A new project

Today, four balls of this beauty dropped through my letterbox.  It is Sirdar Baby Crofter in a shade called 'Maisie'.  I have already knitted a cardigan in Baby Crofter for granddaughter Poppy, but as she is growing bigger by the day, I thought a larger size was in order, in more summery shades, for the spring.  I haven't had a project on the needles since Christmas, so now my fingers are twitching to get started!  Pictures to follow!

I went out for my daily walk this morning, just a 1.25 circular walk from home, amidst trees and birds and sunshine, really nice.  Since then I have been giving youngest son some moral support as he gets to grips with writing two 3,000 word essays to be handed in next week.  He's been working very hard, so he's on the last lap now.

A Sunny Walk

Today, was sunny, so Mr LFH, our two sons and I ventured out on a walk around Draycote Water, a local reservoir, which has a 5 mile perimeter track.  It took us 2 hours to walk the 5 miles, but that included stopping to take pics, as well as bumping into a whole bunch of our friends, with lots of hugs all round!

Draycote Water is 6 km south of Rugby in Warwickshire, in the village of Dunchurch, and is owned and operated by Severn Trent Water, to supply drinking water to Rugby.  It covers more than 600 acres, and holds up to 5,000 million imperial gallons of water.  It is by far the largest expanse of water in landlocked Warwickshire, so it almost feels like a walk along the coastline.

We stopped off a little way around to see the alpacas.  The alpaca farm is in a village called Toft, and these woolly beauties have a lovely view while they graze.  You can buy their wool to knit here.

More alpacas.

The sky and the water were really blue, amazing for January.

Here are the boys, wondering which way to go next, while I look on.  Do you like my new coat?  It's lovely and warm.

These were the views of the Warwickshire countryside we enjoyed along the water's edge.

Only one sailing boat braved the water today.

After leaving the reservoir, we had a little wander around the village of Dunchurch, and enjoyed seeing these quaint thatched cottages.

Here is the 14th century church of St Peters, Dunchurch.

I remembered to wear my pedometer, and was pleased to see that by the end of the walk I had clocked up 12,541 steps.  I've just looked at it again and it currently stands at over 13,000 steps.  I am feeling very pleased with myself!

It's been a great day.  I'd like to come back here again soon, as part of my plan to walk a lot more.  

This evening we had the rest of the veggie curry.  It's DH's last day of holiday, so I lit lots of candles on the dining table, and played Eva Cassidy while we ate.  Now we're sitting down and relaxing our tired feet!  

Bye for now.

happy New Year and Happy Birthday

Happy New Year to you all, and a Happy first birthday to Letters From Home.  Is it really a year since I posted my first post?

I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.

I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.

All that you sought and didn’t find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it but with more determination.

All the good that you tried for and didn’t achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.

All that you dreamed but didn’t dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have—these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.

I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new."

It's great to have that new white page feeling at the start of a new year, but also good to know that with Christ every day is an opportunity for a fresh start, and His mercies are "new every morning".

If I could sum up all the joy of 2011 in a single image, then here it is, spending precious time with my darling granddaughter, Poppy Annabel.  Her arrival has brought incredible joy to everybody. Isn't she a sweetie?!

I didn't go for a walk today, as I went to church, and we spent a happy day with my sister-in-law. But I am determined to walk more in 2012, and today I dug out my pedometer, that I bought when I used to go to Weightwatchers.  I've only done 2,500 steps today, and probably won't do many more now, but I want to get into the habit of wearing it every day, and gradually doing more steps.  I also like bikehike, where I can work out the number of miles I have walked.  

It would also help if I ate more sensibly, but the house is still full of tantalising titbits, in fact I am munching on Divine white chocolate as I write this, also my birthday is coming up this week, so maybe I will wait a few days before I give up the sweet stuff - lame excuses I know!  Bye for now.

The Year End

I cannot believe that tomorrow is not only the start of a new year, but it is also the First Birthday of Letters From Home!  It has been a busy year, and I haven't blogged nearly as often as I would have liked, but from now on I want to to try and post on most days.

Yesterday I bought my granddaughter Poppy a lovely coat from an 'upmarket' charity shop in Leamington Spa for £2.50, originally from Sainsbury's.

This afternoon I have made a big vegetable curry, mainly using veggies left over from Christmas, so this is almost a free meal!

I chopped and boiled some potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts and a cauliflower in hot water with a teaspoon of turmeric, which gives the veg a lovely colour.

In another pan I fried onions in a little oil, along with chopped garlic, and when softened I added a tablespoon of curry powder, some cumin  seeds and some paprika, just because I happened to have some.  To this I added chopped mushrooms and some yellow pepper. I threw in a handful of sultanas and some dried apricots.  Then I added a can of chopped tomatoes and about 250ml of vegetable stock.

When the veggies in the other pan were cooked, I drained them and added them to the curry mix and stirred it all together.

This is now sitting in a pan, waiting to be eaten!  I am going to serve this on a bed of rice, with low fat fromage frais on the top, along with some fresh pea-shoot salad, that I have just harvested.

I simply planted some dried peas, from the box above, in compost, a couple of weeks ago, and spread a thin layer of compost over them and kept them watered.  Ta-da!  A free, fresh salad in the depths of winter!  If you want the full instructions on growing pea shoots, go here.

Just a little walk this morning, 1.25 miles in 30 minutes, along our local streets, as the pavements were wet, so the fields would have been really muddy.  It's such a good feeling to be out walking, getting fresh air and exercise, I am feeling so much better for it, and so is Mr LFH too.

Happy New Year to you, here's to a healthy, happy, frugal 2012!

A Walk in the Woods

This morning, Mr LFH and I walked through our local woods.  We walked a distance of 2.6 miles in 65 minutes, according to Bikehike.  The weather was a little drizzly, but I wore my new Craghopper coat, which Mr LFH bought me yesterday, so I was warm and dry.  It looks exactly like this one..........

I love the colour because it looks a bit like a parka - very cool!  Anyway, it's warm and cosy and keeps me dry and I love it.  It was a bit pricey at £50, but apparently it should have been £115, so it looks like I've bagged a bargain!

I feel as if I have already begun my fresh start, and I am already well on the way to a healthier year, especially as we also walked almost 4 miles on Wednesday!  

What are you doing to make a fresh start?  Or maybe your life is so sorted you don't need one!  Either way, I am looking forward to finding out.