Staycation

This year we decided to stay right where we were for the summer holidays. We're saving up to make our two bedroom cottage a little bigger next year so exploring on our doorstep (with associated pyjama days with gargantuan pancake breakfasts, scampering in the garden and crochet) seemed like an excellent plan.

Have you been to West Runton beach in Norfolk? The rockpooling! The blennies! THE CRABS! Finding a sea anemone attached to a pebble, popping it in your bucket and watching its tentacles emerge is a source of rockpool joy. Youngest found a crab and called him 'Chicken Kebab'. Eldest caught a shrimp and declared that he was grumpy, so she called him 'Stinkeye'. Stinkeye, Chicken Kebab and two other crustaceans were placed in the same bucket. Unexpectedly a small pincer-ish melee ensued. Chicken Kebab did not fare well. I'll leave that slightly tragic story there...

Lenny blenny and Penny Blenny.

My very first crocheted shawl was a South Bay Shawlette. Have you tried this pattern? Its two row repeat is brilliant - it grows quickly and looks so fancy-ish and lacy that passers by are sure to ooh and ahh at your astonishing hook-ish skills. Also, you can channel Miss Matty to excellent effect whilst wearing it *adjusts day cap*. In reality it's quite a simple series of chains and clusters of trebles. I began a new South Bay during my staycation as a woolly treat. I skipped off to The Sheep Shop and bought three skeins of the beautifully soft undyed Blue faced Leicester chunky roving. It's coming along nicely and making my lap cosy as the evenings grow slightly chillier. 

During our holiday-at-home spent a fair amount of time in two very familiar yet excellent places.

The wood behind our cottage, where we discovered small clouds of butterflies during the golden hour and Minnie the dog (now 15 and in her sprightly dotage) pretended to be a top predator as ever, but in reality scampered about a bit and burgled blackberries from the bushes.

We burgled some too of course...

The garden and my shed/studio. It's a small box of holiday at the end of the garden. We always feel relaxed in this little space. There's been lego-ing, barbeque-scoffing, lolling, napping and sheltering from rainstorms up there. It may not be a beach hut but watching the dog dozing on the lawn next to my cutting patch (whilst eating a chunk of cake and sipping a gin) was almost as good as a view of the sea. Almost.

Finally I have been on a small baking odyssey during our break. I made scones for only the second time ever. Have you ever eaten a dense, baking powder-bitter scone in a teashop? I've had plenty and having made tragic pancake-like scones that tasted as though they were made entirely from neutrons on my first try 15 years ago I felt the scone fear. I tried a recipe involving a squeeze of lemon in the milk, added zest to the mix and used cranberries instead of rasins and they were a light fluffy joy with a delicious crust. In fact we had them for breakfast the next day, after which the entire batch had disappeared.

Despite my reservations we do feel refreshed and ready for the *whispers* A-word which I can feel creeping round the corner.

Have you ever had a staycation? What did you get up to?