Monday 6 April 2015

Easter weekend


Have you had a good Easter weekend? Ours has been a lovely mixture of inside and out. I went for a couple of walks in the area to see what was new in nature and saw my first butterflies of the year. A small tortoiseshell...


and a peacock.




Flowers are still few and far between but I did see plenty of daisies, lungwort and coltsfoot.



Thanks to Amanda of The Quiet Walker who is following a tree, I was also able to identify a group of larch trees. I'm going to try harder this year to identify trees in our area. I have the impression that there's mostly silver birch and willow but I'm sure I'll find more than that!


We also had a day out at Speke Hall but I'll save the photos for another time. This is a muddy view down to the river Mersey. It felt so good to be out under the warmth of sunshine and blue skies.


Homewise, as of today, I am the owner of a new fence! Is it normal to be excited about a fence?


Probably more understandable to be excited about cake. Parsnips were on special offer in Aldi so I decided to have a go at making parsnip cake, despite the fact that Chickpea hates them! I used this basic recipe but added my own flavourings of lemon, ginger and cardamom. Highly recommended and not a parsnip flavour in sight.

Lastly...



I finally finished my blanket! I used Lucy's cosy stripe pattern and yarn pack but added three of my own colours (a dark purple, bright pink and mustard yellow). I enjoyed making it so much that I've now started a ripple.

So I still have my journal quilt to show you and the photos from Speke Hall. I'm hoping to have more time soon as I'm only back at work for 4 days and then have 2 whole weeks off - I can't wait!

Enjoy the rest of this long weekend. xx

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like a lovely weekend. The weather has been great hasn't it?! I saw my first butterflies today - two small tortoiseshells. I heard my first chiffchaff today too. Your blanket looks great, I like the colours.

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  2. Your blanket is fab! Love your Easter mantel too. The larch cones are incredible aren't they! xx

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  3. Lovely photos - I"ll have to go look at the Larch Trees - I've never seen them up close - love the cones. And the butterflies - what fun!

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  4. Thanks for the mention Julie, glad you found some Larch, the flowers in your photo look like little cup cakes.... Hope to post tree post tomorrow, running a little late with things..
    Have been baking, made your Fifteens, all gone in two days.. made Tea bread and Banana cake.
    Amanda xx

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  5. Oh what lovely signs of spring and I envy you your colourful throw. The parsnip cake looks and sounds amazing. :)

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