RESCUE IN SIGHT!

HOORAY!!

There's a great big snow plough (well, it's a JCB with a plough on the front actually) outside our house digging us out. It's taken about half an hour to get from the corner to our drive which just goes to show how much snow there is to scoop up but it should make things a bit easier in the morning. God knows how long it'll take to do the rest of the estate!

MUST BE DESPERATE NOW

So fed up of being confined to the house, I've resorted to sorting out the utility room and all those drawers where things just get shoved for sorting out later. The problem is, they never DO get sorted out and just pile up higher and higher, resulting in a mammoth task that is easier to avoid than actually tackle.

Still no postman today, although we have had a delivery via a courier, who said that the A697 is passable with cre, but the Royal Mail aren't letting their postmen out yet. I have an image of dozens of frustrated postmen, locked away in some gigantic sorting office, pleading to be allowed out to make their deliveries. The thing is, by the time they DO get back on the road, I'm going to need a mail van just for MY stuff!

I was beginning to think that the thaw had set in. In fact, in fairness, I CAN actually see some hints of green in the garden now, so there must be some thawing going on. BUT I've just checked out the forecast from the Met Office and it would appear that we are due for another snowfall and have a 'flash warning' hanging over us for the next couple of days. That was not there when I checked first thing this morning.

Okay - what can I do next? Might sort out my winter clothes!!

TEN MINUTES AFTER THAT...

... and after valiant attempts by neighbours, he managed eventually to move away from his precarious position across the road, moved about a hundred feet and turned round to return home again.

FIVE MINUTES LATER...

... Charles's car is now straddling the only entrance to Cheviot Lodge and isn't going anywhere!

THIS IS IT!

Time for Charles to attempt to move the car from the drive. Hope he has more success than poor old Outed Dannymatt did last night!

He's been out there digging again first thing, the engines been warming up for half an hour, he's consumed a hearty breakfast (well, two pieces of toast) and is gearing up for the Big Adventure.

Thankfully, there was only a light covering of snow during the night, so MAYBE things are going to return to normal soon. I was having a little chuckle at all the southern softies who are just now experiencing an inch of snow. Shame!

Haven't got a clue what I'm going to do today. I (yes ME - not Charles) got most of the cards written last night. I don't really have any baking to do, although it doesn't do any harm to stick a few more cakes in the freezer, so I could do that.

I'm hoping there will be a Tesco delivery tomorrow and possibly some post today as I'm waiting with excited anticipation for deliveries of Christmas presents (not for me you understand).

Okay - Charles has just announced that he's going to set off. Good luck Charles. Take care!

CAN'T BEAR THE THOUGHT...

... of this weather going on much longer and am beginning to feel the stress of being under house arrest for five days.

With luck, the next snow dump will be over somewhere else this time, so we can start getting back to some sort of normality. The postman hasn't ventured into the village since Friday! This may be good if it means not getting bills and the like - but when you're expecting exciting packages it's a bit frustrating.

I've spent most of the day filling the freezer up with goodies for Christmas.may as well - there's not much else I can do. (The Christmas cards are still lying forlornly in their packs I'm afraid!)

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG!

It's all very well having all the white stuff - we've had a further six inches during the night, with more forecast for today - but what on earth is going to happen when the thaw starts? Not that I can see that happening any time soon, but I was just wondering.

I don't think I've ever seen as much snow in Longfram during all the years we've lived here.

Charles's school is closed today, along with many others, so as he's at home I think we'll make a start on writing Christmas cards!

SPENT THE MORNING...

... making all the sugarpaste cutouts ready for Christmas cakes. There should be more than enough now, so it's been a morning well spent.

TRYING NOT TO...

... watch the match! Can't bear it. Will wait till it's over, then will watch the recording.

However, can't avoid watching the snow which is coming down hard again. According to the Met Office there could be another 40cms this evening! Where will it fit?

CRAZY DRIVING CONDITIONS

Well, we went into Morpeth at lunchtime and discovered that the A697 was still only just passable. Even the main road in Morpeth town centre was lethal and there was little evidence that a plough had been through.

I must admit we began to doubt the sense of making the journey at all, but fortunately, by the time we'd got warmed up with a coffee in Costa and finished our shopping, there was some slight improvement in the conditions.

We've spent a quiet afternoon just mooching about the house, praying that the next predicted snowfall by-passes us.

I've had another order for a Christmas cake this evening. I'm really pleased about this as I thoroughly enjoy doing them. It certainly satisfies my creative streak! Tomorrow I'll make a large number of sugarpaste cutouts ready to dry out before I need them for the cakes.

Looking forward to a relaxed evening in front of the telly now.

SO, DO WE RISK...

... leaving the village?

There's very little traffic moving, understandably, but I can't help thinking that if we don't go shortly we may miss our window of opportunity!!

Charles seems less keen to go anywhere however, and is contentedly sitting in front of the TV watching ridiculous films, while I'm pacing about like a caged animal. I know what'll happen - we'll venture out and then get stuck AND IT'LL ALL BE MY FAULT.

Am seriously fed up and need to get out.

I'M GUESSING...

... we won't be going to the match tomorrow, judging by the fact that we've had more overnight snow (35cms lying now) and there is supposed to be even more during this afternoon and tonight.

I wonder if the game will go ahead?

Charles has gone out to clear the drive - again - in the hope that we might be able to take advantage of the present lull in the snow and get to Morpeth for vital supplies. I've got a horrid feeling that we may lose electricity if things get much worse, as we've already seen the lights dip a few times this morning. We'll probably struggle to find one, but this would be the time to buy a portable gas heater as emergency back up, especially as everything in our house runs on electricity.

As for the girls - they are pretty fed up with being under what amounts to house arrest for four days now. They enjoy playing in their little area of the garden, sliding down their mountain range, but other than that they're not getting out nearly as much as they usually do.

AND HE CAME HOME...

... with empty cake crates!!

Well done Croftway staff - I hope you enjoy your cupcakes and goodies.

MAY LOOK LIKE...

... a picture postcard, but after another four inches (at least) of the white stuff last night - and more coming down right now - it's really beginning to look as if the postman may have been right the other day when he cheerily informed me that this was going to be the worst winter in 100 years.

We must have as much snow lying now as we did during the worst of the winter last year. It's quite incredible considering were still in November.

Charles has just left for school although he may be back sooner than he imagines if this current blizzard continues. I think he's still getting over the fact that he had to be dug out of the Village Hall car park last night after we had unloaded our crates. He then refused, quite rightly, to bring the car park to pick me up, so we made journey after journey on foot, carrying all the stuff back home again. He was somewhat less than impressed!

WHAT A LET DOWN

Okay - the weather was awful. I totally accept that. But the fact that, out of the 20 expected stallholders, only five turned up and the others didn't even bother to send apologies, was pretty disappointing.

As for customers - well if there were thirty all night I'd be very surprised.

Having said that I did sell a lot of cakes and took orders for Christmas, so came away with a reasonable profit considering.

Quite a few people took cards and showed a lot of interest, so that was encouraging. I suppose it will build gradually.

Now - what on earth am I going to do with all the leftover stuff? Looking at the weather at the moment, I'd be extremely surprised if Charles gets to work tomorrow as the Rothbury Road is impassable, so he probably won't be taking them to school with him.

Anyway, that's all the excitement out of the way for a while. I've got a small order to do for Saturday and a Christmas cake to get started, but that's about it for now.

Talking about saturday, the girls are off for a pamper day and should come home neatly trimmed (not too short, they'll get cold) and coiffed and smelling of baby powder. Lovely.

WELL...

...I'm assuming the event this evening is going ahead - although how many people will venture out is yet to be seen.

Everything is boxed up ready to go and Charles has provided a neat little cash box for all the dosh I'm going to take!!! (finger's crossed)

The girls are having a quiet afternoon, settled in front of the TV - Lily snoozing, Rose watching everything that is going on. They're going to have to be good girls for a few hours this evening as Charles is coming with me to help, so they'll be on their own for a while.

Going to go and start setting up in about an hour - getting quite excited now!

HMMM!

Not looking good weather-wise this morning.

The A697 is closed, thanks to a fallen tree and cars getting stuck on Weldon Bank, so Charles and James haven't gone anywhere yet.

I'm looking at boxes and boxes of cakes and just praying that this evening's event goes ahead - AND that people venture out in the appalling conditions.

My girls have been little snow dogs this morning. They've got their padded coats on and are having great fun, digging in the snow drifts and skidding about on the ice. As there's no way they'll be going for a proper walk (the snow is up to their tummies) just yet, it's good that they're getting SOME exercise.

Charles has ventured out to the village shop to see if he can find out what's going on with the roads! James is spending his unexpected leisure time checking out the deals on Amazon!!

And me - I'm just worrying (and faffing!)

AND YET MORE SNOW!

In fact, the driving conditions are so bad that James, who probably should never have driven up here for his tea considering the state of the roads, has returned here having set off for Gosforth, but only getting as far as Longhorsley.

In truth, there is barely any snow actually lying in Fram, but regardless, things have ground to a shuddering halt.

I'm really hoping that the weather holds off tomorrow as the last thing I want is for the Christmas Shopping Evening to be cancelled. If it IS I have dozens of cakes and goodies to dispose of somehow.

The girls have been pretty stir crazy this evening, having been forced to spend the entire day indoors. having said that, Lily is snuggling up with James and Rose is watching the Man Utd match so all is relatively settled now.

So, fingers crossed for a big thaw overnight then!

SNOW!

Well, it's arrived as predicted.

The funny thing is, it hardly seems five minutes since the last lot. Is that because winter went on forever last year, or just a sign of my age as things tend to speed up the older one gets?

I'm waiting for the man from Tesco, the 'Bag and Box' man with my packaging AND the man with the Cakes A-Go-Go caps to arrive.

I'm also getting ready for a bit of a cupcake marathon today!

Annoyingly, I'm still waiting to hear from the organisers of Swarland First School's Christmas Fair to find out if I can have a stall there on Saturday. If I CAN then there will be a lot more to prepare after tomorrows little event! So I need to know NOW!

ANOTHER...

... busy day at the Cake Factory!

Mince pies - check. Appe tarts - check. Bakewells - check. Shortbread biscuits shaped like tree decorations - check. (Thought these would be great un-iced for the Mother and Toddler group and would make a rainy day pastime just before hanging on the tree. (The biscuits, not the toddlers or the Mother come to that.)

Tomorrow, it's cupcakes, although I have already made a batch of chocolate ones that keep well for days, so it's just vanilla, lemon and raspberry but in large quantities.

I'm toying with the idea of using the cupcake stand as a centrepiece. It's a bit of a faff to assemble, but will display them pretty effectively.

Moving onto the girls - they've had another brilliant day, but are just letting off steam in the sitting room chasing up and down frantically. All good exercise!

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME...

... I've a) sat down and b) looked at t'internet - all day!

had a very productive time thought. Have iced and decorated four Christmas cakes which will either sell on Thursday or, if they don't, I can use one for the family cake and the others can be given as gifts.

Tomorrow, it's a day of mince pies, apple pies and bakewell tarts, with some festive gingerbread thrown in for good measure.

Yet again, the girls have been as good as gold and have just pottered around while I've been busy. Thinking back to this time last year, when I was tearing my hair out, I could never have imagined how much more placid and biddable they would become.

Love 'em to bits!

'WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?' YOU MAY WELL ASK!!

Well, what started out as a brief trip to town with Claire and James turned into a bit of a shopping marathon!

We got to the new apartment at 10.30 - and very nice it is too. Fab location, with a great view over the rugby club. Plenty of space for the two of them. It's perfect.

We then sat in traffic for ages as we joined the other early Christmas shoppers. Three of us left Charles in the car and got started on breakfast. Not as callous as you might think - he insisted, and eventually managed to join us although by the time he did so, breakfast had finished and he was on the lunch menu!!

Then we shopped! A lot! For hours, stopping only for a mango smoothie before recommencing with an all out attack on Guess and the Apple store.

By 3pm I was shattered and feeling extremely guilty about leaving my girls for so long. We practcally threw James and Claire out of the car (only joking you two!) and got back to two very quiet, sullen little dogs who were NOT impressed at having been left on their own all day!

MISERABLE, WET, GREY...

... start to the day.

The girls haven't been out for their early walk yet, but we can't put it off much longer.

We've decided that every time Rose has a barking fit at the adverts, we're just going to pick her up and remove her from the living room, putting her into the breakfastroom on her own until she calms down. Hopefully,after a few repetitions, she'll connect the cause and effect and cease her protestations.

Later this morning, Charles and I are going into Morpeth. I've got to do boring old food shopping, but also need a few bits for cake prep this week. Tomorrow, we're off to see James and Claire's new apartment, going out for a late breakfast, followed by some Christmas shopping in town. Sounds like a good plan to me.

On Monday I'm going to ice and decorate a few small fruit cakes ready for the Christmas shopping evening on Thursday. I've decided to make really small ones, that won't come in at extortionate cost and may be tempting for people to buy on the night. On the other hand they'll also get an idea of what I can do and may place an order for closer to Christmas. Fingers crossed anyway!

BACK HOME NOW...

...and all went really well this evening.

The cupcakes proved a real success and all disappeared pretty smartish.

also met up with the photographer from 'Living North' who asked if I would let her take photos of the wedding cupcakes as she is wanting to get into wedding photography. She would show prospective happy couples the photos and would flag up my business as well. Sounds like a good deal to me.

TWIDDLING MY THUMBS NOW!

Well actually I can only twiddle ONE thumb, as I'm about to lose the nail on my left one and it is causing me some discomfort AND great inconvenience, being a south-paw. The nail is hanging by a thread and is being kept covered under those blue plasters of which I get through about six a day. The thing is the nail is quite long now, but I can't cut it because it'll lift the other end. I'm sure it'll be off within a matter of days and then I'll be left with a sore, raw bit. Yuk!

Anyway, the reason I'm twiddling my thumb is that I've got all the buffet food ready and boxed up and just have to wait a couple of hours before setting off to Morpeth.

I am, though, plannng the stall for the Christmas Shopping Evening in the village hall next Thursday. This is quite difficult, as Christmas cupcakes need to be on display so that people can place orders, but it's a bit early for people to be actually buying them.

I've decided to make a few from each of the Christmas ranges, but to make more of the 'ordinary, everyday' cakes which people may feel are more appropriate for November. I'll also make mince pies, bakewells and apple pies all of which can be frozen. I may, if I have time, decorate a couple of Christmas cakes, in case anyone is interested in having their cake done for them this year - although they won't be cheap!

I could make more, but have no idea how many people are likely to attend and don't want to end up with loads of waste, although I have promised to take some samples to the hairdressers in Morpeth, so could do that if there are any leftover.

QUICK BREAK FOR A CUPPA!

All going okay so far.

Girls are helping out - by having big sleeps!!

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!

ROSE IS GOING TO KNOW...

... exactly how to cook a seafood risotto, as she has been glued to the TV watching the Hairy Bikers for the last forty minutes!!

AM ALSO REALLY ANNOYED...

... with Charles, who asked me to make cupcakes for a new baby girl for one of his staff (which I did yesterday, along with all the other stuff I was preparing) and then proceeded to leave for work without them.

Not at all happy today.

AM BEING THOROUGHLY...

... messed around this morning.

The buffet I've been asked to do on Friday has suddenly gone from 50 to 30, then became sweets only, then reverted to sweet and savoury.

One thing I have learned from this: If I am going to continue to provide a buffet service I will be asking for a sizeable deposit on booking in order to cover my costs should the event be cancelled or scaled down.

Am not impressed at all. In fact, I am having second thoughts about the second event I've been asked to do for the same people in December.

OH KATE MIDDLETON...

... have you ANY idea what you've just gone and done?

WILL NEED TO ...

... go to Morpeth later to stock up on stuff needed for Friday's knees up at Premier Kitchens in Morpeth.

Providing there are no more kitchen disasters, I should be on track with all the preparation, meaning that Thursday and Friday morning ought to be fairly manageable.

NOT THE BEST...

... start to the day.

I've just opened one of the kitchen cupboards, releasing an impatient jar (full) of stem ginger in syrup, which hit the floor and smashed to smithereens, leaving tiny fragments of glass all over the place and sticky syrup seeping across the floor tiles and embedding itself into the grout.

Oh yuk!

I had no idea that there was so much syrup in a jar of ginger, nor did I fully appreciate it's stickiness. It's taken half an hour of mopping, wiping, hoovering and mopping again to finally get rid of it - and even now I keep going around with a brush and dustpan, just in case I've missed any glass that could find it's way into the girls' paws.

Not a good start at all.

BAILEYS CUPCAKES...

... are fabulous!!

Just thought you needed to know this!

MERINGUES...

... are in the oven. They need a couple of hours to really dry out, so can't really do much until they're ready.

Have decided to take a risk and bake the cupcakes today, freeze them and then spend part of Thursday frosting and decorating them. It should be fine, as I've already experimented with freezing and there appears to be no difference once they're thawed, plus it'll help me to manage my time more effectively.

Lily and Rose are enjoying watching all the comings and goings in the kitchen - from a distance of course! They have really calmed down recently (apart from Rose's obsession with anything she takes exception to on the telly) and we've had a run of peaceful nights during the last week, so hopefully are back on track in that area.

I was just thinking - I know I've got a busy week, but so have James and Claire as this is the week they move into their new apartment. I'm really excited for them!

COLDEST MORNING SO FAR

Caught Charles unawares as he had to spend 15 minutes defrosting his windscreen. Hope everyone drives carefully this morning.

I'm glad to be staying in to be honest! Today I'm making meringues in readiness for Friday's buffet. Also probably making iced cutouts for the cupcakes as they'll need to dry out for a few days.

Other than that, today should be a quiet day.

COMPLETELY FORGOT...

... that Morpeth would be pretty much cordoned off for the Remembrance Day procession through the town this morning.

We discovered this too late and ended up giving up on our plan to go to the wholesaler, but being pleasntly surprised to discover that most of what was needed,could be obtained at Morrisons just as reasonably - in fact even more so in some cases. Charles made sure I went in equipped with the wholesale price list and we studiouly made our comparisons and ended up with everything we needed.

Following that we paid a quick visit to Central Bean where we learned that the mince pies had sold well yesterday, then returned home where I began to make the next batch!

IT MAY BE SUNDAY, BUT...

... it doesn't seem to be much of a day of rest for us.

We need to pick up the containers from Central Bean, do some food shopping for us and some preliminary shopping for Friday's buffet. I want to make a start on the next batch of mince pies which are due for delivery on Tuesday. And we have a birthday party to go to as well.

Not enough hours in the day!

Charles is watching the highlights of the Newcastle match before taking the girls out for a walk. They won't have to wait much longer then! (Talking of the match, what on earth were the Fulham players wearing? I don't think I've ever seen a worse strip.)

JUST WANT TO SAY...

... that, apart from an exceedingly frustrating match this afternoon, the rest of the day has been brilliant.

James and I had a great time in town. He's such good company and has loads of patience when he has to wait for his mother to sort herself out.

We did of course eat far too much, which I am regretting now, but what the heck - it was just one day!

We came home, having picked Claire up after the match and settled down to an evening of Strictly, XFactor, Take That and the 5 minute boxing match - oh yes and dinner!

Thank you for a fab day James.

HOPE IT WARMS UP A BIT...

... before the match today. Ther's only so many layers a girl can wear without looking like Michelin Man (or Woman).

I've got a lovely day ahead of me. Shopping, food and football. Brilliant.

Charles, on the other hand, isn't doing any of these things. I feel a bit guilty - but not that much!

GOT PAID TODAY!

First real money I've earned with Cakes A-Go-Go. Not that it amounted to that much - but hey, it's a start.

Now I'm wondering when Tardy Dave will let me know what the Tuesday order is. It's alright if it's the same as the one I've just done - but any more than that will obviously take more time to put together, so I hope he doesn't think he can just ring up on Monday and expect hundreds of mincepies to be ready the next day, cos that aint going to happen.

I've started the shopping list for next Friday's buffet. No sooner do I earn it, than it disappears again!

Charles is home early today, much to the delight of the girls, although before he arrived we were having a lovely girly time in the sunroom, the girls lounging on a pile of cushions as we looked through the Next catalogue together. Very pleasant.

FRIDAY MORNING

And Charles, the delivery boy, has set off with the boxes of goodies for Central Bean.

Now I'm racked with doubt - Will anyone want to buy them? Will they like them? Will I really get another order?

I almost feel like getting into disuise and sitting in the coffee shop just to see what happens to my little creations.

I'm sure that if I do get a repeat order, I'll become more blase about everything, but right now I'm just worried!

THINK DANNYMATT...

... has seriously lost the plot!

I'm writing a Westie/Cake blog - and he's somewhere in the Wild West. Oh Lordy me!

FIRST ORDER...

... baked,packaged and ready for delivery tomorrow morning!

Bring on the next one. I say.

(Shouldn't speak too soon, as next week I've got two orders for central bean AND a buffet for 50 at Premier Kitchens. Could well be tearing my hair out with those, especially as the buffet is the same day as one of the CB orders.)

Just been out for a bit of fresh air with the girls - very gusty and chilly, but we managed to dodge the showers.

Right - going to put my feet up for a few minutes.

BACK FROM THE ARENA.

Fabulous performance. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.

On balance, I think Charles was probably pretty glad NOT to be at SJP this evening!

The girls greeted us enthusiastically on our return and appeared to forgive us for leaving them all evening.

Okay - nearly midnight, so going to get some sleep before mammoth baking day tomorrow.

WE'RE OFF TO SEE...

...'Lord of the Dance' tonight - and I'm already having a little panic about leaving the girls for the evening. I will quite happily leave them during the day, but evenings are a bit different and the time that they are used to spending with us, so they may well be a bit disgruntled when we get back!

They were, of course, ecstatic when Charles returned last night. Lily's loyalties were immediately put into question as she leapt off my lap, where she had been happily snoozing and immediately took up position with her dad! Love you too, Lil!! (Rose on the other hand, remained totally loyal to her Mum!)

FINALLY...

... a mere two hours late, I get the call.

Was it worth waiting for?

Not really - a mere forty mince tarts and one tray of ginger shortbread for Friday. I can understand he wants to make sure the stuff will sell, and I suppose it gives me an easy order to get under my belt - but I really hope those numbers are going to increase pretty rapidly. In fact I suggest you go along to Central Bean on Saturday and eat the lot - then he'll have to order more!

"CALL U AT 2 TOMORROW"...

... That was the message I got from Dave at Central Bean yesterday.

Well - it's nearly 3 o'clock and has he rung?


You got it!

JAMES HAS A CUNNING PLAN!

He reckons that he and I could pretty much spend all day saturday in town, starting with breakfast, then Christmas shopping, followed by coffee, then more shopping, lunch at the Indian and then onto the match.

This sounds like a brilliant idea to me. I could probably do everything I need to do for Christmas in one session and would be able to tick that off the list.

It IS my turn to go to SJP and Charles would be able to go to the Chelsea match which is the next home game (I think) so he shouldn't object too much.

Good plan Jim!

I'M SURE...

... I've just seen a few snowflakes blowing around this morning! Yet again, it's bitterley cold with a really strong wind. The girls are going to need their coats on when we go out later.

They were as good as gold last night, although pool little Lily really couldn't understand where Charles was. Every evening, they come and settle down with us for telly time (!) - Rose lies next to me, very close to the TV so that she can keep a close eye on it, and on the adverts inparticular. Even when she's apparently in a deep sleep, she knows instantly when a programme finishes and the ads begin and will stand on guard against meerkats, back horses and weird looking cartoon characters like those spooky things they've got in the Lloyds 'for the journey' ads. Lily meanwhile, snuggles up to her Dad, her hero, and never leaves his side all evening, remaining in a state of sublime reaxed ecstacy until we tell her it's bedtime, at which point she rolls onto her back for the pre-bedtime tummy tickle!

Of course, last night he wasn't there and Lily spent fruitless time searching for him, looking longingly at the settee where they usually sit together. She tried lying next to me (and on top of me) but I'm obviously not the right shape for her, because she gave up and took herself into the sunroom where she proceeded to make a nest out of four cushions into which she burrowed and slept a sad little sleep, no doubt feeling thoroughly dejected and lonely!

Never mind Lil - he'll be home this evening, so normality will once again be restored.

SO DAVE FROM CENTRAL BEAN...

... tells me on Friday that he'll let me know today (Monday) exactly what he wants this week.

Gets to 5pm and I send a text as haven't heard a peep from him,only to get one back saying he'll let me know at 2pm tomorrow.

Why say Monday if you don't mean it then Dave?

(And I bet any money you like that 2.00 tomorrow will come and go with no word!)

I honestly can't abide tardiness. He's been late for every meeting - by hours and now he's keeping me waiting another day. Perhaps he thinks the cake fairies come in the night and magically produce mince pies and traybakes. If he wants dozens of the wretched things, I need to know so I can plan my time accordingly.

Get a grip man.

WARNING!!

If the weather that we are experiencing just now is heading yur way...

... DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE.

We've just had the most vicious hailstorm with stones like little bullets. All I did was pop my head out of the door to collect the post and I felt as if I was under attack from thousands of stinging needles. Seriously - it hurt!!

SOD'S LAW STRIKES AGAIN!

First off - the delivery I was expecting today, must actually have arrived on Saturday as I've just fallen over a pile of packages in the shed which I wasn't expecting, nor was there any notification from the postman/deliveryman to let me know they were there.

Anyway, included in the pile was a small padded envelope containing the new milk frother. Great I could have had my fix two days ago! BUT - and this is where Sod's Law cuts in - when I came to try to remove the old damaged one I discovered that it won't budge and that the nail glue which I had dismissed as a silly idea, had in fact set like concrete, meaning that the original frother was actually functioning perfectly!! So, in fact, I could have had my fix FOUR days ago! Grrrrr...

COLD, COLD, COLD!

It really is bitterly cold this morning, but on the bright side, we had an uninterrupted night'ssleep last night, so woke as fresh as daisies! (Not really, just kidding.)

Charles has gone off to school but won't be home till late tomorrow evening as he has to do a little detour into London for a Safeguarding conference.

I don't think he's really thrilled to be going - and he only found out about it last week, so it was a bit last minute. Nor do I think he's particularly thrilled about going to 'Lord of the Dance' on Wednesday night, despite it being booked for months. This could well be due to the fact that he's now discovered that Newcastle have a home game that evening and clearly would rather be going to SJP! (I'm sure he'll love the show when he get's there!)

I've got another day of waiting for deliveries today, one of which I hope will be a new milk frother nozzle for my Baby Gaggia. I am missing my daily treat so much, ordinarly coffee just isn't the same. (Mind you, we were introduced to a fab caramel latte in Central Bean the other day, when we managed to track down the illusive Dave. Sounds awful I know, but is,in fact, absolutely delicious.)

I should be receiving my first order today. I already know I'm supplying two coffee shops (Morpeth and Jesmond) but don't know exact quantities yet. The outcome may necessitate the purchase of additional bread trays for transporting the goodies (more expense) but I'm not going to buy any until I've got a better idea of what is needed.

Right, it's time for the girls to have their breakfast, so I'll sign off for a while.

THIS MAY NOT HAPPEN OFTEN...

... but doesn't it feel good to be a Toon supporter this week.

Let's enjoy it while it lasts!

SPOKE TOO SOON...

... yesterday, when celebrating an undisturbed night.

The girls had me up at 4.00, then 6.00 this morning, then went back to sleep until 7.45. You'll notice I said 'ME' - and that's because I was the only one who responded as selective deafness had obviously set in with Charles, who has just emerged, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, after a nice long lie-in.

Well, lucky you Charles.

As for me, I look like I've got shopping bags under my eyes this morning, feel lousy because I'm trying to fend off a cold that appears to be winning the battle and all I really want to do is to crawl back into bed for a few hours of undisturbed kip.

BACK FROM TOWN

And a bit disappointed with today's achievements to be honest.

Managed to get a few bits and pieces, but we weren't really there for long as Charles had to rush off to meet Christina this afternoon. Also,thanks to some serious disorganisation in John Lewis's cafe, which meant hanging around for nearly an hour before we were all fed and watered (or coffee-d) this cut valuable shopping time back considerably.

Anyway - I'm at home with the girls waiting for the Tesco delivery and Charles has flown out again. We've just had a lovely walk (the girls and I, not Charles) in the Autumn sunshine. It's a perfect day really.

Not sure what to do now. I'm not going to be baking until I get my first official order on Monday, but I could start researching containers for transportation. In fact, that's exactly what I'll do.

WE HAD...

... a much better night ast night, with the girls sleeping through until 6am, when Charles put them out for a wee, after which they settled again until 7ish.

This is a great improvement on the last few nights and hopefully signals a return to their usual sleeping pattern.

We're getting ready to go into town this morning for our little jaunt with James and Claire. I'm quite looking forward to it actually.

It occurred to me last night that I may not have much time to myself if the business takes off, so have decided to get as much Christmas preparation done now as possible. I always put myself under terrific pressure at Christmas and want to try and ease the load a bit. So, Christmas shopping, here goes...

WELL DONE JAMES!

95% in his Hazardous Sea Freight exam this afternoon. Excellent result!

Poor James is still stuck in the airport in Aberdeen. He's been there for hours and all he wants to do is to get home and start the weekend.

We're meeting him and Claire in town in the morning for coffee and a chat - AND to do a little preliminary Christmas shopping (or browsing).

Other than that, there isn't much on the cards for our weekend. I want to do three things related to Cakes A-Go-Go: 1) Sort better crates for transporting goods, 2) Get posters and fliers printed off ready for distribution next week and 3) and you may consider this frivolous,but I think it's important, to find a company who will put the logo onto polo shirts so that I (we) look a little bit professional when seeing customers and delivering goodies. Oh, just thought of a fourth - I think it would be worth going to Bookers to check out ingredients and trays.

(I keep listening out for fireworks, but so far all is relatively quiet outside. I'm sure the girls will react badly if things do get noisy later though. In fact, I think they're still getting over their Halloween fright and that could possibly be the cause of the disturbed nights recently.)

Anyway - what's anyone else doing this weekend?

HOORAY!!

Central Bean will be stocking mince pies and ginger shortbread from ME!

Will get proper order on Monday - for TWO OUTLETS!!

Dave must have liked them!

WHY ON EARTH...

... have the girls suddenly started waking up two or three times during the night and barking madly?

This is a complete change to their usual behaviour, and is becoming a little tiring now.

Last night they were awake at 2.00, went out for a wee, then settled until 3.00 when they were barking again. At that point I went through and just told them to settle, which they did, until 6.00 when they (and consequently WE) were up for the day.

I don't understand what is causing this.

GETTING A BIT CONFUSED!

If I'm not really careful I end up posting on the Cakes A-Go-Go blog by mistake.
I managed to do so yesterday, writing a silly little post about nail glue not working, thought I was posting on this site, but ended up on the other blog - so it won't make any sense to anybody at all!
I think it's because of the way Charles has set it up. he obviously thought it would be easy for me to find my way from one to the other, but forget that I probably wouldn't bother checking where I am before I press 'publish'!

GO AWAY...

... sore throat.

I don't need you now.

AT LAST...

... have made the ultimate mince pies!

These beauties have a crisp, yet melt in the mouth shortbread case, loads of filling and a crumble topping, finished with a liberal dusting of icing sugar. I thought about the recipe late last night - and really wanted to get on with them there and then, but as it was approaching midnight, had to wait till this morning!

They are fab, as I know because I've already demolished one with my morning cuppa. The only downside (not to the mince pies) is that I am unable to have my usual capuccino as the nail glue on the milk frother did not work.

Also, now have a meeting with Dave from Central Bean tomorrow at noon!

BIT OF A NON-DAY REALLY.

Haven't done anything of any significance, apart from make some fab pear and dark chocolate cupcakes. Sounds weird I know but the combination works brilliantly.

Spent most of my time with the dogs, trying to give thir coats a good combing. Lily's not too bad, but, as usual, Rose is beginning to get a little tangled and I want to catch them before they get too bad.

Did a bit of shopping for Christmas on-line this afternoon, so that was good, but then the internet went down again and didn't reconnect for about three hours. Very frustrating.

James has just rung to say he passed his exam this afternoon. Another one on Friday and then he's done. (Bet it's chilly in Aberdeen!)

NAIL GLUE...

... DOESN'T WORK ON COFFEE MACHINES!

I THINK THE STEAM MELTED IT.

NOT A GOOD START...

... to the day.

Not only because the girls have had us up no less than FOUR times during the night, but also because (and this is a MAJOR disaster) the milk frothing bit on my beloved coffee machine has SHEARED OFF leaving me unable to make my capuccinos any more.

I'm going to try to tape it together but don't hold out much hope.

This is truly devastating and the coffee machine is absolutely NOT something I was anticipating having to replace at this stage.

Also, I've heard NOTHING at all from Dave at Central Bean - not even a thank you for the samples.

Finally, the guy who is working on my logo and business cards, promised they would arrive two days ago (which the haven't) and now says they'll be here by next Monday, but has sent the logo electronically, except when I came to open it THERE ARE NO CAKES ON IT ANY MORE.

What is going on?

I feel as if I'm in a bit of a slump and hate having to wait around for other people to get their acts together.

Dave - If you don't want the stuff, JUST TELL ME and then I can move on. I've put so many hours into trying to get things just right for you AND I COULD HAVE PUT MY ENERGY INTO SOMETHING ELSE.

Perhaps you can detect that I'm not at all happy this morning.

HMMM...

... methinks I may be being led up the garden path...

... by Dave at Central Bean.

I've spent three days perfecting (nearly) the stuff he asked for, and suddenly he's strangely unavailable.

However, I've delivered a box of samples to the coffee shop in the hope that he gets to try them later today, so we'll see. If he isn't interested, I just rather he comes out and says so and then I can be moving onto other things.

HANGING ABOUT THIS MORNING!

Just waiting for a text from the manager at Central Bean to let me know what time I've to take the samples for him. This time it's mince pies and gingerbread! (Maybe he doesn't want to buy anything, but just enjoys sampling!)

Made a batch of Pudsey cupcakes with a mix of little Pudsey faces and spotty tops. Also had a go at shortbread Pudseys. They look pretty good and should be topical for a couple of weeks.

IT'S HERE...

... AT LAST!

One very smart, bad boy fridge freezer delivered safely, up and running...

... and surprisingly FULL!

TOTALLY SPOOKED

That was the girls last night.

We hardly ever get bothered by Trick or Treaters, but last night we were - and the dogs were beside themselves with frantic anxiety.
Lily especially was inconsolable (that looks really weird - maybe I've spelled it wrong) and it took hours to get her to stop pacing and whining. In fact they woke every few hours during the night and had clearly been traumatised by the masks and costumes.

Fortunately, today is a new day and all seems to have been forgotten!