Thursday 22 December 2011

Yuletide Blessing

Yule or Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year. the wheel is turning and with it, it will bring the warmth of the Sun to which life will awaken once more.

To Celebrate Yule its custom to burn a log "Yule Log", but i prefer the chocolaty form, this was my 1st ever attempt at a making a yule log, which i made last year. i'm not sure if i'll get the chance to make one this year as i'm off out for another festive gathering, but if you have some free time heres the recipe.

I know mine looks nothing like the one on the link. but heyho its home made and it was heaven.
Wishing you all a very blessed Yule!!!
xxx

Monday 19 December 2011

Sloe Gin!

As some of you may remember, back in early September I went Sloe Berry picking and started the slow process that is sloe gin, but after 3 in abit months, Its finally done! and what better week to bottle them up. I have a busy week this week, lots of festive fun going on, so i shall most definitely be taking some bottles with me.After all it is the season of giving.

Before
After
Its so fruity, a little dangerous as it doesn't taste that alcoholic. I love the Ruby Red, just perfect for Yule/Christmas.
xXx

Wednesday 14 December 2011

A night of festive indulgence

The Wind was howling and the rain was beating against the windows, the chill was being kept at bay by the warmth of the heating. And i was in the kitchen thinking of what to make. something to warm the cockles of my soul and something festive would be fitting. 1st on my list was to try the Mulled Wine me and the Mr got given at the weekend. Its proper German Mulled Wine. Only wanted to try a little bit, it seemed a waste to pour a load in a pan incase we didn't like it. So i poured a bit into a glass and lit a  tea light under it and sat warming it, the smell was Divine! so fruity, Rich and delightfully aromatic. It was good! I only had the one glass its quite strong!
2nd on my list was my ever favourite, Gingerbread. i really do love gingerbread its just perfect. 3rd I made a gingerbread triffle. Perfect! I'm a big fan of triffle so these two made sense, and I'd seen a recipe for gingerbread triffle on Sainsburys! really simple and tastes soooo good! and 4th on my list.. was a Hot Chocolate with a dash of Disaronno (an Amaretto Liqueur),

 All a girls needs
 Perfect!
The Mulled Wine gift from Germany





As normal with me i changed a few things around, i used disaronno instead of sherry and i broke up a few of my gingerbread instead of the packet dough. But the Recipie is here if you want to follow it to the tea

Mmmm so yummy!

It was perfect comfort evening, so happy i go running, i think i would be the size of a house if i didn't!
So next week is the real countdown for Yule/Christmas, the camera will be out in force as I've got a whole load of parties to go to! Perfect!

Till next time
xxx

Thursday 8 December 2011

Oh Yule tree!

Our tree is up! yay!!!

Its got candy canes and chocolate coins. Red, Purple and Silver Ball balls too. we've got alot of red in our living room any way so those items add warmth to the space. I love it already and i really can't wait for Yule/Christmas. Me and the Mr our doing our festive food shop tomorrow, which actually I'm really excited about. Looking at our list, i think we'll have quite the feast!




The Yankee scents that are filling my home this wintertime,  

Jack Frost (i believe this is going into retirement), soft mellow notes of mint and white chocolate.
Cinnamon:  Warm, Rich and perfect for this time of year
Christmad Cupcake: Quite Sweet, but aromatic. 

I've seen a recipe that i HAVE to make! hopefully I'll be able to pick up the ingredients tomorrow!!
a little hint. its involves ginger!,I love ginger!!! especially gingerbread!... which reminds me, i bought gingerbread syrup! its used for coffees but i have another use in mind for it! tehehehehe

Monday 5 December 2011

Nigellas Chocolate Cookies

These Cookies are just so moreish and so easy to make, also a lovely idea for a gift, homemade has a lovely touch to it something that someone has made gifted you if very thoughtful, I'm tempted to get a few gift boxes and give them to friends. I will defo be making these again, the mixture is pretty big and as theres only two of us i didn't want to throw it away, so i wrapped the dough and popped it in the freezer ready for my next chocolate cookie fix.
So if you'd like to give these a go heres the recipe.

ingredients
  • 2 1/4 sticks (18 Tbsp.) soft butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup boiling water , from a kettle
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Christmas sprinkles

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl and, when you have a light, soft whipped mixture, beat in the 1/3 cup cocoa powder (sifting if it is lumpy) and, when that's mixed in, beat in the flour with the baking soda and baking powder. Or just put everything in the processor and blitz, if you prefer.

This mixture is very soft and sticky and I find it easiest to form the cookies wearing my disposable vinyl gloves, so pinch off pieces about 1 tablespoon in size, roll them into balls, then slightly flatten into fat discs as you place them, well spaced, on your cookies sheet. You should get about 12 on at a time.

Bake each batch for 15 minutes; even though the cookies won't feel as if they've had enough time, they will continue to cook as they cool. They will look slightly cracked on top, and it's this cozy, homespun look I love.

Move the cookie sheet to a cold surface and let it sit for 15 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack, with a sheet of newspaper under it (to catch drips while topping them).

To make the topping, put the cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, water and vanilla extract into a small saucepan and whisk over a low heat until everything is smoothly combined. Take off the heat for 10 minutes.

When the cookies are cool, drizzle each one with a tablespoonful of chocolate glaze—it will help "glue" the sprinkles on in a minute. Use the back of the spoon to help spread the mixture, though an uneven dribbled look is part of their charm. After you've iced 6 cookies, scatter with some of the Christmas sprinkles and continue until all the cookies are topped. If you ice them all before sprinkling, you will find the cocoa "glue" has dried and the sprinkles won't stick on.



I hope you love these just as much as i do!!!!
xXx

Saturday 3 December 2011

So December heres!

Hello!!!! i hope you're all well,
So were finally in December! Can't believe that this time last year, most of the UK had come to a complete stand and here i am walking to work, without my gloves or raising my coat so i bury my head away from the chill. Nope its been pretty mild, not that I'm complaing but i do like the sparkly white stuff, it just makes everything look so much prettier. So as its December i can finally start listing and doing things that are festive. Friday i ordered some ball balls and candy canes from John Lewis for our tree. I'm going for Reds this year, never normally been a fan of red but my thoughts have changed.




Also as the yuletide season really sets in, i decided to listen to my new Christmas album, by Micheal Buble. Oh i do like his voice, have been a fan of him since i was 16, so tonight while listing to him sing his version of the "Christmas Song" i made some cookies,  Not just any old cookies but chocolate cookies from Nigella Lawsons "Christmas" i love this lady maybe more thans normal. but hey she likes her food and she makes it with gusto.

Will type up the recipe for you all tomorrow.
xXx

Monday 28 November 2011

Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge

Fudge! such a perfect sweet delight! I finally got round to making some. Its quite tricky and you need the right kit... mainly a preserving thermometer. But fear not for the fudge i made is really easy and simple.

Its taken from Lorriane Pascales "Home Cooking Made Easy"

Ingredients

Preparation method

  1. Grease a 20cm/8in square cake tin with vegetable oil, then line with greaseproof paper.
  2. Put the butter, sugar and milk in a pan over a low heat and melt gently. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the marshmallows and turn up the heat. Boil the fudge for 5-6 minutes.
  3. Take the pan off the heat and add the grated chocolate. Leave for one minute, then stir the mixture together until everything is melted.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and leave to set for a couple of hours. Once set, remove from the tin and cut into 25 squares.

and heres mine! its does what i expect fudge to do.Its very tasty and i love that it was hassle free.

Its beginning to look alot like.....

Hello my lovelys!
I hope you are all well.This weekend has been a pretty festive affair, i did a spot of yuletide present buying on Saturday , I left the Mr at home, shopping is my time. I love Ryde as it has quite a few quirky shops these days, One of my favourite being Flowers By Nic, this isn't just a florists but somewhere that's full of inspiration, i love looking at her window displays as these are always changing, from a Strawberry picnic to cutesy summertime wedding its a full around year celebrations. and at the moment the window is full of pine cones, red ribbons, toadstools and bright glossy berries! perfect for Yule.


Here's a few of my favourites bits of the shop. i just had to buy  the Gingerbread and Deer so sweet!, I'm wanting to do this style for my home, never before has wanting to bring nature into my home been this strong!, i want the bright berries, the pine cones and ribbons a plenty, which i  also bought, more for decorating pres ants then the tree, i also got some chocolate coins which I'm going to hang on the tree,



On Sundays i always go to my Mums, Lee works for couple of hrs so it gives me a chance to spend some time with her, Mum had told me about the faery decorations section at Busy Bee (our local garden centre), they always go all out for Christmas and its become something that's quite the crowd pleaser. It was pretty busy when we arrived so we headed straight to the enchanted Christmas part. 

How sweet, Old Man Winter in his very sparkly domain, and here a cute little fairy who wings were fluttering away.

Really can't wait for the full on festiveness now!

Monday 21 November 2011

The festive spirit is starting.....

Hello Lovelys, i hope i find you all well,
Once again i've been rubbish at keeping my blog up to date. but if i'm honest i've not been up to anything speical.so you've not missed out on anything. But i'm back Yay! the weekend saw me making stuff, i baked a gingerbread cake one of my favorite wintery treats and a bottle of LemonChello and i whipped up a candy cane hot chocolate.. will share soon , i know its still Autumn but theres a different sort of chill to the mornings now and i've been told by a few fairies that they've spotted a few of  Jack frost's pretty patterens on car windows and normal windows alike. Yep theres a cripsness to, that only comes about when Old Man Winter is seeing over the latter part of the year. I don't mind as it means celebrations a plenty are on there way. Yule/Winter solsitce, Christmas (i'm pagan but this time of year is all about family and friends, whats in a name) Boxing day and finally New year.

 The feeling of festivness is starting to make its self know to me now, and i've seen a few things that i really really like from the Berry Red for Christmas range. i just love the Father Christmas candle, although i'd awful for lighting it.



xXx

Thursday 3 November 2011

Wow November already!

Hello!!! I can't quite believe that November is already gracing us with its presence, October feels like it came and went in a hurry of warm days filled with flying golden leaves.
I didn't manage to get on here for Halloween, but i hope that what ever you got up to that it was fun filled and magical. As mentioned i decided to go as something.... or should that be "someone darker" than my normal self.I dressed up as Mrs Lovett from Sweeny Todd. I had a lot of fun and i got very much into character.

And on the actual day my new "Hocus Pocus" Top arrived and i had to show it off, doing the self photo felt like the old days of myspace teheheh.

Heres to November.... hoping to actally make the list from October with a few added delights 

Wednesday 26 October 2011

An early Happy Halloween

At FAE Magazine i've had the pleasure of being able to write for the Online features, Last year was my 1st and i've done another one. both have been for Samhain/Halloween. and as you can see my latest is about spooky treats!!!. Photos are done by the lovely Joey Collins of Joey Collins Photography



Head over to FAE Magazine to see my halloween treats and delights!!

Sniffle sniffle...

Hello fellow readers,
Its been a lovely October! i've not been up to too much, just working and relaxing, although i did go on a mini hoilday to Centre Parcs (Longleat), its always nice, We go with Lee's Dads Wifes family, this making the total 20+ in one spot at the same time. Although no complaints form me as i get on with all of them very well. But now i'm back to work the common cold had decided it would be fun to make its self known and i'm feeling it, A Stuffy nose that seems to have a mind of its own FUN!, and just feeling alittle more sleepy than normal. Trying to keep myslef in tip top conditon by loading up on the Vit C and have the trusty Olbas oil to hand to make breathing that little bit easier. I have to feel better for this weekend as of course its Samhain/Halloween time!!!, I still need to get me a pumpkin and as i'm going to a party i need to sort my outfit,it shouldn't be to hard as i plan to go as Mrs Lovett from Sweeny Todd. Having watched the movie just the other day it was like a light turning on. I have a black corset, black skirt and stripy leggings/tights and i have idea how to look even more Mrs Lovetty. but that will have to be releaved later!. I've also got foodie plans which again i'll share nearer the time.

Tonights meal: a soul warming Bolognese.

Loves and Sparkles
xXx

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Butternut Squash Soup... Perfect comfort on an Autumns eve

Ok so i finally got round to making soup!, I've never done it before but after watching Lorraine Pascales latest cookery show "Home Cooking Made Easy" she cooked up a Spicy Butternut Squash soup which looked really easy to make and looked so warming and tasty that i had to give it ago. I've not done a step by step before so forgive the lack of photos to help (that's if you want to try)

Please note: This is not to the exact recipe, i changed and added a few things.

Right you take one Butternut Squash cut it in half (scoop out all the seeds) pop a clove of garlic where the
seeds came from, slash across the flesh, put in the oven for 30 mins at 200c until its roasted. 
while that's cooking get a pan and put some olive oil and butter in and heat through, add finely chopped onion and cook till the onions go soft around 20mins, (i added red pepper after about 5 mins)

chop up a chilli and fill a jug with around 500mls of water with stock i used veg, then when the times up for the butternut squash scoop out the flesh, get the roasted garlic and take the skin off and pop it into the pan with the onions and add the chopped chill, add the squash mixing it up a bit then add the stock heat through till kinda smooth.
 
 then pour mixture into blender, blend till creamy smooth and its done.





and here you have it! sorry its not well presented, i had to pop it in the fridge for the next day and didn't have my camera to show it off in a better bowl. ..... My rating 10/10 reasons : quick and easy and tastes delicious and really filled me up, will i do it again? most defiantly.

xXx

Monday 10 October 2011

A perfect ball for all hollows eve

A night when the witches fly high on there broom sticks and all manner of folk come out to play, you see them hand in hand laughing with such delight, they finery is clear for all to see as they make there way to to the misty hall in Avalon...... Now what could i be talking about?...... The Samhian Faery Ball!, the new annual event to take place in Glastonbury, I've mention before how this place is steeped in such magical and mystical history, so it makes perfect sense for a faery ball to be held here, after all the Tor is home to Gwyn ap Nudd who was first Lord of the Underworld, and later King of the fairies, as well as it being the final resting place for King Aruther who was brought here by Morgan le Fay ( a sorcress).

So whats in store for this most magical of nights (and weekend)? Well for started theres not one but two faery balls!
The 1st being for the younger pixies who can't always attend the festivities due to being too little or there tucked away dreaming peacefully.

"The debut Avalon Children’s Faery Ball featuring Sparkle the Fairy & friends! The Children’s Faery Ball will take place in the small hall while the Faery Fayre takes place in the main hall, so parents can enjoy the fayre whilst their children are at the Faery Ball!" Tickets £5 

"The Avalon  Faery Fayre is a FREE event which takes place on the Samhain/Halloween weekend of the 29th and 30th October at Glastonbury Town Hall. Doors open from 10.30am until 5pm on Saturday and from 11am until 5pm on Sunday! entry is FREE! There will be lots of stalls featuring some of the most amazing faery art by some of the worlds leading artists. Jasmine Becket-Groffith will be appearing at this event exclusively for the first time in the UK and will be unveiling art painted especially for this event!  Jasmine’s site: www.Strangeling.com. We also welcome UK artists, Josephine Wall www.josephinewall.com and Linda Ravenscroft  www.lindaravenscroft.com, Ed Org and many many more amazing artists"
"29th October Celebrate Samhain with the faeries at the Faery Ball. Come dressed in your finest faery finery! And be entertained by The Dolmen, Spriggan Mist, Felicity Fyre Le Fay, and the Giggling Goblin Bar. Sparkle the Fairy will also be on hand to add some sparkly face-paints if you fancy some extra bling!" Tickets £20


and the faery fun doesn't stop there, why not head along to the Faery Fest and get a chance to catch up with new and old friends alike. places for this lovely gathering do get snapped up pretty quickly so book while you can.





For more details and to by tickets please head over to www.faeryevents.com

You'll have the time of your life!
xXx


Thursday 6 October 2011

This months recipes i want to try out

Hello!!!
Well October is finally here, the month of kicking up the leaves and drinking hot chocolate!!.... Well so i thought!
The weekend saw me sat in my garden reading abook while topping up my april tan! yes thats right i got a tan in april! although come August it had almost gone compeletly, strange weather! not that i'm complaing beacause Sunday me and the Mr went over to his Dads where we had a barbque and sat in the garden till late talking, laughing and just having a lovely time. But its all changed again the winds picked up and the rain clouds are brewing up above so its back to it normal autumn feel *yay* Autumn holds two of my favorite get togethers, Halloween and Bonfire night these occasions are fab! and the food that you can make to warm eveyone up is easy and fun. not only do i love these season beause of the fun you can have but also the hearty meals,one of my favorites being chilli, theres lots of  easy things to rustle up that are perfect after a long days work and retiring to the comfort of my snug. heres what i shall be sharing with you when i make it

My homemade Chilli 
Butternut Squash Soup
Honeyed carrot soup
Pear and ginger loft
Mulled cider
Chilli Sausage wraps
Apple and Toffee Crumble
and Toffee Apple!!

Mmmmm i can wait!!!
xXx

Sunday 25 September 2011

Cinnamon Rolls!!

Having never made these before, i'm very chuffed with how my cinnamon buns turn out!!!

Yay for Autumn!!!

Friday 23 September 2011

Autumn Equinox

It's the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatety mornings, and toasting marshmallow evenings, and best of all, leaping into LEAVES!"~ Pooh Bear!!
Who can argue that Pooh Bear really sums up the perfectness that is Autumn.
For the is Autumn/ Mabon celebration i've chosen to bake cinnamon and apple swirls! as nothing quite like the aroma and taste of these perfect autumn fruit and spice.
if you wish to make these then heres the recipe that i shall be following:

Ingredients

  • 250 g strong bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 40 g caster sugar
  • 15 g fresh yeast
  • 20 g butter, oftened
  • 150 ml warm water

    For the filling:
  • 30 g butter, softened
  • 100 g sultanas (i'm using dried apple slices)
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 100 ml water

     Method

    1. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, butter and water in a blender and mix thoroughly until the mixture forms a smooth dough.

    2. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes before returning to the bowl and leaving to rest for an hour.

    3. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1.5cm thick, and spread the butter on top, then sprinkle on the sultanas and dust with cinnamon.

    4. Take the smaller end and roll the dough into a sausage, then cut 5cm thick discs and lie them face down on the prepared baking sheet. Leave to rise for 45 minutes.

    5. Set the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Brush the swirls with the beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes.

    6. Meanwhile, place the sugar and water into a small saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has thickened slightly.

    7. Remove the swirls from the oven and immediately brush with sugar syrup.

    Have a very blessed mabon! i hope your wishes come true!

Thursday 22 September 2011

Candle delights!!

I'm a sucker for candles! When me and other half went over to the Southampton Ikea, the boy sighed as we entered the candle section, needless to say i bought a berry mix of tea lights and cinnamon, spice and vanilla. lighting candles and seeing the warm glow coming from them is just lovely. Candles are a big thing for me when Autumn arrives out come the rich spicy scents, i tend to have lighter smells like lavender or Jasmine in the Summer months. So what am i getting to you wonder?..... Well yesterday my Mum came into work with a Yankee Candle bag!, Yankee candles are my ultimate candles! they don't lose there smell and last for ages!, and they come in some pretty delicious smells too, Black Cherry, Cinnamon stick, Jack Frost and Cranberry chutney being just a few of my favorites, so when she handed me the bag i couldn't help but "Ooooohh", Inside were 3 scents from the Halloween range. Everyday on our way home from work i walk past the islands yankee store and can't help but always look in the window, when i saw the Halloween range my heart did a little flip of excitement, i made a mental note to make sure i put a little money aside so i could treat myself. But i don't have to now as my Mum had seen the candles and thought of me and bought me them... how great are Mums?



The three scents i have are :
Trick or Treat, this one has two scents in it making a swirl affect, Sweet Candy Corn and Buttercream. Now I'm not sure this would be for everyone, as it is pretty sweet smelling, I've not lit it yet so it might be softer when burning, but i like it.

Candy Corn: unlike the very sweet smell of trick or treat, it would seem the smell of candy corn on its own is still sweet but soft sweet, theres an element of spice in there too that almost reminds me of a warm pumpkin pie.

Witches Brew: Spicy sweet aroma of exotic patchouli, this has a very musty smell, very warm and almost erotic, that must be the patchouli, as we know Halloween isn't all about the sweets, this is a lovely smell and a bit addictive to sniff.






I can't wait to fill my home with these delightfull smells, its going to be hard to light these before October let alone Halloween.

xXx

Saturday 17 September 2011

... you don't know what you've got till its gone

As you've seen, an old school friend of mine passed away.
i know she's not truly gone for she has become as the words from a favorite poem of mine says:

 

"You are a thousand winds that blow. The diamond glints on snow. The sunlight on ripened grain. The gentle autumn's rain, The soft stars that shine at night" 


It has made me think really hard about things, after talking and seeing so many old faces at the funeral, it really makes me want to pick up those friendships and start a new. You never really no how long we have on this journey on earth, so when you lose someone, it makes you grateful and makes you sit up and pay attention. at the wake the family had put together a collage of photos of Emmaliese with friends and family, photos from holidays, birthdays, beach days and silly girly nights in and meals out. Me and the Mr have 5 cameras between us, and i think its about time we really started jotting our lives in photos. i want to see myself at 70 sat with my grand*children showing them all the things i got up to. i know people say photos are just photos, but to me its a visual reminder of the fun and silly things that we all get up to.
 

At the wake we sent off lanterns with messages for Em, that will forever be carried on the wind. and it may seem morbid but this shot of me and my ever love sending ours off is really sweet. 


Off they go, watching these latterns float off into the night sky bought comfort and a sense of peace, i know Emmaliese is now free from pain and will be one of the sparklest stars.
xXx

Friday 16 September 2011

Beautiful inside and out

 
 
Rest In Peace,
Always in my heart never forgotten
Beatiful on the inside and out.
a smile that was infectous.
kind caring oh so giving.
Sleep tight.

 
 
 

Monday 5 September 2011

So to start the slow process for my Sloe Gin!!


Theres roughly 1000g of Sloes in this 3ltr Kilner Jar, about 500g of caster sugar and 1ltr of Tesco Gin,
i was following a recipe but the jar was only half full, so i phoned Lee's Nan and she told me "just  keep topping up with the berries and sugar" She's done this plenty of time before so I'm hoping it'll work out for me.

If you'd like the recipe i followed to begin with, its as follows, really simple and you'll get something really tasty and perfectly festive.

  • 500 g Sloes
  • 225 g Caster sugar, (150g if you prefer a 'drier' gin)
  • Gin (Don't waste your best gin on this recipe as the sloes will infuse their flavour.)
     
  • Put sloes in a litre jar with a sealable lid, add the almond essence and sugar and fill up with gin.
     
  • . Turn the jar every day for one week and every time you remember thereafter for 3 months.
     
  •  After 3 months has passed strain the gin through a piece of muslin and then it's ready to drink.
     
So heres to the sloe gin turning out perfect!.... next on my festive treats list = Fudge, Cranberry Sauce , Speculaas  Biscuits and more

Well Hello September

Yesterday i spent my afternoon with the Mr's grandparents, We went Sloe berry picking, since they let me try some sloe gin i decided that it was something i wanted to make, As you know me and Lee have now moved house and though money isn't tight we've decided that we're not going to go overboard this Yule. Last year we made some chutneys and cranberry sauce which were really well received, so i thought I'd do it all again, this time with a few more homemade goods, 1st being the Sloe Gin. So yesterday Nan and Grandad picked us up and we drove over to St Helens Duver (Duver is an Isle of Wight dialect term for an area of sand dunes) the area that we would be picking our  berries was between the beach and bembridge harbour. the place was full of blackberries, Sloes, Rosehips and a whole load of other berries but i have no idea what they were called but knew we couldn't eat them. I enjoyed the berry picking so much that I've asked for a pocket guide to nuts and berries...... heres some photos.

Just getting started
Sloes (Blackthorn)
Lee getting to the good one his height is a huge advantage


Wild Foxgloves

Our load
Lots of berries (yet to be ripe)
Mmm fat and juicy
More berries
Wild Honeysuckle
Not sure what the proper name for these are but Lee's grandad called them "grandfathers beard"
From tiny Acorns grow mighty Oaks
Bembridge Harbour


It was such a lovely afternoon picking the berries but by jo you work up quite an appetite, so we all loaded back into the car and went back to Lee's grandparents for a good ol Sunday roast followed by blackberry and apple pie!

Blackberry and Apple pie

Now these are what i call Yorkshire puds!
(I took this photo from the dinning table!)


Tonight i shall be jarring up the gin and sloes!, blog to follow later.
xxxxx