Trying to squash 4 or 5 rooms into one. Not that interesting – but suddenly SO hard to resist distractions when long unseen yarn treasures emerge once more….
There was a sneaky turn or two on the wheel as well. And decisions about some of this:
Also uncovered a mountain of fabulous silk, which had fortunately been carefully stored (*pats self* for taking the trouble). Can’t wait to get it in the dye pots, then spun up. Because clearly I need to add to the hundred odd kilos of the stuff already silting up every surface…
Maybe some classic, fine, even spun laceweight for a change? Or bluefaced Leicester plied with that gleamimg silk….?
Spent a lot of the day editing product photos for Etsy – probably the most boring task, not a patch on spinning stuff and actually making things…
And then I decided to try and recreate the ‘plat d’attente’ from the rather upmarket restaurant we ate in in Troyes. It was a delicate little pumpkin cream pot, which came with a few other tasty bites to wake up your appetite before the first course. (I always appreciate these touches – in fact the main course is consistently my least favourite part – I’m definitely a tapas natural.)
I wanted to use these quickly. Usually they sit around for weeks. I claim it is because they look so beautiful on display. Other people seem to think it is because they are a faff to prepare….But anyway, Oddbox was reproaching us, claiming that an annual 16,000 tonnes of pumpkin get wasted over the Halloween week and urging us to draw on, and then eat, our pumpkins next year, rather than carving them and letting them rot. Hmm.
I took a photo of the result, in terrible light. And I can’t improve on the picture because the food is now all eaten up. It wasn’t a bad attempt, given I had no idea of the ingredients, beyond the pumpkin. For anyone interested, I whipped some double cream till nearly stiff, then added a couple of spoons of Philadelphia cream cheese, two slightly fierce little red chillis off my window sill plant, the flesh of that green and white squash in the photo (previously microwaved till soft), plus nutmeg and black pepper. All just whizzed together. On top there are some toasted hazelnuts and a sage leaf from the bush in France that provides us with our signature Christmas stuffings. I would like to say it was a triumph – but I couldn’t taste a THING, just a faint burning sensation from the hot pepper. Thanks, cold. Bad timing. If I’d realised my smell/taste had completely disappeared I would have hung on a couple of days longer. Other people were pretty impressed though – and there isn’t a scrap left.
Not needed for work today, so had a quick look at the sea (Hove end), then back to sorting stuff for Etsy. These pictures were actually taken in mid October, hence the startlingly blue skies (and lack of pebbles – which are all over the place today.) The statue is relatively new. It’s called ‘Flight of the Langoustine’, by a Brighton sculptor Pierre Diamantopoulo and has only been on the Hove plinth for a month or so. I love the energy of the thing – life size human figures, escaping into the air through a metal grid. It was apparently inspired by a discarded lobster pot.
I have heard mutterings about the £135K it is said to have cost and I suppose the timing is unfortunate right now but it is a major piece of bronze which must have been commissioned years ago – so much work involved.
I seem to have slept through the remains of storm Ciaran last night, which is not like me. But there does seem to have been more damage in Brighton than I quite realised – the roof of the big Boots by the clocktower became unsafe, so that the whole of North Street (major thoroughfare) had to be closed, which then meant re-routing the buses along the seafront – which cannot have pleased the drivers. There were several shops closed/opening late in the centre this morning while they dealt with leaks – in one case there was water coming down through three empty flats above the shop. The built environment in our city does have its downside – so much of it is old – elegant and beautiful, but what one builder described to me as ‘Victorian spec. jerry building.’ I think he was exasperated, dealing with the notorious Brighton Bungaroosh!
And already not that much to add…bit of a lazy day, shivering and full of a cold. Been watching TF1 clips of storm Cieran over Brest (wind gusts of 207kph) and further North near Wimereux (waves as high as a 7 storey building). Funny this has hardly been mentioned on the UK news, you’d think the whole thing started in Cornwall…. Oh, and there was footage of a couple of surfers, making the most of the ‘exceptional conditions’ – unbelievable, wonder if they even gave a thought about who might have to rescue them?
Couple of pictures of Vic-sur-Aisne, taken a couple of days ago. A pretty little town, and very authentically old France. So it seems to be (rightly) popular with English tourists – no doubt helped by the superb pâtisserie just down the road (ah, that millefeuille….)
There is a connection with the storm. The weather is already looking grim in those pictures, but it got a lot worse in Picardy yesterday and sadly a lorry driver was killed by a falling tree near here. I can never get my head round the devastating randomness of such a death. Life can seem very fragile.
No excuses, just too much else going on. And I’m sure I’ll struggle with WP even more now – it used to be dead straightforward, before it got clever and sophisticated, with so many options…
But I’ve been enjoying Blogtober, following a couple of people I admire who have posted on a daily basis all through the month. And then I thought, what about Blogvember? Typically late to the party….but it might be a fun challenge! And easier now I’m just back from France, from the fourth trip this year. Fighting the internet with a severely outdated laptop and no wifi.
Some slightly gloomy pictures of Beaune on the way back on Sunday. We mostly avoided motorways this time – takes forever but so much more interesting.
Next stop, Troyes, where many (many!) years ago I was a research assistant, ploughing through information about the Bibliothèque Bleue – hunting for mediaeval woodcuts reused in early 17th century peasants’ chapbooks printed in the town.
No work this time – just strolling along these extraordinary streets that seem to go on for ever (and eating rather well, still definitely possible in France!)
Well, that is Blogvember Day 1. Chances of keeping this going?
SpinningStreak 