The times they are a changing

Look what I found on the ground today

Lots of them were scattered around.  I love the glossy shine and the softness inside those prickly shells.  Time to bring out my Autumn plate with the painted leaves to make a little display.  

Little Miss Pusscat has managed to leave them alone so far but I bet she won't for long and I am sure they will soon be scattered all over the floor.

I have two very confused cats at the moment they cannot quite work out why two members of the household are hiding in the computer!  They hear the voices and see moving images but just where are the bodies!  I don't suppose they will ever understand Skype but it certainly works well for the rest of us to keep in touch with these two...

My two youngest have both gone to University this Autumn, both to study History but one has gone north and the other south.  It would have been helpful if they could have gone in the same direction!  It really has been a big change in this house but what an exciting time for them.  I love this photo of them, it never fails to make me smile! They were 5 and 2 then and were so pleased with their Sticklebrick model although I cannot remember what it was supposed to be.

This photo was taken on holiday in France this summer so rather more up to date.  As you can see my son still has that lovely smile and my daughter still has her beautiful blonde hair.  Isn't she lucky to be naturally blonde. 

Question: What do you get when you cross a Coffee and Walnut cake with a Battenburg cake?

 Answer:  An owl 

Why would I think about doing such a thing?  Well it was for a 21st birthday cake for my eldest son's girlfriend. So a few finishing touches and...

 

Made from a coffee sponge baked in a traybake tin then sliced through horizontally.  I was a little worried that it might fall apart when I lifted the top off but actually it was fine.  The filling was a coffee buttercream, chopped walnuts and... well you will never guess... it was Rhubarb jam!  I made some in the summer using a recipe by Vanessa Kimbell in her book, 'Prepped' and being slightly sharper than most jams it balanced the sweetness of the buttercream perfectly.  A thin coating of marzipan over the top, and then a little fondant icing used for eyes and beak.  A quick paint job of bronze pearl lustre and food colouring with walnuts for his front and one owl ready for the celebrations.

 I don't know why he is sideways but having had several attempts at rotating him, despite the fact that he is the right way round on my stored images, I have had to give up.  Anyway the unusual combination worked very well and was appreciated by the birthday girl who had not been able to decide whether she would prefer Coffee and Walnut cake or a Battenburg!

What would you have made?

Happy Birthday Jo

 

Summer time and the living is easy...

Actually it has been incredibly busy.  Would you like to join me for a nice cup of tea and a catch up?  There has been so much going on that I have neglected you and that won't do at all.  The sun is shining and the table is set, outside of course as we must make the most of this lovely sunshine.  The Winter and Spring seemed to be so long that it seems wrong to be inside at all.

 The new tablecloth fits perfectly over the little table.  I bought it from Brussels when hubby and I went to the Jazz Festival.  It was so pretty and I just could not resist all that lovely embroidery.

Can I tempt you to a cake?  Do try a Rose and Elderflower one.

 The rose petals are fresh picked and some from this rose bush helped to colour the Rose and Elderflower syrup.  I love this syrup, quick and easy to make and delicious to taste. The recipe, comes from 'Prepped' by Vanessa Kimbell.  She tells us to use red scented rose petals but as my red roses are regretably not scented I used some red petals and some of my yellow scented ones.  It looked so pretty stewing in the bowl but the smell was incredible.

 How about a little Elderflower cake with fresh fruit?  This recipe was from the Waitrose magazine a few years ago now and definitely rates amongst my favourite cakes and I make them all year round. I usually make them a smaller size than the recipe suggests as 8 would vanish in a trice in our house, and also I don't feel guilty eating a little cake, so fairy cakes or mini muffin size are perfect and daintier on a cake stand.  As we are past the time for fresh elderflowers I picked a few blackcurrants and raspberries to go on top.  


 

The blackcurrant bush has done very well for it's first year but it has become much larger than I anticipated so some of the branches are now amongst the gooseberries!  Despite a mass cut back of the raspberry canes last autumn they are now as Triffid like as ever and now sending up new canes in the lawn! 

Now what else has been happening... 

Younger son turned 21 and had a chocolate orange birthday cake.  I forgot to take a picture when it was cut so you will have to imagine the four layers of sponge soaked in orange liqueur, layered with orange liqueur butter cream made with a sugar syrup.  The outside was coated in a chocolate ganache and hand made praline.  It's a good job you are only 21 once as it took me a whole day to make but definitely worth it and as a good cook himself he appreciated the effort.

 

Then our dear daughter redecorated the house in preparation for her A-level exams. Walls, doors, windows and even inside drawers - I think everyone's knowledge of History and English improved! 

 Of course the end of exams and the end of school was heralded by the Prom and that meant shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping (are you worn out yet?  I definitely was) for the Prom dress.  Who would have believed it could be so difficult.  Eventually, the day before we went on holiday (I will tell you all about that another day) we found one that she liked, they had the right size and it fitted BUT she didn't like the skirt's half lining under the chiffon as it had a split up the front and she really wanted a full lining.  This meant that on the day of the Prom I ended up relining the dress.  In order not to add extra bulk at the waist I ended up cutting the top of the new lining with a soldering iron to stop it fraying. It was all worth it in the end though, she looked so beautiful.

 

Well that is just a little of all that has kept me so busy, I shall tell you all about the holiday soon.

 

 

Happy Easter

One bunny

 Two bunnies

Three bunnies

  Four

 If they are very lucky there may soon be two more!  

Just need to find where the stuffing has been 'tidied' away, it has to be somewhere!  

I enjoyed knitting these little egg cosies, a nice pattern, well written, means they knit up quickly, and as I still have some wool left it seemed a fun quick project to do.

 If we are at home for Easter I do try to make a table decoration, but was surprised that I couldn't find any narcissi to put into this oasis ring.  These little flowers did the job perfectly though.  The little egg shell baskets just needed a finishing touch and gave me the opportunity to try making some paper flowers.  Miniature beads in the centre gave a more realistic touch, and with mini eggs inside were popular.

I normally pick forsythia and flowering currant branches to decorate with eggs and chicks.  Small sprigs also go into the oasis saving the necessity to buy flowers for it.  Last year the flowers were almost over but this year they are so far behind they are not open yet.  I cut some and brought them into the warm hoping to force them, and the forsythia obliged but the pretty pink of the currant has still not opened.

I took the bunnies and table decoration outside to photograph as we actually have some sunshine this morning, and a few little Spring flowers peeping through.  We could have done with some sunshine yesterday when we went to Lyvedon New Bield

Built over 400 years ago, there is no longer a roof or floors but you can go inside and listening to the audio guide can easily follow the story and picture all the rooms.  

 

The frieze running around the outside of the building tells the story of the Passion, so although I didn't know this before we went it did seem appropriate to visit at this time.  

It was a very cold afternoon, much too cold to stand still long, but we enjoyed a brisk walk around the gardens.  I think we will try to go again in the summer, I am sure it will look very different then.

Happy Mothers Day

I do hope all you mothers had a lovely day yesterday. I was very spoilt and as well as flowers had cards from all my three children, and all home made which really pleased me.  Two of them were traditional cards...

and the third was of the edible variety!

At Church our vicar always told us that it should be Mothering Sunday as in the past it was traditionally the day when people went to their mother church.  It was also the day when girls in service would visit their mothers and take them a simnel cake so perhaps this is the reason why it now is often known as Mothers Day.  Those mothers must have been very happy to see their daughters.

I wonder how many people give their mother a simnel cake now?  We always associate it with Easter.  Perhaps we should make our simnel cakes now to let them mature?  I have a feeling that in our house it would not last until Easter though, far too tempting.

I gave my mother a non-edible present, a slight adaptation of the 'gift card' I made.   

Filled with lavender and rose petals this time and lots of beads stitched on. 

I used a heart button in the centre of the bows.

The only piece of ribbon I had in the right colour was unfortunately too short to attach it to a card, and stitching the beads on took somewhat longer than I estimated, so my dear daughter kindly stepped in to make a card for me.

Card embossed and butterfly die cut on our new toy - I will tell you about it another time - she painted it and added sparkle.  The fine nozzle and glue from Glitter Magic are perfect for those fine details, I had to order a new bottle of glue recently as we used the first one up.  The original nozzle is still perfect thanks to the pot it comes in which you fill with water so it does not get blocked.

 

 

 

A gift in a card

A family friend turned 80 recently and had requested no presents.  Whilst thinking about making her a card I came up with the idea of incorporating a small momento into it.  This means she will have something lasting a little longer. 

I cut the numbers out of some silk fabric paper I had made, and blanket stitched them to a piece of silk.  Then I stitched little flower sequins on, held in place with a tiny bead. I love the way these flower sequins are shaped rather than laying flat.

Then I made it into a lavender bag, filled with dried lavender from my garden, and put a running stitch around each number stitching through the whole sachet in order to keep it flatter.  The final thing was a ribbon attached with bows and some of the little beads.

The ribbon slid tightly over the card, in order to do this I had to open the card flat and curve it a little, but being so tight meant it could not fall off.  A few of the flower sequins and beads were glued around to decorate the card itself but it really didn't need anything else.

Signs of spring

The snowmen in my garden were only just reduced to small heaps of snow and a pile of branches when I spotted signs of Spring in a neighbours garden.

The first snowdrops peeping through, and bright sunshiny aconites.

I spotted them whilst walking down the road and went back with the camera especially.  It is lovely to see them and definitely bought a smile to my face.