Meet Kiki...

Last night I went for a lovely evening walk around the heathland in Rhosgadfan and arrived home to find a horde of children lying underneath my car!  They were screaming, yelling and desperately trying to reach even further under.  It turned out that two of the local cats were sitting there, minding their own business and trying to get a bit of shut eye.  That was until the nosiy four year olds began their attempt to coax them out.  I'm not sure why but at four years old, it must seem like trying to have a nap under a car in the quiet is the worst place in the world!  I said to just leave them be, they were quite happy.  I wasn't moving the car so no danger of a flat kitty!  But one little boy mentioned something about hitting them with a broom to get them out.  Right, I'd better do something about this sensibly I thought to myself.  So in I went to get a slice of ham and gently (and most importantly, quietly) talked the first cat out.  She is a darling, she's seventeen years old, bones sticking out everywhere and just wants a quiet life.  So I took her to her house and then started on cat #2.  The same trick worked and to my delight a tiny black and white kitten popped her head out!  She was only about 8 inches long and jumped into the safety of my arms like a shot.  She was trembling poor little thing and seemed to snuggle deep into the chunky knit of my new H&M green cardigan (now complete with a little pull from a cute kitten paw).  I went to her house but no-one was at home and didn't want to leave her with the children, who seemed to think that as each minute passed, their voices had to rise by at least another 5 decibels.  So I took her into Rhid's, where she stopped shaking like a leaf, munched more ham, had a few licks of custard, explored all around the living room and fireplace (we were very tempted to attach a duster to her feet), had some cuddles and then threw herself against me (her heroic rescuer) and promptly fell asleep.

I think I just fell in love again ...

Irresistable chocolate squares ...

Irresistable chocolate squares are how they are described in the book (The Great British Book of Baking), sweet pieces of chocolate delight.  They are not wrong, that is for sure!

 

225g unsalted butter, diced
100g chocolate, broken up
200g caster sugar
4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
75g walnut pieces
icing sugar, for dusting

20.5 cm square tin, greased with butter
and the base lined with greaseproof paper

 

Heat the oven to 180 (degree C).

Gently melt the chocolate and butter in a small, heavy-based pan on the lowest possible heat.  Stir frequently, until smooth but not hot.  Remove the pan from the heat and leave to one side until needed.

 

Put the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with a hand whisk.  Whisk in the chocolate mixture.  Sift the flour and cocoa into the bowl and mix thoroughly.  Stir in the nuts, then transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and spread evenly.  Bang the tin on a work surface to expel any air bubbles.

Bake in the heated oven for about 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the mixture comes out with moist crumbs - the mixture will continue cooking after it comes out of the oven and it's vital not to overcook it.  Note the mixture will rise up while in the oven but sink on cooling.

 

Stand the tin on a wire cooling rack and leave to cool completely.  Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

They taste delicious warm, so good that I had to have a second piece just to make sure.  In fact, I think another piece with some ice cream would be in order.  Just to test whether it is a good combination.  Purely a scientific experiment!

A little piece of fragrant heaven . . .

I wish that you could smell these carnations.  They are divine.  The sole reason I bought the bush was so that I could snip off the delicate stems and dot them around the house so the scent permeates and is with me through the day.  Ordinarily, I can take carnations or leave them, but the place that this smell took me to was far too wonderful to walk away.  I could feel the fragrance seeping in through all of my pores, it began to flow through my blood system, into my organs.  It was as though it was keeping me alive, a buoyancy aid.  And now, I have a small piece of this delight in my front room.
 

Life at the sharp end . . .

When you think of a cactus, what you springs into your mind?  Is it their colour?  Their shape?  A particular holiday that you associate with them?  I see the green, the succulence, the spines.  The conditions that the cactaceae are subjected to are harsh.  Their distinctive appearance is the result of adapting to conserve water in dry and hot climates, where most of the plants' moisture is obtained in the form of fog.  They have thick, succulent and photosynthetic stems, boasting spines instead of leaves.  The spines offer a protection from herbivores whilst providing some shade to reduce transpiration (loss) of water from the waxy, water-repellent stem. 

This family, native to the Americas, are spectacular, but, it was most certainly not the flowers that popped into mind when pondering these camels of the plant world.  Of course, we all know the Christmas cactus and associate pretty, usually pink flowers with that, but the cacti as a whole just aren't beautiful are they?  Well, yes they are!  The flowers are surprisingly intricate; almost neon in colour and exquisitely feminine in start contrast to the phallic, spiky main stem.  They range in size, but some are so tiny they would be dwarfed by something the size of a medium-large bee (that sounds like trying to buy a bee "off the peg"!  I'll take a medium to large bee please, colour black, not too much yellow and wrap him to go please.  Careful with that stinger!).  The cacti are one of natures' many surprises and they put on such a show; full of amazing star quality with their beautifully delicate flowers, some opening only at night, in true performance style!  Take a quick peek and wallow in their delicacy for a few moments.  Let their beauty seep in as the colours pop like small fireworks throughout the most barren of places.

 

My safe place . . .

Somewhere to feel safe and calm, to put me together when I fall to pieces. Your candy floss blossoms have long gone, but the shard of you that I carry in my heart can offer solace.  It can slow the erratic pounding and flood my soul with a soft balm.  Cherry blossoms, I miss you.  I need you more than ever.  Your beauty, your softness, your healing.

Perfect moments in time

These are the reasons that my heart beats.  The blood that pumps through my veins, the air that fills my lungs.  These perfect moments in time are my whole reason for being.  They give me strength to cope with the mundane, to get through the day and are the birdsong of life.

Rows of cherry blossom, film cameras and a beautiful man to hold my hand.  What more could I wish for to fill my heart to bursting??  A perfect date, a dreamy picnic setting, my ideal evening.

A nod and a wink . . .

 

April, the month when, if you stand for a while, you can almost hear things growing

~ James Alexander Sinclair

The month when hope springs into life, knee-quiveringly gorgeous blooms start furnishing pockets of green.  Looking around, little rainbow drops of colour pop out and catch your eye.  Like prisms of light zooming straight into the brain and implanting smiles on our lips, safe in the knowledge that sunlight, warmth and long summer days are on their way.  Before the daring, self-assured flowers of summer, spring offers us a variety of tantalizing treats to whet our appetite.  The season seems to be divide between the humble and the majestic.  Many spring flowers impersonate servanthood, they are unassuming and bow in shyness at the seasons’ first sun.  Think of dainty bluebells, snowdrops, even boldly coloured fritillaries nod their head in a gentle fashion.  Modest primroses forming lowly but dazzling carpets underneath shrubs, daring only to take a peek out and flash a glimpse of striking colour.  Blossom trees dripping delicate drops of beauty with their pink and white ballerina tutus before dropping them in a whirl of candyfloss confetti. 

On the other hand delicate daffodils stand in defiance, turning their gentle faces towards the sun.  Croccii, tulips, phallic hyacinth and legions of bold muscari, smugly knowing that if they stand together, they can knock the very breath out of the observer.  Stately magnolia rule the roost of the skies, puffing out their chests and pushing their blooms out there for all to admire and gasp in reverence of their splendour.

This seasons' collection concentrates on the princes and the paupers, it is bang on trend to go one way or the other.  The resplendent and the meek, hand in hand, providing the world with its' next hit of colour and hope mingled.