Happy Christmas

I have spent today flicking a duster around and giving the vacuum cleaner a cursory run up and down the hall, I've pretty much wrapped most of the presents which have now taken up residence under the tree and I have bought all the food I intend to buy... if we haven't got it in now then we won't be having it! So I feel as ready as I'm ever likely to be... it all happens one way or another. Mostly I enjoy all the preparations, except for the food shopping which is stressful in the extreme, but like I say it's all done now and all that is left to do is to cook. Well, that would be the case if I didn't have a last minute brainwave to make some felt fruit and vegetables and knit a hat. I'll let you know how that plan went once Christmas is over but given that I haven't actually cast on the hat I think I might be being unrealistically optimistic. Plus I have gone down with a cold which is waking me up at 4am every morning this week. I really could do without that but realised as I lay awake at some silly hour this morning trying to ignore my thumping head that I only ever get colds at this time of year so it feels as much like Christmas as the smell of pine cones and the continual backdrop of carols. Looking on the bright side if I'm awake at 4 am I might get that hat knitted!

I leave you with some of the images of a recent outing with my Mum to see the Christmas lights at Kew Gardens. It was a spectacular show of light and sound and my pictures don't begin to do it justice.

There were trees covered in  twinkling fairy lights and curtains of light that changed colour as we walked through them.

A whole cathedral of light with accompanying choral music

as well as giant flowers that changed colour.

It was all quite breathtaking. Plus I had churros and hot chocolate for my dinner which was also rather amazing. Do not judge me until you have tried it!

The finale was a projected light and sound show onto the Palm court and the fountain. It was a wonderful evening that was rounded off by driving home through the West End of London to see the lights there too. They didn't disappoint either - I just loved the host of angels down Regent Street. It was such a fabulous evening that I have declared it my final 60 x 60, more in an attempt to draw a line under this particular project before I launch into something else.

I hope all your plans and preparations are going smoothly and all that remains is for me to wish you and your families a very Happy and Healthy Christmas.

Weekends

Hello... anybody out there?

My last blog post seems to have gone out into a black hole. Having written a long review of what I had been reading lately and then only receiving two comments, I came to the conclusion that either it was totally uninteresting or possibly I had offended in my opinions (it wouldn't be the first time). Then I wondered were people put off by me slipping in another little mention of my India trip (Did you see what I did there?) But no, when I checked the stats it would seem hardly anyone even read my post. So I am consoling myself  in the knowledge that you have all been away doing something fabulous all weekend that has meant no time for reading blogs... so please don't burst my bubble and tell me you just weren't interested!

Our weekends have taken on a rather nice routine lately in a concerted effort not to let all days drift into one. With both of us at home for a large amount of the time is is easy for each day to seem the same as the last and there is a temptation to carry on with work related stuff seven days a week. Monday to Friday I am trying to concentrate on work related activities around teaching and making art but for the past few weekends we have perused the guide books and have taken ourselves off for longer than usual walks, exploring different neighbourhood areas.

The dog is especially pleased with this new routine with lots of new places to sniff and explore.

Yesterday we discovered Houghton House, the ruins of a 17th century mansion that was built as a hunting lodge in 1615 for Mary, Countess of Pembroke. With loggias possibly designed by Inigo Jones, it commands impressive views over the Bedfordshire countryside.

We also walked through an ancient wood where we literally were fighting our way through overgrown brambles... until we spotted a pathway only a couple of yards to our left that had been cleared for a mountain bike race. Funnily enough the walk became much easier after that!

We have walked across meadows, around lakes and along river banks enjoying spotting the various wildlife. We nearly always manage a church or two for a wander around as well. Last week we found a palace in Buckden that had been home to former Bishops of Lincoln. Five of them were buried in the churchyard

But the work life balance isn't going to always be divided so neatly between the weekdays and weekends as I have just started a part time job in a little cafe to supplement the household income. I did five hours on Saturday, wiping tables, operating the till and serving food and coffee after which I came home and pretty much didn't move until I crept into an early bed... shocking...9.30 pm on a Saturday night! I'm hoping the exhaustion induced inertia won't last as I get used to it. I managed to go in and help out for a couple of hours again yesterday before we went out for our walk and I was fine, so maybe I was just extra tired the day before.

It is a very pretty place to work as you can see and friendly too. I was also given barista training last week and was probably a little too excited at my first attempt at latte art. Especially as I think it is all a bit of nonsense really... Who cares what it looks like as long as it tastes okay... but that's just between you and me, okay!

This might just be the limit of my barista skills... could it be another 60 x 60 maybe? Which would mean I only have to do one more new thing to get to number 60 before I begin my 100 count down!

So what did you get up to this weekend?

The Story of a Bun

In all the years I've lived in the Cambridge area until recently I had never eaten a legendary Fitzbillie's Chelsea Bun. These sticky fruit buns were created and first eaten at The Bun House in Chelsea in the eighteenth century but they have become synonymous with Fitzbillies restaurant in Cambridge. So in the interest of crossing another sixty by sixty off my list I thought it was about time I tried one.

Maybe it was because I kept hearing how amazing they are but on trying the real thing I was actually just a little bit disappointed.  Now don't get me wrong, it was good, but not as good as I thought they would be. They were just a bit too dry despite the sticky topping (I wondered as it was a Sunday if they were possibly a day old?) and there wasn't enough spicy flavour for my taste.

So given that on the Great British Bake Off last week (despite my growing disappointment with the show I can't resist watching) the contestants were asked to make Chelsea buns I couldn't resist the challenge.

I brought out my trusty mixer to knead up some dough and decided to go with an almond and cherry theme, soaking dried and glace cherries in some Cointreau with a few drops of almond essence. I would have preferred Amaretto for extra almond flavour but I didn't have any!

When the dough had risen it was knocked back and rolled out before spreading it with melted butter, a mix of ground almonds and sugar as well as the drained fruit.

It then was rolled up like a Swiss roll and then allowed to rise again.

The recipe that I was using as a guide suggested making a sticky glaze that was added just before baking but I think I would add a glaze after the buns are cooked if I made them again. I also think I would find a bigger tin because my buns were starting to make a bid for freedom!

But despite being rather misshapen and a little too crisp on top, they were very soft and pillowy inside with a good almond and cherry flavour. Definitely worth making again to perfect the recipe!

And although it feels like sacrilege to say so.. I preferred them to the Fitzbillies buns!

Only two more 60 x 60 things to go before I start my 100 challenge!

A Fishy Tale

I have not eaten meat for over twenty years... if you don't count the half a sausage I had at a barbecue last month in the absence of any alternative. I don't really have any moral objection, hence the sausage, I just stopped eating it as a result of taking one of my children to a town farm where there was a chicken shed. These were meant to be humanely kept chickens but the smell was so disgusting I stopped eating chicken from that day onwards. I gradually stopped eating other meats and I find I generally prefer vegetarian food. But I cook meat and I've always eaten fish and sea food so I have never called myself vegetarian. But until recently I have never eaten octopus... ever.

When we were in Greece my daughter-in-law's mother asked did I like octopus. There may have been something lost in translation in that Maria's English, although good, was a bit rusty and my Greek is... well, non existent shall we say. So I ended up trying some delicious little white cubes of fish... yes, I like octopus.  So when we were out with friends last week and one of the starters was octopus on a bed of smoked aubergine puree and everyone else was waxing lyrical about it I decided 'Yes, why not, after all I like octopus'.

However, I wasn't prepared for the creature from the deep that was dished up on my plate... it was a dirty great tentacle for heavens sake. It looked like it might crawl off the plate and wrap itself around my neck! Not wanting to look like a complete Muppet by screaming "I can't possibly eat this"as I ran from the room, I gave myself a good talking to... I could do this... just don't think about those little round suckers...  I cut off a small piece and with my eyes shut popped it into my mouth.

And I have to say... it was absolutely delicious! I cleared my plate without looking at what I was eating but I can now definitely say I have eaten properly eaten octopus for the first time. I may never do it again but I've done it. Another sixty by sixty bites the dust... only three more to go.

When we were at the Festival of Quilts, Gill thought I could add 'teaching at the FOQ' and 'staying in an AirBnB' to my list as these were also firsts for me but neither really seemed too much of a challenge... not like eating an octopus! So my total still stands at 57. As always suggestions are most welcome.

Go Ape

We started the day on Thursday with a carb loaded breakfast as I finally made Danish pastries. When we were in Copenhagen I fell in love with Tebirkes, an almond filled pastry topped with poppy seeds that are not easily found outside of Denmark. My version looked nothing like the ones we had and I'm not sure they tasted much like them either but they were rather tasty nonetheless. Tasty enough in fact that I managed to force two down!

But in my defence I was going to need lots of energy... ready to Go Ape! James, my stepson and his wife Lizzie had given me my treetop adventure as a birthday present, so it was lovely that as they are staying with us at the moment they could join in with our day out.

Lizzie and I braved the treetops whilst the boys stayed firmly on the ground... to look after the dog and sample cake apparently (I know, after all those pastries too!)

There were loads of very wobbly crossings, from rope bridges to tightropes

Some amazing high speed zip wires (I loved them!) to bring us down to ground from the tree tops

And best of all a very high up free-fall Tarzan swing that was so exciting I was disappointed only to get one go!

And it is official that I am now a gorilla! (and I've ticked off another sixty x sixty

I know I am just a little bit crazy and tree top adventures may not be everyone's idea of fun but Thetford forest is a lovely place for a day out with plenty of beautiful walks through the forest... although I was already eyeing up the Segway track for another time.

As long as you don't mind all the gorillas swinging overhead!

Sixty by Sixty

As I mentioned in a previous post, in between the excitement of the weddings I just happened to have another birthday. It came and it went, I was busy setting up for Open Studios all day and we celebrated in the evening with a fish and chip supper. The only thing of any real significance is that I am now 61 and so according to my own rules I am at the end of my sixty by sixty project.

Except I'm not really as I'm only up to number fifty five! But they have certainly been a lot of fun and introduced me to lots of new things, some I will definitely do again, some I will never do again and some that have opened up new opportunities. It was never meant to be a bucket list, although there is still a list of things I would like to do before it's too late (I've yet to see the Northern Lights for one), it was always more of a project to open my mind to new experiences started because I happened to mention in passing I had never been to a music festival. I've still not been to a music festival!

So it was always a project to try things I'd never tried before, visit places I had never been, achieve some long held ambitions and to do things that I may have never have thought of doing before. The only proviso was it had to be a new experience. It was no longer good enough to say "I would like to do that one day"... I intended to do it because life should be an adventure!

There have been some really exciting things like the indoor sky diving (I still think I might like to try the real thing), climbing over the O2 and maybe best of all, riding VERY fast on the back of a motorbike (Although I'm sure we weren't going THAT fast officer!)

One of my long held ambitions was to do the London Moonwalk, which was an amazing experience and there are already plans afoot to do it again next year with some friends.

Afternoon tea at The Ritz was another highlight that I loved but probably would never do again... unless of course someone feels like taking me.

Handling big birds of prey was another fun day out despite it being on what was probably the coldest day that year.

I also realised a long held ambition to start my own baking business which I did for two years. My first commissioned cake was this Guns'n'Roses cake

The last one was a twenty first birthday cake for a young doctor in training.

Much as I enjoyed it, I decided it was taking too much time away from my textiles and so reluctantly closed up my kitchen to the public last Christmas. However one of the other things I did over the 60 x 60 project was get involved with Free Cakes for Kids, a lovely charity that provides birthday cakes etc for children who would otherwise not have a cake. From my very first cake for Orla, I have gone on to make many more, some for children's centres, some for homeless charities and some for children undergoing cancer treatment... all of them a pleasure to make and something I will continue to do. The best thing is that without my 60 x 60 to spur me on I may never have got involved. The more I think about it, many of my 60 x 60 experiences involved cake!

I still don't know if the friend I nominated for an honour will be considered. It can take up to eighteen months to process and the only way you know is if it is successful... I'll keep an eye on the New Year honours list! There have been so many exciting and interesting experiences all I can say is do look down the list (in my sidebar) and give some a try! I can highly recommend Bletchley Park, Kew Gardens and Peterborough cathedral if you have never been.

And so to my last "experience" which was riding a zip wire... can you believe I have never done that before. We were meant to be taking our grandson to the park to play on the swings but I fear his Nanny-G may be a bad influence!

And as a result of the zip wire experience I was given a voucher to "Go Ape" for my birthday,  so I can't stop my project just because I turned 61 can I? I have been recording each experience in a scrapbook so will continue to fill it until I reach sixty things (my project, my rules!) and after that I will just carry on, trying new things, seeking out new experiences and going to new places, embracing and enjoying life to the full.

I don't think I want to call it 70 x 70... but maybe I should be really ambitious and name it 100 x 100. What do you think? Any ideas?

You can see all my 60 x 60 posts here.

Mamma Mia

I'm sitting around on my first weekend of Open Studios and it has been a slow day, which is probably just as well after the frantic few days setting up since getting home from Greece. I'm not expecting crowds of people this afternoon either... England are playing football. I find it too tense to watch but pop my head in the room next door every so often when I hear cheering!

So would you like to hear about Greece? We left home at 1am on Saturday morning (I can't believe it's a week ago already) to catch a flight at silly o'clock. We didn't bother going to bed beforehand and we were eating breakfast at Gatwick airport at 4am. Our flight was to Kalamata, where the twenty of us who were on our way to the wedding were met by a coach for the three and a half hours by road to catch the ferry to Elafonisos. 

It was worth it... mountains, turquoise sea and deserted beaches.

We showered, had a cheeky little G & T and walked down to the beach where pretty much the entire wedding party was relaxing and swimming. After meeting the bride's parents for the first time and being treated to a wonderful Greek meal it was back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

The next day was spent back on the beach and in the sea until late afternoon, when we made our way back to the hotel to shower and change ready for the evening. It was lovely to be able to spend time with my brother and sister in law while we were away.

The entire wedding party congregated at the taverna by the beach until we received word that the bride was ready. We then followed my son Ben, the groom, who was carrying a bouquet of lavender and wheat stems, in a procession up the hillside. Suddenly there was a cry from the rear... "Stop!"

And there was the bride, Alexandra, looking stunning, walking up the hill to meet her groom.

They met, Ben handed over the bouquet...

And then they walked on together and we followed again.

At the top of the hill we arrived at the tiny whitewashed Greek Orthodox church. It was just like Mamma Mia but without Pierce Brosnan singing (thank goodness)

Inside the ceremony was very formal and was sung in Greek by a priest who had been a former opera singer... definitely no bad singing at this wedding!

Despite the formality of the service the atmosphere in the church was very informal. Guests wandered in and out of the church, which was mostly standing room only, they chatted, they took photos. It was wonderful.

As the ceremony drew to a close all the guests were ushered outside...

We waited expectantly by the side door that we had entered while Ben and Alexandra signed the register... oh no! They were coming out a different door... so off we all went to the front door where we all threw rice at the newly weds as they emerged. Apparently the words for rice and roots are very similar in Greek and the rice signifies the putting down of roots together. A wonderful way to wish Ben and Alexandra a very happy life together.

The sun was setting over the sea as photographs were taken.

We then all wandered back down to the taverna for a Greek wedding feast... by now it was past 10pm!

There was eating dancing and drinking all night and we finally rolled back to our hotel at about 2.30am. The younger members of our party stayed up dancing before going onto the beach, where I have it on good authority they were skinny dipping at 5am... we retrieved youngest son's specs from the sea the following day!

Monday was another day on the beach, a late leisurely lunch and drinks on the terrace before an early night. Not quite such an early start as our journey out but we were up at 4am on Tuesday for the return trip. The ferry wasn't running at that time of the morning so we were shuttled in small groups by car and fishing boats under cover of darkness to board our bus on the mainland. It all felt rather illicit.

So a truly Greek experience and the most wonderful wedding that I won't forget. (Also my first time at a Greek Wedding... that must count as a sixty x sixty)

I close up Open Studios for the day in half hour, so I'm hoping it might be a bit busier tomorrow but at least England have won their game today. Then next week it will be on to wedding number two. Someone asked me on Facebook "Where were the waistcoats" and my response was "Next week, next son, next wedding". See you on the other side!