Five .......ings

Another busy week in retirement land. As I join Amy for her Five On Friday I thought I would give you five .....ings!

Reading: Finished Andrew Taylor's 'The Ashes Of London'. A wonderful read from start to finish. Set at the very end of the famous fire it then charts a mystery that takes place in the next few months. We get to imagine the ruined city in the aftermath, particularly the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral . Cleverly woven through the plot our characters include Wren and the King himself. Several murders take place all linking back to the beheading of Charles the first. Throughout the novel we get to understand the hardships of life and make friends with the two main Characters: James Marwood and Catherine Lovett. You are never quite sure how the story will be resolved until the very last few pages. All history lovers should put this one high on their list.

My latest is an Anne Tyler : Vinegar Girl ( the taming of the shrew retold). I'm already hooked. I relate well to the main character. She will often speak her mind before considering the consequences . Definitely sharp tongued at times. No doubt her edges will be softened as the story unfolds. Have a feeling this is one to enjoy.

Sewing: Curtains for my neighbour have now been finished and hung.  Somewhat of a learning curve to make the tie backs. I usually buy the tassly cord ones, but my neighbour wanted material tiebacks. Studying her old ones carefully, I managed to replicate the pattern. They didn't turn out too badly.

Knitting:   More socks on the production line. This time 4 ply with bamboo and wool.  They feel very soft and I can't wait to finish the second one so that I can wear them!

Cleaning: The bathroom at my son's flat is almost finished but the resulting dust and mess is awful as I'm sure you can imagine. We turned into cleaning fairies yesterday to speed up the process. My hoover in now totally clogged with plaster dust and I have house maids knee ( as well as running knee! ). We are just waiting for the plumber to do the final fit. Fingers crossed.

Visiting: After all the cleaning a treat was in store last night. We popped along to The Georgian House in town for a talk about Valentine's Day and love tokens. It was a lovely event to attend in the middle of all the hurly burly of the last few weeks. Peter Rossignol, the speaker, was a wonderfully eccentric gentleman full of interesting and amusing nuggets of information. We got to see jewels given by the royal family, along with cards and snuff boxes with intriguing pictures.

Well that's my five. Do pop and see other fives if you get a chance. Hopefully everyone will stay warm this cold weekend.

Barbara xxx