Rabbit holes

On an overcast Autumn morning with an hour or so to spare, it’s tempting to begin the day by reading email and allowing myself to get distracted.  I’ve done my Spanish practice (level 10, no less!) and the washing machine is humming.  As my Mum would say, “nothing spoiling”.

I opened up my Feedly blog reader and began at the top.  Books and Journals.

 

The entrance to the rabbit hole is staring me in the face.  As I read about the book art course in Amsterdam, I click on all the links and a succession of Windows tabs opens up on my desktop.  I’ve read about Rachel’s courses before and they always sound so tempting, especially this one in Amsterdam.

Having read the article, I settle back to follow through the links I’ve opened, then.  As I do, I decide how best to store these interesting websites for future reference – after all, we might find ourselves in Amsterdam one of these days and it would be fun to drop into one or two of them.  Normally, I will look on my Pinterest “Places” page these days, but links to sites like this cute set of Amsterdam-related rubber stamps don’t seem to fit there.  I resist the temptation to reorganise my Pinterest catalogue right now and simply bookmark the whole article with a tag “Amsterdam” in the hope that I’ll find it when I go looking for it.

Working my way through a variety of websites, I hit upon a new and rather interesting blog and decide to add it to my Feedly list.  As I click +, the last couple of posts appear and one of them in particular looks fascinating.

The Story Behind the Art – Robin Pickens tempts me to click through straight away and reveals a great story of career development.  I enjoy reading about how people end up doing what they do, especially when the story involves skill, energy, tenacity and sheer hard work. 

You’ve already guessed where I went next and yes, Robin’s blog is immediately added to my Feedly list as well.

In particular, I’m interested in her post about designing fabric on the theme of pie! 

I mean, who couldn’t be tempted by this?  What an interesting recipe…

especially as, out in the garden right now, the ingredients are hanging from the tree.  I think I need to spend the morning baking, don’t you?

What’s not to like about a rabbit hole with an apple pie at the bottom?

Two worlds

On our way to do the shopping this morning, at the bottom of the hill.

Rather a surprise, because on the top, it was like this.

Ah, Gloucestershire.

Around here

There’s a distinct chill in the air and the season has changed.  I wandered out into the garden this morning in the hope of finding some indicators of the season, but it’s still green and leafy for now.

A few more cold nights and I think we’re going to see some rapid changes on our outlook, however.

We’ve had such a fun weekend; filled with good company and thought provoking and entertaining events, we enjoyed the sunny, sparky Cheltenham Literature Festival atmosphere over a couple of days.  We heard politicians, pundits and the writers themselves and each one of us now finds ourselves with a longer list of books to read than ever.

The logistics are never easy.  We always begin with a wishlist, as soon as the programme is announced and juggle the numerous events to accommodate preferences and time slots.  I sit by my computer on the day the tickets go on sale and do what I can to secure our first choices, though undoubtedly, adjustments have to be made.  This year, we did pretty well and found ourselves with a pretty full schedule for two days.

As if that wasn’t enough, we took in an opera at the cinema for good measure!

Tristan and Isolde was an interesting start to the season, though, with mixed reviews all round.  I maintain that it’s worth hanging in there with Wagner, nevertheless, for that magical moment which only works after several hours’ investment!

(I’m not sure that everyone agreed with me)

This morning, my Hero and I find ourselves in a quiet house.  Everyone’s gone home, the dust has settled and we are slowly getting back into our routine. 

There’s a definite “after the ball is over” feeling around here!

Silly

My Hero and I have always loved chocolate teacakes and there really are no better examples than those made by Tunnocks.

There are certain traditions to be followed though.

Having eaten the contents of the foil wrapper, then it has to be smoothed out without tearing.  It’s quite a challenge and needs time and care.  Having completed the task and admired the result, there is one final, essential stage.

Screw it up and throw it in the bin. 

Sadly, foil isn’t recycled here.

Spatchcocked

In between completing the last few pages of my Road Trip Journal and catching up with the washing and ironing mountain, somehow we find we need to eat.  When it’s hot, neither of us feels much like eating, but now the wind has changed and the clouds set in, we feel more in need of comfort.  Summer comfort eating is different from Autumn/Winter comfort eating though, isn’t it?

Our go-to comfort food this year is most certainly spatchcocked chicken.  If they’re on offer in Waitrose at 3 for £10, then all the better, because those cheap little chickens are absolutely delicious cooked this way.  I claim none of the ownership: that has to go to Nigella, whose Forever Summer is a bit of a go-to resource at this time of the year.  Her recipe comes more in the form of general advice rather than specific ingredients and suits us just fine.  My hero does the kitchen scissors bit and I’m the olive oil, garlic, lemon, thyme and plastic bag girl.  Having added the bits and pieces to the rather comical bird in the bag, we smoosh it about a bit and leave it in the fridge overnight or a bit longer.

An hour in the oven with a few new potatoes thrown in for good measure and it’s done.  Just the thing for a rainy Tuesday evening when all the recent heat seems to have disappeared.

There might even be a little left over for a sandwich tomorrow as well.