My birthday treat

I don't think I've ever had as much 'iron' in my diet as I did yesterday. My starter was black pudding with celeriac puree and sliced, glazed apples - yum. I was enjoying my meal so much that I missed photographing my main dish but I'm sure you can imagine my tasty plate of liver with lightly braised cabbage, mash and a red wine jus. I couldn't resist dessert for my birthday treat, which was rhubarb panna cotta, rhubarb sorbet and poached rhubarb - a must for rhubarb-a-holics!

Leading up to the meal, I also had a plate of scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, another iron rich dish, so I think I've had my quota for the month in one single day! It was a lovely day even though the weather was pretty rotten. The Crown & Sandys at Ombersley is a well run, reasonably quiet hotel which serves delicious food. The atmosphere is very relaxed which makes this hotel the perfect place for a Sunday night out. I felt like a little Princess and bonus... I opened my birthday pressies and there was not a frying pan in sight.. ha ha.. ! Just a whole lot of love xx xx

My beautiful bakewell puds

Saturday night is cocktail night... !

 What tastes totally tropical and turns your tongue blue? The answer is, one of my friend's very alcoholic cocktails! Saturday night was the rerun of our Christmas cocktail evening - the one that was cancelled due to the snow. We dined on chicken casserole, ate my bakewell tarts, drank some very interesting and unusual cocktails and had fun with friends. Cheryl bought a fabulous raspberry, almond and white chocolate dessert which looked suspiciously like one baked my Mr Waitrose!

Derek and Jan announced their engagement and I managed to wake up on Sunday morning without the least sign of a hangover. A top night!

Cool stuff, white stuff and tarts!

There's nothing hot or cross about this bunny. With soft chocolate fondant in one half and golden caramel in the other, it's a double bunny treat from the lovely people at M&S. Saturday is a 'me' day. I was up bright and early with a cup of tea and my laptop in bed doing some work. Around 10am, I wandered into Nailsworth, bought a couple of White Stuff shirts from the newly, expanded clothes emporium in town and had a delicious chicken jacket potato and cappuccino at Hobbs for my lunch.
And now I'm baking Bakewell tarts. Shortcrust pastry, made by me of course, a thick layer of raspberry jam, some chopped peel and topped with a mix of fluffy whisked eggs, caster sugar, vanilla essence, melted butter and ground almonds - yum! Well, I hope they turn out to be as delicious as they look. If they don't, as my grandma would say "You can always put custard on it!"

I'm living in a nonstop world..

Where life runs on rails and the game is to fit in as much as you can until you fall over.. ! I've been at the Trade Show all day, attended the awards ceremony in the evening, dashed over to B'rum by train and all to catch a glimpse of and listen to Maroon 5. Supported by the lovely and most talented Sarah Bareilles it was a concert not to be missed. Yes, my feet were burning after standing on them all day and someone could have told me about the guitar solos.. (a pet hate of mine!) but I had heard over 80% of the tracks and could sing along to many of them, so I was pretty happy.

'Dinner' was a quick call at the convenience store to buy a pack consisting of 4 crackers, 4 small squares of cheese and a small pot of pickle - and a Freddo, of course. I was too tired to think about anything else after the show. All I wanted was my bed.. not theirs, not anybody's but mine :)

Today's Creative Genius

Have you heard of a sculptor named Brancusi? I hadn't until today. I opened my laptop, opened a new page and there he was. I love the fact that random bits of information are thrown at us every day on the internet. We can choose to pick them up or ignore them. Google is a amazingly strong brand and the fact that they can change the letters of their logo into images and we can still identify the word, is pretty amazing. I'd love to do that job!
Back to my "Man of the Day" Constantin Brancusi. As I've just discovered, he was a Romanian sculptor, born 1876 and lived into his 80's. I feel I should have heard his name before because his works are right up my street.
He is quoted as saying:

"My life has been a succession of marvellous events"

What a great epitaph that is! He had the gift of seeing the marvellous in everything, a gift which he used to transform even the most mundane objects into works that he hoped would inspire and leave us with a sense of awe. Of course art is subjective and one person's pleasure is another's confusion. Take a look for yourself and see whether you feel inspired or just nothing at all..

Friday's Question...

Will drinking Mommy Bear’s Special Blend turn my nose into a little brown button? Ha Ha.. after completely submerging myself in chilling, chicken and chilled vino last night, I'm bouncing around today and it's as if my brain has rubber legs. Quite honestly, I had to get up at 6am because I just couldn't stay in bed any longer. Every time I closed my eyes I found I was thinking about getting up to do some work. I am awarding myself 'Employee of the month' on my little team of one! Ah, nuts you might think but I'm so relieved to be full of beans today. I started the day with a lovely mug of Mummy Bear's Special Blend. On the tin it says:

A bright and lively infusion with a generous good nature and slightly nutty character that's kind on the senses and always supportive to those in need. Enjoying creative elements, with warm and open features, this lovely combination is the perfect accompaniment to a girly natter!

It's just one of those wonderfully, brilliant and very thoughtful ideas from www.blendsforfriends.com Time for another cuppa :)

On a day like today...

The best bit has to be...  COMING HOME! A bottle of Orvieto, I'm cooking my Oakland chicken listening to Madeleine Peyroux and hey, I'm multi-tasking.. just peeling a butternut squash to within an inch of its life - life has just got a whole lot better.

What do you do to chill out?

You could call it a PIG of a day! I've felt grumpy and even though I've apologised for not being myself, no else has really noticed my change of mood. I drove home tonight and had one of those epiphanies.. ! Of course, it's a full blooming moon.. I should have guessed! Did you notice everyone around you becoming a little more tense today? It's 17th February and the 'pleine lune' magnifies every tiny emotional moment into something much larger than normal. It means it's been much harder to get things done today. I've had a bucket full of stuff thrown at me and usually I'm brilliant at coping with stuff. But not today. I've felt like a creature, captured in a flytrap struggling to get free. When I escaped late this afternoon all I want to do was shout louder, drive faster and just shake off the stickiness of the day and be free again. It's like walking over that bridge in the jungle and realising that I'm free again! I think I'll pour another glass and celebrate with Madeleine.. out with the 'Weary blues' and in with 'This is heaven to me' and as long as freedom grows, I want to seek it.. :)

Smile and the world smiles with you.. :)

Second day back at work and I've already been reminded of 'radiator's and 'drains'. Radiators are the positive influences. You know the people who always smile, enjoy every day and get others to smile with them. Drains, on the other hand are negative people who can suck the life out of you (just like Henry the hoover!) if you let them. They rarely benefit from my positive vibes. On the contrary, they insist on being difficult and every situation is turned into a problem. Drains tend to be less perceptive people. They don't or won't notice the effect they're having on you. It only takes one  leaky drain in an enormous pool of people to eventually dehydrate your workforce. It's a drip-drip effect and the only way out is either to plug your ears (works like plugging the hole!) or clamber out of the pool.
My first line of defence when I come across a 'drain' is to be continually chirpy. That's very annoying, I know! My second line of defence is to treat their irritating ways like a game and just ignore them. Not easy to do but it works most of the time. After all.. I'm an ex person.. extremely, exceptionally, extra special :) perhaps that's why I enjoy my own company - there's no negativity there!

Back home

I was just thinking how good it is to be home. I think the term "an environment offering affection and security" is how I'd describe my home. It's so lovely to be back! "Back" now that's a strange word. In this context I don't mean behind, rear or second, I just mean returning and in a good way. I've had a good holibob but one of the best bits about a holiday is the 'back' bit. I love coming home as much as I love going away. I'm sure I've mentioned my thoughts on holidays before. That thing that's packed full of high expectations which if not managed properly, can end up being an enormous bin of disappointment (I'm not referring to my btw). Planning.. that's the key to a successful sweet holiday. And a positive temperament so when something doesn't go according to plan, you can still smile and be glad about it :) hello mom xx ps mmm, a change of font.. it appears that my blog has missed me too!

What did you do on Sunday night?

I was in the Marrs Bar and before you giggling smarty pants ask, no.. it's not an edible snack covered in chocolate! It's a bar in Worcester where I was enjoying young Brit singer songwriters, Ben Montague and Leddra Chapman who are just starting out on another UK tour.

Both have managed to get onto the coveted radio 2 playlists and 100% deserve to be there. They have tremendous voices, brilliant lyrics and personalities to match. Not shy of the audience, which in this case was definitely intimate, the two young stars separately sang through their amazing reportoire of songs dropping in a few cover versions to give a thoroughly enjoyable night. From an X-factor fan, this kind of talent is way off the scale in terms of what the tv programme can produce. Both Ben and Leddra write and perform their own songs.
Leddra is 21, Ben is 28 and both are exceptionally gifted and have worked hard to be where they are today. Ever appreciative of the audience, they were entertaining and I didn't want the evening to end. That's not something I can say about every gig I go to!
Leddra wins hands down for beauty and uniqueness. Ben gets my vote for having such a brilliant personality, being fun and that's why I bought his album, which I got him to sign for me along with a photo, of course.

A day at the Palace

Today I've been to visit the Palace here in Scicli which is owned by a very influencial Italian family. The grandmother, who is 78, is passionate about people and embroidery! Her daughter showed us, Francesca and Pepe who live in Venice but have a holiday home here in Scicli, around their magnificent home. The building itself is unassuming from the front, you'd hardly notice it was there. Yet when they opened the doors, the sheer scale of the magnificent entrance hits you. Housing a Harley Davidson and a Mini estate, this set the scene for what was to come. The family have lived in the house for over 40 years and have renovated the building during that time. From the ceilings with beautiful fresco scenes, chandeliers, statues, it was hard to take it all in particuarly trying to understand the significance of every piece described in their broken english. We were there for almost two hours by which time I was ready for my plate of antipasto and a glass of vino blanco!
It's unusual for people with wealth to be so open and friendly, usually they are closed. This family are taking the restoration of this palace very seriously and it's lovely to meet such interesting and genuine people. They seemed more than happy to share their lovely home with us. The palace is filled with memories of family members with some wonderful old black and white photographs from years ago. There's a photo of the grandfather, I think it was, with the Pope. Old wedding photographs, family scenes from the past 40 years which just made me want to know more about this great family. The grandmother encourages the local embroiderers to create table linen to help them make a little money and which she sells to families all over Italy. She's a great collector and had some magnificent pieces to show us. I can appreciate the time taken to create such amazingly intricate pieces.In fact, Francesca was smitten and had to buy some for her home here in Scicli.I have photos to share once I am back in the UK. Until then.. love xxx

Thursday adventures

Today has been a day of contrasts. I began the day in sunshine and spent the afternoon up in the snowy forest with a magnificent view of Mount Etna. It's a fair drive from where we're staying along the coast past Syracuse but the roads are pretty good, loads of tunnels - they build their roads quite differently to us in England. Lunch was gnocci with mozzerella, pomodoro and parmesan in a chalet-style restaurant on the side of the mountain. I'd been teased since yesterday about my observation of snow on the top of Mount Etna. "It can't be snow, ha ha" so I conceded and suggested that perhaps it was volcanic ash. Driving up the mountain it soon became clear that it was snow on the sides of the road and the road signs for putting chains on our tyres were actually real. It's not possible to get that close to the summit without hiking boots and having my "red lady shoes" on meant we could drive so far but to be honest, I wasn't happy about going any further in our little Nissan Micra!

Mount Etna was spewing out smoke and I have pics which I'll add once I return back to the UK. Big warm Sicily hugs xxx

Church of San Matteo

Up on the top of the hill – it was quite eerie up there. The place was like a big box of memories locked up inside. It seemed sad that such a fabulous old building was unused and unloved – the graffiti on the side, said it all. And no, it wasn’t me but it did make me smile. Beautiful symmetry and elegance hidden behind padlocked doors.

Hello from Sicily

I love mixing the old and the new. It's what I do on a daily basis and it's where I call home. That's perhaps why I enjoyed staying in Novecento hotel so very much. The combination of glass, stone, leather and metal - all natural materials - create a homely, natural ambience that's relaxing at the same time as being inspirational and stimulating.

The staff were friendly too and nothing was too much trouble, which is the difference between having an ok time and having an amazing time in a hotel.

Coffee and strawberries

I'm sitting reading my new book and I'm loving it almost as much as I'm enjoying my holiday.
Ask for a coffee and you get coffee and a bowl of strawberries. Ask for a glass of wine and you get nuts and nibbles. I love Hotel Novecento, Scicli.

"It's been over a week since I slept in the same bed for more than the one night. I think I have 'Ginger' fever! York, Chelts, London, I've been bed hopping for days so it feels good to find a familiar pillow on my bed. I've begun my big read, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's exactly what I was expecting. Tricky at the start, taking a little longer to get into than my usual literary fodder but now I'm hooked! To be continued :) love to all x"

Whistle stop tour around York

 York is one of my favourite cites. Walking into the city, I felt it was somewhere I could live. It's not likely but it's nice to know. It's got a friendly feel about to, similar to Cheltenham in many ways yet very different because Cheltenham doesn't even have a cathedral, let alone a world famous Minster. It was great to see the walls again. As you can see, the river is having a bit of a dilemma.

We parked in the city walls and walked to the Hole in the Wall pub for a tasty Sunday lunch.

There's always time for a photo shoot on the bridge. Lovely Laura and Foz, who so kindly put us up for a night in their lovely little house.

Birdies, beach huts and bunting...

What kind of mug do you prefer? Large or small, china or chunky? I love cups... so a mug has to have a certain something to turn my head. Ginger will tell you, she knows exactly what I like. I was shopping on Saturday morning and saw these two lovelies sitting on the shelf and thought they'd look great in my cupboard. I wasn't wrong! They're light and white ( a great start) are china rather than chunky and are perfectly shaped for a lovely cup or tea. Happy tea mornings here I come :)

The last hurdle...

I have literally romped my way through the week! I've worked my socks off, had a date with Bryan Ferry, seen an old flame, driven the wheels off my car, negotiated a deal, been disappointed, felt elated, wibbled, listened, chipped in, ducked out, dined on fresh air, had a bad head, had great results, smiled at a stranger, listened to a friend, been a great manager, eaten very badly, half watched a film, ignored my book again and worn the wrong trousers! It's been a marathon week and it's still not over.
Today I received news that I'd won two lots in a charity auction at work. I've won five classical music boxed sets worth £149.95 for just £15! And better still, I've won a cookery course with these delicious chefs at Ashburton Cookery School for the princely sum on just £100! Yes, I know I can cook, have been on the tv, am a masterchef heats competitor but hey... there are always new skills to learn.

What was I saying about learning something new? I have the perfect opportunity to discover how to cook Thai or cook something that I've not tried before. Just like "Julie and Julia", it will be a culinary adventure and I will be scouring the country for eager tasters who will risk their tastebuds to sample some of my new dishes. I've already had offers at work to taste my muffins! That, as you can recall, comes from the fact that just before Christmas. I made delicious mincemeat muffins which I took to the finance meeting to sweeten up the FD!

What do you know?

I miss learning new things. My brain loves anything new and scans my world for snippets of information to keep it happy. Today I learnt that trying on 10 different tops before I go to work and then putting on the same one I started with, is such a waste of time! I learnt that I'm drowning in emails and I need a plan. I learnt that no matter how hard I try to fix something, I don't have as much control as I think and I learnt that life is full of glorious surprises! I've known for a while that my bed is on a slope - yeah, which explains why I dream of hanging onto the side :) and I know that my desire to read is much more of a challenge than I expected it to be. I really, really want to but my brain space says full so there's no space left until I empty out the work stuff, the boiler nonsense and then I'll be able to start my big read. Today I learnt that Orvieto wine is very slurp-able... hiccup... that Morrison's really is cheaper than Waitrose.. doh.. and that watching Adele on BBC radio live lounge is becoming addictive.. ha!