The perfect winter weekend lunch

Delicious thick, hearty barley and lentil soup from this recipe, accompanied by homemade crusty rolls. The perfect antidote to wild winter weather outside.

Stripy socks

The drive to Rotorua for the marathon gave me an excuse for some guilt-free crafting. Reading in the car makes me feel sick, so I couldn't do any coursework. But, for some reason, I CAN knit in the car. Yay! I planned to start these socks as soon as we left Wellington, but they are knit from the toe-up and I didn't know how to do a crochet cast-on. Google saved the day once we got to my Mum's house and I was able to start these up there and do some knitting on the way home.



The yarn is Wendy Happy, a new sock yarn made from bamboo and nylon. I was so happy to find a reasonably priced vegan yarn that is specifically designed for socks. Plus, Knit World in Lower Hutt (my closest yarn store) has started stocking it. The yarn is really soft and silky and is knitting up nicely. It comes in several colourways, all named after signs of the zodiac, that produce different pattern effects. This colourway is capricorn. I think they're going to look really cute worn with my mary-janes.

Marathon effort

Alex ran his first marathon in Rotorua on Saturday. I was the support crew, following him for some of the way on the back of my Dad's motorbike.

Here he is (well, the back of his head anyway) crossing the line in a great time of just under 3 hours 20 mins.

I'm proud of you my love.