Good afternoon!
I have had one of those lovely days where you get a lot done- I have made some cookies for a bake sale at work on Monday, taken a walk to the local shops, bought some food for our little snake, had a cup of coffee and read the paper, done a load of laundry AND made a new blog!
Oh yes, a new blog! Since I have been doing more and making more, I decided I would like to keep the recipes/instructions/photos all in one place, so I have started 'mimi makes' which you can visit at http://littlesipsofteamimimakes.blogspot.com/
I will still be posting here, of course, so do come by and we'll have a cup of tea together. I magpied this idea from www.ljcfyi.com where Jenny has a projects gallery which I have long admired!
I hope you are having a scrumptious Friday!
Friday, 20 June 2008
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Things To Do
This week I really must find out my prettiest notepaper and drop a line or two to a friend. She works in the library with me and has been off sick for some time now. I keep thinking I must write her, before I forget all the things I want to write, but somehow, time keeps slipping away!
I also want to choose a cake recipe to bake for our charity cake sale at work on Monday. I think cupcakes, but the kind with a domed top and piped on icing instead of the flat-top kind I have been making recently.
Last but not least, I am going to paint my toenails Cherries-In-The-Snow red, finish off the Tommy and Tuppence series I have been reading, and make some cards.
What is on your to-do list this week?
I also want to choose a cake recipe to bake for our charity cake sale at work on Monday. I think cupcakes, but the kind with a domed top and piped on icing instead of the flat-top kind I have been making recently.
Last but not least, I am going to paint my toenails Cherries-In-The-Snow red, finish off the Tommy and Tuppence series I have been reading, and make some cards.
What is on your to-do list this week?
Each Peach, Pear Plum
...I Spy Tom Thumb! I remember this delightful children's book being one of the most popular on the shelf when I was a little girl, at school. I was standing in the queue for the grocery stall in the market, when all of a sudden that rhyme came back to me.
I have been finding it really hard to be restrained at the greengrocers recently, as the soft fruit season is well and truly under way. Standing and waiting, the scent of raspberries pricks at my nose and makes them irresistible to buy. I have memories of being perhaps three or four, and standing by the raspberry cane in my grandad's garden, pushing my fingers through the netting and eating raspberries warm from the sun. The punnets of strawberries look flushed with sweetness, and then there are mounded piles of apricots, cherries, peaches and nectarines. Such bliss!
I find myself asking for a punnet of this, a pound of that...and before I know it, I am well and truly weighed down! I must keep my eye out for gooseberries, as I love those poached with a little elderflower cordial and stirred into plain yoghurt.
It was as I was unpacking my newest treasures from their brown paper bags that I mused upon their names. Apricot, raspberry, peach....all fruits, but colours too. If I was to say that I painted my toes the perfect raspberry pink, you would know just which colour I mean. You can almost taste the colour. If Iwas to say that my new book has a soft apricot dust jacket, you would know the shade I mean.
And yet, these fruits were a multitude of colours. Some of the apricots were that warm cream colour, but several of them had deep sunset blushes upon their cheeks. Upon closer examination, all of the fruit, when examined closely was a multitude of fruity shades and hues.
My favourite breakfast at the moment is a bowl of homemade yoghurt, sharp and tangy, with a pile of soft fruit on top. I have to confess that I have been choosing the fruit for the colour as much as anything, but the flavours have been pretty wonderful even so. Sweet cherries, bleeding pink into the yoghurt, raspberry stains, glimpses of peach fless. A sunrise in a bowl for breakfast, so to speak!
I have been finding it really hard to be restrained at the greengrocers recently, as the soft fruit season is well and truly under way. Standing and waiting, the scent of raspberries pricks at my nose and makes them irresistible to buy. I have memories of being perhaps three or four, and standing by the raspberry cane in my grandad's garden, pushing my fingers through the netting and eating raspberries warm from the sun. The punnets of strawberries look flushed with sweetness, and then there are mounded piles of apricots, cherries, peaches and nectarines. Such bliss!
I find myself asking for a punnet of this, a pound of that...and before I know it, I am well and truly weighed down! I must keep my eye out for gooseberries, as I love those poached with a little elderflower cordial and stirred into plain yoghurt.
It was as I was unpacking my newest treasures from their brown paper bags that I mused upon their names. Apricot, raspberry, peach....all fruits, but colours too. If I was to say that I painted my toes the perfect raspberry pink, you would know just which colour I mean. You can almost taste the colour. If Iwas to say that my new book has a soft apricot dust jacket, you would know the shade I mean.
And yet, these fruits were a multitude of colours. Some of the apricots were that warm cream colour, but several of them had deep sunset blushes upon their cheeks. Upon closer examination, all of the fruit, when examined closely was a multitude of fruity shades and hues.
My favourite breakfast at the moment is a bowl of homemade yoghurt, sharp and tangy, with a pile of soft fruit on top. I have to confess that I have been choosing the fruit for the colour as much as anything, but the flavours have been pretty wonderful even so. Sweet cherries, bleeding pink into the yoghurt, raspberry stains, glimpses of peach fless. A sunrise in a bowl for breakfast, so to speak!
Yachting Treasures
I have a favourite Aunt and Uncle who are amongst the loveliest people I know. There are so many lovely things about them- every Sunday, he makes boiled eggs for breakfast, and if they are not precisely right, he will cast them aside and start again. She makes the most divine sausage rolls in the world. They have a marvellous way of making you feel at home and relaxed. One of their quirks that makes me smile is their habit of going yachting after their Sunday breakfast eggs.
What is so quirky about yachting, I hear you ask? Nothing at all, except they do not do their yachting on water. Instead, yachting means visiting the local car boot sale! When we visited Mum and Dad for Father's Day, Mum gave me a little bag of treasure from her own recent yachting adventure- five tea plates patterned with love-in-a-mist.
I have one dinner plate patterned with love-in-a-mist, and these plates are the exact match for it! I was so pleased, and as I washed them up, I realised that love-in-a-mist really are my favourite flower. Have I told you the story before, of when I was a little girl, my grandad gave me a packet of mixed flowers seeds to scatter in the garden? Even now, some twenty years on, the love-in-a-mist still come up, and make me remember him, and happy childhood days.
Although I am trying to declutter a little bit, my natural magpie instinct is making me hope very much that dear Carl might take me yachting one Sunday soon, so I can look out for some other little treasures of my own...
What is so quirky about yachting, I hear you ask? Nothing at all, except they do not do their yachting on water. Instead, yachting means visiting the local car boot sale! When we visited Mum and Dad for Father's Day, Mum gave me a little bag of treasure from her own recent yachting adventure- five tea plates patterned with love-in-a-mist.
I have one dinner plate patterned with love-in-a-mist, and these plates are the exact match for it! I was so pleased, and as I washed them up, I realised that love-in-a-mist really are my favourite flower. Have I told you the story before, of when I was a little girl, my grandad gave me a packet of mixed flowers seeds to scatter in the garden? Even now, some twenty years on, the love-in-a-mist still come up, and make me remember him, and happy childhood days.
Although I am trying to declutter a little bit, my natural magpie instinct is making me hope very much that dear Carl might take me yachting one Sunday soon, so I can look out for some other little treasures of my own...
So, How Did I Do?
My resolution to do more has been coming along rather beautifully. As well as making Vanilla Iced Cupcakes for Ben's Christening, I also made a batch for a friend's birthday, and iced the left over cakes with the names of my lovely husband and his co-workers, for a tea-time treat.
I enjoyed making Ben's Christening Banner, but it highlighted to me that we really do need to get a printer at home. My plan was to make the banner on my day off on Friday, but I forgot to print it off, so I ended up doing it Saturday evening instead! I could really get into making these banners. At first I really struggled with the idea of cutting up books, but having seen how scrumptious they turn out, I am seeing it as a good way to save a book that would otherwise have been sent to the pulper!
The lemonade....less of a hit if I am honest. I roasted the lemons and vanilla one morning before work, left them to cool during the day then finished it off that evening. I don't know if it was the vanilla or the soda water, but it reminded me quite a lot of soda stream from the eighties, but not in a good way! It was quite sharp, as I like it, but curiously sweet at the same time. Still, it was lovely to come home to a lovely lemony scent wafting through our little flat.
I did pick out a folder, and already it is quite fat with photocopied sock patterns and recipes for cheese-and-apple-bread and so on! Still, it is nice to feel a little more organized. Perhaps I shall have to get more folders, one for recipes, one for knitting patterns and so on.
I have been reading a lot, still Agatha Christie, but I have briefly left Poirot for the delights of Tommy and Tuppence.
One downside to my doing more is that I seem to be blogging less. I really enjoying composing little posts in my mind and taking pictures for my blog, but recently I have been so busy in the kitchen or crafting at my writing desk that I don't seem to get round to it. I shall have to remedy this!
I enjoyed making Ben's Christening Banner, but it highlighted to me that we really do need to get a printer at home. My plan was to make the banner on my day off on Friday, but I forgot to print it off, so I ended up doing it Saturday evening instead! I could really get into making these banners. At first I really struggled with the idea of cutting up books, but having seen how scrumptious they turn out, I am seeing it as a good way to save a book that would otherwise have been sent to the pulper!
The lemonade....less of a hit if I am honest. I roasted the lemons and vanilla one morning before work, left them to cool during the day then finished it off that evening. I don't know if it was the vanilla or the soda water, but it reminded me quite a lot of soda stream from the eighties, but not in a good way! It was quite sharp, as I like it, but curiously sweet at the same time. Still, it was lovely to come home to a lovely lemony scent wafting through our little flat.
I did pick out a folder, and already it is quite fat with photocopied sock patterns and recipes for cheese-and-apple-bread and so on! Still, it is nice to feel a little more organized. Perhaps I shall have to get more folders, one for recipes, one for knitting patterns and so on.
I have been reading a lot, still Agatha Christie, but I have briefly left Poirot for the delights of Tommy and Tuppence.
One downside to my doing more is that I seem to be blogging less. I really enjoying composing little posts in my mind and taking pictures for my blog, but recently I have been so busy in the kitchen or crafting at my writing desk that I don't seem to get round to it. I shall have to remedy this!
Friday, 6 June 2008
Not My Usual Friday
I love waking up on a Friday morning when it is not my Friday to work. Usually I can look forward to spending the day with my Mum, but today is going to be a little different to usual. I needed to stay at home this morning to wait for the oven repair man to come, and for another man to deliver a new washing machine! Mum had lots of little bits to do at home, so we decided to take a raincheck on our usual Friday.
I really love the posts Alison at Brocante Home does occasionally, where she details the comings and goings of her day, so I thought I would have a go at doing that today. I will pop back every now and again to update the post.
Friday morning...I opened my eyes to the soft light of our bedroom lamp, and heard Radio 4 marking seven o'clock as Carl set a cup of tea down for me. He told me not to get up and make his lunch but stay in bed instead. As much as I do love making him a packed lunch, a late night last night meant I was more than happy for the extra nap time! I got up at half past seven, washed and dressed (in my favourite dress du jour, a simple black dress, upon which I have sewn buttons in the shape of flowers) and got the kitchen in order. I took out the rubbish and recycling, and whilst I puttered about, putting away the drying up and so on, put some rhubarb, vanilla sugar and raspberries on to stew, and the kettle on to boil. I made a breakfast of coffee and homemade yoghurt layered with rhubarb and raspberry compote and banana, topped with muesli, tipped the rest of the kettle of boiling water down my sink, and settled down with the new issue of Marie Claire Idees.
The phone rang, and I had a lovely chat with Mum. It is alwasy so nice to catch up, and when I had finished chatting, I went about our dear little flat, flinging open all the windows to let in the cool morning air. I checked up on a book Mum had spotted for me on ebay (Laura Ingalls Wilder Cookbook) then settled down to knit on my sock, and watch Come Dine With Me on catchup tv (I love to plan out menus that I would serve for that show!) , but thought I would just do a little blogging first.....
One moment all was quiet in my little flat, the next it was full of hustle, bustle, men, and the most fearsome noises! Two men worked on removing our old washing machine and brining in the new one, whilst another got to work on mending the oven. I was slightly embarrased when they asked for an old towel to mop up some water, and I realised I don't have any! We only have our new wedding towels...and most of my tea towels are pretty vintage affairs. Happily I found some old ones at the back of the airing cupboard! There was a strange smell of something scorching, and then as rapdily as they arrived, the men left, leaving me with a fully working kitchen!
After a celebratory cup of tea, I popped to the shops to get some vanilla extract, milk and cupcake cases. When I got back, I whipped up some vanilla cupcakes for Ben's christening on Sunday. I made 30 in all, and iced each one with a letter, so when put together the cakes spelled out his name. I iced them in white, with blue lettering, and then sprinkled the whole lot with edible glitter. Well, I am a fairy godmother after all!
Vanilla Cupcakes
Tie on your floweriest apron, and think sparkly godmotherly thoughts. Put on some pretty music, and preheat the oven to 200 oC/180 oC fan/gas 6.
Place 12 cupcake cases in a bun/mufffin tin.
Heat 75ml milk in a saucepan until nearly boiling, then stir in 1oz butter until melted.
Meanwhile, sift 3oz plain flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk 2 eggs with 1tsp vanilla extract for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Whisk in 5oz caster sugar.
Whisk in the sifted flour and baking powder.
Whisk in the buttery milk mixture.
You will have a very runny batter; spoon it into the cupcake cases, and bake 10-15 minutes.
Mostly these come out nice and flat ready for the icing, but if you but mistakenly put in 1 1/2 tsp baking powder like I did, you will want to slice off the little peaks!
When the cakes are cool, stir 3-6 tbsp single cream into 6oz icing sugar, then beat in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. The icing should be thin enough to spoon onto the cupcakes, but thick enough that it is opaque and you can't see any cake through.
Dust with edible glitter, and enjoy!
Evening falls, somehow....not entirely sure where the day has gone. I take a hot shower, trying out a new shampoo after my hair suddenly got tired of my old one...with my hair in a towel and my oh-so-soft dressing gown on, I settle on the sofa with a supper tray. I am so elegant tonight! I have fish pie for one, which is one of my favourite dinners, and a tiny bottle of babycham, which I drink, of course, from a vintage babycham glass. When I have finished this, there will be a tiny scoop of lemon sorbet, and a cup of tea. The lights are dim, and I have a dvd to watch - 'Cake' with Heather Graham, who looks very much like Goldie Hawn in this film. If you were here with me, we could paint our toes bright pink, and sample cup cakes whilst giggling over the film...
I really love the posts Alison at Brocante Home does occasionally, where she details the comings and goings of her day, so I thought I would have a go at doing that today. I will pop back every now and again to update the post.
Friday morning...I opened my eyes to the soft light of our bedroom lamp, and heard Radio 4 marking seven o'clock as Carl set a cup of tea down for me. He told me not to get up and make his lunch but stay in bed instead. As much as I do love making him a packed lunch, a late night last night meant I was more than happy for the extra nap time! I got up at half past seven, washed and dressed (in my favourite dress du jour, a simple black dress, upon which I have sewn buttons in the shape of flowers) and got the kitchen in order. I took out the rubbish and recycling, and whilst I puttered about, putting away the drying up and so on, put some rhubarb, vanilla sugar and raspberries on to stew, and the kettle on to boil. I made a breakfast of coffee and homemade yoghurt layered with rhubarb and raspberry compote and banana, topped with muesli, tipped the rest of the kettle of boiling water down my sink, and settled down with the new issue of Marie Claire Idees.
The phone rang, and I had a lovely chat with Mum. It is alwasy so nice to catch up, and when I had finished chatting, I went about our dear little flat, flinging open all the windows to let in the cool morning air. I checked up on a book Mum had spotted for me on ebay (Laura Ingalls Wilder Cookbook) then settled down to knit on my sock, and watch Come Dine With Me on catchup tv (I love to plan out menus that I would serve for that show!) , but thought I would just do a little blogging first.....
One moment all was quiet in my little flat, the next it was full of hustle, bustle, men, and the most fearsome noises! Two men worked on removing our old washing machine and brining in the new one, whilst another got to work on mending the oven. I was slightly embarrased when they asked for an old towel to mop up some water, and I realised I don't have any! We only have our new wedding towels...and most of my tea towels are pretty vintage affairs. Happily I found some old ones at the back of the airing cupboard! There was a strange smell of something scorching, and then as rapdily as they arrived, the men left, leaving me with a fully working kitchen!
After a celebratory cup of tea, I popped to the shops to get some vanilla extract, milk and cupcake cases. When I got back, I whipped up some vanilla cupcakes for Ben's christening on Sunday. I made 30 in all, and iced each one with a letter, so when put together the cakes spelled out his name. I iced them in white, with blue lettering, and then sprinkled the whole lot with edible glitter. Well, I am a fairy godmother after all!
Vanilla Cupcakes
Tie on your floweriest apron, and think sparkly godmotherly thoughts. Put on some pretty music, and preheat the oven to 200 oC/180 oC fan/gas 6.
Place 12 cupcake cases in a bun/mufffin tin.
Heat 75ml milk in a saucepan until nearly boiling, then stir in 1oz butter until melted.
Meanwhile, sift 3oz plain flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk 2 eggs with 1tsp vanilla extract for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Whisk in 5oz caster sugar.
Whisk in the sifted flour and baking powder.
Whisk in the buttery milk mixture.
You will have a very runny batter; spoon it into the cupcake cases, and bake 10-15 minutes.
Mostly these come out nice and flat ready for the icing, but if you but mistakenly put in 1 1/2 tsp baking powder like I did, you will want to slice off the little peaks!
When the cakes are cool, stir 3-6 tbsp single cream into 6oz icing sugar, then beat in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. The icing should be thin enough to spoon onto the cupcakes, but thick enough that it is opaque and you can't see any cake through.
Dust with edible glitter, and enjoy!
Evening falls, somehow....not entirely sure where the day has gone. I take a hot shower, trying out a new shampoo after my hair suddenly got tired of my old one...with my hair in a towel and my oh-so-soft dressing gown on, I settle on the sofa with a supper tray. I am so elegant tonight! I have fish pie for one, which is one of my favourite dinners, and a tiny bottle of babycham, which I drink, of course, from a vintage babycham glass. When I have finished this, there will be a tiny scoop of lemon sorbet, and a cup of tea. The lights are dim, and I have a dvd to watch - 'Cake' with Heather Graham, who looks very much like Goldie Hawn in this film. If you were here with me, we could paint our toes bright pink, and sample cup cakes whilst giggling over the film...
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Scrumptious Books
I have happily tripped over one or two lovely books recently:
The Woman's Comfort Book by Jennifer Louden
Radiant Body, Restful Mind by Shubhra Krishan
The Joy of Eating: The Virago Book of Food by Jill Foulston
all three are books to settle on the sofa with, accompanied by a pot of tea and a plate of shortbread. Yum!
The Woman's Comfort Book by Jennifer Louden
Radiant Body, Restful Mind by Shubhra Krishan
The Joy of Eating: The Virago Book of Food by Jill Foulston
all three are books to settle on the sofa with, accompanied by a pot of tea and a plate of shortbread. Yum!
Things To Do
Things To Do
In the spirit of doing more, I thought that maybe I would start posting a weekly to-do list, and then report back on my resulting adventures. This week is rather busy; I have to work Saturday, then I have a Christening on Sunday (at which I will be a godmother! Hurrah!) so I won’t have a lot of time for play. Even so, this week I am going to:
Make Roasted-Lemon Lemonade from this month’s Martha Stewart Living magazine
Buy a folder to keep my photocopied patterns/recipes/ideas/articles in
Make a ‘Ben’s Christening Day’ book leaf banner – see http://www.inspirecompany.com/bookprintletters.html
I think that will be enough for one week for me!
In the spirit of doing more, I thought that maybe I would start posting a weekly to-do list, and then report back on my resulting adventures. This week is rather busy; I have to work Saturday, then I have a Christening on Sunday (at which I will be a godmother! Hurrah!) so I won’t have a lot of time for play. Even so, this week I am going to:
Make Roasted-Lemon Lemonade from this month’s Martha Stewart Living magazine
Buy a folder to keep my photocopied patterns/recipes/ideas/articles in
Make a ‘Ben’s Christening Day’ book leaf banner – see http://www.inspirecompany.com/bookprintletters.html
I think that will be enough for one week for me!
Busy With Little Changes
Today my thoughts are a bit of a mixed bag, and today is the kind of day where you definitely need a slice of cake to go with your tea. Comforting cake, the chocolate sponge that my Mum used to make for me when I was a little girl. Actually, now it has started to rain, I think perhaps I shall go one further, and declare it a day for the chocolate sponge pudding with white sauce, the one that she made for my last evening of living at home.
The last few weeks have been busy, not with big, momentous things that would make interesting reading, but little, vexing things. Our oven broke, as did our washing machine (With all of our clothes trapped inside! And then the horror of the washing machine repair man seeing my knickers!) and the light in the bathroom (which has no window, so is pitch black without it) has started to stick. Dear Carl has installed Ubuntu onto his laptop, which I usually use to blog with, and I cannot get on with it at all, much to poor Carl’s consternation. Every time I try and close a window, I almost shut the machine down by mistake. To top it all, I have a horrible rash on my arms and legs. When I showed the pharmacist, she asked if I had been stressed and run down recently….
But, I do not want to be all doom and gloom. There have been lots of tiny adventures and things to share. A beautiful bunch of Cornish Pinks that adorn my chest of drawers, so they are the first thing I see in the morning, and their peppery scent is the last thing I breathe in at night.
I have also discovered a passion for Poirot novels. I wanted to read ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ to pass the time on the Eurostar, but the library copy was out on loan. I read it a week or so ago, and since then I have been devouring the adventures of the little Belgian detective with the egg-shaped head.
I have been been thinking thoughts about change recently. It started when I was at work, and went to look for a book for a customer, written by an author named Olivier. It gave me a little start, because after my biological father left my Mother pregnant with me, he went on to have two more children with another woman – one called Olivier, and another called Virginia. I have never seen any of them since, and it suddenly occurred to me that I still think of Olivier and Virginia as small children, when in reality, they must be twenty or even more. This in turn led me to think of things that change, things that don’t, ideas that we hold in our minds and so on. When I started blogging, I posted about all the magazines I read. Over the last few years, I have stopped reading so many magazines, and the ones that I do read are rather different. I now read Country Kitchen every month, Country Living occasionally (usually I peek at my Mum’s copy) Martha Stewart Living when I can get it, and have recently launched a quest to find Victoria magazine, and Marie Claire Idees.
Which then led me to think about reading. A little tiny part of me asks ‘am I reading too much?’. Shock! Horror! I never thought I would type such a thing. You see, it occurred to me that I often read baking books, cupcake books, knitting books, crochet books….if you were to look at the list of library books checked out to me, you would conclude that I am a knitter who crochets things and bakes cupcakes. Well yes, I am…I am knitting (nearly finished the last sock!) and I do crochet, but I cannot remember the last time I baked a cupcake. Partly because the oven was on the blink for a while before it died I will admit, but still. And although I often copy a pattern I like for future use, I do not make nearly as many things as I have patterns for.
What I resolve is this: if not to read less, then to do more. Once I have the oven fixed (this Friday, when I shall also be taking delivery of a new washing machine!) I shall bake more, and really make the cupcakes that I think are so pretty. I am also going to try and cure myself of a bad habit- when I photocopy a pattern or a recipe, I very often (ok, always) sandwich it carefully inside a book – often not related to the subject of the copy – and file it away on my bookshelf. I shall purchase a folder and keep them all in there instead, so I know just where to find them.
Although crochet and knitting and sewing projects take rather more time than whipping up a batch of cupcakes, or kneading a new loaf of bread, and cost rather more to do, I am going to start projects in these areas rather than just day dream of them. Have I let you into my little secret before? I have a tattoo! I got it when I was nineteen. It is of a little red rose, with the words ‘Carpe Diem’ around the outside. As you probably know, it means ‘seize the day’ and I have decided that I really must take a little more of the advice on my own ribs. (Yes, it is on my ribs, on my left side, tucked away where no one can see it unless I show them!) So for me it will be making the things I read about and dream of, instead of just dreaming about them….watch this space!
The last few weeks have been busy, not with big, momentous things that would make interesting reading, but little, vexing things. Our oven broke, as did our washing machine (With all of our clothes trapped inside! And then the horror of the washing machine repair man seeing my knickers!) and the light in the bathroom (which has no window, so is pitch black without it) has started to stick. Dear Carl has installed Ubuntu onto his laptop, which I usually use to blog with, and I cannot get on with it at all, much to poor Carl’s consternation. Every time I try and close a window, I almost shut the machine down by mistake. To top it all, I have a horrible rash on my arms and legs. When I showed the pharmacist, she asked if I had been stressed and run down recently….
But, I do not want to be all doom and gloom. There have been lots of tiny adventures and things to share. A beautiful bunch of Cornish Pinks that adorn my chest of drawers, so they are the first thing I see in the morning, and their peppery scent is the last thing I breathe in at night.
I have also discovered a passion for Poirot novels. I wanted to read ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ to pass the time on the Eurostar, but the library copy was out on loan. I read it a week or so ago, and since then I have been devouring the adventures of the little Belgian detective with the egg-shaped head.
I have been been thinking thoughts about change recently. It started when I was at work, and went to look for a book for a customer, written by an author named Olivier. It gave me a little start, because after my biological father left my Mother pregnant with me, he went on to have two more children with another woman – one called Olivier, and another called Virginia. I have never seen any of them since, and it suddenly occurred to me that I still think of Olivier and Virginia as small children, when in reality, they must be twenty or even more. This in turn led me to think of things that change, things that don’t, ideas that we hold in our minds and so on. When I started blogging, I posted about all the magazines I read. Over the last few years, I have stopped reading so many magazines, and the ones that I do read are rather different. I now read Country Kitchen every month, Country Living occasionally (usually I peek at my Mum’s copy) Martha Stewart Living when I can get it, and have recently launched a quest to find Victoria magazine, and Marie Claire Idees.
Which then led me to think about reading. A little tiny part of me asks ‘am I reading too much?’. Shock! Horror! I never thought I would type such a thing. You see, it occurred to me that I often read baking books, cupcake books, knitting books, crochet books….if you were to look at the list of library books checked out to me, you would conclude that I am a knitter who crochets things and bakes cupcakes. Well yes, I am…I am knitting (nearly finished the last sock!) and I do crochet, but I cannot remember the last time I baked a cupcake. Partly because the oven was on the blink for a while before it died I will admit, but still. And although I often copy a pattern I like for future use, I do not make nearly as many things as I have patterns for.
What I resolve is this: if not to read less, then to do more. Once I have the oven fixed (this Friday, when I shall also be taking delivery of a new washing machine!) I shall bake more, and really make the cupcakes that I think are so pretty. I am also going to try and cure myself of a bad habit- when I photocopy a pattern or a recipe, I very often (ok, always) sandwich it carefully inside a book – often not related to the subject of the copy – and file it away on my bookshelf. I shall purchase a folder and keep them all in there instead, so I know just where to find them.
Although crochet and knitting and sewing projects take rather more time than whipping up a batch of cupcakes, or kneading a new loaf of bread, and cost rather more to do, I am going to start projects in these areas rather than just day dream of them. Have I let you into my little secret before? I have a tattoo! I got it when I was nineteen. It is of a little red rose, with the words ‘Carpe Diem’ around the outside. As you probably know, it means ‘seize the day’ and I have decided that I really must take a little more of the advice on my own ribs. (Yes, it is on my ribs, on my left side, tucked away where no one can see it unless I show them!) So for me it will be making the things I read about and dream of, instead of just dreaming about them….watch this space!
Adventures In Bruges (You will need a whole pot of tea for this, it is a long post!)
It is a distinct advantage when travelling, to set out on your journey convinced you are going to have a wonderful time, and love your destination, and I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed: Bruges was bliss, a real delight.
Somehow, despite being awoken at sometime around half past four, I was not grumpy! Perhaps this is because dear Carl pushed a cup of tea into my hands and then let me be for a little while! Having packed the night before, we were ready on time, and set out at half past five to walk into town to catch the train to London. The air was beautifully fresh, I so love that time of day. There is a kind of peace in the air, and the day is still slightly damp, like butterfly wings just emerged from the cocoon.
Surprisingly for such an early hour, we only just got seats on the train to London. Happily the tube was not crowded, so when we emerged at St Pancras station, I was still in extremely good spirits. This was my first visit since The Meeting Place statue was unveiled, in fact, my first visit for a number of years, and I was captivated by the place. There is so much glass that there is a great deal of light, and yet somehow, it looks very traditional whilst being modern, too. To my delight, there were discs set in to the floor, carved with lines from Betjeman poems (John Betjeman was instrumental in the campaign to save and renovate the station rather than demolish it) and then there was a statue of the man himself. The Meeting Place statue was curious in that it was much nicer viewed from further away!
It was not long before we boarded the Eurostar, and I must confess that no sooner were we settled than I dispatched dear Carl in search of tea. Little did I know it then, it was to be the last good cup of tea before we returned home! The journey was so much fun. I got to sit next to the window, and when I was not gazing out at the countryside (even the trees look different somehow to me, in France and Belgium to here!) I was reading ‘Murder on the Blue Train’ which is a Poirot novel. I had packed us up sandwiches (egg and tomato, my favourite, as discovered at Claridge’s) which we enjoyed as we gazed out at little French farms. I really think that train is my favourite way to travel. I love having my own little seat, with a bar that pulls down to rest my feet on (being on the short side, they are often left dangling!) and a little tray that I can pull down to rest my tea on, or push up and out of the way.
I was almost sorry when we reached Brussels; a few minutes later I really was sorry, because we were quite lost! We had imagined that our connection would be signposted somehow….but no. We queued at an Information booth, reached the front to be told they do not do train information. So we found our way to another place, where we had to use a computer to choose our nationality and if we wanted domestic or international train information; this then printed us a ticket that we had to take to a counter where the lady told us our train may or may not leave from platform 15 at five past the hour! Happily the delay gave me time to look in the magazine shop (I have not forsworn them entirely!) where I found Marie Claire Idees! A magazine about which I have heard much, but never until then found a copy of.
We were pleased to find that the train to Bruges did indeed leave from platform 15, and before we knew it, we were emerging from the train station into a sunny afternoon in Bruges. The train station is a short walk from the town centre, a walk which took us through a park, and along some beautiful little streets. One door had a lovely little wreath upon it, and many windows had little displays of ornaments, windowboxes full of flowers, or other thoughtful whimsical little touches.
Having been on one or two day trips to Bruges before, everything was at once familiar and a little strange. There are two main squares; Markt, which has many shops, cafes, restaurants, and a large belfry tower, and Burg, which has beautiful gold embellished buildings, and one restaurant, and then countless little side streets and lanes. We remembered a wonderful restaurant from a previous visit. For some reason ‘Tom’s Café’ stuck in my mind, and that it had green awnings outside. Well all of the café’s in the Markt square had green awnings, and none were called Tom’s Café or felt familiar. We wandered through to Burg, and happily, there it was! It was not called Tom’s Café, but Café Tom something. We sat outside under an ivy-patterned awning, and soaked up the sunshine and atmosphere. We ordered mussels and chips each, and a beer each, and a cola to share. (Beer on an empty tummy is not a good idea!) The beer came first – pink cherry beer for me (I only like fruit beer) and a dark beer for Carl, and then our cola. We asked for a large cola, so we could share it, and I have never seen such a large glass in my life! There must have been a litre in there at least! Our mussels came in such clever dishes; they are the pans they are cooked in on the stove, like a saucepan with no handles, and the lid is much deeper than on a normal saucepan. When they reach the table, they lift the lid off and put it upside down next to you, and you put your empty mussel shells into it. One day, when I have a bigger kitchen, I would love some of these! We sat and watched people going by, remarking upon the different nationalities and the way they dress. We looked and looked at the beautiful gothic buildings, really drinking it all in. So relaxing, and uplifting. I was really full after my mussels, but felt I could manage a little dessert. We each ordered a chocolate mousse as it was the cheapest thing on the menu, and so, according to our logic, the smallest. Not so! It came out in a sundae glass, and was the most wonderful chocolate mousse you can imagine. It was like a black hole of chocolate, deep and velvety, and not very sweet, but sweet enough, and utterly heavenly! While we were sitting there, spooning up this loveliness, a school band set up next to the café, and started playing. We were so lucky.
After this, we decided it would be best to find our hotel and check in, and leave our luggage so we could explore. Given the ease with which we often find ourselves lost, we were surprised to find our hotel exactly where it should be! See here http://www.hotelnavarra.com/en/ for some pictures. While we were exploring our room, I remarked that I was sure we were meant to have tea and coffee making facilities, but could see none. Then we opened a cupboard, and a tray lifted out, with all the things to make tea and coffee upon it. It was really clever, because the tray had a plug on it, and the kettle sat on part of the tray to work. Not a very good explanation, but a very good idea! We even had Lipton’s tea bags, but sadly only little plastic cartons of coffee cream, so a good cup of tea eluded me!
It was not long before we decided to walk back into town to take in some sights. We found our way back to the Markt square, and after a walk around this, we spotted a little yellow mini-bus giving tours. You sit on the bus, and each seat has its own headphones, and as you draw up to a building or statue, you get some commentary in your own language. I am really glad we did this, as it took us much further out than we would have managed on foot. It is so difficult to put into words how beautiful Bruges is; already I am aware that if you started sipping a cup of tea at the beginning of my post, it would be cold by now. But perhaps there is another cup in the pot? It really is a place that is untouched by time. Close your eyes and you hear the clip clop of a passing horse and carriage. Of course, they are for the tourists, but at the same time, they do not sound at all out of place. All the buildings are tall and narrow, many with little niches carved into them, which house beautiful statues. It is rare to see a building that is not decorated somehow, be it with a windowbox or particularly pretty curtains, or some such thing. The shops are often independent shops rather than chains, and are devoted to just one thing- there are lace shops, beer shops, hundreds of chocolate shops- not like we have here at all. In the shops, the window displays are lovingly crafted and really tempting, a joy to look at. Somehow the bus driver squeezed us down narrow roads, pointing out the beer museum, the diamond museum and the chocolate museum, and took us over countless bridges over countless canals.
After a very happy hour on the bus, we decided we would have a little light dinner. When I ordered my raspberry beer to go with the fluffiest and most heavenly cheese and ham omelette I have ever had, I realised that I had never before finished one beer in my life, let alone drink two in one day! We were sitting outside again, and it was lovely to see the shadows lengthen and twilight fall, as we were surrounded by the chatter of so many different languages. We shared a pot of coffee (such a lovely coffee pot! I really wanted to bring it home!) which was almost smoky in flavour, and finally wandered arm in arm back to our hotel, where, after a short rest, we descended to the basement, where we swam up and down and lazily floated about for an hour, for in the basement was a heated pool!
We were the only people down there, and for one moment, I wished I had read my murder mystery book a little quicker and finished it. All alone in the ladies changing room, I heard a bump from the sauna! I squeaked and hurried out, called for Carl and made him investigate. Nothing was there! And then Carl mentioned that there was a sauna in the men’s changing room too. THEN we realised there was only one sauna, with two entry doors, and the bumping I heard was not a murderer, but Carl exploring!
I will not bore you with the particulars of breakfast except to say that it was a joy- the kind of buffet that caters for all nationalities, and it was so much fun to guess what each table would go for. Were they meat-and-cheese people, or fruit-and-yohgurt? Egg-and-bacon or cereal-and-juice? Sometimes I guessed right, but more often wrong!
Our first adventure of the day was to be climbing the belfry in the Markt square. It is very tall, with 366 steps (I tried to count, but lost my thread halfway up!) for more information, see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfry_of_Bruges In the picture on that website, you can see some tall dark windows above the clock; it was to here that we climbed. It was very hot work, and the stairway was very narrow, but the views across Bruges were amazing. I even managed to pick out our hotel bedroom window!
After this I was more than ready for a sit down, so we wandered down to the canals, where we had some lunch, before boarding a boat for a canal tour of Bruges. This is my favourite thing to do in Bruges; the feeling of being on the water is so lovely, and you get to see things from another perspective. Our boat was piloted by a man with an amazing gift for languages- he described the places we saw in English, German, French and Dutch! It was ever so hot, and I rather enjoyed it when we passed under the bridges, just for the shade!
Before we knew it, it was time to start thinking about doing a little shopping, before collecting our luggage from the hotel, and making our way back to the train station. I particularly wanted to buy a box of chocolates I had seen. The lid lifted up to reveal an intricate pop-up scene of Bruges, and then the chocolates pulled out in a drawer underneath. Unfortunately, I could not remember which shop I saw them in, and it is not exaggerating to say that there are a hundred chocolate shops in Bruges! I had almost resigned myself to buying some other chocolates instead, when all of a sudden, we came across one last shop, and there they were! Of course I was interested in the handmade chocolates, but the box was so pretty, I could imagine keeping little treasures in it, and bringing it out to show my nieces and nephews, and maybe one day grandchildren….
We chose some chocolates for Carl (raspberry creams and orange truffles) and then some chocolates for our family, and then visited the beer shop. We also bought a little lace ornament that we will hang from our Christmas tree, along with the crystal sledge we brought home from Barbados.
We only just made our train from Bruges to Brussels (there was another later one, but that would not have given us long before Eurostar left….a little too close for comfort) but I spent a lot of the journey fretting, because the electronic sign kept flashing up destination Brussels Zourd when we wanted Brussels Midi. Thankfully, they turned out to be the same thing!! It was whilst we were waiting to board Eurostar that I took a turn about the magazine shop, and this time, I spotted Victoria Magazine! We had a cup of tea (pretty glass cups, but again, cream instead of milk) which came with a tiny bar of chocolate, about the size of two first class stamps….just enough, and a delightful extra.
The train journey passed peacefully. I flicked through my new prized magazines, chatted with Carl, and drank the most delicious cup of coffee. It was about 10:00pm before we got home, and I have to say, that although I loved every moment of our adventure in Bruges, it was really good to be home.
(There will be pictures to go with this post, just need to get them off of the camera!)
Somehow, despite being awoken at sometime around half past four, I was not grumpy! Perhaps this is because dear Carl pushed a cup of tea into my hands and then let me be for a little while! Having packed the night before, we were ready on time, and set out at half past five to walk into town to catch the train to London. The air was beautifully fresh, I so love that time of day. There is a kind of peace in the air, and the day is still slightly damp, like butterfly wings just emerged from the cocoon.
Surprisingly for such an early hour, we only just got seats on the train to London. Happily the tube was not crowded, so when we emerged at St Pancras station, I was still in extremely good spirits. This was my first visit since The Meeting Place statue was unveiled, in fact, my first visit for a number of years, and I was captivated by the place. There is so much glass that there is a great deal of light, and yet somehow, it looks very traditional whilst being modern, too. To my delight, there were discs set in to the floor, carved with lines from Betjeman poems (John Betjeman was instrumental in the campaign to save and renovate the station rather than demolish it) and then there was a statue of the man himself. The Meeting Place statue was curious in that it was much nicer viewed from further away!
It was not long before we boarded the Eurostar, and I must confess that no sooner were we settled than I dispatched dear Carl in search of tea. Little did I know it then, it was to be the last good cup of tea before we returned home! The journey was so much fun. I got to sit next to the window, and when I was not gazing out at the countryside (even the trees look different somehow to me, in France and Belgium to here!) I was reading ‘Murder on the Blue Train’ which is a Poirot novel. I had packed us up sandwiches (egg and tomato, my favourite, as discovered at Claridge’s) which we enjoyed as we gazed out at little French farms. I really think that train is my favourite way to travel. I love having my own little seat, with a bar that pulls down to rest my feet on (being on the short side, they are often left dangling!) and a little tray that I can pull down to rest my tea on, or push up and out of the way.
I was almost sorry when we reached Brussels; a few minutes later I really was sorry, because we were quite lost! We had imagined that our connection would be signposted somehow….but no. We queued at an Information booth, reached the front to be told they do not do train information. So we found our way to another place, where we had to use a computer to choose our nationality and if we wanted domestic or international train information; this then printed us a ticket that we had to take to a counter where the lady told us our train may or may not leave from platform 15 at five past the hour! Happily the delay gave me time to look in the magazine shop (I have not forsworn them entirely!) where I found Marie Claire Idees! A magazine about which I have heard much, but never until then found a copy of.
We were pleased to find that the train to Bruges did indeed leave from platform 15, and before we knew it, we were emerging from the train station into a sunny afternoon in Bruges. The train station is a short walk from the town centre, a walk which took us through a park, and along some beautiful little streets. One door had a lovely little wreath upon it, and many windows had little displays of ornaments, windowboxes full of flowers, or other thoughtful whimsical little touches.
Having been on one or two day trips to Bruges before, everything was at once familiar and a little strange. There are two main squares; Markt, which has many shops, cafes, restaurants, and a large belfry tower, and Burg, which has beautiful gold embellished buildings, and one restaurant, and then countless little side streets and lanes. We remembered a wonderful restaurant from a previous visit. For some reason ‘Tom’s Café’ stuck in my mind, and that it had green awnings outside. Well all of the café’s in the Markt square had green awnings, and none were called Tom’s Café or felt familiar. We wandered through to Burg, and happily, there it was! It was not called Tom’s Café, but Café Tom something. We sat outside under an ivy-patterned awning, and soaked up the sunshine and atmosphere. We ordered mussels and chips each, and a beer each, and a cola to share. (Beer on an empty tummy is not a good idea!) The beer came first – pink cherry beer for me (I only like fruit beer) and a dark beer for Carl, and then our cola. We asked for a large cola, so we could share it, and I have never seen such a large glass in my life! There must have been a litre in there at least! Our mussels came in such clever dishes; they are the pans they are cooked in on the stove, like a saucepan with no handles, and the lid is much deeper than on a normal saucepan. When they reach the table, they lift the lid off and put it upside down next to you, and you put your empty mussel shells into it. One day, when I have a bigger kitchen, I would love some of these! We sat and watched people going by, remarking upon the different nationalities and the way they dress. We looked and looked at the beautiful gothic buildings, really drinking it all in. So relaxing, and uplifting. I was really full after my mussels, but felt I could manage a little dessert. We each ordered a chocolate mousse as it was the cheapest thing on the menu, and so, according to our logic, the smallest. Not so! It came out in a sundae glass, and was the most wonderful chocolate mousse you can imagine. It was like a black hole of chocolate, deep and velvety, and not very sweet, but sweet enough, and utterly heavenly! While we were sitting there, spooning up this loveliness, a school band set up next to the café, and started playing. We were so lucky.
After this, we decided it would be best to find our hotel and check in, and leave our luggage so we could explore. Given the ease with which we often find ourselves lost, we were surprised to find our hotel exactly where it should be! See here http://www.hotelnavarra.com/en/ for some pictures. While we were exploring our room, I remarked that I was sure we were meant to have tea and coffee making facilities, but could see none. Then we opened a cupboard, and a tray lifted out, with all the things to make tea and coffee upon it. It was really clever, because the tray had a plug on it, and the kettle sat on part of the tray to work. Not a very good explanation, but a very good idea! We even had Lipton’s tea bags, but sadly only little plastic cartons of coffee cream, so a good cup of tea eluded me!
It was not long before we decided to walk back into town to take in some sights. We found our way back to the Markt square, and after a walk around this, we spotted a little yellow mini-bus giving tours. You sit on the bus, and each seat has its own headphones, and as you draw up to a building or statue, you get some commentary in your own language. I am really glad we did this, as it took us much further out than we would have managed on foot. It is so difficult to put into words how beautiful Bruges is; already I am aware that if you started sipping a cup of tea at the beginning of my post, it would be cold by now. But perhaps there is another cup in the pot? It really is a place that is untouched by time. Close your eyes and you hear the clip clop of a passing horse and carriage. Of course, they are for the tourists, but at the same time, they do not sound at all out of place. All the buildings are tall and narrow, many with little niches carved into them, which house beautiful statues. It is rare to see a building that is not decorated somehow, be it with a windowbox or particularly pretty curtains, or some such thing. The shops are often independent shops rather than chains, and are devoted to just one thing- there are lace shops, beer shops, hundreds of chocolate shops- not like we have here at all. In the shops, the window displays are lovingly crafted and really tempting, a joy to look at. Somehow the bus driver squeezed us down narrow roads, pointing out the beer museum, the diamond museum and the chocolate museum, and took us over countless bridges over countless canals.
After a very happy hour on the bus, we decided we would have a little light dinner. When I ordered my raspberry beer to go with the fluffiest and most heavenly cheese and ham omelette I have ever had, I realised that I had never before finished one beer in my life, let alone drink two in one day! We were sitting outside again, and it was lovely to see the shadows lengthen and twilight fall, as we were surrounded by the chatter of so many different languages. We shared a pot of coffee (such a lovely coffee pot! I really wanted to bring it home!) which was almost smoky in flavour, and finally wandered arm in arm back to our hotel, where, after a short rest, we descended to the basement, where we swam up and down and lazily floated about for an hour, for in the basement was a heated pool!
We were the only people down there, and for one moment, I wished I had read my murder mystery book a little quicker and finished it. All alone in the ladies changing room, I heard a bump from the sauna! I squeaked and hurried out, called for Carl and made him investigate. Nothing was there! And then Carl mentioned that there was a sauna in the men’s changing room too. THEN we realised there was only one sauna, with two entry doors, and the bumping I heard was not a murderer, but Carl exploring!
I will not bore you with the particulars of breakfast except to say that it was a joy- the kind of buffet that caters for all nationalities, and it was so much fun to guess what each table would go for. Were they meat-and-cheese people, or fruit-and-yohgurt? Egg-and-bacon or cereal-and-juice? Sometimes I guessed right, but more often wrong!
Our first adventure of the day was to be climbing the belfry in the Markt square. It is very tall, with 366 steps (I tried to count, but lost my thread halfway up!) for more information, see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfry_of_Bruges In the picture on that website, you can see some tall dark windows above the clock; it was to here that we climbed. It was very hot work, and the stairway was very narrow, but the views across Bruges were amazing. I even managed to pick out our hotel bedroom window!
After this I was more than ready for a sit down, so we wandered down to the canals, where we had some lunch, before boarding a boat for a canal tour of Bruges. This is my favourite thing to do in Bruges; the feeling of being on the water is so lovely, and you get to see things from another perspective. Our boat was piloted by a man with an amazing gift for languages- he described the places we saw in English, German, French and Dutch! It was ever so hot, and I rather enjoyed it when we passed under the bridges, just for the shade!
Before we knew it, it was time to start thinking about doing a little shopping, before collecting our luggage from the hotel, and making our way back to the train station. I particularly wanted to buy a box of chocolates I had seen. The lid lifted up to reveal an intricate pop-up scene of Bruges, and then the chocolates pulled out in a drawer underneath. Unfortunately, I could not remember which shop I saw them in, and it is not exaggerating to say that there are a hundred chocolate shops in Bruges! I had almost resigned myself to buying some other chocolates instead, when all of a sudden, we came across one last shop, and there they were! Of course I was interested in the handmade chocolates, but the box was so pretty, I could imagine keeping little treasures in it, and bringing it out to show my nieces and nephews, and maybe one day grandchildren….
We chose some chocolates for Carl (raspberry creams and orange truffles) and then some chocolates for our family, and then visited the beer shop. We also bought a little lace ornament that we will hang from our Christmas tree, along with the crystal sledge we brought home from Barbados.
We only just made our train from Bruges to Brussels (there was another later one, but that would not have given us long before Eurostar left….a little too close for comfort) but I spent a lot of the journey fretting, because the electronic sign kept flashing up destination Brussels Zourd when we wanted Brussels Midi. Thankfully, they turned out to be the same thing!! It was whilst we were waiting to board Eurostar that I took a turn about the magazine shop, and this time, I spotted Victoria Magazine! We had a cup of tea (pretty glass cups, but again, cream instead of milk) which came with a tiny bar of chocolate, about the size of two first class stamps….just enough, and a delightful extra.
The train journey passed peacefully. I flicked through my new prized magazines, chatted with Carl, and drank the most delicious cup of coffee. It was about 10:00pm before we got home, and I have to say, that although I loved every moment of our adventure in Bruges, it was really good to be home.
(There will be pictures to go with this post, just need to get them off of the camera!)
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