Just a quick post! I’m finally back!!
My account on WordPress kept shutting me out and I was unable to post!
Just updated the app on my phone and it’s let me in!
Hello everyone 
Finally back!! February 13, 2012
Chilly tip! February 13, 2012
In our house we use a lot and i mean a lot of chilli peppers in our cooking.. Quick tip.. Pop them into a air right container and store them in the freezer. 1. It keeps them as fresh as the day you bought them and 2. It helps when chopping them as the spicy juices are still kinda frozen and don’t work their way under your nails or onto your skin (as easily or as quickly!)
Rice Didn’t Help September 19, 2011
I dropped my iPhone down the toilet on Wednesday night… ahhh it was in a shallow pocket of my skirt and when I turned to flush the toilet, I knocked it ‘plop’ right down the loo. Without hesitation I quickly grabbed it out.. but oh no too late. And No, before you ask, I hadn’t flushed (luckily I’d just needed a wee!).
The screen was flashing, telling me my device was not compatible with the toilet, that my action would not optimize performance and I may experience some interference… Tell me about it!
After wrapping it in kitchen roll, I got Nearly hub out of bed to help me, as I really didn’t know what to do.. He didn’t question me, jumped straight up and began vigorously shaking the excess water out. At this point, I didn’t want to stop him mid-heroics so held back about the wee bit…
Anyway, the next day I pleaded on Facebook for survival stories and resuscitation tips from friends and was told to pop my phone in an air tight container along with some rice, leave it for a few days and let the rice draw all of the moisture out. I was optimistic, maybe my speakers wouldn’t work so well.. but it’ll be fine, maybe it’ll buzz a little or make a funny noise when I switch it on.. but it’ll be fine, worst case my camera won’t work.. but it’ll be just fine… Nope!
I use my phone and its camera to do my 365 challenges on here, to blog quick posts, to check my emails, to buy and sell on eBay, to search for recipes, to take notes, to sound track my life, to stay in contact with people with texts, calls, messages via social net working and so on. It’s easier for me to do all of this on my phone, especially as my eldest loves pushing buttons, so a laptop in front of her is like sitting a truffle in front of a piglet.
Rice didn’t help 
, I don’t have insurance (yes, oh dear) and I’m not due to have an upgrade on my contract for another six weeks (at least it is only 6 weeks on the plus side).
Only babbling about this because most of my posts have recently been created via my phone.. so for the next few weeks, I will definitely be posting less. Oops!
I disliked how lost I first felt when I realised that I’ll be waiting a while before I can do all of the things I have become so accustomed to doing on this stupidly expensive device. But now, only a few days later, I am getting used to texting a ringing again on my old phone, which is a very basic phone indeed. And I’m really quite enjoying being slightly out of touch with technology again…
Have now decided rather than thinking I have missed days of my 365 challenge.. It will just be 365 days.. and maybe not consecutively.. Just a slight detour from my original aim
Day 20 of 365 challenge September 14, 2011
I have some vague childhood memories of making meringues and ice cream with a dear friend of my mothers. A wonderfully eccentric elderly lady called Niki. She rode a motor cycle and lived in a large yet quaint country cottage filled to the brim with some of the most weird and wonderful things I had ever seen. A whole shelf full of sharks jaws, a collection of rustic bottles and pots from around the globe, hand carved walking sticks all knobbly and twisted, very old anatomy books amongst so many others and a vast amount of trinkets that any curious child could spend hours exploring with their hands and eyes wondering or inventing a story of how it came to be there. She had travelled the world but set up home here… and to me it was an aladins cave of treasures and happy memories!
I remember the mixture of exotic rugs and tapestries with floral curtains and cushions, the creaking stairs, the park style secret garden and the vegetable patch and spending summer and winter days creating, crafting and cooking. She was like the grandmother I never had (and the grandmother I would love to be one day) but I was so young at the time I find it difficult to remember time frame and sometimes even her face.
These memories were only jogged yesterday, rising and bubbling to the surface of my mind with excitement and joy!
Yesterday I made my own blackberry ice cream and huge meringues. Today I have enjoyed eating them.
Chewing over my thoughts and letting them melt on my tongue, ending with a satisfying smile
From their hands and hearts September 14, 2011
I feel so fortunate today! Good friends, good family and a simple yet fantastic way of life.
My kitchen side board has been over flowing with goodness. It’s almost like a harvest festival. I have kindly been given an amazing array of fruit and vegetables from various friends and family because they all know how much I love to create from their produce.
I have a huge box of pears from my friends garden, a bowl of cooking apples from my mom and so many different home grow vegetables from a very good friend and old flat mate of mine. There are tomatoes, carrots, some huge courgettes, onions, spaghetti squash, cucumbers, rainbow chard, spinach, leeks and chives.
All of these things have been grown, picked and delivered (or collected) with love! In return for these delicious gifts I receive and forage myself, I make so many different culinary delights and share them with the kind produce donors and many others.
I make pickles, chutneys, sauces and condiments, pies, crumbles, ice cream and all sorts of other things to go in christmas hampers. Not to mention the family meals we get out of it. It feels like real good, old fashioned community living.. Caring and sharing our love of each others skills, talents and labour.
Today we had our evening meal at a friends house. A delightful pork roast dinner to celebrate their baby scan! Another baby boy! How exciting!
I love sharing.. Sharing time and giggles and produce and all things good and simple and pretty much free!
Here is a picture of some of the healthy, loving goodness I’ve so kindly been donated!
To me this isn’t just food! It’s effort on someone else’s part, it’s enjoyment through creating and sharing and eating and sharing again. It’s life and love and friendship. It’s a talking point and an interest and an investment in future relationships with those I care so much about.
The watcher and the feeder September 13, 2011
Sometimes it’s the most simple things that make me smile..
I was just sat on my back door step. Taking ten minutes to myself, listening to music on my head phones, completely zoning out and totally oblivious to the fact that I was being watched…
He was skulking and stalking from the shadows, just out of sight. Suddenly he was there, his nose pressed right up to my boots. Only my out-stretched legs between us, he gave my feet a good sniff! ”Not what I’m looking for” his eyes said to me and nothing more. I gave a nod and a smile and he walked away.
My handsome foxy friend.
I have been regularly feeding Fantastic Mr Fox, along with his wife and pups from the last two years. Watching their coats improve and their ribs disappear. I imagined them gratefully acknowledging my donations of rainbow trout and cod skins, slices of Sunday’s beef, chicken, pork or lamb slightly past its best, set out for his tea the following Wednesday. Or the pigeon in the freezer that had over stayed its welcome as I hadn’t a clue what to do with it until it was too late…
Mrs Fox doesn’t have to worry about the cooking time or trimmings or chopping it up really small for the kids.
Sorry, no fish skins for you tonight my friend
Oh I love his bravery. It puts a smile on my face every time I encounter him or one of his family and when they come that close.. I feel a little bit like Snow White.
1st attempt! Meringues September 13, 2011
This was (as a real grown up) my first attempt at making meringue! I was really proud of the result.
Give it a go, it is much simpler than i ever thought.. As a child we didn’t have an electric whisk.. It makes a huge difference.
This is how I made them: 5 egg whites, 50g of caster sugar per White (so 250g for this lot) slowly whisk egg whites until bubbly. Speed up whisking to medium, then to high until firm peaks are formed. Whilst still whisking at high speed, add sugar 1 table spoon at a time until mix is thick, smooth and glossy. Pre heat oven to gas mark 2, scoop large spoons of mix onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper (or Teflon sheet if you have one). Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to gas mark 1. Bake for 30 minutes. The meringues should have turned a very pale coffee colour.
Turn oven off and leave to cool without disturbing your meringues.. It’s so hard not to peek in but be strong! Around 4 hrs later when your oven is cool, remove your meringues and enjoy however you like.
I spaced my meringues out too much and had to place two on a separate baking sheet on a lower shelf. I would advise that you don’t do this as those two (on the lower shelf) didn’t cook right through. The other six were beautifully crisp and light on the outside, with sticky, chewy bottoms and fluffy, melt in the mouth centres (just like a sugar dusted cloud) Yum!
I had these egg whites because I have been using the yolks to make my own hand-made blackberry ice cream.. It’s a very long process, I’m still in the throws of it now (at10.25pm).. I started making it at around 1pm. I will blog the recipe for that when I know the end result! But for now I’ll keep churning every half hour :-p
Day 18 of 365 challenge: Full Moon September 12, 2011
Tonight the moon is full and very bright. I can see his face very clearly, he looks quizzical and slightly worried. I don’t really know if other parts of the world get the same view of the moon as we do in Britain (?) but here on a good night, it really looks like he has a face.
I kind of have a theory, well thought, that as the moon affects the tide.. Then us as humans, having something like 70% of our bodies made up of water, we must somehow also be affected by the moon. Having worked with people on a medical side of things, I have witnessed the strange happenings that I believe are connected with my theory/thought and I really think that it can have a some kind of… I don’t really know how to put it.. I think it can change either hormones or emotions regarding mental stability. Peoples, mine included, behaviour seems to change.. Go slightly crazy even, when the moon is full.
Does anyone agree?
I have had patients who on another day, are completely ‘normal’ (normal in themselves, as normal to one is delightfully different to another) and on a full moon night can do the most bizarre things whether that be in actions or words. I can’t really explain exactly what I mean but just wanted to put it out there
Anyway on this full moon night I have felt emotionally odd (not that it’s unusual for me recently ha ha). In order to relax a little, an this isn’t really like me to be honest, I decided to have a nice, well deserved drink! Alcoholic drink too!
So here’s to my full moon sailor jerry’s, lemonade with a fat slice of fresh lime!
Day 17 of 365 challenge.. Love! September 11, 2011
Today Nearly Hub returned from his friend’s Stag Do, a weekend away in Amsterdam.
Nearly hub means the world to me (thats why he’s my nearly hub). He is the kindest, most warm-hearted, caring, funny, easy going, interesting and down right amazing person I have had the pleasure of meeting and in a mad twist of fate.. We stumbled across one another and low and behold he loves me with all his heart!! Bam! A happy couple is made! We’ve now, a very short time later, been blessed with two fantastic daughters.. Our own wonderful family!
Nearly Hub never gets a break and I’m so glad he got to get away and take a few days off just to enjoy himself with his friends!
When we moved in together, he came my way, 30-40 miles away from where he was living so I could stay close to my family and friends during my first pregnancy.
Now we have our two babies and both work hard in our jobs and towards family life and living, he rarely gets a chance for any quality time for himself or with his mates. This weekend has been good for him and he really enjoyed himself. But rather than get totally lost in the moment (and the blurs that a weekend in liberal Amsterdam can easily create) he took the time out and selected me a couple of lovely pressies! 
He chose me some lovely, colourful wooden tulips (to bring back something traditional) which have found themselves a perfect spot on my kitchen bits and bobs shelf.. They look great and are a brilliant addition to the other wonderfully quirky items living there. Along with a tulip magnet, proudly displayed on our fridge.. And I’ve been tucking into some special chocolates.. Just for me! I never stick to ‘just for me’ as I really enjoy sharing. The best part about the chocolates, they are very delicious, but the best part is the heart-shaped tin they came in! I love tins! Especially nice shaped ones with delicious loving memories! Delightful.. And for me, two gifts in one!
What a charming and considerate man I have bagged myself oooh he makes me smile the biggest smiles!
Day 14/15/16 of 365 challenge September 11, 2011
I’ve been in a bad mood for a few days.. If I had kept up the challenge, I’d have either dragged every reader down with me or posted pictures of my lily White derriere to represent how I’ve been feeling! And that’s not something I’m ready to show the world.
So today, as my mood has somewhat lifted, I’ve decided to make up for it by sharing my bits and bobs shelf in my kitchen!
I love this shelf! It’s posted with some of my favourite ‘love notes’ Nearly Hub has randomly left around the house on various occasions. It’s wonderfully cluttered (as is my mind and life). Some things are tasty (jars of palm sugar, dried mushrooms and desiccated coconut for cooking), useful things like rechargeable batteries, pens (so many pens!), various vitamins and minerals, A bottle of calpol (very much used this week!) post-its, hair clips, blu tack and a calculator.
It also hosts my iPod and dock.. Used daily! And then some very random items.. an egg cup in the shape of chickens feet with a chicken’s body and head egg warmer, a candy cane from last Christmas and a large button waiting to be reunited with one of my cardigans.
I just love all the mis-matched items, so colourful and inviting, things that provoke different emotions in me and things that assist daily life.. Common objects crammed together in a rather unconventional way.. Sums me right up!
I’m glad I’m in a better mood today.. Sometimes little things can represent so much
