Photo Scavenger Hunt :: December 2020 #2 Baking

Hi there everyone 😀

I can’t quite believe it’s already time for week two of the December photo scavenger hunt challenge, joining in with Kate over at I live, I love, I craft, I am me. The theme this week is baking 😀

Generally speaking I am not a real Christmas baker, though this year I have had a go at these Ricarelli mince pies from a recipe in the Christmas Good Food magazine ... I really can't remember the last time I made my own pastry, so it was a bit of an event ... but totally worth it ... they were scrummy ...

Whilst I don't do a lot of Christmas baking I have made the family Christmas lunch dessert for the last few years ... this is last year's creation ... a very decadent no bake caramel rolo cheesecake ... no good if you are on a diet, but tasted fabulous. It's a recipe from Jane's Patisserie, which has become my go to website when I'm looking for something special ... I've used a fair few of her recipes and they've never failed me yet ...

I think the first recipe I tried from her website was this no bake Terry's chocolate orange cheesecake, made as another Christmas lunch contribution, which was also fabulous ...

Well ... this post has definitely made me feel hungry. I think I might be off to see if I've got the ingredients to make a ginger cake 😀

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Exploring East Devon #6 :: Lympstone

Hi there everyone 😀

I was beginning to think I'd never get back to my Devon holiday posts, but here we are on a cold grey day with a bit of sunshine to take us back to the late summer.

This time we had a day doing something just a little bit different. We went a little bit more off the beaten track and away from the beach. We headed to Lympstone for a wander, with no real idea of what to expect.

It’s a tiny village on the estuary, just a bit further north than Exmouth and we had one of our Geocaching multis on the cards. The kind that has you hunting for clues in spots that you would probably otherwise miss.

As we drove in it all looked lovely, really pretty and we were soon parked up in the car park in the village centre, where we availed ourselves of the cleanest loos ever before heading out ... leaving the car park via the ramp at the back ...

... which took us past the first of many pretty cottages that we came across during our visit ...

We headed up the side of The Swan Inn, making a mental note for a pit stop for later, towards the station where we found what we needed before retracing our steps ...

We then headed down the other side of The Swan, this time heading for the harbour which was a real treat ...

We perched on the end of the harbour wall for an early lunch stop ...

...  just taking in the views ... 

... in all directions ...

It was another glorious day and the most beautiful spot.

We retraced our steps back along the harbour ...

... and past the ancient timbers ...

Next stop was the clock tower, where we picked up a bit more information to help us with our quest ...

... before continuing mooching around the narrow footpaths between the cottages alongside the river ...

... pretty much all ending up at a hefty flood gates, which were locked tight shut in case of a flood from the high tide ...

There were a fair few times where we really wondered whether we were allowed to go down some of the narrow passageways as it all looked very private ... but all was good and we didn’t end up in anyone’s garden.

Having had a good wander round the tiny village centre we retired to The Ship to check that we had all we needed before making our final find ...

It was then time to head for home ... thinking we may call in at Exmouth or Sidmouth on the way back but both were absolutely heaving so we left for another day ... and headed back to The Old Piggery to be greeted by Rosie basking in the afternoon sunshine ...

Lympstone was a real treat ... totally unexpected and absolutely beautiful ... definitely worth an afternoon if you’re in the area 😀

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Photo Scavenger Hunt :: December 2020 #1 Decorations

Hi there everyone 😀 

Remember my post last week? I made my first contribution to Kate's monthly photo scavenger hunt for November over on I live, I love, I craft, I am me.

Well, the scavenger hunt for December is a little bit different ... it is going to take place on a weekly basis, so there will be the chance to link up every Friday with photos with a definite Christmassy vibe ... starting today with the theme of 'Decorations' and the tales behind them.

I knew there was no way on this earth I would be able to limit myself to just the one photo and I also knew I was going to be digging through the archives as we won't really start to be getting festive until the weekend.

I’ve always loved decorating the house for Christmas but things have changed a bit over recent years. I no longer have room for a full sized real tree though we did have a small potted one which lasted for about three years. this year though the potted tree is no longer alive and well and I have no plans to buy another, so we will just make do with scattering a few of my Christmassy bits and bobs around ...

Christmas Wreath

Last year the craft group that I'd been attending held a Christmas Wreath making workshop and I spent the loveliest of mornings with one of my closest friends and my Goddaughter grappling with greenery, ribbon and Christmassy bits and bobs. This was my first attempt at my very own festive wreath ...

Christmas Angels

One of Martin and I's first trips away was to Austria. We went in November and everywhere was ready for Christmas and we couldn't resist buying a few bits and pieces to bring home. We just loved these pottery Christmas angel tea light holders and getting them out always reminds my of our visit to Austria ...

The Glass Snowman

The glass snowman was bought back from another trip, this time to Amsterdam ... I think I bought him from Schipol airport ... he is a bit heavy for hanging on a tree, but looks lovely on the mantel ...

The Christmas Reindeer

We bought this little chap from a fellow stall holder at a Victorian Christmas evening that we attended last year with our own craft stall ... I just loved him and it was great to be able to support a fellow stall holder ... sadly, there will be no Christmas fair this year, but this little chap will always remind me of the festive atmosphere from last year ...

The Christmas Robins

As my birthday falls in November, we often go away to spend a week in a cottage somewhere nice and quiet and try and get into the festive spirit early, often visiting a local Christmas event or picking up a few bits and pieces. I couldn't resist these robins that I picked up in a cafe in Castleton in The Peak District where we'd stopped for cake ...

The Wobbly Santa

This little chap was another Peak District holiday find, from a fabulous little shop in Tissington. It was literally crammed to the rafters with gorgeous bits and pieces and we couldn't resist another holiday reminder ...

My own makes

Running a small craft business I've also made a few bits and pieces myself, either as gifts or for the craft stall and here is a bit of a selection of my favourites ...

And ... I really couldn't leave out this collage ... it's of some of the decorations on the trees at last year's Christmas event at Chatsworth House. I know they aren't mine but they were really beautiful ...

Oh my goodness ... I promise this is the very last one ... This was a photo taken when we visited Castle Howard's Christmas event back in November 2017 ... Visiting Castle Howard had been something on the list of 50 things I want to do before I'm 60, so it was a real treat to get to go and see it all decked out for Christmas ...

Well, that has been a real trip down memory lane ... apologies for the photo overload, but I really was struggling to limit my choice as most of my bits mean something or evoke a memory from somewhere.

It has made me feel like I definitely need to get everything out and get festive though ... that will definitely be my priority for the weekend 😀

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The Reading Corner :: November

Hi there everyone 😀

I can't quite believe it is already time for another 'Reading Corner' post ... the days really are just flying by at a rate of knots.

November was another slow month on the reading front and I just managed to squeeze in the time to read one full book ...

The Enemy
Lee Child

This was another first hand account from Jack himself and it was the first of the series that I've read where we were taken back to Jack's army police days. It was really interesting to read about Jack's life before he was discharged.

It was also good to find out what actually happened to Jack's mum as I didn't really know much about her at all.

Having read a few of the series out of sequence it felt a bit strange getting to meet Jack's brother Joe and to start to get a feel of the dynamic between the two brothers.

I'm not sure that I was surprised to find that it wasn't long before Jack was rubbing authority up the wrong way and how far he was prepared to go to get the job done. I started to get the feeling that Jack's discharge might not be that long coming.

An awful lot happened in the couple of weeks timeframe that the book was spread over but in the end the 'bad guys' all got was was coming and Jack won out.

Whilst the book didn't end with Jack's discharge ... his need to do the right thing, whatever the consequences, did cost him dearly but you just have to have total respect for his integrity 😀

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