The Humble Crumble

You might think I'm a bit funny, but there are few things in life that I find as soothing and relaxing as rubbing butter into flour :) When I have too many things on my mind and the weather is getting me down, making a crumble is the best therapy for me. With the rain forcing us to stay inside for a second day in a row, big changes looming in our not so distant future and missing my dad like crazy on his birthday, today is definitely a crumble making day.

The summer glut of berries and soft fruits is slowly disapearing and being replaced by plums, apples and pears, all perfect crumble fruits. Spice these up with a spoonful of cinnamon and you're onto a winner.

Sift your flour, add the little cubes of soft butter and start rubbing your worries away. The best thing about making a crumble is that you can prepare the topping whenever you feel like it and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to bake. I'll be popping mine into the oven around dinner time, ready to eat while its still slightly warm and covered in plenty of creamy custard. Therapy session over :)

Rambling Rambles

One of our favourite things to do on a sunny day is to go for a ramble through the gorgeous country side. This weekend we explored part of the Chiltern Way and what a wonderful day it was.

Along the way we met some friendly cows...

...visited an old church...

 
... passed through plenty of kissing gates...

... came across a man-eating hedge...

and had a spot of lunch on the banks of the Thames

They say the best things in life are free and after this happy, relaxing family day spent in the fresh air, I can certainly agree :)

Seasons with my Granny

Unbelievably we are heading into the second week of September already! It still feels like middle of July to me, especially as we enjoyed a wonderful week of sunny, hot, summery days here in London. As much as I would like to stay ignorant to the true date on the calender, there are unavoidable clues to the approaching Autumn all around me. Chestnuts lying on the ground, brown and orange leaves peeking through the green, the sun setting before Little T has gone to bed and a definite desire to curl up under a blanket when I settle on the sofa in the evening. Luckily I have now finished the perfect blanket for just this purpose.

Over the past few weeks I have been turning my basket full of Rico Creative Cotton yarns into happy, multi-coloured granny squares for my sofa throw. Its just big enough for one, its just warm enough for a chilly evening and its just so lovely and soft. As you can tell, I love it :)

All credit goes to the lovely Lucy of Attic24 for the inspiration, the great tutorial on the join-as-you-go method and the introduction to this gorgeous yarn.

 

Armed with this square of bright colours, I am now ready to face the reality of Autumn being well and truly with us and I can smile at the prospect of many an evening spent snuggled under it :)