Currently: 22/02/2015

I am not posting as regularly as I'd like to be the last few weeks but I'm busy and life takes priority so oh well. I'll get back to it at some point! The format for my Currently posts I borrowed from Sophisticated Dorkiness.

Time and Place 18:58 on Sunday evening, sat in my armchair (a different one from the one the blog is named after!). 

Reading I am so behind on War and Peace that I'm not posting this weeks update until I have caught up with where I'm meant to be! Charlotte has very kindly warned me of the danger of being spoilered so I'm steering clear, but I plan to have a big binge read of the thirty chapters that I'm behind and catch up! I'm also reading Gratitude Works by Robert A. Emmons. I've been going through it slowly and trying to take it all in and apply some of the stuff to my life. It's interesting reading. Finally I'm also reading Fables: Rose Red by Bill Willingham. This (and The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel which I just read for book group) may slightly be responsible for how behind I am with War and Peace but I just love the Fables series and they're always good, quick reads so it's hard to turn them down!

Watching My parents stayed this weekend and we watched Topsy Turvy yesterday, which is about Gilbert and Sullivan. Rhys and I are big fans (both of G&S and the film) as we met doing am-dram Gilbert and Sullivan (Patience in case anyone is interested. He was Archibald Grosvenor, I was in the chorus of lovesick maidens. Let the ridicule commence - Ellie I may be looking at you :-p). 

Rhys and I have also been rewatching Our Zoo after our visit to actual Chester Zoo a couple of weeks ago. I really love that series - I don't care if they have no more story to tell, they should make a second!

Listening to the wind outside. It's crazily windy tonight! Kind of makes me wish the estate agent would come and take the sold sign down from outside already....

Blogging This week I posted about how behind I was with War and Peace (nothing changes) and about my February prompt for One Little Word. 

Recommending this post by the ever awesome Andi of Estellas Revenge on how we should all cut each other some slack and stop competing to be perfect and have it all. Although I'm not too caught up in the pressure to be honest, I do feel that particularly on Instagram I probably come across as having time for everything, whereas what you don't see is that while I was baking chocolate chip scones, my mum spent an hour driving the same car (which didn't fit) up and down the ramp in Ben's garage, and that while I cast on for yet another big knitting project the previous twenty big knitting projects are still stranded, unfinished in bags upstairs. Personally, I'd rather be friends with a person who has occasionally crap days, whose house isn't perfect, who doesn't 'have it all' but who knows how to support people when they're having a hard day or when they feel like all they've done all day is scream at their kids and the house is a mess and they just want to cry. So yes, that. You should all read the post. 

Loving The Ninja Book Swap. Despite the hassle of actually pairing people up and dealing with broken wishlist links and delays and the occasional non-responsive person, I love the swap and I think it's definitely one of the best things blogging has inspired in my life. Without fail it restores my faith in humanity - this time we had over seventy people sign up to spend their hard-earned money making a beautiful parcel for a stranger. How could it not be totally heart-warming? 

Also my family. As I mentioned, my parents were here this weekend, and as we only had the last lingering few boxes blocking up the conservatory and preventing it from fulfilling its planned use (a playroom for the boys) my dad watched Sam while Benji helped my mum and I to unpack the boxes, clean, rearrange and sort all the toys from the living room to the playroom and now both rooms are usable and gorgeous. Without the help it would have taken us about two weeks to get it sorted! 

Making Chocolate chip scones from The Great British Bake Off Everyday. I love the Bake Off books, they always have such deliciousness in them and this recipe really didn't disappoint! I've also cast on for my first jumper for myself. Of course I've picked the most complicated pattern I could 

Anticipating Book shopping in London this week with Laura and Katie! It's always really exciting to meet a blogging friend in real life, and Laura and I usually have silly amounts to talk about. Also we have plans involving Waterstone's Piccadilly (which I still haven't been to!), Foyles (which I love and adore), and the Persephone Book Shop (how have I never been?!). If that wasn't enough I also get four hours (there and back) on the coach on my own to read.