Books, author visits and talks

A couple weekends ago I visited Sudley Castle in Gloustershire with my eldest daughter, Jenny.  We had noticed that the historian David Starkey was doing a talk about the life of Katherine Parr.  The talk was to start at 6pm but we decided to make at day of it and visit the castle and grounds too.

 

 

 The talk was really good, very informative, he knows his stuff and answered questions very thoughly.

 

There was a book signing after the event, I chose Six Wives, The Queens of Henry VIII, a hefty book at over 700 pages, my thoughts are to split it into sections on each wife, when I get round to it.

It was our Book & Pudding club last night with a vist from the Author Sally Page.  Her recent book, Six Little Words was our book last month.  

To be or not to be…

Six little words, printed on orange card, appear one morning pinned to the noticeboard of Kate’s local café. There’s no explanation, no name.

Each day a new line is added, sparking curiosity throughout the café. Among the regulars is Bardy, an ex-English teacher grappling with writer’s block.

For Kate, this trail of words might just offer a second chance at happiness, if only Bardy can find the strength to share his story too…

 She was such a lovely friendly person, our host, Jen, did a great job with her questions and Sally answered them all with great detail.  It was interesting to hear her thought process while she was writing the book and how she came to include some of the topics.

I did read the book, although It wouldn't normally be something I'd pick up.  I enjoyed it in as much as it was an easy read, the characters were mostly all likeable and easy to imagine but It wasn't a book I thought a lot about unless I was reading it.  An ok read.

This is our next book to be discussed at the end of the month.  I've already read it, very different to the last one.

Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. But this is not his story.

Ansel doesn't want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. Yet now he awaits the same fate he forced on those girls, years ago.

This is the story of the women who survive.

As the clock ticks down, three women - a mother, a sister, a detective - reckon with the choices that culminate in tragedy, the impact on those in its wake, and the possibility of redemption.

This won't be everyone's cup of tea, it's very dark and depressing really, very well written, but for me it just didn't hit the mark. 

Our library book club book last month was Shy Creatures 

Croydon, 1964. Art therapist Helen Hansford is working in a psychiatric hospital, where she has been having passionate but precarious affair with her married colleague, the charismatic Dr Gil Rudden.

Helen's structured life is upended when William Tapping - a silent, thirty-seven-year-old man with a beard down to his waist - arrives at the hospital. As Helen helps William express himself through art, she becomes increasingly entangled in his mysterious past.

Inspired by a true story, Shy Creatures is a life-affirming exploration of loneliness, love and the quiet forces that shape our lives, reminding us that freedom can come in unexpected forms.

Again, not a book I would have chosen to read.  I did almost give up, I was a good way in and put a message on our Whatsapp group to ask if it got any better because it was so mundane!  Most said they had enjoyed it, so that guilt tripped me into finishing it.  Did it get better?  slightly.  Will I remember it in a years time, possibly not.  

From my own TBR shelf I picked up Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he's been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road.

So, when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter Avery unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery's family declares her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn't feel so safe. And William isn't the only one on his street who's hiding a lie.

As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery's neighbours become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Now this one I am enjoying, the pace is good and the chapters end with something that makes you want to keep reading.  I should finish this one tomorrow.

Have you read anything good latley? 

-X-

What I'm working on

I haven't got any finished projects this week but I do have some works in progress, two pairs of socks and another cardigan for Freddie.

This pair will be for me, I'm knitting the Jemima pattern by Kay Jones.

This is the pair for Mark, just a plain vanilla pair for him. I'm enjoying knitting on both of these, the stripes seem to knit up quicker and I'm loving the squishyness of the Jemima pattern.

I've never been too fussed about using project bags but I bought the one above last year, It's supposed to be a make up or toiletry bag but as soon as I saw it I knew it would be the perfect size for a sock project, and the fact that It opens right out is so useful.

Stevie bought me this other one for Mothers day, it has an inner zipped pocket which comes in handy.

And they sit so nice and tidy when they are closed, lol.

Freddie is growing so fast so this will be something that he will grow into over the Autumn/Winter. I already had the Drops yarn in stash and I've knit this pattern a few times over the years.

Freddie had his first round of baby injections last Thursday, I went with Stevie as she didn't want to hold him whilst he had them, (I've done this for all my grandchildren, I get to be the villan and mummy gets to console,lol). They now have two injections, one in each leg and there is also an oral one for rotavirus.

It's such a lot to give a small baby and they ended up getting an out of hours GP appointment because he had a temperature, they then said he needed to go to the childrens department at the main hospital. Both his temperature and heart rate were up and they ended up staying in the hospital until Sunday afternoon. He is fine now except he is still getting really loose poo's, Stevie was told to expect that for a couple days because the rotavirus is administered as a live solution so they do get a tiny bit of the virus. You could tell he had belly ache/pain when he cried and he was so out of sorts yesterday.

She's got an appointment with her GP tomorrow just to check him over just to make sure everything is ok because the next round of injections is offered in another three weeks time.

At last the opressive heat has gone and we are back to normal temperatures again, for now at least. It rained here this afternoon,Yayyyyy, first time in a while and it was nice slow rain, the sort that soaks into the ground, so that's good, it means I don't have to water the allotments

-X-

Allotment diaries - too hot!

 We are still in the midst of a heatwave, it's almost 10.30pm as I'm posting this and the temperature is still 33°C. - Apparantly it will start to cool down over the next four days, but in the meantime keeping everything watered on both the plots is keeping me busy.   I've been watering in the evening when the sun has gone down and giving everything a treble dose of water, hard work when you are not allowed to use hosepipes, but It's helping me get my steps in.

Mark made me a bench for inside the polly tunnel.

All my tomato plants from home are down there now, these are from the second lot of seeds I sowed, the first ones came to nothing.  I've still got to put them into larger containers but need to get some more compost, I only had enough left to pot on my peppers.

Before It got crazy hot I got two of my pallet collars beds in, that was harder than I thought It would be!  The other two can wait until It's cooler.  I've thrown the plastic covering back over the other section I cleared which should keep the weeds at bay until I can get around to setting beds out.

Well this is a sorry looking pond isn't it, lol.  I originally thought I would be able to get the muck and debris out without emptying all the water but there was just too much, and it smelled really bad so I emptied it one bucket at a time and the sun has dried up the remaining water.  It's a shame about the water lily, I've taken a cutting but it was really too big for the space anyway.

The rest of the mud in the bottom is all dried up now and I'll be able to sweep that out, but because the bath is so stained I'm thinking of putting a lining in, It'll be easier than trying to clean it up.

In case you were wondering, there was nothing at all living in the water, I did sweep around with a net on several occasions before I emptied it.

I've got some lovely looking apples growing on one of the trees, I got excited because I thought they might be russets, my favourites, now they have turned a little greener, but as long as they an eating variety I'll be happy.  

Also, I have wheat! No idea what to do with that, but It's looks pretty so I've left it for now.

-X-

Another couple of finishes

 I got a couple things cast off over the last week, another pair of socks to add to my box of socks and a little cardigan for Freddie.

I've lost the ball band so I'm afraid I cannot remember what the yarn was or the colourway, I am happy that I got the pattern on boths socks to match though.  

We are not wearing any of the socks I'm knitting this year, they will be a gift to both of us to start wearing from January.

I decided to knit another Baby Aosta cardigan for Freddie.  I really didn't like the fit of the first one I made but couldn't find another pattern that I liked.  I'm happier with how this one came out, altough I do still think that a cardigan knit in peices has more structure and better fit.

Even though I knit a bigger size thinking it would be ok going into Autumn I'm not sure he will get much wear out of it, he is growing so fast, he is eight weeks old now and already wearing 3-6 months clothes, plus, It's too warm for him to be in any clothes at the moment, let alone woolly ones.

This week we have another heatwave, the air is so close and uncomfortable, it was already 30°C today and predicted to rise to 34°C on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We are not geared for this extreme heat, our houses are built to keep heat in and we don't have air conditioning in homes.  I've been keeping all the blinds closed so that the rooms don't overheat and we have fans going which does help a little.

I think I'll be hibernating untill sensible temperatures return, which shouldn't be too long because this is the UK after all, give it another week and we'll be moaning about the rain, ha ha.

-X-

Allotment diaries, some progress

How it looked before.

I worked hard clearing all the weeds, every one of them hoicked out by me, by hand.

And how it's looking now

The excess covering on the outside was burried in the soil to weight it down a bit and woodchip added all around the outside  The frame is pegged down all around.  It wasn't an expensie polly tunnel but hopefully we have done enough to ensure that It won't get blown away in the first storm we have, and that I can get a good few years out of it.

We put a weed membrane down inside and added woodchip  - (The woodchip is free for all allotment holders).

Mark is going to make me a small potting bench for the inside and my tomato plants will stand on trays along the side.

I've made progress on another section since last weekend but I'll save that for next time.

-X-

Monday Makes - (with terrible photos)

Firstly, appologies for the photos, I just can't capture the true colour, you will have to trust me that the colour of this yarn is much better than my awful photos show!

This was the Stylecraft recreat yarn I bought in April - The photo I shared previously, below, is a much better reprsentation of the colour

I've knittied the Salty Air Tee by Samantha Guerin before and I love wearing it.  This one is a bit heavier but will be perfect for cooler Summer days.

The pattern looks complicated but is really simple to knit, and with the use of stitch markers to keep track of the repeats it's easy to spot if you've made a mistake.

I knitted the sleeves just a tad longer than my last one and picked up six extra stitches under the arms to eliminate those gaps you get when picking up stitches.  I had a couple extra stitches in my sleeves to what the pattern says, just because I don't like clothes to fit too tight.

I'm really happy with the result and will probably knit it again in the future because It's such a nice top the wear.

-X- 

Whats been keeping me busy

 You may remember a while ago that I mentioned that I'd been offered an allotment plot.  I did end up declining that particular plot as it was very overgrown and would have taken a lot of work to get it up and running.

However, a few weeks ago I was talking to a lady down at the Roots allotment and she mentioned that she had taken on a council run allotment near to where I live.  Turns out that she didn't even go on a waiting list, someone she knows told her about one that was available.  I mentioned about the one I was offered and she said she would ask about plot next to hers as she was pretty sure It was free. 

I didn't think anything would come of it but a couple days later she messaged to say yes, the plot next to her was available and she had passed my name on to one of the committe members.

I went down on the off chance on the last Bank Holiday and luckily there was someone there to show me around.  I was shown and given the choice of three plots, two of which would have been a bit of a challenge but the one I had gone to see wasn't too bad.  It has a shed and some tools that the previous occupants had left, there is a makeshift pond, (a bath sunk into the ground, lol), a plum tree and two apple trees, (which hopefully produce edible fruit) along with some fruit bushes and various herbs.

So... dispite what I said before I now have an allotment.  I will continue with my Roots plot until late Autumn because I have things planted, but once everything has been harvested I will be giving it up. 

I signed the paperwork for it and paid my annual fee on June 1st and have been down there for a few hours most days to make a start.  I'll share progress photos as I go along, I know some of you may not be interested in reading about my allotment journey but this is what has my interest at the moment and I hope that at least some of you will like to follow and see what I'm doing.

Something else before I go.  

I have wanted to change the name of my blog for a while now and seeing as I'm starting a new adventure now seemed as good a time as any. 

You may have already noticed my new blog name in my header - 

Needles, Greens and Everyday Things

As I'm still going to be sharing my knitting and stitching, (when I have any), and life in general I thought this covered all things, lol. 

Ok, I think that's all the news I have for now, I'll be back soon and share some of the progress I've made on the allotment.

-X-