Sunday

Another very early start - four o'clock yet again.  I suppose I don't really mind: early mornings are lovely when all is calm and quiet and the rest of my world is still very much asleep.  I am at my best early morning and it is nice to start early and get all the chores done.
I've peeked out and received a faceful of raindrops so I guess today is going to be damp and dismal again.  Never mind, there's plenty to do inside and it does make me so grateful for four stout walls and a good roof.

It's strange how, when one doesn't have an agenda, one gets so much done.  Yesterday I didn't set any targets but made a double batch of bread, pigs in blankets and the Christmas roasties (now all in the freezer).  I'm going shopping today and once I have the flour, I will make a good loaf of wholemeal and that's the Christmas bread made.  By that I mean the bread for use when I have my Christmas guests.
I will also make some rolls and won't need to buy any other bread.

I want to look for some spicy Christmas bread recipes.  You know, sometimes I wonder how we ever managed before Google and other search engines came along.  It seems to have been around for ever but I clearly remember a staff meeting devoted to teaching us ignorant teachers how to 'search' using Jeeves and something oddly called 'Dogpile' (I suppose some lively young ICT nerd thought it was funny!).  I'm not sure Google had much a look in at that time and yet is is totally dominant for most of us now.

It's funny to think of it now but at the time we were often completely baffled.  Those who delivered training in using computers, etc, were (obviously) experts and whizzed along at a fair old lick, leaving most of us floundering in their wake.  Also, sometimes, the 'answer to all your problems' things they tried to teach us how to use very quickly died a death and were never seen again (something called 'Flippi' comes to mind here) so couldn't have been as early as amazing as they thought.

I'm getting on well with the scarf I'm knitting.  It's going to be lovely and cosy on those cold winter days I expect we will have this year.  On Facebook, someone posted a photo of some lovely crocheted slippers.  They're probably a bit beyond me - I'm more a knitter - but I looked up a simple pattern for crocheted slippers and am now struggling to follow the basic instructions.  I've started once and had too many stitches within two rounds so am having another go.  It's how you learn, isn't it, and once retired I shall have plenty of time to knit and crochet so lets get the basics understood and mastered.  It's always nice to have something to keep your toes toasty warm!

Today I am expecting B and A round for lunch so have got two different soups out of the freezer.  That will be nice with some fresh bread and some grated cheese on top.  I'm now making great inroads into the frozen soups and should have room to make some more soon.

And now I'm going to tackle that crochet pattern again.  I refuse to be beaten by something that calls itself 'basic'!  I might have some caffeine today to help it all along too!