Sunday 19 September 2010

AUTUMN COMES A ROLLING IN...


Hello everyone! Another week has flown by and there is now a sharp, autumnal nip in the air each evening. It's not quite enough to need some heating, but definitely chilly enough to make sure all windows and doors are firmly closed by about 5pm. Along with the chillier evenings come delights such as those above. They are Katy apples and a real favourite with certain members of the Snoopydog household. They are crisp, sweet and very juicy, but need to be eaten fairly quickly. Have no fear, these little beauties won't last long.

Tomatoes are still ripening in the greenhouse, but slowing. Mr Snoopydog used two and a half kilos of the little beauties yesterday to cook up a batch of delicious tomato soup for the freezer. I don't have to think too hard about what to take to school for lunch each day, when the freezer is stocked with soup. I'm not a great sandwich fan.


We have quite a glut of courgettes at the moment and along with courgette and tomato pasta dishes and stir fries for supper, we've also made some spiced courgette chutney this morning. I say 'we', it was actually Mr Snoopydog at work again. He does the chopping, cooking and slurping into jars and I come along and pretty them up. Fair division of labour according to Snoopydog. It does smell and taste rather delicious.


 What a lovely way to spend a rather dull and blustery September Sunday morning.

Yesterday was such a fun day, Josiekitten came to visit, laden with yarn to wind and a gift for ME! We chatted and laughed and talked and talked and talked yarn. Here it is... what a fab mug, don't you think?


So true!!!!!!!!

After lunch, Josiekitten pulled several skeins of delicious yarn out of her bag, ready to wind on my new little 'e-bay' bargain yarn winder. Hmm! It's been so easy so far, apart from one little mishap with my 'Lila Ludmilla' Wolmeisse, that I lost concentration with and mangled deep into the 'not so deep' but very inhospitable bowels of the 'not so very big' little machine. I had to cut the yarn gggrrrrr, but I've got over it! This afternoon all those bad feelings came flooding back. It all started off very happily. The sun even came out to join us, as did Oscar :). Just look at these gorgeous skeins....


Winding began and the totally delicious Koigu yarn was safely wound into two satisfying little cakes. Then came the turn of the luscious Handmaiden yarn (second from the top). The colours are really beautiful. I think we must have spent close to one hour winding this little beauty........ most of it by hand!!!! The yarn tangled and twisted in on itself, until it was impossible to remove from the winder without cutting it...aaarrrggghhh! I think you need the brain of a genius to understand how this can happen when at the outset it all appeared soneatly skeined. So, the moral of this story is this; that awesome little wool winder isn't quite the miracle machine I thought it was............ but those yarn cakes are just the best thing ever, even if the odd disaster has to be ridden on the way. It's cool! Thank you Josiekitten for a really lovely day.

I've managed to finish the 'Inca Cloud ' scarf this week. I love it! The yarn is so, so soft and the pattern easy and fun. It's a very quick two ball knit and wraps right around twice! Just right for chilly autumn mornings.


I had a rather lovely surprise when I popped over to see Kathy at Postcards from the P.P. . I had won an award. Here it is...

    
It's always a real pleasure to know that other people enjoy sharing in my little tiny corner of blogland, just as much as I enjoy sharing in their s. Thank you so much Kathy! I felt quite giddy to see my name there on the page when I called in.I now have to sum up my blogging philosophy, motivation and experince in five words. So, here goes...


ENJOYMENT
FRIENDSHP
ADDICTION
SOLACE
JOURNALLING

I should pass the award to 10 bloggy friends whose blogs I love to read. That would be impossible to do as I have a ''favourite' list of places I love to visit , that is much longer than ten! So, if I visit you regularly and you would like to share the award, then please feel free to enjoy. I know some of you out there are 'award free' so this seems like a good way of going about things.

Just before I take my leave to go and pour a glass of delicious red Rioja, let me share just one little pic of Oscar, on his way to recovery (we hope).



He has had his stitches removed and his pain relief drugs halved. His fur has started to grow back just enough to cover his pink skin and he is certainly feeling more like his old self. He still has quite a pronounced limp, but the vet assures us that this is to be expected, as new cartilage has to begin to grow in the gap left by the removal of the floating flap! Please may he be right and please may the operation have worked. He has three nore weeks of confinement, so it's a case of giving him lots of cuddles and contact and making sure that he is kept stimulated with his toys etc, without letting him do what he really wants to do, which is to go absolutely  ballistic!!!!! Your time will come dear Oscar... your time will come.

Let's hope we get some late September sunshine to light up those ripe apples and rosy red berries. I do love Autumn. I love each season in it's turn, which is probably quite a good thing, don't you think :)

Have a good week everyone.




19 comments:

Nearly there Claire said...

Do you have more hours in your days than I do??? How do you manage to knit so much in such a short space of time...Super Woman?
Bless that gorgeous boy of yours...It won't be long and he'll be back to his usual self...fingers crossed. x

Susan McShannon-Monteith said...

The apples look so yummy and I would love a bowl of that soup.
All the yarn is lovely... so many beautiful colours.
Oscar is looking quite content with himself and he's saving all his energy for the snow that lies ahead.
Have a great week.
Susan x

Northern Monkey said...

Glad to hear Oscar is on the mend.

The scarf is lovely, I think that pattern may find a place in my ever growing queue!

Kathy said...

Hi Ros, You're very welcome ... I look forward to reading your blog on Sundays ... it's always full of colour and lovely things you've made .. and of course there's Oscar too ... I don't know how you're managing to keep him occupied ...Inca wouldn't cope without her twice daily walks!
Have a good week!
Love Kathy xxx

Sarah said...

Lovely yarn-and I can just imagine the frustration of tangles! I am also going to have soup from the freezer for lunch this week as I feel it is just to chilly for salads now! I love the mug!
I went to a craft fair today which you would have enjoyed-yarns galore as well as lots of other crafty bits-photos in a bit!
Osca sounds like he is doing fine-he looks so sweet with his toy.
Congratulations on your award-I like the idea of summing up your blogging philosophy-sounds very similar to mine!
Hope you have a good week and some sunshine!

Lynne said...

Your scarf is beautiful! I was just reading JosieKitten's blog about the ball winder. What a nightmare!

It's good to see Oscar's on the mend. The first thing I noticed was the shaved fur. My namesake, my first cat Ozzy, was diabetic. He had to get his blood checked every month, so always had shaved fur. Please give Oscar a tickle from me! :)

Denise said...

Sounds like you both had a fun time together. Love that pretty scarf:)

Helsie said...

Love, love , love the scarf. I so wish it got cold enough here to use them . I have several in my cupboard but they rarely see the light of day!
I'm looking forward to living through your Autumn with you.
Cheers
Helen

kate said...

Our autumn started on September 6th this year, it seems, with lots of grey skies and drizzle. But our apple tree is delightful!!

Glad Oscar is on the mend. I bet that courgette (or zucchini as I would say) chutney is delicious.

Wyatt said...

We made tomato soup yesterday too!
Finally got enough ripe tomatoes for soup and salsa.
Love your projects as always!
Happy Autumn to you all!

Wyatt

Stadtwaldvogel said...

You are right, autumn is moving closer... but I can see you are using all your goods from your garten, that is great!
Your finished shawl is very nice! I am envious of your new cup!
Yours, Julia
PS: Best wishes for Oscar!

bellaboo said...

Lovely to catch up with your blog.I feel like I've been away for ever! You've been a busy bee havn't you?
So sorry to hear Oscar has been poorly.Hope he'll be bouncing around very soon bless him.Enjoy the week ahead. :o)

Molly the Airedale said...

You grabbed Mitch's attention from the word go with that apple picture! That boy is so nutty about apples!
Mom picked tomatoes yesterday and she's going to make fresh sauce with hers!
You're looking good, Oscar! We're keeping the healing vibes flowing!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Scented Sweetpeas said...

Glad to see I am not the only one addicted to blogs as that was on your list :-) Love all your makes food and knitted.

Teje said...

Dear Ros, first we like to send hugs for Oscar and hope he's recovering quickly!
Your lovely coffee mug has it so right! Beautiful yarn and wonderful scarf! Wishes Teje & Nero

Tracy said...

Soup, fiber, Oscar love...this post is just delicious, Ros! Hope very much Oscar will be back to his sweet self soon. Mr Snoopy's soup looks so good. That courgette chutney sounds wonderful...mmm... Just LOVE the Inca Cloud scarf. Your blog philosophy matches my won. Just so HAPPY to visit you here each week. :o) Have a great week ((HUGS))

Dawn said...

I love that scarf, a great colour. Give Oscar a hug from me.

melissa said...

i'm glad to hear that oscar continues to be on the mend!
wow - that courgette chutney sounds completely fantastic!
and your knitting looks just as impressive and lovely as always!
enjoy your week!

DEBBIE said...

It`s my first time visiting your lovely blog!
Unfortunately I don`t knitt... yet!Lol
But when I do I now know where to come for great inspiration!
I`m glad that cute Oscar is on the mend!

DEBBIE MOSS