Happy birthday to him

How quickly can a weekend go?  We had a really lovely weekend and it just flew by far too fast.  Our son came home on Friday for pre-21st birthday celebrations with the family.  So my Saturday was spent cooking up large pots of chilli con carne for the buffet

Picking up his cake from Waitrose  Not to mention baking a Banoffee Pie and a raspberry cheesecake on a coconut biscuit base and making various salads and side dishes.  Then on Sunday it was over to the ‘party’ shop to pick up a centrepiece for the table

And some helium balloons

Then suddenly people started arriving, bottles of wine were opened, food was eaten and of course cake was presented along with sparklers

And a couple of willing helpers to help blow them out while we all sang ‘Happy Birthday’

And all too soon it was over, and today he went back to Sheffield, with a car full of presents – the main one of which was our gift to him of a new guitar

And of course I couldn’t let him leave without the obligatory ‘Mum with her son’ photo for a future layout

B & W - Hearts

I ♥ hearts

(wall decoration in my conservatory)

24 hours and counting

This time tomorrow I will be anxiously waiting at the local train station waiting for the train from Sheffield to arrive.  You know the routine.  Arrive far too early, sit in the car park pretending not to be watching the clock.  Thinking up an excuse not to be sitting in the car because you really want to be on the station platform ready and waiting.  Casually getting out the car, walking towards the ticket office and onwards through to Platform 1.  Glancing nonchalantly at the arrivals board to see if the train is on time.  Staring anxiously into the distance to watch for the first glimpse of the train as it comes round the corner and into view.  That excited little feeling in your stomach as it gets closer.  Stepping backwards as the train draws in, that shudder of noise as the driver puts on the brakes.  A few heartbeats of silence before the doors open and people start to step off the train.  What part of the train will he be on?  Do I look left or right?  And then that wonderful moment when a slightly bedraggled, scruffy, student steps off, lugging a huge holdall (no doubt full of washing) onto the platform.  That wonderful moment when he catches your eye, a big grin comes over his face as he rushes forward and gives you a big hug.  ‘Hi Mum, oh, it’s great to be home.’

And it will be great to have him home too. 

When my daughter was at university she bought me a little book of quotes all about Mums.  She had put little page markers in the pages that she thought were most appropriate.  There’s one that says  ‘Nothing looks as lonely as your mum before she sees you coming up the platform’.   That will be me – this time tomorrow.

mini book

Embracing Imperfection Week two was to make a mini book using quotes that we downloaded from the website.  For some reason that seemed logical at the time I decided to make my own mini book out of some thin chipboard squares and a couple of silver fasteners I found in a drawer.  Well it seemed a good idea at the time.  I've almost finished it but need to do a little more to the last couple of pages but thought I would share it as far as it has come:

Page 5 & 6 



page 7 & 8

page 1 & 2

page 3 & 4

Now, dear old Blogger is embracing imperfection in it's own sweet way today and refusing to put these pictures in any semblance of the order in which I uploaded them which has a kind of irony about it doesn't it?  And the weather is so poor here today that I have struggled to find anywhere to photograph the pages and in trying to prop the book open, all the pages look different sizes and shapes (they aren't really, honest!)
I want to add some ribbons to the rings on the front cover but need to find some scaps of red ribbon.  And in true imperfect style, I hand wrote the last quote on page 8 because what could be more imperfect than my own handwriting?

New Cook on the Block

I've discovered a new cook.  She has a cookery programme on Saturday mornings and her name is Lorraine Pascale .  I like her style of cooking and I love the recipes that she cooks.  I especially like the look of her cake shop here . I've tried two or three recipes now from her tv series and I've already started dropping serious hints to the husband about wanting her cookery book for my birthday.  Yes, I do already have two shelves full of cookery books.  No I probably don't NEED another one, but I figure if I cook up a few delicious recipes from her website he may realise that kitchen life as we know it could be so much better if I had it. 
So yesterday I tried her Mini Tiramisu cakes which passed the taste test although I quickly froze 6 so that I can bring them out at the weekend.  Then today I thought that I would use the recipe but adapt it to be chocolate muffins with white chocolate chips.

You know how they say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?  I'm guessing that the way to a new cookery book is exactly the same!

Back to my youth

When you see this photo:

Do you think:

a)  Who on earth is that?
or
b) awwww ..... I remember him ..... I had that poster .....

Well if you answered 'a' you are obviously much much younger than me and should look away now.
If you answered 'b' then you and I have much in common!  When I was growing up I loved David Cassidy.  Bought Jackie magazine because they always had articles on him and posters to stick on your wall.  DC was a big part of my teenage years. 
I've just finished reading this:

When I read the storyline I knew I had to buy it even though it is pure 'chick lit'.  It's the kind of book you can read in a few sittings but oh how I associated with the characters.  Without giving too much away it starts with a woman in her 40s clearing her mothers house and finding a letter hidden at the back of the wardrobe.  She recognises the self addressed envelope as one she had completed as part of a magazine competition when she was a teenager. 

It then goes back in time to her being that teenager and obsessed with David Cassidy.  Day to day life of a girl growing up in the 70s.  Entering a competition to win the opportunity to meet him.  Going to his final UK concert in White City where a fan died and he then stopped touring. 

So it turns out that she won the competition but her mother hid the letter and she never knew.  In a moment of madness she contacts the magazine to claim her prize after all these years.  

It was a good lighthearted read and I defy anyone out there who grew up in 'love' with DC not to smile as she describes the kind of crazy things a young teenage girl will do just to try and be the perfect girl that her hero will fall in love with! 

Cornbread and casserole

I blogged earlier this week about my surprise package from Deb and of course I am so impatient, I couldn't wait to try it out!
So yesterday, I made a batch of good old British casserole (flavoured with good old Irish Guinness)

and made up a batch of good old American cornbread

And the judges' verdict?

DELICIOUS!

Couldn't wait to try the cornbread once it was warm out of the oven.  Lovely.

Tried another square with a drizzle of honey over the top.  Lovely.

So having decided it was good as a sweet option, I was interested to see how it would go with a savoury dish.  Lovely!  What a versatile food.  I think I need to start a campaign to bring cornmeal over to the UK!

Big thanks and big hugs to Deb Turtle xxx