Among all the recipes for using up post Hallowe'en pumpkins my daily newspaper had this one today. The author Benjamina Ebuehi was a contestant on Great British Bake Off a few years ago. You can find more of her recipes here. It sounded delicious, a chocolatey variation on the traditional cake. And so I set…Read more (Festive) baking
Blogging
The Post
Many people complain but we have an excellent postal service. Sometimes I would even describe it as magical, items arriving at their destination in what seems to be impossible speed. Throughout lockdown the post was a source of joy and anticipation, I kept things in "quarantine" for a day before I opened them. Now impatience…Read more The Post
When someone* else does the gardening
Actually, who am I trying to kid? It's MrS who does more than the lion's share of the gardening. He cuts the grass, what we have can't be described as a lawn, trims the hedge, and plants out the things I buy at garden centres. these are my greatest achievement in the garden, I did…Read more When someone* else does the gardening
Observing traditions
Today is the Feast of All Souls. Friday you may have celebrated Hallowe'en, perhaps decorating your house or yard with pumpkins or spooky items. In Scotland children mark the festival by "guising" dressing up and going from house to house, ideally performing some kind of "turn" in return for treats, usually sweets or chocolate. That…Read more Observing traditions
Challenging myself again
Not anything new, in fact I'm looking back six months and reviving my "every day.." challenge. It's just a pity that "Every day in November" doesn't have quite the same ring to it. I didn't manage to keep up posting in between times. June was a time of hope, infection levels were dropping and lockdown…Read more Challenging myself again
Day 101
Well according to the recording in my diary. 101 days since the 17th March. 101 days of altered life. Lockdown didn't begin then. It started the following week, on Monday 23rd. But on the 17th I wrote in my diary , "Odd day. Sort of day one" . The day before there'd been a press…Read more Day 101
baking some more
Well it's been nearly a week since I completed my #EveryDayinMay challenge. So it's about time for me to post again. June started out with sunshine, great for my daily walks and working in the garden. Well, maybe not always working in the garden.... But yesterday was a lot cooler, windier and rainier, just the weather for…Read more baking some more
the 31st May
Well, it' s not that I have any particular fondness for this date. It's not my birthday or anything. But today I've completed the challenge I set myself. Or will do as long as I get this finished and posted before midnight UK time. Earlier today an email took me to this post. And that…Read more the 31st May
Ile de Re
I must start with an apology, I'm getting a strong sense of Deja-vu with this post. I'm pretty sure I've written about Ile deRe before, but on a quick scan back through old posts couldn't find one. It's possibly on my old blog? If it does turn up it would be interesting to see if…Read more Ile de Re
a clean page
A new fresh notebook, filled with empty pages and promise. A new document, "open from new blank document", and write. And write.... And this time it'll be different. The voices will stay. They'll stop being shy, come out and tell their stories. I'll sit down and write or type until it's done. No stopping to…Read more a clean page
Caroline writes stuff 