Walking, a day at school, and contrast.

1) A long walk past fields full of sheep and lambs, flocks of birds take to wing as I pass by, and bunny rabbits hop across the road in front of me…

2) A regales me with stories of his day at school – I’m very impressed with how they’re learning about the “real world” – they were asked to identify their key strengths, and then “apply for a job” working in the area they feel they are best suited to. Then, in their team, they had to choose a facilitator for the group, and work out the detail of the tasks they need to perform. School sounds much more fun than it used to be!

3) I tried a variation on Primrose Bakery’s Blueberry and Polenta Cupcakes. I omitted the blueberries, instead adding small pieces of frozen lemon curd to the mix, thereby creating Lemon and Polenta cupcakes. Soft gooey mouthfuls of lemon provide a delicious contrast to the almost crunchy texture of the cupcakes – yum!

Mother’s Day

1) I was awoken by Aidan and Megan bringing me breakfast in bed (cinnamon toast, made by themselves), and presenting me with beautiful homemade cards.

2) Lunch was Aidan’s homemade “patchwork bread” (a tear and share style bread, consisting of various combinations of white, wholemeal, seeded, or chocolate breads). Megan had made a batch of delicious cupcakes, iced and beautifully decorated.

3) We had a lovely afternoon walk at Beecraigs with Grandma, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner cooked by my Dad, and assisted by K and M. The sun shone, and I couldn’t have asked for a more lovely way to spend this Mother’s Day :-).

Cupcake, pansies, and early to bed.

1) A home-made (by two of the young people at church to help raise funds for church hall refurbishment) chocolate cupcake was the perfect completion of the soup&sandwich church lunch.

2) To plant winter pansies, and bring a welcome splash of colour to my garden.

3) To go to bed early, because the clocks have gone back.

Experimenting, spring flowers and the old days

1) I attempted Honey and Soy’s Sticky Date Cupcakes with Butterscotch Icing today – they were yum, even the kids thought they were fab!

2) A tub of miniature daffodils, with the promise of tulips still to come, now resides by my front door thanks to my Mum xx

3) Dinner this evening (baked potatoes, with mature cheese and sweetcorn), brought back memories of our students days…

Relief, sharing and being looked after

1) To learn that all we know in New Zealand are safe and well.

2) We can’t decide which to have, so we share our cupcakes: lemon with sparkly cream cheese icing, and toffee crumble.

3) Recognising that I wasn’t feeling too well, my friend insists that I stay, makes me a fresh cup of tea and ensures that I don’t go anywhere until I absolutely have to. Thanks R xx

Cakes, Cheering Up and Recipes

1) Aidan and Megan decorating fairy cakes together. I’d have take a photo but they have been disappearing rapidly!

2) Successfully cheering A up at lunchtime by, at least temporarily, convincing five boys that being friends with more than one person at a time is generally considered to be a Good Thing.

3) Loving the way that my recipe repertoire has been unexpectedly expanding through reading other people’s 3BT blogs. This recipe from A Journal of Days has caught my eye today – thanks Leonara!