BIT OF A MANIC EVENING...

...yesterday.

James and Claire had spent a very hectic day moving into their new place, only to discover that they needed bedding from here, stuff that James had stored away some time ago. This necessitated some lengthy visits (by me) to the loft in an attempt to find said items. I actually found nothing up there despite all my efforts, but did have a good rummage through all the Christmas stuff! You forget what you've got, don't you? I think I could give Fenwicks a run for their money in the decoration department and certainly won't need to spend any more money on buying new stuff.

In the end I found the required items in bedroom drawers, just in time for the very tired couple to arrive, have a cuppa, collapse on the sofa for a few minutes and then wend their weary way back hone to Gosforth.

All this was happening while England were losing to France, a match that certainly seemed to disappoint, although it sounds as if Andy Carroll had a reasonable debut.

I've got a relatively quiet day today - the lull before the storm in fact. I can't do any more buffet prep until tomorrow when all the fillings can be done. It's a question of getting the timing just right, to ensure that nothing goes soggy, but everything is ready in plenty of time to pack up. I quickly learned from the last occassion, that packing stuff takes a lot longer than one might imagine, so need to allow plenty of time for that tomorrow.

I'm really pleased with the cupcakes I've made. I've just done three flavours - Baileys, chocolate and raspberry, but they look pretty impressive, even if I say so myself. In fact, I left one lonely little Baileys cake out in the kitchen last night and when I went though this morning I was greeted with the fabulous aroma of coffee, whiskey and cream. Gorgeous!