Nayu's Craft Time #133 Scrummy green smoothie & Craft this week

This is a yummy looking banana, mango and greek yogurt smoothie - picture source includes the recipe!

So on Sunday I was going to try a yummy sounding new breakfast: a banana and mango green smoothie using some frozen fruit I bought this week, not using the recipe of the picture since I prefer milk and add other stuff which will change the colour drastically. Last week I had bananas in my organic box, so I broke them into chunks using my hand because I couldn't be bothered to use a knife. Then while shopping this week I discovered Aldi's bargain frozen food: 500g/17oz of mango or pineapple or strawberries for £1.09!!! Bargain! Mixed fruit (grapes, some berries and cherries) are from about £1.49 (if my memory serves correctly), which is currently cheaper than Sainsbury's basic frozen berry mix which used to be closer to the £1 mark. 

Love my local store!

I normally don't blog about how much things cost, but I must wax lyrical over Aldi's frozen fruit (possibly just a summer range) because it is that good. I bought a packet of each, and since I don't have much room in the freezer I decanted each packet into a biodegradable plastic bag. Naturally I had to sample one of each and I was shocked at just how tasty it was. Way cheaper than fresh fruit, which is expensive if you use exotic fresh fruit, and far less messy too (& minus the inevitable extra sugar which you get in canned fruit. I know some may be in water, but the cheaper brands tend to stick with sugar). 

All 3 fruit come in very sturdy containers which my family are now using in the garden for gardening stuff! Picture source

However, I haven't been quite 100% lately so I didn't want extra work of preparing a smoothie (Sunday onwards) so I stuck with a tasty bowl of granola ^o^ I hope to make the smoothie tomorrow, which will be the broken banana, frozen mango, 1 sheet of nori (small sheet of seaweed), some frozen spinach (handily pre-portioned by myself), some flax seed and some blueberries on top for texture (hate just a smoothie for breakfast, need something solid).  

A girly sewing corner (not mine) Picture source

Craft is possibly not happening until Thursday - I'm currently working on finishing a project by Thursday to create more time for writing and craft. So please bear with me while I'm a non-crafty blogger. I'll do my best to chat about other things! (Shouldn't be hard, I'm already going to pre-schedule tomorrow's post).

Slow internet

Due to what seems like everyone going online so the net is mega slow this bank holiday weekend, today's post will be saved for tomorrow. It's taking literally minutes to do processes that take seconds, and I'd rather not spend all morning battling like this when I can simply wait until it hopefully improves in 24 hours. Bye for now!

Nayu's Craft Time #132 I love summer!

This scenic photo looks a lot like the fields where I live

Sunny weather is back!!! It makes me super happy, as usually sunshine can mean heat in the summer. My internal body temperature is set low, so I need it over 20'C to feel warm and not need a heated blanket on me all day. It's nice feeling normal at last! Been a long winter. The downside is hayfever makes me feel like I'm combatting a virus, so my body still isn't happy, but least I mostly am ^o^ 

Also a summer scene!

Today I'm finishing some blog work before getting a very small grocery shop, returning to anime and a stack of books to read. 

Just like Roald Dahl's Matilda I love reading!

That's a perfect Friday afternoon activity! 

& a fantastic weekend!

Nayu's Project Progress #23 Birth of a crochet blanket!

My cat Belle being adorable!

Since I've nothing else to report today (ended up doing 0 craft yesterday...) I thought I'd finally share pictures of the current blanket which I'm making from the start to it's current stage. 

#1) Start with two balls of yarn 

#2) Unravel then rewind yarn into true balls of yarn. 

These are the balls I'm currently using. They did both start the same size!

#3) Start blanket 

I have rows!!!

#4) Keep crocheting! 

I have more rows!!

#5) Blanket's current size 

It's fun to think I create all this from something so simple as yarn. I'll share more as it grows! 

I'm finishing with a random picture of a cute squirrel which was going to be the opening picture, because why not have a cute furry friend? Belle naturally has to come first!

Nayu's Craft Time #131 Craft this week

This would be an awesome bag to keep craft in! Picture source

Hi all! Sorry for the silence - life got busy as it usually does, and I need time away from blog work to rest. I've got up to a fair amount of craft this week! 

I'm testing out a new type of craft for my NCD store. I'm nearly at the stage of making up a prototype, which I will then reveal if I'm happy with it. So stay tuned for that! Note, it is not a yarn craft! 

I had a wonderful day doing crochet with a friend on Monday, working on a simple two colour granny square blanket which I continued doing on Tuesday. Sorry for no pic but it's on my tablet, which apparently has too low a memory to send photos to my email account (I put my posts together on my laptop). Hopefully the next time I take a photo I will have done some more!

Here are all the contestants and judges (2 in the middle + the presenter)

The rest of my time has been filled with my usual hobbies of reading, gaming, and anime watching. I have seen craft related shows on TV - I've started watching Season 2 of The Great British Sewing Bee on BBC 1. I didn't see the first season, and as a machine sewing newbie I'm finding it all fascinating. I am waaaay behind the contestants in skill and knowledge, but that's ok because it means I get to learn a lot as I watch them compete against each other in 3 challenges per episode. Need to catch up with episode 2 soon, which focuses on children's clothes - with real live children as models! Should be entertaining. You can find out more on the dedicated website.

Today has been a blogging day, but I may get to squeeze in a bit of craft later. Will have to wait and see! 

Nayu's Craft Time #130 Life gets in the way of craft!

It was a planned sewing afternoon...

I'd planned to write this post later today, as I'd pencilled in a sewing session after my blog work. Unfortunately something else has come up which I need to do (& will take a few hours) so sewing is now off today's task list. I'm slightly annoyed as I'd been looking forward to it, but sometimes other things have to take priority. 

Tomorrow I'm crafting all day with a friend which will be fun - hopefully I'll be able to tell you the progress I make on Tuesday! I hope you've enjoyed some parts of the weekend, and have a great start to the week! 

Replace the coffee for your favourite drink - mine is hot chocolate!

Nayu's Craft Time #129 Saving flowers, the reviving power of hot chocolate, & friendship!!

Any idea what this is?

Hi all! I'm trying to see if watercress flowers saved from watercress my family got me when they went to a watercress fair will flower for me. I've no idea, but it seemed a shame to throw them away without giving them a chance.

Hot chocolate kept me going in the afternoon - sadly without the cream on top!

I hope you are looking forward to the weekend. This weekend I'm looking forward to some blog catching up (mostly my other blog), as well as a lot of rest time as I'm a bit busy visiting people at the moment. Yesterday's craft club visit went well, although combined with a small grocery shop wiped me out a little more than expected, leading to an unintended rest day yesterday (which is currently today as I'm typing this post). 

This afternoon I'm having lunch with a good friend who like me has chronic illness and has her own business selling flowers, although she is a bit more advanced in the selling side than I am but it's nice to get tips from her. Monday I am out all day crafting with another friend who I see every month. I am determined to get some sewing in before I see her! Hopefully I can do that tomorrow (Sat) or at least a little on Sun. We'll see! 

Nayu's Project Progress #22 Cute Baby sampler update!

I'd love a sewing basket like this one, full of spring colours and a lot of pink!

I'm actually popping in to my local craft club today as I haven't been for months and want to catch up with everyone. Don't know if I'll go regularly yet, but will try and pop in more than once a year. Soar today's post is a short catch up on my sewing progress! The previous update was this picture. 

I'm still finishing off the multiple shades of white in the animals, but hopefully you can see the difference here. 

That was about 6 hours of sewing - yes, apparently 6 hours of anything isn't a good idea for me. Worth it though! My body doesn't want to repeat it so I won't. I will sew in much smaller time segments. Have you done a marathon of anything crafty/non-crafty recently?

Spotted this cute, girly, dainty clock online!

Nayu's Craft Time #127 Condiment change!

Not quite the breakfast I had, but hot chocolate with cream & croissant is a yummy breakfast! Picture source.

Sorry this is a few days later than I'd hoped. Friday I was having a lovely relaxing afternoon, and thought I'd post this on Saturday. I had the same intention Saturday morning - I'd post after I had breakfast with a friend. I ended up going to a fabric sale! More on that hopefully tomorrow. The two activities sapped it out of me though (there was slightly anxiety at trying to find the place, going somewhere new etc which is equally energy sapping), that and an early start meant I spent the rest of the day wanting to go to bed. But here's my new favourite food! 

What's it going to be???

I go through phases of loving particular food, and my new current favourite is the humble cottage cheese. I prefer to flavour it myself - I'm not keen on buying cottage cheese already with onion in, or pineapple. I made a simple salad with spring/green onns, red pepper, celery, and cucumber. I topped t with cottage cheese...then mixed it all in and discovered the mayo-like consistency of the cottage cheese! 

Yummy! Picture source.

I can't remember if I've explained this before, but it's not that I dislike mayo, my body does. I used to have mayo with everything- tuna mayo, egg mayo, mayo with salad, and a personal favourite mayo with chips. Oh amd prawn mayo. Unfortunately I got sick a few days in a row-literally sick and badly so. Suspected food poisoning which was ruled out since my family had eaten the same as me. I got better then the same thing happened again. To cut a long story short t turned out I was reactin to the beloved mayo! I could eat the mayo ingredients without a problem separately, but altogether I was one unwell bunny. 

Simple. Delicious. Yet not for me! Picture source

I waited around a year and teied it again, but even eating about 1 teaspoon made me rather ill. So I've accepted I can't eat mayo, which is restrictive when eating out as I eat fish but not meat, and a lot of common sandwih fillings involve mayo. It means I don't eat coleslaw, another popular food item when out and about. Boo! You'd be amazed at what mayo gets in, a lot of dips and pates. Even if I was brave enough to try it now I wouldn't want to eat it since everytime I look at t I feel unwell. Some things you just don't forget!! 

What condiments do you like? Picture source.

However I do have mayo alternatives. While I can safely eat salad cream, these days I find it and other sauces unappetising, I thimk because there is a lot of stuff in them. I use soy sauce, salt and pepper, and vinegar for flavouring. If I want the creamy texture of tuna mayo/egg mayo I use cream cheese! Best substitute, alongside my new found love of cottage cheese. Some stores sell no mayo sandwiches and sushi (told you it was found in odd food!), which I'm very grateful too. I'm used to checking labels for a sign of mayo, though occasnally I forget and end up givig an inedible (for me) food item to my family. Do you like cottage cheese? What do you like mixing it with?  

This looks like mine did! Picture source

Nayu's Craft Time #126 Spring crochet facecloths, Cat antics, Investigating black rooms & mystery food!

Spring colours!

Hi everyone! Yesterday was a quiet-ish day. Rain doesn't always agree with me so I spent the morning working on these crochet face cloths/face flannels. These are made of a much softer cotton than my dishcloths, which look like this and can always be used as an exfoliation cloth, lotion not included! 

Lemon & white = bright & cheerful!

At the moment I'm undecided if they should have loops for hanging them up, so may have it as an option so you can choose to buy them with or without a handy loop to suit your preference.

Not the cover of the book mentioned, but it's at least the title. I find the cover a bit creepy.

I had a delicious salad and jacket potato yesterday which I will chat about tomorrow because 1 key ingredient is a new favourite food of mine.. I wasn't in the mood for gaming, so fiddled around with anime books and Youtube. After dipping into a reread I read quite a harrowing experience of child abuse for review, and recovered with happy go lucky anime Aikatsu. Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield is out in June, I highly recommend it, but make sure you have tissues and something fun to do after. 

My kind of fun is seeing Otome glomp (hug with fangirl love) Ichigo in Aikatsu

Not mine but I'd love a cat with this colouring!

I just had to get up to let my cat know she isn't allowed on a certain spot in my room, not that you need  know that as this isn't a vlog, but I felt like sidetracking you! Who doesn't like a cat interruption?

Sample of camoflage patterns - I have to research a lot when writing!

Today I was up rather early, so once I woke up fully I got stuck into writing. I finally finished making notes on the seemingly endless chapter 13! It's not mega long, but because there were a lot of details to the environment my characters are in, I had to note it all down for future reference. Doing this has helped identify impractical items, as well as make me think about decor in a way I never did in previous edits. I end up searching all sorts of random things like various camoflage colours, black rooms and the lowdown on holograms! It's fun writing science-fiction for children!
 

Time to head off and see if I can finish notes on another chapter by lunch, since I take a long afternoon break to recharge myself. Be sure to come back tomorrow find out which food I'm in love with at the moment! 

It's not watermelon, although that would be really refreshing right now!

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #1

I've just started the draft post for Over on Nayu's Crochet Dreams on my other blog, Nayu's Reading Corner, which is where I review books and chat about anime, and realised I should do a similar post here, ideally weekly, so you know what's happening. I do put up posts in the sidebar, but in case you aren't here every day (which is when I try to update it) then here's what I've been reviewing recently! Simply click on a title to be whisked to the post!

This week reviews include ones for  Children's 9 years +, Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, and anime, as well as the weekly meme where I list all that I've read, watched, listened to and done that week. In case you are wondering, this is a different post to the order that I publish reviews.

Blog Tour: Review for Mystery & Mayhem by The Crime Club + Guest Blog Post from Kate Pankhurst (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10E,)

House Trained by Jackie Bouchard (Contemporary fiction, 10E/10E, NetGalley, short 'n' sweet read)

 

The Italian Dream by Tamara Kate Jarvis (Contemporary Fiction, Shop fiction, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet read)

 

Timber Ridge Riders #5 Chasing Dreams by Maggie Dana (Young Adult, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review

 

Road to the Regalia by Rachael Eliker (Young Adult, 9/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 

 

Kate and Holly by Maggie Dana (Young Adult, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 

Blog Tour Back in the Day by Jess Bright (Children's, 11 years +, Young Adult, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 

 

Anime Round-up #1 Love Live School Idol Project, Kobato, Clannad

Clannad After Story picture, an anime that follows the lives of teens from high school to adulthood

What are YOU reading? #313

I look back on what I've read, watched & more during the week

I hope you've enjoyed this look back on my Nayu's Reading Corner posts! Let me know what you think in the comments, and come back next week for the next one!