Mom

Last month my mother Madeleine died after a 16 year battle with early onset Alzheimer's, she forth it to the very end. But she was more than this horrible disease, she enjoyed chatting to people, listening to music, singing, cooking, having her hair & nails done, neck massages, nice food and going to the church and praying (even when the Alzheimer's was in the late stages she enjoyed attending the weekly masses in the nursing home).
Growing up we always had people pop in and visit, my mom would whip up a cake and sandwiches/ tea quick as a flash. She worked in catering getting up at 5.30am most mornings to go to work which was hard in the winter when it was dark and cold outside. Although she was cooking during the day she still enjoyed coming home and cooking a healthy meal made from scratch. Followed by a tasty treat, cake or pie. I don't think there was a cake or tart she could not make. She would often make extra cakes, soda breads and pies to give as presents to friends.
She returned to her hometown in Ireland each year (even several years into the Alzheimer's, we would journey there by coach) and enjoyed meeting up with friends and relatives and going for long walks. She also enjoyed going to France on day trips, we would visit the hypermarkets and stock up on baking products, it was funny coming back through customs everyone had clinking bags with bottles of cheap wine and beers, instead we had bags of flour to make bread, vanilla sugar and spices and yes there was always a visit to the local church to light a candle and a prayer wherever she went :)
She was a very good knitter and would experiment with colours mixing and matching cuffs and sleeves, changing a pattern from a sleeved jumper to a sleeveless cardigan, she would say if it does not work out I can always unpick it and start again. It was the fun of making it and seeing how it would turn out. Later on she started to patchwork and would recycle blouses and shirts to make hexagons, then beautifully hand sew the pieces together to make cushion covers.

Happy New Year 2014

 
Goodbye 2013 and Hello 2014



A Very Happy New Year to everyone :)

Christmas Windows 2013

I was out 'n' about in the Oxford Street which has all its lights and decorations up and looks great this year. Looking at the Christmas windows. Selfridges has always had sparkly windows with some animated I liked the cat slipper (his ears move) and all the little penguins. 

John Lewis had some really good windows this year. They used cups, plates, pots and pans plus many other items you can find in the kitchen to decorate their windows.
Very clever :)

FOG!!!

This morning was freezing cold and there was heavy FOG! OK maybe not as thick as the fogs I remember when I was a small child but I still feel the same about it....a cold damp blanket and better to work from home. So today I am :)

Colourful Winter

I hear so many people complain about winter been dull and without colour. I think winter is full of colour.

The trees may have lost or be losing all their leaves, but now the textured bark is exposed lots browns and greys, branches are now visible and they look strangely beautiful pointing upwards in the sky.

The now colourful leaves yellows, oranges and reds are laying on the floor.

  The evergreens plants like ivy and holly stand out and tiny colourful berries have appeared food for the birds and small animals.

Some flowers are still blooming and appear much brighter :)
What do you think?

The Knitting and Stitching Show 2013

Last week I went to The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, filled with lots of yarn, beads, fabrics and crafty thing. I go every year and love to see whats new and stock up on yarn and beads and a few  bargain magazines.
There was an interesting taxi at the entrance covered in knitted and crochet insects, flowers and picnic items..
This year it was really packed with people, good to see so many people doing crafts but also very hard to get to the stands and see the products, even going down isles was difficult as areas were bottle necked with people.
I still managed to buy to much lots of nice beads and crystals from the Southampton Bead Shop and Totally Beads. Plus some nice 100% alpaca and a merino mix yarn from Drops love their yarn and their prices :)
After the shopping there is lots to see at this show. Students have their textile degree work on display, the embroidery and quilting guilds run competitions and have work on show and much more.
I liked the bird embroideries in the corridor leading to the different halls. I love robins.

I always love the stained glass window in the main hall I remembered to photograph it this year.

Limequats

Limequats were in the reduced price section in the local supermarket at the weekend. They are a citrus fruit, a hybridised cross between a key lime and a kumquat (I looked them up online). Small like a kumquat with a thin edible skin (it tasted sweet similar to a kumquat) I don't really like the skin on kumquats but its good zested so I think the limequats also be good where zest is required. The flesh inside tasted of lime (a lime taste that was very bitter but also with a sweet after taste).

I decided to use the limequats in a couple of recipes instead of normal limes, so I made a banana and limequat jam (I had over ripe bananas I needed to use up) and limequat curd.
I have been baking with yeast lately so adding some homemade spreads to the breads was great.

Banana and Limequat Jam on toast yummy

Here's some pics of my latest bakes and experiments. the banana and limequat jam is on my cake/ bake blog, the curd recipe will be posted next week.

English Muffins

Pikelets

 

Diner Rolls