Two weeks ago or so I tried making a engish tea loaf for the first time. You have to soak raisins in strong tea overnight. I like both tea and raisins so I decided to try it. The recipe had a little too much liquid so I´ll use less next time I try it. It was good but way too wet. I had it with some ceylon tea, watched the sunday youtube videos (always a lot of videos on sundays) and did some steampunk jigsaw puzzles. A very nice sunday.
Reading:
Legends and Lattes, Bookstores and bonedust by Travis Baldree. I really liked these two. I do love me some fantasy and these books were quite good. I liked all the characters. Somehow you don´t expect a book about an orc, opening up a cafe. Especially when everybody is writing about faries these days.
A court of silver flames by Sarah J. Maas. Speaking of fairies I finished the court of thorns and roses book series. A court of silver flames is the last book and previously I had given up on it.
I like smut as much as every other lady but that book was just too much smut. The book would have been much better without it, it didn´t add anything, it was just annoying. I did like the first 3 books of the series but I feel the author really shot herself in the foot with the last one.
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.
So I saw one of the people I fallow on Instagram talking about the book and I got exited.
Maisie Dobbs works as a private eye in London in the 20s. She start looking into a resort for former soldiers from ww1 were everything isn´t as it seems. This book reminded me a little bit of Miss Fisher murder mysteries (wich is a show I love and rewatch often)
It was a little slow getting into but it got very interesting. There is 18 books in the series so I see a lot of Maisie Dobbs in my future.
I have actually read books 1 and 2 of Miss Fisher´s murder mysteries by Kerry Greenwood and I´d like to read them all. I really like the characters.
Listening.
I´ve been listening to a lot of hardcore punk recently especially Dead Kennedys.
Ham. This band is always in rotation. If you are not Icelandic Ham is a rock band with cult status that is still active. I´m actually going to see them tonight. I´m very exited.
Twee
I have some twee playlists on spotify. Twee is cute indie music like Belle and Sebastian, She & him and camera obscura.
Recently I bought a casette player. I´ve wanted to do this for a long time. I´m visually impaired and therefore quite clumsy so I thought casettes would fit me better than vinyl (although I use to have record player when I was a teenager). It also fits my minimalistic lifestyle.
The first cassette I bought was Mitski´s Be the cowboy and I really enjoy it.
I have bought 4 more cassettes and I have been raiding thrift stores but I have not found anything but accordion music and 80s tourist tapes from Grand Canary. I´ll be looking around for some more.
Watching
The apocatary diaries. I watch this anime hoping it would akin to Violet Evergarden (wich I really love) It´s not but still very good.
It´s about Maomao who is kidnapped and sold to the imperial palace. She becomes a healer and a food taster and gets into many adventures. It is set in China in the 7th century. I look forward to seeing season 2.
A lot and lot of youtube videos. I mainly watch youtube and anime because it´s short. I don´t have the attention span for long shows.
So in the end of march I moved yet again.
For the last 8 years I have moved 8 times, I was in the last place for 3 years so before that it was approx. 2 moves a year.
Now I have gotten lucky (finally) and I got a place I can stay for the rest of my life. I´m so relieved. The constant stress of appartment hunting sure takes a toll.
Now I can breathe.
I recently (yesterday) finished a pair of socks. The pattern is called monte socks by an Icelandic knitting designer Sveina Björk Jóhannesdóttir. I changed it a little (that´s how I do) I skipped the eyelet patterned and made them reach to my calf.
The pattern has a special heel that I like very much, it´s isn´t very complicated and it looks great.
The socks a very comfortable and warm and I´m very pleased with them. I will definietly will be using the heel again, I hate most other heels especially german short row heels (they always have a lot of holes) I guess the heel flap and gusset are the heel i´ve used most often.
I really want to make a sock pattern called tea and scandal (a miss marple inspired socks) by this handmade life.
I frog a lot. I am currently frogging a granny stitch cocoon sweater I thought I would love but didn´t really work out for me (it was too irregular). It will be a bitch to frog all these little squares and it´s trying my patience.
I have this sweater I frogged 4 times and finally on the 5th go it finally worked out. I don´t really regret any of the frogging, I think it´s better to frog something 4 times than have something in my closet that doesn’t work for me.
So I guess you can call me miss Frog :)
For those who don´t know what frogging is, it´s a crochet and knitting term for undoing something. It´s called frogging because you “rip it”
Recently I finished to the point shawl by Wilma Westenberg. Pattern here
I had made this shawl before out of wool but I am changing from wool to cotton and other plantfibers because I have some sensory issues and I can´t take the itchyness.
So I made it out of Drops loves you nr. 7 (I think) and now I can enjoy this beautiful shawl without constantly scratching myself.
I haven´t been on here for 3 years but I want to start blogging again.
So I´ll start with a easy blog
Watching
Star trek the next generation. This is one of my safety shows, always so enjoyable to watch.
Listening
I´ve been listening to a lot of Joy division lately and some other post punk/goth stuff.
Reading
I am reading my way through Terry Pratchett´s discworld again. I am currently on book nr 7 Pyramids.
I finished last month reading series The other´s by Anne Bishop. The first book is called Written in red and I do recommend the whole series if you like supernatural beings and found families.
I am also reading my way through James Elroy´s La quartet I´m on book 2 the big nowhere at the moment. I´m not sure about these books, I find the language incredibly shocking (racist, sexist and homophobic)
All these books are audiobooks but I´m also reading some ebook
Steampunk trilogy by Paul Di Filippo and The Carnelian crow by Coleen Gleason
Well that´s enough for now.
