Hot!

At last some NYC stylee weather.
Set up camp in the garden...M cleaned the lounge and made a surplus strawberry cake  x
Trying to think of good summer songs, now that Dfs or some such rubbish furniture store has ruined 'Here comes the summer'. Maybe Billy Stewart's version of 'Summertime'  (bear with the very short sports ad at the start...)

Making some room...

In an effort to make some room and raise holiday/kitchen floor funds, we are selling some of our things.
Some highlights below...

Aside from that the weather is making me wish I was either in Tobago...

 ...or NYC...

...roti available in both glorious places.

Today's track is about waiting trackside and I last heard it when waiting for the train to come  at Macy Avenue, Brooklyn. Well, off to make the (not roti) dinner now. do drop by and leave a comment.

And suddenly it's mid-June

So...a long time has gone by and predictably LOTS and LOTS happening.
Here's a snapshot of some of the good things...a trip to NYC full of record shopping and music-related places (the Brill Building), iced coffees and 'Ciao for Now', sitting in the Prospect Park and Strawberry Fields and lots of time in Tompkins Square Park. We stayed round the corner from there in Alphabet City which is just fantastic, a little bobo, as the French may say.
Inspired by our trip we have been eating blueberry pancakes and drinking watermelon lemonade since returning home. We've also been listening to much of our pile of new vinyl when not 'debating' (ahem) how to reduce our ever-mounting possessions. Here's some tracks to listen to  while it continues to be most un-summery... (And it was a hot in the city HOT 31 degrees in New York too...ho hum, could be at the Brooklyn Flea today...)

Lately...

Bit of a gap since last post but lots going on, including...

 Easter break in a rundown holiday camp. Bingo, bad comedies, grannies dancing the square tango in gold shoes, the whole lot.

Almond cake and below... Strawberry and viola pots, outside snacks and getting ready for a car boot sale ( grand profit £17!). Really enjoying Spring so far. What have you been up to?

Cat's mum day

Now, I am not a human mum (well I AM  a human but not TO anything human!) but today I still had a Mother's Day ; all a bit bonkers, like many things in our house. I was treated to a cup of coffee in bed while I was reading my new David Bowie book. Later I did some writing and I got a present too, some lovely Somerset daffodils.

 What did you do for Mother's Day or are you a cat mum too? 

Do stop by and leave a comment.

Norfolk again...

We went to Norfolk again, this time South Norfolk with M's family. The dog, the children, the sister and brother-in-law, the mother and father-in-law: they were all there. We stayed in  the 1590-built Manor Farm. It's one of the Landmark Trust buildings, a fine organisation whose properties we've stayed in before.

(Yes even old buildings need fire extinguishers, you never know what that young pup Howie B will get up to...)

 

Back home we watched the BBC4 programme about swing, loved the dancing.

Love is in the air...

It's been a great week for celebrations. Sunday Chinese New Year, Tuesday pancakes, Wednesday celebrating Little JR's birthday and last night Valentine's.

Cheeky fox for Little JR. 

 

M and I bought each other record presents, John Lennon and Yoko's 'Milk and Honey' and The Kinks 'Something Else by...'. You can listen to a track from each here and here . 

Some glorious sun today, snowdrops, pussy willow, hellebores, daffodils, 'Freckles' clematis and primroses in the garden. And today...ta dah...is the the start if half term, well after 3.45pm anyway.

More snow...

Some snow overnight and still going. Put me in mind of this song. Only a little reference to snow but any excuse to play The Specials...

Kung hei fat choi

Happy Chinese New Year to you all. Ate our lovely food whilst snow fell (is still). Made these felt fortune cookies from last month's issue of Mollie Makes whilst watching 'Cast Away' and 'Excalibur' this afternoon. Needed quite a lot of recovery time after an ace evening over at Curtis and Nichola's.

Music...

Home late after a long day I was cheered by this song on the radio... Hope it lightens your day too.

Snow fun

Snow in the garden and on our walk in the local area.  The cheeky cat at the end is our little snow bear. Well that's what she's been looking like this weekend with snowflakes on her fur. Listen to M's suggestions songs for a snowy day here and here.

A snowy evening...

What a good way to spend a snowy evening. New craft mag, a bit of mending on the sewing machine, a Friday gin & tonic, followed by Beeb 4 programme about Glen Campbell.

A new year...

Welcome to 2013! 

Delighting in Boxing Day

Sitting on the little sofa squished right up next to the tree, digging into the Lindor chocolates. I have my nan's crochet blanket on the sofa which has a special pocket in it for putting sweet wrappers: good use of a spare crochet square nan! We've just had another Christmas dinner, this time pheasant and salmon wellington. Yesterday we started off the day at home opening presents in bed with the cats enjoying the ribbon and paper. Lots of lovely presents and homemade cards for each other.

Me and M bought the same thing for each other, Lee Hazlewood's 'A House Safe For Tigers' which I mentioned in the last brief post. The rest of the day was spent having a fine time with Mr and Mrs O . Lots of relaxed fun.
Apart from the opening of presents in bed the other traditions we have established over the the years include a meal on Christmas Eve after all the prep is done, often fondue. Me watching 'The Snowman' on Christmas Eve, this year the delightful but sad 'The Snowman and the Snow Dog'. Watching 'Bad Santa'. M making a game pie and glazed ham . For Christmas Day breakfast I always make something potted, this year potted crayfish tails. For the tree we have a woodland theme, M is very serious about the decorating of the tree and would get a tree on 1st December if he could. I  make a swag for the front door with a chopped off lower branch.

We also have a homemade advent calendar which is lots of envelopes and small boxes in a corner of the kitchen.

The last couple of years I've established a new tradition purely for my girl friends, 'Christmas for Girls' which takes place a few days before Christmas and involves lots of fizz, clementine cake and not a pork pie or massive slab of ham in sight. We never get away with this when the men are about! Boys are 'sent' to the pub. I don't think they mind!

I love the bit of the holidays between Christmas and New Year when they are endless plates of snacks from the fridge to be had and craft to be done and catch up tv and much needed relaxing.

One of the lovely presents M got me was a LP and cd by 'The Shangri-las', who I love. I'll leave you with one of their finest tracks. 

Time marches on...

Feeling the need to keep my house safe from tigers from now on. Back with more pics soon.
Prune.

A right knee(s) up and a soul treat

 Recently there has been a lot of this....

...because of this...

However...there has also been a lot of visitors, favourite foods, presents, cats who are happy that I am at home, garden, a helpful husband and a birthday with fireworks. Which means all of this...fifteen days in fact...

The owl-adorned present was for Mr O who loves his fireworks, take a listen here, a soul treat! Hope I will be up dancing to it again soon...