A photo an hour: 14 December 2014

This month, Jane’s photo an hour took place on a Sunday. The day before, I had been out and about, but on photo an hour day I didn’t actually do a great deal, so it’s another boring one I’m afraid 😉 I didn’t even go grocery shopping because everything’s closed on a Sunday in Germany!

11 a.m. We were out watching a friend’s band the night before, so my day got off to a late start. First things first, must make a cuppa!

12 noon. Turning a cross stitched design into a Christmas card.

1 p.m. Back stitching.

2 p.m. Another card finished!

3 p.m.(ish) Out of the shower, time to get dressed.

4 p.m. Time to clean the kitchen.

5 p.m. Starting to cook tea. This is the second month in a row that this picture has shown a pumpkin – I swear we do eat other things!

6 p.m. Time to eat.

7 p.m. Second attempt at reading a book by a local author for the winter reading challenge. This time it actually does have enough pages.. I checked!

8 p.m. “If I’m going to post these cards tomorrow I should probably actually address the envelopes…”

9 p.m. I’ll just try and get one more card finished before I go to sleep…

10 p.m. Bed time! (Except I forgot to actually take a photo so here’s a bonus one of another completed card to avoid ruining my symmetry…)

Spring cleaning in July

After spending ages trying desperately to ignore it, this afternoon I finally got tired of living in a pigsty and decided to tidy my room. Now with me “tidying my room” doesn’t just mean clearing the desk, putting a couple of things away and hoovering the floor. Oh no, it has to be done properly (which is probably why I don’t do it very often). So out came the cleaning stuff, the broom, the dustpan and brush and I started to tidy. Clothes were folded and put away in the wardrobe. The bag we took to Jan’s parents with us in June(!!) was finally unpacked and put away. The floor was swept and mopped. I even cleaned the radiator! Now I’m hot, exhausted and feel all dusty, but it’s worth it. My room is all sparkly and clean and hopefully I won’t need to do it again for a long, long time.

Other than cleaning I haven’t done much today. Sunday isn’t a day for doing things really, is it? Especially not when it’s raining, as it was today. Jan stayed last night so he was here all morning and most of the afternoon. We ate tomato soup with croutons and watched a programme about a baby who wouldn’t stop crying. After he left I spent ages searching the internet for an easy recipe for cottage pie.Half an hour later I realised that I hadn’t actually looked in any of my recipe books yet, so I went and picked up the student cook book that my Grandma got me and lo and behold… a recipe for cottage pie. In case anyone’s wondering it’s “The Really Useful Ultimate Student Cook Book” by Silvana Franco and it really is very useful.
Having finally found my cottage pie recipe Istarted tidying up, all the while wondering what typically English dessert I can serve to my floor on Wednesday. Trifle is too complicated (and I’m not sure I’ll get all the right ingredients in Germany anyway). Apple crumble is easy but needs to go in the oven, which is where the cottage pie will be. Yorkshire Parkin is yummy but takes too long. Victoria Sponge cake is too boring. At this rate I’m just going to end up serving them jelly and icecream! Unless anyone has a better idea for me. Answers on the back of a postcard… or you could just post them in the comments box below 😉