Saved By the Blog

Its Jim's birthday today. Two years ago we made him a pineapple upside down cake and he fancied the same sort of cake today. But what recipe had we used before? Luckily Jim found it on the web... in my blog!

The original had been from a magazine which we looked for but don't seem to have kept... So I printed out the instructions.

We'd planned a little bit more in advance this time and had all the ingredients except the flaked almonds to hand.

We substituted desiccated coconut for them. And because I'm attempting to avoid sugar (! I know its going to difficult with this one!) we used fruit sugar instead of cane sugar - Jim even read the packet and paid attention to the suggestion that we should use a third less. (Its not the quantity that concerns me; I'm more interested in its lower GI since I don't want to reignite my sweet tooth.)

Jim got 5 rings into the tin this time - which was the whole of a small pineapple.

Once the rings were in we filled all the gaps with cherries and pecans.

I took this photo of what will be the bottom of the top, but is currently the base layer (note the sunshine - today has been pleasantly warm!).

Next we had to make the batter.

Look at the lovely electronic scales.

These were one of Jim's presents last year. He choose them and he went for the one's that he thought were most robust instead of the prettiest and thought this was a sign of aging... hopefully one of growing wisdom!

So to show he's not growing old too quickly I tied his helium-filled "Birthday Boy" balloon onto him for the next pic.







(I hope these photos come out - I got some of the html a little snarled up...)

We've got some friends coming round soon so I'll have to stop now.


Happy Birthday, Jim!

Smile please, its Friday

Appetizer: Wii, Playstation or XBox?

None thanks. Once upon a time I used to be seriously into games... but that was long ago... In the 1980s I loved adventure: You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike

Soup: Would you ever go skydiving?

No. I lost a very good friend who was an experienced skydiver but had a midair collision. I hadn't fancied it before, now I'd never consider it.

Salad: Name a sequel that you think is better than the original movie.

I can't think of one....

Main Course: Share your most wonderful birthday celebration.

Someone else's, not mine!

Dessert: If you dare, post a picture of yourself making a silly face.

Okay this is the reason I decided to do the Friday Feast this time...

I did this as a joke but I've come to realise just how much this says about me. I have my eyes closed and a serious expression on my own face but over that is drawn a smiley.

For more: Friday Feasts

Synchronicity - The Mayor of Casterbridge

Jim was cleaning out the Ottoman... that's a place where things are put away and not seen again for ages... he found this crossword from last Christmas by Araucria in the Guardian. It was a themed one with a some clues based on Thomas Hardy's works. We'd done most of it but not finished it. So, as one does when cleaning things out, he stopped and sat down to finish it now. The radio was on. And what should come on but "The Mayor of Casterbridge"... shame that was one of the clues we'd solved 5 months ago! A bit late to send it off... mind you as they only offer dictionaries as prizes we never do send them off - who needs another dictionary less than a crossword solver?

Update: I've just noticed that they really did say the crossword was by Araucria, not Araucaria I wonder if it was a spelling mistake... or whether there is a move to find a substitute for the beloved monkeypuzzler before he dies... according to wikipedia he was born in 1921.

In the pink

I mentioned in the last post that Jim has been digging. We've got quite a lot of little plants sprouting away in the potting shed, ready to put in once the bed is really ready... and loads of seeds. Aren't these spring onions a great colour on the packet? I wonder what they'll look like if we get them to grow...

This clematis is one that I planted at least four years ago... it was a runty bargain at the time and consequently did nothing for ages... but look at it now! Huge great flowers on it! Rather larger than I'd have chosen if I'd realised...

In fact in many ways I prefer Herb Robert, despite its status as a weed. It does self-seed well but its very easy to pull up and when pulled at it smells absolutely gorgeous... so an extraordinary well-behaved weed really. And look where it choose to grow:

It planted itself in my gravel "garden" and I love it there.

Today is my ex-husband's birthday. I've no address or email for him but if he happens upon this - Happy Birthday Steve! In exactly a week it will be Jim's birthday and one week after that Jim's mother's. Funny how they are all strung out a week apart. Now I need some ideas of what to give Jim for his birthday... any suggestions?

Clearing the Clutter!

This week Carla's challenge on wings4you is to get rid of something:

Choose something that you've been holding on to for a long time (two or more years is a good starting point) because "it's too good to get rid of" or you "might want to use it someday."

Well I have tried! Which unfortunately, so far, translates to I haven't managed this yet.

When we were on holiday in Cornwall, we had to go very near a friend's house. She has recently been making beaded medicine bags so I thought she might make much better use of some of my bead collection than I'm making of it. (Many beads have been in my collection for something like 30 years.) I really enjoyed going through my beads and deciding which ones to pass onto her, attempting to consider both which I really was ready to let go of and what she might make good use of. I also sorted out a bag of books with a similar set of criteria. However despite all our best attempts we were not able to get together so rather than passing on a big shoebox of beads (and feathers and things) and a carrier bag of books we actually cluttered up our overfull car with them and carried them to and from Cornwall!

If I needed a message that I'm having trouble letting go of things this was it.

However as I've thought before that this challenge made sense more as a joint venture between me and Jim I do have one success to report. On Wednesday Jim dug up my blue Hibiscus. It was in the way of our new vegetable plot. Rather than squeeze it in somewhere else that it would not be happy I watered it and wrapped its roots carefully. Then labelled the bag: "Hibiscus Please Take". I put it out the front and when we returned home some time later it had gone. I hope to a good home!

Now I just need to carry on and do this with something I'm rather more attached too... maybe I'll enlist Jim's help from the start this time.