Fancy a cuppa?

...Or No Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake or chocolate fairy cakes or white muffins with a cherry on top or a piece of Liz's enormous chocolate cake or James' gluten free orange cake or Harry's world famous brownies or Joy and Nigella's cake?

I could go on.

And you will be relieved to hear that not everything in the kitchen is rosy. My flapjacks are now granola and the first attempt at chocolate icing looks like something the dog left behind.


And if you are on a diet no problem, there are books for sale, DVDs, CDs, very on-trend vinyls (from the first time) and we are giving a spectacular prize for the best cake. All donations go to those amazing people at Macmillan, so it's a win win one.


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sloe, sloe quick quick sloe

After my perripato along the seafront, the old man was left to scale the South Downs for the sloes as tis the season for sloe gin. The brambles may make it to a crumble or they may just stay with the sloes for the acquired taste sloe bramble vodka. After two or three, this may be renamed SLOBKA.

We know a place on the Downs full of sloes, brambles, mushrooms and wild orchids, but if I told you where it was, and all my Russian readers will love this, then I would have to kill you.

My week ended with a wonderful visit from Granny Smith (Margi) (not to be confused with Granny Rae Smith) and her lovely family including:

Aoife (f)

EE fa; WEE fa

-

"beautiful; radiant"

and the first flash mob video of the wedding of the Century finally arrived, hurrah! And Rebecca, oh it's Beccy to us, deserves a special mention for the best and most fascinating fascinator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apfTikVJ6MAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apfTikVJ6MA

Male of Honour Wedding Surprise 'Say a little Prayer for you'

Autumn almanac

Up until lunch time, this was the front garden.

then came the autumnal prune.

Who knew there was a path?

And if it hadn't been for the prunus horribilus who would have known about the Himalayan Bramble? If there are not enough brambles for a crumble next year then it's going the same way as the echium.

I think I now own the phenomenal berry.

and thank you Liz for the fantastic Italian you sent me

as you would imagine, I love him!





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Gold Diggers

Went to see the old man's old mum today. At 90, she's doing well.







We went along the A23 and re-visited the everlasting road works. My boys, well OK not now, but quite a few years ago, would have loved it.















We even had to slow down to 20mph, just to admire them... ... it was digger heaven.















And there were not just one or two, we are talking hard hats and HI VIS jackets a-gogo, whilst they were all digging it.
















And I know cos I counted them out and I counted them back, there were forty four diggers.




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Happy Anniversary tit

Two years ago today I had two tits, now I celebrate the day only having one. But as my exasperated GP says "at least your alive." "Huh" I say.

The pert 'Softie' which I was given at the hospital to bulk out one empty side of my bra was obviously designed for a bright young thing, not a going south middle aged woman who has breast-fed three children. I find the front fastening bras are the easiest to cope with.  www.edenhouse-online.co.uk  have comfy bras. The free prosthetic is fine to wear when you have to look 'normal' but mine tends to go for a wander and the detachable nipple does just that, falls off. Maybe it too has past it's shelf life.

I do still feel weird and have been offered counselling, but what am I going to say to them? I don't expect them to grow me another one and cure cancer at the same time. I could not take reconstruction, the idea of having one tit that just stays there whilst the other continues on it's journey downhill would be dreadful. I'm taking anastrozole for years which is better than tamoxifen (for me) as that caused the blood clot which then caused the pulmonary embolism so currently I don't fancy any more surgery.

But it's a sunny day so I have been chopping things in the garden, just to continue the theme. 

Brighton rocks

The old man spotted this and it seems to sum up a soggy Bank Holiday Weekend in Brighton.
Harry is still celebrating his GCSE results, Bill is happy living with his 'professional ladies' in London
and Polly is enjoying the heat in Gibraltar. And currently there's quite a bit of heat.
We were talking to her on Skype and I was distracted by a fundamental thought; how on earth does Skype work? And for free!
I don't even understand how planes fly or a homing pigeon knows where home is, so let's just not go any further.



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Let's go fly a kite

To be honest, this photo wasn't taken by me, or this one,


But since it was such a lovely windy sunny day we took a walk along the seafront and watched all the aerial acrobatics that a giant quaver can produce.


And it was exhilarating watching them all flying around, just missing the surfers. So of course seeing all that exercise made us hungry so


we made a visit to the Brunswick Festival to see Gordon and Elena, who make the best paellas and curries. Business must be good because instead of one enormous pan they had three, plus loads of helpers, chopping, slicing and stirring. In between all their hard work, they gave us a tremendous welcome.

There were also more cupcake stalls than is healthy.


And when did charity shop stuff all become 'vintage'? there was a lot of toot but I grabbed this for £1.60 cos that was all I had.


Then the old man, who has never understood the concept of the thrill of finding a bargain said to the girl on the stall 'oh hang on, I've got some more change'...

Anyway, if you want to buy some gorgeous cakes, for more reasons than just your tummy, come to the coffee morning we are having for Macmillan at the end of September. Don't worry, I will remind you, regularly!

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Summer in the city

The old man and I took our lovely nieces and nephews onto the pier this week.



Although we couldn't get any of them to go on the ghost train (poor Harry) or helter skelter, at least Ella got a tattoo. I feel it is an Aunties duty to cause chaos where ever she goes. We all had ice creams from Maroccos which were delicious and finished the day watching Ferris Bueller's day off.


The ice creams have been arriving fast at our house since the old man bought an ice cream maker. The diet's on hold until we have tried them all. The rhubarb and custard is under construction currently.





Yesterday we tested the raspberry and cream on my sister, she said it was yummy.

The gooseberry ice cream could have been a bit more interesting maybe mixed with some elderflower.

The lemon ice cream was OK.









Grannie's blackcurrants were put to good use.












But the favourite so far is good old strawberries and cream.









They say 'never work with children or animals' but I caught this in Arundel on Pirates Day.

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The men in my life

The Marx Brothers would be on my desert island just to make me laugh.

And the island would be the land of Homer, Ithaca.

Bruce would sing to me. And Captain Scarlett would do Cary Grant impersonations, but not at the same time. A couple of Sporty boys would keep me fit and Sean would remind me of the old man. 

Jonas Kauffman would also sing, I like a sing song.