Happy New Year!

What a wonderful time I have spent with my family over the Christmas period. Whilst we weren't all able to get together this year, 2 of my daughters, their families and my husband and I managed to spend 4 days together. Keeley and Co had work commitments and then 3 of my grandchildren fell ill which meant they weren't able to enjoy the magic that Christmas brings for them! Luckily, their Christmas parcel from us arrived in plenty of time, despite the weather conditions that prevailed and the complications that beset the postal deliveries this year.

I baked, cooked, roasted and made a lot of yummy food and all thanks to watching the cookery programmes that I managed to fit into my busy schedule. So, thank you Nigella, Nigel and Gordon for inspiring recipes that we all enjoyed. Traditionally, my husband cooks the turkey overnight on Christmas Eve. My daughter had cooked the roast pork and I cooked roast beef.

Here are just a few of the things that I made....

Roast beef....

Pate Sucre - butter pastry, with a Mascapone cream and lemon curd filling, topped with fresh strawberries and raspberries, drizzled with melted chocolate and dusted with icing sugar!

Gingerbread

Banoffee Pie

Half of a Banoffee Pie!!! LOL.

For Christmas, I received 2 cookery books to add to my already extended collection - Nigella Kitchen and Sophie Dahl's - Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights.  I loved her series 'The Delicious Miss Dahl' recently.

Here's to a healthy 2011 and once all of the goodies have been devoured, it's back to that old word again.....'DIET'!!

Have a wonderful New Year all and thank you especially to my followers who have been very supportive and left me comments that encourage me to Carry On Writing!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Well, my tree is up and I also changed the mantle from my African Massai Mara figures and paraphenalia to my jewel coloured decorations that I bought this year. For the past decade, I have had a snow theme for Christmas and I LOVE it - which is why I was reluctant to change it but change it I did.

I have been decorating my hall this year and put up some wallpaper below the dado rail which has lime in it. I am loving lime. All around right now, I see lime - and fushia - and turquoise - and purple, so I went for it.

I made the purple runner with silver tassels for the Millenium and I found it - and 3 lengths of purple velvet fabric in the cellar. So I washed them all and are now good as new.

The colours vary in the different lights - they are more sparkly in the evening light!

I used my angel mirror from my bedroom for above the mantle.

Also, the little angel on the chair.

I filled a vase with baubles and lengths of the same colour curling ribbon.

Funny, now I see it from this view in photos, my wall looks kind of bare. The ceilings are very high and the decs don't do much for the space I have. Oh well! It looks lovely IRL. *Ü*

Thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comments. I read them all and I appreciate the time that you take out of your busy life to visit me here.

Have festive fun.

Let It Snow!

It's been a while since I blogged - mainly due to my new kitchen makeover that is taking up all of my time! It all began with a leaking pipe under one of the double cabinets that runs the length of the kitchen! After the said cabinet was removed, it was never going to fit back into the space without damage, so a visit to Wickes was on the cards. I am really excited about finally getting a white high gloss kitchen after waiting soo many years.

I digress. I have really enjoyed the snow that this little corner of the country had recently and whilst I realise that it can cause major problems, it didn't last - just long enough for me to take some photos.

It will be back later this week and I can't wait....It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! *Ü*

Enjoy your preparations.

Big Cat Diary!

For my 60th birthday in September this year, I treated myself to a BIG cat photographic workshop - courtesy of Tesco points. As I am a 'tiger' in the Chinese calendar, I wanted to do something that would be related to tigers and this was the best thing that I could have chosen.  It was an absolutely amazing day and we were able to take photographs within the safety boundary....obviously not in the enclosures themselves. LOL. We would have been torn to shreds! This Snow Leopard was beautiful and we were allowed to touch it through the fence!  

There were no fingers allowed in the fence but whilst the keeper occupied the Leopard, we were able to stroke it with clenched fists. That is the closest I have ever been to a wild animal!

I can't remember the name of this lion but I called him 'Scarface'. It was evident that he had been hurt on several occasions due to the amount of scars he had on his face....awww...he was sooo cute!

This is Makari....my favourite tiger of all ...sooo big but it's hard to guage his size here.

Here puss, puss....

This is one of the other tigers....

Meowww...

...and me with Makari....eye to eye contact! Amazing.

 

A truly sensational day and one I will remember for the rest of my life.
Purrrrrr....

Autumnwatch!

I have been suffering with an overdose! An overdose of Halloween fun that is...*Ü* I spent so long planning and organising, baking, cooking and preparing that it consumed me for weeks and months - in fact, for 2 whole years! I feel it's time to let go and now look towards Christmas! The stairs are still loaded with items of Halloween to be put away and as there have been a lot of goings on these past 2 weeks, I have still yet to do it!

I read on a blog this morning how someone was a little overwhelmed reading other's blogs, only to learn that everything in life goes well for them. They feature items that they have made etc which looks totally impressive but wondered if in real life, it really is that way or do they have mounds of laundry piled high, children crying out for attention and a mound of stash that hasn't been put away after working with it. Well, I have just confessed that my house is in need of a major tidy up!

Last week, our kitchen sink pipe was leaking - the one under a kitchen base unit! So Mr Shifter got to work! Whilst he managed to remove the cabinet, he also managed to 'disassemble' it to the point of no return!  Hence we then had a gaping opening which looked totally unsightly which revealed how the previous owners had disguised the area behind the cabinets! Eek! The wallpaper must be 100 years old!

Thankfully, the pipe is now fixed and the area has now been re-cemented and levelled off ready for the new units.

A visit to Wickes was in order to see if we could replace it with a similar style.  As it is a Hygena design (no longer in production), we ended up checking out prices at different stores for a white high gloss unit with the intention of purchasing my long awaited white high gloss kitchen! I've been waiting for over 20 years! Who says everything comes to those who wait?! I wish a time span could be put on it! LOL. I would like to have a few years left in me to enjoy it!

So, I have been keeping busy with making more lists....Christmas present lists, Christmas food lists and lists of 'to dos'!

Meanwhile, I have been helping Mr Shifter with a cleaning job in London and whilst I was waiting for everything to be put in place, I sat and ate my cereal - only to be joined by this cute little guy!

Please may I have some?! Awww.

So, share I did.

The grounds were spectacular with so much colour. I always take photos of the different seasons - and if you didn't know, Autumn is my favourite! *Ü*

There were trees ablaze with fire...

...and a crisp golden and bronze carpet of leaves...

Thursday evenings on the television, there has been Autumnwatch and I LOVE the wildlife and creatures that have been featured on there. It's very educational and I have enjoyed watching activity that goes on in the cold from the coziness of my warm home.

Tomorrow, I shall be amongst creatures of a bigger nature - tigers, leopards and the BIG cats, as I have a photographic workshop to attend -  a birthday gift to myself, being that I am a 'tiger' in the Chinese calendar. Oh, you knew that already! LOL.

So peeps, have a wonderful weekend yourselves and stay warm.  

Best Witches for Halloween!

I have had the most wonderful day with my sister and 3 girlfriends. Everything was all I had hoped for and more. Here are the long awaited photos - which has taken an age to edit and then load on here! Argh!

The night before, there was a couple of hiccups and I thought we were going to have to forego the smoking cauldron and Boris my butler! I couldn't create the smoke and even changing the fuse wasn't helping but then the water level had to be higher! Boris wasn't co-operating as he was still in storage mode and the instruction leaflet wasn't in his storage box - which is soo unlike me not to store everything together. My sister managed to source the problem and so he joined us in presenting the drinks at the door!

So, be prepared for a very long post with photos of our day. Please do leave a comment. I know many of you visit and read my blog and I am happy to share ideas for a successful Halloween party with you all. It would be so nice to read what you have thought and like. *Ü* This event has been 2 years in the making and I was soo excited for it to happen.

Now, for the arrival of my friends - they hadn't seen my sister for about 45 years and as I mentioned in a previous post, I made a coffin fascia for her to stand behind so she could surprise them.  I will leave you to view the photos as they speak for themselves....but to just mention that I don't do anything by halves and so, we had a few guests join us to create the perfect Halloween atmos-fear! LOL. Enjoy! *BEWARE* - Spiders, snakes and rats appear below! Eek!

When my friends arrived - Joan, Rita and Pam, they first met with Boris - my butler - who, I knew would be a hit with them! Sure enough, they all fought to have their photo taken with him! LOL.

I then introduced them to my pet guests before taking them into the conservatory to meet my sister. They weren't even aware of them until I pointed them out! LOL.

*Swoon*....isn't he handsome?! *Ü*

Rita and Boris giving eachother the eye! *Ü*

Pam didn't want to miss out!

He loved all of the attention - but he's MINE! LOL.

***SPIDER ALERT***

Enter the...tarantula.

Scratch and Scruff the rats.

The snake with no name!

I knocked on the coffin where my sister was standing behind....

...and she knocked back before emerging....

Time for a little Swamp Sip!

Table laid with the coffins that I made, the bottle labels that I printed off and bones that I prepared for the napkin rings.

'Brain' Mousse with bat toasts

Remember in an earlier post, I told you about one of my dad's delicacies? My sister reminded me that it was calve's brains that we used to eat on toast!! Eek!

This is a salmon mousse with fresh dill that I made that tasted delicious...ask my sister! *Ü*

I think Pam is saying a little prayer....dunno why! I didn't play any tricks! LOL.

Not Your Mummy's Meatloaf with Monster Mash and Swamp Weed

Ribs with frogs legs!

Death By Chocolate Graveyard Cake

Rochester Ginger in both Witch's Brew bottles - stronger and the sweeter

Time to open the coffins!

A littlewith the cauldron.

'There's no smoke without fire' and Rita popped off for a ciggie, so I gave her an ashtray! LOL.

Our other guests needed attention too, so we spent some time pampering them....*Ü*

Rita got brave but Joan and Pam wasn't having any of it!

I petted the rats! 'Scratch' sniffed in my ear which tickled and made me laugh!

He's quite the poser - don't you think?!

We didn't get the tarantula out of it's tank but my sister gave it a spray of water which is necessary. It looks like it has it's arms up ready! LOL.

I like how the web on the table cloth is reflected in the tank. Can you see the live cricket peeking out of the tunnel taking shelter? 

Everyone had a spOOktacular time and like all good things, it had to come to an end but thank goodness for cameras. They make it possible to relive those memories when the brain fades.....but I believe this is one memory that is not going to be forgotten in a hurry! 

Have yourselves a wonderful Halloween. Please remember to leave a comment so I can visit your blog - or not - if you don't have one but each comment is very much appreciated. It makes blogging worth the time and effort.