Poetic Just is...

Well, I finally plucked up the courage to let my poetic juices flow in public! Nothing is ever as bad as you anticipate it to be I find and, despite being very nervous, I actually enjoyed it!

I asked if I could go on later so I could have a couple of glasses of Dutch Courage but the line up was decided by names out of a hat and guess what...fate decreed that I was to be first on!

Probably better that way, over and done with and then I could sit back and enjoy the other poets.

It was an open mic event run by 'The Dead Good Poets Society' of Liverpool and it was entitled 'liverpool's Most Romantic Poet'. The title didn't go to me but I had a great time and I was awarded a little fridge magnet of a pink chick with a heart which says 'You're so tweet' :0)

Think I might like to do it again!

A video capture from Ian's mobile, a photo and the transcript of the poem...

Hugh Fearlessly-Eatsitall!

I dug up the sprouts
Grown from seed that I took in
The River Cottage garden
When no-one was lookin'

Sold my spade and my fork
Disposed of the hoe
Paved over the raised Bed
So nothing can grow

My heart used to race
My pulse used to quicken
When I looked at that photo
Of you with your chicken

But I tore up your menus
Did my best to forget you
Got utterly legless
With the last of the home-brew

Never more will I see you
Thru rose tinted frames
Or picture us foraging
Down quiet country lanes

Gonna give up ‘The Good Life’
And hang up me wellies
I seem to have gone right off
Your jams, curds and jellies!

I used to have passion
For a life that was green
Then I saw you eat slugs
Now I’m not quite so keen

For anyone who doesn't know, the poem is about a TV chef/chicken hero from 'River Cottage' in the UK, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who is famous for cooking and eating unconventional things!

Wine is sunlight, held together by water. ~ Galileo

And when finished, vin d'orange does seem to uphold this theory, from what I've seen :0)

I've finally got round to starting off my 'vin d'orange'. I read about it in Susan Loomis' 'Tarte Tatin' and it sounded sublime so just had to give it a go!

There are several versions of it on the net so I've amalgamted the ideas from Susan's recipe and what I read on the net and this comes pretty close to authentic as far as I'm concerned, time will tell as to whether it meets expectations :0)

I used:

6 oranges

750g of sugar (1/2 vanilla sugar and 1/2 granulated sugar)

1 vanilla pod

2 tbsps of coffee beans

2 litres of medium/dry white wine

1/2 litre of vodka

slice the oranges and split all the ingredients between 2 x 2 litre jars or, if you have a jar large enough, just bung it all in the one jar!

Shake every day for about a month then strain into bottles and leave for at least a month but apparently it's far nicer if you can leave it for 12 months.

I'll let you know! :0)

It's better to give...

...than to recieve, or so the saying goes and I wholeheartedly go along with it! :0)

I love giving gifts to people and the whole planning the gift, choosing (or in this case making) the gift and (hopefully) seeing it positively received.

I've just made 21 bags of chocolate truffles for 2 sheds' staff, 126 truffles in all! I also made the little sparkly wreath gift tags on the bags.

I thoroughly enjoyed shopping in the craft store for the beads and bits and bobs to make the tags, I loved browsing the net for truffle recipes. I especially loved the quality control testing while making the truffles, mmmm, and seeing the finished result looking all pretty on my counter top.


Isn't that what it's all about? ;0)

you see this guise...

I dreamt last night.
A dream of guise,
Compelling resolution.
Yet no relief,
From fruitless sighs
Just an hallucination.

1 potato, 2 potato, 3 potato.......for?

up late again....!

searching for 'ratte' potato tubers. I read about their delicious nutty flavour in Susan Loomis' 'Tarte Tatin' and had to have some!

Trouble is, I start looking on the seed merchant's web site and I can't stop! Before I know it I have 3 varieties of potato, lettuce seeds and onion sets in my basket! Whoa!! You have a discount card for the local garden centre, why are you paying postage and packing and buying on-line you veggie junkie!!??

And do you know what's worse, the lettuce is for the chickens...they do like the odd cooked potato too though :0)

It's not just the potatoes that are nutty!

A film, a book, a song.....just a few words.

Got a stinky cold and feeling sorry for myself.....

.....Up late watching soppy old romantic films...."Must Like Dogs" and please...anyone with a modicum of taste would have picked John Cusack in the beginning!

.....Googling for recipes for 'vin d'oranges' (got the idea from Susan Loomis' book 'Tarte Tatin' which I'm devouring at the moment!) and 'vin de pamplemousse'......

...... and listening to this lovely rendition of 'Sweet Child of Mine' by 'Taken by Trees' (love the name of the band!).....





Time for bed then and maybe a hot Ribena :0)

Advent chores...

I've started my 'Open University' course - Y160 'Making Sense of The Arts', I've been helping my mum with a little project she's got going making home-made knits

http://www.folksy.com/shops/ShelaghKnits We've done a couple of craft fairs and have one coming up soon.

Ian and I have bought an incubator and brooder (our Christmas present to ourselves!) as we have plans, in the spring, to start rearing our own quail for the table. We went on a course earlier this year to learn how to dispatch and prep chickens for the table, but we haven't enough room in the garden for more jungle foul and quail are less noisy. I have no idea how I'm going to feel about those little balls of fluff that come out of the egg, ending up on my plate but, as I keep telling myself, it's far better than commercially reared and slaughtered meat, both for us and the bird!

Together with the preparations for Christmas, it's been a bit busy round here lately so no time for blogging. The (free range) turkey has been ordered, some of the bits and bobs, nibbles and nuts have been shopped for and I'm looking forward to cooking my first solo Christmas dinner! We've always alternated between parents but my sister and her BF are going to have lunch with a fellow mariner, mum is going to my cousin's with my auntie and uncle and Ian's family have got a lot of folk coming for lunch. We were invited but I just felt like a quiet(er) day this year. Just the 9 of us; me, Ian, Molly and the girls who I will no doubt make extra roast potatoes for :0)