tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109606432009-07-11T13:36:41.552Zlivingdoinga diary of our lives and the things we dovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-70087734932370436822009-07-06T21:30:00.004Z2009-07-11T13:36:41.565Zthames timesMy friend Nicola and her hubby Martin came to stay with us for the weekend. After serving up a three course meal on Friday night (including the heavy heavy chocolate tart), we spent Saturday in London. First Greenwich where we ate sarnies in the park, then took shelter from a sudden shower in the market (only to realise that the market was full of seriously yummy foodstuffs that we could have vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-4653540493817255692009-07-05T22:16:00.002Z2009-07-07T16:00:37.661Zbaked choclate tartAnother Jamie Oliver recipe was trialled when my friends came to stay. This time a dessert, from his old Naked Chef days. It looked so damn good, but you know what? It could have sunk a sub it was so heavy - almost inedible! There is a possibility that I over-measured the tablespoons of cocoa powder, but even with less I don't think it would have been completely to my taste. Never mind!vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-88642391781887109222009-06-30T11:33:00.003Z2009-07-07T15:47:24.062Zcour-blimeyCourgettes are looking good. First fruit has sprouted...vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-27224398294472185282009-06-28T22:29:00.004Z2009-06-30T11:30:25.974Zall hailThe rain may have held off for The Killers, but it hit us with avengeance yesterday while we were out running. The thunder was already rumbling ominously before we left, but we thought we'd take it on, and see if we could get back before the rain came. Of course, we were exactly half way when the heavens opened and it wasn't just rain we were pelted with but oversized hailstones. We took what vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-45853567384421921712009-06-27T22:53:00.004Z2009-06-30T11:31:36.982Zi got soul but i'm not a soldierThe Killers totally rocked Hyde Park last night. The rain held off, it was a lovely sunny evening and the crowd loved every minute.vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-50372498684363250122009-06-21T15:43:00.006Z2009-06-23T11:07:22.669Zpurple plantsGetting my hands dirty making mud pies is definitely as therapeutic for me as a spa day, if not moreso. So when we dropped into Homebase yesterday to buy a barbecue I got a little distracted and came away with a whole array of purple petalled beauties. Of course, I couldn't be doing all that planting without some cute new gardening gloves and these candy striped ones suited me just fine! Purple, vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-73810725199571112652009-06-19T20:19:00.006Z2009-06-22T20:44:14.807Zspa dayAs I lay staring at the tiled floor, my head firmly planted in a towel-lined hole, I thought it would make a good opening vista for a film. Vulnerable, alone in a darkened room, and at the mercy of a complete stranger, anything could happen - a brutal murder perhaps? Happily there was nothing of the sort. I was at the Utopia Spa in Rowhill Grange, enjoying a full body massage. We are in serious vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-63845832757347600002009-06-14T20:39:00.004Z2009-06-21T15:12:15.760Zjason and janeCongratulations to the gorgeous Mr and Mrs Kinsey who were married yesterday at Alexander House. It was perfect weather for a perfect day!vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-34004630389612291082009-06-03T21:48:00.006Z2009-06-06T14:42:49.311Zsmokin'If you like meat, especially barbecued meat, you must visit a Bodeans BBQ Smoke House. When we parked up in Brixton before the Counting Crows on Monday we needed to find somewhere to eat and when we realised that we weren't that far away from Clapham High Street, where I used to live, and our favourite eatery there we took a walk over to experience the taste sensation once again.God I love that vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-49021815213003003842009-06-02T21:46:00.003Z2009-06-03T16:36:57.584Zcounting crows at brixton academyFinally, after waiting over five years for UK dates, having had the concert we'd booked at Wembley Arena last year cancelled, and after postponing the original date of this gig last week, we saw the Counting Crows last night at Brixton Academy. They are Dom's favourite band from his teen years (although The Killers are now proving stiff competition), and I'm now a fan too, but I didn't download vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-73728585836404219432009-05-31T22:29:00.006Z2009-06-03T16:14:13.103Zgetting plastered... againWe had a fab weekend with Dom's sister and family in Northampton. We hired bikes at Pitsford Water and went for a lovely bike ride in the blazing heat. Then back to Clare's for a gorgeous barbecue. No photos I'm afraid.While we were away we had Rob the plasterer skim all the remaining upstairs ceilings: the landing and two of the bedrooms. This meant that Friday night was a late one dismantling vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-50358929192177356702009-05-24T21:03:00.006Z2009-06-03T15:43:14.473Zbath inWe have been blessed with glorious weather this bank holiday weekend, but we can't really appreciate it as, as usual, it's been all go with the house renovations. I wouldn't have it any other way though. Well, I would, I'd rather we were finished, but that isn't going to happen unless we stick at it, so I'd rather put the effort in and lose a sunny day or two now than spend a day in the sun vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-64095370283758346082009-05-20T22:13:00.004Z2009-05-21T13:38:37.060Zchelsea chelseaJust got back from a fab day at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. I was very lucky to be in the Hospitality Village, and after meeting the fellow guests, we headed off to view the Courtyard Gardens. My favourite was the Demelza garden, a cool haven of a seating area, surrounded by plants and sound from the pendulum water feature and tubular gongs with their deep echoing chime. It was a Silver Gilt vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-19923759299133668082009-05-19T22:30:00.003Z2009-05-21T10:41:34.924Zthe pantechnicon roomsNo, I haven't misspelled the name. I went out for a delicious meal with work tonight at the unpronounceable Pantechnicon Rooms. We had a smart private dining room, great wine and a faultless menu. I had goats curd salad to start, followed by a luscious beef fillet, then pana cotta with caramel strawberries and pink peppercorns. If you get the opportunity to go I'd highly recommend it.vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-50385487736111530802009-05-18T11:02:00.009Z2009-05-21T10:18:27.631Zkevin turns thirtyOur friend Kevin turned thirty on Friday, and to celebrate he invited a group of friends to spend a weekend with him and his wife, Caroline in a cottage near Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds. The Old School House was in the small hamlet of Lower Swell, with nothing but a well and a pub to its name, the Golden Ball Inn, where we all met late on Friday night for drinks and introductions. Next day vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-82347879650217848962009-05-10T21:07:00.004Z2009-05-11T07:54:21.507Zplumbing the sinkWe got back into working on the house this weekend. Dom fitted the wooden worktop in the bathroom (which will be tiled) into which the sink fits, and then plumbed in the new sink.I painted the small room. First giving the walls and ceiling a mist coat (roughly 50% emulsion 50% water) as it was going on to fresh plaster, then painting the ceiling with two coats of white. We used an old tub of vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-71818851485710862192009-05-07T20:42:00.003Z2009-05-07T20:57:51.730ZI don't want to go into detail here, but the reason I haven't posted much over the past month is that Dom's mum has been very ill, and on Monday she passed away. We count ourselves lucky that we had the chance to spend some real quality time with her and we are very thankful for the amazing care she received from the hospice. I know that where ever she is now, she is peaceful and happy.vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-41441044706913226972009-04-24T18:13:00.002Z2009-04-27T16:39:31.903Zrasps and beansI was very impressed with the wooden troughs I ordered from UK Garden Supplies. They seemed to be the cheapest on the web for their good size and construction and they fit just perfectly in this area by the fence. In the left we have french beans, and in the right we have raspberry canes. They don't look much at the moment (will we really get a crop this summer?), but with a little bit of TLC I vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-19650043671550416102009-04-19T11:22:00.005Z2009-04-19T11:51:50.522Zsowing, mowing and growingSpring is here and the garden is looking lovely. Dom smiles when he looks at the lawn. The blood, fish and bone that we spread on it a few weeks ago has finally rewarded us with thicker blades and a wonderful deep green colour. We've mowed it a couple of times already this year, weeded and trimmed the edges. Our next job is to seed and feed the bare patches. Look at the improvement since we vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-57332535013174265692009-04-18T18:17:00.005Z2009-04-19T11:19:04.365Zadventures in compostingI've been saving vegetable waste for a couple of weeks now, in a plastic tub outside, conscious that I need to get a proper bin to get the compost process going. I was holding out, thinking about making one out of wood, as the plastic ones look quite ugly, but the lid kept flipping off my tub and the flies were taking too much interest in the rotting veg, so I had to act fast and get a better vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-8598900643293097672009-03-29T22:25:00.002Z2009-03-30T09:11:01.728ZI don't look a day over thirtyThat's because I'm not, but I soon will be!What a great night last night. The venue was fantastic, the food was lovely, everyone sang really loudly and really badly! Perfect.Dom gave me the biggest surprise by showing a video he had made of my life up to now, there were so many funny moments, and clips from friends and relatives who couldn't make it. I was blown away and very emotional. I really vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-6960621179496631552009-03-28T12:29:00.006Z2009-03-30T09:58:48.297Zthey say it's your birthdayWoo hoo! It's my birthday today. I am 30 years old - that is OLD! Yesterday I took my mum, dad and Dom to my admissions ceremony to celebrate me finally qualifying as a solicitor in November last year. There was a presentation and a photo op and some nice tea and scones. Later we had the lamb shanks that I had put in the slow cooker before leaving. They were lovely and tender, but a little bland.vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-50244991115217750992009-03-26T11:00:00.003Z2009-03-30T09:56:44.077Zno socksI worked my little socks off last night, cleaning the house and baking treats. Like some kind of crazed loon I was baking my second batch of brownies at 10.30pm, while snacking on the leftovers of my failed first batch! Dusting, hoovering, making panna cottas and scones, wiping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, making up beds... I finally made it to bed at 1.30am. This morning I left it as late vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-52345844349557022552009-03-25T11:49:00.003Z2009-03-30T08:37:03.614Zslow cooker lamb shanksMy mum, dad, sister and boyfriend are all coming to stay with us for the weekend and they arrive tomorrow night. I want to cook something fairly traditional, as my dad is not an adventurous eater to say the least.I also don't want to be slaving over a hot stove when I arrive home from work as it is likely that my family will have already arrived, so I need to pay them some attention. In these vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10960643.post-8470552785667890772009-03-22T23:07:00.005Z2009-03-24T14:15:36.701Zlong distance clara and bob the builderWhen I was little I used to watch an adorable little animated show called Pigeon Street and one of my favourite characters was Long Distance Clara . She was a lorry driver. She even had her own song, and I was singing it in my head yesterday while driving first to Basildon in Essex to the TNT depot to pick up our radiator. Back just in time for a sandwich, I was off again on the two hour round vichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07356985947214920986noreply@blogger.com0