WOYWW 498–Mystery Project Revealed

Writing this on Tuesday afternoon.

Three little hanging heart ornaments for friends, from this:

to this:

Here are some closer details.

Can you guess what I made the little terracotta pots from? Bet you can’t… Details in an earlier post.

The purple heart was for one friend’s birthday, so I also made her a card.

I have uploaded all the posts about the making of these hearts and the card and you can scroll down to see them if you are interested.

Some Fun with Photo Manipulation

The other day I was preparing some fruit for my normal “diet day” platter and cut a peeled clementine in half. I thought it made such a beautiful shape.

I thought I would have some fun manipulating this photo, as I did once before with a rather artistic piece of orange peel.

Clockwise from top left, adding effects cumulatively: black background, brightened colour; posterise; paper cut-out; polar co-ordinates. Quite fun, eh? I could have done loads more with it, and spent (wasted?) all day at it. (I know, I should get out more…) Oh, by the way, it tasted good!

Sourdough

I didn’t make sourdough again this week but made some more sourdough crackers and fed Esmeralda and put her back in the fridge to cogitate for another week.

She’s quite happy as long as she gets a weekly feed and a clean bed for the week!

Other Cooking

Overnight I made some more bread in the bread maker, with lots of seeds – sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and brown flax. Gorgeous and crunchy with a good nutty flavour!

I also made a salmon and broccoli bake for our supper. Here it is, ready to go in the oven.

Computer Update

Most things are now working OK, but the computer shop have told me that both hard drives that I took in have failed. The caddies are OK though. One of them I was pretty sure was dud (very old) but the other one is pretty new and still in guarantee so I’m hoping to get my money back on that one. Some things on the computer still aren’t working properly and I need to spend time resolving these issues but I’m too busy with other stuff at the moment.

Kitties

Ruby is still grounded because my hubby has been out a lot and the weather has been too awful so he hasn’t been able to spend any time in the garden. Neither of them has been hankering to go out that much (which isn’t surprising given that it’s raining all the time) but they are obviously needing to blow off steam more than usual!

Health Update

I had a very fruitful appointment with my surgeon last Thursday, and I’ve blogged full details here so I won’t go into it all now, but suffice it to say we discussed risks and advantages of further surgery or leaving it alone, and he is going to consult a colleague in Exeter to discuss the best way forward. I came away much better informed about why things had gone wrong in the spring, and the reason for my post-operative infection, and as a result, I am no longer quite so resistant to further surgery if that is what they conclude will be the right thing to do.

This situation is pants…

The pants saga continues, not having heard anything since my last conversation with them on 19th November, when I emailed the GP and requested a further prescription, and they promised they’d deal with it straight away. I phoned the rep last Wednesday and she didn’t return my call. I managed to speak to her today and she said she’d been waiting for news before calling me, and I said I would have appreciated a call to let me know at least what was happening, even if it was nothing!! This afternoon they called me back and said they were requesting another prescription as a matter of urgency, and I said I was so fed up with this and wanted the pants by Christmas. Ha ha. Tomorrow is the last dispatch day till the New Year. I was practically screaming by this point. I said that would mean they wouldn’t even be able to start making them till then, and she agreed that they usually took about 4 weeks, which would take us into February!! I said I could just about manage with two pairs (one on, one in the wash) but if I had an accident I’d be sunk. She said they’d mark the order as top priority. Again, she kept saying, as they all do, “I completely understand, I really do…” but it’s just words, words, words…

As I say, the whole thing is pants. Grrrr grrrrr grrrrr x 3,000,000. I could add a few choice words too, but I don’t want to break my laptop after all the trouble I’ve had with it recently.

Have a great time over Christmas everybody. I probably won’t be posting next WOYWW because it’s Boxing Day and we are out.

WOYWW 494–Turtles and Tortoises, Ants and Pants

Studio Time!

At last I have managed to have a good long session in my studio, so for once I’ve got a real desk to show you for WOYWW. I’ve got a few projects with a deadline, and I’m waiting for some supplies from Ebay, but in the meantime I’ve been able to make a start on embellishments, in the form of a flower factory. Sheba, my Cougar cutting machine, has been working overtime.

I’m afraid I can’t go into detail about the projects for the usual reasons, but all will be revealed in due course.

A few weeks ago my hubby gave me four little frames that he’d bought at a church sale, and then discovered that they didn’t have glass in them, so he didn’t want them. He offered them to me and I was sure I could do something with them.

I dismantled them and took the embellishments apart for use in other projects. The first step will be to paint them with gesso, and then they can be embellished.

Sourdough

After my success last week, I decided to try making two small loaves instead of one large one, so I could use my small bannetons again. I made it on Saturday and ended up with two small turtles again – it collapsed completely. I was very disappointed and frustrated.

Where it did rise a bit, it had formed one big hole, that you can see in the photo. Again, it tasted delicious. I decided to make some more straight away, so the next day I did a repeat performance, with great success, and ended up with two tortoises instead of turtles!

Here they are, with the bannetons.

Really not bad at all. The only problem is, using the Dutch oven method, I have to bake one after the other, which means having the oven on for quite a bit longer, but it’s only once a week.

I realised that I’d made a couple of mistakes with the first batch. I’d put the salt in too soon, before the autolyse had had time to rest, and I definitely over-worked the dough, which results in developing the gluten to the extent that by the final proving, it starts to break down and the dough collapses. Success is all in the handling, and with the second batch, I followed the instructions to the letter and got much better results. It’s still a bit flat but the dough felt a lot less wet and sticky, and it did hold up better.

I did some other cooking as well during the week. I made a couple of big casseroles for the freezer so we’ve got plenty of ready cooked meals – a beef one and a tarragon chicken one, both very tasty.

I also made some sugar-free marmalade at the weekend, adapting a recipe I found on a diabetic site. I adore marmalade and could eat it all the time, but am always conscious of the high sugar content, especially as I am watching my weight. My hubby is no longer pre-diabetic since he gave up added sugar, and when he was last checked he was absolutely fine – normal, with no indication of diabetes at all, which I am sure has been helped by our general change in diet over the past few months, with more low GI carbs, fewer processed foods and all the fermented stuff – kefir, kombucha and sourdough.

The marmalade is sweetened with Stevia, and thickened with soaked chia seeds which produce a natural, unflavoured gel. The recipe warned that the seeds make the marmalade look as if it’s full of ants but I don’t care about that! They are full of nutrients and also prevent dehydration which is good news for ileostomates too! I made the marmalade with one of the tins of Mamade I had in the pantry –this is just prepared Seville oranges with no additives, to which you simply add sugar and water and boil it up, so the next best thing to completely home-made, just without all the hard work! The sugar-free version is delicious, even if it doesn’t look that palatable.

I’m not sure how long it will keep, so I’ve put the jars in the fridge. I don’t think it will hang around for long, though, especially if we are both digging in!

I’ve got a couple of events coming up for which I need to make some little presents, so I’m hoping to be back in the studio again this coming week.

Health update

I’ve had three days this week when I’ve been completely wiped out and not able to do anything much, which is a bore, and this has not been helped by another dose of hair-tearing frustration today over my ongoing support garments saga.

Not having heard anything, I phoned them a couple of days ago, only to be told that the GP had only prescribed one additional pair instead of two. The first pair (which had to be made twice because they messed up on the first pair, which didn’t fit me) was issued on a single prescription, so getting a further prescription meant more delay. I was annoyed that the company hadn’t seen fit to inform me of this, and if I hadn’t phoned up, I wouldn’t have known, which would have caused more delay again. I emailed the GP surgery straight away (hopeless trying to phone), asking what was going on, and had an immediate reply, saying they had issued another prescription straight away, for two pairs! If all goes according to plan, this will mean that I should end up with a total of four pairs, rather than the maximum of three that I am supposed to have. Three is the absolute minimum – one on, one in the wash, and one for emergencies in case Kermit has a leak or something. I told the GP about all the problems I’ve been having with the company.

The woman I spoke to at the company said she would check with the work room and see what progress was being made on the single pair that they were making, and she would phone me straight back. I sat by the phone for two or three hours and then phoned again because I had heard nothing, only to be told that the woman had phoned back and left a message on our answering machine! I told her the phone had not rung, and when I checked, there was no message. Hopeless. Anyway, she said the pants would be sent out on Friday, which means I won’t get them till early next week. They were supposed to be pushing this through as a matter of urgency, after messing me about with the first pair, and now I’ve got to wait another whole week! I told her that I had been wearing the only pair I have got so far, for nearly 3 weeks and they need a wash!!! The old ones from last year are not giving any support at all so it’s pointless wearing those.

I told her I was fed up with all this messing about, and I was very unimpressed with how unbusinesslike the whole thing was, and how frustrated I felt. I told her my hernia had definitely returned and that these garments are essential medical supplies, and it was completely unreasonable to have to wait for 3 months from when the stoma nurse made the initial appointment, to receive even one pair. I told her I’d had all this nonsense last year as well, and I didn’t know what I would do if they got the subsequent garments wrong, so they’d jolly well better get them right! She said she was very sorry, and completely understood how I felt, etc. etc. I said this is what they all said, but nothing ever got done! What I need is some action, and some results.

Shoshi spitting tacks again. Grrrrrrrr and double grrrrrrrrrrrr. I shall definitely tell the stoma nurse when I see her in December at my surgeon’s appointment. She was appalled last year, and said she would contact them about it, and reported back to me that she hadn’t had much joy with them, either.

Hopefully by this time next week, I will at least have got a second pair.

Kitties

No kitty photos this week. Neither of them has done anything very interesting except eat and sleep and keep me warm, and a bit more mutual washing on my lap! They are both eating well now the weather is colder and they’ve filled out quite a bit. Two nice little substantial kitties! (Or should I say, “Fat and lazy!”)Ruby hasn’t got out again now my hubby has cut that tree right down.

WOYWW 492 Peacock Feathers and Purple Spots

This week I’ve been working on crochet and knitting projects.

Crochet Peacock Feathers

Working on the peacock feather embellishments for my peacock scarf.

When I did the ironing the other day, I pressed the ones I’d completed and this really improved their appearance. After this I made a few more, but have now run out of the lime green so will need to order some more.

Yesterday I began adding the “barbs” to the feathers. On the above photo you can see the two variations I’ve made of the pattern: one feather with a shaft and one without, with their barbs added – I still have a few more to add to the shaft of the one on the right.

I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with different lengths, and making a chart on my desktop publisher so that I know how many of each length to cut. On the original instructions it said just to add them (no measurements) and then trim them but I thought that was rather wasteful of yarn when I had so many to do (amazing how the inches soon add up!) so I thought a bit of advance planning would pay off better.

They will need a small amount of trimming but nothing significant. I may not have enough of the peacock coloured yarn to complete this so I shall hold out on ordering more of the lime green until I’m sure.

The next step was to comb out the barbs. The instructions said to use a wool carder for this, but when I tried, it tended to pull the strands off so I abandoned that, and tried with a stiff brush, but that didn’t really work.

In the end I used a fine embossing tool to tease out the plies of the strands. They look a bit kinked but once they are steam pressed they should straighten out.

These feathers are proving to be a lot more labour intensive than I’d thought! Attaching the barbs is extremely fiddly, but I don’t really mind because there’s no time limit on this project.

Re-knitting the Purple and Yellow Circles Jumper

During the week I made good progress on re-knitting the purple and yellow project I spent so long unravelling. It’s looking good! I had a lot of problems initially because I was keen to centre the pattern repeat. If I don’t do this, when I get to the neck, it will stick out like a sore thumb if it’s wrong! The trouble was, I kept ending up with the wrong number of stitches between the circles, and spent hours and hours undoing it and redoing it until I’d sorted out where I was going wrong. My hubby thought I was spending far too much time and effort on it but I told him if I didn’t get it right at the beginning, the whole thing would be a struggle. Eventually I got it right, and I can now knit away happily, almost with my eyes shut! Well worth the effort, and a good sense of satisfaction for having invested the time in it.

Kitties

Lily relaxing on my feet. I’d just put the recliner down because I wanted to get up, but she showed no sign of shifting herself and is resting her head against the foot of my table!

She is sooo soft and fluffy!

Ruby relaxing on top of Lily.

Her favourite place. Her sister is like a little soft feather mattress. Good thing she doesn’t seem to mind!

After being dirty little stop-outs all through the hot summer, they are now very content to be happy little indoor lap-cats and don’t much appreciate the cold and the rain!

More on the Pet Service

At church on Sunday, our resident photographer had made a montage of all the photos and put them up on the noticeboard.

Note Lily and Ruby bottom left.

I just had to get a picture of the photo of one of our members coming down the steps outside while doing some work with the Men’s Working Party!! Good thing he’s got a sense of humour!

(For non-UK residents, “HMP” is “Her Majesty’s Prisons.”)

Sourdough

Another turtle again this week, I’m afraid.

I haven’t had time to research further this week, but I’ve got a few Youtube videos saved which I’m going to refer back to, and have another go with a different method and see if I can be more successful. The only thing I can think of that has changed is the weather. When I started with this method I was able to produce a very acceptable loaf – this one was baked back in August.

It’s all very mysterious because when I turn the bread out into the Dutch oven after its final proving, it always collapses and spreads, and I’m not getting the required oven spring to give it the height during the first 20 minutes of baking, which I was certainly achieving when I first started using the Dutch oven method. People say that this is all down to the handling, and not over-proving the dough, which causes it to collapse. I don’t think I’m folding it any differently from before, and if the colder weather is having any effect, it would surely be to under-prove the dough, not over-prove it.

This time I did try using a bit more of Esmeralda (my starter) but all that did was to make the dough more hydrated and a bit more difficult to handle. It still collapsed.

It’s disappointing when I have achieved better results in the past, and now seem to have slipped back. I’ve left a couple of comments on the blog of the baker whose technique I have been following, but he hasn’t replied.

I did make another batch of very successful sourdough starters from excess Esmeralda, and I’m pleased with those. Really thin and crispy! This recipe is a huge success and now one of our staples. Very nutritious and tasty.

Health Update

My first pair of support pants arrived, replacing their first attempt which didn’t fit, and they are fine. I contacted the firm immediately and requested the other two pairs to be made as soon as possible to the same pattern, and I’ve heard from them that another prescription has been requested – I had thought they’d ordered all three on the one prescription but apparently not, which is going to cause more delay. She said they would put it through urgently, but at least I’ve got one pair to wear, but I shall have to wear an old pair when they go in the wash.

After receiving a letter from my surgeon confirming the definite return of the hernia, I have now had an appointment to see him in mid-December, which is better than I’d hoped – I really didn’t expect anything before the new year. I hope he will agree to leave it alone and hope for the best, that it doesn’t cause another obstruction. At least Kermit, my stoma, is working very satisfactorily, not like last year when the hernia was causing him so many problems.

I also have my regular six-monthly oncology appointment tomorrow. I am not anxious about this, and am sure that all will continue to be well on that front. After this, I shall probably only see her once a year for the next two years, and if all continues to be clear, they should discharge me after that.

Other Activities

Last week we went to Somerset and met up with some friends who live near Bristol. We try to meet up for a meal several times a year, choosing a place that’s about mid-way between us. They are very old friends – my hubby knew them years before I met him, and we’ve been married 32 years, so they are very much part of our lives! We had our usual brilliant time, with a great meal too. She has completed all her embroidery City and Guilds and is now working on her diploma (what she laughingly calls her “diplomol” as they would say in Bristol! – on old maps, Bristol is called “Bristow” but they have to put an “L” on the end of everything haha!). She is very good indeed at what she does. I took along the album I made about Mum, in its new box, so that she could see what I’d been up to lately. As it was quite a long drive, I was able to work on my knitting, and sorted out the problem on the way up.

I’ve got to try and do some cooking tomorrow or on Thursday – I’ve got chicken and lots of roasting veggies arriving in my grocery order tomorrow, so I can get on and produce some freezer fodder.

WOYWW 491–Knitting and Pet Service

On Saturday my hubby took me to the Range, and I bought a few bits and pieces. That’s all that’s on my desk this week, I’m afraid. A pack of craft card, a brush tool thingy for removing bits from detailed dies, and a couple of packs of refills for my hot glue gun.

It always amuses me when my hubby takes me shopping. He leaves me to my own devices for a while, so I can browse around, and then he finds me and the first question is, “Are you OK?” and when I reassure him, he goes off again, and the next time he comes back, he says, “How are you getting on?” and I say, “Fine, thank you,” and off he goes again, and then comes back with the final question, “Have you nearly finished?” when I know that he is thoroughly bored and wants to go home!!

Knitting

I finally finished unravelling the purple and yellow spotted knitting – and what a pain it proved to be! The fluffy yarn in particular was very hard to undo. I ended up with an enormous ball of yellow – really too big to handle! and a slightly smaller purple one. I created a tension swatch using the same circles pattern as before. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the original pattern from the garment I unravelled, and I had no note of the needle size I’d used, so I’ve had to start again from scratch.

I’ve done a small graph of the circles pattern repeat and now the tension swatch is done and measurements done, I have been able to design the pattern for the jumper I want to make – just a basic shape with nothing fancy – the colours and textures of the yarn will be enough. Using different yarns and needles, and each time making a tension swatch, this should be an easy pattern to follow in future.

This will be a lovely project to keep me going through the winter – nice to have something not too complicated to work on while watching TV.

Finishing the knitting of the peacock scarf.

Sourdough

Again, not a desperately successful loaf this week – not sure what I am doing wrong, but the colder weather may be something to do with it. As usual, it tastes fine. It’s just that it isn’t rising properly.

I also made more brown baps this week – again, very successful – and more sourdough crackers, which have become a staple in this house – I don’t buy crackers any longer. These are tasty and nutritious and filling too – you don’t need so many, which means we are also eating a bit less cheese which is probably a good thing for our weight! I’ve discovered they are also delicious with marmalade. I usually have oatcakes with marmalade (fabulous) and it made me wonder whether I might be able to adapt the sourdough crackers recipe with the addition of some oatmeal, for a change. I must do some research.

Kitties

Lily and Ruby had an adventure on Sunday, when we took them to the annual Pet Service at our church when we gave thanks for our furry family members! As usual, there was a large preponderance of dogs, who were mostly very well behaved apart from some competitive barking before the service began. (The lady on the right in the picture brought along her gorgeous little tiger stuffy!)

Apart from Lily and Ruby, only one other kitty, called Amelia.

She’s an old hand at this and just sat quietly throughout.

There was also Karen, the guide dog, who of course is always well-behaved.

Finally, here are our two.

My hubby had put newspaper in the cat carrier and of course Ruby had to tear this up. They were a bit nervous at the beginning but soon settled down. They had each other for moral support. We had a bit of crying from Lily in the car on the way there, but on the way home, not a peep – they know when they are homeward bound!

The trouble was, they were both very naughty when we got them home! Blowing off steam, I suspect.

The service was lovely with lots of singing, a thoughtful little sermon from the minister about our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation (I thought a lot about a horrifying programme I saw recently about the levels of plastic pollution in the oceans and its impact on marine life), and then a short talk by one of the representatives of our local Animals in Distress charity. This year she spoke about a rescue cat called Bomber with spinal problems, who has recently been rehomed. He had a CT scan on his back which showed that despite his wonky spine, he’s in pretty good shape. You can see his Instagram pictures here which show how happy he is in his new home. Animals in Distress is currently engaged in a massive fund-raising operation to build a new, purpose-built centre.

Lily and Ruby were very much admired and lots of people who hadn’t seen them since last year’s service were amazed how big they were! They were only a few months old last time.

Here are us two, enjoying a cup of tea afterwards. (No, I’m not really trying to hide the cake…)

Talking of animals, my hubby found this brilliant Youtube video last week, about a whale who showed its gratitude to the people who rescued it from some fishing net.

Health Update

I had a letter from my surgeon on Saturday, confirming what I already knew, that the hernia has returned. He wants to see me to discuss options, so no doubt I’ll receive an appointment in due course – but it will probably not be till next year if I know the NHS!

Also, on Monday, not having heard anything further about my pants, I phoned up for a progress report and someone else returned my call, saying that the machinist had been out of the office and they hadn’t even made a start on my pants! I said this was simply not good enough because I’d been promised by the rep that my order would be given top priority because of the mistake that had been made. I expressed my extreme annoyance at their inefficiency and that I was not at all happy. I also told them that I had now had confirmation of the hernia having returned, and that this order was urgent as it needed the support. Goodness, I’m fed up with all this nonsense. They promised the pants would be in the post tomorrow, but I’m not expecting miracles. If they don’t fit yet again, I am sure I don’t know what I shall do!!!!!

Finally, after my recent “relaxed carrot” photo, another wonky veg to make you smile. It arrived with my grocery delivery last week. I think it looks a bit like a seahorse!

Chutney Labels and a Great Meal Out

Today our friend took us out to lunch at the Cott Inn, Dartington. This is an old-fashioned Devon pub in a beautiful country setting, which offers first-class chef cooked meals. We were not disappointed!

Today was the day I was working towards, to complete the boxes for the Floral Mini-Albums I made earlier this year. Our friend’s copy of the album has now left its biscuit box home forever and is now proudly ensconced in its new box! She is delighted with it and I am so happy with her response.

I decided to give her another little gift – a pot of my home-made apple chutney from the Bramleys off our tree in the garden. It’s the first time I’ve made apple chutney and now it’s had time to mature, it’s turned out superb, though I say so myself!

Rather than just giving her a plain jar, I decided to make some labels for it and pretty it up a bit, going for a rustic look.

I used dies from two different sets to cut the two labels.

The larger tie-on label was cut from recycled book packaging from Amazon, and the smaller stick-on one was cut from 100 gsm copy paper. Both were distressed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I drew a little apple on each label and coloured it with coloured pencils. I cut two circles of cream polycotton fabric from my stash for the lid, and tied on the larger label with jute string.

The outside of the lovely pub where we met for lunch.

Inside:

The food was quite delicious and beautifully served. My dish was described thus: “Free range Devon chicken breast, goats’ cheese, spinach and watercress mousse, prosciutto, crushed potato, spinach, red onion marmalade, bruised baby gem, chorizo cream sauce.” Wow!

This is my hubby’s beef and stilton pie. I love the way the mashed potato is served!

Our friend chose a fish dish.

I love the way the chef has chosen different plates to suit the varied dishes, and in particular I like the way the lines cut in the crispy fish skin are echoed by the lines on the rim of the dish, the metallic glaze of the dish also reflecting the silvery effect of the fish skin. Very artistic!

Our desserts.

The others had a scoop each of locally-made ice cream and I chose the lemon tarte which was accompanied by lemon sorbet in the shape of a lemon! Again, the perfect dish to set off this dessert.

I should have photographed my spiced carrot and sweet potato soup, too. The two pieces of ciabatta were cut diagonally and set on their ends in the most attractive way.

All very creative and extremely chefy! We will definitely be returning here.

It was raining when we arrived, but as we left, the sun was shining. What a lovely day we had.