Croissant with ham, coffee, orange juice and water! Yum!
11 Feb 2012
The best coffee!
We think that the Spanish cafe con lece is just about the best coffee in the world!
Some nice tapas!
As you will imagine, we have been partaking of the excellent local tapas options here in Seville. It's very normal to go into a bar and order a small beer and a single tapas. Or rather tapa. This gives you a side plate size portion of whatever it is.it's also pretty normal to go from bar to bar doing this - a tapas crawl!
10 Feb 2012
Larging it
After giving it a bit large yesterday; walked miles, ate tons and drank more, we've had a nice quiet day today - reading, walking the local area and are now SAT OUTSIDE in a Spanish/Italian restaurant waiting for our dinner!
9 Feb 2012
Adventures in Seville - 8th feb
After a relatively uneventful journey down to Stansted we got parked in the (very easy to find) long term parking, and were on the bus to the terminal and checked in, in under 3 and a half hours from leaving home.
As per our normal custom, we found a nice bar and got ourselves a lovely pint of Guinness (extra cold) to begin our time away. We also are beginning a bit of a new custom, (last 2 holidays) which is to have dinner at Yo! Sushi - they seem to have been springing up in airports around the place - which I totally love!
The flight was short and again, non eventful apart from a very VERY annoying set of uncontrollable Spanish school children who swarmed up and down the plane squeaking and squealing loudly whilst the ineffectual teacher did nothing. Dan called them the 'Spanish St. Trinians'. I suppose that would make the teacher Joyce Grenful. Am I going back a bit too far?!! Anyway, kids today *sigh* !
The taxi was quick (8km from airport to the town centre) and he drove through narrower and narrower medieval streets. So now we get to the hotel which has a very grand frontage in Plaza Santa Maria la blanca.
The hotel is called...Las Casas De La Juderia 'the houses of the Jewish quarter' and is made up of 17 houses which are all in the area behind the grand palazzo which forms the frontage. They are linked together through what must be the original narrow medieval streets, and each palazzo has a central courtyard - very much the local moorish style- through which you have to walk in order to get to your room!
It took us about 3 goes to be confident about getting through to our room without error - we will post a video of the journey from the front door to our room, later on!
The room itself has a king sized bed, a full on waterfall shower (Dan's happy) and an interesting window arrangement which spans 2 floors of the adjoining courtyard; a bit above and a bit below the floor!
Currently we are sitting in the "piano bar" aka the main courtyard of the palazzo which makes up the grand frontage and reception, onto which they have put a roof and some wi-fi!!!
As per our normal custom, we found a nice bar and got ourselves a lovely pint of Guinness (extra cold) to begin our time away. We also are beginning a bit of a new custom, (last 2 holidays) which is to have dinner at Yo! Sushi - they seem to have been springing up in airports around the place - which I totally love!
The flight was short and again, non eventful apart from a very VERY annoying set of uncontrollable Spanish school children who swarmed up and down the plane squeaking and squealing loudly whilst the ineffectual teacher did nothing. Dan called them the 'Spanish St. Trinians'. I suppose that would make the teacher Joyce Grenful. Am I going back a bit too far?!! Anyway, kids today *sigh* !
The taxi was quick (8km from airport to the town centre) and he drove through narrower and narrower medieval streets. So now we get to the hotel which has a very grand frontage in Plaza Santa Maria la blanca.
The hotel is called...Las Casas De La Juderia 'the houses of the Jewish quarter' and is made up of 17 houses which are all in the area behind the grand palazzo which forms the frontage. They are linked together through what must be the original narrow medieval streets, and each palazzo has a central courtyard - very much the local moorish style- through which you have to walk in order to get to your room!
It took us about 3 goes to be confident about getting through to our room without error - we will post a video of the journey from the front door to our room, later on!
The room itself has a king sized bed, a full on waterfall shower (Dan's happy) and an interesting window arrangement which spans 2 floors of the adjoining courtyard; a bit above and a bit below the floor!
Currently we are sitting in the "piano bar" aka the main courtyard of the palazzo which makes up the grand frontage and reception, onto which they have put a roof and some wi-fi!!!
22 Jan 2012
Sock tutorial posts
Here are all the links to all 4 parts of the sock tutorials.
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2011/11/sock-tutorial-part-1.html
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2011/11/sock-tutorial-part-2.html
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2011/11/sock-tutorial-part-3.html
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2012/01/sock-tutorial-part-4.html
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2011/11/sock-tutorial-part-1.html
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2011/11/sock-tutorial-part-2.html
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2011/11/sock-tutorial-part-3.html
http://lizadan.blogspot.com/2012/01/sock-tutorial-part-4.html
Sock Tutorial - Part 4
This is Part 4 of a 4 part tutorial. The previous part is Part 3.
You've done brilliantly! You have a sock which is nearly finished and you are really on the home straight now.
At the end of part 3, you had completed all the decreases taking the number of stitches from 42 to 32. That's the original number we started with, and is the same number which we knitted all the way down the ankle tube with.
You can be proud of yourself for getting past all the complicated bits. It's now mostly just a knittathon to get this sock finished!
So, what's next? We're going to knit the foot.
Knit 16 rounds (that's it!) Keep the stitch markers in place, you'll be needing them for the toe shaping, later on.
Now for the final part - the toe!
You've done brilliantly! You have a sock which is nearly finished and you are really on the home straight now.
At the end of part 3, you had completed all the decreases taking the number of stitches from 42 to 32. That's the original number we started with, and is the same number which we knitted all the way down the ankle tube with.
You can be proud of yourself for getting past all the complicated bits. It's now mostly just a knittathon to get this sock finished!
So, what's next? We're going to knit the foot.
Knit 16 rounds (that's it!) Keep the stitch markers in place, you'll be needing them for the toe shaping, later on.
 |
| After 16 rounds, it really REALLY starts to look like a sock! |
Now for the final part - the toe!
I know that you are now an expert with knitting on 3 needles so I know you can handle this next bit which is not hard (look at what you've done already) but it is a bit fiddly. So here's what you are going to do...
Remember how for shaping the gusset, you decreased a stitch *before* the 1st marker and another one *after* the 2nd marker. And you did this on alternate rows, with a knit row in between?
This time for the toe, you're going to decrease a stitch *before and after* each marker. So that decreases 4 stitches on that row. Then there will be a knit row in between. You will be decreasing stitches until only 8 remain on the needles. This means that the last couple of rounds are quite fiddly. You will have to shuffle stitches around from needle to needle as you're knitting each round in order to get the right ones together (for the k2tog, and the ssk2tog).
So step by step...
Row 1: Knit until 3 stitches before the FIRST marker, knit 2 together, knit the next stitch (that takes you up to the marker) pass the marker from the left to the right needle, knit the next stitch, then ssk2tog. Knit until 3 stitches before the SECOND marker, knit 2 together, knit the next stitch (that takes you up to the marker) pass the marker from the left to the right needle, knit the next stitch, then ssk2tog. Finally knit to the end of the round. 28 stitches left on the needles.
Row 2: Knit the whole round.
Top Tip: Before you begin each decrease row, look ahead at the stitches that are 3 before and 3 after each marker. Shuffle the stitches round to make sure that the stitches you are going to be knitting together are on the same needle as each other.
 |
| Here is the toe in progress, only 16 stitches on the needles |
As you get fewer and fewer stitches on the needles, it does get a bit tighter and more fiddly but just persist, and follow the pattern until you have 8 stitches left. Remember to end on a row 2.
You will see a double line of decreases each side of the toe, like this...
 |
| Yay! It' a proper sock! |
Looking at the end of the toe, you then need to arrange the stitches onto 2 needles like this...
 |
| Note that the thread is coming from the back stitch, top right. |
At this point, you're all but done - the only thing that remains to be completed is to stitch up the final 8 stitches. You can do this in the usual way which is just to sew normally, making sure the thread passes THROUGH each of the 8 remaining stitches, so that they don't run.
The other way you can finish off a toe is by using Kitchener Stitch. This was invented by Lord Kitchener to make a seamless finish at the toe, to stop the seam rubbing the soldiers' toes in the 1st world war.
I use this you tube video to do my Kitchener with...I haven't yet got to the point where I can do this without following a video!
Once you have stitched the toe up - however you decide to do it - then all that remains is for you to make another one!! Oh and also to be tried on by the recipient...
 |
| Plenty of room for them to be grown in to! |
16 Dec 2011
Wedding Bells Part 2
Wedding Bells Part 1 is here
We had arrived at the 'Black Swan' in Oldstead.
It was a complete surprise to me - Dan had let out the clue that it was a Michelin star place we were going to, and that it was in Yorkshire - well there aren't that many - so I was pretty sure I knew where we were going (the aforementioned Star at Harome) - however what I hadn't taken into consideration was that the Michelin awards had only been 5 or 6 weeks before, and this place had only just received their star - so I wasn't looking quite in the right place!
Anyway, we arrived along a 1 mile long track from Bylands Abbey (you have to pass through an archway of the abbey to get to Oldstead so it's suitably theatrical!) and pulled into an L shaped courtyard/car park. It was rather unprepossessing to look at - quite homely - looking rather like some nicely done up farm buildings. We parked up and went into the reception where we were greeted by a lovely girl - very friendly and chatty - who checked our booking and took us round to one of the 4 rooms they have in this lovely 'Restaurant with Rooms'.
I do think we got the best room - it had a 4 poster bed, and a cast iron roll top bath in the lovely bathroom (which had underfloor heating much to both of our delight!) mmmmm warm toesies!
On top of that there was a bottle of champagne sat on ice. Fab! I always like it when an evening starts with champers!
After sweeping round the room a bit and investigating all the luxurious trappings whilst consuming our champagne, we headed over to the bar of the pub. One of the really nice things about this Michelin Star restaurant is that it is basically a fabby pub, with a cozy fire, big tables to sit round, cosy nooks, lots of books, oh and excellent food! So down we went into the bar, and sat and chatted to the owners and staff, whilst having a pint. (Hmmmm Black Sheep on top of Champers; possibly a slightly dubious combination!)
Anyway, we were in for an early dinner so we hurtled back to the room to change (it turned out we really didn't need to, but we glammed it up anyway!)
We were booked in for the 7 course taster menu with the paired wines. Details here... http://blackswanoldstead.co.
As always in a Michelin restaurant, the food and service were impeccable. This time, though, it was very relaxed and friendly - much less 'stiff' than some of the places we've been to in the past. This really suits the lovely location and slightly more chilled vibe which I think they're going for.
Here are a few pics of the food - not all though - the camera went wonky in the middle :(
All through the evening, Dan had my lovely engagement ring in his top pocket which he patted smugly at various points during the meal.
"Go on, let me put it on" I kept asking.... I was answered with a pat of the pocket!!!
To cut a long story short, I never got to put my ring on at all that evening!!! We finished the meal, and walked the 4 pages back to our room, and zonked out for the night.
The following morning after breakfast (which was magnificent!) I was finally allowed to put the ring on! YAY! 5th December - official 'getting engaged' date!
When we got home we started the lovely task of ringing up the folks and friends to let them in on the secret we'd been keeping since August!!
We had arrived at the 'Black Swan' in Oldstead.
It was a complete surprise to me - Dan had let out the clue that it was a Michelin star place we were going to, and that it was in Yorkshire - well there aren't that many - so I was pretty sure I knew where we were going (the aforementioned Star at Harome) - however what I hadn't taken into consideration was that the Michelin awards had only been 5 or 6 weeks before, and this place had only just received their star - so I wasn't looking quite in the right place!
Anyway, we arrived along a 1 mile long track from Bylands Abbey (you have to pass through an archway of the abbey to get to Oldstead so it's suitably theatrical!) and pulled into an L shaped courtyard/car park. It was rather unprepossessing to look at - quite homely - looking rather like some nicely done up farm buildings. We parked up and went into the reception where we were greeted by a lovely girl - very friendly and chatty - who checked our booking and took us round to one of the 4 rooms they have in this lovely 'Restaurant with Rooms'.
I do think we got the best room - it had a 4 poster bed, and a cast iron roll top bath in the lovely bathroom (which had underfloor heating much to both of our delight!) mmmmm warm toesies!
On top of that there was a bottle of champagne sat on ice. Fab! I always like it when an evening starts with champers!
After sweeping round the room a bit and investigating all the luxurious trappings whilst consuming our champagne, we headed over to the bar of the pub. One of the really nice things about this Michelin Star restaurant is that it is basically a fabby pub, with a cozy fire, big tables to sit round, cosy nooks, lots of books, oh and excellent food! So down we went into the bar, and sat and chatted to the owners and staff, whilst having a pint. (Hmmmm Black Sheep on top of Champers; possibly a slightly dubious combination!)
Anyway, we were in for an early dinner so we hurtled back to the room to change (it turned out we really didn't need to, but we glammed it up anyway!)
We were booked in for the 7 course taster menu with the paired wines. Details here... http://blackswanoldstead.co.
As always in a Michelin restaurant, the food and service were impeccable. This time, though, it was very relaxed and friendly - much less 'stiff' than some of the places we've been to in the past. This really suits the lovely location and slightly more chilled vibe which I think they're going for.
Here are a few pics of the food - not all though - the camera went wonky in the middle :(
All through the evening, Dan had my lovely engagement ring in his top pocket which he patted smugly at various points during the meal.
"Go on, let me put it on" I kept asking.... I was answered with a pat of the pocket!!!
To cut a long story short, I never got to put my ring on at all that evening!!! We finished the meal, and walked the 4 pages back to our room, and zonked out for the night.
The following morning after breakfast (which was magnificent!) I was finally allowed to put the ring on! YAY! 5th December - official 'getting engaged' date!
When we got home we started the lovely task of ringing up the folks and friends to let them in on the secret we'd been keeping since August!!
15 Dec 2011
No snow in crossflatts
It seems to have taken everyone else a very long time to get to work this morning. I was ok - only 50 mins. No snow in Morley , none here in Crossflatts and hardly any in between!
The hash tag #uksnow has been trending on twitter but i think that is more about wishful thinking than anything to do with actual snow!
https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23uksnow
So check out this website...it uses that hashtag to determine snow levels (you have to tweet a mark out of 10 and a postcode) and u can see the live UK snowfall
http://uksnowmap.com/
Hopefully I'll make it home tonight - I forgot my yaktrax!
The hash tag #uksnow has been trending on twitter but i think that is more about wishful thinking than anything to do with actual snow!
https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23uksnow
So check out this website...it uses that hashtag to determine snow levels (you have to tweet a mark out of 10 and a postcode) and u can see the live UK snowfall
http://uksnowmap.com/
Hopefully I'll make it home tonight - I forgot my yaktrax!
6 Dec 2011
Wedding Bells!
We were sat in Mark's Bar - Cucina - in Morley way back in the summer. Dan said 'I think it's time we got married' I burst into tears! We have been talking about getting married in the abstract sense for a long time. It's been complicated as we both have such differing beliefs and like such different things. This was the 'getting married in the specific sense'! I couldn't believe we'd actually got to that point.
So there was an agreement that it would happen, but not quite how, when or where!! One thing we did agree on though, that we weren't 'engaged' until a ring had been purchased.
It was a busy summer so nothing really got done until we got back from Italy in September. At the end of September, remember that lovely hot weekend? We went into Leeds, had a lovely meal, and went looking in some of the nice jewellery shops in the city centre. Straight away we saw something which looked a bit like this one and we thought it looked just the ticket. I didn't want anything that looked too "engagementy" and I also didn't want anything which stuck out or I'd end up catching it on things; I'd be too afraid to wear it! Visions of watching a diamond pinging off into the distance!
So there was an agreement that it would happen, but not quite how, when or where!! One thing we did agree on though, that we weren't 'engaged' until a ring had been purchased.
It was a busy summer so nothing really got done until we got back from Italy in September. At the end of September, remember that lovely hot weekend? We went into Leeds, had a lovely meal, and went looking in some of the nice jewellery shops in the city centre. Straight away we saw something which looked a bit like this one and we thought it looked just the ticket. I didn't want anything that looked too "engagementy" and I also didn't want anything which stuck out or I'd end up catching it on things; I'd be too afraid to wear it! Visions of watching a diamond pinging off into the distance!
After thinking about it that evening we thought why go looking for anything else when we both liked the one we had seen in Leeds. We planned to go into Leeds the next day & put down the deposit on it.
Literally, the next morning, just as we were about to go into town, I was looking on a website called Offbeat Bride which is a fabby resource for the 'non-bridely' bride (aka me) and I saw a picture of a ring in the adverts on the right hand side of the page
Well it was a picture of 2 rings - I'm not really a solitaire kinda gal but I totally loved the simple leafy band on the left. I clicked on the advert and it brought me to Valerie K Studio Etsy page.
Ooooooh it was ring heaven! I still liked the leaf one best and then I saw the leaf ring sandwiched between the 2 eternity bands. I *knew* they were mine. I showed Dan and said I really really liked them - they were a little bit different - we both loved that idea - nothing if not unconventional!
We then entered into the conversation with Valerie about gold and diamonds. All that decided we placed the order and then it was a matter of time to wait for it to be made and then to arrive in the post!!!
Valerie lives in Pasedina and so I had a nice little parcel tracking number which allowed me to see our parcel as it went from her local post office, to the central one, to LA, on the plane, to Heathrow, to Leeds, and then to the house!
The whole process took about 4 weeks but I would check the DHL website ohhh about 5000 times a day! In fact Dan sent me this fab cartoon from XKCD on the subject of online parcel tracking...
 |
| It's from XKCD.com a brilliant online cartoon - link below. |
Yes, that was me. Still in Pasedina. Still in Pasedina. Still in Pasedina!
Anyway, it got here eventually and we set the date of letting the rest of the world in on the secret as being the first weekend in December.
We tried to organise something nice for that weekend - Barcelona, Edinburgh, Kinsale, but nothing quite worked out.
We started looking closer to home, and then one afternoon Dan said 'I've booked something for Edinburgh'. ('Going to Edinburgh' had become our codeword for 'Getting Engaged'!!!) "oh really, where?" I replied. "Not telling" he said. So it was decided. I wasn't to know until we got there!!!
Last Sunday we got in the car and Dan gave me the driving instructions. Up the A1 to start with. I was convinced we were going to 'The Star' at Harome so I thought "Aha! I'm right" We got pretty close to Helmsley, and then turned off and ended up coming past Bylands Abbey we'd been to a few years ago for my birthday after a little stay at the Feversham Arms in Helmsley.
We came up to the Abbey, but then the instructions had us turning away from the Abbey and down a little road opposite...for about a mile.
It was very narrow - good job I drive a midget-mobile - and then we heard 'you have arrived at your destination', we were there!
Part 2 to follow!
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