rogue robin

Today was just a normal day...a normal day where I got brained by a rogue robin.

Imagine the scene, its snowing outside and I'm curled up by the radiator in a nest of papers, packaging, and badge making components happily crafting away. Harrison is in his room happily writing out some Christmas cards and singing to himself.

Suddenly from out of nowhere...thunk... something hits me on the head.. no warning. I look around and there beside me is an angry red robin.

I heard the thunder of tiny paws as Alys the cat comes running into the bedroom covered in snow.

I scooped up the cat handed her to Harrison and made him shut the door.

I slowly crept up on the robin, who eyed me with loathing and suspicion. I opened the windows. The Robin glared at me with its beady eye. I bent down and the robin went for my eye. Lucky for me I wear coke bottle glasses.

In a flash it was gone. In the opposite direction to the gaping window. Snow drifted in covering the windowsill and the floor beneath. I stalked the robin. I looked high and low, but could not find the robin anywhere, so I called the boy and made him help me search for it. We finally found it under the wardrobe.

It flew out towards the windows... but not the one that was gaping wide open and letting the snow in... the robin perched on the closed window behind the curtain and stayed there. With a sigh I opened that window and shooed it out. With a last glare at me it flew outside and disappeared.

May the Geek be With You II

Harrison and I made a few more Star Wars pin badges and I have popped them in my little etsy shop. Just three to start off with but if they sell I will make some more to add to the shop while I still have the badge machine on loan from a truly fantastic friend.

The fourth Doctor

I'm the Doctor

Sometimes my brilliance even astonishes me- Tom Baker the 4th Doctor

I didn't knit the scarf, Harrison bought it on a trip to London. Then he never wore it because its too itchy. But we collared him and made him stand out in the cold with a dripping nose till Matt got a few good shots and then we marched home to the fire, the kettle, hot chocolate and badge making.

Cute little bugger isn't he ?

Sour Cream Cherry Cake

Sour Cream Cherry Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups self raising flour

1 ¼ cups caster sugar

1 cup sour cream ( soured cream if you are in the UK)

2 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cherries (pitted and sliced in half)

Directions:

mix the dried ingredients in a bowl.

In a separate bowl mix the sour cream vanilla and eggs. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix thoroughly .

fold in the cherries.

spook the mix into a cake pan (grease and flour if needed. I used a non-stick pan)

bake for 40 - 50 min at 350 F (180 C )

cook's notes: the cake turned out great for being a lazy stir in sort of cake... by lazy I mean that it was cold out and I was out of butter and I have made muffins before with yogurt/sour cream so I googled around to find some recipes to read through then did my own thing. I do that rather a lot. Everyone enjoyed the cake so it worked out great... but I'm really going to have to do the shopping today. The cherries did sink but that didn't bother me or anyone else that had a slice. :o)

I best go get some house cleaning done before lunch and cooking Thanksgiving dinner... its a chicken this year as it was lurking in the freezer as we are having a low key holiday season this year... its been a long year and everyone needs a break.

Coconut and Almond Bark

Coconut and Almond Bark

Ingredients:

2x bars dark chocolate (150g bars )

1 cup almonds (toasted)

1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon butter (or marg)

Directions:

line a baking sheet with parchment/baking paper

1. melt the chocolate, sugar and butter over a low heat.

2. add the almonds and 1 cup of coconut to the melted chocolate and stir gently.

3. Pour the mixture onto the baking paper lined cookie sheet and spread evenly with a spatula.

4. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut over the cooling mixture.

5. Refrigerate the bark for 1-2 hours or until set then cut into squares or break gently.

cook's notes: While we were in the states Harrison was introduced to Almond Joy bars ( a Bounty bar with almonds for those in the UK ) he was addicted. So yesterday I got it in my head to make some coconut candy and add almonds to them... but that was more work than I had time for so I decided to make bark instead which I suppose is basically a thinner version of rocky road and all I needed to do was melt the chocolate and stir everything up. Easy peasy. There is a little bit of the bark left hidden behind some vegetables in the fridge all the rest has been nibbled up, so that must mean its good stuff no? I think so anyway. I may tinker with the recipe a bit when I make it next time to perfect it... it doesn't really need the sugar and butter but the cocolate was very dark and that would have lead to rebellion...although I would have been happy.

To Idaho and Beyond

he is drinking hot cocoa by the way...

he is too young to start knocking back the espresso

Now that the jetlag has nearly worn off I shall tell you the tale of an Autumnal trip to Idaho. It began with an early morning (5am) jaunt down to Heathrow (3 hour drive) with stops for coffee and to a Tesco Extra, due to me realizing I left the house in my tatty slipper boots with a hole in them. Tesco had sod all in the shoe department so I bought a new pair of black booty slippers that were actually comfortable. Away we went to Heathrow to check in and be told that H's carset (which you have to have your child in by law here and in the states) is considered check-in luggage and you are only allowed one suitcase each (it used to be two each up to a few months ago...bastards). Luckily I'm a most excellent suitcase packer and had put one case into another suitcase matroyska style so we squeaked through with 3 check-in bags and no outlandish extra baggage fees.

Moses Lake (view from outside Starbucks) Halfway-ish to Idaho

So we went through security and spent an age and a half poddling about the airport drinking coffee and shuffled aboard the old flying tin can and locked in for the next gazillion hours with H in motor mouth mode most of the time when he wasn't watching the start of the same 3 movies over and over again. Harrison and Matt managed to sleep a few hours on the flight but I tend to nod out then freak out when I nod out and wake again. I chose to watch a bunch of forgettable movies that may have been comedies, I have my doubts though.

listening to Smoke on the Water or Nightmare Before Christmas

We arrived at Sea-tac (seattle) airport in the afternoon did the customs shuffle, collected our baggage then surrendered it again to get on a train to get to the main terminal to collect our baggage, find the bus to the rental car place, swiped some wifi from the hotel across the road to tell everyone we arrived safe. The we went to the hotel were we spent the next few hours trying to get Harrison off the ceiling and feed him before we all slept like the dead until about 1 am. When we gave up all hope of sleeping any more and packed up and drove three doors down to have breakfast at Denny's at 2 am.

on the road...still

After breakfast we set out on the 5 1/2 hour trip across Washington State to reach my parents home in Northern Idaho. A few hours later we stopped at the Safeway in Cle Elum to stumble around giddy at various American snack items, the politeness of the shelf stockers and how the walk to the bathrooms in the back of the store was a walk into a horror movie and we waited for zombies to shuffle around the corner to nosh on our addled brains. We sought refuge in the coffee hut across the road and with a supply of caffeine and snack we hit the road again, stopping a few hours later in Moses Lake for coffee at Matthew's favourite Starbucks. I uploaded photos to flickr and Facebook on Starbucks free wi-fi and then we were on the road again.

Hello Idaho

After another stop for a Cinnabun and American Mall Air we finally crossed the state line into Idaho and drove the last leg around Lake Coeur d'Alene to my parents home where we were mauled by a pack of well meaning pugs and collapsed in a puddle of jet-lag and went for a nap. We shambled out of our room for food stuffs, and to be mauled by happy doggies while Harrison played with all the things he has stockpiled at my parents house. My parents told us all about the three pugs they rescued over the summer while we adjusted to the ticking of my dad's antique clock collection.

way too early to be that happy

The next morning we awoke at stupid o'clock and drove down to town so Harrison could have a monstrosity of a pancake from IHOP for his breakfast. After breakfast we had coffee wandered around town and went to shuffle around Target overdosing on the Halloween section of the store and letting H play with every damn toy in the shop.

Assorted pugs

It took most of the week for us to stay awake past 6pm at night... I think it has something to do with the clean Idaho air, the soothing sound of the ticking clocks (unless you are trying to watch a movie when they all chime) and the happiness of having a small pug (or several) snuggle up next to you.

somewhere in downtown CDA (sorry I became addicted to lo-mob iphone app)

Hasting's Bookstore

to be continued.....

by the fire...

...coffee in hand, playing with vintage buttons and pens...and ignoring the rest of the unpacking, the laundry, and everything else.

This is bliss.

errant blogger returns and eight questions

little radio flyer wagon I bought while thrifting in Idaho last April

and only brought back this trip

Back home again from our Halloween visit to my parents' home in the wilds of Idaho. I will blog about that later as first I started a post about being tagged by Ali, from the lovely Very Berry Handmade blog, just before we went away.

The rules are that you answer the eight questions posed to you and then you send your own eight questions to eight other bloggers of your choice. Here are my answers from Ali's questions.

1. What do you enjoy about blogging?

I love the friendships blogging has brought and the inspiration.. but for me I like to get the ideas out of my head and weather they are read or not there are there in the world of the internets.

2. What’s your ideal holiday?

If not the holiday we just had to visit my parents in Idaho.. the probable the previous holiday in April when we got to visit with friends California as well as my parents in Idaho. I don't do beach holidays, sitting baking in the sun for two weeks is no fun, I like to visit friends, go thrifting, estate sale-ing, drink gallons of coffee in various coffee houses and explore cities.. and play with my parents pack of pugs.

3. What is your favourite comfort food?

either my dad's cooking with is fabulous... or something simple like pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese

4. What is your proudest achievement and why?

I have been really proud of the little dolls I have been making over the last few months, and writing the stories that go with them... It's something I never thought I would do but I have done and have sold several and feel amazed and proud every time one has sold.

5. What do you lose sleep over?

everything, I'm a worrier and at night my brain doesn't have an off switch so I will lie in bed for hours worrying and thinking and not being able to sleep.

6. What’s your favourite way to relax?

either curled up with a cup of fruity tea watching a show at the end of the day before going to bed...or I love to sit in a coffee shop with my journal doodling and people watching.

7. What’s your favourite film?

It depends on my mood as I have alot of film favourites. One of the films I consider a favourite is Serenity *sniffles at Wash* but I love Amelie, the Resident Evil flicks, the Last Unicorn, Labyrinth, the Lost Boys, Goonies, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I'm very fond of very terrible monster movies.

8. Where’s your favourite place to shop online?

it depends what I'm shopping for. Recently i have really liked shopping on a few of the Amazon 'shops' to find used books that aren't in the big shops and I always love getting lost on etsy though I rarely have all the funds to buy all the things I wish for!

my eight questions:

1. What's your favourite holiday to craft for?

2. Best thing you received in a Craft swap?

3. Favourite tv show(s)?

4. What has blogging given you?

5. What has made you smile recently?

6. What are you crafting/making now?

7. What's your favourite treat?

8. Why do you blog?

I'm not going to tag anyone as I'm to tired now.. and the dose of caffeine I had at lunch time is fast wearing off. but if you read this post, leave a comment and consider yourself tagged. I will visit you and comment when I'm a bit more awake and getting over the jet lag.

Halloween Meme

the wind blows bitter through the last of the autumn leaves, time to huddle by the fire a spell, clutching a cup of steaming tea (coffee or cider you choose your poison) soon all manner of ghosts and goblins will be ranging the streets in search of sickeningly sweet treats.

The Halloween Meme

What is your favorite work of horror fiction? I'm quite addicted to the Anita Blake, and Sookie Stackhouse series which I suppose are technically paranormal romance/urban fantasy/gothic... I love Neil Gaiman's novels too... and I used to obsess over the stories on tape when I was in elementary school, you know the beep turn the page ones, there used to be a couple of spooky stories I would listen to again and again. Like the one about the woman with the ribbon around her neck who tells her husband never to touch it and he does, and her head rolls off... and the one about Bluebeard ....

What is your favorite work of science fiction/fantasy?

Stephen King's the Stand.. one of my all time favourite novels, Neil Gaiman's American Gods, I think there are just tooo many to choose from .. have a look at my goodreads list as some of the more recent books are there.

Who is your favorite monster? hmmm Vampires or werewolves... thank god for TrueBlood having proper vampires because I can't stand that sparkly crap....sorry I dont mind reading pulp fiction but not Sparkles McGuffin.... also The Lost Boys best vampires ever.

Favourite Horror movie? ohh I love all sorts.. especially crappy ones.. nothing is more fun than being curled up in a dark room laughing your ass off at some terrible monster movie... Resident Evil (Alice kicks ass), Monster Squad, Critters, Aliens, Young Frankenstein, the Nightmare Before Christmas, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice...... Zombieland, Day of the Dead (aka lets live forever in the mall)

What horror movie gives you the most chills? I prefer the crappier sort as the ones that really scare you never have the fun factor.

What character from any horror film would you most like to play? Alice in the Resident evil flicks... she kicks ass and survives everything... also she has really great boots and weapons.

Freddy or Jason? Freddy... I never liked the Jason movies much but would watch the freddy ones over and over.

What is your favorite Halloween treat? candy corn... dark chocolate, jelly beans, haribo sour cherries

Ghosts or goblins? depends on the Goblin I suppose some can be quite cute... or can be evil like the little bastard that pops out of the toilet in Ghoulies 2

Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one? both really....I really like the elaborate ones but the best I could do was Jack Skellington last Halloween.

What is your scariest encounter with the paranormal? nothing specific but sometimes you go into a house or place and it just feels creepy.

Do you believe in ghosts? yes.. why not? there are too many things out there that we don't know about.

Would you rather be a zombie, werewolf or non-sparkly vampire? I suppose I would be a werewolf..or a vampire... though some might argue I'm already a witch before coffee in the morning. :oP

Favorite Halloween costume? as a kid I liked to be a witch, a cat, or a vampire.. I don't think things have changed all that much...though mostly I dress as a witch as I rather like my pointy hat.

Best thing about Halloween? Everything, the candy, the pumpkins, and crappy movies and just the whole thing.. I think I would live in Halloween Town if I could where everything is atmospheric and fantastic.

Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)? Harrison... as his birthday is at the end of October so everything is fantastic for him...and I may have trained him that Halloween is the best thing EVER...

Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours. not really though I sometimes play the stepping over cracks in pavement game with H.


If you have read this consider yourself tagged leave me a comment and I will trundle over to read your meme answers and hopefully remember a few more crappy horror movies to gleefully add to my list!

Happy Birthday H

Happy Birthday Harrison. 7 years old on this grey Idaho morning.

May the Geek be With You

two cards made from a vintage Star Wars annual that I bought from a charity shop in town a few weeks ago... they are quite similar but I am pleased as punch with how they turned out and I cant wait to make some more with some different sayings typed inside with my little white typewriter.
Paige is one of Harrison's little friends... who loves Star Wars nearly as much as Harrison does. Her birthday is a few days after H's so I have been in a flurry of card making and present wrapping.

Barnabas the Imp a Halloween Swap

This is Barnabas, he went to live with Megan after we decided to do a little Halloween swap together. Megan wanted me to make her a little imp and so Barnabas was born... created... summoned from the depths of hell...or Derbyshire... take your pick.

I wanted the imp to be perfect... well perfectly imperfect because I think that is the charm of the little monsters I create... I love the primitive style but tweak it in my own way.. each little monster is different, with a story to tell and Barnabas is no different. He was sewn together and dipped in a sludge of coffee grounds, vanilla, and cinnamon to stain him nicely and leave the fain scent of autumn, hearth and home.

I included a bracelet of fire opal and onyx some vintage haberdashery and some Halloween themed pegs for clipping things together. if you hop over to Megan's blog you will see some better photos than what I caught before I had to scarper to the post office.

sewn button arms. I love this detail.

Did I mention that Barnabas has a tendency to steal buttons ? *sly grin* I think he will be happy in his new home with Megan and her family...as long as she bribes him that is.

he also likes zombies books... what imp wouldn't?

Eye of Bat Flapjack

Eye of Bat Flapjack
(maple pecan flapjack/granola bars)

2 cups porridge oats
3 tablespoons demerara sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup butter
pinch of salt
1 cup pecans ( or any nut)
glace cherries (for the bat's eyes)

set the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4

I made a little bat tag for them as they were a gift

instructions:

Very lightly grease a muffin pan (unless you have silicone..tins not tits..minds out of the gutter people).
Put the butter, maple syrup and sugar into a medium sized saucepan and melt together over a very low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Do not let the mixture boil.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the oats, salt, and pecans.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and press down with the back of a spoon or a small glass jar.

Place half a glace/candied cherry on top of the flapjacks.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 12- 20 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. leave in the tin until completely cool before carefully removing from the tin with a butter knife...if you do not wait it will fall apart and you will have to sprinkle it over some ice cream insteal.

cook's notes: a couple of them crumbled to bits as I tried to take them out of the oven too soon but the rest held together once cooled and everyone happily nibbled on them and there are only a few left in a much smaller jar.

twinkle twinkle button bat

I'm alive still but things are so busy here with a week till we fly to Seattle and I have had parcels to wrap, crafts to make, all manner of birthday prep for H, the collecting of gift items for my parents, and for the two parcels I will send to Selena and Jaci when I get to Idaho (much cheaper than posting from here), we have all had colds and Matt is still busy with weddings and all manner of studio based jobs. Its enough to make your head spin, I'm not used to running around like a headless chicken every single day... well maybe not that bad but it does seem like were are ridiculously busy the last month or so.

I can't wait to get to Idaho and not do much other than drink lots of coffee, play with the pack of pugs, eat my dads wonderful cooking and shuffle round the holy trinity of Target, Barns & Nobles and Old Navy ... with a few other shops in there too... honestly I'm not a shopaholic... I normally despise shopping except for book and craft shops but I love shopping in the states and looking at all the things you cant get here... and hauling back as much as our suitcases will hold.

Today I parceled off three packages one to a friend who forgot things at mine, one packages of Halloween swap goodies, and an order for Lillian the doll (with a few goodies pack inside as the buyer is a lovely twitter friend.) I baked cheddar muffins...and cheddar and marmite ones too.. and I have just coffee stained a stack of note cards to make more story notes and the pictured little button bat. I'm so pleased with how the button bat turned out that this one is the 3rd I have made since yesterday

Right its getting late and the jacket/baked potatoes must be done by now...I'm starving.

Spider Jar

spiders caught in a jar

a Mini Halloween Tutorial

ingredients:

1x medium jar

a small amount of fake spider webbing

2x plastic spiders

instructions:

*Turn the jar upside down and place the webbing so that it goes up half the jar.

*Place your spiders on the webbing and then screw the lid back on the jar. You can add a small stick or some autumn leaves to make the jar more effective.

a super simple little project that kids of any age will love to do.. it costs pennies to make and recycles a jar. Harrison took great glee in showing the jar to Matt when he got home.

Creepy Chocolate Covered Oreos

Last night we made spooky chocolate covered Oreo cookies in a chocolate/cookie mold that Jaci sent us last year and there was never a chance to play with it. It was so much fun, Harrison was practically flying about the room before he ate any cookies or chocolate! I'm going to buy some more dark chocolate and some white chocolate today so we can make some more after school tomorrow.

Shop Update

I will be closing my etsy shop down on October 15th as we will be going to visit my parents in the States. So if there is a doll you are wanting please order him or her now so I can get it parcelled up and in the post to you.

I don't know when I will be re-opening the shop again...presumably when we get home again but one can never tell. Thank you so much to everyone who has bought a doll or just commented on them... it has meant the world to me.

Hello October

Its October and I am so bouncy happy despite the rain pouring down from the black clouds swirling overhead all day. Its October and that mean apples, and pumpkins, Harrison's birthday and Halloween... and a trip to visit my parents in Idaho at the end of the month!

I am so bouncy and excited, its already the third and I have so much that needs doing before we can fly away and be delighted by all the lovely autumnal things rural Idaho has to offer. September was an awful month and I'm so glad to see the end of it and the beginning of October. It really is my favourite month of the year, I hate winter but Autumn with all the falling leaves and harvest-y things makes me so ridiculously happy (you know till I stress out about the packing and collecting of gifts and the fact that really I am an awful traveller because I cant sleep on planes, and god I hope that Harrison will sleep.

To celebrate the beginning of October we had a little trip up to York, where we bought way too much bread, nibbled on too much cake, oggled things we could not afford, and got thoroughly soaked in the rain.

choosing cakes

We had fun though, and that's the main thing... well that and the fact that I bought a book and some fabric and was inspired to doodle some crafty ideas in my journal for secretive things.

drinking coffee

So hello October I'm so glad you are back, and now I think I best go put the cobwebs up.

getting rained on

oh and um sorry about the pictures... I have been having way too much fun with apps on my iPhone.

halloween pegs tutorial

halloween pegs

Ingredients:
wooden clothes pegs (or the mini craft pegs)
twine
acrylic paint (orange and black)
water
paintbrushes
vintage buttons
glue

directions:
1. put a dab of paint onto a small plate and add a little water to it.

2. paint the pegs with the watery paint so that the paint soaks into the wood of the pegs.

3. let the pegs dry (you may need to wipe them down with a cloth or tissue to get a more rustic effect.

4. dab glue onto the back of a vintage button and glue it to your peg.

5. clip your pegs to the twine or anywhere you please. Or give them away as a little gift.


cook's note: its a simple project, a fun thing for kids to help do, great for holding cards, decorations or scraps of fabric. I have misplaces the craft magnets I bought ages ago but if I do find them I plan to stick them to the back of one of the pegs to make a magnetic clip.