Little words of wisdom

 

Reading round-up : January 2026

image from Freepik

Gardeners' World April 2025

Gardeners' World May 2025

Gardeners' World June 2025

Slimming World October 2024

Slimming World November/December 2024

Slimming World January/February 2025

City-Chic Knitting Patterns for Fashion Dolls: Susan Dunlop

Urban-Chic Knitting Patterns for Fashion Dolls: Susan Dunlop

As you can see, I'm still working my way through that pile of magazines 😉  I mentioned in last month's round-up that I was considering taking out a new subscription to Slimming World magazine as I was really enjoying reading through them ~ I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you, my lovelies, that I went ahead with that plan so I won't be running out of magazines any time soon😏   

Still weeing for Britain...

 ...albeit slightly less than in my last weight-loss journey post 😉

Having lost a further 8lbs since my last post ~ 15lbs in total so far ~ I am now a quarter of the way towards my first target, which I am very happy about as I'm sure you can imagine!  Ultimately I have a huge amount of weight to lose, but breaking that down into interim goals does make it a little easier.  It's less overwhelming aiming for smaller goals than to be constantly thinking about the "big picture", in other words just taking baby steps along the journey 😊

Obviously I don't look any different at the moment, but I have noticed some changes within myself.  I'm feeling less bloated, and my feet, ankles and calves are very much less swollen than they were.  I guess I've been retaining a lot of fluid.....which would, of course, explain all the weeing since altering my eating habits😏  I think I'm due for  another of my regular appointments with the Nurse Practitioner at my GP surgery soon, and it will be interesting to see if this is having any effect on my high blood pressure.

Whilst, as I say, I don't look any different my clothes are already feeling a little looser, which I'm pretty sure is because of being less bloated.  My jeans and dresses are suddenly a tad longer than they were ~ a slightly less swollen stomach to hold them higher, I presume 😄

It's been a very good start, I think, but I'm well aware that the weight loss will slow down ~ I just have to keep taking those little steps one-at-a-time.  I'll be back with another update when the next 7lbs has gone. 

Peace...

 

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)

Little words of wisdom

 

Peace...

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014) 

Little words of wisdom

 

Dreary January

image from Freepik

Both January and February can be such dreary months in the garden, can't they?  Especially, if like us, you didn't get round to tidying up the borders before the bad weather set in!  To be fair, though, I took these photos on Sunday and although it was chilly, the sun was shining brightly 🌞  

What dragged me out of the warmth of the house was spotting the flower on this rose ~ once again the lovely Eustacia Vye is putting out a bloom!  We'll ignore the thistle that's taken root in the tub 😉

Then I noticed that one of the rhubarb plants, Goliath, is also starting to put in an appearance.  I was a bit annoyed, though, when I saw that it appears one of the neighbourhood cats has been digging in the bed 😒  I think we will have to build a cage around the bed this year to keep the little buggers out!

On my way over to the other side of the garden, my eye was caught by the shining white flowers on this hellebore.  The plant label has long since disappeared, I'm afraid, so I don't know which variety it is.

I was sidetracked by the beautiful little hellebore on my way to have a closer look at the pretty pink flowers on this viburnum.  Although it does have a plant label, alas the lettering has completely worn away but I think it may be Dawn.  It's been flowering for a little while and seems to be starting to go over now, but nevertheless it's continuing to add a welcome splash of colour.

And back indoors I saw that this pretty pink-tinged succulent, the name of which I have absolutely no idea, is putting out a spray of little flowers too!  I suppose the motto is that even "dreary January" can have some little spots of loveliness 😊 

Weeing for Britain!

Is that Too Much Information, my lovelies???  Oh well, you should know by now that I try not to shy away from the less salubrious aspects of my life 😄

In my last "weight-loss journey" post I mentioned that I would share with you how things were progressing, although I had already privately decided that I wouldn't be posting about said journey every week.  Instead, I'm going to post when I reach certain milestones along the way ~ I'm pretty sure you don't want a blow-by-blow account of my weekly weigh-in 😉  I have personal goals to aim for that I will post about as I (hopefully!) reach them, as well as letting you know each time I lose 7lbs.  So I guess now is as good a time as any to let you know that I have in fact lost 8lbs!

Although I have rejoined Slimming World as an online member, I haven't actually started following their weight-loss plan yet.  Since the New Year I have been making slight alterations to my eating habits, though, whilst using up the things I had in the freezer that had a higher fat content than I want to consume going forward.  The main change has been in the amount of bread that I've been eating ~ note that I say "bread", not "grains" 😉

We already have porridge three times a week and I  add a good handful of frozen cherries to mine, plus a level desert-spoon of lemon curd.  Previously the other mornings would be a couple of slices of toast topped with butter, one slice with marmalade and the other usually with Marmite.  Then lunchtime would usually be something-on-toast, a sandwich or other bread product.  I've now made a conscious decision to only have "bread" once a day, plus I'm no longer buying the goat butter that I used to have.  On the non-porridge days I'm instead now having a couple of Weetabix, topped with milk and a good dollop of my favourite yoghurt ~ FAGE Total 0% yogurt.  If I do decide to have toast for breakfast, I now have one slice just with marmalade and the other with a thin smear of the spreadable butter that Adrian likes to make it easier to then spread some Marmite over.

I am still having bread at lunchtime on the porridge/Weetabix days if I fancy it, but I spread over a thin layer of Hellman's Light Mayonnaise instead of using butter.  If I could trust myself to only spread a thin scraping of my beloved goat butter I would still be using it, but alas I know myself well enough to realise that that's not going to happen 😏  On the days that I have had toast for breakfast, though, I don't have bread at lunchtime.  Instead I will have stir-fry vegetables with, say, tuna, or perhaps a cheese omelette.  We really like Cathedral City cheese and have recently changed over to their lighter mature cheddar ~ we like it just as much as the full-fat version.  Some days I will have a really big bowl of soup, but now omit the bread that I would previously have had to accompany it!  I've also rediscovered a taste for celery and often have a couple of sticks with whatever lunch I'm having ~ it's satisfyingly crunchy, and much better for my health than a packet of crisps 😉  Actually, to be fair to myself, I cut waaaay back on my crisp consumption some months ago because of the high blood-pressure and pre-diabetes issues.  I'm also eating more fruit and a good deal less chocolate than before.

All of which, I suspect, is what has lead to the marked increase in weeing that I am currently experiencing.  I'm sure that once I get more into the swing of the Slimming World plan, everything will start to calm down a tad!

So watch this space for news of the next half stone loss which, fingers crossed, won't be too far off 😊  

 

Peace...

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014) 

Tentative plans for 2026...

I've got a few ideas of things I'd like to make during this coming year but as you all know, my lovelies, I can be very easily knocked off-course into an entirely different direction!  So let's say that these are extremely tentative plans, just to be on the safe side 😉

I would definitely like to make more gifts during 2026 and, as I mentioned earlier in the week, I do have a few ideas percolating around in my little butterfly brain.  I've been meaning to make at least some of the gifts for Beverly's annual Christmas Every Day shenanigans virtually every year since I started the tradition ~ alas, I haven't managed to get myself organised to actually do so yet 😄 I would like to remedy that situation this year so will be hunting through my books for suitable things to make.  I'm certainly not aiming to make all 24 of the gifts, but nevertheless it would be nice to sprinkle in a handful of handmade items throughout December.  I do already have a few ideas of things I could make, and I'm sure looking through my craft books will throw up even more 😊

I've got four "big" projects planned for the year, two of which are blankets, and I've spent some time trying to decide how I want to make said blankets.  I have a specific "theme" and colour scheme for one of them (Special Project One) and the other is to be yet another stash-busting exercise!   I thought that I might as well use the same pattern for both, though, as they will end up looking totally different to each other because of the different colours I'll be using.

You have no idea, my lovelies, just how many motifs I pondered over until finally trying out these three 😳  I quite liked all three, especially the cute little hexagon at the bottom, but they all seemed just a tad too small ~ I really don't want to have to spend weeks and weeks making these blankets!  I used double knit yarn to make the samples but I really don't think they would have been large enough even if I'd used Aran-weight to be honest.

 The top hexagon is by Annie Design Crochet, whilst the square and tiny hexagon are both by Bunny Mummy.  They are all perfectly nice motifs but none of them really "called" to me.  Then I remembered that amongst the patterns in Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Knitting (where my favourite crochet chevron blanket pattern comes from), she has one called The Starburst Flower.  It's basically a granny square with a pretty flower centre comprising of puff and cluster stitches, with each round in a different colour.

Again, it's a lovely pattern but I found it just a little too fiddly for something that I really want to grow fairly quickly 😉 

In the end I mashed together aspects of some of the different motifs I had come across to make the one I've decided to go with.  Now, I'm definitely not claiming that this design is original as I've no doubt that someone, somewhere, will have had the same idea ~ it's just that, unfortunately for me, I didn't come across it when I was doing my humungous trawl of motifs!  I want both blankets to look like non-specific-flower flower gardens ~ if you see what I mean 😄  I used some Aran yarn from my stash with a 5.5mm crochet hook to make the sample, and it ended up about 5" square.  I used one colour to represent the centre of the flower, another for the two rounds of petals, and a third to turn it into a square.  The "petals" could be made in two different colours, which might look very pretty if they were two shades of the same colour ~ pale and deeper shades of pink, for example.

Anyhoo if you'd like to make these flower squares, here's the very simple instructions:

Round 1: chain five and join to make a circle.  Chain four, then make 15 double-trebles (US triple crochet) into the ring: 16 stitches in total.  Join in the top of the starting chain four and fasten off.

Round 2: join the "petal" colour between any of the double-trebles and chain three; make one treble (US double crochet) in the same space; chain one.  Make two-treble clusters, separated by chain one, between each of the remaining double-trebles.  Slip stitch across to the first chain one space.  16 two-treble clusters in total.  

Round 3:  chain three in the chain one space, and make a two-treble cluster in the same space; chain two.  Make three-treble clusters in all the remaining chain one spaces, separating these clusters with chain two between each.  Slip stitch into the first cluster and fasten off.  16 three-treble clusters in total.

Round 4: join a new colour in any chain two space.  Chain three and make two trebles (US double crochet) in the same space.  Make three trebles into the next space.  Make three double-trebles (US triple crochet), chain two, three double-trebles in the next space ~ this creates the first corner of the square.  Make three trebles into each of the next three chain one spaces, then make the second corner.  Continue the pattern round to create the square, and fasten off.

As you can see, I am definitely not a crochet designer ~ it took me a fair bit of trial-and-error to come up with a simple motif that I liked, and I don't think I'll be going "off piste" again anytime soon 😄    

It's hard to believe that we are halfway through January already, so I will have to get myself organised (😏) as I've got a lot to do this year!

Little words of wisdom