Not to mince words...

It's been a big week in the Bungalow. I taught my first paid knitting class at Capture the Magic. I really enjoyed it, and I hope my students did too! They were all ladies, of a range of ages and backgrounds, and I hope it was the start of a yarny love affair for them.  The all managed to learn the slip knot, basic cast-on, knit, purl, and cast-off, in just two hours! Clever ladies.

I also attempted a childrens' yarn-dyeing session, to see whether that might be a business opportunity for me. The results were very mixed, so I'm going to withdraw and think about that one for a while. The kiddlies did produce some lovely yarn though:

Ball-winders are magic. They just make all yarn look delicious! And the little boys who came to play really loved turning the handle and creating balls of wool. Our third achievement this week was to get Grandmother-in-Law's enameled, cast-iron mincer working. I think we have a lot to learn, but we did manage to produce some pretty cracking turkey and apple burgers with the result.

I felt the weight of history when using the mincer. The mincer was a wedding present to Father-in-Law's parents, so I feel a great responsibility and privilege in having it to play with in our family home. Also, my own Gran grew up in her father's butcher's shop in Runcorn, and Mammar has always told us about how she used to make sausages with her homework propped up against the mincer. Unfortunately I do not seem to have inherited any of her skills in this department, but I'm having a go anyway. The next thing I'd like to do with it is mince the leftovers of a roast, since I usually shred them for shepherd's pie or whatever. I'm baking with Sausages this afternoon, and that always makes me think of Bapar's mother, who was an awesome cook, and who would have absolutely loved my clever, cheeky son. Especially his pudding, which is not cooked (I've checked!).

What have you been proud of this week? What makes you feel connected to the previous generations of your family?

E