cosy cats, big bellies, special scones

For a while Poppy was a bit wary of my baby bump and Lola got my lap all to herself. Now, as you can see, the bump and my lap are both suddenly very popular. I love it when both the cats sit on me at once, especially when I have my crochet right beside me for easy entertainment within arms' reach. You can probably also tell from this photo that the glowing stage of pregnancy seems to be over. It was disappointingly short-lived!

The baby was actually investigating Poppy's purring head when this photo was being taken. I was surprised Poppy hung around as long as she did...

...but she did abandon me for Graham's lap eventually. Since I got pregnant, Graham's lap is usually Poppy's first choice. It's quite sweet really. Poppy used to go crazy and maul Graham every time he tried to stroke her. Nowadays she gazes at him all besotted instead.

And here's another cosy scene from the same night. I set my belly free for a bit (and broke my vow not to put any bare-belly shots on this blog) and Lola snuggled in. Soft cat fur on a bare belly is such a nice feeling. Mmmm! My belly looks like the moon here, but isn't it well moisturised? I got a few more stretch marks this week, but am persevering with the moisturisation anyway. That said, I've just realised I forgot to do it this morning. Oops.

So it's the last day of my holidays and I'm trying to have a productive morning before allowing myself a lazy afternoon of crocheting in front of the telly. I have made it into the mess of the craft room at last but am not sure where to start with the tidying. Hmmm. I think I'll allow myself to be satisfied with just a small dent in the mess. I was also planning to make cherry and cinnamon scones today (by adapting this basic recipe) but that would involve leaving the house to get cherries and it is dank outside. Yes, dank is definitely the word. Eugh. So I might leave the scones for another day, especially since I am making a scone-like pizza base for dinner tonight. I haven't made scones since I was a very small child, but have been fancying a cherry and cinnamon scone for weeks. (We have cinnamon shower gel at the moment, so I fancy cinnamon something most days.) When I was 17 or 18 I used to drag my long-haired motorcycling boyfriend to a little tearoom with frilly tablecloths about once a week so that I could have a cherry and cinnamon scone with a hot chocolate. He always looked a bit uncomfortable, but the scones were so good it was worth it. I'm hoping I'll strike it lucky and manage to recreate the taste of those scones on the first attempt. All scone-making tips gratefully received :)