Checking In - February 2017

Making - Still trying to make progress with WIPs this year, mostly my happy scrappy wedding blanket (above)

Cooking - Lots of soup, Broccoli and Stilton is the agreed favourite thus far

Drinking - Red Bush Tea. I gave up caffeine recently and to be honest I really don't miss it now. I don't drink coffee anyway and I'm used to different teas now. I think I'm more awake paradoxically as a result!

Reading - 'A Game for All the Family' by Sophie Hannah - see here.

Wanting - A few more blue skies, the real sign Spring is on its way :)

Deciding - What to make next

Enjoying - Work, which is great. I really like what I do and enjoy my days in the office, I feel very lucky at the moment

Loving - Bright yellow daffodils on our table

Wondering - Whether things will actually grow in our allotment! Potatoes chitting now, and some seeds sown in the greenhouse.

Considering - What TV series to watch next, C and I are in need of another one. We like Crime and Detective Dramas if anyone has any suggestions...

Buying - Jeggings. I have finally found some smart enough for work courtesy of Marks and Spencers. Elasticated waistbands and I'm over the moon

Disliking - The difficulties of the NHS which are not making the news at all in all the Brexit/Trump mania.

Watching - The Good Wife. Binge-watching if I'm honest. C doesn't like it so it's my guilty pleasure.

Wearing - Jeggings mentioned above. And lots of crochet scarves as it's cold again.

Admiring - Senator Warren

Thinking - About getting a second piercing in my ears. Really putting way too much thought into this, but I can't decide!

Eating - Doughnuts - really not healthy at all but seem to be craving them!

Getting - Ready for Spring!

Feeling - OK.

The Year in Books - January 2017

This post should really be called 'The month I finally finished Wolf Hall'. Because I finally did!!! This has been the longest it has taken me to finish a book in a long time. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading it. I just haven't had much time to read, and it's not the easiest book to just pick up and put down. This book is so famous I'm sure it needs no introduction, following the rise of Thomas Cromwell who became Henry VIII's right hand man during the English reformation. Whilst as a good history student I know the basic history of the Tudors (and always found it fascinating) I learnt so much from this book and really enjoyed reading the back story of the son of a blacksmith who became arguably the most powerful man in England. The dilemma now is do I launch into the sequel 'Bring up the Bodies' whilst it's all fresh in my head or do I have a break and read some other books...

After the Wolf Hall marathon I did manage to make my way through 'The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy' by Rachel Joyce. I really enjoyed 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' and it was a beautiful companion novel - offering a deeper insight into the woman Harold walks across England to see one last time, Queenie Hennessy. I'd highly recommend both books :)

For February I'm not sure what I will read, there are a fair few books on my kindle to get through. My book group will be reading 'The Household Spirit' by Tod Wodicka - here - so at the very least I hope to read that!

As always, joining in with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.