12th February 2021 Mailer

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Snap, Crackle and ... by Janice McFarlane

POP it in my mouth. This seemed to be the philosophy of Harry when helping Alfie make rice crispie cakes. It was actually part of Alfies science lesson for his home schooling. I know, I never had a science lesson like that but hey, we didnt do coding either (thats another story). Apparently it was tasked by the school for the children to make Chocolate Rice Crispie Cakes. It was all to do with matter, and melting points, and what happens in the process. Whilst this might be of value science wise, Im not too sure whether Alfie or Harry thought anything about it when making them. It wasnt Harrys work as he is only 3, but I think he insisted on being quality control and chief taste tester, just to make sure the experiment produced the right results. By the looks of it in the picture it seemed it was.

cup1095166_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup1095304_905 by Janice McFarlane

A CULINARY DISASTER by Wanda Lipski

One of the easiest (although not the quickest) classic French potato dish is the famous Gratin Dauphinois. Peel your potatoes with one of those swivel peelers and then continue peeling off slices of the potato. Keep going until you have filled your recipient. Add plenty of crushed garlic. Get your hands in there and give it a good mix (yes! Jamie Oliver style) and then fill the dish with cream.... none of that diet version here, use the real thing! Cover with foil and pop it in an oven at 175C) for around 2 hours, removing the foil towards the end. The result is the creamiest most delicious potato dish youve ever eaten. Alternatively you can do what I did. Pop it into the oven ... FORGET TO TAKE IT OUT and recuperate the charred remains 15 hours later !!!!!! Then soak the dish for 2 days so that you can remove the burnt offering. The term 15 hours has now become a running joke in our house so Ive been designing instead of cooking ... much sagfer and unlikely to poison anyone. Have a good week, stay safe and ENJOY!

cup918232_2237 by Wanda Lipski

cup890465_2237 by Wanda Lipski

We .... by Carol Clarke

.... had a lovely little walk this week when we were lucky enough to have a nice dry morning and headed down the country lanes and byways near where we live. We were heading to a part of Annesley Forest near to the site of Annesley Castle. The Castle is now just an open area at the top of the hill, hidden within the forest, and is just a clearing with humps and hollows now, but it was once a motte and bailey castle. I took this photo just a short stroll from there where a line of trees mark an old avenue which is known locally as Byrons Walk. But whether he ever really did walk along there from his nearby home at Newstead Abbey to Annesley Hall we will never know! Lol

cup600635_359 by Carol Clarke

cup600180_359 by Carol Clarke

Visitors in the night. by Vicki Avcin

My morning routine when I get up is loo, coffee and go outside and just sit in the peace and quiet, sometimes with the roos grazing in the front yard or the lorikeets picking any leftovers from the previous afternoon feeding. I get up around 5.30am and enjoy nature and serenity before the busy day begins. Lately Ive been walking to the end of the house to see if weve had any more bunya nuts drop (see my news from a couple of weeks ago) and get satisfaction looking at the pergola over the pond that weve just rebuilt. So I walked to the end of the house, looked down the yard and no roos but 2 ponies happily munching away on the grass. Still half asleep I thought I was seeing things but no, definitely 2 ponies there! I raced inside to grab hubbys phone to take some photos but theyd moved round behind the coffee trees, so I stealthily crept round to not scare them and got a couple of photos (evidence). I went into wake hubby up and tell him, so he came out, had a look at where I said they were and told me You are seeing things. I couldnt see them at that point either and was beginning to wonder if I was still half asleep………. But I did have photos. With that they appeared again from round the back of the shed. I came inside and posted on our local FB page asking if anyone was missing some ponies and within 2 mins had a reply. Was told they were friendly and wouldnt spook if we approached. One had a collar on so put a lead on him and took them down to our holding yard. They were the sweetest gentlest pair and loved the pats and rubs. When the owners came to get them we found they had walked about 5 klm and the light coloured one was the grandmother of the dark one. She was 17 yrs old and he was 5 yrs old. So was a bit of an adventure to wake up to thats for sure!

cup1048833_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup1048834_543 by Vicki Avcin

Snow Days! by Sue Way

So we have had the rare novelty of snow in my part of the UK this week & its still here! Billy has never seen snow before and he absolutely loves it! Every day he gets more excited, in fact we are having trouble getting him to come inside! We are not enjoying it so much as its freezing cold and getting very slippery, but seeing his joy makes it all worth it. The other afternoon the sun was shining, so that made it a bit better for us and I got some lovely picture of Billy. I love the way his coat looks in the sun and snow. He is going to be so confused when it melts. I hope you are all keeping safe and well. Thank you for continuing to support us. https://www.craftsuprint.com/sue-way/

cup608947_38 by Sue Way

cup513887_38 by Sue Way