Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Sunday, 5 January 2014

Cranberry Hootycreeks... and talk of homemade gifts.

In my last post I was going on about my homemade Christmas cards. Pondering on whether my friends and family like to receive them. They always do lots of talking about them (good and bad)!
Over at heyhomewrecker she's posing a similar question.. 'do you like to make and receive a handmade gift?'
Yes I do.  Both.
There's a bit of thought and effort that goes into producing a handmade gift.

My youngest son gave me this for Christmas. It came beautifully presented with a lovely ribbon and a handmade gift tag all stuck on with hospital tape. His mother taught him well!
Cranberry Hootycreeks - a jar layered with all the ingredients to make cookies. My wee grand-daughter came to help.


I inherited my retro Salter scales from my mother -in -law.  There are scales similar to mine at pineappleretro with a black base, but mine have a blue bowl with a white base. I think they're probably 70's vintage.
All we had to do was cream butter, vanilla essence and an egg together until fluffy. Then we tipped in the entire jar of ingredients and mixed until well blended.


Watch out for this little miss on the GBBO in a few years time. Her mother is teaching her well!


In to the oven 175C, 8-10 minutes.


Yum. Yum.


But that wasn't all. Along with the Cranberry Hootycreeks came a bottle of homemade Baileys.
Now in it's 2nd year of production. I don't mind getting the same thing twice over. It's very boozy!



And two years running I've been given lovely shortbread from my neighbour. 


                                                                     What's not to like?!

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Goodbye Christmas - Hello New Year!

Christmas started with the Christmas cards, photography by me, printing by my husband. Should we bother making these? I'm not sure.

Some people like 'hand made' - some don't. Some of the stuff that I saw Kirstie Allsopp making on her show this Christmas was downright awful.......don't think my lot would appreciate tie-dyed knickers somehow.



Then there was the food.  My daughter-in- law's fridge .....  groaning.


The obligatory sprouts, did you ever hear so much talk about one vegetable in all your life?


 The sky on Christmas day.


We went to the beach at Culdaff.



There were some good waves.

                                    On another day we went to see the waterfall at Clonmany.
                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                


                                   Then it was time to leave Donegal and head back home.


                         On the way home we drove through Belfast to see the Christmas lights.



                                                  Goodbye Christmas -   Hello New Year.

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Sunday, 22 December 2013

Hats Off to Christmas!

I haven't done much blogging just lately.  No time or is it no inclination?  I've been distracted.
One year I managed to post on my blog every day of December.

So it's hats off to those who are prepared for Christmas. Yesterday my husband and I were out doing some last minute shopping.
He does strange things at Christmas, like opening his wallet and buying a hat!


We stopped off for a coffee and shared a mince pie. He had the fork, I had the spoon.
 It looked good but we had to pull it apart. 
What a disappointment. Talk about a soggy bottom. 
                                                     I complained... Bah Humbug....


On down the road and these lonely trees were just waiting for someone to give them a good home.


                                          Longing to be adorned with Christmas ornaments.


                                      Like this one, made from a drinks can, by my friend Sharon.

                        Or this one below, stitched on plastic canvas, by Laura from my craft group.


                           Maybe a paper robin, made by my son Robert who is now 36 years old.


                   Perhaps a more recent paper cut bauble, made by my 28 year old son Richard.


     Topped off with a flashing star, a kit from Maplins, made by my son Philip now 35 years old.


Oh, I did feel sorry for those lonely trees.

This is my bit of Christmas craft for this year. I made a star printing block then printed on to wallpaper with black acrylic ink.  I added lots of glitter glue and glittery nail varnish and stitched the stars on to some corded wool to make a garland.



I hung some baubles on this dried flower arrangement. Somehow my husband caught his hat on it and half the baubles fell off.  I gave up! That's the Morrocan lantern I made for C&G. I put a light inside it when Christmas comes.


Didn't I say my husband acted strangely at Christmas? He bought a Santa Suit for a bargain price.


I did some Christmas baking -  Lemon Drizzle cake, Florentines, Pecan Brownies, Tiffin,
 Battenburg Brandy Balls, Fudge, Fifteens - some were good and some didn't please me despite following all the recipes to the letter.. icing sugar and packaging to the rescue.




My son's girlfriend showed us how things should be done!
  Chocolate Yule Log. Showing my age I say, "Is it Delia's?"
"No, it's Paul Hollywood's."  
That old silver fox!
His recipes are 'Never Fail.'


Out for a bit of Christmas shopping and I thought about Nigella.  
Her recipe book now relegated to the Sale shelf in M&S. 
Who'd have thought?


I was feeling sorry for her and then these carol singers took my attention - they were good.


Then there were the dancers in the 'Strictly' final.
They were good too and I thought the best girl won.


                                                            We had a bit of a party.


                         After another week or so of all these festivities and I'll be looking like this penguin.


I'm already half way there. Help!

Friday, 6 December 2013

Two Magical Winter Evenings.

              LUMIERE, Derry / Londonderry :::::::::: CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SWITCH ON, Lisburn.

               
Fireworks - Lisburn
Peace Bridge, Derry/ Londonderry
St. Columb's Park - FIRE GARDEN




Fireworks - Lisburn

View from Derry's walls
Lisburn

Island Centre, Lisburn


TWICE UPON A TIME

Clock Tower, Ebrington Square

NEON DOGS



VOYAGE - Austins Department Store



Lisburn 
Derry/ Londonderry







Lisburn
Quite a show!

For all the info on Lumiere look here.
Lisburn is being dug up.