SNIPPETS FROM MY WEEK ~ A LITTLE OF THIS AND A LITTLE OF THAT

Good Morning to you,

George has been poorly this week.  

He has caught one of the illnesses, which seems to be affecting so many people at the moment, cough, cold and chest infection. 

.... and normally, trying to keep him in bed when he is poorly, is neigh on impossible, but this week he has given in, and stayed in bed and that is an indication of how unwell he is.

So today, I have no recipes to offer you.  The reason is George's appetite has been very poor, so I did not cook any suppers or bake any cakes. Instead I decided to encourage him to eat some of the soups, which I had stored in my freezer, which as you know, is the easiest thing to eat, if you are suffering with a sore throat.

I have to say, it was very strange not cooking.  I suppose I could have cooked for myself, but on the other hand, it did free me, to catch up with things I wanted to do.... plus the added attraction was, there was very little washing up to do.

Of course, I kept a good eye on George and I was amazed to see how many of my daily, 10,000 steps I was able to achieve, running up and down the stairs.

So I hope you are not too disappointed, but instead of a recipe, I thought I would share with you, little snippets from my week.

.... and while I was thinking which bits to share,  the sun shone through the kitchen window, which I have to tell you is a rarity these days.

.... and of course, as you know, when the sunshine arrives, it has a habit of showing up those little nooks and crannies which have not been dusted as thoroughly as you thought.

So armed with my feather duster, I stood in my kitchen and looked upwards, as that is where the culprits usually hide.... and there, on my chandelier I noticed a tiny cobweb.

I dispatched the cobweb with a quick flick of the feather duster. I then checked my other chandeliers, and right enough, they needed a quick flick as well.

I am not very tall, so I could not see if the shelf above my cooker needed to be cleaned, so I collected my stepladder from the garage and low and behold, 

yes it did.  Where on earth does the dust come from. My windows aren't opened for very long during winter time, although I do try to open them once a day.... yes even when it is cold, just to circulate the air.  This is something Phyllis swears by. She feels too much warm air in the house, is a breeding ground for germs... although having said that, George is poorly at the moment, but in truth, he could have caught this illness anywhere, I think it was probably at the swimming pool.  The simple truth is I love fresh air in the house. I love the smell of cooking, on the day of cooking, but I don't want the smell permeating the air the following day.

So, with George upstairs, I opened my kitchen windows, but first I removed my orchids from the window sill, as orchids hate the cold and they certainly hate drafts.

I then decided to take down my Blue Willow plates and my French/German containers.... I'm not sure if they are French or German, as the design is similar to some German plates I once owned, but I have seen these containers with French words written on them, such as Sucre for Sugar, so I am a little confused about their origin. You will notice some of the containers have lost their lids, I am keeping my eyes open for some new lids.... you never know, someone might have broken a container and have a lid which is no longer of use to them.... and hopefully I will be the lucky recipient.

The final things to be removed from the shelf were the Spode spice jars. Everything was then gently washed in soapy water and dried, ready to resume its rightful place on the shelf.

As I was returning everything to its rightful place, I played with the idea of removing the red bows and the sparkly lights, as they were a remnant from Christmas, which I had missed when I took down my Christmas decorations, but I decided, as the weather is still cold, they added a dash of warmth, to my kitchen, so I replaced them.... and if I am being honest, I love how the lights twinkle in the evening.

I repeated the process on the other side of the shelf. With everything spick and span, I felt very happy.... and as Prunella Pepperpot mentioned in her comment last week "You definitely feel you have achieved something once the job is done".... don't you just love the name of this blog.

... and as  always happens, when you start cleaning, one thing, leads to another and so I decided,

to remove my Spode plate from the wall and give it a clean. Let me introduce you to 'May' from the Spode, Blue Room Collection.... isn't she gorgeous.

Of course, when you clean one, you clean another and so it was the turn of my Blue Delft or to give the plate its correct name Delftsblauw.

and another Delft plate, but this time a winter scene. All of these plates are quite large, as they are 12 inches in width, so, in terms of size, these photographs don't really do them justice.

and I went on to wash another 15 plates, this being the final one.

After I had finished dusting, I re-arranged my roses and Alstroemeria, I gave them a fresh drink of water and set about removing the flowers which were a little sad.... all in all,  a good days work.

As you know, I do love a good book and the week before last, I discovered this book in a second hand book shop. The title attracted me to the book, The Happiest People on Earth and I have to say, I have no idea who Demos Shakarian is, but I feel sure this book will be an interesting read.

This is the second book I bought, 'Ten Things I've Learnt About Love'. Again it was the title which attracted me and when I read the book jacket,

 'Heart wrenching and life affirming, this is

 a unique story of love lost and found, 

of rootlessness and homecoming and

 the power of the ties that bind. It is

 a story for fathers and daughters everywhere.' 

I just knew this book was for me.  Interestingly, this was a brand new book and whoever bought it did not read it, which I thought was a shame.

I cannot decide which book to read first, but before I can read either, I need to finish my current book, The Diary of a Provincial Lady written by E.M. Delafield (born Edmee Elizabeth Monica de la Pasture in 1890). It's written in the form of a diary by a long suffering Devonshire lady in the 1930s, who tries so hard to keep her ramshackled, upperclass household from falling into chaos.

I have read the first 20 pages and I am enjoying this book very much.  

Whilst George has been sleeping, I have been crocheting, so I thought I would show you my attempts at crochet. It has been years and years since I crocheted.  I remember the first thing I ever made in the 1970s was a doily and then I moved onto something much, much larger.... a poncho, using rows of different colours.  Do you remember when crocheted ponchos were the thing to wear?

This blanket started out life as a practise piece, to test my skills and to see how much I remembered, but when I showed it to Natasha, she loved it so much, that it is now, neatly folded and put away in my sewing room, waiting for Natasha to collect it, the next time she comes home.

.... and a closer look at the edging.  I love how the pink stands out.  

I of course, have two daughters, so I am currently crocheting a blanket for Danielle. I am using the same colours, but Danielle's has a twist to it.  I will show you when I have moved on a little more with it.

.... and after that, I am going to attempt a crochet fish tail blanket, which seems to be all the rage on Pinterest at the moment.  I have a certain little girl in mind, who I know will love it, especially as I am going to crochet the fish tail in various colours of pink.... her favourite colour.

After all that activity, a cup of coffee and a sit down was needed... I know the words say 'tea cup' but for me the cup is too large for tea, but it's the perfect size, for a cup of coffee.

So with my coffee on the table beside me and my new crochet project on the other side of me, it's time,

to put my feet up, sit back and relax and watch 'The African Queen'.... don't you just love old films.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday when I hope George will be well and things will be back to normal.

This week I will be joining,

Carol from Art and Sand for Share Your Cup

Laurie from My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies for Snickerdoodle Sunday

Taylor from Pink Heels Pink Truck for Create and Crave

As Always,

IS AGE A BARRIER WHEN IT COMES TO FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS?

Good Morning to you,

Age is a quality of mind;

If you have left your dreams behind,

If hope is cold,

If you no longer look ahead,

If your ambition fires are dead,

Then you are old.

But, if from life you take the best

If in life, you keep the zest,

If love you hold,

No matter how the years go by,

No matter how the moments fly,

You are not old!

Norma aged 93 years

Here's a question for you.

Is age a barrier to the fulfilment of dreams?

I certainly don't think so.

Because, 

I truly believe, you are never too old to realise your dreams.

..... but let me go backwards just a little bit.... to when I was a young woman in the late 1960's. Life was very different for women, we were not encouraged to have dreams. We left school not expecting to have careers, but to get a job.... hopefully a good job. 

... and in my case, Gramps decided that I should train to become a secretary, he said I would never regret it.... and so a secretary I became.... there was no consultation, it was decided and that was that. University never came into the equation because my father really thought that it was a waste of time sending girls to university. I really don't hold that against him, because it was a different time.

.... and so office work, in one form or another became my working life.

... but I always had hobbies, I loved making clothes for myself and the girls, and I enjoyed knitting. I think I knitted every Hayfield knitting pattern for Natasha and Danielle. Yes I loved to knit, with a little crochet thrown in for good measure.

..... but what I loved the most, was cooking for George, Natasha, Danielle and the extended family. I loved trying new ingredients and as you know I cooked so many dishes from my very first cookery book. I thought I was so shi shi creating dishes like Hungarian Goulash, Minestrone soup and Nasi Goreng.... but that was it, I loved to cook and never thought of it as anything more than that... there was no dream.

I never dreamt that I would write a cooking blog, but three years ago, Ivy, Phyllis and Me! was born and I started to record all our old family recipes and I shared some new ones.

.... and because of Ivy, Phyllis and Me! I was interviewed by Gillian Harvey and was featured in the Woman's Weekly Magazine.  The article was about bloggers over the age of 50 with me being the oldest as I was over 60.

It was a dream come true, who would have thought it, I was thrilled.  I never imagined that something so wonderful would happen to me. You can imagine what Natasha and Danielle said, they never doubted it for a minute that I would be successful and are continually surprised, that I am surprised, that Ivy, Phyllis and Me! is doing so well.

..... and now, something, completely out of the blue has happened, which I am over the moon about... it is truly a dream come true.

..... and do you know what, I can't tell you at the moment, because that 'something' is not set in stone, but if it happens, you will feel my happiness.... you will feel my joy.... when I write and tell you about it.

..... and so the reason I am writing to you today, is to tell you, this is the year 2015 and not the 1960s. We can have dreams whatever age we are.  So please don't give up on your dreams, believe in yourself, don't listen to what others say.... and you never know, you just never know, what will be waiting for you around the corner.

..... as soon as I can tell you about my 'around the corner' moment, I promise you I will.

Take care and I will catch up with you on Thursday.

As always,

THE MOST FABULOUS LIONEL RICHIE

Good Afternoon to you,

Turn the clock back about ten days or so and you would have found me, very excited, talking about going to the Lionel Richie World Tour on 7th March. No, not with George, but with Natasha and Danielle. Natasha flew all the way from India and Danielle from Bournemouth to enjoy the Lionel experience with me.

Move the clock forward a little, and after the Lionel concert, you would have found me very excited to put 'pen to paper' to tell you all about the concert.

Move the clock just a little further forward again and as you know, you did not hear about the concert, actually there was total silence on my part. Why...... well not only myself, but George and Natasha came down with a nasty virus. Luckily, Natasha managed to travel home to India alright, but the following day she was as ill as George and I. Only Danielle managed to escape the clutches of the virus.

..... so as excited as I was to tell you about Lionel's concert, I did not have the energy to tap the keys on my keyboard to share my experience with you.

.... but today is a different story, I am feeling a lot better and I cannot wait to tell you about,

the Lionel Richie All the Hits, All Night Long, World Tour 2015.

On Saturday 7th March, (the day is etched in my mind) George drove us to the Metro Arena to see the man whose music I have listened to for so many years. We were all excited and once we said goodbye to George, we three girls walked arm in arm into the arena.

We found our seats, which were one block from the front of the stage. Danielle was a little worried, because I am much shorter than she is, and she was concerned that my view would be obstructed when everyone stood up .... and she was right, it was, so I swapped seats with Danielle and my sight line to Lionel was then perfect.

The lights went down, and Lionel walked onto centre stage. The lights came back on and the crowd erupted with applause.  He stood there and absorbed our pleasure, for what was quite a few minutes.... and then he started to sing. From that moment he had the audience in the palm of his hand.

He sang all the songs I know and love, actually, I knew all the words to every song. From the start of the concert to the end of the concert his energy never waned.  

He said it was wonderful to see the different generations of people at his concerts..... we were all ages.  Some who had grown up with The Commodores (like myself), some who found Lionel's music when he left The Commodores and some fans who loved his music because their mum and dad had played the albums when they were young, such as Natasha and Danielle.

It must have been wonderful for Lionel to perform on the Metro Arena stage, to see his army of fans enjoying every song he performed.

We listened to his love songs, 'Hello', 'Stuck on You' and 'Endless Love' and we listened and danced to 'Dancing on the Ceiling', 'Brick House', 'All Night Long' to name just a few and we loved them all.

Lionel gave his legion of fans an unforgettable evening, his energy never waned, he was,

truly

AMAZING

I know Lionel is touring Europe at the moment and returns to England on Tuesday 31st March when he will perform at the O2 Arena in London.  I really don't know if there are any tickets available, but if there are, please go and enjoy the show, you will not be disappointed, honestly you will have the most wonderful evening.

When the end of the concert arrived, we did not want it to finish, we wanted it to go and on, but as with all good things, finish it must. We left the Metro Arena along with thousands of other Lionel fans, so very happy and we enjoyed every moment of the evening

..... and the icing on the cake, was George was there to drive us home and he listened to us talk and talk, sing the songs and talk some more about the concert .  Well I say listen, there was a lot of smiling and nodding of his head.

So with a smile on my face, I will take my leave. 

Take care of yourself and I will see you next Thursday.

AROUND THE WORLD BLOG HOP

Good Afternoon to you,

Today is a very different day for me,  because normally I do not post on a Monday, but I have been invited by the lovely CeLynn from CeLynn's Sunflower Patch to take part in the Around the World Blog Hop. I was thrilled to pieces to be asked and so pleased to accept CeLynn's invitation.

I have known CeLynn for about a year or so and the first time I visited CeLynn she shared the most delicious salmon recipe, which she cooked using cedar papers. I have to be honest and say I had never heard of them, and just in case you are wondering, they are papers which are made with 100% western red cedar. When I mentioned that I had never heard of cedar papers, CeLynn was kind enough to say that the next time she went into town, she would buy a pack and post them to me.  We exchanged addresses and a little while later they arrived in the post all the way from America. I have to tell you, I could not wait to use them..... and when I did, I was not disappointed.

We have remained friends and we often email each other.  Now I would like to tell you a little bit about CeLynn. CeLynn is a marvellous quilter, not only does she quilt, but she makes beautiful bags, ranging from small to large with wonderful names such as 'bowling and swing'..... and there is more, not only is she marvellous with a needle and thread, but she preserves food as well, so whether you want to learn a technique for inserting a zip into a pouch or preserving foods, you will find all the answers on CeLynn's blog. Pay her a visit and say hello as I know you will receive a warm welcome.

Now on to the questions I have been asked.

HOW DOES MY WRITING/CREATIVE PROCESS WORK?

Well, the first thing you need to know about my creative process, is, before I begin, I need to find my reading glasses.... and there lies a problem in itself.  I have three pairs of glasses which I leave in different rooms around the house, so that if I need them, I can easily find a pair. Does that sound sensible to you, well I think it does, but there is a fly in the ointment....George. When he finds my glasses lying around, he will gather my glasses together and place them in another room, so when I expect to find my glasses in a certain room, they are not there and I have to hunt for them. So once I have tracked down a pair of reading glasses, I think about the day's experiences so that I can share them with you. It can be a thought about Ivy, my grandmother, it can be something about Phyllis or it can be something funny which has occurred, and if I think you will enjoy reading about our exploits then I share them. My writing is quite stylised, because the words you are reading are the words, which, if you are seated in the same room as me, would be the words coming out of my mouth.  So the text is not always grammatically correct, and even though sometimes I am tempted to correct the grammar, I don't, because if I did, I would lose the flow of the story and you would lose the flavour of the story.  

So as you can see, I am not a planner, whatever happens during the week, I share with you and whatever I am cooking I share with you. The food I cook, is food which we enjoy eating and whatever I post on a Wednesday or a Sunday has been food which has been eaten and enjoyed.

For instance this Bakewell Tart. This is a tart which I remember Ivy making when I was a child.... admittedly not like the one I made, as Ivy's version would have been made with less ingredients.

Sometimes all you want is a salad and this Three Bean Salad is perfect  for warm summer days.

....and there is nothing like a slice of cake on the weekend and this Pear and Ginger Cake, surprisingly made with tin pears, works beautifully.

or maybe I am making Falafel..... 

or preserved lemons, 

whichever recipe I share, it is always food we enjoy.

..... but I also love to garden,

so, I have added gardening to my blog.

and 

I also

love

music,

and I love bead work and sewing,

 so they were added to my blog,

and I could not let you miss my many visits to India as this is such a fascinating country..... so my blog has grown to include other things which I enjoy...... and that is the essence of my blog.... my day to day life.

WHY DO I WRITE/CREATE WHAT I DO?

Well the answer to this question is simple.  I had made copious notes in note books throughout the years, to record Ivy, Phyllis and my recipes, as I did not want the recipes to disappear in the miasmal mist, as the recipes were the culinary history stretching from the 1930's to the present day. I wanted Natasha and Danielle to feel a sense of culinary history when they read about their Great Grandmother Ivy, Grandmother Phyllis and me, their mother's culinary lives. 

The trouble was, the notebooks were growing in number.... too many really, so Natasha suggested I start recording these recipes in a blog.... and you cannot imagine how I resisted this idea..... well maybe you will get a little sense of it from reading my first post.  Me, writing a blog, whoever thought of such a thing, I really did not want to write a blog. For a start off, I had no idea how to begin setting up a blog. Now, I have to tell you, Natasha is not a daughter who will take no for an answer, she really believed that not only would I enjoy writing a  blog, but that it would be a success. So after much coaxing from Natasha, I finally made myself sit down and write my first post, I was excited, but nervous and could not imagine that anyone would take the time to read my words.  You cannot imagine my surprise when I discovered I had my very first follower, I could not believe it, and if there is anything which is higher than 'over the moon' then that was the feeling I had. I was on a high for a week. My first follower was Karen from My Little Home and Garden when I saw Karen's  Peony thumbnail appear on my blog, it really was a wonderful moment. 

As my blog has grown, I really do not see my friends as followers, I see them as friends who enjoy reading my blog and I am always pleased to receive comments, which I love answering.  Sometimes a little late, but then, life can become busy at times, but I always make sure I answer the comments.

 After my first post,
there was no turning back
and the rest,
as they say,
 is history.

So,

that is how,  

Ivy, Phyllis and Me! 

was born.

HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER

 FROM

 OTHERS IN IT'S GENRE?

There are so many marvellous bloggers, especially when it comes to the cooking/lifestyle section, but the first lesson I learnt was not to compare my blog with other blogs. I admire other blogs, but it was important that I stay true to myself.  I am a visual learner, so adding step by step photographs seemed the natural thing for me to do. Give me a set of written instructions and it takes me a month of Sunday's to work them out, but show me how to do something and that is a completely different story, as once shown, I learn very quickly. I felt it was also important to share my mistakes, as I am not infallible, there are days when I can be talking to George or listening to the radio and not concentrating and I will make a mistake, for instance,

I have made soda bread a hundred times, but when I made soda bread to share with you, I cut the cross too large and so when baked, the bread was mis-shapen. It didn't spoil the taste of the bread, but it didn't look particularly attractive either, but  I shared it with you, I wanted you to see that I can mistakes as well. Remember, I am the same as you, I am a home cook who loves to cook, but who also happens to blog.

WHAT AM I WORKING ON NOW?

If you have been reading my blog for a little while, you will know that I always say 'it's on with the pinnie'. I always wear pinnies and I have quite a selection, so I have decided that I am going to sew my own range of pinnies..... I have outlined the details in my mind and I am very excited about it, but I just need to think a few things through and then I will be whipping out the sewing machine and as they say here in England,  'I will be sewing for England'.

Now it is time for me to introduce you to the three very talented ladies who I have invited to be part of the Around the World Blog Hop.

Firstly from France, is a lady who started writing her blog roughly about the same time as I did.  Barbara from Barbara Lilian in France has been a little poorly of late, so if you could pop by and say hello I know she will be pleased to see you..... and what is special about Barbara's blog, well, if you love to walk along country lanes in France, admire beautiful flowers or take a peek at beautiful watercolours, then those are the treats which will be in store for you.

Secondly, from America, the lovely Nancy from Pug Mom Quilts, now I can sense you are a little more than curious.... a Pug Mom....who can that be?  Well Nancy is a lovely, newly married lady who also happens to sew the most beautiful quilts.  Her quilts never cease to amaze me they really are a feast for the eyes.... and where does the Pug part of the title come into it.... well let me introduce you to Romeo, Larry and Elvis.... three of the most adorable Pugs.... go on, I dare you to take a look at their photos on Nancy's blog and not smile.

....and thirdly, my friend who I invited to take part was very busy.... you know how it is.... end of summer.... children to school.....lots of things to do.  So forgive me for not sending you a third friends blog to read and enjoy..... but I recommend you visit Karen who lives in Canada and writes, My Little House and Garden, not as part of the Around the World Blog Hop, but purely because I know you will love her blog.

So take care and I will see you, as usual, on Wednesday..... and that will be around before you know it.

CATCHING UP

Good Morning to you,

My goodness, where did the last two weeks go?  It seems no sooner had we arrived at the airport to collect Phyllis, then we were returning to the airport for Phyllis' homeward journey.  It was lovely seeing her again and we have had fun together. We ate maybe a little too much, but that is alright, as it is only now and again.

Whilst here, Phyllis rekindled her love of knitting. She was always a prolific knitter, but had not picked up her knitting needles for about 15 years. I think when my father passed on she lost interest.

I decided it was time to remind Phyllis about her love of knitting, so I asked if she would help me sort out my wool. She was admiring the wool and had taken a fancy to some Chenille wool which I had. So I decided to strike whilst the iron was hot. I found  a pair of bamboo knitting needles for Phyllis to use and gave her four balls of Chenille wool and suggested she take up knitting again.... something simple like a scarf. She dismissed it at first and said she could not remember how to cast on.  I knew this was an excuse, so I persuaded her to give it a try.  I said if she had forgotten, I would guide her through the casting-on stage..... but of course she had not forgotten, she did it very well and very quickly. Initially, she cast-on 40 stitches and then decided that was not enough and cast-on a further 10 stitches.  She then asked me what stitch I thought she should use, and I suggested a plain stitch, so that she did not have to concentrate too much..... and guess what, after her initial hesitancy, she could be found picking up her knitting at every opportunity.  

Phyllis was always a prolific knitter, and used to knit using beautiful Italian wool. There was not a stitch that she did not know and I remember when I was in my twenties, she made me a beautiful cable knit jumper which I had for years as it was perfect for keeping me warm when I was out walking.... but, there was one thing she hated doing, and that was stitching the garment together, she would avoid it at all costs.

When we lived close to each other, she would pop over to see me and in her hand there would be a large black bag, filled to the brim with knitted pieces and I had the task of sewing these pieces together. There would be four or five jumpers all muddled together. I have to be honest, stitching the knitted pieces together was not my favourite task, but I became very proficient at steaming, pinning, sewing and finishing the jumpers, much to Phyllis' relief.

Before she left, Phyllis told me how much she was enjoying her knitting and that it was really lovely to be knitting again. In fact she was enjoying it so much that she had decided, when the scarf was finished she was going to make herself a matching hat..... I think the sewing of the seams will not be a problem for her.... I am wondering if once she gets in to the full swing of knitting again, will the postman be delivering large parcels to my door, full of knitted pieces, waiting to be sewn together...... I will let you know.

.... and now for some very different news.

Yes, it's true,  the birthday fairy delivered the "glorious" shoes for my birthday..... and I absolutely love them.  I love the colour, I love the style..... and I am so very, very happy.

The heel is just perfect and look at the beautiful material which lines the shoe..... isn't it fabulous and I have to tell you, they are oh so very comfortable, I could wear them for hours. I do love a nice pair of shoes, honestly, I could not be happier.

I have just realised, that I have been so busy with Phyllis, that I have not told you the results of the sewing competition which I entered.

The stars were not as aligned as I thought they were, because I was not in the running, I was not even placed, which I was very disappointed about.  The winner, it turns out, was a professional who works for the BBC.  I have to say, if I had known the competition was open to professionals, I would not have entered. Now please, do not think that this is sour grapes on my part, because I really feel, that as an amateur, I cannot compete with a professional. I am now over my disappointment.... well actually, it took all of five minutes.  I have thought about it and I have decided that this was not the competition for my bead work. So the lesson is learnt, next time I need to be more selective about which competition I enter.

On a positive note, I have a delightful beaded pinnie, but I am not sure if I should keep it as a pinnie to hang in my sewing room, or if I should frame the top part..... I will have to think about that.

I know this is not a regular post for me, but I wanted to catch up with you and return to the regular rhythm of my life before I started cooking with you.  

I have something delicious planned for Sunday, so take care and I will see you then.

OH DEAR, WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE......

Good Morning to you,

What a time I've had, trying to catch up with you.  I have not been able to post using Google Chrome, since we had the heavy rain and wind on Wednesday evening, as the Internet cut out.  The Internet returned, the following day, but in returning, I have been experiencing all sorts of problems with my computer. 

I have to tell you that I was disappointed that I could not write to you on Friday, as I have been sat at my computer on and off since Thursday, trying to sort this problem out.... but enough of me complaining, the problem has been sorted and I am here now. Although it is a little late, as St Valentine's Day has come and gone, I thought you would like to know what I decided to make for George on Friday.

I originally decided,  for George's final St Valentine's Day treat, I would make him a huge pizza, with lots of Mozzarella cheese, salami and tomato sauce, but when George came home after taking Sadie shopping, he plonked himself down in the chair and said, he could really do with a Gin and Tonic.... but there was none in the house..... and then the light bulb went off, I thought that's it, I won't make a pizza, that can be made at a later date, I will treat George to a,

 Gin and Tonic, 

but not just any Gin and Tonic, 
oh no I would have to use

George's favourite Gin,
 Bombay Sapphire.

Don't you just love the words on the label,

"Hand selected exotic botanicals" 

So I nipped out to the shop

 and

 snuck this bottle of gin into the house
without George suspecting a thing.

In the evening, 
I chose George's favourite glass,

I popped in some ice cubes,

sliced a lemon, 

added a measure (or two) of gin,

topped it off with tonic water

and added
a slice of lemon.

Then I took a sip...... ooh it was so nice. I can hear you thinking "I thought the G and T was for George"....well.... I had to make the first one for myself didn't I. I had to be sure I had used the correct measurements..... well, that is my story and I am sticking to it.

I added a handful of cashew nuts

 and

 a handful of salted almonds

and

 what did I have?

One very happy husband. 

I told George I was going to make him a Pizza for St Valentine's Day and he said, as much as he would love a Pizza, the G and T was so much better.

The first time I had Gin and Tonic, I could not bear the taste, I thought it tasted awful.  Then many years later, my lovely son-in-law offered me a Gin and Tonic.  I refused, saying I did not like the taste.  He offered to make me one, the way he made it, using Bombay Sapphire Gin.  So I agreed, and I am so glad I did, because it was fabulous.  Just enough gin not to overpower the drink. So thanks to my son-in-law, I have loved a G and T ever since.

Did you think I had forgotten about the music? No I hadn't, I decided that as it was St Valentine's Day, I would chose a singer who George has loved listening to, since he was a teenager,

Bob Dylan.  This is the first LP which George bought as a teenager and he used to drive his mother up the wall, because he played the album over and over again..... not quietly, but at full volume. Whilst George was in England, listening to Bob Dylan singing Mr Tambourine Man, I was living in Cyprus, listening to The Byrds singing Mr Tambourine Man..... two very different styles, but which epitomise George and I.  Although, at the time, we lived thousands of miles apart and had never met, we both loved the same song.

Now you know, that both George and I, love and little G and T, what sort of drink do you enjoy.  Are you a cocktail girl?

Take care and I will see you on Wednesday.