All posts filed under: NaBloPoMo 2014

Through The Lens Thursday #47. Gloom.

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    I can’t believe that we are into the last 10 weeks of the year and this project.  I will soon have 52 photos taken from each week of this year,  following the prompts thought up by Through The Lens originators Alison of Writing Wishing and Greta of GFunkified. This week’s prompt is ‘Gloom’ and although the weather this week has been cold, it isn’t gloomy at all, the sun has been out and the skies blue. Then I thought about the ‘creepy bridge’  the nearby bridge over the creek where we go and adventure all the time.  We call this bridge the ‘creepy bridge’ because from certain angles (and I usually focus on these angles) the bridge is just a regular bridge over a creek with some cool reflections and natural features, but look to the other side and there are dropped concrete blocks from some old construction and graffiti all over it which changes regularly.   When the boys were little they named it the ‘creepy bridge’ and it still is known …

Malt Loaf Recipe

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I miss Malt Loaf.  Dark brown squishy cake loaves which are best eaten sliced with a slap of butter alongside a cup of strong tea at your Grandmas. A British delicacy if you will, malt loaf is the best tea/coffee time treat.  I can’t find it here in the Mid West for love nor money! So I sought out a recipe and found one which involved yeast and kneading and one which was full of dried fruit soaked in hot tea.  I tried the second recipe and it was a hit!  I am so pleased to find a good malt loaf recipe, I am going to get stocked up on raisins and barley malt extract and get baking! Here is the recipe, taken from the BBC Good Food Magazine online. Sticky Malt Loaf Pre heat the oven to 300 degrees F and line a loaf tin (the original recipe recommends making two loaves, but I made one and it was just right for me).  I also read that someone made Malt Loaf muffins which is …

I tried Surfset and I loved it!

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  Surfset is a brand new workout in my world and I couldn’t wait to try it.  Look, you just sit on a wobbly board and take photos in the mirror.  Easy peasy!  Not so much with the easy peasy, nor the camera for that matter!  This is an all over workout and is so much fun, you forget that your arms/core/legs are starting to ache!  I took this photo post class and here I am with legs as wobbly as the board that made them that way.   We are lucky enough to be getting a new studio opening here in snowy Brentwood in the new year which will also include TRX classes and Real Ryder cycle classes.  I am already a fan of TRX (straps which hang from the ceiling and provide a major core workout), but I am keen to try the new bikes which have moving handlebars which I may well fall right off! Talking of falling off, I only fell off the board a couple of times while ‘surfing’, you …

Weeky Photos 46/52. 2014

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          1.  Clover flowers I picked this week from the side of the road! 2.  Great clouds with red trees. 3.  My first mail from the Sew Crafty Snail Mail group. 4.  We started to make a snow man in the little bit of snow we got yesterday,  then paused for a quick snow/mud angel! 5. Snowy leaves taken on the Hipstamatic app for iPhone. Happy Monday!  Let’s make it a great week.  

Questions four you!

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I picked up these questions from Alison at the fabulous Writing Wishing blog.  So here is a bit about me.  Grab the questions at the end of the post and play along if you want. Four names that people call me, other than my real name. Clara (most times this is what people seem to hear when I tell them my name in this country, I blame accent confusion) MUUUUUUUUM! Clare Bear was the nearest I got to a nickname. Clack (I honestly once got a coffee in Starbucks and this was written on the cup as my name!) Four jobs I have had (not counting current jobs) Usher at Nottingham Playhouse. Saturday girl at Lincoln Box Office. Bell Ringer at the village church (I think we got 5p per practice and if we rang for a wedding we got 10p!) Directory Enquiries at British Telecom. Four movies I have watched more than once The Incredibles A Bug’s Life The Nightmare Before Christmas Cinema Paradiso Four books I’d recommend Where’d You Go Bernadette? Tell the …

‘I like’ Fridays.

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Happy Friday!  I hope your day is going wonderfully.  Here is what I am liking today – Stocking/Advent calendar fillers. I was very happy to find these cool arrowheads today which I can pop into the Advent calendar for the boys or use a stocking filler. Making jewelry. This is a lovely long, wood necklace I have just made, all ready to go into my Etsy store. These really long necklaces are one of my favourites at the minute, they go with everything and can be worn long or wrapped two or even three times around your neck.  I picked the flowers as I walked home this week from doing some Christmas shopping.  Pretty weeds! DIY lip balm. I am looking forward to making some lip balm soon, I want to use herby flavours like Basil and Parsley and Lemongrass.  Sound good?  I think so!  There is a recipe to follow in this fab post by Tiny Rotten Peanuts.  I always see the DIY ‘beauty’ products, but never actually make them, I fancy whipping up some …

Through the Lens Thursday 46. Shine.

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This week’s Through the Lens Thursday prompt is ‘Shine’, so as soon as the sun started to shine through our stained glass windows I grabbed the camera and snapped away.  As I was looking at the pictures, I got the feeling I had done this before.  So I looked back at previous TTLT weeks and there it was, week 8 ‘Window‘.  Time to re-think this week’s picture then. Sunshine I thought, that will be a good ‘Shine’ subject, look up at cloudy skies….. The shower was dripping, so I went to make sure it was properly turned off and there it was, all shiny!  So I gave it a quick wipe over and made sure it wasn’t still dripping. I got into the shower, assumed a strange lunge position directly under it, said a little prayer to the plumbing gods that it not drip onto my camera and snapped this picture.  I like that I am reflected in the shower head and I like that you can’t see the pained look on my face as …

What I am wearing in the cold today.

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  It has got cold this past couple of days, November has shown us a glimpse of winter and there is a rumour that it might snow on Saturday, how exciting!  I love snow, as long as I don’t have to go far. So, I have pulled out my trusty coat with the furry collar and cuffs, again.  Now, this smashing coat is a winter staple in my wardrobe and has been for fourteen, yes fourteen years!  Which tells you that it is a classic or that I have not moved on in the clothing department and I am still stuck in nineteen ninety somewhere. When I bought it, I was pregnant with my now thirteen year old and I had some jewels on sale at the local University student union.  I was no longer a student, but they had stalls every Friday, so one week I booked one and here I was.  I felt sick and pregnant and didn’t want to be there one tiny bit, but I had seen this coat in a …

Let’s talk about Advent Calendars.

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Do you have an Advent Calendar and do you manage to get it all set up in time?  I am pretty convinced that the days speed up right after Halloween and the 1st of December creeps up with little notice.  A simple flip of the diary and boom, there it is, the month of Christmas celebrations and the first day of Advent right there, at the beginning.  Did you remember the calendar?! I always like the chocolate calendars with the chocolate behind the window whose appropriate number takes about 20 minutes to find every morning.  I really think the numbers move every night, maybe it is the Elf on the stupid Shelf who is responsible…. Just remember not to shake up the chocolate calendars, just in case all of the chocs fall to the bottom on the inside of the lovely calendar and they will not make an appearance behind the window and the foil when required.  All the chocolate treats will be languishing in a heap at the bottom of the calendar. When I …