Those Few English Days....

The first post-holiday week of work is over and - oh boy! - I am so tired. It was barely seven p.m. when I got home and thought I would simply crash into bed, but a portion of six Czech plum-filled dumplings covered with lots of sweet cocoa powder and bathing in a disgustingly huge amount of melted butter gave me a bit of a lift : ) Work is great, as always, but also very tiring (as always, actually) and every time I have a little blank space in my schedule, my mind wonders a week and a few days back, when I was in the UK with my man, resting peacefully and getting my tummy stuffed with all kinds of good things.

We had a few days of classic British weather. That dark and rainy kind of it, which reminds me of holidays somewhere in a cottage, when the best you can do is make a cup of tea and play a board game or read a book.

When the weather was nice, we tried cycling around the town or along the Basingstoke Canal, which was lovely. It was very green and there were many moorhens on it, too. For me, cycling in the UK was scary. My bike was heavy, I rode it wigglily and just the fact that you have to ride on the left side of the road and even the breaks are placed the other way round compared to "continental" bikes... I tried hard to fit in, but I guess there is too much continent still in me : )

We had a lovely lunch in one of restaurants in Woking. My man's steak didn't taste very good, but the mussels I had were absolutely delicious. I love eating invertebrates, but eating so many creatures made me want to eat something vegetarian.

There were many evenings of slow crafting while watching something funny. I made these "gingerbread" Christmas decorations. As you can see on the heart, I learned a few new stitches too. They are very uneven so far, but I think it gives the decoration some of the important handmade charm : )

I also found some time to wind and organise my threads that are now used more for sewing than for knotting friendship bracelets. I have got quite a collection now and will definitely not buy any in some time.

I finally started liking holly. I used to call it "evil plant", because of its really sharply pointed leaves, but only now in winter did I fully appreciate its beauty. The contrast of shiny green or brown leaves with the red berries is amazing. Cutting these while standing on the top step of a ladder, on my own two shaky legs, trying to reach for the pretty bits was also an unforgettable experience. Even more so, when one of the pretty bits landed on my face.

So gone are the days of cozy and snuggly breakfast in bed with my snaily mug and guilt-free five mince pies a days just because "I'm hungry..." (the Englishman can already immitate me with a very fake foreign accent). There was tea in bed, tea out of bed, tea with food, tea on its own, tea with friends, tea with FRIENDS on TV, tea outside and tea with cake... We do love tea  : )

There was also some piano playing, experimental guitar playing and we even got to planting bits of my graduation bouquet into the garden soil and picking old fallen apples... I could stay in the garden all day. I am looking forward to the graduation bulbs to sprout, but right now - resting! : )