Coming out of my cottage...

Quite a good week, so far...


Yesterday, I completed 3 sets of 1st, 2nd and double marking in 4 weeks – the equivalence of 302,000 words!

I do not want to do that again. I became almost hermit like at the weekends and lost a Whitsun Bank Holiday somewhere. My lounge almost became like a cave. There are now just a few scripts with extensions due in over the next week or so and then I start the tutorials for students who failed their assignments and the next batch of marking comes in on 12th July – a small cohort of students so not quite as much marking to do. I am all marked out...!

So yesterday evening I picked up some sewing and finally finished another block for the Cherry Trees Album Quilt – block no 8.

Block 8

 I am quite pleased with this block, Unfortunately, the picture looks very dark as I took it early this morning and the sky was very overcast. It took me some time to decide on the fabric colours/combinations and although I was hesitant to use the cream, I think it looks quite well balanced. I am also pleased with the bird.Block 9 has been prepared, a basket with lots of berries, so I’ll be seeing circles in my sleep!

Orange gateau!

I did get some time to do some baking – an orange gateau or maybe I should call it Gateau au Cointreau! This is one of my Mother's recipes. She always makes an orange gateau for my youngest brother for Christmas because he doesn't like Christmas cake, huh! and he does not like the Cointreau so it's quite "boring" really, because in my opinion, the best thing has been left out ;-)

One of our team at work retired and I offered to bake a cake. As it was a special celebration I decided to add some cointreau to the butter cream and, well, my hand slipped! It was very, very, very nice butter cream!


I am quite proud of this cake, I haven’t done any proper baking in some time. But it was not easy.  The batteries in my scales had died and they are unusual batteries so not easily replaced. So, I then had to do it all by cup measurements and by eye, not easy trying to find out how many grammes or ounces of flour is in a cup etc. and only one of my recipe books, one from New Zealand, gave me any clues. Anyway I am very pleased with how it turned out, not the least because it turned out edible! or, maybe it was the Cointreau LOL.

There's a Parish Council meeting tonight. All of us who live in the street have been invited to attend. Apparently there was a problem with the fire hydrants when the fire brigade were trying to extinguish the fire at the Wheatsheaf pub and an extra tender had to be brought in to help pump water up to the fire hmmmm...
Well, we'll hear more tonight I am sure, but real concerns at the moment because despite barriers going up around the building apparently there has already been some looting, of what I do not know, but the place cannot be left in the current state it is in. It's quite dangerous.

This is only the beginning I am sure...