"Gargantua" -: It's the end...and dumplings...

Hello to you all.

I'm over again at the Garg blog -> Ergo Phizmiz: "Gargantua" -: It's the end...: ...of the Wolf mask template! Over the course of the last few days the part I repaired crumbled leaving the mask in three quarters as seen...

If you've been following my progress on the Gargantua blog you will see that my progress has been a tad slow. However, things are finally coming together and I'm feeling a lot more confident about my part in the whole thing.

The end of last year was very exhausting with a list as long as my arm that needed completing as well as taking on a temporary Christmas job in a clothes shop to help towards Christmas as well as my usual part time job in a gift shop. I barely felt that I had a minute to myself, let alone a minute to concentrate on making new things that I wasn't wholly feeling so confident about. In fact the whole episode ended with an awful flare up of a horrendous chronic stomach condition I have that shows it's ugly head every few years (especially at stressy times). So now I'm even more geared up and raring to go after my body's got over attacking itself. So to take the bull by it's horns as you may say. Get better and make, make, make.

I've got plans to do more arts/crafts/vintage stalls, so I've got lots of making to do. I've got promises of films for different people that I didn't have the time to do last year. I've got lots of ideas for new films and experiments with films I'd like to try out. Photography ideas. Ideas and plans for ceramics and my poor Potter's wheel that I've not had time to use. And finally get the mug transfers I made, done for Isle of Tea and also sort out the shop and get it re-opened again. Also though, I think it's time to reign in offering all my talents to people for free or very little. It seemed like the whole of last year I pretty much dedicated all my spare time to helping other people out with their projects/ideas/work, etc.

Mug designs for Isle of Tea

It may seem selfish to say that, but it is meant with the best intentions and to myself too. I've spent far too long, diverting my attention with other things and not feeling good enough about what I can achieve. I often refrain from spilling the beans on here, but I'm as human as everyone else and generally in everyday conversation, it is the people I can completely be myself with that I get along with the most and they've seen an awful lot of my beans.

And just for fun, I think I'll share with you an image from when I must've been around 30 months...and upside down, in my pants.

This evening we're planning to watch an Orson Welles film and tuck into the Veggie Goulash with Horseradish dumplings. I should really get these kiddies to bed too, get my comfies on and get my new hot water bottle at the ready.

Nighty night.

A Brunchy Toasty Mushroom Feast

Yes, I was being generous with the cheese and the pesto the morning I made this, but I'd been out all morning without anything even touching my lips (except a cold black coffee or three) and so this was most definitely brunch!

This is becoming one of my favourites. Garlic mushrooms on soya and linseed toast. Yum. I don't normally put anything on top, but this morning was calling for it. So a crumble (or ten) of Wensleydale Cheese and a few dollops of green pesto.

What do you like putting on toast?

TtFn

Eat Your Gin & Sip Your Greens

We've been really enjoying Autumnal greens recently. We got some Romanesque from the grocers a few days ago and how bloody amazing is it?! For something from nature to grow like that, with never ending spirals and patterns. Wow! We call it space broccoli in our house!

Tofu, Romanesque, Courgette, Mushroom and Seed stir-fry (by the fella)

And we're loving purple sprouting and long stemmed broccoli at the moment too...

Steam away...

Roast sweet spuds, creamy mushroom rice, asparagus, broccoli & kale

By the fella too!

He has been cooking up some delicious treats recently as I've been getting in at six-ish after working in the shop or cafe a couple of days a week and it's always a bit of a relief that food is done and dusted!

It is sometimes a struggle to get the different varieties of food into the kids though. I was quite surprised that Talulah (our 8 year old) willingly ate her asparagus and Autumn always neeeeeds to know how many more she has to eat until she can scoot away and play with her animals (which she is quite obsessed with). Funny girl.

Oh...and we grew some potatoes earlier in the year in our huge garden and had a delicious meal with these little beauties. That was a good meal indeed.

Talking of the huge garden, which has been amazing throughout the summer, now is the time to properly get on with cutting so much of it back. It's really going quite wild now, but being so rushed off our feet with all the different projects/jobs/kids/family life, it's been hard to get on top of it. It would be helpful if I purchased some garden tools. Thankfully the fella's been good at keeping the lawn down. We must put some days aside to strip it back before Spring is upon us!

I did wonder if I very nicely asked a group of friends over to do a whole lot of weeding and pruning with us one day, then feed their bellies with yummy grub and perhaps be supplying them with a steady flow of mulled cider here and there to keep those fingers warm and toasty... hmmm... it might just convince them...

Ah...and I must not forget to mention, we have succeeded this year (as we didn't last year) in making some blackberry and raspberry gin in time for Christmas. As you can see from my very first post back at the end of December 2010, we were merrily enjoying it with our Christmas celebrations and my birthday. This year the blackberries were from our garden and if I'd have thought about it even just six weeks ago, we could have used the raspberries from our garden too, but when I was bottling the gin up, they'd all just about been consumed by us all, so I did cheat and get some from Waitrose.

It's really super easy to make fruity gin for Christmas. We always try and do it in September, so it will be ready for Christmas. It is literally a whole load of fruit of your choice (we used elderberries before), sugar and the gin. I don't have any quantities for you as I just looked around online and came across different gin recipes online.

Well...that's all folks...

TtFn

Do you know what..?

Cheddar, green pesto and mango chutney on crackers, is surprisingly nice...

And... that is all. For now.