Braving the lean-to....

When I moved into my home last year I opened this little door, and very quickly closed it again. Finally, a year later, I have braved the mess that lays beyond this old door with its peeling paint.

This brick-built lean to is at the back of my home - it is part wc and part a small pantry that can be accessed from the kitchen. In the long term I hope to knock down the lean-to and extend the kitchen out into the garden. So, I've no plans to 'renovate' this space...but I decided that I at least needed to clear it out and ensure that it is maintained in a reasonable condition (in order to protect the integrity of my home).

So, this was the sight that greeted me when I opened the door:

This is what was left in the space by the previous owners. Pieces of broken up old furniture, an old radiator, and the remains of their wood pile. It was also housing copious amounts of spider's web and the spiders themselves.

I pulled everything out so that I could sweep out all of the dirt and mess. This is the pile that subsequently made a trip to my local council recyling centre.

Hideous, I know...

But, whilst this space is never going to win any decor awards, it is at least reasonably clean, and can function as a wood store until I am ready to plan a future extension.

It was a satisfying, if somewhat unedifying job - so I'm pleased I finally completed it.

And to ensure that this post contains some slightly more attractive images, here are my hydrangeas coming into bloom in the garden.

I had long planned a garden with white hydrangeas, so I'm delighted that it has come to fruition.

And in other, completely unrelated news, I spent last Saturday morning baking. I've made friands several times before usually using a citrus and poppy seed recipe. This time I tried a new Mary Berry recipe, which resulted in these delicious raspberry and almond friands...fortunately, I took them with me when I visited a friend that afternoon, otherwise more than would have been advisable would have been consumed!

A crewel-embroidered cushion and a small birthday celebration...

...and back to this sadly neglected blog after another hiatus...

I've spent the last three weeks in a mainly sunny and warm (and occasionally very hot) Sydney visiting my family. It was a busy time as I was helping my mother complete some redecorating and decluttering. We decided to refresh the paint in half of her home - so I had my very first attempt at proper painting (painting is one of the activities in which my father never let us participate...I think he probably had visions of either a very poor finish or paint everywhere). But, my mother was happy for me to give it a try. To be honest, I really don't know how people redecorate for a living...it was exhausting! However, the end result was worth it - the rooms look so lovely and light and fresh. Not to mention, good practice for when I have my own home to renovate! I'll complete the remainder of the house on my visit next summer.

Having no current outdoor space, I also enjoyed spending some time working in her garden. Is is a little embarrassing to admit how much I like weeding? There was something very satisfying about achieving a lovely cleared flower bed. I think it is probably akin to my like (not quite love) of ironing and bringing order to all of those wrinkles. I also helped with planting some new shrubs. Both my parents and grandmother have/had a green thumb - something I am hoping rubs off on me when I have a garden of my own.

It was also my mother's birthday while I was in Sydney. For one of her gifts I embroidered her this cushion. In terms of the required timeframe to have it ready for her birthday, I had to complete it before I undertook my recent course at the RSN...but in retrospect I didn't make any glaring mistakes.

The design is based on a traditional tudor design, and adds a little brightness to her study.

We also held a birthday lunch for close family. I made smoked salmon blini's for the first time as an appetiser, along with some mini-quiches.

This beautiful platter belonged to my great-grandmother. It is such a joy to be able to use my mother's collection of antique serving and glass ware.

Lunch was boned and stuffed roast chicken, accompanied by my sister's fabulous potato bake and a spinach and strawberry salad. It was the first time I had made the salad which I saw on Jenny's blog last year, and it was fabulous.

Obviously, we rounded off lunch with a birthday cake. Another first attempt for me in baking a Victoria Sponge - I was attracted to the slightly modified version that Lauren had on her blog last year...and so were the rest of my family if the proof is in the eating...

The three weeks in Sydney passed all too quickly. I'm now back to the rain and horrendous winds in the UK. I am fortunate to still have no detrimental effects from the flooding, unlike so many other poor people in parts of the south-east of England.

 But I'm already missing these two delightful little people who make my visits home such a joy...

Christmas baking...

A little bit of last minute festive shortbread baking to make some small gifts for my work colleagues, and to take to lunch on Wednesday...

 

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a lovely festive season.

 

Necessity knitting and weekend baking...

Typically, I knit for pleasure and for something to keep me productive when watching television (so I don't entirely feel like I am wasting time and brain cells)...

But, given that London appears to have given up on ever producing spring, I was knitting from necessity this week. For months now I've been hating the gap that routinely appears between the end of my glove and my jumper/coat sleeve, that the bitter wind always seems to find without fail...especially when I am standing on the train station of a morning.

So, this week I decided to pick up a ball of wool/cashmere mix and knit myself a pair of wrist warmers...

...which now nicely bridge the gap between glove and sleeve. I tried them on a walk to the post office this morning and they worked a treat.

And although it is still cold, at least it has been a lot brighter over the past two days. I spent this morning baking - lemon and poppy seed friands. These are an Easter gift for a friend (who doesn't eat chocolate), but of course I had to try one myself this morning. It is the same recipe I blogged about here, but I swapped the zest of 2 oranges for 3 lemons.

I also received an Easter care package from my mother this week which included the February and March issues of my favourite Australian design magazine...so I had something beautiful to look at whilst enjoying my morning tea...