Taking stock

Meet me at Mikes is a blog I love and read all the time, when Pip posted a list 'taking stock' and suggested others give it a try I thought I would!  

Making : an advent calendar for MozzyMr
Cooking : Jamie Oliver's squash and spinach pasta rotolo
Drinking : lots of squash, I have gone off coffee in a big way recently
Reading: Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl - so interesting!
Wanting: a haircut, this mop is not looking it's best!
Looking: forward to seeing The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable again 
Playing: Animal Crossing - New Leaf on the Nintendo 3DS
Deciding: what to buy MozzyMr for Christmas
Wishing: it wasn't quite so cold
Enjoying: the winter sun
Waiting: for the work stresses to reduce
Liking: weekends hanging out with MozzyMr
Wondering: what changes are on the horizon?
Loving: little Mewster the cat
Pondering: what to have for tea tonight
Considering: buying a new sofa
Watching: clips on Upworthy every day, so many interesting articles
Hoping: I will get some restful sleep soon, I'm absolutely shattered!
Marvelling: at the fact we own a full allotment plot, eep so much work!
Needing: a cuddle
Smelling: the delicious lunch MozzyMr is cooking as I type this
Wearing: SO many layers, it's so chilly
Following: the cat around the house trying to brush her! 
Noticing: how excessive this time of year can be
Knowing: I will be going back out on strike shortly
Thinking: I want to crawl back to bed and get another couple of hours kip
Feeling: ready for a change
Admiring: all of the stock in this ETSY shop
Buying: Christmas presents
Getting: in a panic about how much there is to do at work
Bookmarking: Christmas pins on Pinterest - my new obsession
Opening: boxes and boxes of stuff delivered to us a couple of weekends ago :(
Giggling: at how daft Mewster can be
Feeling: like it is going to be a busy week!

Well that's me, anyone else fancy taking stock?

Happy Friday!

Today's Happy Friday is cat heavy but I make no apologies for that.  This weekend we have our annual 'lets poke around the house' visit from the Landlady, some allotment time (dig dig dig) and luncheon with MoMa and MoPa.  Whatever you're up to this weekend I hope you have a good one!

I would totally wear this.

Damn straight.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Don't you want me baby, don't you want me ohhh oh oh?!

Mmmm toasty warm

Our house is absolutely freezing at the moment but with the cost of gas and electricity soaring we try to keep the central heating on for as short a time as possible.  As such it's important to you know... check ETSY for stuff that I can have around the house that is knitted and pretty...

'Keepin' Cosy' by vivazephyr

Imaginative Rain Sweater sheilacouture $98	Grey linen scarf with neon y... StudioBin $39	80s Neon Blue Oversized Slou... thehappyforest $42
Neon infinity scarf multi ci... EasyStreets $25	Mitten set, kids, women, hol... RainbowMittens $75	Yellow Neon Hat// Warm Cozy ... ArtsyKnitting $40
Touch screen gloves- mint- i... Kunscarf $6.9	Neon Slouch Beanie, Blue Che... TangledYarnCre... $24.99	snood "Fröken Julie&qu... lestricotsdeli... $40
Hand knit wool mittens women... WoolSpace $25	Chunky Crochet Cowl Snood in... LumiStyle $50	6 7 36 37 Handknit thick lo... WoolSpace $35
100% hand knitted hot water ... annawoolmagic $29.99	Knitted Triangle Pattern Bab... YarningMade $95	Knitted Hot water bottle Cov... LoftLines $35
Chunky knitted throw blanket... ihanitse $79

Sponsored by send bulk email from excel.

Allotment geekery

Mighty parsnip!  Last year I accidently grew one parsnip because I didn't realise how long it takes them to germinate so thought they hadn't worked.  This year I had a little more patience, grew three rows of parsnips and finally we're being rewarded!

A few carrots for good measure, they did well but there is room for improvement next year.  I am trying to find old baths or other containers that I can raise up and grow carrots in because the majority of my crop this year were eaten by carrot root fly which is a shame.  But we just cut the nibbled bits off and ate the rest and they were delicious....

....especially in a homemade, herb crust veg pie with honey roasted parsnips and carrots with gravy and peas *dribble*.

Our allotment mate Laura has given up her final quarter of the plot.  Work, family and general life commitments make it a struggle at times to get to the plot and it was with regret that she had to give it up.  As such we started digging over the front quarter, happily the soil was perfect for digging and we got through a fair amount, assuming next weekend isn't too rainy we will crack on and get more done.

Turning negatives into postives

Well hey there!  Today was a good day, today I joined over a thousand Exeter folk and marched against the EDL.  Not familiar with the EDL?  Lucky you.  The English Defence League claim to be against extreme Islamism, but sadly they promote racist, often very violent views and target any one who is not white and born in Britain.  Sigh.  So in the face of a group of people promoting a lot of hatred how was today a good day?  Well Exeter Together organised a counter march to show the EDL that Exeter is a welcoming, diverse city and it was great!  Over a thousand people marched through town and held a rally in the centre of the high street which was really well supported, colourful, lively and fun.  Well done Exeter folk, I was proud to count myself in.

Blowing away the cobwebs

This weekend we had MozzyMa and Our Jim staying with us, which was the perfect excuse to visit Exmouth beach.  I love Exmouth especially in autumn and winter when it's not as crowded and you get to paddle in the sea with your wellies on.

The sea was so calm, barely a breath of wind and the colours were all slate grey, soft blues and turquoises.  I loved it, it proved to be a good opportunity to blow away the cobwebs and be outdoors.  Seemingly being outdoors is one of my favourite things to do these days.

Getting to grips with art

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I'm fairly certain that anyone who has studied an art degree will have had a conversation that goes a little something like this:

"I don't like modern art, I don't get it."
"Oh yeah?  Why's that?"
"My five year old could come up with something better than that, are you telling me that sticking blu-tack on the wall should be considered art????"

I struggle to respond to this sort of conversation, not that I don't have anything to say on the subject but more that I feel a weight of responsibility on my shoulders, how I respond will either fan the flames of dislike towards art or it will really fan the flames of dislike towards art. Usually (but not always) the person saying art is rubbish won't have their mind changed by me, they seem to have a very set opinion about art and that's that.

I'm not saying that all artwork is good or that you should like it just because it's within the art world etc. However disengaging yourself from all art because you don't get it or don't like the way it looks seems a shame to me as you might be detaching yourself from art that really engages you.  I'm going to let you into a little secret.... I don't get it all either, I don't like it all either, I roll my eyes at a lot of it all as well.  I like daft art, low brow art, colourful art, humourous art, art that doesn't take itself very seriously.  I do love a bit of whimsy.

But I must move on and get to the point of this post...

Grayson Perry was the 2013 BBC Radio 4 Reith Lecturer and gave a set of four talks entitled 'Playing to the Gallery'.  His lectures explore the non-sense of the art world and attempts to answer the question 'what is good art?'.  Perry's lectures are engaging, and funny and informative.  If you have a spare half an hour download a lecture, sit back and enjoy.

Neon Noel

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Ok so there is no denying that this is a shameless plug for my little ETSY shop Neon Noel but I feel a tiny bit confident that I'm not the only person on the planet that might like these garlands for Christmas?

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Happy Friday

I am off to celebrate my friends Ruthie and Dan's wedding on Saturday, whatever you folks are doing have a good one!

Me when I get hangry (hungry and therefore angry)

You've all seen this already no doubt but I just love this so much!

When Halloween was scary...

Couldn't let a Happy Friday go by without a Sherlock reference...