January flew by!

Thursday 31^st January.

Last day of January- that flew by! Had a lovely but very muddy dog walk today with Jane and her cocker- heard but didn't see the Red Kite.  Saw my orthodontist.  Did an hours ironing. Pottered in the garden again- my winter aconites are almost in flower, and many snowdrops buds are now bulging and should open over the weekend, nice to see the garlic and red onions making progress too. I also noticed herbs like French tarragon, sorrel and mint starting to show signs of life.  Sad however that a number of my pots have broken in the hard frosts we suffered a couple of weeks ago.

Tonight we are eating Tartiflette with green vegetables. The photo shows it ready to go into the oven.

Hello snowdrops!

Wednesday 30^th January.

I had my monthly hands free massage today. This keeps my back and neck working- especially my neck as I slipped two disks several years ago- don’t ever want that pain again.  My dogs had a later walk today in very strong winds!

I re-scripted my CV, to send on to an agency for adult trainer jobs.

I pottered in the garden- there are more and more signs of life. I am pleased to see more of my collections of Hellebores are coming into flower, I have some primroses too, and the various varieties of snowdrop are very close to opening. So good to see winter moving aside for spring!

Finally for dinner tonight I have adapted a recipe from last Saturdays Guardian magazine- Mazzamurra (bread and tomato gratin)!

Feathers

Tuesday 29^th January.

Oh what an eventful day- iPhoto lost every photo in the library.  Then my Mac refused to read the photos on my external hard drive- I was beside my self.  It is now 6pm and I have recovered 98% of the photos, got the external hard drive to work and am feeling a bit happier with my day.

It all started well, I had a lovely walk in the very muddy woods with Jane and Lucy, came home and prepared the brace of pheasant, went to the dentist and life was sweet.  I was processing the photos of the birds when a black sheer curtain dropped from the top of my screen to the bottom, told me to shut down and re start the computer, and that’s when every thing had gone.

Anyway… my photo is of the beautiful feathers on the cock bird.

Racing raindrops

Monday 28^th January.

Finished my holiday books and have uploaded them to Blurb. So pleased!  Today has been domestic Goddess day- walked the dogs, went shopping (always nicer on a Monday than a Friday or Saturday), hovered downstairs, put four lots of washing on, tidied upstairs, and finally got dinner sorted.  It has rained a lot today that means that my walk with Jane and her dog Lucy tomorrow at Hitch Wood will be very muddy.  My photo for today is the traffic rushing home through a rainy window. (frankly nothing inspired me today….)

My Dinner

Sunday 27^th January.

Today I went with Husband to the Adventure Travel Show at Olympia, London.  It was very interesting, and we came home with lots of brochures to pour over.  The photo I was hoping to post, of this guy on the Piccadilly Line, with quite the most over the top, patent black Addidas trainers with white stars and a tongue that came half way up his shin, was blurred! Underground trains and slow iphone camera shutter speed are not very compatible!

Instead, I am posting a photo of my dinner, that I prepared this morning.  We ate small partridge flavoured with rosemary and garlic. This was cooked on a bed of crushed new potatoes that gently roasted. It was served with green beans, broccoli and cauliflower cheese with tomatoes.

Ps It was sunny today!

Mario brings me Game!!

Saturday 26^th January.

SUNSHINE!!!!!!!

After a trip into town and a whizz round the market, I took myself off to Willian village to take some photos in the sun of the pond which is still frozen. It was my full intention that one of these would be my Blipfoto of the day. I took several frames from different angles- and even got a soaking when a car deliberately (no other cars got me wet) drove through a big puddle to drench me- some people are just evil. I was pleased with my mini shoot. ……and then my oldest friend Mario turned up with a brace of still warm pheasants and a brace of pigeons. I am experienced in dealing with pheasant, partridge and grouse, but not pigeon. So I was given a lesson! Mario showed me how remove just the breast whilst leaving it on the bone and removing its guts and then went home. I dealt with the second bird and was pleased with my first attempt- actually it was quite easy. Can’t wait to cook them. The pheasant are going to hang in the shed for a few days still.

I took two photos of the breasts- one more butcher like and the other of clinically clean bits of meat on a white plate.  I prefere the first photo it tells a story.

Sorry to the sqeamish!

London Bus Sloane square

Friday 25^th January.

Feeling very miserable today. Think the cold and lack of sun has really got to me. Missing my kids too.

I nearly put my car through a hedge today on my way to walk the dogs- the icy road conditions made the car choose its own path. Cruise books are nearly finished.

This evening Husband I met with friends who had  freebie meal vouchers at Marco Pierre White’s steak house on the King’s Road Chelsea.   The food was good (no more), the service was indifferent, and had we not had the free meals, and just paid for drinks, the place would have been expensive for what you got.  The company of Jo and Mike was great, as usual. We had a good walk along the King’s road back to Sloane square tube. My  is of the Red London Bus.  

Yellow Lemons

Shall I bother you with the weather? - Ok nuff said.

Little of note has happened today- Husband went to London for a final job interview, and my good friend Jo popped in with some cookies she had baked.

My photo for today is of a lemon on Husbands lemon tree. There are quite a few ready for G&T’s, and more still ripening. It is also in flower so there is a heady scent in the conservatory.  This is the time of year I make my own Limoncello- maybe I will make some next week. Coming soon is the famous Fête du Citron in Menton in the South of France- could I maybe fly down stay a week, visit my relatives and upload a photo a day from my spiritual home?- chance would be a fine thing.

 Check out;  http://www.fete-du-citron.com/

Beauty on a grey day

Still cold and no sign of the sun L this is getting desperate.  The forecast is for the weather to get warmer quite quickly (there by causing floods)- and then lots of rain on Sunday- cant wait!!  I have achieved little today and am right fed up with myself. However, the roof man came for his money, the painter came to try and finish the work he couldn’t complete due to damp walls in October- actually one was still soaking. I did some ironing, prepared Chicken Chow Mein for dinner, walked the dogs, cleared Mother’s drive again and put grit down, and nearly finished the second book of the holiday.  I also took a little tour round my garden looking for snowdrops- there aren’t any flowering just yet. One of my favourite plants of all was giving a lovely display- this pale white and pink Hellebore. Soon all my other Hellebores will also be flowering- they are such a generous plant- evergreen and pretty flowers at the worst time of year. 

-5C.......

Dropped Husband at the railway station this morning then collected Oscar’s prescription before taking dogs out. Today’s dog walk was in temperatures of -5C. Not only that there was some pretty dense freezing fog. So the hedges and trees looked ‘pretty’ but the effect overall was of a white blown out landscape. On my way home I did ‘see’ the sun, as a pale disc trying to burn away the fog- puny sun didn’t succeed. I have been trying to get photos of my friendly female blackbird. Hopefully I will get a good shot for on another day.

The roofers are here trying to insulate the void above the study and cloakroom where the pipes keep freezing. I am doing well with my second holiday book. I am now at the Holy Sepulchre church in Jerusalem!

Today’s photo is of some cow parsley, in the snow and in the fog. Normally in the background you should be able to see a large dense coniferous wood.

Holwell Church

There must be at least three inches of snow. The gardens look pretty, but should there be some sunshine, everywhere would twinkle as if glitter had been sprinkled. I do not understand why we have no sun- normally when the country is taken hostage by high-pressure weather systems it means sunshine!

Dog walk today was ok- it’s hard walking cross-country in thick snow. I took my DSLR out with me but the lack of blue sky made my photos monotonous. These four photos turned out reasonably.  My favourite photo today is Holwell Church in the snow.

Windmill Hill Hitchin

Grey day!! –say no more.  The snow has fallen very slowly and steadily all day.  As there is little traffic out and about the roads that were clear are showing signs of increased slush and settling snow.  I walked to Nanou’s today via Waitrose to deliver the bread she needed. Whilst I was there I sorted out BBC iplayer for her on the computer and added photo attachments in e-mails to her photos folder.  I also spent some time clearing the drive for her and throwing down some salt.

This afternoon I walked back into town with Husband for something to do- I was getting sick of centrally heated rooms and needed more fresh air.  Windmill Hill in the centre of town is a major draw to all the suicidal youth of the town and their sledges. The hill is steep and at the bottom there is nothing to stop you crashing down into the railings or even going straight into the road below.  It was a must photo for today. It is also very reminiscent of a painting I got to know when I was a student in Manchester called The Playground by LS Lowery! I concede his was better than my photo!!!

Hitchin Outdoor Swimming Pool

Can you believe it- today was cold, damp and GREY!! I took a walk into Hitchin and snapped the very icy outdoor swimming pool-very uninviting! Funny how in summer it is really rather pretty but in winter and under snow it looks very bleak!

I have completed my first book of the duo of book on our cruise last autumn. There are a few more proof reads to go- checking font type, size, spelling centralisation etc.  But the photos are in and most of the narrative done too. Hopefully this will be completed tomorrow. Then to start book two!

We had no more snow today thank goodness.  I popped in again on Nanou who was well and behaving herself although her house could have been warmer- I secretly twicked the thermostat when I left! I downloaded the programmes again for her- “they just vanished and I didn’t do anything”!!!

Working on my Book

I walked my dogs very early today in -3C on the Icknield way and the north wind nearly froze my sinuses. I was again a grey day. At 11ish the snow started to fall very slowly and softly, it continued all day but really has made gardens look pretty but kept main roads clear.  A rubbish day for taking photos, but a good day for getting on with writing my book of the cruise we took in October 2012. I am slow this time in getting the books written but with a bit of luck I should have book one done by the end of tomorrow. This photo is of the book in progress!

Frosty in Holwell.

Fantastically cold and bright day- I was so excited to get out with the dogs this morning, as after the fog last night I knew frost would have turned everything white from the ground to the tops of the trees.  I wasn’t disappointed!  Again I have to choose one out of 4 possible photos for today…frustrating- macro shots of twinkling moss on the church wall in Holwell, or a landscape?  Oh to hell with it I will post lots!!!

Tomorrow brings lots of snow…….

My delicious dinner

And here we have the result of my cooking today

-4C and I want some Mediterranean comfort food!

It was very cold walking the dogs this morning -4C, and still grey and foggy.  The upside to this is the ground was frozen solid so no slipping around in the snow and mud.  I saw the Red Kite again at close quarters as well as the Kestrel. There were a few pretty frosty photos so I am posting several pictures today. The roofing men came and hopefully now after nearly 13 years we will have no more water damage in two bedrooms- now to get a plasterer to re-do the plaster…

I am being adventurous in the kitchen today and making a Bouillabaisse for my dinner tonight- My husband is having the lamb shank stew I cooked yesterday.

The photo shows the making of the foundation of the soup..... it smells wonderful!

Tracks in the snow

Today on a rather cold dog walk along the Icknield Way, I was lucky enough to see two red kites that stood out strongly against a snowy background as they sat on a hedge at a distance of 30 feet from me. By the time I got my iphone out, gloves off etc, they had flown away. What big beautiful birds they are. I later had a kestrel that flitted along an old hedgerow just ahead of me.  There were pheasant, rabbit and deer tracks in the snow- and my own!!!


Later in the kitchen I prepared Lamb Shank Stew- one of my husbands favorite meals- It is going to rest for 24 hours before eating as stews always taste better after 24-48 hours!

Snow is falling

Today has been (would you believe it) another grey day- I think I am becoming a bit compulsive about this depressing weather. But today it also snowed, and now everywhere is pretty and white. But, as there is no sunshine to make everything twinkle and glitter, I will be one of the few people who isn’t posting a snowy scene. Instead and in my quest for that big bright orange disc in the sky I am posting a photo of my own recipe Spicy Butternut Squash soup in the making. It is such a bright vibrant colour, and when finished will also be delicious!

Lincoln with Dan.

Took Dan back to Lincoln University today. It tried to snow in Hitchin this morning- so you guessed it-another grey day. However on the journey to Lincoln we did run into 40 minutes of brilliant bright sunshine-it quite lifted my spirit and  it quite made my eyes hurt!!  Then as we travelled further north we were suddenly enveloped in a grey fog all the way to our destination. Lunch was enjoyed at the Handmade burger company, and then we took Dan shopping to an amazing Morrissons.  They had a herb and fine vegetable fridge that puffed out chilled vapours over the goods!!! So which photo for today? The foggy marina in Lincoln town or the chilled vapour counter at Morrissons? I have choosen Morrissons as Lincoln Marina is so much prettier in the sunshine!

Books and more books!

Yet another cold, grey, miserable day. How I hate January… Today has been a busy day though as tomorrow Dan returns to Lincoln Uni.  Proudly I got all my ironing done by mid morning. Dan I went to the bank to sort him out with a credit card. We went to see Nanou, and I got to speak to my French cousins (many times removed!!) Michel and Cecile Bachot- it seems the weather is just as depressing in Paris. I also continued to sort through the vast number of books we have and I have offered a suit case full of primary school fiction and non-fiction books to the first school interested…so far no takers!!

The societies conference

Went to the SWPP (society of wedding and portrait photographers) conference today at the London Metropole hotel. Its another grey miserable day, and cold too- that didn’t make the Edgware road London any the more enjoyable or photogenic.  Very pleased with the conference as it confirmed the decisions made after a lot of hard research to be correct. 

A grey grey day

A grey miserable day. The only thing that got my photographic attention was this blackthorn bush covered in bright green and yellow lichen when I was out walking my dogs.

Indian Street Food

Today I took my daughter Claire back to university in Brighton. The journey started at Luton Parkway and after crossing London we arrived in Brighton two hours later, a taxi (as her cases were so heavy we could hardly lift or pull them along) completed our journey to her house, which is near to the University of Sussex campus.

After dumping (quite literally) her cases, we headed back to Brighton by bus and lunch at a fantastic Indian restaurant called Chilli Pickle.  This was our second visit and every bit as wonderful as the first. We ate from the street food menu. Four dishes that cost £25.00. Oh and the loos are just amazing!!

The subject of my photo today is the street food!