Impromptu picnic....

So yesterday, almost....but not quite.....on the spur of the moment, I decided to take the Angels for a picnic dinner.....I quickly made some most scrumptious choc chip cookies from Sarah's recipe over at abeachcottage......she has a lovely blog, with such stunning photos.....but I digress....I didn't have any choc chips.....so I improvised with some Whittakers peanut chocolate from NZ that was open and languishing uneaten in my bedroom.....how was that I wonder.....languishing uneaten, when it is simply the most deelish chocolate......trying to keep the pounds off, that's how..... anyway, I digress again.....the peanut chocolate was an absolute success.....a tasty twist for choc chip cookies.

After the cookies, I hurriedly whipped up some pesto pastry pinwheels.....threw some carrot and cucumber sticks into a jam jar.....grabbed a handful of cherry tomatoes......bottled some strawberry cordial.....flung everything into a French couffin shopping basket.....along with some cups and napkins......and bundled everything and everyone into the car.....I dashed into the local chippy for a portion of chips on route.....they always taste scrummy alfresco......then zippity zipped down to the local ponds for our said impromptu picnic dinner......

I didn't plan on being there too long.....Mrs Sunshine and Mr Cloud had been battling it out all day to see who would be victorious.....but I set off with a hopeful heart and a quick prayer to the angels for a window of opportunity before the heavens opened......we found a relatively sheltered spot......a brisk breeze was rustling the leaves to be sure......where we could easily enjoy casting our view upon the pond......and settled ourselves down directly beneath the cusp of a storm.....Mrs Sunshine bathed us in the last of her rays.....while the hugest, heaviest, blackest Mr Cloud threaten to dump torrential rain on us at any moment.......

......but despite feeling slightly chilly, we were thankful for that brisk breeze, as it held Mr Cloud at bay while we enjoyed our impromptu picnic.......

....it was not the best of days to decide to potter off for a pond picnic....but in true British style, we did not let the weather get the better of us.....it was just nice to be outside enjoying nature and the elements.....the pastry pinwheels and cookies went down such a treat, they were all gone before I realised I didn't even get a chance for a quick piccie....such was the rush of getting ready....

Little Lad & Little Miss

With full tummies, Mr Cloud finally victorious over Mrs Sunshine, and the threat of Mr Cloud opening his flood gates just a little too close for comfort, we packed up and ambled back to the car.....halfway home the rain started to fall.....as we pulled up outside home, the gentle pitter patter of the first raindrops suddenly became deafening as it pelted the car.....we were home safe and dry....but stranded inside the car for almost five minutes while we watched the gutters overflow, unable to take the sheer volume of such a sudden and heavy deluge......but Big Lad is impatient and declared he was going to wait no longer.....he was going to brave the downpour and fetch an umbrella to ferry everyone inside......as soon as our knight with an umbrella returned, the rain eased as suddenly as it had started.....and everyone made it inside as dry as a bone.....

.....thankfully the angels up above heard my prayers and allowed us that window of opportunity to enjoy our impromptu pond picnic.....my Angels and I had a delightful dinner dining out.

-xxx-

Special Day......

Today is a special day.....I decided I had earned some ♥Treat ME♥ time, and had planned a day of mooching round some pretty little shops, with some serious coffee indulging and relaxing in a nice cafe, thrown in for good measure.....


But things don't often go exactly as planned......the day started off brill, with some super duper, fabulicious news......can't say any more now, but all will be revealed eventually......but then took a sudden turn for the worse, with some potentially terrible news.....but I'm trying not to dwell on that.

As my very good friend M was unexpectedly at home.....due to very unforeseen weekend happenings.....we decided to go out together to keep our minds occupied and away from our troubling situations.....M treated us to a delicious lunch......and I treated myself to this simply gorgeous cup and saucer/plate combo made by Maling, which I found in a charity shop.....perfect for my "time out" cup of tea and cookie or cake......

Then these goodies found their way to me.....

The book looks wonderful, with lots of little projects to make.....I can't wait to try some....usefully divided into seasonal sections.....

And this PINK ♥ bowl is perfect......just what I needed as my largest Nigella Lawson "egg" bowl was accidentally broken recently .......

I also bought some sweet pink flowers for my bedroom....

And to finish off the day, we had some delightfully delicious cupcakes made by Big and Little Misses on Sunday......

It turned out to be quite a PINK day actually.....not at all how I had planned the day.....but still lovely just the same

-xx-

More Baking......

Big Miss has been wanting to make some more jam tarts after her success before we went on holiday. I bought the pastry.....but forgot the jam.....and we'd gobbled all our jam on holiday....so she and the pastry had to wait patiently for more jam to be purchased. Then I bought the jam.....but Big Miss was back to school......so more patience was required.

Last night Big Miss had her friend L for a sleepover, so today I thought the right time had finally come to make those jam tarts....they could do it together..... yippees and yaaaays were chorused .....and they set to. Some half hour or so later ......the first batch had been prepared, cooked and was cooling.....and the second batch popped in the oven. But then the girls disappeared......it seemed with the fun of making now over, they clearly had more important girly business to attend to in the bedroom. It's just as well then that I was still pottering around the kitchen......or we would have had sticky, sooty, black jammy blobs......not nearly as delicious as a tin full of shiny, sticky, jammy jam tarts......

And delicious they were too! It is soooo lovely to have a tin full of homemade yumminess.

I was just reading Lucy's latest post over at Attic24 ......such a lovely blog..... where she was saying she is trying to keep her family supplied with homemade cookies instead of buying from the supermarket, and how it takes some doing with such high family demand.....I know just where she's coming from. Many years ago when I had only one, then two little Angels, I did this. But it was something I felt I had to do....my mother had, my grandmother had, my aunties had.....so I had to too.....I had some deluded idea that it was essential for mummies to do this. Unfortunately, I also felt I had to do lots of other things as well, and eventually I made myself rather ill because I was trying to do too much......annnnd I didn't enjoy any of it. So I had to take a step back, and learn that I didn't have to do everything, and it was ok to buy cookies from the supermarket sometimes.

Now though, I'm in a much better place within myself, and I'm much more relaxed about buying cookies from the supermarket.....but I do like to try to have at least one tin of homemade goodies ready to delve into for dessert......or that special treat......but now I'm a lot more laid-back if stuff happens.....as it often does in our busy lives today.....and I don't manage to have a tin full of goodies. I also think that my Angels and I appreciate homemade all the more when there isn't an abundant choice and constant supply of homemade goodies in the tins.....when I was a little girl I took all the wonderful home baking that I could help myself to for granted, and longed for supermarket bought, packet biscuits in my lunchbox. Of course, now I realise how very lucky I was, and want for my Angels to have, and enjoy homemade baking without them becoming unappreciative of the delights, superior taste and texture, and homeliness that is home baking, as I did......and with me ENJOYING the making and baking, but feeling relaxed and OK if I just don't have time now and again to always have a tin full of homemade deliciousness to devour at dessert time.

I ♥ that I have learnt I can't do everything all the time.....I ♥ that I have learnt to enjoy the making and baking again....I ♥ that I can teach my Angels the delights of making, baking and eating homemade goodies......but I also ♥ it when they have mastered the making and baking, and I can just enjoy the eating ......more jam tarts please! 

-xx-

Baking Banana Bread & Building Self-Confidence......

While I was busy trying to solve my "sheet of steel" situation, and come to grips with using an angle grinder, my Big Lad decided to use up some "past their best" bananas and make a double batch of yummy scrummy banana bread......

which we ate still warm, after our dinner that Big Lad had also prepared by himself.

I think it's brill that Big Lad.....and Big Miss too.....are now able to do things like this.....not only is it a huge help to me......especially when I get caught up in an unexpected and long-winded job......but it's also great for their own independence and self-confidence.

Learning to bake and make dinner......things I believe are important life skills......seem to be far less important today......with such a huge range of ready made everything out there now.......than when I was a child. I think this is really rather sad, and also somewhat limiting to our children......not giving them the opportunity to learn a broad range of skills to help them develop into well-rounded, well-grounded, independent adults......skills that were once considered necessary to know before leaving home. Skills like being able to prepare a simple but delicious meal for oneself......or friends and family......are such a fundamental part of being able to care for and nurture oneself.....or friends and family.....it's a very real and tangible way of showing LOVE. Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now.

It's wonderful to see my Angels' self confidence grow as they work out what works best for them, learn new skills, and master new recipes.......it gives them such a sense of achievement.....and as a mother, it's a very tangible way of seeing them grow and develop......which brings a real glow to my ♥.

So it was ♥-warming to see Big Miss, the day before we went to Norfolk, make some lovely jam tarts, and my absolute camping must-have......chocolate brownies......so we would have plenty of treats to keep us going while on holiday. She'd never made either of these before, and did this almost entirely on her own because I was busy packing. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to sloooooow down and record these special achievements, we were in such a hurry to pack and be off, it completely slipped my mind to take some piccies of Big Miss's scrumptious baking......sorry, will definitely remember next time!

But it's not just Big Lad and Big Miss who have been baking......Little Lad and Little Miss made some chocolate refrigerator biscuit squares.....with just a little help and guidance......

and Little Miss helped me make some banana bread at the beginning of the holidays......

We seem to make quite a lot of banana bread......it's such a quick, easy and delicious way to use up bananas that have been left to ripen slightly.......but then somehow manage to ripen too much.

It's been wonderful to watch how much my Angels have become more independent and self-confident during the holidays, and I really believe some of this can be attributed to their baking endeavours. Little Miss can now even make her own sandwich for lunch......a skill which has well-pleased her......and probably everyone else, since she was always asking one or other of us to help her, usually at the most awkward of times. It certainly makes me think that learning good old fashioned life skills like baking really can help to build self-confidence and independence......and if you can master those attributes at a young age, you're on the right road to becoming a well-rounded, well-grounded adult......and if I can help my Angels to achieve that, then I'll know I've done the best I could for them.

-xx-