Sunday 8 December 2013

GETTING CHRISTMASY


This has been such a lovely week ... Christmas cheer has slipped into our house.  It kicked off with a felting class where I made this crazy angel with the wild hair - the wildness is latent within - I cannot tame my hair, so I couldn't tame hers either.  She could do with a name ... If you have any suggestions, please let me know ...

My folks came up to visit.  On a cold snowy night it definitely felt like the right time to get the mulled wine on the go ... The sweet scent of cinnamon, cloves and ginger gets me every time!


Then it was topped off with a Christmas concert.  My son plays the sax and it was so great to hear the Christmas tunes of all these talented kids.


Anyway, the Crimbo spirit is going to keep going, as it's reached that time to light the fire, dig out the address book and crack on with writing some cards.  May just have to crack open another wee bottle ...  Check out this rather neat idea to make good use of all those spare corks!


Thanks to Foodie Quine for the magic idea!

http://foodiequine.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

Thursday 21 November 2013

WEE TREATS


When things get hectic and I do interesting craft fairs there is an irresistible temptation to buy a few wee sneaky treats.  In the face of one off goodies I am powerless to resist - the willpower deserts me - it's terrible!

The Collieston Pier Craft Fair was one such haven of goodies ... I came away with this amazing bedside table - had to clear out mega junk and cobwebs but boy is it stunning - thanks to Karen the wonderful creator!


Shirley's Mum made this cute tea cosy ...


Nienke made this beautiful angel ....


And Collieston's knitters made these amazing socks and gloves ... I consider myself to be a bit of a knitter but these two items have always defeated me ... Aren't they just what you need to keep cosy?


My neighbour Rachel had jewellery but I never got a pic ... I reckon this wee village has many talents!  Plus the final tally was £4000 plus raised for the mega bucks repairs against the powerful damage wrought by the North Sea!  

Now winter has arrived ... Check out the scene ...




Friday 15 November 2013

BUSY BEE


We got this wee stamp made up from a lovely company in Belfast.  As I was busy baking, a measuring jug made an imprint in the flour and I thought it'd make a cool photo with our logo - do you agree?

What a magic week this is turning out to be.  Kicked off with a sumptuous dinner at the Marcliffe Hotel - that's Aberdeen's only 5 star hotel I do believe.  It was such a treat to be invited.  I thought I'd make the most of the invite from the Grampian Food Forum and Scotland Food & Drink, so I went early and enjoyed a fine cuppa and even fitted in a spot a crochet!


The dinner was wonderful and the banter round our table was sterling!  Thank you very much to the amazing Elizabeth Mathie for inviting me!

This weekend we're doing a fair in Ellon to help raise much needed funds for our village pier.  It takes an incredible battering from the mighty North Sea & it needs mega cash for repairs which our magic wee village rallies round to support.  Here's the village link to showcase a great chance to buy stunning photos of it ...

http://colliestononline.com/collieston-pier/pier-fundraising/

So if you live near Ellon, come along tomorrow ... It's a great chance to buy some presents & there is a raffle prize for the Marcliffe Hotel I do believe ...




Sunday 10 November 2013

COOKING UP A STORM


This wee glass of vino is my reward for cooking up a storm this weekend.  It's been full on with my son's birthday, family visits and general busyness!  It's actually quite good to get visitors as it forces your hand on the home front to attack the pigsty (we have no curly tailed creatures but we do have the fuzz bearing Dolly Doodle to contend with .... Here she is taking a bath ...)


I am very blessed to live next to the Forvie National Nature Reserve which is an amazing haunt for wild life - birds (of the feathered variety!), seals and surrounded by sand dunes - you could be on the Moon!!  It's featured on BBC Radio 4's Secret Places & Autumnwatch on BBC the other day ...

http://colliestononline.com

http://www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/forvie/

Anyway, it really is a special place to live ...  I digress ...

So this weekend has seen a mega hoover up and major cooking session ... Meatballs & salad for tea last night; followed by the Collieston Bonfire - I just wanted to rescue this lovely table from the fire ...


Wouldn't that look fab somewhere?  My son and I had a scout round Ellon Market and got him a nifty desk chair for £8 and this lovely wooden bowl for £1 - Is that not a steal?


Today I started off a Christmas Cake for my buddy Louise ... I hope she is a Cointreau lass (too bad if she's not ... The fruit is now soaking in it!)


Right better crack on ... If only this lady could put her feet up?!! (One day maybe?). Got to light the fire first!!!


Job done!  Getting toasty!




Thursday 7 November 2013

WONDER WOMAN?


There is a 'position vacant' at Loaf Face ... Do you know anyone who would fit the job title of 'Wonder Woman'?  It seems to be the case that I am the only applicant for this most wonderful of jobs!!

Running a small business is the most amazing job I've ever done ... You absolutely must love hats!  It's just as well I have a rather extensive collection to choose from ...


Last week was indeed a wonderful week of hat swapping ... I could have won an award for multi-million-tasking like most working women in the land!  As a Mum of 3 kids, owner of hairy big dog & wife to a jet set (often absent) Professor, with a wee academic job to boot, it's pretty full on!

Amongst the zillion tasks, for Loaf Face, I went shopping for ingredients, delivered them to the bakery, helped make and bake 100 plus loafies, developed and launched the lukkah dukkah to popular acclaim, drummed up some retail sales, humpfed many kilos of loafies out and about the rain soaked streets of Aberdeen ...  It's tiring to type, never mind do it!!

Still in amongst it all ... I received some totally fantastic news - that we were awarded a business development grant from Aberdeenshire Council!


So a huge Thank You to the Economic Development Team for giving us a big thumbs up!  One great man on the team is Douglas Rennie - thank you - I have a wee pressie for you ... Give me a bell sometime to sort out the collection and goodie bag!





Sunday 3 November 2013

DUKKAH LUCKAH


Introducing the new Loaf Face team ... A very important job they do on manning the oven!  This week they were the troops to help develop a new product - dukkah.  It's a spicy, seedy, nutty dip of North African origin which goes wonderfully with bread.


These lovely ingredients marked the start of a wee experiment ...


You can roast or stir fry your mix, then you need to get rid of the husks on the nuts (rather tedious that job), then you do a whole lot of blitzing to get the right consistency & voila!


Then it's a jar job ...  The cutest Kilner spice jars you ever did see ...


Then the best bit - the feast ...


Then finally the market test where they went down a storm!  Thank you to the wonderful customers at the Ministry of Crafts - what a magic monthly market!






Sunday 27 October 2013

OCTOBER BUZZ


Happy Halloween!  This has been a magical month.  Two super weeks of school holidays certainly has much to do with it!  How can it be that just getting a wee sneaky lie in and the chance to just hang loose is so inspiring?  We've also managed many a fine feast en route round Scotland too!


Lunch out to the lovely Cup in Little Belmont Street was magic (opposite Ma Cameron's - the fine boozer of yesteryear from my student days).  Followed by a jaunt to Drum Castle to see the Giants in the Forest.  That was not quite the trip I imagined when we set off ... The drizzle set in, the moaning from the kids intensified ... Oh dear ... Then we struggled to find the masks ...


But we did find this rather splendid toadstool and also found giant crochet in the trees which made it all worthwhile!


We headed off south via Dundee to see Lloyd Cole (without any Commotions).  After seeing him on Later with Jools Holland I must admit I was not really expecting too much.  However, from row 3 with only his voice and two acoustic guitars he really was awesome!


To carry off a 2 hour gig with no support and many a wry self-deprecating joke, it's a case of RESPECT, as some old Motown tune calls for!

We then managed a sneaky drink at the magical Ship Inn in Broughty Ferry


Oh my, the kids have found me in my supposedly secret den ... Time to go ... Tales to be continued at a later date.





Monday 14 October 2013

ARTY JUGGLE


Today is one of those rainy days when you get a chance to catch up on those odd jobs you never get round to ...  I am feeling very smug that I now have a working printer (only taken months to finally order the ink & then another week to fit the cartridges, a task that literally took 5 minutes!).

Then I got some pictures framed by an amazing artist in our village - Paul Ritchie - whose work I covet!  Anyway, he did a great job & they are now on my wall - after much picture juggling.  My husband brought back the platypus from Australia in June and it now has a wee home above my fish.  And the ice lollies from the Islington Art Show are hanging proud next to the giant rabbit in the headlights ...


Plus I am cracking on with loads of outstanding Loaf Face jobs from about July time!  Ok it's time for putting away my hammer and getting a nice boiled egg on the go for lunch!  So the view from the bagel window looks like this ...


So tasty x




Tuesday 8 October 2013

GOSSIP GIRLS


What joy!  A gossipy girly weekend in old London Town.  My birthday present to me was a chance to meet up with my mates - many of whom I hadn't seen since my wedding, all of 17 years ago ... Yikes, yes I really am getting on ...

A friend who makes fab Scottish gifts (but is actually English as it happens!) makes tea cosies, so many txts later the plan was in place for the tea cosies to be waiting at our hotel ... And nice wee bonnets they make too ...


So we had a great stroll along the Thames at Richmond and many G&Ts ...


Next day we found a nice cafe for breakfast ...


And very swiftly thereafter managed lunch at Tate Modern with my chums from Finsbury Park and beyond ... What a cracking view of St Paul's ...


And a fine feast too with this yellow beetroot salad ...



After a wee wander over the Bridge, we just HAD TO have some cocktails on a fine ship and check out the talent!



Thereafter it went a bit pear shaped as we couldn't quite coordinate the gig plans for the night - Kevin Roland of Dexy's Midnight Runners (my bro bought me the cassette - anyone remember those oddities that used to warp and unravel!!) in Putney or Fat Freddie's Drop (?) a New Zealand ensemble in Brixton ... A deviation to Clapham Junction went awry!  Never mind!

Next day kicked off with a wee spa at our hotel before sallying forth around Richmond's many lanes in search of an elusive tea shop which thankfully was duly located before the wheels fell off our cases!




I then went solo to Islington to meet my mate who is an actress with some very colourful parts just now (your imagination can supply the missing info!). As I lingered around I found this fab frozen yogurt bar called Snog ...  A curious name!


We managed to find a lovely art show at the Angel and to hang out in Crouch End!  The London districts have definitely gone up a wee notch since the days of everyone living in Bethnal Green!



Next day I had a mega trip from north of London to Brighton for a whistle stop your to see another dear chum.  With 3 hours on the pedometer (not the weekend for furry boots but hey ho ...), we found a groovy pub and managed a whistle stop tour of the city ... 




Just time to check out a wee Banksy portrait before sadly having to head back home!


I couldn't quite abandon my cocktail habit at the airport as I had a wee solo toast to my mates ...

It really was a fab weekend ... Such a laugh ... Definitely need a repeat get together of the GLAM GIRLS (once upon a Newcastle upon Tyne that stood for the Graduate Labour Markets Project ... )

CHEERS!