Just getting ready...........

to go out for New Years Eve - party time !! And I got to thinking that somehow however old you get , a girl still takes so much pleasure from shoes and bags ,
well I do anyway .And if those little items have been acquired without spending lots of money well one can be just ectastic and then also rather secretive as you dont want to divulge to too many people the location of these little "aladdins caves " that have been discovered .
Anyway I hope whatever you are doing you all have a very Happy New Years Eve ..and I will look forward with much anticipation to blogging my way through 2012.
And that is without a resolution in sight !!!

Christmas Eve

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring - not even a mouse
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.................

"Clement Clarke Moore "

The picture is of a Crystal cave in Skaftfell National Park in Iceland
absolutely stunning isn't it .

Now how lovely....

Its dark and cold outside - yes - well it is winter.
But inside its like a summers day thats just how such beautiful fresh flowers make it feel .And the pleasure is only intensified by listenting to some more new music - Rebecca Ferguson fabulous soulful voice and the new release from Amy Winehouse , what a talent!

Christmas is coming......

today I attempted an alternative Xmas Tree - a few twigs , baubles and some lights
what could be simpler , nobody told me how long it would take for said twigs to look
naturally placed and as for baubles et al it was several hours before I was satisfied,and, now I am complacently sat in the warmth of my living room feeling that the effort was worth it and I am pleased - remembering though that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!! Oh and my real living Christmas tree is left outside in its natural habitat with the addition of some sparkly blue lights which strategically cover some of the stark branches which appeared to moult somewhat after their neglectful owner failed to water them enough in the summer months !!
Whilst all this was taking place I was listening to Andrea Bocelli now I have never really listened to much opera before but believe me I am now a convert his singing moved me to tears - absolutely stunning .

Weekends..

so looked forward too and then they seem to just vanish in a flash ! Saturday was full of glorious sunshine and then Sunday was a collar up against the wind and drizzle sort of day ! It somehow sparked into my head a fab little song by Crowded
House called "take the weather with you" - you can keep the sunny picture in your
head and sing or get immersed in the bleak and miserable - we all have a choice .
Walking round the room singing
Stormy Weather
At 67 Mount Pleasant Street
Now its the same room but everything's different
You can fight the sleep but not the dream ...
Everywhere you go always take the weather with you ,
Everywhere you go always take the weather .

Anyway several pleasurable hours were spent baking - and
today was Carrot Cake - a special most delicious even if
I say so myself cake just sweet and moist enough and elevated
to 4**** standard by a great frosting .I will post the recipe
at some stage but for now I am moving on to make some filo
pastry mince pies - just hope there is enough room in my freezer !!!

The snowman picture is from the German Markets in Manchester do go
they are sooooooooooo good and Gluwein is very warming !

A Weekend in Paris

Its dark and cold outside , so , the curtains are closed the heating is on and I am
warm and cozy as I catch up on my blog - have had a busy couple of weekends but they
were Oh so pleasurable ! Visited Paris for the first time and like so many others I fell in Love - must return in the Spring to take a advantage of the longer days and
perhaps a little more sunshine. However packed in lots of sights and of course some
gourmet food and wine ! Tried to do some pictures old and new in attempt to do the city justice .......

Sometimes

all a girl needs is Chocolate ! Thank you xxxxxxxxxxx

Black & White Pictures

Now I am not sure what it is about a Black and White picture , and , yes I love bright and vibrant colour in all its guises . But , sometimes the sheer lack of colour seems to create and evoke all at the same time just the right feeling and you dont need any adoration its just to me the pure simplicity .... So I am sharing some pictures of some real greats - artist , designer , singer , actress . The question
is not what you look at but what you see.

" Photography does not create eternity as art does,it embalms time rescuing it simply from its proper corruption" Andre Bazin

Sunday Evenings...........

when the clocks turn back and the dark evenings start to descend its time to curl up on the sofa - the world temporarily shut out - and pick up one of those books that I can dip into and lose myself . Not a novel to read ,merely a thing of pleasure to be indulged like an inviting box of chocolates , turning those pages and enjoying the artistry and the written word.......this is another of my simple pleasures !

A weekend away ....

Beautiful Ceiling close up & the organ in the Cathedral






Canary Wharf on a misty Sunday morning - the view from my bedroom



destination Greenwich and what a pleasant suprise . Georgian and Victorian architecture dominate the town centre and must see's are the Greenwich Market and the Arthouse cinema. Now I fear I may sound like a travel critic but perhaps I could be writing the Next Rough Guide a new career on the horizon perhaps ... ( note to self as I never "rough" it that is not going to happen)so basically go and have a look for yourself and a least you can say you have seen the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the meridian line .

W. B . Yeats

You cannot fail to be moved by the inspired poetry written by this Dublin born poet and playwright.....
"I would spread the cloths under your feet
But, I being poor have only my dreams.
I have spread my dreams under your feet,
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams "
......... a mere glimpse of a most evocative poem .

And back to Dublin .. Trinity College - The Book of Kells , the beautiful
structure of georgian houses , green grass and soft rain - they all go hand in hand .

In Dublins Fair City............

where the girls are so pretty I first set my eyes on Sweet Molly Malone . Just back from a fab weekend in Dublin , the weather was kind with only a little precipitation ! And what beautiful City , music , lots of literature , great architecture and of course Guinness .A few photos as a taster more narrative another day - I am I fear in need of some beauty sleep.

Listening............

to Lana Del Ray and Miles Kane - fab new music such talent around its so good But still have time for some old favourites and that means Al Green - I know but I am a child of the seventies !!! My picture is a post of my favourite dancer so how could it be that one man has so much charisma ...............

Apple & Sage Jelly

Just a little update on the Apple & Sage Jelly - wow what a fabulously easy recipe and I am now looking fondly at six beautiful jars of amber coloured jelly - which I must admit tastes delicious very subtle flavours but will be a great foil to pork or
any cold meat infact and yes cheese too I think !

Just love the colours !

A Sunday of Simple Pleasures

Sometimes days seem to be so right and today was one of those beautiful English Autumn days when you wake to a few weak rays of sunshine and the glorious colours of leaves still precariously attached to the trees despite the determined efforts of the breeze ! A coffee and the Sunday papers were the start of the day - papers which will be read throughout the week - well you cannot possibly manage them in the one day ! Then on the radio came the sounds of a familiar song and all at once I was transported back to my own personal nostalgia trip - music has the power to evoke a memory in an instant - and I am always captured instantly - music can bring tears of laughter , sadness , evoke memories but its always a pleasure to me even if sometimes it is bitter sweet . The song today was by the "Commodores" - Easy on a Sunday Morning - nothing else to say !
Todays domestic goddess project was to use up all the fallen apples I have stored in my garage - Apple Jelly with Sage is the order of the day - and now it is happily draining through my homemade jelly bag to be finished tomorrow - if all goes according to plan I will post the recipe but I had a lovely time chopping 5lbs of apples - soooooo theraputic . To me the fun of any cooking is spending the time chopping , mixing , beating , kneading whatever it may be it will be done by my fair hand .
And finally my other acheivment - which gave me pleasure was to load a photo onto my blog - hopefully the first of many . However I had to resort to using my lap top - have not yet discovered how to load photos from my I pad - still Rome wasn't built in a day .
So pretty - no what shall I cook with you ...........................

Trepidation

Well at last I am here writing my first "post" and believe me it has been a long time in it's inception . I had intended too launch myself upon the blogging world over 12 months ago but I being a little challenged by all this technology needed more than a little assistance in the matter. Helped by my adorable Sister who has much more technique And experience in this field she had to literally set up my account !

I have been fascinated by how many people share such interesting things , whilst I may have just started to dip my toe into blogging myself I have enjoyed reading about all manner of subjects in the intervening 12 months .

Currently my dilemma is to how do I add photos , make the blog look arty and appealing to, me let alone any random reader, and it is why with some trepidation I will press the "post" button because I am not entirely convinced that this will appear . If it works it will be my eureka moment and the beginning of many happy hours .........