Not helped by companies randomly changing their lasts when they bring out new models! I was gutted when Scarpa Maestros were discontinued - they're absolutely the best trad shoes I'd ever found (stiff, flattish, reasonably comfy) but their new Generators are way too narrow for my shovel feet 😫

I always end up being the person who says something. It's a privilege of being a wholly unthreatening middle-aged woman - it comes across better/less confrontational from me than from, say, my 6ft boyfriend.

That said, I'd have offenders strung up and egged in the public square if I had my way.

Ha! I had my pronunciation of Versailles "corrected" when I was out in Kentucky and asking about local distilleries.

Alas, I also can't run to annual trips. But the years when I can are amazing. I'm going this coming February and the thought of it sustains me while it's too cold/wet/dark to go climbing. And when I get back I'll know the worst of the winter is over and I can start looking forward to spring!

It's my birthday in February so that's something in its favour (for me anyway). More importantly, it's when I go skiing and I love skiing so much that I'm prepared to put up with a whole load of wintery shit.

Crispy wedges are one of the best things about the air fryer! Still can't quite get my sweet potato wedges as crispy as I'd like though.

My other recommendation is paneer. Super easy & fast to get it crispy, less messy/calorific than frying and amazing for a quick weeknight sag or matar paneer 🤤

As you say, it's a bit quicker. And I think it helps crisp up stuff that should be crispy, like potato wedges. Also, sometimes the basket and tray are still a bit damp from the dishwasher so it dries them out. But mostly it's because the air fryer tells me to do it & who am I to argue with a ninja?

I'm not American but I preheat my air fryer. It's built into the programme - I set the time and temperature, it tells me it's preheating then it beeps at me when it's ready. Only takes a couple of minutes, obviously much quicker than the oven.

The new Philly Cheese Steak burgers at Maccy D's are gloriously filthy. 10/10, would debase myself with again.

Especially dual-tex 🤮🤮🤮

Oh, and I got a spinning wheel and learnt to use it, which a whole new distracting time suck in itself! I'm working on spinning enough Shetland to make a jumper - once I factor in spinning/plying time along with knitting time it'll probably be in the region of 200 hours of work (I also spin slowly).

Hard to say because I work on it in fits and starts. I cast on last September but I've knitted *a lot* of other things in the meantime, especially once it got too bulky to take with me on trips away. Maybe 75 hours of work in total? I knit slowly though! I'm sure it could be done a lot faster.

Thanks! I'm not gonna lie - the bobbles gave me conniptions! The rest was pretty straightforward but I'm a perfectionist hence all the reknitting (anything that takes so long to make should be perfect). The pic doesn't do justice to the colour - IRL it's a lustrous mossy green with gold undertones.