DD's Scone Recipe (thank you Delia Smith)

As requested here is the scone recipe:
225g/8oz self raising flour
40g/1.5oz butter, at room temperature
1.5 tablespoons caster sugar
a pinch of salt
150ml/5 fl oz milk
a little extra flour

Pre-heat the oven to gas 7, 425 degrees F, 220 degrees C
Grease a baking sheet.
Sift the flour into a bowl and rub the butter into it rapidly, using fingertips (washed first please DD ;-) ). Stir in the sugar and salt, then using a knife, mix in the milk little by little. Flour your hands a little and knead the mixture to a soft dough - adding a drop more milk if it feels dry.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it out to a thickness of not less than 3/4 inch (2cm). Take a 1.5" or 2" pastry cutter (DD used an egg cup), and cut out as many scones as you can, knead the dough trimmings together again and repeat until you have used it all.
Place them on the baking sheet, dust each one with a little extra flour and bake near the top of the oven for 12-15 minutes. When cooked the scones will have turned a crisp golden-brown. ENJOY!!!!

Productive Day all round...

and it is only 3.45pm...
DD made some bite size scones which we'll have in a minute with some jam - I would like to say it will be homemade but it isn't. That is a New Years Resolution for this summer ;-)
Thanks to FaeryNuff for the heart lolly which she sent me as part of my fab VD package.

DH has been out and completed 100km on his bike in an organised event (he has now collapsed in the bath in agony - hee hee), which he has had on his "to do" list for 2 years!! The photo isn't of him, but that is what he has been doing...And I have booked accommodation in the Lakes for my (cough) b'day in July, which happens to coincide with the Woolfest - YAY, very excited about that......a long weekend away, with the family, a "slight" involvement of yarn and possibly get to meet some UK knittyheads....sounds perfect!

And this was the view from the house a few minutes ago...

Sad news: the jaywalker pictured lovingly in a previous post had to be frogged ggrrrrrrr, I made a mistake that I couldn't have lived with. So I have started again...3rd time lucky

My nephews

Just wanted to add 2 more pictures today. My sister has just discovered my blog, so to say hello I wanted to add these photos of my nephews. They are a bit out of date I'm afraid, but it is a good excuse to go and take some more up to date ones soon.


Here's Alex:



And here is Olly:

Just to prove that sometimes Stratford is very quiet...

My first blog entry had a photo of a hat that was knitted for me by knitting cat in Another Knitted Thing Swap last autumn. Just to prove that Stratford really can be that quiet I wanted to post a few more photos taken that day. They were taken on Sunday January 28th at 11.30am - the only explanation I have is that it was very cold, maybe that kept everyone at home. Isn't DD doing a good job as FO model?

Update from the Ski Trip:

DD has had a temperature of 40 (which I think is very hot), she has a suspected chest infection and has been prescribed amoxcylin(sp??), I am not happy with antibiotics, but I think she needs them. After a dose of paracetamol etc she has been asleep on the chair since 5pm - hope she feels better tomorrow.

As you can see I haven't mastered putting links into text on this blog thing yet. Advice would be gratefully received...ha ha! DD has it sussed, and has altered the one above. So there is a reason that she is off school sick....you learn something new everyday!

DD is home from her ski trip

YAY - We picked DD up from the school at 4.00pm this afternoon. She had spent the last 20 hours travelling back on a bus, and as the kids got off the bus they all looked shattered and very pleased to be home. Within 1/2 an hour of being home she was in the bath complaining that she could feel all of her aches and see of all her bruises - she had been upgraded to the Intermediate Group. Half an hour later she ate, and then half an hour after that I found her asleep in my bed.
Sounds like they had a really good time - she is already talking about putting her name in the hat for next year. They are hoping to organise 2 trips next year, so hopefully she should be lucky enough to go again. We'll start saving now ;-) She bought DH some chocolate, a large packet of toblerone and some Ritter (which has all been eaten), and I got these: a cow bell, to go with the one she bought me last year, and some wooden hearts...it is good to have her home even if she is asleep.














I also have a couple of FOs to show off:


2 Scarves: One for him, one for me.

Details: MY SO CALLED SCARF from http://www.sheepinthecity.prettyposies.com/archives/000079.html with help from http://serenitygarden.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-so-called-scarfthe-instructions.html. Thank you both.

HIS: 38 stitches on 8mm needles, yarn used was Katia Mexico (50g a ball) 50% wool/50%acrylic in greys from http://www.webofwool.co.uk/ 3 balls used
MINE: 30 stitches on 15mm needles, yarn used was schoeller+stahl Big Ball (200g ball) 100% acrylic in fabulous sunset colours (didn't photograph that well) from http://www.webofwool.co.uk/ 1 ball used

Now to get back to his Jaywalkers

I have VD!!! and I wasn't even expecting it!

As promised by an anonymous commenter (commentator??) I have VD. And what a generous dose I have.....It all started at about 10.30am, the postman brought me an envelope which I thought was from my sister, the writing was very similar. But when I turned it over it had this written on the back "Open last (heart) after your parcel!" Squeeeeee!!!!! It wasn't my sister, and there was a promise of a parcel, I nearly burst with excitement. That postman hadn't got a parcel.. so I was going to have to wait! So I sat by the front door waiting for the post van, getting more and more excited, but then had to go to lunch with my father (long story - I won't bore you) aaahhhhhhhh! But when I got back I had a card to go and collect a parcel. So we were straight back out and once I got my hands on it I ripped into it (carefully) in the car, and look what I got:

First off it was wrapped in lovely red hearted paper, with Disney Princess tape, and inside I had: a little sequin topped heart shaped box with jelly hearts inside, 3 heart lollipops, a heart shaped hand warmer, a little box of chocolate bunnies (I had better save one for DD), another little box with 4 beautiful stitch markers and 2 balls of cotton angora in a fab pink - that is definitely for me DD, don't even think about it! When I had opened it up and squealed a lot with joy, I was then able to open the card and see that this lovely parcel was from **FAERY NUFF**

Thank you so much, I am so spoiled, I am not worthy.....THANK YOU x

DDs gone skiing

We dropped her off at the school this morning at 10.30am and they left at 11.00am. They are off to Bormio, Northern Italy. They should arrive tomorrow at 1pm - what a long journey! I don't expect to hear from her, as last year she tried to convince me that her phone didn't have a signal - funny that my sister's texts reached her! Anyway DH and I have 9 days off together, so here's to walks in the Cotswolds, pub lunches and trips to LYS - yay! Oh, also a couple of trips to the post office to spoil my SP......