Tiger Finish

Hooray! It's finally complete!

I was a little worried I'd be sick of him by the time I'd finished with the stitching, but last weekend I put the whiskers onto him and that was the end of that! Just need to get him framed and find a place on the wall. And I'm pleased to say that it looks much better in real life, although the photo is still quite impressive knowing that I finished that all myself, I think it worked out at about 30,000 stitches in the end.

To be fair, it's taken about 10 months I think, but with such a lot going on over the last year planning the wedding etc and then being away, it was never going to be completed by the end of last year, I think I was being a little optimistic!

So, onto the next one... which is actually a restart. I'd put about the first 100 stitches onto Beyond the Garden Gate and then put it in a box. I found it as I was going through my stash so thought I'd better pick it up and finish it off before I start on anything else. I'm presently managing to stitch for a few hours most days which is great and I'm not sick of it yet. I've also sorted some of my leftover threads out and had a general tidyup. Go Me!

One Soup! and Another Soup!

In my quest to cook more, I've discovered that once you have one of those hand blendery things, that soups are actually the easiest thing in the world to make. So much so that to tackle one of my off work tasks, I've decided to start wading through the Delia Smith 'Soup' book which has been happily sitting on my shelf never to be touched for about oooh, 5 years now.

So far I've made the following, all of which have been delicious:

Carrot & Coriander (using coriander from my balcony baskets, how fresh it tasted!)
Spinach
Potato
Mushroom
Tomato
Butternut Squash

Ok, so I know these are all the easy ones, but they turned out well, so I'm going to attempt some of those with more ingredients over the coming weeks. But I'm pretty happy with myself so far that I'm getting on and trying new things.

Out of This World

In an attempt to get out and about more in my time off, I decided to visit the Out of This World exhibition at the British Library and headed down there on Monday morning in searing heat.

After grabbing breakfast at the cafe outside, I headed in to the free exhibition. I wasn't very sure what to expect, but in front of me were a variety of works from centuries ago up until the present date, highlighting stories of people from other planets, travel to other planets, time travel and a whole lot more besides.

There were detailed excerpts and you could actually see the original books and illustrations of what these authors and illustrators thought might have been possible, alongside the more recent comic book superheroes, through to Doctor Who's TARDIS. (I don't think The Doctor is ever in the TARDIS, I've seen it quite a few times now!)

I think I read through most of the exhibition and it took just over an hour. Given that it was at the British Library, it shouldn't really have surprised me that the focus was primarily written material, but it hadn't occured to me that I'd be able to see the original books and manuscripts, which was lovely. It made a change for me as I am used to Science Fiction via the TV shows or films, so to see some of the inspiration behind these gave me a different perspective.

Out of This World is open at the British Library until 25th September 2011.

Chatsworth Estate

On my last day in Yorkshire we decided to take a little day trip into Derbyshire to visit the Chatsworth estate. Again, we were really lucky with the weather, sunshine instead of the predicted rain!

A few minutes from the house is the Garden Centre with its colourful array of plants, lovely big gift shop and of course the family favourite, the cafe. We stopped here for our morning break, well, it was close enough to lunch that I managed one of the most amazing pork and stuffing pies with a bit of salad. A wander round the gift shop and then we got back in the car and drove towards the house.

Disappointingly, the view of the house as you drive up was obscured by scaffolding, so the photo I wanted to take I couldn't. Chatsworth will always be one of my favourite places to go and visit, as you drive up to the house you cross a bridge, and it was a painting of that bridge that my Grandad painted that has hung in my parents' house for many years.

Although I've visited the grounds many times, I don't remember visiting the inside of the house since I was little, and I couldn't remember what was inside. I twisted my parents arms to get the ticket for both and in we went. And I'm so glad that we did. I can't even count the number of times that my jaw dropped as we went round. Everything was so decorative, I couldn't stop snapping with the camera. Ceilings were painted in amazing ways, there was so much beautiful wood carving on the staircases and walls, and the whole design of the place was just spectacular.

I was also impressed with the current Duke and Duchess of Devonshire's willingness to incorporate new art amongst all the existing. There were a number of modern pieces throughout the house, and although they stood out a little, the willingness to encourage and commission new artists was something that I thought was really wonderful.

After the house, we went for the compulsory walk around the stunning gardens. So much work has gone into these, and there are many different points in the walk where you get a really impressive viewpoint of the house, or the fountains, the planted gardens or there's even a maze.

A really fantastic day out, well worth a visit if you get a chance, and on the way out, we always call at the farm shop to stock up on tasty food.

Great Yorkshire Show

Last week I was happy enough to plod on off up to Yorkshire to see my family, and whilst I was there, we were looking for a day out. Happily, my visit coincided with the Great Yorkshire Show, which was a 3 day midweek event about much more than cows, pigs and sheep. Here, people can also show off their vegetables, cheese and birds in the hope of winning first, second or third prize.

The showground near Harrogate offers far more than that though. I thought at first it was quite an expensive day out at £22 for a regular adult ticket, but there was a huge amount to do, and we were there for the full day, and it didn't feel like we had seen everything. Apart from the showground where the animals are shown (we saw some absolutely huge cattle), there are also falconry displays, a display by the Red Devils, sheep shearing displays, you can learn more about the schools and colleges in Yorkshire and what they have to offer. There are also a wide variety of stalls selling everything from food and drink to clothes and crafts.

We watched some of the wood displays, lumberjacks attempting to pop balloons, and competing to strip branches from logs while the mechanical equivalent tried to get through 4 logs in the same amount of time. The great British Pole Climbing championship was incredible, with amateurs and pros climbing 80ft in under 20 seconds!

We also saw a fashion show which had work by some local colleges and university students and the latest fashions from the store Hobbs. I was really impressed with the quality of the designs from the students, there were more than a few things I'd have loved to get my hands on.

Even if you're not interested in seeing the livestock, I'd recommend this as a great family day out, with so much to see and do. Even though they were expecting 130,000 people through the gates over the three days, and it was very busy, it never felt claustrophobic or as though you were being pushed around. And the service in the restaurants was impeccable, the tables were cleared quickly so that it was never a long wait to find a table. Add to that the attitude of all the staff and exhibitors and it just once again shows why I'm so proud to be from Yorkshire. It's the best.

Time Off update 1

Ok, the photos didn't come out so well. But the result of the wardrobe clearout was 2 big bags of clothes that have been taken to the local Oxfam. The wardrobe itself still looks just as full of clothes, I'm not entirely sure how that is possible. But I definitely don't need to buy anything new, except maybe a smart black suit that actually fits, for when I need to start going to interviews etc.

I also discovered a really amazing black velvet evening dress that looks so good with my new red hair. And a couple of party dresses that I'd forgotten about. Heaps of things, there just isn't enough time to wear them all, but I'm glad that I can at least see them. What it did confirm when trying a few things on was that for the first year ever, the weight I put on at Xmas didn't come off again. I know that it wasn't much, but still, it's a bit of a shock and made me feel like I'm getting old now. Must sort out some kind of exercise so my tummy doesn't keep expanding, since I'm most definitely not giving up food.

I've also been doing well on the tiger stitching, it's really coming along now, I'm hoping to have it finished in the next couple of weeks. And I'm halfway through the Penny Vincenzi book that I'm reading. Plus I have my trip home to see the family and friends all booked in for next week. Hurrah, I can't wait to see everyone.

The big wardrobe tidy

It's Monday morning. What better time than after a long, restful weekend to tackle my wardrobe clearout. It's not exactly a big wardrobe, it's the one that came with the flat. All the shelves along the top are full of boxes. One of the 3 compartments contains folding chairs, wrapping paper and... more boxes. I'm not touching or clearing any of the boxes since they aren't mine.

But clothes wise, I'm determined to be ruthless. No, really, I am!
And later on, I will post up some before and after pictures so you can see just how hard I've been working all day.