Fluffy roll of honour.. !

As you can see, I've had SUCH a fun day!

It's All About ME!!!

I was sent this by my dear little brother ages ago but thought it was fun so a couple of years on, I've done it again. Was still fun second time around - try it. You can learn a lot of little things about yourself by answering random, silly questions like these…

IDEAL LIVING ARRANGEMENT?
Somewhere peaceful overlooking the sea/water or just not too close to everyone else.. and hopefully, not on my own..

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Just finished one and poised to read another. Lisa has kindly given me 3 to choose from, problem now is which one to read first?! Last book, James Patterson, ‘Sail’.. a tad boring, not his usual style or pace, but ok.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Blue bubbles of course.. would prefer pink and in a glass.. but hey ho

FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
Monopoly

FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
I enjoy so many it would take too long to list them – ignoring my own of course. I like ‘Stuff' magazine because I like gadgets and it’s just a fun read.

FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Angel fragrance, minty chocolate, home-cooked food

SOUNDS?
Sea, strangely enough You’re Gonna Make me Lonesome - Madeleine Peyroux – I love that style of French music when I've had a glass of wine and am just winding down..

WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
When things (like my car) or people let me down. I like choices and that’s what people take from me when they let me down.

THINGS YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING?
Work, cup of tea and where is my banana?

ROLLER COASTER - SCARY OR EXCITING?
Very Scary doesn’t even touch it!

DO YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?
Only if I know who is calling

FAVOURITE FOODS?
Rocket, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, smoked salmon, avocado, mum and dads hungarian dishes and some Indian concoction that’s veggie but absolutely delicious.. doh!

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Vanilla – are we talking ice-cream?

DO YOU SLEEP WITH AN ANIMAL?
Not recently and come to think about it.. if I do find a spiddy in my bed then he’s taking flying lessons pretty dam quick!

THUNDERSTORMS COOL OR SCARY?
Oh so Cool

WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
An orange one and I’m not expanding on that for love nor money

IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE?
Marilyn Monroe, preferably alive. Am I too late?

YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK?
Non-alcoholic: not fussy
Alcoholic: Fizz, champagne darling.. or a lovely rich red or chilled white wine, pina colada, baileys on ice and snowballs!

DO YOU EAT STEMS OF BROCCOLI?
Doesn’t everyone? And cauliflower too

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED WHAT WOULD IT BE?
A Blue Peter presenter

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
Yes, it starts off being the best feeling in the world, then it just hurts but you get over it and are then ready to do it all over again – I'm sure it's much better 2nd time around.. ;-)

IS YOUR CUP HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?
Half full always brimming over

FAVOURITE MOVIE?
You’ve got mail, The Notebook, Beaches, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Mamma Mia.. closely followed by Pretty Woman and most chick flicks

ARE YOU A LEFTY OR A RIGHTY?
Righty

DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE PROPER KEYS?
Mais oui..

WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?
Mmm, better not be anything otherwise I won’t sleep tonight! Last time I looked it was a spare duvet, 2 spare pillows, a picture I haven’t managed to hang yet and I suspect a tiny bit of dust..

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE NUMBER?
4

SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
He’s my lifesaver and I love him – little brother

SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON YOU’VE SENT THIS TO?
If they've got this far and are reading this, they must be someone very special who knows me. If so, try this & email me to let me know how you got on.. ;-)

Plymouth ho ho ho...

Wow, this marble runway was amazing and so much fun to watch. Press the button and just watch the marbles roll down the different paths, flip up in the air and.. yes, silly but fun ;-)
I was having one of my rare animal print days.. doesn't happen that often and thankfully for everyone I know, I usually restrict it to away days.. ;-)
The biggest and most brilliant marble runway with marbles the size of tennis balls. Great to watch but would drive you totally bonkers if you worked there because quiet, it ain't!
Here's the lovely Lisa who passed the emergency incident training course as I knew she would. I'm sure it was tough but she's a bright cookie and I know who I'd want around if I was involved in an incident.. !
What a great time we had in Plymouth. I took the train and my little loan lappy from work so i could work on the way down - fantastic idea. Arrived at the hotel around 6pm so we shared a bottle of wine and Lisa told me all about her course. We had a lovely time just chilling on Saturday morning then stopped off in Bovey Tracey at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. I had joked to Lisa that we should go to the House of Marbles - only joking, well I was but when she saw the sign, she couldn't resist turning off to see what it was all about. Good decision.. and so much better than where we'd come from! The marble runways were amazing, you pressed the button and watched the marbles roll in different directions down the runways. There were a few small ones and the most enormous runway on the upper landing which was brilliant to watch and lots of fun. We drove back to Lisas, bought a delicious fish salad for supper and watched Ghost on tv... how's that for the best start to a chilled weekend ;-)

A little home cooking...

Tres bon! Someone said this week that it was satisfying enough to just stand and stir a risotto - so I did and it is! I drove home from work fantasising about what I could have for supper. Lunch was ok but dull so I felt hungry and as it was raining, it had to be comfort food. I bought some leeks, a yellow pepper, some courgettes and made the most delicious risotto. I added stock, white wine, lemon juice, garlic and seasoning and topped it with some roquefort cheese and rocket - yum, yum and double yum! I've sat and half watched one of my favourite Kate Hudson films on tv, le divorce, which is the perfect end to yet another anniebananie day.

Did you know..?

That Hendrick's is a better gin than Bombay Sapphire? Golly, no! I do now, as my tastebuds were well and truly ticked this afternoon at the Old Lodge. Myself and Lisa had popped up to this wondrous establishment for a late Sunday lunch and a little tipple. We were welcomed with a new menu of drinks especially for Summertime and although my first choice of Chelsea Rose wasn't available, I plumped for the Hendricks gin/mint/lemon/cucumber and rose petal jam concoction called Tea-Time Martini! Here's our trusty expert waiter in full flow. Having lost his cocktail strainer, he had to get a large colander from the kitchen, very resourceful of him. He shook, stirred and strained my decadent cocktail into a bone china teacup. "More tea please, Vicar?!"
After much deliberation, we chose what we'd like to eat for lunch and waited patiently at the bar. We were joined by a guy who'd come to pay his bill "May I say" he said "The sea bream was excellent, lovely and fresh and tasted delicious" Oh, change of heart because I much prefer to order by recommendation when it comes to trying something new on the menu so I ordered sea bream - again - the dish actually being 'Whole sea bran with garlic thyme and anchovies with butter beans, peas and mint" And very delicious it was too! I'm also now a fan of Hendrick's Gin, mmm! We followed this with a couple of scrummy desserts and dashed back to the Mill for a buffet, supper, drinks, soire with my neighbours. Drinks outside in the sunshine followed by a quick guided tour, a few nibbles and it was back to watch a dvd and snozzle time. I love weekends ;-) http://www.hendricksgin.com

In 'The Bath'

Sitting in the sun in Bath & it feels like Summer! I've done my good deed for the day & rescued two young Londoners from their plight & now it's lunchtime. The purpose of my trip was to call in on the lovely Richard in the gallery & pick up my ticket for Art London. I always get a good feeling going into the gallery, it's where I began my big art appreciation kick & that just keeps getting stronger! I love art.

I've found a new lunch place - Quayles!

Q has the best view ever! Hot giant butterfly garlic prawns, a delicious salad, glass of rose, people watching and listening to soft jazz - you just can't beat it! There's so much more eye candy in Tebury - woo hoo! Not 3 or 4, but 5 horse boxes, personalised plated 4x4s worth more than my flat, a vintage car made for 2, the girl in the pink coat and shoes, the guy with the pink and grey stripy blazor & cream chinos fit for Henley, and tractors galore all wizzing around the traffic island with somewhere to go! It's enough to make your head spin. Visitors, tourists, young, old, with dogs, without dogs and one or two scallywags! And last but not least, the best brownie I think I've ever tasted in my entire life and the cappuccino wasn't bad either. Too many wonderful experiences, it's hard to find fault with any of them. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch. This place is definitely now on my gastronomic map. I remember driving from home and it was a last minute decision, should I turn left or right.. mmm?! I'm so glad I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try a taste of something new. Suffice to say, I'd also written a list of ingredients for my first casserole for Autumn. I bought olives, sundried tomatoes stuffed with anchovies, a box of smelly cheese like Brie for Sunday evening and a well recommended bottle of their house red. Everyone was lovely and welcoming and I can't wait to go back for a second course.

Montpellier

Montpellier is such a gem of a city. I do wonder though, if I'm paying just £1 for my flights, who is paying for the rest?! The flight over was very busy and coming into land the plane suddenly pulled back sharp at the last minute and we went back up into the air. That's not a nice feeling, particularly as the ocean is just at the end of the runway. The pilot did another circuit before we landed safe and sound. It did feel as if he'd never landed a plane before and his excuse was that there was something on the runway - yikes! Anyway, my scary moment was soon forgotton as my bag arrived in double quick time and I went outside to meet my good friend, Rob.
Montpellier is one of France's best kept secrets. it's a cosmopolitan city where the sun shines all day long and the restaurants serve great food long into the night. I had a lot of time to shop and just wander along the narrow streets. We chose a different restaurant every evening, the funniest experience being on the Sunday night. Many of the restaurants are very close together so it was an easy mistake to make to read off the wrong menu. It was on a blackboard between the two restaurants and it's hard enough being entirely in French with all the different menu options. Spookily, I managed to order both my starter and main before the waiter realised those exact dishes weren't on his menu! Thankfully, the couple on the next table talked us through the menu and gave our order to the waiter, who seemed terribly confused. Dinner was delicious, in fact every meal was a culinary adventure. I don't think I've ever ordered anything in France, other than a salad, that hasn't surprised me. It never looks as I imagine it will but it always tastes delicious. My highlight was the lasagne which was absolutely scrummy, enormous too. Thankfully, Rob can hoover up anything I don't eat, which is perfect for a girl who'd rather not have an expanding waistline. I think MP is a place I'll keep coming back to because it has so much to offer but for now, I had a great break from work so it's "Au Revoir MP!"

Cracking good day Gromit!

Today I went on a secret mission to visit Gromit and what did I find.. he was asleep on the job! Shaun the Sheep was more alert than my mate Gromit who was being shadowed by one scary monster rabbit. Oh I love my life.. ! The day started with a budget meeting and ended with me searching for my car. Yes, I looked out of the window and it had gone. Not gone completely, just 5 yards behind where I had left it.. spooky or what?! I had what could only be described as a Wallace sidewards grimace on my face as I stood in the doorway trying to figure out how it got there. I think I know.. tut tut, must have been that perishing penguin and his remote - Obviously!

Me and Walter...

I was in London for a press launch which I thought was at the V&A - wrong! So I had to scoot all across London using my favourite mode of transport, the tube, to get to Baker street. I just about made it half way through the presentation but was glad I did. I think the Quilt Show next year will be phenomenal so it's good to get ahead with some new stories. Then I went to meet Liz and we had a bit of a marathon tour. When the day was done I'd travelled by car, train, tube, bus and boat.. how's that for using public transport. Liz took me to see Walter Raleigh at Greenwich so i stood on the Greenwich Meridian line which divides he earth into the eastern and western hemispheres. WOW! There was also a great view of the Millennium Dome from that side of the river. We had a drink in the pub near J's and then had a quick supper in DimT's before I raced back to Paddington to get the train home. A very long day, as always when I'm in the city, but worth it.

Rainbow over the mill...

I just glanced out of the window and ran to get my camera to capture this beautiful rainbow.

It won't run on fresh air.. !

You know that feeling when you wish you hadn't put something off until tomorrow? I drove back from Helen's BBQ last night and almost stopped for petrol on the way home last night but it was dark and almost 10pm so I decided to skip the filling up and get home. Of course, this morning I heard that the price of petrol had gone up by a couple of pence! I wished I'd stopped to fill up now! But as luck would have it, I drove into Nailsworth instead of chancing my luck along the M46 and hey ho, the shell garage was still selling petrol at the old price of £1.05! When I drove home this evening, it was £1.08... that's one cheap tank I'm going to remember for a long time!

Who's cooking dinner.. ?!

There's nothing like the smell of charcoal to get the juices flowing! I worked all of yesterday and although very tired, I decided to drive over to Ledbury to Helen & Adrian's BBQ, I'm so pleased that I did. Although the weather wasn't brilliant so we ended up inside, Adrian still faced the elements to cook us (well charcoal!) some lamb cutlets, pork and burgers! Although it was difficult to see what we were eating by the time it had been chargrilled to a black crisp, it still proved to be a tasty treat. It was great to catch up with friends and it certainly helped me relax.

Meringue envy...

The good news is - the light fitting is still on the ceiling! The bad news is that I mistakenly declined the offer of pavlova! It wasn't just any pavlova but a beautifully shaped homemade meringue with berries and a big dollop of cream on top. Believe me, I had meringue envy just seeing it arrive at the table next to us.To be honest, they had what I would have done if I hadn't been so stuffed from the night before! They had roast beef with the biggest yorkshires I'd ever seen and I had liver. They had what looked like a delicious bottle of rich red wine and I had water, tap at that. Then to add insult to injury they had dessert and cheese and I had peppermint tea. I must go back sometime when I'm really hungry and take someone to share a bottle of wine with. Meanwhile, someone enjoyed her baked alaska after a gentle walk along the river in Bourton.

Happy Saturday..

Today was a great day. I picked Liz, Jeremy and his mom up from Kemble station and managed to fit all into my little car. Jean had travelled all the way across the Atlantic so we had a relaxing day, a walk down into town and back up the hill for pie. In the evening we all went to the Bell at Sapperton. That place serves delicious food, I just wish I could share a bottle of wine instead of always being the "I'll have a small glass!" kinda girl. We had a quick photo-moment on the way when I spotted another combine harvester. They are an incredible sight, I think it's just their sheer size and the fact that you only see them this time of the year.

Shake, splinter and 'hole'... !

You know that feeling you get when you realise you've been a total idiot? When you wish you could turn the clock back but you can't and even if you close your eyes and open them again, the problem hasn't gone away! I'd had a great day until I decided to change the spare bed. Oh yes, one minute I'm shaking the freshly laundered quilt and the next minute, I'm standing in a shower of glass. My supa-doopa light fitting is dangling limply from the ceiling with just two shades intact instead of three. I was still holding onto the corners of the quilt and hoping it was just a bad dream. But two minutes later, I'm still standing there and nothing has changed. It's not easy to see glass splinters when your quilt is decorated with tiny sequins! And the taxi driver waiting outside must have thought I was bonkers standing on the wall outside shaking a quilt. I've dysonned my shag-pile to within an inch of its wooly life, removed every bit of glass and replaced all the bed linen so there's just the one problem. The light fitting is still dangling from the ceiling in a very sad way. Then I remember.. I am a top crafter and suddenly I feel a brainwave coming on! Heath Robinson eat your heart out.. ! Three pieces of double-sided sticky foam later, some clear gunge and a few dabs of superglue and it's adhered itself to the ceiling again! I'm hoping it's going to stay there because if not, my daughter's boyfriend's mother, who arrives tomorrow morning all the way from the US of A may well be seeing stars, not sleeping under them!

Festival of Quilts...

13A

Have you ever thought how great it would be to have talking appliances? We have a talking lift at work and, although that's annoying, the idea of talking appliances could be so useful for lots of practical reasons. If my car would say 'I need a service' rather than flashing up 'minus 60' for two seconds when I switch it on, it would be so much more useful. Today I switched my kettle on - nothing. Last night it was ok, this morning it's not. If, when I went to switched it on, it had said 'I need a fuse' I would know exactly what to do. Instead, I have to turn off my girly head, think like a boy (not easy!) and through a process of elimination, start to work out what's wrong. Faced with something that worked one minute but not the next is always baffling to me. I know boys like those kind of challenges but I don't. So here's to talking appliances - but just for girls!

I lost an hour...

How come it's easy to lose an hour yet it's nye on impossible to lose a couple of pounds without starving yourself?! I've just eaten a very delicious vanilla flavoured virtually fat free yoghurt, which is a mouthful in itself. It's got me thinking about 'virtually' - what does that really mean? The dictionary says, 'Almost entirely' but if that's the case, why couldn't they try just a little harder and make my yoghurt absolutely 100% fat free? Did they just decide to give up or is that tiny spec of fat actually good for me? The term 'virtual' actually means 'not real' - tell that to my thighs! Reading packaging is very confusing and you need big specs like bottle bottoms to read the small print. In Anna's world then calories would all be virtual, my stomach would remain the same size always, just like my head does and chocolate would always be 'virtually' good for me!

Simply red.. simply wonderful.. !

A little bit of surfing and me and Lisa end up at Newbury races with a Simply Red concert to follow! We had a fantastic day. Super noodles in a chinese take away box for lunch washed down with a tiny bottle of fizz. Bet £1 on a couple of horses the had an hour an a half concert with Mick. We drove back top down ducking the dark clouds then had a lovely chinese meal in Cirencester to finish off the day.

Blissful wish list of must-have stamp sets...

There are many that just wouldn't understand just how much joy a little plastic cd case of clear stamps can bring. It's a fact, I'm in love with papertrey ink stamp sets! They are beautifully made, stamp so nicely and the fonts are just delightful. Every tiny image has been carefully thought out so it fits inside the circle shapes and those then sit within a border and so it goes on. My favourite must-have now has to be the button clear stamp set. You stamp and the attach buttons in the spaces. I've seen some examples of these cards and the are so clever - I have to have them now!

Blooming bugs..

I was going to spare you the stomach churning queasiness by putting the tiniest picture of my new best friend on here.. but ;-) I decided against it. Here's another blooming critter who, as you can see, wasn't clever enough to keep out of my way! I reckon he has Alexander Beetle for his father and Spiddy Sue for his mother!

Must-have stamps...

Back in July, I looked on the papertrey ink website and did that oooh, ahhh thing! Their stamps and inks were just so gorgeous so it was really hard to choose just a few sets, but I managed it! Seriously, I could buy everything, the stamp sets are just fantastic to use and the ink pads stack beautifully and best of all, the colours are yummy. My good little Ginger fairy picked up these goodies when she was over in the States and brought them all the way home for me. Papertrey ink release new stamp sets every month and there's so much to tempt me which means I will have to make lots more cards. I'll just have to remember to send one or two occasionally too!

Here's the good news... raspberries are fat burners!

The bad news is... it's because they have greedy, creepy crawlies inside them! I just spotted one crawling over my fresh fruit, healthy breakfast. Just the one, which leads me to wonder how many little critters have I just swallowed for my breakfast! Next time, I'm sticking to melon, you don't find those little things with lots of legs crawling about inside those, do you?! Curiously though, scientists in Japan have found a chemical, or something similar to one called capsaicin, a substance found in red peppar that dissolves fat, in the dear old raspberry. So the message is, every story has a silver lining (and I don't mean the trail left behind the phantom slug!) and one way or another I should be a few miligrams slimmer tomorrow, hurrah! Munch away boys...

Ginger Girl has come to stay...

I did say she could have the spare room but seems to prefer the window sill! There's a whole lot of scrapping going on and I don't mean the physical contact kind - oh no!

Prescott Vintage race day

The sun shone for the first time for ages and the rain stayed away - hurrah! Myself, Liz and Jeremy met Dom at the Vintage races at Prescott and we all had a fab day. We sat and had a picnic with Andrea and Tim, Dom's godparents and they're always great at entertaining us with a good bottle of something white and alcoholic! Dom, as always, brought enough picnic to feed the entire field but it was gratefully received and all washed down with a flask of hot coffee. It's becoming a bit of an annual event now so I'm putting it in my diary again for 2010!