JUST TO REMIND YOU...

... THAT THIS REALLY IS A BLOG ABOUT LILY AND ROSE, HERE THEY ARE...

FINALLY...

... got an order through this afternoon, so have spent the last three hours getting everything ready for tomorrow. Looking forward to another couple of Downton episodes this evening!!

WAITING FOR...

... KEVIN AGAIN! Sent him a text at 11,30 asking what he needs for tomorrow, got a reply saying he'd go and look and since then... ... nothing. As he lives a mere 30 second walk away from the coffee shop I am somewhat bemused by the hour and a half delay.

DOWNTON ABBEY!!!

How have Charles and I managed to remain oblivious to the delights of this costume drama? Thanks to James and Claire that has now been corrected, but we're playing catch up with the two series we've missed. Unfortunately, we're watching the second one, waiting for the first one to arrive from Amazon and having to record the current series, which we can't watch until we've viewed the first! Got that?

9.30AM

And Kevin has been and gone, taking with him trays of quiche, bakewells, lemon drizzle, coffee and walnut and a rather delicious sultana, walnut and cinnamon loaf. Quite like the idea of him coming to collect stuff - might encourage this a bit more!!

GOOD TO SEE...

... dannymatt back in cryptic circulation. Oh how we've missed him!!

MADE IT CLEAR TO KEVIN...

... that there would be absolutely no chance of a delivery tomorrow. I need a break, even if it's just a day. I've spent all afternoon baking and filling the freezer to capacity and can look forward to a quiet day tomorrow. However, never daunted, Kevin decides to get round me by begging for more quiche WHICH HE WILL COME AND COLLECT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!!! Could I refuse? Of course not! #willieverlearn

BIT OF A MANIC MORNING!

Having had no order from Kevin yesterday I was somewhat annoyed to get a text this morning wanting stuff. Apparently he wrote the text but forgot to send it!! So, although I would have been within my rights to refuse, I managed to get some stuff together and we dropped it off after our visit to the vets. The vet was lovely and put our minds at rest about the strange little lump on the back of Rose's foreleg. She thinks it's a callous and probably nothing to worry about, but suggested we keep an eye on it in case anything changes. Right, got to go and get on now. Back later...

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!

Started before daybreak again as we had to get to the RVI by 8.45 and this meant leaving home by 7.40ish, which we did, but still only got into the carpark at the hospital at exactly the right time. Charles must have had the first appointment and yet they still kept him waiting until 9am. Hardly surprising waiting time gets ridiculous during the day if they can't even get the first appointment dealt with on time. After that it was home via Jesmond (dropping off a little emergency order and collecting all my crates) and Sainsbury's (stocking up for the next round of baking). Once home I got started straightaway and now have lasagne, quiche, cheese scones, shortbread and brownies made. Charles has gone to pick up Christina to bring her home for a while and Tim is coming to collect her later, so we're all having an Indian takeaway together. (Nice, don't need to cook!)

SO, NUFC...

... haven't won at Old Trafford in 40 years. Can't see that changing tonight either!

SEEMS A LITTLE CALMER...

... this morning. The rain has finally stopped (for now) and the wind is less strong than it was yesterday. Just watching the footage from Morpeth on the local news. Talk about a lucky escape - although not for everyone unfortunately. Got a normal day ahead of me today - delivery, stocking up, baking nd getting a chilli ready for James who's coming round this evening.

REALLY DON'T ENVY...

... anyone who's out on the roads this morning. What a nightmare this weather is. I've just heard that Northumberland are advising parents not to send their children to school today. Bet Charles wishes they'd announced that earlier! I WAS going to go to Morpeth later, but think I might not bother as the police are advising drivers to undertake essential journeys only, and really coffee at Central bean isn't THAT essential. On a worrying note, I found what I thought was a matted section of hair on Rose last night, but on closer inspection discovered that it is in fact a thickened area of skin behind her right foreleg. We're going to take her to the vets to get it checked out, but I'm quite anxious about it. I hate it when there's anything wrong with the girls and just hope and pray that it turns out to be nothing serious.

WET, WINDY AND MISERABLE!

Yuk! What a horrible morning! For the first time this autumn we got up in the dark. Oh how I hate the onset of winter!! The girls are clearly not ready to start the day as they are both snoozing contentedly, having endured a miserably wet walk first thing. Actually, I'm not surprised they're still sleepy, having had me up no less than three times during the night. If I didn't have to go to Jesmond, I might be joining them in forty winks. But I DO indeed have to go to Jesmond, although I'm hearing on the news that there's an accident on the A1, so my journey may be slow today.

THE NEXT TIME...

... Hatem Ben Arfa steps up to take a penalty... ... for God's sake JUST LET HIM DO IT!! What a rubbishy game that was. Yes, we got a result, but it was so incredibly frustrating to watch. The best bit about today? Going for lunch with James, Matthew and Charles to Fujiyamas. Absolutely delicious and our chef was ON FIRE!! (Not literally!)

SHATTERED NOW!!

When I woke up this morning I had great hopes for a relatively relaxing day, but that hasn't turned out to be the case. I blame myself of course, because there were things that could happily have waited for a day or two, but once I'd thought about them I just had to get them done. Consequently, I now have three Christmas cakes pretty nearly done. They're only mock ups on sponge cakes, but I wanted to think through this year's "collection" and the best way to do that is by just getting on and making them. I've tried to come up with three very different designs that are relatively quick to put together, but still look good. Also - my oven is now gleaming! Unfortunately, it won't stay this way for long, but right now it looks pretty sparkling! Made some tiny little sponge cakes thanks to an amazingly clever cake tin from Lakeland. Tiny little coffee and walnut cakes and Victoria sponges. They look really cute. Also cracked the problem of Kevin's penchant for chicken pies. Instead of making one big pie, I've bought some individual pie dishes, concocted a recipe and ended up with some rather tasty little pies. God knows what he'll serve them with - but that's up to Kevin!! Going to get ready for bed soon. Charles is snoring away already - very loudly!!

DO I FEEL GUILTY...

... for not writing on the blog today? NO. I've been far too busy with deliveries, shopping, baking chicken and mushroom pies for Kevin (don't ask!) and creating prototype Christmas cakes. Anyway, the blog is not my master!!

HAVING A LAZY AFTERNOON!!

Can't remember the last time this happened!! It's really rather pleasant though. Can't do any baking really as the freezers are full to bursting point, so need to get some stuff out for Monday before I can make anything new. So, instead of making anything myself, I'm spending the afternoon watching all the baking programmes on telly. Bliss!!

SUNSHINE AND SHOWERS...

... gave us this view today...

CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S 2.30 ALREADY!

We had an early start as we had an emergency delivery to do to Radcliffes followed by an appointment at the eye department of the RVI for Charles at 9.30. We had a drive round Fenham where we'd seen an amazing property, but weren't convinced about the area. Then made the big mistake of driving round Bridge Park in Gosforth and discovered a tranquil, leafy and quaint development with a single track road that's situated just off the Great North Road but actually feels as if you're in a pretty little village. The property we'd gone to check out is probably quite small and a bit more like a cottage than the others we've looked at, but full of character. It needs a bit of work and has planning permission for a single storey extension, but nothing too daunting. Location-wise it's idyllic and we now dearly wish we hadn't bothered looking because someone is going to snap this one up pretty quickly. Just wish someone would show some interest in our bungalow!!!!

LOOKING FORWARD TO...

... James and Claire coming round this evening and POSSIBLY Christina and Tim joining us as well. It would be lovely if we could all get together, even though it is just mince and dumplings for dinner!! Mind you, I've taken time out to make James's favourite steamed chocolate sponge and chocolate sauce, so that might raise the comfort food bar a little!!

JUST HAD A LOVELY TEN MINUTES...

... relaxing with a magazine, lying on the bed and accompanied by my two little girlies snoring softly by my side!

HMMM. THINK WE'VE BEEN SPOILED!!

Obviously eating at JDHH and Cafe 21 has ruined us for the likes of the Cook and Barker which is where we've just spent our 35th wedding anniversary. Not sure where to start with this one, other than to say that the staff probably wish they'd never lid eyes on us. Visually, I have to say, the food was fab. However, when it came to eating it, it was a completely different story. My starter of asparagus and poached egg nestling on a tiny muffin and coddled in hollandaise and tarragon was lovely - apart from a complete lack of tarragon. believe me, I know my tarragon and this dish had been nowhere near it. Main course: Charles asked for a medium rare sirloin which arrived blue and was probably the worst steak he's eaten. His handcut chips had clearly been handcut in the Findus food factory, certainly not on the premises. My pork was overcooked to the point of cremation and the crackling, which stood two inches tall, was really just a cube of fat with a crispy top. Dessert wasn't much better. Charles opted for cheese because he reasoned they couldn't mess that up, and he was right, they didn't. My white chocolate terrine was a different story, being granular and separating on the plate as it defrosted. Note: it should have been reached out of the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving. Good points: nice bottle of red, perfectly cooked veg, lovely presentation. Notably, after the main course, when our waitress was clearing the table I had to make a point of asking her if she wanted to know what we thought of the food, as she had clearly been forewarned that we were difficult customers and was not gong to instigate any discussion about the quality of the food. Needless to say, we told her exactly what we thought!!

WHY BOTHER...

... attempting to make jaffa cakes, when McVities already make perfectly good ones? This is the question I am asking myself, having spent an abortive morning in the kitchen cutting sponge cake into discs, making a vast quantity of very gloopy orange jelly and covering every surface and utensil (and myself) in dark melted chocolate. End result? tastes like a jaffa cake, but looks a right mess. Will I bother again? Hmmm, let's think about that one... ... er that would be a 'no' then!! (I even managed to overcook the apple pies that I was working on alongside the damn jaffa cakes, so am doubly annoyed with myself!)

HERE I AM!!

Back from the usual coffee shop run. No Kevin this morning, so I was in and out pretty fast. Stopped off in Morpeth and was back home by 11.00. Having a bit of a fridge clear out this morning. (Just one of them mind!) It's in pretty dire need of defrosting, so that's what I'm doing. Got stuff all over the kitchen worktops at the moment, so not very happy. Just put a batch of salted caramel brownies in the oven. Somehow, I can't imagine that they're going to work, but I've actually used a recipe for them and followed it faithfully, so we'll see! Oh and I've just remembered we've got a match tonight - aaaaarrrrgh!!

THE GREAT NORTH RUN...

... always fills me with such pride. Am thinking especially of Rachel, Hannah and Jake who are running this morning. Good luck to them and to everyone who's taking part today.

SO HERE AM I...

... trying to eat sensibly and to cut back on all the sampling I've been doing recently... ... and I decide to devise a recipe for cinnamon, sultana and walnut bread... ...which looks divine and, after numerous little tastes I have to say... ... is absolutely delicious and totally irresistible! Damn, damn, damn!!

HATE IT WHEN...

... NUFC aren't playing till Monday!! Mind you, I suspect our game will be a tough one, especially with Tiote and Krul out. Wonder what'll happen in the Liverpool/Sunderland match? Should be an interesting one. Not too much one the cards today. Charles needs to go present shopping for his Mum's birthday. He's going across to Ullswater tomorrow to meet up with the family for afternoon tea. I think Christina is going too. But Cinders is staying at home to look after the girls as it would be too long to leave them and too far to take them. I actually feel as if it's a bit of a day off today. There's nothing really pressing to do for Radcliffes as everything is pretty much organised. I might play around with cake pops again and I really need to be thinking about Christmas cakes, but I can't quite get in the mood for this yet!

JUST FOUND...

... a newt happily swimming around in the girls' outdoor drinking bowl. Fortunately for the newt, I got to it before the girls did! Charles has now taken it for a little walk down the garden, well out of harm's way. Newts always remind me of this ridiculous joke about the man who went into a bar with a newt on his shoulder, was asked it's name and replied 'Tiny" and was then asked why it was called Tiny to which he replied, "Because it's minute." I tried to tell this rather sad little joke once, only I started, "A man went into a bar with a lizard on his shoulder...' - as you can imagine the punchline didn't really work!!

MAMMOTH DELIVERY TODAY!!

Kevin must be having a really good week in the coffee shop. Wonder how he's managing as he's on his own in there for the next fortnight! I'll be off with the delivery in a few minutes. Charles has gone into school for a meeting - on his day off! Hopefully he'll be back just after lunch.

JAMES AND CLAIRE!!!

Just checking to see if you two are reading this! If you are, and if you have time on your next visit to town, could you pick up the Lakeland Oven Cleaner that we talked about last night? I'll give you the money!!!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE...

... it makes to the girls when Charles is at home! They are both happily settled on the sofa with him watching Chris Moyles' penultimate morning show. If it was just me here they'd be wandering about the house aimlessly, just waiting for his return. It's a little upsetting to be honest. I spend all my time with them and all they really want is their Dad! Charles reckons it's because I don't sit still long enough for them to snuggle up, whereas he does - and I suspect he could be right.

HELL'S BELLS!!!

Charles has just come home from work and has informed me that he has seven orders for Christmas cakes already! I hadn't even thought about them, let alone planned this year's 'range'! Better get thinking then!!

BIT LATE TODAY!!

On the blog I mean. Mind you I seem to have been a bit late all morning thanks to getting stuck for the best part of an hour in traffic due to an accident near Gosforth. Annoyingly, I'd just past the Seaton Burn turnoff when everything ground to a halt. A few metres sooner and I could have avoided the hold up completely. Then, because I as running late, I decided to shop at Asda in Gosforth instead of swinging into Morpeth as I usually do. This was a mistake on two fronts. 1) I don't know the store layout sufficiently well to be able to whizz round (I write my Morrisons list in store order!) and 2) Having chosen the shortest queue I ended up behind the woman who wanted to buy the last Barbie pink folder in the store and for which there was no product details at all, resulting in endless searches and consultations and culminating in an executive decision from Mr Store Manager himself who let her have it for 50p. This took about twenty minutes to resolve (Could have been into Morpeth in less time) and the woman who was causing the hold up at no point apologised to anyone in the queue for keeping them waiting. Grrrrrr!! Anyway, I'm back home now and have batches of bakewells and brownies in the oven, with scones lined up for the next oven slot. Chilli is mixed and marinading ready for when James and Claire come round later. AND - I reached a loaf out of the freezer last night that I'd made a few weeks ago and forgotten all about. It's a cinnamon and walnut loaf and I've just had a thick sliced toasted with a cappuccino - and it was heavenly!!! Unfortunately I can't really remember how I made it as I think it was sort of a recipe that went wrong - but ended up so right!

SPENT A LOVELY EVENING...

... with Christina and Tim last night. Tim had come up for a bike ride in Thrunton Woods, but got rained off so was able to join us for a meal and a chat. I honestly can't remember seeing Christina look so happy for years. I managed to do a major sort out in the freezers yesterday and now feel much better organised. It's amazing how much stuff I rediscovered! I think I've got enough scones and brownies to keep the coffee shop going for a month!! Popping into Morpeth in a while, as soon as the apple pie comes out of the oven...

SOLVED THE PROBLEM...

... of the pony that wouldn't stay upright!! Just gave him a bucket of hay!!

HOW CAN...

... and afternoon tea comprising tiny sandwiches, mini scones and babycakes be SO filling? Very enjoyable but absolutely stuffed! Happy Birthday on Tuesday to Claire!!

OKAY!

Stable cake done, apart from one wretched pony who doesn't want to stick and is currently supported by a wad of kitchen roll! Lasagne and quiche made and chilling. Charles has cut the grass - hooray! Now we're going to chill for a little while before we go off to meet up with Claire and James to kick the birthday celebrations off in style over afternoon tea at JDHH. Mind you, I think we're calling in at the farm first to drop an ironing board off for Christina...

JUST FINISHED!!

Admittedly thee have been a couple of (welcome) interruptions during the day, but I think I've achieved a lot nevertheless. The stables cake, which wasn't even started this morning, is pretty much done, with just a bit of finishing off to do tomorrow. The coffee shop order is well under way and I just need to do the lasagne and quiche. It was lovely to have coffee with James this morning and even lovelier to be joined by Sean for a while. This afternoon we found Christina in the midst of the burger and hot dogs at Thorneyford, happily serving customers who were attending the cycling event and looking thoroughly at home on the farm. It was wonderful to see her looking so relaxed and content. I have a feeling Tim has a lot to do with this!

UP EARLY...

... cakes in the oven, pastry rolled and resting - me knackered already!! Going off to Morpeth to meet James in a while. Quick coffee, chat and a bit of shopping, then back home for focaccia making, before going to see Christina at Tim's house where they're having a bit of a do for his cyclocross (?) mates. Should I be wearing bicycle clips I wonder? After that it'll be back to the kitchen where hopefully I'll be covering the sponges for the stable cake. Oh, and making bakewells to replace the ones that went out yesterday. Tomorrow will follow a similar pattern in the morning and then we're going to Jesmond Dene House for afternoon tea to celebrate the birthday on Tuesday of my lovely Daughter-in-Law. Looking forward to that!!

SO, JUST TO ILLUSTRATE...

... how much Radcliffes controls my life (and yes, I know, I foolishly let it) - we took a huge delivery in this morning, then left Jesmond in relaxed mood, driving leisurely round Gosforth to look at areas we might eventually like to move to, had lunch at the Cook and Barker, then picked up the girls from Woofcuts where they'd been having their hair and nails done (Lily trembled all over when she got there. (Apparently she would be absolutely fine when we left, but I still walked down the path feeling as if I'd just left my three-year-old at nursery for the first time!) All fine so far. Spent the latter part of the afternoon replacing as much stuff as possible for the coffee shop, happy in the knowledge that once this was done I could have a relatively relaxed weekend AND could concentrate on the stables birthday cake I've got to complete by Wednesday. AND THEN KEVIN RANG! Heart sank! He needed everything I'd just spent the afternoon making, plus more stuff that was in the freezer - TONIGHT!! Foolishly of course I agreed. Now beating myself up about being too soft with him and only having myself to blame, so no one needs to come on here telling me as much. Thank you!

OKAY DANNYMATT...

... so it was a little early, by some people's standards, to be writing about wasting the morning at just gone 10am - but that's like lunchtime to me due to the time I'm up and about! Retired? Yeah, I wonder what happened to that concept? Charles and I were talking last night about just how much time is being given over to Radcliffes for not a great return. It's pretty much full time work for peanuts. Might need a rethink!

BIT OF A...

... frustrating morning. I'm hanging around waiting to go to the docs. Charles was all ready to set off to Gosforth where he was due to let the plumber in to Rachel and James's place, only to get a text saying he'll be two hours late. He is going to pick up some stuff from the cake decorating shop for me which will now be correspondingly late arriving. I can't really get on with anything right now because it either takes too long or I haven't got the equipment and am waiting for Charles and the postman before I have what I need. Feel as though I've had a completely wasted morning!

HAD A BRIEF BUT VERY PLEASANT...

... visit from our son this evening. Much of the talk was about the house, although we did take a break from that to view the photos from the wedding on the TV. Kevin may have problems when it comes to running the coffee shop, but he certainly knows the photography business. Absolutely wonderful. Tomorrow seems to be filling up nicely. Charles is going over to Rachel and James's to let the plumber in and to hang about a bit while he's working. I'm going to the docs in the morning - just a prescription review - then I think I'm meeting Christina for coffee. I've got to turn my hand to making lasagne for Kevin following a request today, so I may do that tomorrow and I also want to have a go at cake pops. I've resisted up to now because I suspect they're a bit of a faff, but I have a feeling they may go down a storm with the kids in the coffee shop at Applebys Bookshop. Tired now so may have an early night!

THANKS A BUNCH LILY!

Just up three times last night. What on earth has unsettled her so much? It's no good leaving her to bark because she just gets more frantic and that upsets Rose, who really doesn't want to be awake at all. I know the feeling Rose! Consequently, because I'm the one who gets up when Charles is at school, I'm feeling pretty knackered this morning. Off out in a while though, with a big delivery to Radcliffes. Hopefully I'll pick up the wedding CD at the same time. I don't think I've mentioned on here just how wonderfully fabulous the wedding album is. We all oohed and aahed our way through it on Saturday before we went to Loch Fyne. It's just beautiful and was well worth the wait!!!! After Jesmond, it's off into Morpeth to stock up, then back home to start baking before James comes up for tea this evening. Charles has gone off this morning with a spring in his step as it's the last day of his working week!

ANOTHER...

... beautiful warm, sunny day. Absolutely glorious! Too nice to be in the kitchen really, but hey ho, that's where I am! Just waiting for the carrot and ginger cake to come out of the oven, then batches of cheese and cherry scones (separate batches of course) are ready to go in. Just need to point out that, ever since Tex left, we've had disturbed nights with the girls again. Might need to adopt him!!

STRANGELY QUIET!!

Haven't been on my own in the house for weeks. It's really rather nice! Charles is at work and Christina is with her new fella. The girls are around of course, but are currently dozing. It is, of course, a gorgeous day. In fact I think the forecast is for lots of warm sunshine this week. Sod's Law! Not doing too much this afternoon, just a couple of dozen quiche. The rest can wait till tomorrow!

HI HO, HI HO...

... it's off to work he goes! Training day for Charles today, so easing in gently. Means I've lost my delivery boy, so it's back on the road for me this morning with a pretty huge delivery. The girls are already not liking the fact that their Dad has left them. It's a long time to sit looking for him Lily!!

SO ALAN PARDEW SAYS...

... Newcastle were a bit 'funny' today! This was certainly not our finest hour. Gutted that we didn't get a win against the Vile. Best bit, apart from ben Arfa's goal, was Steven Taylor winding their goalie up - now that WAS funny!!

OKAY...

... so where's the morning disappeared to? To be honest, it's been pretty full on - in the kitchen of course. 18 quiche. 8 apple pies, bakewells and brownies, plus two fab Mediterranean veggie focaccias. Now having a bit of a relax before setting off for the match. Hate the Villa - Come on Toon!!

JUST GOT HOME...

... after a lovely evening at Loch Fyne. Great meal and even better company. Had a fab time.

LOCH FYNE TONIGHT!

But before then it's a mammoth baking session, hairdressers, shopping and more baking when I get back, plus all the beds have been stripped and need making up. Am shattered already and looking forward to a relaxing sit down at SAKs while they try to sort out the mess that my hair has become. Just waiting for a batch of scones to finish on the oven and then I'm off. Oh - the car valeter is here. He's doing the merc and the peugeot, Takes about three hours and he's charging £30!! Amazing!