D

Day 4.

Oh yes, i hadn't forgotten, just hadn't a chance to write until now. And i thought it rather apt as i'm watching Strictly Come Dancing (get the D link there, yep simple things simple minds was written for me) to compile my list for the day. So get comfy, and i'll begin.

D.

Recipe;

Doughnuts.

Now I have no idea why some people spell it with the 'h', others without, but i go for with. Anyway, in honour of my beautiful friend i would love to make vegan doughnuts and sprinkle them with sprinkles and prettiness. I think having the opportunity to make them means more than the actual eating of them.

vegancupcakes.wordpress

Place;

Denmark.

I've got a really romantic notion of Nordic countries, there's something about them that just pulls me in, like the smell of gingerbread cooking at Christmas or the tinkle of the ice cream van as it drives by. The wide open fields, the creaking of the sails as the windmills pass their weight round and round, the beautiful architecture that is simple yet alluring and well quaint. I love the fact it inspired writers like Hans Christian Anderson and i would love to go and just sit and be there, be inspired too.

nordicco.com

Item;

Degree.

Oh this is a complicated one- bear with me. I do actually have a degree- i have the letters after my name that spending three years in Uni has left me with- i am in fact a BA Hons and have a degree in history. But it isn't what i want. I'm not proud of the letters because i don't feel them in my heart. I don't feel proud, nor achieved nor accomplished as they may as well be abc after my name, i feel i've let everyone down by doing a degree just because i had passion for the subject, but when i discovered that my passion was not what the Uni wanted, that we didn't click, i should have done the brave thing and left. And i should've left because i have always wanted more than anything to get a degree in something else. It's something i dream of, i wake up wanting it, wake up wishing for it but it's not possible, for me, not now and sadly probably never. But if i could, if i could make it happen, i would have the same letters as my Dad, i would have a degree in medicine. I would be a Dr.

sweetiesblog.com

Saying;

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket".

Flower;

Daffodil.

Yes i am very predictable- it is my nations flower but i do love it- especially the double bud variety and the pale lemon colour. I'm not so keen on the orange ones but there is something so very special when i see a daffodil. It sort of reminds me how lucky i am, how i'm lucky to live where i live and know the people i do.

weddingpaperdivas.wordpress.com

Animal;

Dolphin.

Yes i live in the UK but we do have dolphins here, apparently! I've been very lucky in my life to stay in some amazing places where the first sight in the morning were wild dolphin jumping and performing their acrobatic stunts in the water just beyond the glass. There were some nights i was lucky to be alone as the sun was setting and the glass like surface of the water would slowly start to ripple. First i'd see a fin, then maybe a tail, and then i felt so honoured as they lived in front of me- i felt accepted, that they thought of me as no threat. I am always humbled by their intelligence, their drive for life, for fun, for family but also for commitment to each other.

adoptadolphin.co.uk

Hope everyone has had a delightful day- yes i know, dreadfully cheesy and i shall stop now before my fingers tap out anymore dreary jokes.

Damn...

xxx

C

Day 3.

Oh and that of course means we move onto C. I have to admit this is doing me good, partly as i get an excuse to write but also as i can slightly use the old brain cells and get my alphabet in order- trust me, i may have a degree but i still have to say the alphabet over and over in my mind!

C

Recipe;

Caramel Apples.

Oh.My.

I mean just, wow. how much fun must it be to make these, and they look so ornate and beautiful. I don't think i've eaten one since i was very, very young and having porcelain teeth doesn't really make it very possible but still, i'd love to spend time making them!

dessertcomesfirst.com

Place to visit;

Canada.

When my Grandad was widowed he was in his late 70's, and he decided to get his first ever passport and leave the UK. And off he went, to Canada. I admired him so much for going there, somewhere he'd read about, seen on TV and he did it. I don't think i'll follow him exactly by white water rafting but i'd love to see what he saw on a trip that meant so much to him.

holidays2canada.co.uk

Item;

Cello.

When i first picked up the bow at age 7 i felt so free. There was just something, hmm how do i describe it, i just felt connected to the gorgeous curves and the beautiful veneer. I played until i was 16 but i was hopeless! I passed some exams and the like but i couldn't get to grips with reading music- i was fine if i marked it in my own code but hopeless if not given a chance to decorate the music in my own way! Yet i do miss it. I miss sitting in my room in the late afternoon, with the rain hitting my window and me and it just making our own soundtrack.

hertzmusic.eu

Saying;

"Cool as a cucumber".

Flower;

Crocus.

I am very fortunate to live in a very old house with a very large and mature garden. One of the central elements is a horse chestnut tree that must be 300 years old. Under the canopy of this tree every winter little jewels emerge, you wouldn't think they would but up they come, often in frozen/snowy grounds revealing their petite and beautiful blooms.

nybg.com


Animal;

Cats.

I did wonder if putting down cats would be too obvious but hell, i love them and have always had them in my life. I adore their independence yet loyalty and their absolute willingness to show empathy and compassion. I'd be lost without mine.

This is Tilly- my sister's Maine Coon, adorable and soft but with a wicked personality, she's one of a kind! I buy her toys all the time becuase she is a total intellect and i love for her to be stimulated as much as possible.






This is my boy. His name is Boris and you will often find him perched next to me on his favourite cushion. He has this odd obsession with anything blue, won't sleep on any other colour blanket etc! He had an awful start in life, was discarded in a plastic bag as a kitten on marshland- luckily he fought his way out, the rest of the litter weren't so fortunate, and he made his way to us. We've had him now for 7 years and he truly is a big soft teddy bear.




And this is our other old man, Roy. He's been with us for nearly a year now but he is in fact my sister's boyfriends cat. When they moved in together Tilly wasn't keen on sharing her home so he came to us. And what a character, he is a little old man in cat form. Like Boris Roy was mistreated as a kitten, kicked and thrown around and so was a little wary, he was also homeless for a while so we were worried he would try and escape from us. But he found his feet here very quickly, settled in and is part of the family. We reckon he's about 15 now but still keeps Boris on his toes!




xxx

B

Day 2.

And yep, that means one thing, letter B is ready to go. And thanks to the lovely lenevermore for the suggestion of adding some pictures. I agree it will help lift the post. So here goes, enjoy.

B.

Recipe:

Baked Alaska.

I don't know if it's something i'd like to eat per say but i have always marvelled at just how creative it must have been when the first cook encased ice cream in meringue to find it still protected after cooking. I 'd love to give it a go, see people's expressions when you produce the silky, crispy meringue with it's secret lurking inside!

findmyrecipes.com

Item;

Ballet Shoes.

And i mean the original, professional sort, not the fashion sort (although i do love those) but oh my goodness i'd love a pair of the professional sort. I am no dancer, far, far from it but i adore the skill, the passion, the romance and the total simplicity in the complexity that ballet provides.

theartwarestore.com

Place to visit;

Barcelona.

I've been lucky enough to go to Spain a few times but never to Barcelona. I'd love to go to see the architecture, i have a weird eye fir buildings, i just get blown away by the smallest details, sometimes the biggest picture doesn't blow me away but the little things, the cornices, flag poles, doorways, floor tiles- wow.

veggieplaces.com

Saying;

"Be Prepared".

Flower;

Bird of Paradise.

Nature is the best artist there is. I don't think you could design a more architectural and beautiful flower then she.

cairochronicles.com

Animal;

Badgers.

I know they have a bad reputation and are blamed for a lot of strife and are called violent but i don't care. I love them. Their colourings, their habits, the family unit. Sadly i live in a rural area where badgers are blamed for cattle TB and are due to be culled- something that is being fought and so far, the badgers are winning!

xxx

New direction

So i was thinking last night (as i often do in the middle of the night) how this blog needs some sort of direction. I mean i truly do love to write but i like to know what i'm writing for, if that makes sense. And so, the most random of ideas came to mind. did you ever play that game when you were young, the alphabet game- you take a letter then have to name a boy's name, a girl's name, a flower, an animal etc. Well it got me thinking, that whilst i'm still unsure of the direction in which to write, for the next 26 days i'm going to play my very own version of the alphabet game.


Each day will have a new letter (obviously) but the categories will be the same. It gives me a chance to write about things and go form there i guess. And it may not be thoroughly entertaining but writing is a form of escapism that i value too much to let my blog go again.


So, the categories that will be featured in the 26 posts are;
Country/place i'd like to visit;
Item i'd like to own;
Recipe i'd like to bake;
Favourite saying;
Favourite flower;
Favourite vegetable.

So here goes, who knows what the next 26 days are going to uncover, if you want to join in then lease feel free to do so, the best thing about life is learning about others.



***


A.


Country/Place;

Alaska.

Oh my days for as long as i can remember i've wanted to go to Alaska. I've been to the USA many times and have travelled all over but Alaska is one place i'm yet to explore. The beautiful scenery, the absolutely spectacular nature and the peace, the beautiful peace of a place so untarnished by the drive for absolute modernity. I'd love to just walk along routes with a camera and a friend and jut soak up everything it has to offer.

Item:

Abstract art;

I#m no art expert- far from it, in fact most things that seem to be well acclaimed just don't do it for me. I know there are some masterpieces and i can appreciate the skill involved in them but they don't speak to me. So i am forever on the lookout for artwork/wall art that is not only individual but that displays a message to me and maybe only me.

Recipe:

Apple snow.

This is something my Dad's Mum used to bake for him when he was growing up. Sadly never got to know my Ganny but y Dad has talked about this recipe with such fondness that i would love to give it a go. It's not a recipe i can find easily though so i'm going to have to go through Granny's old recipe file to see if i can find it!

Saying:

" A bird in the hand i worth two in the bush".


Flower:

This is hard as i love so any, but i'm probably going to go for Allium. I love the globe purple spheres that seem so heavy but are oh so light that just wave around on the green stalks.


Animal:

Albatross.

Even though it's a big thing you don't hardly ever see, the habits of this bird are just fascinating. Did you know they mate for life but spend month apart flying across the oceans, yet they know exactly whom their spouse is and where they will be when they do meet back up. I'm a sucker for things like that!



So there we have it, A is done, probably bored most of the readers silly but there we go, look out for B tomorrow!


xxx

Handmade goodies

Happy Sunday one and all. Hope you're all having a nice and relaxing weekend. The weather here is just grey- hasn't changed all day, i even had the fire on for a while to help banish the cold- brr.

Anyway, i needed something to do and as my family are out visiting relatives i thought it would be an opportune time to take over the kitchen and bake. I had planned on a glazed apple cake but i found less butter in the fridge that i had thought so decided that the rapidly ripening banana's in the fruit bowl should be used up and the result, a banana and walnut tea loaf (that i had to save from the jaws of my cat!)

And as this is a sort of handmade post i thought i'd share my latest embroidery, it's a solar system pattern, slightly adapted but nevertheless a hugely wonderful pattern from theflossbox on etsy- check her out if you love to sew her patterns are inspired. It is a present for my sister's boyfriend for Christmas, he teaches physics so i thought it rather apt!

And seeing as it's Sunday it means i know have the joy of the F1 race in Brazil. Yep, i adore F1, have done for nearly 17 years now, i know for a lot of people they think it must be very boring to watch cars go round and round and round but for me i thrive on the tactical elements, and Brazil is shaping up to be one hell of a race.

So happy Sunday whatever you are getting up to,

xxx

Return

I've had an epic dose of bloggers block- i just haven't been able to find the words to make a decent post! However, i miss this lovely place and now that the crispness of autumn is upon us i feel more motivated to get back into the swing of things.

Even though it's been so long i've not done anything remotely exciting (shock horror), my sister turned 28, i turned 26- that entailed an awful lot of baking, i had a ball making some cupcakes for my sister with my wonderful aunt! I may post pictures although get scarily embarrassed!

And seeing that i've been away for so long and that i don't really know how to reintegrate i thought i would do a tag that the lovely Daisy has supplied.

Where's your cell phone: On the arm of my sofa next to me.

Your hair: In desperate need of a brush.

Your Mother: Fighting the biggest battle with grace.

Your Father: Dependable and my rock.

Favourite Food: Broccoli.

Dream last night: Oh trust me, you don't want to know!

Favourite Drink: Ribena light.

What room are you in?: The breakfast room.

Hobby: I flit between lots and nothing.

Fear: Moths!!!

Where were you last night?: Snuggled up in bed.

Something that you aren't?: Employed.

Muffins: Summer berries with a whole strawberry in the centre.

Wish List Item: Wall art.

Where did you grow up?: Same village i still live in.

What are you wearing?: Pink hoodie, dark denim baggy jeans and socks.

Your Pets: Boris and Roy my wonderful cats.

Friends: Few but amazing.

Something you're not wearing: Make-up.

Favourite Store: Handycandy.

Favourite Colour: Purple.

Last time you laughed: When my cat leapt at the shut window thinking it was open-oops!

Your best friend: Laura.

Place you go to over and over: Um i don't go anywhere, does my bed count?

Person who emails you regularly: Laura.

Favourite place to eat: Vegan cafe.

So there we have it, i apologise for my absence, i will get around as many blogs as i can to catch up with you all.

xxx

Random musings

Oh little blog- i have a million things i could write about but nothing that comes to mind, does that make sense, probably not but then life rarely does.

I've not been up to much worth commenting on, I've tried my hand at quilting and have made a tea cosy- inspired by my latest post of finds, and an ice cream sundae cushion cover. It's sort of therapeutic to take old fabric and bring them back to life again. Yet i'm feeling very self-conscious over my 'makes' mainly because i have the world's most creative and talented family and i've always been the odd one out! They can draw and paint, sew, craft- do everything basically and do it amazingly. My 'craft' as a young one was always poetry, i seemed to like to make patterns with words and yet as i got older i became embarrassed by that. And that's something that often makes me ponder.

If life is about living who deems what is embarrassing or not? Yet i feel driven to not be myself because i feel like an oddball, like life is the square hole and I'm a round peg. It's very hard to explain i guess, i just sort of feel like i don't quite fit in with what life is supposed to be.

I've been waiting for years to find that something that makes me 'me', something that sort of connects me to the world and it always alludes me. I don't even feel like this blog is truly me because i don't want to write about me- it's nice to post about things i like and so on and it does help me 'live' dreams that would never be 'lived' but i often want to just write- write thoughts, feelings, just let things out but i don't, mainly because i think i fear loneliness online even though I'm used to loneliness in real life. I want to be able to post and be the person of my dreams but how can i when she doesn't exist, and is life supposed to be lived with a constant illusion of life?

Who knows, maybe one day the real me will appear, maybe not, and i guess that uncertainty is what makes life...

xxx