Baking

I had the morning to myself yesterday as hubby had to go up north to collect Little T from his extended holiday with Grandparents. Anyway after I had caught up with the cleaning, sorting the livestock and a bit of gardening, I had the urge to try a new scone recipe that I'd had in a cafe last week, apple scones.

        I just used a rich scone recipe but added diced apple instead of raisins, and they turned out really well. 

What do you think?

If you want to have a go at making them here is the recipe:  

                                     

                                                     Apple Scones.

8oz(225g) self raising flour

pinch salt

2oz(50g) margarine

1oz(25g) caster sugar

1 egg beaten with milk to make 1/4pt(150ml) liquid

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

Heat oven to 220c and grease a baking tray.

Mix flour and salt and rub in margarine, then stir in sugar and apple.

Add the egg mix, but keep a little for glazing tops.

Mix it all together.( I needed to add more flour at this stage as it was quite sticky.) Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead gently. I didn't roll it out but instead just patted it into shape then cut out rounds and placed them on the tray.

Brush the tops with the egg mix and bake for about 10 mins.

Give them a go, they are really easy and they taste delicious.

The growing season

We (well my hubby mainly) spent most of last sunday tidying up my very untidy greenhouse ready for the new growing season. I should do it at the end of the last growing season but I can never be bothered. As soon as I opened the door to take the photo the girls decided they wanted to be in their favourite place...  

an old growbag. They have spent most of the winter scratching and dust bathing in here. But it needed to go.

 Poor old Amber looks confused with the nice clean and tidy arrangement. I wonder where they will choose next to dustbathe? No doubt it will be somewhere inappropriate.

I've been itching to get started on seed sowing but Little T and I have been away most of the week visiting parents, he is still there as he didn't want to come home with me! It's more fun at grandparents obviously. Anyway it gave me a chance to get on with some much needed gardening. So today I sowed some trays of sweetpeas. These can be sown in autumn to give earlier flowers but I prefer to do it in spring.

Now that's done I feel positively spring like. As the weather has warmed up a bit the immediate reaction is to rush out and sow all sorts of things but I err on the side of caution and leave it a while longer, as later sowings do tend to catch up.

                     I forgot to plant tulips in my old wine crates near the back door last year so I bought these sprouted ones today for 99p each, what a bargain. I transferred them to the crates, but planted them slightly deeper than they originally were and hopefully they will grow on okay.

I had to distract the girls with some melon as they thought I needed some help to get the job done properly.

Before  I go I wanted to show you this twiggy shrub ( must apologise for the bad photos, I shall have to practise). 

It's a Viburnum plicatum  "mariesii", not much to look at now but give it a few weeks and it will be stunning. Call back and I will keep you updated with it's progress. 

success

Well I have successfully finished my four needle socks and am feeling rather pleased with myself. They fit well and feel very comfy. And yes they are for my feet as my feet are that small!

Now they are finished I will have a rest from wrestling with multi needles and go back to two. I started this blanket in November, isn't it divine? 

It's made using Rowan Denim which fades and shrinks when it's washed, so I've washed the squares  separately before I sew them together to avoid colour run, it would be heartbreaking if it was ruined after all that work. 

It uses a variety of techniques including beadwork which I thought would be difficult but is actually quite easy and interesting to do. I have made 30 squares so far...

 only another 50 to go then. Better get cracking. Will keep you updated on my progress.  

A weekend away

We have just got back from a fabulous weekend in Whitby. We have been going there since we were little but because we lived in the North-east we never stayed over so this was our first time and it was great. This was our cottage

it was right at the bottom of the Abbey steps ( for those of you who know the area). For those of you who dont this was the view out of the front windows, isn't it fab?

And this was the view out of our bedroom window -absolutely stunning isn't it? We could lie in bed with a coffee and marvel at the view. 

Our bedroom was up in the rafters and on the first night a gale was blowing - the noise was unbelievable and the house shook. I couldnt sleep so I sneaked down a floor to little T's room where it wasn't so noisy, and slept there.

           We packed lots into the weekend, we did plenty of walking, eating, shopping and fossil hunting. Whitby is fantastic for fossils and Little T managed to find plenty for his collection. Here he is looking wistfully out to sea waiting for the tide to go out so he can get cracking.

Doesn't it look picturesque?

 Yes my 10 year old son is nearly as tall as me!

Of course I can't go anywhere without a bit of retail therapy. We bought this fantastic picture from a little  gallery- Whitby galleries. It's by a local artist Linda Golding and it really grabbed our attention, so now it's hanging on our wall.

I also had to buy a new ball of sock wool from a wool shop in an old Methodist church, it's a real experience!

 The purse is to keep loose change in if I ever have any left.

Can't wait to go back again. Off now to have tea- Whitby Kippers, delicious.