It's been a while.................

Near Dale, Pembrokeshire

since I posted!



Stackpole, Pembrokeshire

Hello my friends, I hope you are all well and rested and enjoying your summer (what summer?) holidays!

Its good to be back!

Bosherston Lily Ponds at Stackpole

Apologies to all my regular friends and new visitors who have popped over to visit over the last few weeks and found only a stale three week old post!

Bosherston Lily ponds

I haven't posted for a bit as we were away on holiday last week, and what with getting ready for it the week before on top of the usual "stuff", and unpacking this week when we got back.............the time has just gone and I cannot believe its three weeks since I last posted!!!

Logan on the beach near Dale

We have had a lovely relaxing week in Pembrokeshire with plenty of fresh air and excercise, heading for the various coasts every day (south, west and north Pembrokeshire coasts all easily accesible)

OK folks, I should warn you at this point that there will be quite a few holiday snaps coming up - to avoid these, fast forward to near the end for the winner of the Giveaway, and a recipe for Chocochini Cake ( aka chocolate courgette cake!) - now aren't I a kind and thoughtful person to spare you ???!!!!

Beach near Dale - you can just see me in the distance beachcombing

we pottered on virtually deserted beaches

Herbrandston Beach, accessed from the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, just before the heavens opened and we got drenched to the skin!

walked along the cliff tops and headlands,

View of Lydstep Haven from Lydstep cliff top

walked along stretches of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, 

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path near Skrinkle

Sailing at Dale

and strolled around towns and villages.

 Pembroke castle

 Overlooking the beach at West Angle bay

 Harbour at lower Fishguard

 Freshwater West beach - this was a favourite with surfers and body boarders

West Angle bay

 View of Freshwater West with the enormous sand dunes behind

Some days it did get a little warmer than this, but not many!

Bella and Logan on the lily pond walk

view from Herbrandston beach, Pembrokeshire

It is like autumn here today.

Cold, grey and windy, although here in Kent we have been spared the rain so far.

The Lily Ponds again! After a mile and half over narrow bridges and alongside the ponds you get to Broad Haven beach. Walking back the other side is only 3/4 mile and no bridges. All part of Stackpole National trust land.

The weather is often disappointing by the time you get to the "proper" holidays in late July and August, when the children are free of lessons, and with high expectations for some sunny weeks ahead.

All too often even the warmer days are hazy and cloudy, and the evenings are shorter as the nights draw in.

At the end of Bosherston Lily Ponds you find Broad Haven beach (the sea is in the background, the beach proper you cannot see) - there's Bella and Logan by the water in the foreground

I much prefer those unexpected hot days earlier in the year in May and June, with hot mornings, unbelievably azure blue skies for most of the day, and long, warm, balmy evenings.

Anyhow, here we are in late August.

And I have a delayed announcement of the winner of the Giveaway which ended a few days before we went on holiday.

After scattering the names on the floor and scooping them up in a playful manner to entice Logan to pick one..........



He quickly obliged and ran off downstairs with one, and just before he chewed it I managed to grab it!



blurry action shot of Logan with winning entry!

And the winner is.......................

Me and Tilly too!

Congratulations Lesley!


There is another journal cover to choose from now, made from a lovely red vintage french provencal fabric (which actually matches the bookmark included in the giveaway) lined with red gingham, with an integral East of India ribbon bookmark.


So have a look at the pics below Lesley, then please email me with your address and let me know your preferred option.

journal cover

I've just started to gather together the giveaway goodies, and there will be a few little extras in there for Lesley.

The vegetable garden is being very productive at the moment with loads of climbing french beans and dwarf french beans, and finally the runner beans - yay!!

Still lots of courgettes too - I cut 4 littlies this morning, and a big old boy who had got missed.

We decided to make the big guy into a chocolate courgette cake this morning, although my daughter has given it a much more fun name - Chocochini Cake!

This is because we decided the word "zucchini" was more appetising and appealing than "courgette", and indeed they are grown from the Italian Zucchini seed I picked up from our local nursery man who is Italian, so it is quite right and proper that we call it this.



As a treat for your bearing with me, I shall share the recipe for Chocochini cake!

Bella found the recipe online at http://www.allrecipes.co.uk/.




Best Chocolate Courgette Cake (proper title)
or
Chocochini Cake (our title)

250g plain flour
375g caster sugar
65g cocoa powder
2 tsps bicarb of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
350ml vegetable oil (we only used 100ml extra virgin olive oil as mixture was already quite sloppy)
340g grated courgette (remove some of the water using kitchen paper)
90g chopped walnuts

***
Preheat oven to 180c.
Grease and flour (we baselined) 20cm x 30cm tin (we used 20 x 20).
In a large bowl stir together dry ingredients (we sieved the flour and cocoa), then add the eggs, courgettes and oil mixing well. Stir in the nuts.
Bake for 50 to 60 mins in pre-heated oven or until cooked.
Either top with sieved icing sugar or your favourite icing.

***



There is no way you would know there is courgette in this cake.

The cake is deliciously moist and dense, and I do recommend trying this recipe if you have a glut of courgettes, or its worth buying some specially to make it.

Ephemera and other randomness

ephemeraplural of e·phem·er·a (Noun)

1. Things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time.

2. Items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity.

I rather like this word, "ephemera" , for it conjures up thoughts of potentially fascinating bygone miscellanea, and an insight into another time, another place and a different way of life.

It's another one of those intruiging "e" words,  like "ethereal", "enigmatic" and "eclectic" , "euphemism", "equivocal" , "epiphany", "epitome" , "epoch"!

They are somehow words that evoke (you see, there's another one) a little mystery, of things unknown and untold, vagueness, secrecy, intrigue, of other worldliness.

Hmmm. Yes. I think Little Lambs expression says it all.

Moving on..........

Getting back down to earth again, whilst searching online in that great World Shop for some genuine vintage labels, I came across these rather pretty matchbox covers, under the heading of "ephemera".

They are of Hungarian origin

"24 vintage matchbox labels from Hungary, with fun, childlike folk art illustrations of phrases. From around the 1950s.

In great condition, lightly attached to the paper with stamp hinges."

The simple black and white designs on that lovely dark turquoise background caught my eye, and for the princely sum of £1.80 (inc p/p!) they are mine.

They are already mounted, so I could simply place them in a frame then hang them as an interesting piece of "art" on the wall.

And I may use the artwork as inspiration for a future project - that is really what I had in mind when I purchased them.

It is fascinating wandering through the "ephemera" section!

Also purchased off eBay this last week or so

a large quantity of vintage large blue checked woven cotton for 99p

and it matches the colour of the Toile that came earlier this week beautifully

Nearly 3m of vintage white handmade cotton lace, either crochet or tatting (sold as crocheted), 99p

and a small vintage damask hand towel with a beautiful monogram

Yes, 99p again!

So some good bargains still to be had online - I have better luck online than in our local charity shops where there is nothing much older than 80's things these days, including china, and very little under £2.

But I know from viewing other blogs that luckily others still manage to find some fantastic stuff in their local CSs - maybe I need to find some different ones. 

And finally, a little peek at a handsome young man who has recently returned from a two hour grooming and pamper session

A Spoilt Prince? Who, moi?!

Hope the sun shines for you wherever you are this weekend - its actually shining here at the moment, hooray!!!

And don't forget this is the final chance to enter my Giveaway (see 11th July post or my Giveaway button on sidebar) which ends tomorrow at midnight - the bewitching hour, an enigmatic hour, quite entrancing and ethereal.......................

Inspiring Books, French Fabrics and a bit of Baking

Today I have set up a new page on my Blog featuring Books that I have come across, enjoyed, and that I think you might like too.

 I hope (ha!) to add new books to this page regularly, to keep it updated (yes, probably as updated as I've kept my Flowers page and Made page, and my BlogShop - which is hardly at all! ) with books that are inspiring me now and which may inspire you also.

*

The french vintage fabrics mentioned in my last post arrived this morning.

a pretty Indienne type of fabric

taupe and off white ticking

a pretty country floral

and from a different seller, and from good old England, a new piece of traditional blue ticking



This cooler, almost autumnal weather we've been having this week has seen me eager to spend a little more time in the kitchen cooking.

So far this week I've made a vegetarian Green Thai curry with brown rice (Monday), vegetable soup (Tuesday) vegetable Parmigiana (yesterday, my version of Eggplant Parmigiana inspired by yummy photos at My Farmhouse Kitchen but I didn't have any aubergines!)

and also yesterday I rather excelled myself by baking a moist Banana and Walnut Loaf

(a variation on a recipe I shared here a few months ago)

and wholemeal Irish Soda Bread

So I've now made myself hungry and I'm off to have some of that bread for lunch!

Hope you all have  a great weekend!

PS  Don't forget to enter my Giveaway (on 11th July post, Its Giveaway Time finally...) if you haven't already, as it ends this weekend (Sunday)!