Starting a Starter

I don't know if you have heard of a starter before, but it's a way to make a yeast like product from just flour and water. I saw Hugh F-W do it on one of his many River Cottage programmes. Some people may call it a leaven. Apparently these things keep for years, decades even. Anyway, everyday you feed your starter, to get it going, you also have to discard a bit as well, as you'd have a ginormous amount of this flour mixture!

After 2 or 3 weeks, I should be able to use some of the mixture to make a sourdough loaf of bread.

It seems like an intriguing thing to try, and is fairly cheap thing to do. So I'll let you know if I can make a success of my starter. I have started it using wholemeal flour, but apparently after a time, it's best to switch to white flour (less microbes in it).

Have a lovely weekend. The Brighton Festival starts tomorrow, yah, and I'm also off to look at an allotment as well!

UPDATE Sat 1st May: Just discarded the first half of the starter and fed it with more flour and water, and it smells disgusting. Absolutely acrid. Beyond foul!

I Spy

The other week my husband and I were discussing I Spy books. Do you remember them from the 1970s/ 80s? They were categorised, like I Spy Roads/ Transport or I Spy Countryside? My husband moaned that growing up in The North, he was not likely to see Slow Worms or Grass Snakes or Woodpeckers. So found the books disappointing and a little alienating!!! (Although I grew up in The South, and I can't say I saw any of those things either!)


So a wry smile appeared on my face when my eldest opened up a parcel from his Aunty yesterday. Inside was I Spy Nature and I Spy On a Car Journey. She found them near the counter in Waterstones. I'm not sure if they have been reissued, but it should be a fun thing to do when we are out and about!

Spring Clean

I know I've been away, but I've been here physically, just very busy, so have left the virtual world to keep ticking by without me.

I was not so lucky (or not) to be marooned somewhere due to volcanic ash, but here in sunny Brighton sorting our apartment out (resulting in a carboot sale, and charity shop giving, one weekend) and then a huge party to celebrate my husband's 40th. I did 98% of all baking and cooking for 30+ people.

I have to admit since having my sewing machine serviced, I have not used it (I don't think) but that is to change. I managed to acquire an old chair, that was going to be thrown away at work for myself. It needs some tlc, all the varnish is to be sanded off (I'm hoping husband will do that) and revarnished. And new seat pads are to be bought, and I will be recovering them with some lovely Anna Maria Horner Drawing Room "Sketchbook" fabric that I bought from Quilthome.com. Hopefully that will come in a week or so.

So I envisage that project to take maybe a month to get sorted. We always have way too much to do around here.

The gardening group I'm part of where I live is also getting exciting. Our crops are starting to grow, and it's nice that it is downstairs and we can enjoy them everyday! Looking forward to harvest them as well! My youngest one is very helpful when it comes to planting seeds and watering them as well. It's certainly a good hobby for children, and hopefully gives them a lifetime of knowledge regarding how we get things to eat!

daffodil head

This was the hat that made everyone smile yesterday at school.

He certainly turned heads with it!!

Happy Easter, I'll be away for a week or so, on a trip to see family in friends in the North!

spring colour

spring daffodils, for some much needed colour on a drizzly wet day.


a daffodil hat for the Easter Bonnet parade, at school tomorrow.



ripply colours of love, the more I crochet, the more I think it is art

loving length of wavy ripples, this is to be a king size blanket, so I've got many many more ripples to go!

I hope you enjoy these colours as much as I do!

Loving London

On Saturday, I woke up early, walked to the train station and got on the fast train to Victoria, London. Then of course, I had to make my way over to King's Cross, to meet my sister, who had got the train down from Leeds for the day (2.5hr journey). Of course the tube line I needed wasn't working, as they were doing repairs on it! But never mind, I made it via the Picadilly and District lines instead!

Once I met my sister, she was having a to do updating her Oyster card, we got on a bus, and made our way over to the Business Design Centre in Islington for the Country Living Spring Fair!

It was pretty busy, and so many stall holders! We'd only been there an hour when we felt we needed a sit down at the Yorkshire Tea Cafe! They are part of Bettys (the most amazing tearooms in various Yorkshire towns).


Once we'd been revived, we continued our look around, not quite believing how many stalls there were. We picked up some nice greetings cards each (it was 10 for £5, so we split it!) and we both bought some prints from an artist called Clinton Banbury, I bought one for my children's room, (see above) I'm slowing adding art to their walls. My sister also bought a piece of art from an artist called Iona Mackenzie Laycock.

I picked up a small milk jug from Beverley Hewitt Designs all made here in the UK, in Stocke on Trent, the pottery capital of Britain. So next time I make some of my lovely scones, make tea in the tea pot, I've got a nice jug for my milk.

I also picked up some decopatch items, for the children to do in the holidays. I chose their names (well I used their shortened names, as it was getting a bit costly!) and some suitable coloured paper, and the glue. Basically it's a special waxy paper, that won't tear, when you add the glue. The glue is a glue and a varnish all in one, so how can the kids go wrong!!!?!!

My sister was very tempted by some London cushions from the Jan Constantine company. They were very nice indeed, but I felt beyond my embroidery/ applique level! Also they were v expensive.

But we had a great day, and it was nice to be in the capital and see my sister. She then hopped on the train home, and was going out that evening with friends in Leeds, and I headed home to Brighton, back to my family!

head spinning!

Hi lovely readers, I have not forgotten about this blog, I haven't even forgotten about making things, I've just been doing too many things recently. No time at all to take photos, write it up etc etc.

So firstly I had a 7th Birthday Party to organise! Which was ok, but I was glad when it was over!

Then I had a work function to sort out, that took up a lot of time as well.

Then I've been working on my own stuff, which hopefully I'll be able to show you soon.

At present I'm sorting out a gardening group for where I live, and I've done all the admin, grant applying, bank account opening, research etc etc So I'm a bit bogged down with that.

Next I've got my husband's 40th to sort out. Well that's if he invites his friends!

So I'm not a brilliant blogger at the mo, but I'm sure I'll swing it round, some day soon!