14.06.10 - Wips and EEB's

Holiday musings-----4

As Himself does the final checks before we can set off on holiday, I am sneaking in bags of yarn and tins of crochet hooks. I know that he knows that I do this, but it is still the excitement of stashing my err, my stash in the caravan and car 'with-out-him-noticing' and seeing how much I can get away with! A girl can never, I repeat never have too much stashed wool on holiday!

My only problem is - my mojo has gone on holiday too.

I have nothing to create. 

I have the hooks, 

I have the wool, 

I have the ability, 

I have the desire

but I presently have no ideas..............

I run back inside the house to my favourite crafting bookshelf and grab the first book on crochet technique I can lay my hand on, run back to the car to add book to stash and smile, somewhat dishevelled, to Himself. His eyebrows are knotting slightly at my more that normal wool related madness.

Once on the road, I open the book. 

I plan to try out a new stitch and hope this will inspire me. I reach down, pull out a random cone of wool from the basket at my feet. A deep chocolate brown - hmm, not a good start. Delicious colour but not a good one to try a new stitch - but hey ho! We are going to be in the car for about four hours, I shall just get on with it!

Many miles down the road, and almost two hours into the journey I am ripping back my wip for the forth time. The boys comment at the strange noise the engine is making - little do they realise that it me grinding my back teeth. But, on attempt number five, I finally get the pattern right.

My wip grows as we wrap ourselves in our holiday. Each stitch has a memory woven in, each row has a grain of sand or a ray of sunshine entwining through the wool. I will show finished creation soon.

A while ago I was gifted a lovely hank of earthy coloured wool and was at a loss what to do with it (something to do with that holidaying mojo again). Then, sitting in the sun, watching the boys play, I reached into my basket of yarns, and my fingers feel the hank. I know in an instant what to do with it and I crochet like a demon.....progress photos to follow. 

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A friend of mine has given me a  Zwartbles fleece to play with and in exchange of this pile of woolly delicious-ness I am making a 'clapotis' scarf for her. I am loving this project. It releases that lovely earthy wool scent as it runs through my fingers in the most scrumptious way (sort-of-scratchy-sort-of-smooth)  I will be sorry when it finishes,  but I know that it is going to a good home :)

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On my last posting, I included my latest additions to my 52 things I have not cooked before list and was asked to explain some of them, so for Cat, Colouritgreen and Sarah - here they are....

Exploding Egg Banjos  - I will quote directly from the book - (page 54)

The exact origins of the Exploding Egg Banjo are unknown to me, for years I had thought it was just another name for a sandwich. A colloquiaslism. But no! When I started delving, and by that I mean Googling, I discovered that the Egg Banjo (or Exploding Egg Banjo) is not a sarnie or a butty or a sub or a Reg Varney, and was not invented by Pete Windsor of the Wirrel.

The ironic thing is that, like a fool who isn't on the joke, I had been enjoying the Exploding Egg Banjo for many many years without understanding quite what I was doing...........

1 x fresh free-range egg

1 soft buttered white roll

brown sauce

Your very best shirt

(make a fried egg sarnie and add the brown sauce)

........Take a big bite of the sandwich. Don't be shy. The egg will explode and drip down your shirt in a big brown and yellow mess. Inevitably, you will hold the sandwich in one hand away from your body and brush the egg from your shirt with the other....take a look at your body position. You are now eating an Exploding Egg sandwich. And playing an air banjo.

Brilliant! The boys (and I mean all three) have been playing the air banjo with the enthusiasm of a hillbilly ho-down.

 Cheesy Eggy Bread 

This one is camping variation of the toasted cheese sandwich, but done in a frying pan. We had ours with grilled tomatoes and mushrooms for breakfast and it was glorious sitting in the sun munching on this lot!

1 large egg lightly beaten with 2 tbsp milk

soft butter

thickly sliced bread 

grated cheddar

oil

Make bread and cheese sandwiches, cut in half or quarters (depending on size of pan or bread) and dip into egg mix.

Heat oil and knob of butter in a frying pan, fry the sandwich for a few minutes on each side until the bread has a rich golden crust and the cheese has melted - devour!

Both recipes are definitely holiday food because both need sunshine and daisies between the toes to be fully appreciated. When eaten on a cool grey northern Sunday they probably won't have nearly the appeal of the ones eaten in our holiday memories.