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I received a great book for Christmas. The Primrose Bakery Book of Cupcakes so I decided to give it a whirl yesterday and made some vanilla cupcakes with a white chocolate butter icing top!

They were delicious, though my dislike of anything chocolate did prevail. I thought white chocolate would be okay, and indeed I only had a slight taste, but it was quite evident that once again chocolate and I just were not meant to be.

Jon did have one which he enjoyed, so the rest are now in the freezer ready for his snack boxes in the New Year!

Talking of New Year I have made my resolution....
The only advice I am going to follow is advice I like or agree with!

Sound don't you think?

Winter in the Village

Winter has certainly arrived in the village! Today I had to deliver our christmas cards, so armed with my camera and trusty Freida we walked through the village in the cold snow.

Click on the collage for more detail.

Here is Freida afterwards....truly WORN out!
As we sat in the snug I became aware of the WILDLIFE in the garden.
I captured this robin and thrush from the comfort of the settee!

At this time of the year I love comfort food, my particular favourite is Welsh Rarebit!
Tasty and a great way to utilise the eggs the gals produve!

My ultimare recipe.......
Beat up one egg
Grate a good chunk of strong cheddar and work into beaten egg
Add Tabasco, Worcester Sauce to taste. + mustard powder + salt & pepper
Spread onto toast
Grill until golden brown

result........WOW!

Finally, last night I captured my hens in their shed, huddling together keeping warm!

Home Delivery!

Our House Yesterday

Back Garden

Pine Trees at very bottom of garden

Our Drive

It started to snow on Saturday night, about 5pm. It continued to snow throughout the day really on and off! No card passed just the council gritter, a couple of tractors and 4x4's. Jon went to the workshop in the pick-up but had to return for various solutions to deal with the frozen padlock to the compound.

I do not like driving in the snow and was home all day as I was expecting some shopping deliveries. The first phone call came early as we were at the breakfast table. This was from Asda. Apparantly the vans had encountered problems from 5pm Saturday and had not been able to get to some locations, the phone call was just allerting me to some problems that may affect us. He left me with his mobile number and I had a good think. If he could get to either nearby Guisborough or Redcar I had friends who could take delivery and we could go later in 4x4 and collect. Sorted.

The second call came from Tesco, who were delivering our lovely free range turkey for Christmas Dinner. I must admit I panicked when the caller announced they were from Tesco. However it was just to say the delivery would be slightly later, but would arrive within 30 minutes. Phew! 10 minutes later I had the turkey, now safely stored in the cold garage.

Back to Asda, after a couple of calls the delivery chap was on his last delivery in Redcar as he couldn't get any further, so he delivered our shopping to one of our neighbours from 22 years ago when we lived on Castle Road.

John arrived from work and we went to Redcar. The roads were trecherous and although we were Ok in the pick up and Jon is skilled with driving in such conditions, we managed to get to Redcar. There were quite a few cars on the roads, but taking things very carefully. We were greeted by Marjorie and we had a brief exchange of cards & greetings before we headed home.

When we unpacked we discovered several chilled items were missing so despite my best planning efforts and avoidance of having to go out and shop anymore, it would seem I have to and I have concerns about the size of the turkey! I do not think it is big enough to feed 8 hungry people!
Hmmmmmmmmm!
What is it about Christmas that sends us up such paths of doubt?

Watch this space!

Snow in the Village

Ignore the time setting on this picture, it was taken around 4pm today, Thursday from our gates at the end of the drive..

The hens experienced snow for the first time today! When I opened their door at 10 o'clock this morning only one came out then turned round and went back inside. I could hear lots of discussion going on and they stayed put for the morning!

We can always tell when it is going to be really cold because Jo puts himself to bed. Here he is a few minutes ago.

To the right of this picture you can just see the bale of straw which we use for his bedding. I have a sneaking suspicion that Bev, the black hen has snuggled down for the night, as this is where they will have layed their eggs today! We get 6 every day, so they are all laying!

Well Done Gals!

ABC Wednesday...V is for.....

A VERY Merry Christmas from our VILLAGE!






These Geese belong to one of my neighbours and as I delivered my christmas cards a couple of years ago I captured the moment!

A wonderful scene depicting the spirit of Christmas!

The Spirit of Christmas

Author Unknown

I have a list of people I know
All written in a book
And every year at Christmastime
I go and take a look
And that is when I realise
That those names are a part
Not of the book they're written in
But of my very heart

For each name stands for someone
Who has crossed my path some time
And in that meeting they've become
A treasured friend of mine
And once you've met some people
The years can not erase
The memory of a pleasant word
Or a friendly face

So when I send a Christmas card
That is addressed to you
It's because you're on that list
Of folk I'm indebted to
And you are one of many folk who
In times past I've met
And happen to be one of those
I don't want to forget

And whether I have known you for
Many years or few
In some way you have a part in
Shaping things I do
This, the spirit of Christmas, that
Forever and ever endures
May it leave it richest blessing
In the hearts of you and yours.

Foot Stuff!

A woman sought the advice of a sex therapist, confiding that she found it increasingly difficult to find a man who could satisfy her, and that it was very wearisome getting in and out of all these short-term relationships. "Isn't there some way to judge the size of a man's equipment from the outside?" she asked earnestly.

"The only foolproof way, is by the size of his feet," counseled the therapist.

So the woman went downtown and proceeded to cruise the streets, until she came across a young fellow standing in an unemployment line with the biggest feet she had ever laid her eyes on. She took him out to dinner, wined and dined him, and then took him back to her apartment for an evening of abandon.

When the man woke up the next morning, the woman had already gone but, by the bedside table was a $20 bill and a note that read, "With my compliments, take this money and go out and buy a pair of shoes that fit you."

I laughed at this joke yet I do not think I will be laughing tomorrow as I am off to the Health Centre dut to a problem with my left foot! It has been occuring for a couple of weeks now, just my left foot, not my right one, that is OK!

I am very fortunate in having a great Health Centre! The staff are fantastic and we always have a good laugh! Infact I think I will take my camera along tomorrow and share the wonderful experience with you all!

Watch this space!

U is for ...Update!

My World is very much based around the everyday goings on in the Nesbitt household, a very important part of this is our hens.

Our hens back in July!

Here they are going to bed a few nights ago. From the left, Olwyn,(Dark Brown) Eva, May,(Beige) Margie,(White) Bev, (Black) Mabel, (Dark Brown)

They now have a regular routine and go to bed independently when the darkness is approaching, usually around 5pm.

By watching their movements I am now confident that all 6 hens are laying eggs on a regular basis. We are getting between 4 and 6 eggs every day,

Top left Bev
Top Right Margie
Bottom left Olwyn & Mabel
Bottom right Eva & May


The taste of the eggs is outstanding and we have eggs for breakfast every day and I am discovering new recipes evry day. One recipe I am going to try is this one:-

Indulgent spinach, bacon, cheese and potato frittata recipe

Ingredients:

* 100g of lardons (we used home cured ones, chopped streaky bacon slices will do at a pinch)
* 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled, sliced and cooked until soft
* 2-3 tblsps of chopped parsley
* 6 large eggs
* 200g of spinach
* 50g of mature cheddar cheese (cut into squares)
* 15g of grated mature cheddar (topping)
* 2 tblsp of olive oil
* 1 fat garlic clove (chopped very fine)
* Good twist of ground black pepper

Method:

1. Fry the bacon lardons in the olive oil until crispish (soft on the inside, browned on the outside). Peel and cook the potatoes. When the bacon slices are ready, set them aside. Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients.
2. Wash and wilt your spinach (the wash water will cling to the leaves.) Pop into a large saucepan (lid on) for 2-3 minutes until they wilt. Remove, wash with cold water and strain in a colander.
3. Chop your cheese, whisk the 6 eggs with a fork and chop your herbs and add them to the eggs along with the other ingredients.
4. Heat the bacon infused olive oil gently in a large pan. Add the finely chopped garlic. When the oil is hot and the garlic golden pour the beaten egg (with the chopped cheese, bacon, spinach and herbs) into pan. Immediately turn the heat down to the lowest setting. After a mnute or so arrange the cooked potato slices over the top, sprinkle the grated cheddar and leave for 15 minutes. Do nothing. Set the timer for 12 minutes!
5. When the timer goes off set your grill to the highest setting so that it will be sizzling when you transfer the frittata from stove top. Finish under the high grill for 30 – 60 seconds.
6. Serve immediately with a green salad.

“The codfish lays ten thousand eggs,
The homely hen lays one;
The codfish never cackles,
To tell you when she's done;
And so we scorn the codfish,
While the humble hen we prize;
Which only goes to show you,
That it pays to advertise”

White Christmas?

This was the scene from my study window a couple of years ago. I am not sure what the predictions are for the Christmas period but I would be surprised if we had snow. I love snow at Christmas simply because the village looks lovely but when people have to make car journeys it all gets rather dangerous. I do not like driving in the snow, despite having a 4x4. Jon however is in his element and rises to the challenge.

A few Christmas cards have started to arrive but I am keeping them all until the weekend as it is the village carol service at the village pub, the Waterwheel and this is when I feel christmas has started and I get in the mood for the festivities. We will bring the tree down from the loft and hand a wreath on the gate. I also need to think about our own christmas cards......I always try to find a suitable picture and keep the design simple!

Hmmmmmmmm!

Testing Times!

It would seem I can post pictures via photobucket, as suggested!
So what better subject than Jo, my gander who is currently asleep on the front lawn!

So it would appear normal service has been resumed!
Watch this space! I certainly will be!

T is for...........Trouble!

Last week I said I was planning a surprise and if you look back over my past post you will realise what the surprise was....and you will also note that I am unable to share any photos right now as my Google account needs re-subscribing!

I do not seem to be able to upload any pictures from picassa or indeed from my pictures file on my laptop!

I find this all rather tedious and if anybody has any suggestions/hints/remedies I am all ears!

So ABC Wednesday....no pictures! Terrible!