It’s at this time of the year you really can see the seasons change – for the most part over the year they simply slide into one another but not at the moment – it’s almost like one day you are coming home in broad daylight and the next day the sun is setting – a week later and it’s dark. I have to admit I love it – the lengthening and shortening of the days. I was talking to a friend recently and who is originally from Zimbabwe and she was telling me that when they were being taught in school about the shorter days in winter and longer in summer it meant nothing to them – it made no sense as their days stayed the same more or less all year – it was only when she came here that she realised what the teachers were on about.
This morning I woke up and it was pitch dark – no more morning walks (even though there weren’t too many in the first place – well not this year) – and it was the first morning that I was actually aware of the darkness. As I type the sky is brightening, some of the clouds are pink and there are trails from the planes. Soon this won’t be happening for at least another hour and then winter will have set in – going to and returning from work in darkness.
Speaking of work – must dash!
Bake A Cake
My mother used to make the most gorgeous boiled fruit cake but unfortunately returning to work, time constraints and losing the recipe put a stop to that. I remember you would nearly have the mixture eaten from the saucepan even before the flour went in – totally yummy! So can you imagine my joy of joys when I bought a cook book that had a recipe for boiled fruit cake in it – and it looked vaguely familiar! Over the weekend I decided I’d give it a go and boy was it good. I’d have taken photos but I was too busy scoffing the lot – ok maybe not all of the cake but a fair amount of it. I found it crumbled a bit when I cut it but to be honest I’m not overly worried. I brought some in to work and it went down well or at least nobody was out sick 😉 Following hot on the heels of this success I’m eager to try more baking (I tend to go through these phases) so I think I’m going to retire to bed with a mug of hot chocolate and my copy of Cherry Cake & Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket. I have a feeling that my next two baking forays will be more boiled fruit cake and some banana muffins – I saw the recipe in this months Weight Watchers mag and remembered I really liked them.
I have a feeling I’m going to be dreaming of cake – bliss!
Rain
I’m sitting here waiting for the kettle to boil and outside it’s started to rain. I love the sound of rain – pitter patter pitter pitter patter pitter.
Rain at night needs a quiet and dark room – just to sit there and listen – feeling safe.
Rain in the day brings a choice of two things – stay in with a hot cuppa and watch the rain running down the windows looking at the distortions OR put on your coat and wellies and go out in it jump in puddles and just get thoroughly soaked.
Funnily going out in the rain reminds me of V For Vendetta –
God Is In The Rain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9tbvQu6Iq8
Time for the quiet dark room 🙂
Home From Our Travels
For the last few days we’ve been in Paris, France and it has been glorious!
Most of my annual leave for this year has been used for Doctor & Hospital visits so this holiday was very much overdue.
Alas now it is over and I must return to work tomorrow so it’s an early (ish) night with the end of my Ian Rankin book and a mug of hot chocolate – with a dash of cinnamon.
Tomorrow I will upload a few of the pictures – but be warned I’m not the greatest of photographers 😉
Time Team
I love Time Team but life in the past few years has meant that I haven’t been able to watch it with the fannish devotion of previous years. However I’m watching a very early episode on one of the satellite channels and I looked up the internet to find out how early – and in my pursuit of trivia I found out that Robin Bush died in June. This makes me so sad ’cause I always found his input very interesting and thought it as a great loss to the show when he was no longer part of the team.
I know this is supposed to be a blog of things to make me smile but I had to put it out there 😦
Robin James Edwin Bush (March 12, 1943 – June 22, 2010) Rest In Peace.
Packing Lists & Postcards
Packing lists are always very handy and always used so why don’t I have a permanent one? I think it’s because I love making lists. It’s the making, the sitting down and deciding that I enjoy – it all adds to the build up of anticipation. Will I bring this? Will I bring that? Do I even need that? I haven’t used this is three months, will I bring it on holidays? Yes there are times, early on in the list making process when I’ve included everything (yes that does mean the kitchen sink – well it deserves a holiday too!)
Yesterday I bought a notebook specifically for making up this years packing list, I’m also going to write up addresses for Post Cards so I’m not ringing home looking for them. I don’t know what it is – I’m completely rubbish at letter writing but send me to a new city and everybody has to get a postcard sent to them. It must be a family thing – my parents send them when they go away and I send them too. I often wonder if it’s something that’s dying out (so to speak) I never hear of colleagues sending postcards either that or they’re just not mental enough to send them into work!!
Ah well – I can’t stay here typing all day I now have to go an decide which bags I’m bringing – ones to be packed and ones for walking around on holidays with – all very important decisions 🙂
Jam Sandwiches
We were at a BBQ this afternoon and it was lovely!! Great to see folk, eat some really lovely food – there was one particular salad there that was just yummy and I could have taken the whole dish 🙂 so it’s a light tea this evening – I was thinking boiled eggs and soldiers and then I starting thinking about childhood foods – take that egg and make it egg in a cup – I never really did figure out what Nanny did to it that made it so special but I might just try – so while I’m figuring that out I’m after polishing of bread and jam!! Raspberry Jam – Love Love Love it followed closely by Rhubarb & Ginger – num-nums!
So my question is do children these days eat jam sandwiches?
Brand New (Rolling) Pin
This morning I was reading an article by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall about cooking with children. Please put that old joke down! I know we all like children just couldn’t eat a whole one! Anyway now that that’s out of the way – cooking with the aid of children – when I was little or younger (which ever term you prefer) Nan-nan (my grandmother) was always baking apple tarts. There was nothing I loved more than getting the remaining core of the cooking apples and dipping them in sugar to make them yummy and slightly crunchy. One year I insisted on getting a rolling pin – I don’t know if it was for a birthday or christmas present – because I tend to have cold hands a lot of the time it means I’m a dab hand at pastry. So to have my very own rolling pin was just wonderful! When I moved out of baking and home the rolling pin magically disappeared. I was living in a flat but I still wanted a rolling pin – it could come in handy!!! but I couldn’t find one that was just like the one I had – still handles and a rolling middle/barrel – no the one I got was an all in one 😦 Don’t get me wrong it worked it rolled out my shortbread biscuits to a treat but it just wasn’t the same. Anyway yesterday we went to Ikea and as we were walking around down stairs there was a random rolling pin lying about in the pictures section – I don’t know where it came from originally but I just had to have it.
So now I have my rolling pin and Hugh is cooking with children there is something that is telling cook an apple tart – all I need now is a tart dish and I shall be away in a hack.
Sorry but now that I mention the plate – I’ve just remembered the thrill of shaving off the excess pastry from the edges – I loved doing that. Ok my mission is now to get that plate and put it all to good use – I’ll post pictures if it doesn’t get eaten before I find the camera.
Library Book
Did I mention I’m now at the point in the book where all I want to do is spend the day reading.
A Visit To The Library
On Thursday I went to weight watchers but didn’t stay for the meeting (yes naughty naughty!) Anyway instead of going straight home we dropped into the library. I hadn’t been there since it was all done up – actually I hadn’t been in there since I was 15 or so and therefore we are talking about a long time! I have to say I was very impressed – so impressed that I joined straight away. The last time I was a member they had a card/ticket system now it’s all electronic.
I didn’t take anything out at that visit but today we decided to drop into our local library (they are both run by the same county council and therefore one card fits all). I had never been in this one and it was even better then the one in Malahide (but it’s not as pretty as Malahide). It was so good himself wanted to join but he didn’t have proof of address on him 😛 However I had my card and with a limit of 10 items we were sorted. Himself picked out some graphic novels and I picked out a CD by Kate Rusby (which I’m listening to as I type) and we picked up 2 DVDs about a series that had once been on RTE called Hands – it’s all about hand crafts in Ireland – the ones we got were no.s 1&2 wool spinning and Patchwork. When we were at the counter I spotted a book at the quick pick stand and decided to take a chance – Requiem For A Wren by Nevil Shute.
When we were leaving the two of us got very giggly and himself said “I’d forgotten how exciting it was to get stuff out of the library” You know he’s right it was great fun and still is – I have a feeling that I’m going to expand my reading horizons with very little pain to my pocket. I’m so excited I think I’m going to have to go and read my book!
My Corner of The Internet 