Mrs Tiggywinkle comes to visit

Look who we found!

This little lady had curled up in one of our many piles of oak leaves - buried right at the heart of a huge drift outside our back door, but sadly right in the way of our delivery of firewood.

The poor sleepy thing had to be moved but luckily we have plenty of piles of leaves to choose from and hopefully she was just as snug under the hedge.

I have been watching out for hedgehogs in the area as we keep hearing that they are getting rarer so it is particularly nice to have one right outside out door.

In other news, the mincemeat is made and lined up ready to be distributed. It made the house smell amazing so lets hope it tastes just as good in mince pies! I have also been wrapping up a few 'says alice' purchases to send out, so it feels like the festivities are just around the corner.

And then... there was snow :-)

It's christmas cake o'clock

Well, the 2010 christmas cake has lift off...

The fruit is marinading, the butter is softening as I type, the spices are lined up ready to go and the brandy is, well, staying in the cupboard. The reason for that is the cake is a trial run for a wedding cake I will be baking next year and alcohol free is an option. Nut free definitely, alcohol free possibly. So we'll see how this one tastes.

I have also got a lot of mincemeat to make, which means a trip to the lovely farm shop up the road. I'm using a recipe from the River Cottage Preserves book, which uses Russet apples. I know there are lots of Russet trees on the farm so I'm hoping to get a bag of East Anglia's finest. The trick is to stick to getting the apples and to avoid coming home with a sack of spuds, ton of onions, pile of pumpkins, crate of cabbages.... you get the picture. It's far too good a shop.

I think it is something to do with the colder months - the instinct to stock up takes over. Until the freezer lid closes first time, every time, I must resist!

Holiday update

We have just returned from a fantastic week in Cornwall, rescheduled at the very last minute when our intended holiday in northern France was cancelled due to the strikes. You need petrol to drive across France unfortunately...

On the up side, we got a wonderful cottage at the last minute on Lizard point and got the opportunity to have a look around a very beautiful county. The pic is from Perrenporth beach at sunset. It got properly rosy and orange a few minutes after I took this, but I like the dog. It isn't ours, it was just very happy to be on the beach and in our photo!

We can recommend the fishing villages, stone circles, art galleries (the Tate in St Ives of course), the pasties, cream teas and the sea views. If anyone can recommend a good post-Cornwall diet, I'd be grateful!

Now we are home and getting back into the normal routine. I have a few sewing projects with a very fixed deadline of Christmas, so once the washing mountain recedes I think it might be high time to get started. Then there is jam and mincemeat to make, the christmas cake to make and a gazillion other long overdue jobs to do.

Blogging definitely important though. Definitely!

A new header!

And indeed a new logo - very exciting times for says alice!

I am very much enjoying having a graphic designer in the family and will be baking her many more cakes to say thanks for all of her hard work. There are more amendments still to come, so stay tuned to watch things develop.

I'm enjoying this, can you tell?