How much?

Whole Foods opened its doors in Cheltenham yesterday, so I dropped in at the same time as the whole population of the area it seemed, for a quick look around.  I’m a fan already and am delighted to have a branch so close to me.  Though I’m not a regular buyer of organic produce I  fully support their local foods initiative and always look enviously at the huge range of goods on offer when I’m in the USA – or in London for that matter.

I stopped by in between two work commitments and was feeling peckish.  A slice of delicious mushroom and ricotta pizza hit the spot and if I could have made my way through the crowds to one of the other fresh food counters, I might have washed it down with some juice or other.  I sat at one of the picnic tables, warmed by the logfire adding a pretty nice touch to the outdoor area to the side of the store and enjoyed a fine bit of people watching.  But time was pressing and I had to do my “real” shopping at Sainsbury’s next door – which was as quiet as the grave.  The young woman on the checkout asked if I’d been “over there” yet, because she was looking forward to finishing her shift and seeing what the fuss was about.  Earlier customers had told her all about it, she said, but had found it “a bit expensive”.

It will be interesting to see if Cheltenham can support the £12 apple pie.

Bah humbug

It’s the third of November.  We’ve been shopping for a couple of colourful  cushions and a throw for our redecorated bedroom, which is about as nearly finished as it was a couple of weeks ago but now has posh new curtains hanging at the window.  But what did we find?

It appears to be Christmas in Bristol.  After a couple of hours in the company of every man woman and screaming child in the county, we’d had enough.  We didn’t find the cushions we had in mind and the throw we bought doesn’t really fit with our ideas either, so we’ll probably take it back.

We stopped off a the pub on the way home for lunch.  It’s Christmas there too.

A heap of post waited on the doormat – gift ideas to indulge loved ones (at Lakeland?  Really?)

Well, maybe here?  Ok.  Perhaps I’ll be tempted to take a look ;-)

This is our recycling basket, already brimming over with offerings from here and there and I suspect there will be a few more on the pile before the day is out.

We will console ourselves with one new arrival at our local Lidl which resolves any feeling of bah humbug and goes rather nicely with a lebkuchen biscuit (thank you, Karin!) 

After all, it is the third of November.

Finishing

Thank you, friends, for the support following yesterday’s little hiatus.  Much appreciated and a timely reminder that it happens to us all at some point.  I’m feeling more positive this morning and less overwhelmed by things, but am trying not to overdo it and allow myself just a wee bit more breathing space for now.

So I sat at my desk and looked across to my sewing machine table and spotted a pile of unfinished “hotmats”, started shortly after our holidays when I came home with a packet of these in my suitcase.  I had begun the set of four thinking they’d be a quick and easy project, whipped up in minutes.

Of course, you know what happened then, don’t you?  That quick and easy project went smoothly for 75% of the way but when I hit a small problem and things didn’t go quite according to plan, I became a little disenchanted with the whole idea and gathered the stuff up and left it.  Actually, I did more than that – I cut out a mistake and tried to remedy it but was unsuccessful and left it at that stage.

But this morning was the perfect time to pick up those oh-so-very-nearly-finished things and just complete them.  I did all four in little more than an hour, applying the binding and then mindlessly handsewing the last bits.  They are not works of art, nor are they heirloom quality stitching, but they are done, and with such things, done is almost always better than perfect.  As I sewed them, I remembered what a lovely day we had at Zion National Park,  and the true function of a souvenir was put into practice.  Therapy in all ways – not only did I enjoy the distraction of remembering that lovely place, leaving behind all the baggage of yesterday, but I also had the satisfaction of finishing something and seeing an empty corner of my sewing table (not to mention a little stack of hotmats, too)

I now need to remember that feeling of satisfaction having finished a UFO.  There are several more lurking around here.

Gathering

Spending time at home today in a bit of a wool-gathering mood after a minor meltdown this morning.  I’m used to keeping several plates spinning, have always got at least a handful of things going on at once and several more in my mind at varying stages of completion.  This morning, however, for some reason, it got a bit out of hand and I needed to reboot my brain!

 

We’d had such a brilliant weekend with non stop fun and nonsense.  Edward came home and joined the goings on and the house was filled with interesting and thought provoking conversations usually around the kitchen table.  There was music – not unusual for this house in itself, but Purcell?   The wonders of Spotify and Sonos – and a half dozen assorted ipads/iphones in control!

We played “Who’s in the Bag?” again for the first time in years and fell about laughing, as we inevitably do as soon as certain names appear.  So many fond memories associated with it all.

Spending a morning in Cirencester, at the Corinium Museum with no fewer than four historians more than made up for my total lack of interest knowledge and allowed me to focus completely on the visual feast that is on display there.  Oh, and having kindled our intellects all day, what better way to spend the evening than at Hobbs House Bistro where the house red, served by the litre jugfull is simply delicious (but seems to evaporate before our very eyes ;-)

 

So was it all of that or the after effects of the huge Sunday lunch and the Brooklyn Blackout cake I cooked, which sent me over the edge this morning?

Or might it just possibly have been something I picked up during a meeting at work yesterday?

Whatever it was/is, a total switch off and a bit of peace and quiet was needed. There is a lot to be said for getting off the merry go round every now and again, and next time, I need to remember to recognise the warning signs so that I can step off gracefully before I come crashing down with a bump!

The answer

Remember, a couple of posts ago when I was wondering what this was used for?  Well, I thought that I would email Ballenberg and ask the experts.  Within an hour, there came a reply:

“The object in question has been used to transport great big wheels of cheese. The cheese would have been strapped to the round bit of the object, and the whole thing carried on the back similar to a backpack”

Who’d have guessed that? 

Thank you, Petra, from the museum, for such a clear answer!