Feeling Chilli

Things may have been cold and covered in snow in this part of the world but we've managed to encourage some heat at Angelcat Manor in the form of some new chillies which have begun to grow on the plant we've nurtured this year.Some of the chilli's maturer cousins ended up in this huge batch of veg chilli that I cooked up this week. It's now all tucked away in the freezer ready to be used up on those days when I just can't be bothered to cook. Yum, looking at this picture of it bubbling away on the stove is making me feel hungry.With five cats in the house it doesn't matter what you are up to, one or the other wants to get involved. Here is Pip trying to help us choose what's on the menu tonight :)

Countdown

The countdown to Christmas started a couple of days ago, I'd forgotten I'd taken this picture until I was downloading my camera today.

Am loving marking the countdown by candle lit cosy evenings this year.

Playing in the Snow

After the first sprinkling of snow on Friday night, we woke up on Saturday to a lovely white world. This is was the view from the bedroom window Saturday morning. Of course being the giant kid that I am I couldn't wait to pull on my hat and gloves and starting messing around in all that virgin whiteness. The garden always looks so pretty when it has a topping of fresh snow. I love how this spiderweb managed to catch and hold captive some of the glorious white flakes. Not long after photographing the web, on a quick trip to the local shop, we happened across this spider taking a stroll in the snow. I know how cold my toes get walking in the snow, I wonder how cold it would be having eight legs on the ground? :)

We have more snow forecast this week so maybe more snow photos on the way

Windfall Apples

Last week I was gifted a huge bag of windfall apples. Ok so they might not have been the prettiest looking apples on the block but with a bit of cosmetic surgery they got turned in to 4 delicious crumbles. As you can probably see I added a few blackberries to a couple of the dishes. Looks like the naughty kitchen sprites took a nibble out of this one before it made it in to the freezer. I also made a pie, my pastry skills leave a lot to be desired but what it lacks in aesthetic beauty it makes up for in taste. After 4 crumbles and a pie there were still more apples so a couple more were chucked in to the slow cooker with some pork and a splash of cider for a delicious Sunday dinner.

The freezer is now full, so it's now down to the hard work of eating up some of those yummy puddings. :)

Birthday Baking

We've been having a bit of a rough week at Angelcat Manor, but the mood was lifted a bit on Wednesday as it was Dave's birthday. Poor Dave has a really bad back at the moment so we couldn't go far, but spent a lovely cosy evening in instead. I decided to have a go at some birthday baking.Here are my little cakes before decorating. And this is the after shot.My god these little cakes were absolutely gorgeous, even if I do say so myself. They were made with plenty of vodka, orange and coconut. Very naughty but very nice!And here is the birthday boy himself making his birthday wish............. whatever it was I hope it comes true.

Winter Warmers

I don't know about you but with a winter chill setting in in the air I'm finding that I like to spend more and more time in the kitchen. Maybe after all these years I'm finally turning in to a domestic goddess (ok I'm not going to hold my breath on that one). The last couple of weekends I've tried to squeeze in a couple of hours of soup making.There's something I love about this shot of all those circles of parsnip and leek bubbling away. My soups have been getting squirreled away in the freezer ready for taking to work for lunch, so much nicer than a bought sandwich I think.In other news from home, be warned - look what happens when you are a naughty boy in my house.And if the cage doesn't improve your behaviour then I'll release the cats....... maybe I'm more of a domestic tyrant than goddess ??!!

Getting Organised

I've been starting to wonder whether my lack of inspiration to sew at the moment is in part due to having bits and pieces everywhere. My stitching stuff is partly here at the new place and some is still at the old house, so I am making a concerted effort this week to get organised.Look at this nice tidy corner of the room. My threads and fabric scraps are on hand to be grabbed whenever the mood takes me now, along with some magazines and folders full of articles which will hopefully inspire me to get creative again. Sadly the rest of the room still looks like a bombsite though, sigh.I'm sure things will get sorted in the end. I'm not going to let it all get me down. To help me keep positive I've made a little collection of some things that inspire me, this is what greets me as I walk in the front door everyday.Now it might not seem like much to most people but these few little things put a smile on my face every time I walk through the front door. My little Oyster catcher ornament (just because I love those gorgeous little birds), my orange kitty money box (this is where pockets gets emptied of any and all loose change which in turn ends up in the bank as part of holiday savings for next years trip) and a beautiful book that Dave bought me as a surprise after he found out how much I love this place on our holidays this year 'a year in the life of Buttermere'. My little slice of welcome home heaven.

Cosy Evenings

Autumn is really in the air around here at the moment. Woke up to a world covered in mist this morning, sadly I wasn't really awake enough to appreciate it while making my way to work earlier.

With the nights drawing in, temperatures dropping and the lurgy visiting our house there hasn't been any time or energy for frolics and adventure. The autumnal air is obviously having it's effect on me as I want to spend cosy evenings at home, it seems I'm preparing for winter hibernation already

I've been trying to learn to play the guitar, my progress isn't very fast, after days spent at work my poor little brain seems to struggle to retain anything I try and learn in the evening. I'm worried that my camera might seize up due to lack of outdoor adventure, but I've been trying to stop that happening by trying again to get some shots of the fishes. As you can see though its not going too well, these are the best I've managed so far. I've even turned my hand to a bit of baking. Haven't done any of that for oh I don't remember how long, but these blueberry cakes were just yummy. Mostly I've just been spending a lot of time cuddled up with the cats. Doesn't Oscar just look the perfect vision of domestic bliss?

I've also been having the urge to start stitching something of my own again, I want to experiment and stitch for stitchings sake, not just follow a pattern, but the evening light fades to quickly once I get home...maybe I'll get round to it at the weekend.
We might be spending more time indoors but look we're still very cosmopolitan, lol. Spanish drinking chocolate and french brandy, it's medicinal you know, as I said at the start lurgy is loitering at our place ;-)

Weekend Wonders

Had a nice super chilled weekend this weekend, no rushing around no out and about just at home pleasing ourselves. So with lack of any adventure to share here are a few snapshots from home.The fish got a new toy, I just couldn't resist adding this Greek style ruin to the tank. Not the most attractive photo but the fish were playing silly buggers and this is the only way I could get a few of them in the shot (still only just though look in the top corner, lol).Cute Potatoe and I got creative and did some journalling. It's time for cute to pack her bags and head off to the USA.Look at this delicious crop straight from the garden. After making a good start our poor veg patch got a bit neglected over the busy summer and wasn't looked after as well as it could have been. We are planning our holidays for November next year though so there will be more time to concentrate on the garden next summer, and we're aiming for a bigger veg patch next year so watch this space.And of course my weekend wouldn't be complete without a bit of stitching. Beading on the Autumn Queen has begun.