And the gooseberry saga continues...


From berries...
...to juice...

...to jelly!
And it tastes so good. Much better than the jelly you buy and there is nothing in there but berries, water and sugar. I'm already dreaming of all the hearty dishes I'll cook this winter to serve it with. The glasses are all different shapes and sizes as they are reused, they have held everything from mustard to fake caviar.

Jellicious!

Being home means that I get to spend time with friends and family and it gives me the opportunity to learn from my parents. You see, the jelly making season just started here and my parents have gooseberries in their garden. One has to get around to making the jelly before they ripen, because when they are ripe, they contain too little pectin and yes, I know you can add that, but why would you, when nature provides all you need? So I asked my mum if we could do it, while I'm home and her answer was: "Do it yourself!". So I am. With the comfort of having my mum around to guide me, I'm DIY'ing the jelly.
I got 1,3 kg fruit and added 8 dl water, it is now gently simmering away and I know that by the end of tomorrow (it needs to drip overnight) I will be confident in how to make jelly.

Rainy day knitting

It has been raining cats and dogs    all    day   long   here.  I had planned to go into the capital and then to another city, but not in this kind of weather I'm not.

I'm staying indoors and cooking whatever I can find for dinner, because there is no way I'm going out in this weather. I guess Mother Nature still hasn't got the memo, that it's supposed to be summer here, not cold, rugged autumn-esque.

But I'm not complaining too much, because this is the perfect weather to sit on the couch, with some nice tea and some knitting.


These are my man's Christmas socks. The first is somewhere on the foot. I ran out of yarn and decided to start the second sock with the new skein. That way I'll only have 2 ends to weave in on the second sock. It's also a great way to avoid second sock syndrome. So this second sock is on the heel flab.
This is happy knitting for me. First of all because I love the pattern, it's madder ribbed socks by Nancy Bush. Secondly, these are his christmas gift and my dad's christmas socks are already done and I'm working on my mum's. BUT then the yarn broke... buhh for yarn with knots. Yay for being well on the way with christmas knitting.


Are you planning on knitting for christmas and have you started yet?

Crocheting cotton pads


I usually stick to knitting, but that doesn't mean I can't crochet or don't appreciate it. It has its place and one of the things it's supposed to be good at is making cotton pads. 

I use 2 cotton pads every day. That turns out to be a lot of pads in a year and a lot of trash. They are not expensive to buy, but reusable pads would be way better both for the wallet and the environment. And let's face it, nice handmade cotton pads will look much better in the bathroom, than those store ones in plastic wrapping. 

Just because I'm nerdy


I stumbled upon Nerd Quirks on pinterest today and let me tell what amazing fun it is. I am such a nerd and so many of these are spot on. Like the one above. Clearly, Ross is the best 'friend' ever!

Are you a nerd?