Saturday 7 September 2013

52 Weeks of Happy - 36/52

I have missed out a few week of my 52 week blog posts with having been away and just trying to catch up with myself. I was a little on the fence as to whether I wanted to carry on, it almost feels a little self indulgent...but then blogging is a wee bit like that for me. It's a fun record of my happenings and the fact that you might come and say hello, is a bonus. I do love the "virtual friendships" through blogging.

So here goes for week 36...


Tea and cake and chatter in my friend Janie's English country garden last weekend. She has the greenest fingers and the most beautiful garden space which I have the fortune of enjoying.

A little collage of some of the glorious parts of Janie's garden. I could do a whole post of all the beauty that it gives.


I've been trying to be committed to finishing knitting my rather OTT scrappy cardigan which seems to be taking an absolute age. It feels like mindless knitting round and round and round we go, but I'm getting there almost finished one arm. I am knitting it longer than the pattern which is a 3/4 sleeve cardigan as I have scraps of yarn to use up and I want this to keep me warm in the Winter when I come home, have a hot bath and mill about in my pj's in the dark Winter evenings. I feel so tempted to start another project BUT my clever girl Alice is keeping me in check and on track. She helped me sort our all my yarn and fabric in the attic last weekend and has cleverly bagged and labelled all my WIP's and promptly told me that I have various crochet and knitting projects I can chop and change to when I am bored without starting a new one! Now who is the child and who is the adult in this scenario....:o)


Making malteser milkshakes from our homemade ice-cream. The recipe is so easy peasy, a colleague gave it to me and doesn't involve an ice-cream maker or mixing/whisking it up every 2 hours while it starts to freeze as some recipes suggest. All you need is:

  • 3 mixing bowls
  • 4 eggs separated
  • Beat the 4 yolks with 100g caster sugar in bowl 1
  • Beat the 4 egg whites to stiff peak stage in bowl 2
  • Beat 300ml double cream to incorporate some air bubbles in bowl 3
  • Add all these ingredients together with a teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • Put in the freezer for 24 hours and voila you have made vanilla ice-cream!
  • You can add fruit or bits of choc or other flavourings etc. to make a fun ice-cream, we added crushed maltesers chocolate this time and it was delish


Last, but not least, Andy bought me some of my favourite flowers on Tuesday, just because. The best excuse ever!

I hope you have all had some sweet moments in your past week and thank you for all your lovely compliments on my last post about my finished crochet blankets, for the first time ever I actually enjoyed the rhythmic sewing in of all the ends, we'll see how long that lasts ha!

See you all soon
xox
Penny 

16 comments:

  1. Ohhh scrumptious homemade ice cream and malteser milkshake.mmmm...thank you for the recipe...and how adorable is that dilly.....?
    bestest daisy j x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ohhh scrumptious homemade ice cream and malteser milkshake.mmmm...thank you for the recipe...and how adorable is that dilly.....?
    bestest daisy j x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some lovely happies, and how nice to have help sorting out all of your wip's. Hope that you have fun working your way through finishing them - says she who just bought more wool today that she has no use for!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh that milkshake sounds delicious ... and your scrappy cardigan is just lovely ... Bee xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Penny, I've just seen your finished crochet projects....Luuuverly!!!!!
    Your cardi is going to be so warm and cheery in the cold weather and thank you for sharing to gorgeous garden photos....I wish mine was as pretty.
    Jacquie x

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think I love your Alice! That's so funny how's she's organising you! Fab garden :) x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh I love your scrappy jumper it's so funky :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your milkshake looks sooo good. I think a milkshake is my favorite treat to myself when I've made it through something unpleasant, like a doctor's appointment. I can't wait for those cold nights at home. I'm itching to curl up under an afghan.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Taking you an age?? I can't believe how far you've managed to get!! Your colours are fab and such a great idea for using up old scraps of yarn.
    My daughter is exactly the same about me starting new projects. She watches me like a hawk to make sure that I don't sneak one in. And she's only 8!!
    Rosie xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Some lovely happy things there! Love your scrappy cardigan and the milkshake looks gorgeous.
    M x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely post, Penny (the last photo won't open but perhaps thats just me) How lovely is that cardigan! I LOVE stripes! Especially in those scrummy colours.

    And your friend's garden is lovely too....I realise I have used LOVELY three times, not a sign of linguistic shortcomings, but a reflection of your post! Lx

    ReplyDelete
  12. beautiful yarn for your cardigan lovely yarn colour combo ;0) lovely post x

    ReplyDelete
  13. I always enjoy your happy posts, Penny, and I'm glad you are continuing with them. Thanks for the no-churn vanilla ice cream recipe, it sounds pretty lush. And made into a malteser milkshake...heaven. I love the way you described how Alice has organised all your WIPs! If she could come and do mine too, that would be brilliant... x

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your happy posts are always so cheery, and we all need a bit of cheer from time to time. And by the sounds of it a weekly glass or two of that Malteser milk shake would be pretty beneficial too!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Don't give up on the Weeks of Happy, Penny - your posts are an act of charity to the rest of us! :)

    That blue teapot is the loveliest colour ... and your cardi looks wonderful from here. The ice cream sounds wonderful, especially with Maltesers in. (We don't have such good malted milk balls in the States.)

    Alice should consider hiring herself out as a Project Consultant ... I could certainly use her help with staying on track.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love the idea of sharing 52 weeks of happy. Your blue tea pot is gorgeous! The so called 'scrappy' cardigan is a beauty. I've been browsing through some of your previous weeks and find them inspiring. I'm now following and look forward to catching up with your lovely posts, great projects and super photography...Julia x

    ReplyDelete