The Mince Pies - Take One!

Okay, so I make mince pies today! Now anyone who has seen my mince pies before knows that they win NO prizes for looks! Taste fine but look ridiculous, mincemeat all over the place! But today, I remove from the oven nine perfect looking, nice tasting mince pies!! I am so chuffed, 24 years of effort has gone into the making of these perfect mince pies but all that time has finally paid off!!!

I leave my fabulous creations on the side to cool and go off about my business revelling in my pie making prowess!! I soon return.... disaster has struck and it is grey and furry!!

One of our delightful cats, Sable, has been up on the side after the mince pies!! What kind of cat eats mince pies anyway!!? But worst of all is that she hasn't EATEN any of them, just knocked the top off one and pushed it onto the floor. But, she has still be thorough in her ruining of the pies! Oh Yes! She has carefully licked all the icing sugar off the tops of the others. So they are sitting there, still looking fine, just cat drooled! My poor mince pies! :( At least she could've eaten one, appreciated them more! But no, just make it so no one else can have them.

Ah well, making pies again tomorrow by the looks of things!

Christmas Cooking!

Okay, so i have decided to cook a lot of the christmas dinner myself this year, as I am not working i may aswell make the most of it right!? So, today, stuffing. Prepare to be bored by a rant about stuffing. I pick what looks like an easy, yet different, form of stuffing. 'This won't take long' I think. Whack ingredients in a bowl, mix, roll, freeze till xmas! Well, two and three quarter hours later I am still making it!! It had better taste excellent!! I never knew how long it would take to de-shell about 30 chestnuts! But it did end up looking pretty good, just glad i decided to make it in advance!!
And so you can all have fun making it too: chestnut and cranberry stuffing roll

I have to admit it is quite fun making food for xmas, well its fun making food at all, but xmas in particular! I have also made my own christmas cake this year too, and seriously, DO IT!! The whole house smelt xmassy for hours, all spicy and orangey! Yum! Yum! I'm not actually a big fan of christmas cake myself but it smelled so good I am going to have to try some!

Next up on my list of things to make will be a cheesecake and a chocolate marquise, with after eight mints!!

So, Christmas is here again!!

So it's Chistmas time again! I have to admit i am not feeling as christmassy this year as I did last year, but there you go! I have pent this afternoon turning the door to my kitchen into the Doorway to a Winter Grotto!!! (Simple add Snowflakes on doorframe!!)

I have been up to Christmassy things however. Been to one xmas party so far and one meal out, one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow. Glasgow was a laugh, went on all the kiddies rides in George square! On the carousel, now theres something that I haven't done in a while!!

Off to the pantomine next week and the Snowman, not sure what that is but it must be something like ballet! Unless its Stomp! presents...

Beowolf in 3D

So we saw our first 3D film a while back, and got a great photo of us in some rather fetching specs! It was really good, both in terms of the story and the 3D effect! Very entertaining although twice the price of seeing the regular film!!! But a great night out and a good change to the norm!!!

It's Over! - Hurray!

Well, it's been a long time since my last post! But I have left Whittards and to be honest I have zero, count 'em.. zero.. regrets! I haven't got another job yet and it being so close to christmas I think I will just wait until afterwards. The job I was chatting about didn't go ahead. Don't get me wrong, I am as brilliant as i think, it was me that turned them down! By the time I had been to the interview and had a follow up call, the week day only, plenty prospects job had turned into, not the same job, every second weekend, no prospects!! So goodbye strange job people.

In the personal life the less said the better, but I think it is coming together again, although many things are still going to take some time but hey ho! that's life.

I have been photoing away again and thought that I might share some of the latests on here. I am really getting into taking photos of animals, I am wondering whether to go to some kind of photography night class thing to try and get some more hints and tips to do better!

Okay, so i have got a lot so I'll just put a few up for now!

So this is the Boys. Rocco and Monty. Monty spent Saturday night 8pm through to about 3pm Monday afternoon up a tree. We had the SSPCA out, a local window cleaner with his ladder and all sorts, but no, Monty just goes higher and ends up about 45ft up, sitting in a crow's nest of all places! He eventually came down of his own accord, with a bit of coaxing from me. Well, 'came down' is pushing it, climbed part way down and dropped the last 15 (ish) feet!

And this here is Pyper. Looking anxiously for his treat, which he gets spoiled with once a day!! Yum! Yum!!