As the nights are drawing in I decided it was time to get out the knitting needles and do something creative with the darer nights and dreary weather. We were in Pitlochry last weekend and I found some Pompom wool and there were some example scarves in the shop that looked fantastic and warm so I thought ‘why not?’ and promptly bought a ball in lovely Autumnal colours. Read the rest of this entry »

I was in Debenhams a few weeks ago and watched a knives demonstration. As I was one fo the few who stuck around the demonstrator ‘rewarded’ us with a Magic Spiral – The Original Stainless Steel Spiral Garnisher! Read the rest of this entry »

It’s getting to that time of year again where a nice warming bowl of porridge in the morning is just the ticket. For the last few years I’ve been making it in the slow cooker so it’s all ready to be eaten the minute I wake up. Read the rest of this entry »

As I have said before on this blog, I am going through a jam making obsession right now  and so far my shelves are stocked with strawberry jam, plum and brandy jam, lemon curd and my very latest concoction; plum and rum jam which (to deal with my plum glut). Read the rest of this entry »

After I had a glut of plums this September I decided I’d stew some up for the freezer to have over ice-cream in the winter. Usually I stew them for a long time then blend them to make a sauce but this year I decided to keep them reasonable whole for a chunkier bite. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been watching my victoria plum tree with glee since about July. For the last week I have been out everyday have a check in the hope that they’ll be ripe for the picking. Yesterday the were. Read the rest of this entry »

I nipped into Tesco on my way home this evening and picked up some white, milk and plain chocolate to test out my new silicon chocolate moulds.

I’d already decided I wanted striped chocolates so first off I melted the white and carefully spooned it into each mould to fill up about 1/3. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been experiments with making my own chocolates since about Christmas and really loving the concoctions that can be created and how impressive they look. I also have to admit I’m enjoying the ‘oohs’ and ‘aaahs’ from friends when they see then. Read the rest of this entry »

The Girl Who Kicked a Hornets’ Nest is the last book in Steig Larsson’s trilogy. One think I really do love about his books is that there’s no time wasted on recapping the story for the benefit of anyone who a) can’t remember or b) can’t be bothered reading the preceding books. It’s right into the story and action which is perfect if you’re hungry to get into the story and find out whether Lisbeth………..(as if I’d ruin that for you!) Read the rest of this entry »

I bought The Personal History of Rachael Dupree for my Mum’s birthday and as with all my book related gifts to her it ended up back in my house (probably unread..) It’s also a first novel for Ann Weisgarbe.

I’d been thinking of reading it for a while but was concerned it might be a soppy one (and not my scene) but one day decided to bite the bullet and read it. I have to say my fears were unfounded. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve read another of Xinran’s books and it was done and dusted in a day so I had high hopes for Miss Chopsticks. I was not let down. From the moment I opened it I couldn’t put it down and I was gutted when it was finished. That’s probably my one criticism of her books, they’re over way too soon and leave you wanting more. Good for her but maybe not so good for the reader…maybe next time I’ll pace myself better and it won’t be over so fast. Read the rest of this entry »