Hideous weather - you'd never believe that yesterday was sunny with not a cloud in the sky for most of the day. My front window is like a sieve when rain comes from the south-westerly direction (note strategic placement of soak-up cloths). The dark shape (bottom right) is Flossie clamped to the radiator. Sensible girl...
A Christmas card from my Victorian Scrap Book.
Have a lovely Christmas and see you on the other side!
That was the worst storm I've experienced since moving to the seaside in 2007. Apart from the noises which kept me awake into the small hours and several litres of water drip drip dripping through the front windows, the only things that got damaged were the bird spikes round my balcony. Weird, eh?
I disentangled three lengths from the rosemary bushes this morning; they'd peeled away from the top balcony rail. Must buy more outdoor sticky fixers...
In other news, I have enough clean hand-knitted socks to last me into February...
...and I've blocked my Refraction Shawlette.
The good: food shopping done early morning and home before the rain started; full fridge and freezer; spelt bread smelling good in the bread machine.
The bad: the UK is having appalling weather; heavy rain battering my big bay window which is leaking (thank goodness for Lakeland's soak-up cloths); lift still not fixed.
Apart from that, I'm fine. I don't need to go out until Friday and as well as food, I have a stack of library audio books and plenty of yarn.
Window display in City Books, Hove.
Lovely weather, eh? I don't mind rain too much but when it's coupled with strong winds (we get a lot of those at the seaside) I'm staying put at Wibbo Towers.
I'm soaking my Reflections Shawlette ready for blocking; the washing machine's on with a load of hand knitted socks; there's football on the radio and food in the fridge. Sorted!
Christmas pudding ice cream is deliciously sweet and spicy - it's not very healthy eating but that's fine once in a while. You don't need an ice cream maker; I use the medium sized container from a set of 3 Lock & Lock bowls. The recipe makes 6 portions, takes about 10 minutes to make plus 12 hours freezing time.
225g dried mixed fruit (bog-standard supermarket mixed fruit is just as tasty as the more expensive 'luxury' fruit)
2 tbsp brandy (or whatever spirit you have at hand - I used spiced rum this year)
50g caster sugar
2 tbsp liquid glucose
1 tsp of mixed spice
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of ground coriander seeds
1 x 500ml tub of ready-made custard
300ml double cream
Put the dried fruit in a bowl, pour over the brandy and set aside to soak. Place the container in the freezer. In a pan, gently heat 75ml water with the sugar and liquid glucose until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, add the spices and remove from the heat. Stir to blend and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, mix together the custard and cream. Add the sugar syrup, fruit and brandy. Stir until combined.
Take the container out of the freezer, pour in the mixture, return to the freezer and leave for six hours. Take out of the freezer, whisk with a fork to distribute the fruit evenly through the mixture and freeze for a further six hours. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before you're ready to eat.
...is a paper bag.
...my mum Amy was born in Leicester. Here she is with her parents Elsie and Arthur. What a cute little girl!
Joan Fontaine October 22, 1917 - December 16, 2013.
Baked this morning after mixing and leaving to stand overnight. This is the best loaf I've made so far - ingredients as recipe apart from using only 50g of hazelnuts plus a couple of handfuls of pumpkin seeds.
Making a life-changing loaf of bread - it's a weird recipe, but the finished bread is delicious (and freezes well if you slice it first).
Christmas lunch earlier today at Cafe Quench in George Street with the Friday knitters; it was absolutely delicious (top marks for sprouts with sage and bacon, roast potatoes with thyme and rosemary, fabulous boozy Christmas pudding). Here's Lynne looking suitably festive with her wonderful crocheted gingerbread house.
New audiobook from the library, chocolate and Wollmeise. What more could a girl want?
It was a really good day out with friendly stallholders and chatty visitors. Sales went well and Santa (my knitting friend David) enjoyed himself. The chocolate cake on sale was excellent too!
I'm at the Christmas Market tomorrow; 11am - 3pm. Must get an early night!
Finished knitting last night - the shawl took exactly 100g (342m) of yarn.
In yesterday's post, Flossie's looking saintly because she's been caught in the act of eating leftover soup. Her head in the saucepan was a bit of a giveaway...