SmitoniusAndSonata

It's Not Raining !

2012-02-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

Sonata :

After moaning about the endless dim and dismal weather , it seems a little ungrateful to complain , now the sky is a glorious blue . So I won't .... but it was -5 degrees Celcius at noon today , the snowdrops had all keeled over with the cold and the wind chill was such that , once out of the house , my top lip went numb after 5 minutes and I briefly regretted not having a moustache . And it's forecast to get colder and colder over the weekend .

I don't mind , though . I've dug out a suitable 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle ( Smitonius' suggestion , since I still can't sew ) and it's mesmerising me .

The book I ordered at the exhibition on The Golden Temple of Amritsar last summer finally arrived this week and has proved to be well worth the wait . Beautifully produced , it's full of wonderful photos and water colours from the early 1900s . And may have prompted my impulse buy at the Health shop .

Given that I've still got 6 DVDs to watch once I've finished the first two series of Downton Abbey , I might not come up for air till Monday .

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

2012-01-27T09:16:00.000-08:00

Sonata :

The sun's shining . Ark-building is temporarily on hold . Three Polyanthus For Only 2.99 Euros are now appearing by the supermarket checkouts and there's a bird busking by the kitchen window .

Of course , it won't last . It is , after all , still January and the weekend forecast is dismal , but I nipped quickly into town and people-watched at the market . The man at the biggest plant stall had his arms full of flowers , " Five bunches of tulips for 3.50 , Mevrouw?" he asked a beady-eyed woman , to which she replied "Five"? I don't need five! ". "Give one to your neighbor , then ". Just one look at her face and we all saw that she'd eat her own arm before she did any such thing . I wondered what the neighbour was like ....

The man at the paprika stall was employing his usual sales technique , throwing a couple of extras in your bag and charging you anything that comes into his head/what he thinks you'll pay today ( He's safe . His paprikas are the best in town. )

The Lebanese stall heaped hummus , olives , feta , and sesame-sprinkled Turkish bread into my bag and charged me ridiculously little , giving me a chunk of bread with a garlicky dip as a farewell gift

Oh I've missed all this , during these dark , dreary winter days . But now I'd better pull myself together and make a huge pot of hearty soup , before the hail begins again .

Smitten Kitchen's Carrot and Ginger soup sounds good .

Ruby toots cahoots

2012-01-22T12:24:00.001-08:00

Smitonius:As you may know, we lost our 15 year old cat over Xmas. She is irreplaceable, but we missed cat company. I researched all rehoming options in London, and we visited Wood green animal shelter in north London, Battersea and an independent cat rehoming home. We decided we couldn't have another tabby, although our local vet would have given us first dibs at a mum tabby cat who needs a home... As it is, I can't quite kick 15 years of saying our cat's name!We considered a black cat who was missing her companion, a violent but beautiful sharp nailed swiper of a dame, a shy and shivering tailless cat, a toothless ginger Tom, two distressed cats whose previous humans had relocated, a tortie who was somewhat phantom of the opera faced.... And then, at Battersea, we saw Toots, a black and white 5 year old cat with a heart condition. Or she saw us first. Anyway, one week on and Ruby Toots Cahoots has moved in, been in every room, endured a vet trip (again), and is a joy.

I Must Be Better ... I'm Bo-oh-red .

2012-01-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

According to my mother , who was always right , you were well on the way to recovery once you started to feel fidgety and fretful . So I must be nearly better .... though I've got another week of Plaster of Paris and I still can't go to work ( it's a two-handed occupation , taming toddlers ) , but I'm desperately casting my mind about for one-handed things to do .

The muffins were really quite successful , the 6-Grain flour from the North African shop proving to be delicious . Though it was probably just as well I changed the recipe's 2 cups of bran to 1/2 a cup , human digestive systems being what they are ...

Finally getting to grips with crocheting was the next thing on the list . I had the instructions and a photo tutorial , 1920's style , from a Paton & Baldwin's booklet , so it would be a cinch .

I'd have my very own Granny Squares Afghan any day now .... or not ....

After an hour of re-running YouTube's How To Crochet _ Part 1 : Basics For The ABSOLUTE ( her capitals , not mine ) Beginner , given by a cheery young woman in a wondrous crochet cardi , I had a loop . Flushed with success , I then turned to Attic 24 and her Summer Garden Granny Square tutorial ...... and put wool and hook back in their bag .

It was getting dark and there was still the rest of the list to get through . The novel could wait .... another 64 years , at this rate . So that just left my pepper mill . There is a certain irony in the fact that a device designed to be used with one hand , has to be refilled by someone with two , fairly strong , functioning hands . Luckily , Husband turned up before I'd got too profane .

Anyway , today , had I made a list of things to do , it would have been much shorter . Finish book ( The Night Circus , a Christmas present from Y.D. ) and make http://coconutraita.blogspot.com/ 's Potato curry . So I did . They were both excellent !

Penny Plain , Twopence Coloured

2012-01-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

Well , perhaps not always ...Friend and I have just been to the exhibition " Alaia . Alaia Azzedine in de 21e Eeuw " ( in the 21st Century ) in the Groninger Museum . It's a catch-up on the highlights of his creations in the last ten years , the museum having held a big exhibition of his work in 1998 , which I was lucky enough to have seen .
His evening dresses are stunning , each one calling up visions of Oscars , red carpets and Rita Hayworth .

The craftsmanship and eye for detail are impressive .

So no , I doubt that you'd get even a plain black one for a penny ......

Whereas today's Twopence Coloured really only cost 69 cents . A bag of Rainbow carrots grown locally , which I steamed and dressed with caraway , parsley and lemon juice à la 64 foot kitchen ( see our side bar for the link to her blog ) .

Delicious , especially with freshly ground black pepper from my new , and very nifty one-handed pepper mill .

Happy 2012

2012-01-03T03:29:00.000-08:00

Smitonius and Sonata wish you all a Happy New Year and a prosperous one!

Farewell sweetheart

2011-12-29T01:47:00.001-08:00

Smitonius

We called the vets in for a home visit, and they were very kind, sensitive and careful. We were able to be with her, and that meant she was at home and comfortable at the end. Our companion for 15 years, and will be missed.

A Very Merry Christmas ..

2011-12-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

I wish you all a very merry Christmas with the people you love , excellent food , the occasional glass of something delicious and lots of good music !

Husband , Youngest Daughter and I will be munching our way through the usual turkey etc. and finishing on a literary note with a stylish Christmas pud. from Waterstone's , the bookshop in Amsterdam . And the Christmas music will be beautifully sung Polish carols from an ancient CD ( Vànocì Koledy ) I found in a junk shop .

The days when we could all be under the same roof for the holidays have passed but , as for so many other families , the phone will bring us all nearer and I , for one , am looking forward to hearing Eldest Grandson's long , rather breathless catalogue of Lego bits received and chocolate buttons eaten and Little Grandson's squawks of protest over the possible tardiness of milk delivery .

This year's Christmas Greetings are brought to you by a 1929 advertisement from a German magazine and might , with luck , mean an end to Bad Hair Days all round . And yes , I got a new plaster cast today and can move my fingers again .... hence the capital letters . Quite the best present so far !

" oh , have you broken your arm ? ". week 1

2011-12-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

sonata :

the world's suddenly strangely different . i can't thread a needle or tie a bow . i can get dressed , after a fashion , but i can't do up my coat . i can't turn the pepper mill or drain the pasta . i can't put handcream on by myself but it doesn't matter because , within twenty-four hours , i realised that i couldn't do most of the things that make my skin dry , anyway . i hadn't realised how many languages i could swear in , either .

breaking your wrist and being one-handed requires a whole new battery of skills . for instance , you learn to grip things between your teeth or your feet ( this is not the time to be a denture wearer or lumbago sufferer )

mind you , the glow of sheer triumph when you get the top off the marmite jar does fade after breakfast , when you find that you can't open the shampoo bottle ( child-proof flip top ) .

still , you square your shoulders and stand plump but grubby , remembering that it's only for a few weeks ..... and , as people never tire of saying , it wasn't my right hand .

oh , and you might have noticed . i can only type one handed , so , not having any capital letters , this looks a bit odd .

More thrift than vintage...

2011-12-18T03:43:00.001-08:00

Smitonius says:

Before I blog about my finds yesterday, I am sure you would want to know that Sonata has had a tumble off her bike and broken her left wrist. She is in remarkable spirits though, but finding out what she can and cannot do whilst bandaged up: she is not sorry she can't peel potatoes, but is sorry she can't sew. Hope she recovers well!

There was a vintage kilo sale yesterday in London, and I was ever so curious about what one might find to buy by weight. We were rather late in the day, but the racks were still loaded. Some dreadful things you would not have wanted first time around, like a Jesus gold and red waistcoat, but lots of vintage summer dresses, leather handbags from the 1950s (I scored a black faux snakeskin one), and staples such as jumpers, sweatshirts, jeans, and more.

I grabbed almost 3 kilos for the bargain price of £30. This netted me one vintage handbag, a cute waistcoat, and 13 tops. They are more thrift than vintage, to be fair, but will be worn! I would most certainly go again, earlier and armed with sharp elbows.

Keeping a cat company

2011-12-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

Have had a quiet day recovering from my recent eye laser treatment for Glaucoma, and keeping my cat company. She is now on medication for the kidney failure but, it has to be said, is not too happy about the whole thing so we don't think she is going to hang around for too long. Here she is posing with my new deer stalker hat:

The iridoplasty treatment has made the world an incredibly bright place, so I have taken to look like someone who needs to hide from the paparazzi: dark glasses and a brimmed hat. So I guess I have to start a new collection of brimmed hats for all seasons.....

The ( First ) Seven Days Of Christmas

2011-12-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Sonata: One scarf knitted and worn in lightning weekend dash to England.
Two grandsons inspected , cuddled and delighted in .
Three SinterKlaas parties held at the playschool with customary overexcitement , paper hats and presents .
Four hailstorms cycled through .
Five Christmas presents bought and one ditto card written .
Six endives blanched , wrapped in ham and gratineed .... and manfully resisted by me , depite the tantalising toasty cheese smell wafting through the house .
Seven tiny patchwork stars sewn , which only leaves another sixteen to do ...

The Main Difference Between Michel Roux Jr. And Me

2011-11-26T03:27:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

Well , we're probably not really culinary twins , anyway . But , as I pottered about this morning , peeling cooking pears to stew very slowly with cloves till they turn a deep rosy red , I pondered on Fine Dining , presentation and portion size .... and our approach to "plating up". Yes , it's Professional Masterchef time again .

Chef Michel's clients don't seem to have any cutlery skills . Minute mouthfuls of concentrated deliciousness are dotted about large plates , all the better to pop between refined lips . And not a pin bone or seed to cause disquiet or alarm . Which , let's face it , is probably essential in such circles , tomato pips being the conversation stoppers they are .

But I've trained my lot to be a bit more pro-active at the table . Years of eating grilled sardines in little beach cafes , gnawing their way round spare ribs and finding bayleaves in the soup have toughened them up .

I feel I can leave Husband to fish the cloves out of the syrup himself as he polishes these off

Anyway , he's just come back from the local Occupy camp looking wistful .... for two pins , he'd be down there tonight eating beans off a tin plate and enjoying a good sing-song .

P.S. No , I haven't seen New Grandson yet . Weekend flights in December are proving difficult to squeeze onto . But Smitonius is going up tomorrow , so I'll hear every detail very soon . Meanwhile , I've heard the yells and he sounds sturdy... very sturdy for a pixie !

Perhaps the fact that the first thing I saw through the mist , as I left to cycle to work after I got the news , was a young man , carrying a violin case and whistling , is a clue to who this child will become .

Finished Object

2011-11-22T11:48:00.000-08:00

Or , as they say in crafting Blogspeak, FO. The very little boy has finally turned up to claim his quilt.

Not, despite family fears, called Ptolemy, Horatio or Agamemnon he looks, according to his fond Papa, like a grumpy pixie. Middle Daughter is having a well-earned rest and Grandson has seen him and survived.

And we're all trying to restrain ourselves and not move in en masse, cooing .

Their War

2011-11-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

Sonata:
Like most of us , I've been remembering people this weekend .
Family stories of wartime . Grandparents , uncles and aunts memories of being evacuated to Perth or to Wales or being stuck in Rawalpindi , hoping that the Japanese could be halted in Burma , at least . Of being hauled over the coals for not laying one's WAAF uniform out neatly enough for kit inspection . Of Aunt Gladys being machine gunned by a low flying German plane in Cornwall and having to fling herself on the road . Of Aunt Grace's cousin's son in a POW camp in Italy .
Of seeing John Gielgud in Macbeth in Glasgow , before going off to fire watch for the night . Of Arctic convoys and Malta convoys and of pears costing a shilling each . Of lunch time concerts and of hearing Churchill telling the nation that Singapore had fallen . Of the introduction of soap rationing and the absence of barrow boys . Of Polish pilots and call up papers . Of Dunkirk and malaria and whale meat .
My father's sketch of himself in his new uniform , ready for anything .... though not , perhaps , being torpedoed

His mother writing that she'd seen a neighbour's son going up the road on his motorbike , with a sailor riding pillion ... and her sudden wild hope that it was him . And this photo of my mother's parents at the outbreak of the Second World War , their faces showing that they knew just what awaited them ... and their teenage sons

One Can Overdo The Self Restraint

2011-11-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Grandson was on the 'phone yesterday ,

"I get school dinners" ( this good fortune never fails to amaze him ) "and today I had potatoes and pizza and baked beans ."

"On the same plate ? ", I ask faintly .

"Of course!" ..... the "Why ever not ? " unspoken but clear .

"And what did you choose for pudding?"

"Strawbery Smoothie" .

My grandson , the Gourmet .

Perhaps it's a boy thing .... if there's food about , it must be eaten . Years ago , when my daughters were little , a neighbouring small boy would drop in and hover in the kitchen . If we were eating , he'd get a plate too . The contents would be hoovered up and he'd clear his throat . His deep little voice would give the verdict . "I like cheese ." .... Considered pause ...."I like more cheese".

Mind you , I don't do self restraint either . This evening Friend called . Long Tall Sally , the Mecca for tall ladies , was having a pop-up shop in Amsterdam this weekend , "would I like to go , too ?" . Having already resolved to economise this month , I should have declined . Instead short little me leapt to my feet and said YES !!

Swings And Roundabouts

2011-10-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Brighton Pavilion , lovingly knitted in very fine beige wool and on display in a cafe window

Sonata:

Holidays are much better if you don't have any concrete plans . Revisiting favourite places ( Cigala in Conduit Street and eating the definitive prawn , for instance ) or discovering something new ( just how addictive making Pick'n'Mix mini Lego figures could be ) made this half-term visit to England great fun . The weather was glorious , so the mushroom hunt was cancelled .... too dry and sunny for a good "crop" apparently , but sitting in the sun overlooking the 2012 Olympic stadium and eating a perfect selection of smoked salmon was a delight , instead . And the bright blue skies prompted me to go to Brighton for the day on Tuesday . Now that an aged relative is dead and uneasy afternoon teas by the white grand piano ( she was a pianist of the more flamboyant kind ) are no longer necessary , I can zip about the town enjoying the enormous colour and quirkiness that fills every street . I was weak with hunger by the time I got to the little streets in the middle of town and dashed into the whole food cafe .... where I had the ugliest lunch I've ever seen *

and very tasty it was , too ! One day I must go to the Aquaria fish bar , though , simply because of the wall paintings in the patio .... aren't they gorgeous !

In fact , every street had lovely murals and grafitti .... I want this cat on my sitting room wall

Spending time with my two eldest daughters and their families , being stuffed with delicious food and being bounced on by Grandson has quite set me up for the return to work and the whirlpools , quicksands and bear traps involved in working in a system financed by a rapidly shrinking public purse . I've been to two gloomy meetings this week , we've had our annual inspection and an extremely generous preschooler has given me her horrendous cold . But I'm just wrapping my new scarf three times round my neck , stuffing my fingers in my ears and singing "La La , La-La-La ! " very loudly .....

*A baked potato filled with chick pea dhal

Olympic Park Tour

2011-10-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Sonata is on a train back to Holland after her visit to London, we managed to pack in quite a few visits, but the best trip was a tour around the London Olympic Park. These tours are free, though there is a three month waiting list, and we had to get up bright and early to get there. Security is tight, and it was like checking on to a plane (off with the belt!), but was it worth it!

The site is in construction but it is now possible to imagine how attractive it is going to be when they finish landscaping it. Some bits are still being built:

Whilst others are already erected, like this one:

The most stunning building has to be the velodrome:

Here is a close up:
When it is all over, it will be a park worth visiting, already the place is teaming with wildlife, we saw lots of birds like a kestrel, and cormorants, coots, ducks, swans... there are a few waterways and something like 30 bridges.

And, today, when I checked the bank account I saw that some money has been debited by the Olympic people so we must have got some tickets for the paralympics (neither of us can remember what on earth we asked for though!).

After such a visit there is only one place to go, over to Fish Island to taste some Forman's Salmon.

Autumn-ish

2011-10-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Autumn seems to be edging in ... it's difficult to tell through the gloom . The pre-schoolers are beginning to stagger in , enthusiastically clutching huge bags of chestnuts , acorns , cobnuts , wet leaves and woodlice for the Autumn table . Eric Carle's spider book is read to shreds and toadstool houses for gnomes are being made and sung about .

Next week it's half-term ( yes , I know , it does rather look as though I'm hardly ever at work ! ) and I'm going to England for the week . A full programme of great things to do has been organised, including a mushroom hunt in Pitchbury Wood ( near Colchester ) . Luckily my Festival-going stripey wellie boots are still in London , given the rooting about that will surely be involved . My Russian cookbook has loads of wild mushroom recipes , all of which sound deliciously fortifying so we'll have to hope that we find lots ! If I do see a red spotted toadstool with resident gnome , I'll make sure I take a photo for you , though actually I'm hoping more for a glimpse of Queen Boadicea's ghost ( she fought a battle nearby ) .

By Wednesday I'll turn myself into Granny Train and head north , ready to put my mini Lego building skills to the test and to hear all about the new delights of School Dinners . "I-take-a-purse-and-PAY-MYSELF-and-eat-sausages-and-mashed-potatoes-and-baked beans-and-chocolate-cake-for-pudding" . "Every day?" . "Yes " says Middle Daughter . He's growing exponentially .... upwards , luckily .

Colouring In

2011-10-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sonata:
As a child ... a happy child , I hasten to add ..... I fantasised about being somebody else entirely . Part of a circus , or living in a gypsy caravan or , better still , on a barge . Too much exposure to Laura Knight perhaps . Actually it wouldn't suit me at all . I'm far too untidy . But when we all went to the Cropredy Festival this summer , I discovered to my delight that the festival site was next to a canal lined with beautiful painted barges

Middle Daughter found me a colouring book for my birthday

full of castles and roses , the traditional decorations for English canal boats and I've been having great fun colouring them in , while swigging coffee from her other present .

It has provided a little , much needed , relief from The Great Quiltathon that finishing this ( decidely unminiature) quilt became

By the time I'd got round the 334th handsewn piece I'd had enough . The ( very) little boy I've made it for had better cherish it unto the third generation .

I Would Like To Thank Willie And Merle , Emmylou And Dolly ...

2011-09-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Without Willie Nelson , Merle Haggard , Emmylou Harris and dear Dolly

this would not have been possible .They kept me company all weekend as I painted the hall ... endlessly .

Thanks are due , too , to the very nice young man in the DIY megastore who mixed the exact shade of red* I'd had in mind and restrained me from buying far too much , reassuring me that he could mix more , if needed , in a jiffy . And forebore to point out that , next time , it might be an idea to measure the room I intend to paint .

And last , but not least , to my oven which supplied a constant stream of baked potatoes to keep body and soul together . ( It's astonishing what you can fill a baked potato with , when you're famished . I didn't realise , either , exactly how much chili I'd stored in the freezer .)

*This Rie Cramer postcard

De Familie van Muizesteijn ( 1931) , helped in the choice of colour . I'd love to find a frameable print of it .

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that the finish of the paintwork leaves a little to be desired . Actually , I think it's just the successive coats of paint , however applied , that keep this house standing . The wall shown has more filler than plasterwork , by now .

Oh , and if you're not at least on nodding acquaintance with Willie and Co. , you must see Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan singing Pancho and Lefty . It's on YouTube and is definitely extraordinary .... whether you'll like it or not , remains to be seen . But might make you giggle as much as I did .... or was it just the paint fumes ?.

Fishy Business

2011-09-22T01:15:00.001-07:00

Smitonius:

although the summer is behind us now, and the weather has turned autumnal (though many felt they didn't much have a Summer in UK) I wanted to share some seasonal foody pics. The lighthouse above is on the Isle of Man, which I visited one recent weekend. It was a magical day, as the tail end of the hurricane Irene stole all the clouds away. As I stood on the shore, a seal popped his (or her head) above the waves, looked quizzically at me and then swam away. Although his lunch would not have been served on a plate, mine was

A fitting final fish of the Summer season, which has been full of fishy delights. For instance, one recent weekend, we discovered a fine fish and chip restaurant in the area. It serves oysters too:

And our fishmonger, as we like to think of the fish stall in Broadway market, sold us some nice fish as well, including these delicious Venus clams.

Though that all looks like fine dining, we have also "slummed" it in Folkestone, eating a pint of prawns in the harbour:

I expect some of you may now be hankering after something fishy now? I might have to have a salmon bagel for lunch today or some sushi....

Bring It On!

2011-09-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

The Autumn term seems to have started with high winds , storms and torrential rain and , failing a huge lottery win (a ticket might help) and a Mediterranean cruise , we are destined to get a lot wetter , colder and more windswept before our next stab at al fresco dining .

With this in mind , I've been poring over my two new cookery books for hearty winter warmers .

Smitonius sent me a copy of exerpts from Colonel Wyvern's "Notes From Madras" reprinted by Penguin .... isn't the cover pretty! ... and I'm delighted to find plenty of good advice on how to produce "good Anglo-Indian food in the Victorian style with the ingredients available"... and a full kitchen staff . The Quoorma ( sic) definitely sounds yummy and ribsticking .

And I'm also delighted to say I've found another 70s' classic . "Russian Cooking" , author unknown , by Mir Publishing , Moscow in 1974 . While some of the recipes are downright strange , others like Beef braised with Quince would definitely be worth a try and Potato Soup With Sturgeon's Head is just a filling plain-ish chowder , good for winter lunches . After all , all I'd need to do is find a sturgeon .

I won't be making Sprat Pudding though . Layers of sprats , salt pork and potatoes baked in a sort of cheese custard might be nourishing , but won't be making an appearance here . Nor will an equally filling dessert , Lentils And Dried Apricots ( Soaked dried apricots , drained and gently fried with minced onion , seasoned with salt and pepper , with a cupful of cooked lentils , some chopped walnuts and coriander added before serving .)

But whatever I produce will have to involve using my lovely new toy .

Such a practical gadget , startlingly simple and brilliant . I love it !

Just One Last "Big Day Out" Before I Get Down To Work Again

2011-08-31T02:22:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Antwerp , yesterday , was cold and wet , boarded up and covered in builders rubble . Even one or two of the hundreds of statues of Our Lady , which grace every corner of the city , weren't immune .

But Pain Quotidien still provided a tasty sandwich and big bowl of coffee plus the usual interesting dive down steep cellar stairs to the loo .

Boogkeers and the area round it had been prettily yarnbombed

and the recycling shop round the corner had , as always , a pre-dieu for sale among the flotsam of unwanted chairs and a couple of very quiltable '60s remnants .

This cat tried to persuade me that it needed to be adopted

and I would have adopted these tiles , if I could .

A good Day Out to finish off the summer holidays . Only one more year to go , now . This time next year , I'll be relishing the prospect of sitting with my feet up , coffee and crossword in hand , all winter long .But now it's time to gird up my loins , dust off the recipes for wholesome soups and knit the annual wooly scarf . ( In Noro Kureyon in a mix of charcoal , chestnut and spice ) .

Any Excuse To Have A Blow-Out

2011-08-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Cue flags and choir ... I'm a year older ! Ever the party animal , I've chosen to celebrate my birthday this year by going to Ikea . There will even be a sandwich and as-many-cups-of-coffee-as-we-can-drink involved and Husband will have a slice of apple cake as well , because he's Dutch and Dutch people eat apple cake at every opportunity , even after prawn sandwiches .

I will even be giving myself a present .... a scarf-hanger . I seem to have acquired thousands of really pretty ones this summer ( it's Recession Chic , apparently , to jazz up last year's wardrobe with affordable accessories . They're kind to the somewhat older neckline , too . Not that that has anything to do with it ... that's next year .) Anyway , I've got tired of searching through a pile of silky slipperiness every time I want to add a touch of glamour to my Uniqlo white tshirts , so a proper Storage Solution seems sensible .

Youngest Daughter has recently turned thirty and said that on Saturday she got her first Older-Person -Alert !! reaction from some people at a party . She'd remarked that she remembered watching the fall of the Berlin Wall . Stunned silence .... "You remember the 198os ? Wow!"

Well , as one who remembers the 1950s .... ALL of the 1950s... I'm off to wrap a scarf artfully round my neck ... and PARTY!!

Out And About , Slowly

2011-08-17T02:27:00.000-07:00

Sonata :
It's my last day in London , so I'm off to have a wander .
I've got a bruise the size of a demi-tasse saucer on my right foot , where I stubbed my toe last week , so I'm positively ambling along at the moment . But it's quite handy really . It makes people watching better .
Yesterday , on my way to the bus , I was overtaken by a tartan shopping trolley , pulled by an extremely elderly woman in an outsize t-shirt with " Don't call me John . I'm Juan " printed on the front . She'd got it tucked into skin tight jeans pulled up to her armpits and she was wearing lime green baseball boots with no laces . I suddenly felt dowdy .
A young woman in wooly hat and pixie boots zig-zagged past with a huge pink wheelie suitcase . She was carrying an empty white ornamental bird cage , holding it on high like Florence Nightingale's lamp .
I had lunch in El Rincon Quiteno ( sorry about the missing tilde , can't find it ) in the Holloway Road and , while I enjoy their delicious vegetable soup and chargrilled pork chops , shamelessly listen to the other customers . Two men nearby are having the usual "Take the A4 as far as ... " conversation . " Well " , said one , " I won't be doing that again . I ended up going faster and faster , like a bear running down a hill ."
An expansive chap rushed in for a sandwich . He looked round at us all . " I've been all around the world . Greenwich . The West End ..." . The Ecuadorian owner looked unimpressed .
The discussion at the next table trickles ever onwards , " I don't get it , we started off with ten each . Then Kiesha gave me back that £2 , then we got chips and Taylor wanted a drink , and I only fancied a coffee and you had an ice cream , but it costs £4 to get into the pool so Kiesha needed a pound and .... Anyway , where's that 10 p. come from , then? " Friend looks as lost as me .
So now I'm off to Hampstead . I think . Or Notting Hill . I want to see "Arriety" later .
Anyway I'll decide at the bus stop .
P.S. The rioting stopped by the middle of last week , fortunately . Now it's the cleanup and people are being urged to shop in affected areas to support local businesses. There do seem to be more police about , though . Not necessarily a bad thing .

Not The Day Anybody'd Planned

2011-08-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

London seems to have decided to become wildly exciting, just as I arrived for a few days .
There's a new buzzword suddenly . On Sunday night Smitonius's local MP , hastily shoved in front of a BBC news studio camera , talked about the looting and disorder kicking off ...... today we're all saying it . The very nice young woman in the mobile shop in Islington asked us , as we paid , whether we were going straight home , " Because we'll be closing at 4 . It'll be kicking off then , we've been told . "
Having seen an exhibition at the Brunei Gallery advertised , I went off to see that , leaving my trip to the bookshop till another day . And loved it . It's only tiny but the jewellery exhibits are exquisite and the photographs fascinating . I ordered the catalogue , so will show you a couple of pictures when it arrives ( had it posted straight to Holland . It weighs a ton !)
Leaving and fancying a coffee and bun , I tried to go to the Brunswick Center , only to find that it was all closing down too . Police were urging people to go home early . The buzzword was used again .
And then I suddenly entered the Modern World .
My pocket started to play a perky little tune . I looked round , mildly surprised , and realised . I Had A Mobile .... and this was My First Call!
Fumbling madly through a pocketful of Oyster card , various cards , more cards , even more cards and a ballpoint .... Oh , that's where that was ..... I found it and answered . It was Smitonius and we met up and went home . Safe and sound and listening to helicopters circling nearby . It's kicked off somewhere else instead .
And , of course , despite the air of unreality , this is horribly real .Small family run businesses will be protecting themselves as best they can from groups of masked yobbos on the rampage , acting as though they're on Supermarket Sweep .
I wish everyone a safe and happy evening , wherever they are .

Zoo late

2011-08-06T02:39:00.001-07:00

Smitonius:

Last week we attended one of London zoo's late evening openings. For adults only, with bars open across the zoo and pop-up food village plus animals on parade, what is not to like? We were among the relatively few people over 40 present, as the place was packed with 20-something's drinking cocktails, some with painted faces (tigers were popular) others in full animal costume, partying away. I think the animals must have been a bit bemused!

We saw the new penguin enclosure, which is a definite improvement, and admired their looks (they seem to love the attention), and were amazed by the corals in the aquarium, as well as visited some nocturnals like the armadillo (faster than you would imagine).

We, by the way, did not wear animal costumes....

First Week Of The Holidays

2011-07-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

Sonata:
In true holiday spirit , I left my old self behind and rushed blindly into new adventures . So no Weetabix or porridge for me . Oh no ! A colleague of mine is , as I write , wandering about the Andes ( yes , the same one that was wandering up and down The Great Wall of China last year ) , so I thought why not ? I'll venture off myself , albeit vicariously . Quinoa porridge ! After all , millions of South Americans and blogging vegetarians thrive on it . So 1 cup quinoa flakes , 1 cup water , 1/2 cup milk later and

If you've only ever eaten it as a grain , tasty with mushrooms and leeks for instance , you might be surprised by the dried pea/school soup porridgy version . I was . Oatmeal porridge or a boiled egg and soldiers in future , I think .
But I must say quinoa porridge is rib-sticking . And not just rib-sticking .... later on , I found a blob that had escaped and firmly glued itself to a kitchen cupboard door . And it did give me super-human strength later when investigating a strange smell round the 'fridge , that turned out to be coffee milk that Husband could vaguely remember having mislaid a while ago ( I do sometimes wonder if Husband's ever really going to get the hang of this living indoors business ) .
I can rest my chin on the top of our 'fridge but , well nourished, I manhandled it out of the corner and scraped and scrubbed underneath , before I manhandled it back . And was rewarded by finding a twenty Euro note wedged by the wall . Plus this old sketch of Juf Geraldine by a three year old girl with a talent for flattery.

The quilt fabric choice is nearly definite , after a request for more "things" . So I added fish and koalas to the birds and boats

At this rate he'll turn into Captain Cook .

A spot of archeology

2011-07-26T07:30:00.001-07:00

Smitonius:

Spotted a fun and free activity in London over the weekend: a bit of archeology on the Thames foreshore courtesy of Thames Discovery. We joined a very long queue of children and adults, but saw we weren't that prepared (forgot Wellington boots!), though we had remembered a trowel and aplastic bag for finds. It was a hot day and some canoeists had already landed on the foreshore ahead of us.

As we waited to be allowed down the steps, slipping on the obligatory gloves as the Thames is polluted, we heard that yesterday someone found a Georgian coin. What would we find?

Trying to find a free bit of foreshore was challenging enough. But we were soon picking up bits of pottery, bones, oyster shells and, even, an old and interesting bottle top: a company called Brooke and Prudencio who bottled ginger beer and lemonade from 1890 to 1960s.

The tide was rising fast, so we had about an hour trawling under the Traitors Gate:

Someone found an old pilgrim badge and one woman did find another coin, because we saw her declare her treasure afterwards. Although we found nothing of value, and some distinctly spooky bones (that is an inside of a cow's leg, said the expert, and that is a sheep's tooth), we did collect some old pipe stems, and pits of pottery that ranged from the 16th century to the Victorian period (or so we were told and I will go along with that!)

Madrid again

2011-07-22T09:53:00.001-07:00

Smitonius:

That time of year again, when a quick trip to Madrid is needed: officially to visit library and buy books and DVDs (work related I hasten to add), but the library now closes at 6 in the hot afternoon so plenty of time to window shop. I think these sandals would go with a toga?

And, if one needed to make lots of classic references, how about This accessory? Worthy of any Madrileñan Minerva out on the town.

Of course, eating also had to be done... And this Salpicon de Mariscos was so tasty !

We admired amazing street art, like this Monroe:

And this Mexican masked fighter:

Whilst we were there, the Murdoch scandal was in full flow, so couldn't resist this postcard: doesn't she look a little a certain person who recently resigned at News International?

Greenery-Yallery , Flame Red ... Or Something In Between ?

2011-07-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

What colour was your weekend ?

Last weekend here was a muted tasteful blue-grey with flecks of rust and the odd blush of old apricot .

But the weatherman seemed mildly optimistic about this weekend , so I hoped for something a bit jollier .

It started off well enough .

On Friday , after work , a wander through the local ceramic museum to look at the Chinese porcelain exhibition "10,000 x Happiness !" and a little detour to my favourite treasure , the C17 Spanish tiles , had just the warm glow I needed . And a pepper and tomato salad followed by strawberries completed the job .

On Saturday I'd wanted to visit a tiny house in a village nearby , filled with Ruurd Wiersmas's naive paintings but the clouds massed till the drizzle was unremitting . Not a day to cycle anywhere . Never mind . The term finally ends on Friday and it can't rain all summer , can it ? There'll be another chance to go .

Luckily all this rain is , at least , making the herbs grow in the back yard ..... though the tomatoes won't ripen till 2012 , at this rate .

So today I just listened to "The Wind In The Willows" being read by Derek Jacobi and assembled a stack of fabric for a quilt I'm planning for a little boy . I blame Mr. Jacobi for the Irish flag-ness of the final choice .... why did he give the otter an Irish accent ?

New lick of paint

2011-07-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Our doors and windows were in a great need for a lick of paint, but the garden facing windows and doors are now a fresh green:

The front door is a bright and cheerful red:

We chose the door knocker in honour of our many urban foxes who wonder through our garden. And, finally, we have been able to name our house... though the decorator didn't quite place the tiles in the correct way, it still looks welcoming, don't you think?

Baa-aa ......

2011-07-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Monday : Take a couple of playschools to the City Farm and suddenly you have 101 children being introduced to Real Animals and lots of pigs , goats and chickens being introduced to Real Children . An eye-opening experience all round .

But we all survived . Industrial amounts of coffee were poured for Accompanying Adults , I got RSI opening 6-packs of fruit juice , kilos of biscuits vanished like snow before the sun , icepops were dripped everywhere , loos were queued for , some goats ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches , the first aid kit remained untouched and it didn't rain .

The farm's ruthlessly efficient clean up team went into action and it was all declared a huge success .

Tuesday : This morning , maybe coincidentally , I just managed to side step as one of the youngest threw up at my feet . I don't know how the goats are faring .

It Can't Be Friday Again ?

2011-07-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Friday afternoon in Friesland :

For someone greedy married to ditto it means going to the market on the way home ... via the health and Turkish shops . Last stop is the stall that sells locally grown wonky , non-export quality sweet peppers etc.

Listen to loud altercation between cheerful stallholder and equally zesty 90 year-old Turkish woman over 50 cents . She eventually concedes and is given a bonus aubergine for her troubles . I meanwhile pack a huge plastic bag with strangely shaped red and yellow peppers , aubergines , courgettes and vicious chili peppers ."How much do I owe you ?", I ask , fishing a 5 Euro note out of my purse . "Less ", he says laconically .

Cycle on past a pretty , freshly painted crest

and assorted hollyhocks .

Balancing four bags of meat and veg. , I wait at the bridge in a bunch of thirty-odd cyclists , for three large yachts to go through . Feel quite proud of myself as I wobble carefully off without bumping into anyone ... till I see that the woman in front has an entire garden center of potted plants dangling from her handlebars and is talking on her mobile .

Get home , unpack and pedal to the supermarket . Get mugged by a goose . Same old , same old .

But one thing did make this week different . Grandson , two days after his fourth birthday , has demonstrated that he's learnt to read . Peering over his garden wall , he announced to his mother in a booming voice , "LOOK ! They've got lovely underpants ! ". Middle Daughter rushed over , wondering what he'd seen , let alone what he was going to bellow next . "LOOK! They've got stories on .That pair says "POW!"And that pair says "WHAM!" ".

And they did .

Blazing June

2011-06-26T04:17:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

According to the local forecast , we're about to enjoy tropical weather here ! I'm not sure which part of the tropics they mean ... Those mountains where the gorillas roam ? Yesterday , at breakfast , I noticed that Husband had a snowflake patterned jumper on . A thick jumper with a collar . Or perhaps they mean next weekend after Wimbledon ?

Anyway , staying firmly indoors , I was rummaging about in yet another box of ancient yellowing magazines and found a couple of "The Farmer's Home" , a supplement issued by the Farm And Stockbreeder And Farm , Field & Fireside . They were from February 1938 and full of splendid ideas for this June .

The Kne-Dri leggings are a must , the soups on the recipe pages sound rather grim but at least warming ( Boil a bit of cauliflower in stock from that catch-all stockpot on the back of the stove ... allowing two sprigs per person ) and , having loads more time than a pre-war farmer's wife , I've got a couple of months left to make cosy quilts before September .

But , tired of life in black and white , I stood outside in the drizzle last night , with a scarf wrapped twice round my neck and firmly tucked in , and admired my soggy flowers .

And cooked Nani's Mother's Mackerel ... a friend's recipe from many years ago in Andalucia .

And this morning the sun's shining .....

A Family Legacy

2011-06-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

I inherited a title from one of my grandmothers . I don't advertise it and most people would never have reason to know . But , at this time of year , I relinquish my anonimity and become , once more , The World's Most Unphotogenic Person .

Granny , in fact , was a very attractive young woman and there are many photos of her looking lovely , if somewhat reserved . But she never liked how she looked in later life so glowered at anyone rash enough to approach with a Kodak . Hat pulled down to match the corners of her mouth , she'd scowl into the sun in wedding photos or trips to the beach .

She was actually very funny , loved singing silly songs to us all , taught me to read when I was four by making it such fun , made me flower-printed dresses and took me to tea at Switzers where we would both eat too much cake . And her laugh was infectious .

And that's how we all remember her .... which is just as well , because there isn't a single photo prove this .

But now it's School Photo Time again and I'm forced to reveal my true self . Yes , though never a beauty , I've inherited the same dislike of how I've aged , the same inability to smile civilly at the camera . I , too , glare forbiddingly in every group photo .

But as I looked through old photos today , I saw that I couldn't have hoped to escape the curse . Look at my father and one of his sisters on the beach !

Luckily my daughters escaped this gene and look enchanting when captured on film .

Busy , Busy , Busy ... or ... Displacement Activity x 10

2011-06-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

A long weekend and a half-year's report to write . So what do I do ?

Friday Afternoon :

Buy "new" secondhand bike as reserve , having had to walk to work once too often in the last couple of weeks . Learn how to turn key in padlock ( why is every bike lock temperamental.... in a different way ? ) .

Wrap multifarious small presents for Grandson's birthday . Post same .

Watch "Crazy In Alabama".

Saturday:

Build a kaleidoscope . Try to photograph inside said toy ... for an hour . Hunt for spare batteries for camera .

Read a book I've had since February , loving every page .

Sunday:

Just to prove I don't just read cookery books and sew small quilts , I bake a cake and read a book about sewing . " The Girl On The Wall . One Life's Rich Tapestry " by Jean Baggott

An Apricot and Coconut loaf from ladiesaplate.co.nz/recipes/ , very nice but VERY sweet . Husband eats 4 slices .

Monday:

Assemble various files , notes and assorted flim-flam for report .

Tidy bedroom cupboard .

Make Broccoli soup . Consider making No Knead Bread . Pull myself together .

Write report .

Celebrate !

( A detail from a wine list by Edward Bawden 1933 )

I Do Love Amsterdam , It's True

2011-06-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

This graffiti on a loo door sums up what I feel about Amsterdam . After all , what's not to love ?

The market in Cuypstraat selling everything from cutprice flipflops and fresh sardines to wooden toys and Thai silk . Bazar , the best place for a cheap and delicious lunch . Chicken kebabs , salad and tabouleh , 11 Euros with a beer .

Wandering back up the Prinsengracht as the Friday summer evening boat "promenade" hots up . Little rose-smothered galleries and mural-clad cafes

Supper with Youngest Daughter in Duende , eating our weight in authentic tapas , chistorras and all . Strolling back along the canals in the evening sun , meeting old friends along the way .

Or Saturday in the Farmer's Market by the Noorderkerk . Sourdough bread and fresh herbs , Breton pancakes and crunchy apples .

And organic buttermilk by the glass from this cheese stall

Vintage clothes , antiques and klezmer music .

Roses everywhere in the Jordaan .

And the Slut Walk .... Well, admittedly , that was an accident . While I fully support the cause , I really needed to get to the station but somehow got caught up and swept along by the joyous banner-waving , scantily clad mob . I even had my photo taken by a press photographer , for Heaven's sake ! "Mary Whitehouse Thinks Again ?" before I could pop out the other side and rush up the street to meet Y.D. for a coffee in 1Klas , a very stylish cafe on platform 1 , complete with palm trees and a white parrot .

I showed Y.D. the photos I'd managed to grab of the demo .

"Oh look , there's Mario's friend ... oh , and Jennifer ... and What'shername " And no she wasn't pointing out young women friends . Jennifer's 6 foot 6 tall in gold wedge heels , a beard and an impressive decollete . Y.D.'s gone native .

Not Even Hare Today , Never Mind About Tomorrow

2011-05-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

For anyone who remembers my planned hare hunt and had hoped for a photo or two , I have disappointing news .

This is as near as I got

hares proving as elusive as leprechauns this year . Even the rabbits , usually hip-hoppitying about in the industrial park at the east of town every evening , proved to be camera-shy .

But , in Groningen on Friday , I caught sight of a postcard announcing an exhibition of bronzes of hares in the Hazenkabinett in Weener in Germany ( on till 18th September if you're near ) . I love his hat .

Never mind . There's always next Spring .

Meanwhile , I've been re-reading Honey From A Weed by Patience Gray . With all the delicious recipes and its sheer enjoyment of good food and delight in the sharing of treasured local dishes , it's a fabulous read .

Her recipe for Rabbit with Garlic Sauce is simplicity itself , the rabbit being marinaded in olive oil with thyme and rosemary , then grilled and served with allioli . But , as she says , "You will not be disappointed ".

If you don't eat meat , of course , you might prefer my recent 50 cent find in a secondhand book shop . Gail Duff's Vegetarian Cookbook is "very of its time" so has the occasional interesting surprise among the vegetable moussakas and mushroom kebabs . If you want to give a meat-free 70's Theme Night , you couldn't do better than to include Carrot , Grapefuit and Yoghurt salad . But it would be a good idea to have plenty of her Mushroom and Ale soup for the chaps and her Brown Bean Chasseur should appeal to all .

With any luck I won't be cooking much this weekend , anyway . I'm going to eat tapas and Turkish food and paper thin pizzas in Amsterdam , instead .

You're Only As Old As You Feel

2011-05-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

We probably all have an age we'd like to be , the age which we picture as The Best Years Of One's Life . And if it were simply a matter of Positive Thinking , how easy it would be . My grandson would be FIVE , the age he'll know everything and be ABSOLUTELY grown-up . I'd settle for my thirties , I think .

But , of course , it's not that simple . He'll have to wait another year-and-twentyfour-days and I can whistle . But I was encouraged this week by a couple of television moments . A BBC series about lesser known Stately Homes had the spritely presenter , Dan Cruikshank , negotiating a secret spiral staircase carrying a brimming chamber pot with his customary enthusiasm . And then the two Geriatric Greedy Italians galloped all over Turin , making and eating enormous plates of delicious food .... as Carluccio said , with Mof Mof ( minimum of fuss , maximum of flavour ) .... and a schoolboy joke involving a camera and a fountain .

I , mind you , do seem to be going backwards all of a sudden . Much to my dental hygienist's amusement I'm , rather painfully , growing a wisdom tooth .

So , instead of the wondrous French anti wrinkle powder shown at the beginning ( just add a drop of water , mix and spread liberally over your wrinkles , rinse off and astonish the world ) , I'm off tomorrow to buy Calpol and a teething ring .

Do Seasons Ladies Paint In Thermals ?

2011-05-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Sonata :

A free week , thanks to the May holiday , and the sun's shining !

And to ward off any chance of being at a loose end I'd arranged an assortment of things-to-do . There was more housepainting ( lots more housepainting , actually ) . There were recipes to try ..... lots of those too . The giant Queen's Day flea market to wander around . A bike ride to hunt for hares . A Day Out . Leisurely breakfasts with time to read the paper and drink big mugs of coffee in peace .... and a sewing project .

And it's all gone more or less to plan .

Hunting through the endless clutter on sale on Queen's Day was , as usual , fun and I found a pile of '70s craft magazines , full of hilarious black and white photos of ponchos and Interesting Things to make out of corks , melon seeds and pompoms .

Standing outside , up a ladder , painting high windows was character forming , given the arctic winds that blew and blew , at one point even blowing a large blob off the brush straight onto my sweater . But they do look better for it . As a neighbour commented , eyeing my less than professional finish , "At least that'll protect them " .

Deventer is such an elegant little town to visit and my Day Out was its usual mix of endless new corners to see , the game of "If I were to live here which house would I buy ? " or the alternative "if I lived in this house what would my life be like ? " , little shops to enjoy , friendly people to exchange a few words with ..... and train delays . ( I've come to the conclusion that I am to trains what Typhoid Mary was to caring for the sick ) .

When I've been there I always come back determined to be more of a Seasons Lady . Seasons , the lifestyle magazine par excellence for the reader of a certain age , is full of articles on little gifts to make for friends like these carafes of homemade spiced apple juice

decorated with little crab apple garlands from your own orchard . Even their readers' gardening clutter

looks delightful , unlike my pile of black plastic pots , leftovers from purchases at the garden center . A Seasons lady has swathes of wild flowers and heritage roses . I have three and a half pots out the back with chervil , tomatoes and a strawberry plant .

But when the train drew into Leeuwarden again in the evening , I saw this and remembered that I'm not really a country woman at heart and I'd miss the surprises a town has to offer .

Oh , and I must just show you my sewing project . Rattling On had very kindly sent me this fabulous crochet bag I'd admired when she'd blogged about it and my plan was to line it .

I abandoned the idea of carrying the lining on round the handles and settled on using bias binding instead . I've nearly finished and will be bringing home leeks in it tomorrow for Soupe Bonne Femme .( Leek and Potato Soup for Seasons ladies . No handmade garlands will be made though ...... there is a limit ! )

Hare expedition on Sunday if it's not too windy ....

this is as close as I got to Royal Wedding

2011-05-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

driving through Islington (North London), I couldn't help but stop the car and snap this:

A bit like Marmite indeed... love or hate?

PS: Beatrice's hat.... say no more.

Spring in New York

2011-04-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

My partner had a contract in Guyana, so had the chance to stop over at New York on the way back. Not wanting to waste the chance to add on a holiday, we decided we would spend a few days in New York (I forgoed the chance to visit Guyana, as I would have been hotel bound - mind you, hotel bound in the tropics with a pool .... I think I missed a trick there!).

It appears we arrived for the first week-end of Spring, as the sun shone over the High Line park.

It is an amazing conversion of a high railway line, beautifully designed and planted, with art works included: one was a sound installation of bell sounds recorded across Manhattan that played a new one every minute of the hour. New Yorkers flocked there to soak up the sun, sharing a picnic, doing yoga in the fresh air, or reading a book:

and, of course, to admire the sun setting:

Having done all the main sites in 1997, we decided to devote our time to visit the High Line (often), catch up on Ground Zero:

A huge building site, but the visit to the chapel that survived opposite was very moving. Lots of old tombstones still standing, a peaceful cemetery, and The Bell of Hope given as a gift by its sister church St. Mary-le-Bow in London:

(one of the bell sounds captured at the sound installation on the High Line was this one!).

There are memories on 9/11 elsewhere in Manhattan, as we discovered on Sunday when we visited a little museum up in Inwood called Dyckman House Museum: a very interesting survival of the Dutch Colonial style of housing.

Nestling up in a Latino Barrio, this is a little historical treasure that changes ones vision of New York. But just down the road, in the grounds of a church, there is this cross - which is really metal beams that survived the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11:

But, New York wouldn't be New York if it did not remain in some way still irreverent in some places - like these art works in a converted church that is now an indie shopping centre downtown:

On this note, erm.... Happy Easter!

Next post will be about the side trip to Rhinebeck, with photos of a cottage we rented that made me feel I had walked into a lifestyle magazine photoshoot - an article called 'Americana'

It's Just Tutu Pink

2011-04-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Where have all the bright red tulips gone ?

There's something very girly about Spring this year .

Working , as I do , all day with knee-high pink glittery people ( not the boys , usually.... though there is one who insists on wearing the feather-trimmed pink lurex number from the dressing up box with a top hat and his fireman's axe ) , I should have become immune to rosyposyness .

Maybe it's to do with how cold and late Spring is this year , but the only plants in people's gardens seem to be all palely blushing and giggly .

The wellington boots in the Fabric Fair this week were frilly

and even the Easter Bunny seems to discovered ballet slipper pink

To counteract all this I'm going to listen to a Russian male choir tonight

and read something manly . I'll have to dig past all the jazz musician's biographies and books on Africa , astronomy and heraldry on Husband's book shelves .

Perhaps a gardening book? At least I'd be ready to grow my own red tulips next year .

How To ......

2011-04-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

I can't really , in all honesty , call this a tutorial . Making any quilt , regardless of size , by the paper-piecing method , is foolproof .

Tightrope walking needs skill , balance , confidence and years of practice . All you'll need to make a miniature quilt is patience and a certain degree of accuracy .

There are thousands of patterns you could make , but it might be a good idea to begin with one using squares

Once you've decided which one you're making , you'll need to photocopy squared paper , scaling it up to give the size square you want ( half an inch or more is comfortable to work with ) and cut into separate bits

Then make a cardboard template ( make more than one , actually , since they tend to go AWOL under sofa cushions ) making it large enough for a quarter inch seam allowance which might seem a lot but , believe me , you don't want fraying at this point !

Cut squares , using template . Repeat about 400 times .

Tack each square round a little square of paper to make a patch .Oversew patches to each other

either at random

or according to pattern chosen .

Stop when you've had enough or the quilt is big enough for a doll's house bed or tiny doll .

Unpick the tacking stitches round each square and remove paper . Hold it up to a strong light to find any lurking remaining papers ( there will always be one ) .

Bind the quilt and back it ..... My Aunt June , for instance , does wonderful tutorials about how to finish a quilt , if you don't know how .

Sit back and admire . But beware ! It's addictive .

Treasure?

2011-04-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Whilst my mother was planning what to eat, I was taking a rare day off to visit my small nephew (my work is just spiralling at the moment!). In between playing super heroes, where he was Spidey and I was the Increadible Hulk (I know, I am trying not to take it personally), we visited my sister's allotment.

My sister and various friends have clubbed together to start developing a new plot. Well, hardly new as people have been using that ground as an allotment since the nineteenth century probably. At the moment there is only earth, but this is great for a 3 year old boy to play with: just look at those fingernails!

Practicing at planting runner beans, he maintains... but will he eat them!

Anyway, in amongst all that dirt there are treasures: shards and shards of pottery and glass. Teapot handles, inkwells, medicine and beer bottles, ceramic marmalade pots, glass, clay pipes, and who knows what else. I found the following just walking around:

I would love to know what was in the pot with green lettering saying 'FRAN' 'Cloth'. We have often found shards like this in our own garden too:

One birthday, my partner, to surprise me, took one of my shards (or sherds, if we are going to get technical) to the jewellers and commisioned a pendant:

I love it. What have you found in your allotment or garden?

PS: Ralph Mills has written an MA about his archeological finds in his allotment: Fires of Prometeus which gets one thinking about everyday archeology.

What Are You Eating This Weekend ?

2011-03-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

In the time that it's taken me to go from this

to this

we've all changed the way we eat , dramatically .

Does anyone make Stuffed Marrow or Jam Roly-Poly anymore ? Though there has been a bit of a foodie return to Lamb Shanks and Braised Pheasant , I doubt whether there would be queues forming these days for 1950s delicacies like Tripe And Sausages .

( But , just in case you feel tempted , I found the recipe the other day in an old copy of Sheila Hutchin's "Grannie's Kitchen " and here's how :

Stew 1 lb. of cleaned tripe with 2 large chopped onions in salted water till tender . Drain off the water and add 1/2 lb. of good sausages to the pan , cover with milk and stew it all together another half hour . Serve with mashed potatoes . Or not . I have to say I like tripe but I draw the line at the addition of sausages and have visions of fatty globules floating on the surface of the milk ..... )

And while Yorkshire housewives were keeping body and soul together with this sort of stuff , Marseilles housewives were making Pieds Et Paquets , a lamb's trotter and rissole stew which took 12-15 hours to simmer to perfection.

These days what with work pressures and health warnings , we're more likely to nibble daintily on an hors d'oeuvre sized snack .

But apparently we're steadily getting larger . The general public is getting heavier . On what? We can't all be mainlining Happy Meals .

Anyway , tomorrow , I'm off to the market for mackerel and sole , celeriac and black tomatoes , Turkish bread and meusli bread (like raisin bread for champions ) , a slab of pork to roast and olives , carrots to make 64 sq ft kitchen's carrot and caraway salad ( see the side-bar) , Tuscan sausage and smoked beef , more chick peas for my new love Chana Masala , that I had first at Smitonius's last month , curly kale and string beans .......

But what will you be cooking this weekend ?

P.S. A tutorial -ish mini-quilt post will follow in the next couple of weeks , once I've worked out how to sew and take photographs of my hands at the same time .Watch this space .

P.P.S Do make the carrots .... then eat them with grilled chicken and new potatoes !!

Tidying Up .... ?

2011-03-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Given that my quilts , when finished , measure seven inches by eight and the fact that I don't really make anything else , I seem to have a remarkable amount of storage for sewing paraphernalia . This cutlery box , for instance , is perfect for holding my current work and stray little tins of buttons , pins and bobbins.

I've got a particular weakness for vintage "storage solutions". I love this 1950s sewing box , despite the bottom drawers on each side being difficult to get into .

And a couple of weeks ago I found two of these boxes in a recycling shop and just had to lug them home

I particularly loved the "sewing notions"detail on the lid .They're very handy , actually , since they don't have lots of tiny compartments inside but can just be crammed with fat quarters and scraps .That orange plastic is pure 1970s and I can remember having lots of gadgets just that colour then .... even a hairdryer .

Anyway , I'm now working on a much bigger project now , all of ten inches by fourteen (!) , so may need to find another box or two ....

Meanwhile new things arrive , like this little tin of Rose Balm

from Smitonius , which I know is here to stay . How handy that it's already been labelled for re-use !

May cottage

2011-03-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

Recently, as we sat on the bus, my mother sounded surprised at the name of a house in the middle of Hackney (london) called 'Seaview Cottage'. In their dreams! But then again, sometimes houses have names that do not reflect their character. Take my house, which is called 'May Cottage'. It should look like this:

(a snapshot of the fabric for a 1920s dressing gown at the vintage fair). Or, failing that, like this:

(a box at the same vintage clothing fair). But our house was called 'a brutalist 1960s bungalow' by the estate agent who came to value it a few years ago: a rectangular brick clad breeze blocked beauty in my eyes.

Does your dwelling have a name? And, if so, does it suit it?

This half-term .....

2011-02-28T13:41:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

I fell in love with a pork pie

crocheted by Kate Jenkins and , appropriately enough , in Melton Mowbray's Museum .

Braved the seething masses in the Natural History Museum to buy dinosaur tattoos , a wind-up torch and a green lizard .

Didn't eat this

though I may have partaken of the odd other little something or two . Cigala in Lamb's Conduit Street comes to mind , for some reason .....

Didn't bid on any clocks , however tempting and decoratorish

Was briefly tempted to take up riding again but it rained

and , declining the offer to sky dive , even Wii-fully ,

settled on cheering on the table tennis enthusiasts from the sidelines , instead .

On tasty morsels....

2011-02-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

Partner and I treated ourselves to a meal at Viajante in Bethnall Green. We did not arrive in enough time for the 9 or 6 course meal (fortunately!), so had the so called 3 course meal - but what with amusing starters, palate cleansers and petit fours...

The menu started with something called a Thai Explosion, a spicy chicken confit nibble, and the that was followed by very fancy bread and butter (flavoured brown butters).

Ready for some pics?

It may look messy, and when I tell you that the skin is actually milk skin, some of you may go yeuch... but it wasn't at all. This dish of charred leeks, lobster, hazlenut and milk skin managed to be both sweet and salty at once.

Then again, I love milk skin. When I lived in Spain, and was between 12 and 17 years old, I had friends whose mother kept a large pan of milk on the stove. It must have been milk from her family's farm, I guess. It was boiled every day, and if I was around I got to eat the skin! At Viajante, the kitchen is open, so it was possible to see the complexity behind making these little slim sheets of milk... don't think I will try at home!

Then there was a more conventional duck to follow:

To cleanse the palate: frozen maple pannacotta and suchi granita with green apple:

And then the most amazing dessert I have ever eaten: sea buckthorn with burnt meringue and youghurt sorbet: Sea Buckthorn is so rich and flavoursome.

And, should you need a last shot of something spectacular, here is a pic of the petit fours:

There was real truffle in that chocolate truffle, and it tasted lovely and earthy. Sigh, ameal to remember... but now off to the kitchen to make a more ordinary salmon supper.

Some Days Out Are Better Than Others

2011-02-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

Sonata:
You know how some days are perfect ? You come across something new , talk to someone fascinating , eat something delicious and it all adds up to a memorable day out .

Yesterday was not one of those days .

I love a day out and have a train discount pass which , now I'm ancient , entitles me to seven days a year free travel anywhere in Holland . I like a ride in the train ,comfortable seat , book and coffee in hand , nice scenery .... what's not to like ?

Well .... It turned out that repair work , long overdue , had been scheduled for this Saturday on the line I needed to take to get to an Antique and Curiosa Fair I was looking forward to . The train website warned of an extra half hour's travel time .

So I took an extra apple and set off . We seasoned travellers are like that .... intrepid .

It was a bit busy and it turned out that re-routing meant four different trains rather than one . But it went reasonably well till train number three . By this stage , every inhabitant of Holland and their visiting cousins from Iowa , were being funnelled along one single line south .This led to overcrowding .

"We're standing like herrings in a barrel " , boomed a man behind me on the little swaying platform - bit between two carriages , where we were wedged with twenty other people . And we all laughed . Which turned out to be unwise . Suddenly a little voice piped up , "Mama ! Mama! I need to pee , I need to pee NOW !!!". General consternation .

We couldn't even see the child , let move aside to let them both walk down the train . In fact , moving in general wasn't an option . Short of crowd-surfing the child over our heads to the loo , two carriages further along , he had to wait . He wasn't the only one to sigh with relief when we finally arrived .

When I got to the Fair and , having seen a beautiful stall of gorgeously displayed vintage bobbins , ribbons and wool , I'd asked the stallholder if I could please take a photo and he'd smilingly agreed , I discovered I'd forgotten to put the memory card back in my camera .

So you won't get to see the tottering pile of 1950s hats , the rows of glittering chandeliers , the piles of old French blue enamel ware , the Art Deco china ..... Sorry .

Never mind , the trip back only took an extra forty minutes and a touch of glamour was thrown in by finding that the planners , in a moment of rescheduling desperation , had turned the hi-speed International train to Berlin into a local branch-line stop train for one leg of the trip . The German passengers looked slightly askance at us all as we travel-weary natives all swarmed onto their snazzy express , clutching our C&A bags , big bunches of flowers , sausage rolls and baby buggies . Lucky , really , that no one felt the need to inspect the toilet facilities .

Since it wouldn't be a blog entry without a photo or two , I'll show you what I bought

and the wonderful sunset I caught sight of this evening when I took the weekend papers to the recycling bin ( a case of virtue rewarded ? ) .

A peek and open again

2011-02-02T01:25:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

Because Marcheline was curious, I am going to give you a sneek peek of the kitchen... but there is now so much stuff back in place, it is hard to see the paint for the ornaments.

This is the kind of household where every inch is covered, and any kind of kitsch finds a home - and we love bright colours, look at the bathroom:

If I could, I would share this bottle with you all, because - apart from a redecoration housewarming -

SmitoniusandSonata's Etsy shop has re-opened again. Sonata sold a quilt within hours, so that is worth raising a glass to!

Wet paint alert

2011-01-27T07:26:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

Thanks to all those who commented about cats, health and food recently... we have decided for a gentle mixed regime: the vet recommended pouch of food in the morning, a mix of the vet recommended dry biscuits with her favourites to graze on, and, in the evening, we feed her a little poached fish or chicken. It is amazing how much difference these little changes have made: she is drinking less frenetically, hardly ever howls, and is overall happier and more relaxed.

We have had a decorator in - a proper 'handy man' - who has not only painted the bathroom and kitchen, but managed at the same time to fit two cupboards, peel all the stuck on lino tiles off the kitchen floor, clear the garden, mend the gate... sigh of happiness. He also made sure the cat took appropriate care of herself:

Surviving In A Literate Society

2011-01-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

from "Fiet Wil Rennen" by Bibi Dumon Tak
& Noelle Smit

Sonata:

Only two days into the week and I'm kapot! Next year , think long and hard before you have the 'flu jab . Before long at work , you may be The Last Man Standing .

And for the next three days , it being National Reading-Aloud Week , we're having a special breakfast for each group of pre-schoolers in turn , with guest readers , usually a Mum or Granny . Each morning will close with someone from the library and a special whizz-bang show . Last year's included tentbuilding and boogy-woogy dancing . This year's book involves an ostrich who runs through the wind . We're rather expecting an industrial wind machine and sound effects . As long as no "thunder" is involved . It makes some small children hide under the table .

So I need PEACE this evening .

Button tidying is an undervalued relaxation technique . Even a pile of perfectly ordinary buttons looks so much better in a nice jar

I have a basket full of Bonne Maman jam jars ( de riguer in button circles )

full of various colours and a jumbly overflowing tray of plastic , glass , celluloid , mother of pearl and metal treasures to sort out and "file" . That and a Margery Allingham whodunit on audiobook should help me unwind .

But first food , and Easy Supper # 26 :

chicken legs ( again , I know! I buy them by the dozen from a good local poulterer and , putting some jolly music on , skin them all and freeze them in pairs . Ideal for scratch meals during the week ) . Anyway , as I said , chicken legs and whatever comes to hand . Tonight it's leek , garlic , pumpkin , chick peas , chili , stock and some spinach thrown on top at the last minute to wilt before stirring through . A one-pan , one bowl , dip-your-bread-in sort of meal . That and something orange for pudding

should keep me upright for a couple of days more

oh , and a glass of wine . My apologies if I shown you this label before , but I like it .... and the wine's very nice too .

And early to bed . The baker will be delivering all the breakfast goodies each morning at 7.45 .

P.S. The first day was a great success . We were all there , large amounts of breakfast were consumed from bread and cheese to yoghurt and fruit , the best librarian came to read to us and his games were fun and not scary ( you can do a lot with a hair dryer and long strips of crepe paper when your audience is young ! ) and the mother who started the morning off with a well-loved kangaroo story was brilliant . The ostrich book was good too !

Roll on tomorrow !

A fat and old cat

2011-01-14T04:33:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

My straight talking vet has called my cat fat and old! Apart from his singular frankness, though, he is a good vet.
Our tabby is now 14 going on 15 and, given that a number of other felines in our circle have been getting ill recently we thought we would take her along for a check up. She has early signs of kidney failure, but otherwise fine. So, although I doubt she made any new year resolutions featuring diets... she is going on to a special low-protein one. We elected to postpone any medication for now, as it appears she is still in the early stages. I am going to investigate home cooking for cats with renal failure as we like to feed her non-processed food in the evening. Any tips much appreciated! And here is hoping she will hang about for a while longer.

This Year's Good Resolutions , One Week Further On .

2011-01-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

Jinksy , in napple notes , asked in her entry Are They Fading Already ? , what had happened to our New Year's Resolutions .

Well , I had deliberately chosen two easy-peasy ones and one almost impossible one so , to my surprise , one week later , I've done it !

The first one , Always to eat off a pretty plate , was certainly the easiest , given a cupboard full of jumble sale finds . Though today there was a slight hiatus , given a sudden change of plan which resulted in lunch being a banana sliced into a crunchy wholemeal roll , no plate available ... or , in fact , needed . But yesterday , for instance , even that Scottish staple , red lentil soup

looked slightly more refined in Swedish pottery .

As for the second , Exercise more ? As you can see the armstretching and bending is a great success

In fact , I've discovered that , in the right company , it can rapidly segue into a rousing rendition of "Head , Shoulders , Knees and Toes " which warms one up wonderfully and has to be good for one .

And the third , Buy a dress ? I've cracked it ! On a trip to Delft on Saturday , totally unexpectedly , I found THE dress ! It's not too tailored , nor is it alarmingly floral and it should take me to almost any social event 2011 can throw at me

The fact that it's hanging on the wall of a museum , Het Prinsenhof , is a mere detail . Now all I need to do is persuade H&M to make up this little number from the painter Anthonie Palamedesz 's "Elegant Company In An Interior " in my size for the Spring .

In fact , the whole day in Delft was a surprise and a delight . I hadn't expected it to be so pretty and , on an admittedly blustery January day , so devoid of tourists .

Yes , there were tiles and blue and white pottery .... even a blue and white caravan

But not all the tiles were blue and white anyway . I really wanted this parrot for my kitchen

but sadly it was firmly attached to yet another wall , this time in in the Lambert van Meerten museum .

The town is small , cosy and very pretty , is full of lovely museums housed in stunning buildings , and has one of the nicest greengrocers I've ever been into . " Of course you can buy one apple , mevrouw , which one one would you like? And a mandarin ? Certainly." I didn't ask if they had a pretty plate to put them on or they would no doubt have leapt to oblige . I must go back again , soon .

So what should I resolve for the 51 weeks left of 2011 ?

getting fit with the iphone?

2011-01-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

All the lovely food intake over the holiday, such as this lovely mince pie, has taken its expected toll:

Now, in this household, we are quite adept at loosing weight when needed given previous diet experience (succesful Weightwatching and 'no fat diet' prior to gallbladder operation). So we are not worried about the extra pounds, and will lose the weight by eating tasty vegetable curries and lots of fish. But the trick is to make loosing weight through exercise interesting in winter, particularly when joining the gym does not appeal in the slightest. As I am a bit of an Iphone nerd, I found myself reading a post on TUAW which mentioned Geocaching. Now, I realise that I am ten years out of date, as this activity has been going on for years all over the world, but I was genuinely surprised by the number of caches in Britain in general and London in particular. So, we took it upon ourselves to go walking around London and saw some lovely sights over the last couple of days. It may seem odd to wander about following co-ordinates in order to locate a thing the size of a film canister and write out one's name and the date, but it did mean seeing things we simply hadn't before.

This Ram stands proud on the top of an arch hidden in a snicket in the City of London:

these shutters are part of an open air project by artist Jason Goodall in East London. So many ice age animals set loose in the city!

This Victorian building was once the 'Necropolis Railway' for transporting bodies and mourners to Brookwood:
Sometimes geocaches are hidden in places familiar, but revisiting them is always a pleasure:

So, I hope to keep geocaching - even though my knees groaned at the shock of all those extra miles - all over town in 2011.

New Year Resolutions Of The Achievable Variety

2010-12-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

Having learnt from past experience , I'm not aiming too high this year . I've settled on three , at least two of which seem do-able .

1. Always eat off a pretty plate .

Grabbing a sandwich at work is uncommonly dreary , no matter how many carrot sticks or cherry tomatoes one tries to gussy it up with . But on an Art Deco plate , even cottage cheese looks cheerier

2. Exercise more .

I thought maybe we'd draw a veil over the Hips firm bit

and concentrate on the Raising arms sideways and Arms bent bits . Eminently do-able surely , with a bit of practice .

But now we get to the challenge .

3. Buy a dress .

I can't spend the rest of my life in jeans or the standard black trousers for best .

Actually , thinking about it , the last dress I bought for me may well have been on the same shopping trip that netted this little number for Barbie ..... mid-'90s , then .

Oh yes , And WEAR it .

Meanwhile last year's resolutions met with a varying degree of success . I did , for instance learn how to make a link .... and at least half of the ones I now post work !

So may we wish you a very happy , healthy and prosperous New Year and , whether you've made resolutions or not , every success in whatever you attempt , big or small .

Post Mortem

2010-12-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

We had a lovely time and ate lots so it did seem a little excessive to be fishing yet more mountains of food out of the 'fridge this morning . But Youngest Daughter has been laden with enough food for a couple of days and is carrying it off to Amsterdam , as we speak .Temptation in the form of Serrano ham , Manchego cheese and Salami Milanese have been neatly removed and , if the train gets snowed in along the way , she and her fellow passengers should survive till rescued .

The turkey ( yes , I found one .... dainty at 2.5 kilos but French , delicious and more than enough ) has been reduced to rubble . The bones are simmering for soup and the scraps will become a stir-fry of sorts later , with peppers , spring onions and mushrooms .

I've still got a week off and a pile of loot to keep me happy

(The Borgia cds are fabulous and The Book Thief can't be put down ) .

The Christmas flowers look pretty

and , if I get cabin fever , there's a new exhibition in Groningen Museum that looks excellent .

Or I could join the conga line on the river round the corner as everyone enjoys the ice

Sshhh . No one mention the E-word . This year they're insisting on a minimum of 30 cm. of ice along the whole route ..... . Fat chance !

Happy Xmas to all

2010-12-23T03:04:00.000-08:00

Smitonius and Sonata:

In both of our households there is a little uncertainty about Xmas lunch. We all have plenty of food, but perhaps not entirely festive (do olives count as festive?). My mother is not sure she will find a Turkey in town, given the snow, and we had our heart set on Quails (to a recipe in the Observer Food Monthly) but have decided that if they cannot be easily found we will happily eat something else. Mind you, I am teling a little white lie about not having festive food because we have treated ourselves to some local smoked salmon. And when I say local, I mean local inner London down the road local. Hansen & Lydersen smoke their salmon in Stoke Newington, where I live in North London, using a family recipe.

So, we won't be going hungry. We have put up seasonal decorations all around, and Sonata sent this photo to share:

Although we have failed to put up our tree yet, we have found time to hang up a fancy wreath:

I now have to do some mad dashing about to complete the Xmas shopping or I will be wrapping up fresh air for my other half to open, but in the meantime we wish you, wherever you are, a wonderful Xmas!

So Far So Good .

2010-12-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

The school holidays have begun . Early morning coffee and Kerstbrood has been shared with the childrens' parents

The works party has been survived . Parcels and cards have been posted . Father Christmas seems to have got his act together this year and stocking fillers have been found . A visit to a Christmas Market has been planned as long as it doesn't snow too much . The tree has just been rescued from the frozen ( minus 4) back yard .

Youngest Daughter will be getting together tonight with a group of friends in Amsterdam for their annual pre-Christmas Turkey-fest . This year the bird will be prepared by one of them , famed for his interest in the good things of life , to a family recipe as cooked by his mother in Budapest every year . YD is doing the roast potatoes and everyone will be bringing something delicious . Much will be eaten . I'm hoping she's not too jaded to cook our Christmas lunch on the 25th . Last year's was delicious !

And , perfectly timed , a parcel from Catey has just arrived as part of a swap , organised by A Little Pink Room , full of lovely fat quarters , buttons

and a beautiful buttony star for the tree , which is thawing out nicely in the kitchen .

Mind you , the big snows started on the 19th of December last year . It's still only the 18th ........

P.S. YD reported this morning that she ended up having to make roast potatoes for 18 ! This does not bode well for the 25th , I feel . Perhaps she can peel the sprouts ?

Although working on birthday...

2010-12-14T02:45:00.001-08:00

Smitonius:

nevertheless, I went out for a meal afterwards. There has been a buzz about a restaurant called Trullo in north London, so getting a table meant booking weeks in advance. But my other half was very organised, and so a table was waiting for as 9.30. I was attracted by the idea that it was inspired by the River Cafe. That is a must-visit restaurant (fill up your little piggy-bank first), and the last time we were there a couple of years ago Rose Gray herself was in the kitchen.

So, what was on the menu at this place? Some seriously hearty dishes (apologies for the pun) like 'grilled ox heart, confit garlic and borlotti beans'. Whilst I avoided that one, I simply couldn't resist 'Ox cheek braised in Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia '07 with pureed potato and Capezzana's new season olive oil'. But I am racing ahead of myself!

Wine ordered: a chilled Rose, which tasted of Summer in a glass and brightened up the dark evening.

Antipasto shared: Coppa di Parma. So tasty, I forgot to do the Iphone thing which is to hold said phone over dish pausing whilst it focuses and then taking a pic of what is on the plate before eating it.

Primmi: Other half chose Taglierini with Spinach and clams. There was a lot of spinach, and some convincing clam shells, but barely any of their previous residents in evidence. To be fair, when they asked what was wrong, they immediately offered to remove dish from final bill.
I ordered the 'rabbit ravioli in sage butter':

That was supperb.

Main: I was, as you have seen, a total carnivore. And the Other Half had Poussin with chick peas. All very tasty and so filling we did take left overs home! Before the recession, this seemed to be a slightly shocking thing to ask, but now restaurants appear positively delighted... do you do the 'doggy bag' thing?

Pudding: Chocolatte and quince tart.

All in all a lovely evening! Thank you for birthday wishes, and here's to hoping I get some spare time to blog regularly again in 2010....

In House Memo

2010-12-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

The Leeuwarden branch of Smitonius and Sonata would like to wish our London correspondent

Many Happy Returns for tomorrow . We've had a whip round and , given that the local postal service is on strike , a bag of salty licorice will be sent to her by carrier pigeon .

Sinterwho ?

2010-12-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

As I said in my last post , Dutch children get their presents , not from Santa Claus on the 25th , but from Sinterklaas on the evening of the 5th and one of you wanted to know more .

St Nicolaas , bishop of Myra in the 3rd century , had a reputation for the secret giving of gifts , maybe most notably to the daughters of a very poor man who couldn't give them doweries without which their futures were bleak . He is the patron saint of children and also of New Amsterdam , or New York .

Sometime in the 19th century , when Christmas was acquiring new traditions such as Christmas trees , Sinterklaas and his black page boy became the stars of the winter celebration in Holland and Belgium . They arrive in Holland from Spain every year in a steamboat and spend a week or two , before the feast , dropping chocolate coins in childrens' shoes , which are carefully left by the fire overnight , often with a carrot for the Saint's horse .

The page boy became Zwarte Piet , a mischevious helper in the bringing of presents to every child . He wears brightly coloured knickerbockers , a ruff , gold earings and a cap with a feather . Traditionally children who dressed up as him blacked their faces too , but that's becoming less common .

This year at work , we have a rather fetching wooden steamboat with the whole cast . Today , as we sat round the table eating a snack , the children took it in turns to pick out a figure and say something about it .

When we got to the Saint's horse , the little girl knew all about him . His name ( Americo ) , his preference for carrots and his colour but was stumped when it came to the markings on his coat .

And then it came to her .

So what were the darker marks ?

"Chickenpox !! "

What I Did This Week ..... Well , Not Everything , Of Course .

2010-11-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

Sonata :

Well , we finally got to the Collector's Fair in Utrecht , Friend and I . We had our usual enjoyable potter through a huge number of stalls , selling everything from Thirties' haberdashery to ( metal) detectorists finds . Why anyone would want a handful of old rusty bent nails escapes me , but then why did I lug home a handful of 1930s and '40s business letters ? I could probably find a Taschen book of pre-war graphic designs with plenty of examples like this

But I can read these and try to picture the correspondents . There is , for instance , a humble apology for the malfunction of a fan and the hope that the client will be so kind as to accept the immediate replacement of same , signed by the boss with his "salutations bien distinguèes " . What do you think , would I get the same treatment now if I sent back my defunct pop-up toaster ?

Meanwhile , it's nearly the end of term and it's almost Sinterklaas , the night when Dutch children get their presents and there are all the decorations to make with the pre-schoolers . Serried ranks of St . Nicolaases line the window ledges

bishop's mitres and page boy hats in bright crepe paper hang from every available hook . We've sung every song to death and read every picture book about the Good Man to tatters . And this week we'll hold three parties , complete with small presents , which must be hunted for .

On the 6th. he'll have been and gone and the children will calm down .

Which will be handy , because then I'll be able to prepare for my next career . The one I'll be taking up when the Budget Cuts start squeezing the playschools out of existence

I find , to my relief , that I already know a fair number of these songs so I'm off to a head start .

You must do , too . So all together now , one , two , three ... " All I want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth ".

tis seasonal to be... coughing

2010-11-22T02:16:00.000-08:00

Smitonius:

Fell foul of some bug or another, so slipped out of the blogosphere. So did my nephew (catch a bug, I know that he is very advanced for his age... but at 3 1/2 he is not yet blogging). Though the last time he was amused at getting a cough ('I am a Coughosaurus', he claimed delighted), he wasn't so much this time.

Sonata may not like this month too much, but I can't say I agree: I love being able to drag out jumpers (though, do any of you have the moth plague? Not a thing a knitter relishes having to deal with); dust off the winter coats (never knowingly fashionable, but bought a vintage faux fur job earlier in the year... and it is - almost - like being an 'it' girl); buy gorgeous seasonal vegetable at the farmer's market (Curly Kale, though not Brussel Sprouts!); try all sorts of new and old anti-virus remedies (actually, no, that bit is a lie).

Anyway, although I have not been up to anything faintly interesting craft-wise lately (new work responsabilities gained unexpectedly earlier in the year have knocked the needles out of my hands), there is always something to blog about. Although not that many people watched the television series 'The Great British Bake Off', we did in this household. So, imagine our delight, when we visited the farmer's market on Sunday:

One of the ten bakers was selling cakes, he has called his enterprise 'The Cake Stop'. His treacle tart was the lightest and most fragrantly lemony version I have ever tasted, and as for his apple and cinamon cake... words failed my other half. We couldn't resist these buns in a jar (soaked in Cointreau - does that work against coughs?!):

Yum. Have searched the internet in vain to find out his name, but he fell foul of the judges too early in my opinion (and now I have tasted his cakes... I can't imagine why!). Other participants have blogs, like Ruth at The Pink Whisk, and the winner Edd at He Eats. So if you need some more droolworthy pics, click on.....

Humph !

2010-11-20T03:25:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

This is what I had planned for today

wandering round the big Collectors' Fair in Utrecht .

But the Dutch train system had something else in mind and a signals fire in Utrecht has turned what would have been a two-hour journey into an open ended odyssey for only the truly determined .

So I'm doing this instead ( and possibly baking some of A Wee Bit Of Cooking's savoury muffins )

Smitonius , who seems to have perfected a cough to wake the dead , says she'll be recovered enough to blog tomorrow, too .

Does anyone like November ?

You Have To Be Crafty To Get Into Jail Round Here

2010-11-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

Sonata:

Blokhuispoort dates from the 17th century and , until recently , housed the prison .

Now it has been turned into a Culture Center , each cell providing a studio for artists , performers , writers , alternative therapists .....

And yesterday , as part of Leeuwarden's Open Studio weekend , they threw open the doors and we could all wander about and admire their work .

And on every landing , behind every blue door

there were potters , sculptors , painters , photographers , jewellery makers and a glass blower but also a poet , a couple of interior decorators ( "See how I can restyle a cell . Just think what I can achieve in your home !") , even a woman who can get rid of your whiskers in an environmentally-friendly fashion .

And in another wing , for the ladies , there was Holy Stitch , a craft fair . Girlie heaven . Pink checks and spots , bunting , woolly hats , cunning bags , candles , cookies and vintage clothes . Ads for a two-day Make Your Own Teapot And Teacosy workshop , lunch included .

There was even a Decorate Your Own Cupcake workshop , very popular with small girls who were reverently bearing their glittery creations home for tea

All great fun . And I had only one uneasy moment

Does this make anyone else think of the Inquisition ?

Multi-Culti Temptations Abounded

2010-11-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sonata :

I've just spent a week in England eating and thinking about eating and then eating some more .

Hard not to when one's children seem to be afraid that one will float away like a soap bubble if not fed at frequent intervals . Though , to be fair , I have done nothing to dispel this myth .

But eating in England now is such fun that it would require greater will power than mine to resist for long .

Travelling through London , one is tempted by "The Authentic Taste Of Cameroon" near Bethnal Green or this

in Borough Market . "Still Scottish at heart , I see ", said Smitonius .

There was Rosti or Portuguese pastries , Keralan spiciness , Congolese , Ethiopian or Vietnamese cooking , Finnish , Cypriot or Belgian food and Persian take-away in Notting Hill .

Endless , expensive treats in stylish Food Halls and this in Shepherd's Bush

A losing battle with a fast chewing Grandson over a plate of Calamari and a big bowl of olives .Excellent chili at Middle Daughter's and delicious crab risotto at Smitonius's

And we all enjoyed every mouthful .

Autumn Colour

2010-10-29T11:27:00.001-07:00

Smitonius:

The Japanese Maple tree in the garden is ablaze!

And I have seen the Berry Man walking through Borough Market:

Perhaps it signals a bountiful harvest and season ahead.

Parakeets and poetry

2010-10-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

Sonata and Smitonius today:

We are having a real family week-end, as Sonata is over in London, and we went grave hunting (the way you do). Having discovered that Sonata's great-grandparents were buried in Twickenham Cemetery.

It was an easy grave to find, being close to the entrance, but the grave was in pieces and we needed to re-arrange it to take this picture.

We are hoping, if it doesn't prove too expensive, to have it re-assembled and made secure. The inscription said: "In loving memory of Peter, beloved husband of Dora O'Donnell, died the 8th of June 1916, aged 63 years and their granddaughter May. Darling child of Percy and Anne O'Donnell died 18th June 1918 aged 9 1/2 years. "Until the day dawns". Dora, as it happens, is there too though she has no inscription, having died at the start of the War when people had other priorities. Here is Dora on a British seaside holiday:

But she started life in Kamptee (India) in 1862, the daughter of a military man. And then married a splendid looking Irish bandmaster who took her all over the Empire (as it was). With them, is little Gladys May, their grand-daughter, born in Muree Hills (India), in 1908 and brought up eventually in England by them. Poor little mite had lost her mother, and her father was at war. So it was particularly fitting that the birds circling the trees overhead were, to our surprise, green parakeets. You can see one flying in this photo:

We also received in time for this visit a copy of "The poetry of P.A.T O'Donnell", edited by Robin Gilbert (who also wrote a biographical sketch). Robin was one of his pupils, also a poet, who has worked hard to bring the poems and sketches back into print. P.A.T. was, of course, another descendant of Peter and Dora.

Here is one of his poems, which is quite seasonal:

Spell

Furled fall, lemon and rust, in shoals to sleep
in the sun's pools, the legions of the leaves.
False, this deciduous peace.

Autumnal consummation, like a sigh
shaping the heart for rest, an amber draught,
solves the sharp thoughts that tease.

Stocking Up For The Months To Come

2010-10-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

We've had fabulous sunny days this week , one after the other , and people .... and cats ....are snatching every chance to bask .

And those who could were making for the river

Even sewing the binding on this little quilt was a pleasure in the last of this afternoon's sun .

Meanwhile , we're overdosing on these

At this rate , I'll have as thick a layer of insulating fat as a bear . All I'll need is a cave , come the winter .

The eyes have it...

2010-10-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Yesterday was a day I had not been looking forward to. I had an appointment at Moorfields Eye Hospital for an iridotomy. I dreaded having my eye balls prodded again, being zapped and was worried about how my eye sight would be afterwards. On the other hand, given that they warned me I was on the verge of an acute attack of sudden onset Glaucoma due to narrow angles (two minutes in a hospital and look at all the new words I get to learn!), I wasn't about to refuse the option.

I have brown eyes, and, as I learnt, this means I needed two sets of laser treatments on both eyes. It was an excrutiating experience (I won't go into details), but appears to have been succesful as the pressure in both eyes dropped. The added bonus is that the world looks a lot brighter, sharper and well defined now than it did. Now that I have stopped having to put drops in on the hour every (waking) hour, I intend to pop down to the pub to celebrate!

Boredom Threshold

2010-10-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

I can't cope with boredom better than anyone else . I always have two books with me on train journeys and at least three crosswords . Not that I'm often bored on journeys actually. One's fellow passengers are a constant delight and the rare exception can easily be banished by an Ipod . And big stations or ferries are vastly entertaining .

But this week was exceptional . After a couple of days feeling pale and peculiar , I had a day's course on speech development in small children . ( "They learn from you , they learn from each other ". Golly ! ) One Powerpoint presentation followed another , with a pause for lunch ( Can't some people eat a lot , when it's all laid on?) And then yesterday was spent watching a Dutch party conference , all 6 hours of it , in mounting disbelief at the naivety of reasonably normal looking people , till I was reduced to yelling "Wake UP!!" at the screen . And it's not even my party ..... I weedily vote Green , since , as a foreigner , I can only vote in local elections anyway .

So today called for hyper activity .

There were buttons to sort

Material to admire and put away

Pieces to be cut out for next quilt while current quilt's border and backing had to be chosen

and last quilt's photos put in file .

My new toy had to be played with which resulted in the beginnings of a patchwork cat .

Pumpkin soup had to be made and a chicken roasted .

My latest audio book had to listened to . Many thanks to mountainear ( to be found on our sidebar ) for the lead to Audible.co.uk !

A teetering pile of guddle had to be put in tidy new boxes .....

"But this is what you do almost every weekend ", you'll say and you'd be right . But it's never boring . In fact it's oddly relaxing to potter about achieving not a lot .

But what's your idea of a good Sunday ?

There are unhappy robins

2010-09-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Managed to sneak off to Northumberland on Thursday for a couple of nights, as partner working in the area. This translates into a regular set of experiences, such as fish and chips in Seahouses:

a bracing walk by the sea:

(special photo effects courtesy of Hipstamatic for the iphone, by the way). And, in addition, a visit to a country pile or castle in the vecinity - the place is littered with history. So this time we went to Belsay Hall and the last day of an exhibition in the house and gardens called Extraordinary Measures. The Middleton family, bored after 600 years (give or take) of living in their own castle,

decided to move into a newly built Hellenic inspired mansion carved out of the quarry in their own backyard - which promply became a sublime landscaped garden - in the early nineteenth century.The mansion or hall was devastated by dry rot, but although there are no furnishings some of the old wallpaper survives:

So, why, might you ask, do I refer to unhappy robbins in my title? The exhibition had artists playing on myths and fairy tales, in a way, and some exhibits were funny, and others spooky, and others ... naked! Yup, it was fun to walk into the Hellenic mansion followed by families with young kids in tow who gasped and giggled at the sight of a naked woman (and a naked man in the next room) sculpted by Ron Mueck. His work is extraordinary, hyper real, and disturbing: see this blog entry for more pics. But what I really loved was this knitted version of myth of Theseus by Freddie Robins:

Pity There's Only One A Year !

2010-09-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

Sonata :

Lille was huge fun . We had a marvellous time !

Thanks to judicious consumption of moulles frites and gigantic sandwiches , not to mention the very nice breakfast buffet at our hotel we walked our socks off and were even to be seen on Saturday night bouncing about to a fabulous band outside La Maison De Batterie in the center of town .

On Saturday , the Braderie not beginning till around 3 o 'clock-ish , we went to La Piscine , a beautiful museum in Roubaix which has a lovely collection of 20th century paintings and sculpture housed in a stunning Art Deco swimming pool . Well worth a visit if you can . The Friends of the museum's blog , le file de l'eau http://amisdelapiscine.blogspot.com/ is worth a visit too , even if you don't read French .

But then we got down to business and joined tout Lille in a hunt for something pretty , rare or downright strange in street after street of elbow to elbow people .

We soon learnt that you had to be quick . This was whisked from under our noses while we admired it

And though there was plenty of tat to be had ( or not ! )

there were lots of affordable and pretty treasures to be found , while hours could be spent wandering in and out of side streets admiring picturesque corners , lovely shop windows and buskers ( it took us a while to identify a rendition of "Chiquitita" played by a Peruvian duo on the pan-pipes . I must say , it improved it no end .) And , above all , people-watching .

On Sunday morning we went to Wazemmes , a little further out , and after eating yet more moulles in a workman's cafe ( though I'm going back one day for their cous-cous ) we worked our way back to the center through serious stalls , full of eminently collectible delights .

We finally staggered onto the train and , despite having to stand between Antwerp and Rotterdam , clutching two baguettes , a leatherbound volume of sheet music

two kilos of buttons

and bobbins

I got home ready to do it all over again at the first opportunity .

Thames River Festival

2010-09-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Although I had to stop off at the local farmer's market first (because the mushroom season is in full swing... who could resist these? I bought some yellow chanterelles to add to a chicken caserole and some tasty field mushrooms).

We were on our way to the Thames River Festival, lured by the idea that Southwark Bridge had been made into the longest outdoor dining area. Although not a lot of crafting appears to be going on in this household, food remains - as you can see - a priority!

Not only were there tables on either side, with a delightful table cloth printed for the ocassion...

there were also stalls with information on composting, bees, cocoa beans, and how to milk cows... there was even a cow! And, of course, food stalls

One big surprise was the stall selling London wine - that is right! Urban Wine Company members grow vines within London and make their own rose... it was so surprisingly tasty, I simply had to have a couple of glasses to support 'localism' (any excuse!).

A Bargain And Some Moulles And I'll Feel Grownup Again

2010-09-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Sonata ;

I'm off to Lille tomorrow and their annual Braderie . The whole city becomes a giant Flea Market , running nonstop from Saturday afternoon till Sunday evening . About a million visitors roll up in town , treasure-hunting their way through thousands of stalls and eating huge quantities of mussels to keep them going .

And Friend and I , not having had a Day Out for a while , thought we'd join them .

We took the precaution of booking an hotel room months ago and checking the booking this week , we've got stout shoes and layers of clothes , umbrellas and spare specs . Our train itinerary , tickets , sandwiches and passports for the journey . Maps and unflagging energy . And I've been before , three years ago with Smitonius , so even know how the Lille Metro works .

So why am I feeling about eleven again , baggy school uniform and all ?

Madame Colette , that's why . A ferocious little nun , who ruled the junior boarders with a rod of iron and no visible liking for children , she came from Lille . When I first went off to school at eleven , she terrified me and , if I'm honest , she'd probably still make me nervous now .

The fact that it's more than fifty years later and she's probably long gone doesn't quite convince me that a knuckle won't come cracking smartly down on my skull when I'm not expecting it !

Never mind , it's nothing that a good meal ( or three) won't cure . And who knows what we'll stagger back with ?

P.S. By the way , that's not me in that photo but some tiny camera-shy dot from a Dutch photo album from the '20s .

Country Pursuits

2010-08-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

I must strongly refute any suggestion that I didn't enjoy our weekend camping at Wing Hall in Rutland .
I had a marvellous time !

How could I not love a campsite with excellent wine and homemade cakes in the bar

a farm shop full of delicious treats and , as they said , very free range eggs

Showers like this

with a resident frog like this ( he was no bigger than my thumbnail ) .

And sitting out in the evening under a sky like this with something delicious on the barbecue

The weekend also include an antique fair at Grimsthorpe Castle on Saturday

and a Fete , Flower and Produce event at Uppingham on Sunday , which included a very entertaining Dog Show

More cakes

impressive veg

and lovely flowers

I loved every minute of it !!

Singing in the rain with a three year old

2010-08-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Ah, for those who felt sorry for Sonata's sojourn in a tent in the drizzle! It pelted down with rain at the music festival in Cropredy, and there was even a mini-tornado in one of the fields (luckily our family encampment survived). Look at that menacing sky:

But we campers (four adults and 1 child) put on our raincoats and wellington boots, and stoically trugged from tent/campervan to music field and back again (I came to envy my nephew's all-in-one rainsuit, even if he looked like a worker in a nuclear reactor or an abatoir).

Said nephew (age 3) stomped in puddles whenever he could, and once declared: "Now this is what I call a muddy track". It was hard to disagree really.

Everything From Sharks To Knitting ( Not Mine , Though )

2010-08-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

The entire clan has been on the move . Smitonius and Middle Daughter , just back from the Isle of Man , are at a music Festival with their partners and Grandson .

Grandson probably won't be wearing his Sargeant Pepper red jacket , lovingly sewn for him by his mother for last year , any more than he did then , but will probably be wearing his new and much loved raincoat . He even ate breakfast in it while I was staying with them .

Mind you , since it's permanently threatening rain , he might be right .

I'm just back from an extended tour of England , courtesy of eldest daughters , who kindly put me up ( put up with me ? ) and fed me royally .

I think I've been everywhere and seen everything . Hammerhead sharks in Birmingham , spooky grafitti in Brighton

crafty statues in Leicester

and Jamie Oliver's parents' pub in between

( yes , I know there's goat's cheese on that plate . V. nice it was too with spinach . But it's alright . I've repented and won't do it again till the next time I go) .

I've shared a shower with a tiny frog and camped with chickens in Lincolnshire

been to a village fête in Rutland and bought a scarf in a Buddhist Charity Shop .

I know a lot more about aliens and dinosaurs and have a new friend .... a robot called Gloria . I can transform a Transformer in under 15 minutes and , virtue of mini Lego , have made a speedboat into a rocket and vice-versa ( which persuaded me that a visit to the optician's was overdue )

I've got loads of photos and will bore you with my adventures in the weeks to come .

But now Youngest Daughter is on her way home for a belated birthday dinner . 29 !! Dear Heaven .

Madrid: how to keep cool, well fed and learned

2010-08-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

There are two great incentives to working hard at the national library in Madrid:

the first is, the place is air conditioned and given that it reached about 40 degrees at mid day this was welcome.

Of course, should one be forced to pound the torrid streets, there are always shops selling these:

Or cafe terraces with these vintage style water spray fans - so effective, when accompanied by a cool beer.

the second is the canteen. An average menu del dia comprises of the following:

First course could be: Gazpacho OR Arroz a la Cubana (white rice, tomato sauce and a fried egg) OR Paella OR salad (various - e.g. 'Russian salad')

Second course could be: Magro con Tomate (pork cooked in tomato sauce) OR Sardines OR Fillete (beef steak) OR Roast Chicken OR Escalope - with either green salad OR chips

Pudding could be: fresh fruit (a slice of watermelon, for example) OR baked apple OR flan OR rice pudding

In addition, there is bread and wine OR beer OR water - all for just over 7 Euros.

Did I make you hungry? One fares equally well in the outside world though, look at this gorgeous plate of Salmonetes (little red mullets) with Pimientos de Padron (these were hot little so and so's.... have you ever had them?):

And, yes, I did find what I was looking for in the library as well!

Summertime.... on hols (sort of)

2010-07-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

I should have put a (clothes) wash on, I should have done a bit of ironing, and I should have packed... but instead I spent the morning loading my music onto my new ipod nano (I didn't go into the Apple store to buy one, I actually went in to check the iphones... decided against one, but did not walk out empty handed: new headphones and a new ipod. Truth be told, I actually really need a pair of Summer shoes).

Why pack? I am off to Madrid tomorrow - research. But as the fishmonger in the market said this morning: I would feel sorry for you, but you will have to eat all that nice Spanish food. I know, it is tough. And so, having bought fish, what did I do? I was enticed into a local restaurant that was doing a one-off special menu: roast pig Sardinian style. Divine, but then, who can concentrate after such a lunch on a beautiful sunny afternoon? Not I, so I sit in the garden listening to the hose water the garden for me - sisss sisss sisss

So, whilst I sometimes worry about work and the future (Higher education is in flux and my role has been 'redefined' somewhat in the last couple of months), I don't think I can complain today of all days. Though, heck, I will have to get up early to iron whatever I can find, pack in the dark, spend far too long in transit... before I sit in a plaza somewhere in Madrid in the evening sun with a beer to prepare for the library on Tuesday.

PS: Sonata is off on hols.... visiting a small nephew in Leicester before arriving here... we will find ways of posting! In the meantime, enjoy Summer!

Strangers Bearing Gifts And A Spider On Stilts

2010-07-11T03:52:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Yesterday there was a Brocante in Deventer and I rushed off early to the station , put my bike downstairs in the Bike Parking , got engaged in conversation with the man behind the counter who'd repaired my brakes the day before and shot back up the stairs , now late and in full pinball mode .

At the ticket machine I was busy choosing type , date and destination , when I heard a voice behind me . "Mevrouw ? ..." but put off answering for a second before I ended up filling the details in wrong and was obliged to go somewhere totally different for the day . "Mevrouw ? " Yes? "Mevrouw ? " WHAT? . " Where are you going ? ".

I looked round to check for dog on string and and miscellaneous bag/lady person . No , she looked normal . "I'm going to Deventer , and I'm in rather a hurry " , I say briskly and carry on with my purchase . "Mevrouw , I have a ticket for you " By this stage I'm flapping my spare hand behind me trying to swat her away .

"Mevrouw , REALLY , I HAVE A FREE TICKET FOR YOU ", she finally bellowed .

And she did . A promotion from some perfume shop .

Deventer was full of nice surprises too .

It was astonishingly warm but the library was having a book sale in the cellar , so I cooled off nicely .

The whole town was full of people on stilts and I met a very friendly spider .

And I brought a few things home with me . Why ? What a silly question !!

Well , It Took A While ....

2010-07-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

but Summer has finally arrived and we're not all wearing fifteen layers of woolies and a balaclava .

Everyone has moved outside . Little side streets are full of people with a cup of tea , a good book and dozing cat

The hollyhocks are looking lovely

The local open air Flea Market has started again

My summer curtains are growing nicely and there are tiny tomatoes already !!

Some enormous wild flower has settled in outside my front door in the middle of the calendulas , lavender and snapdragons and is wildly popular with bees . There's a lovely buzzzzzz every time I come home .

The two black swans from the City Farm are lending a much needed touch of glamour to the trip to the supermarket again

And just in time . On Friday the summer holidays begin ...!!!

A homeward treat....

2010-07-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

I treated myself to some flowers on the way home: look, white cornflowers and blue scabious (an unfortunate name for a flower - can't see it catch on for girls: 'Now, Scabious, hold my hand while we crosss the road').

I must say, I have really been enjoying reading who has spotted celebs:
Jane has served Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward in the V&A shop circa 1987 (they bought a poster of Sir John Gielgud).
Rachel has seen Labour politican Robin Cook (and then she wrote a good story about not recognizing Boby Robson - mind you, I doubt I would have)
Lesley has seen Sigourney Weaver! (that is cool, but she has a good story about her dad and the Rolling Stones)
Friko has seen Alan Bennet (and, so have I! Celebrity snap!)
Jinksy has seen Zoe Wanamaker (and so have I! Celebrity snap II - she was ... slightly worse for the wear ... in a Deli in Islington)
Monix has seen Frank Ifield (Who? I said, but my partner says he yodelled - hopefully not all over Monix).
Lovethose cupcakes has seen Lauren Bacall (now I AM ENVIOUS indeed).
Lucille has a knack of spotting nice men (e.g. Michael Palin and Alan Titchmarsh)
Marcheline has a fine list of American names, like Ray Liotta (but I think she has seen many more famous people but won't kiss and tell - she was a flight attendant!)

A Paintbrush , Cinnamon and Tangos

2010-06-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

Husband's in France for a few weeks , so I decided to paint the kitchen this weekend . It's easier to camp out among the temporary chaos on your own , than with two .

Things got off to a good start . The Dutch equivalent of sugar soap has finally been found and corners are unaccustomedly cobweb free .

But , first things first . Coffee . Filter coffee , Kenyan Masai AA to get me going . It wasn't perhaps the best idea to knock the full filter over the clean , ready to paint surfaces and floor but when I klutz , I tend to do it with full choral backing .... remember the Ratatouille ?

So I go in hunt of clean painting trousers , only find ancient size 16s , find belt , talk to daughter on phone and marvel that though I've lost so much weight , I remain a size 12 , daughter says "Yes , but you can't do much about your hips ", cross said daughter off Christmas card list , put cd on , climb ladder , and get cracking . I'm only doing walls , ceiling and a couple of shelves , so it doesn't take too long to finish first coat .

But I decided that , to hell with saving time , I can't possibly spend all weekend eating only toast and light cottage cheese so clear a space to make some chicken , leek and chick pea soup with a minute piece of chorizo ( cholesterol-laden but essential ) and spinach . The chickpeas were originally cooked with a cinnamon stick which makes it all smell gorgeous and I enjoyed the resulting soup hugely !

Next day , next coat and by lunch time it's all done. For once the paint I used lived up to its name , "Perfect Finish" ! Putting everything back was a pain but finally I could flake out on the sofa with a pile of 1950's Paris Match I'd discovered the other day . And then sleep like a rose .( This isn't me , in case you were wondering . )

N.B. to self : Tangos aren't really the best music choice when you're up a ladder .

Celeb-spotting....

2010-06-17T02:14:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

You know how it is, not a sighting of anyone famous (or even remotely z list) for ages and then three celebs are spotted one after the other. I hasten to add, though, that when I told a friend, she said: who? to the first two names, and then cried out in recognition at the third name, but it turned out she thought I meant someone else. Now, don't all of you cry out, who? at once!

First sighting: I am in passenger seat of our car, and being driven through Islington. There is a side street with a range of cafe's and restaurants with outside tables. At one such table I spot Will Young talking to a friend. For those who live outside of the UK, he won the first Pop Idol contest (a fore-runner of X factor). He is as cute in person as he is in the pics or on screen, but I didn't have a camera with me so you will have to trust me on that one.

Second sighting: I am in a pub in Devon and my partner says: 'look! it is that guy from The Restaurant, what was his name?' (the TV series where Raymond Le Blanc makes a chef and front of house combo do a million tests to see if he will open a restaurant with them). Anyway, his name was Alasdair and he is now serving in Jack in the Green (great restaurant, by the way). We start whispering discreetly, then partner's mother says loudly after he has served us: 'I know that face! Why do I know that face?'.

Third sighting: again, in passenger seat, leaving a service station off the motorway somewhere between Devon and London and we spot Rolf Harris. Now, you must know who he is, surely?

Anyway, which celebs/famous have you spotted either recently or ever?

Shhhh , The Football's On .... And On

2010-06-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Sonata:

I don't know about you , but I find a little of the Beautiful Game goes a long way . But it wouldn't pay to say that here . Holland's playing .... nay ! Holland's going to WIN
and the world's gone orange ( that being the national colour ) .

Whole streets have gone orange

Shop windows have gone orange

Dinner's gone orange ( not just any old pizza this , I hasten to add , but Parma Ham and Crayfish Pizza by chef Frank Huson .)

Even the local pet shop has a special offer on very patriotic-looking goldfish tomorrow

But one thing's certain

It'll all end in tears for someone in three weeks .

From one island to another

2010-06-06T04:02:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

My broadband connection has become intermittent, some days I can hop on and others I can't! The engineer's verdict is that the cable has been chewed by animals (foxes, squirrels, and other potential culprits in this urban wildlife hotspot I live in). This has happened before, so it is no surprise. But, this morning, a window of opportunity means that I can blog again.... so a few pics about the bank holiday weekend on the Isle of Wight follows.

We set off from Yarmouth to Lymington:

Braving the deck and its bustling winds. There is something exhilarating about being on the water, even if it is only for about 20 minutes. We hastened to the campsite on the south of the Island, near a pretty village called Brighstone. You have met the camper before, and here she was in her element, the pop-top up to enjoy the warmer weather (a tad optimistc, because there was rain! I felt sorry for those in tents - you should have seen the people wrestling with fly away tents in the wind and rain....):

We were on the edge of the cliff, over this beach:

No dinosaur bones or fossils to be found on this beach, and we had no luck spotting another rare sight in Britain: the red squirrel. We had hired bikes to cycle around the island (given the steep hills - well, to me anyway - we didn't get very far, and I may have been huffing and puffing too much to look out for squirrels). The thing is the invasive grey squirrel has not managed to oust the native squirrels... but I consoled myself with this little chap from the gift shop:

mmm, come to think of it... is this the little critter guilty of eating up my cables?...

And, as the other half was celebrating a bank holiday birthday, we treated ourselves to a local seafood platter:

Now, that alone was worht the trip!

As If !

2010-05-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Sonata :

I was going to blog about the Fresian Street Festival , held in town this weekend . About the fish on stilts , the Dragon boats , the man who'll chew your sihouette out of a slice of toast while you wait , the trampolining jugglers , the guitars , the escaping balloons and wailing toddlers , the two young ladies who sang operatic airs in a caravan .

And then I got distracted and drew this instead . Today , the last day , is the highlight of the three day jamboree , complete with Festival Princess Day in the Prinsentuin . A sea of rosy-pink , sequinned , tulle-frothed glory for the under-tens . And it's poured all day .

And Husband , when I mentioned this , showed , for a man who's watched three daughters grow up , a complete lack of understanding of the pre-teen female psyche .

"They'll just have to wear their macs . "

There's Nothing like A Diet To Concentrate The Mind

2010-05-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

Sonata :

on food , mostly .

After a bad reaction to statins in January , it became imperative to find another way to lower my cholesterol ... to get the specialist off my back , if nothing else .

A few cookbooks later , I was rewarded yesterday by his surprised , "Hardly anyone does it with diet alone ... but you have ". I've never eaten so much Ratatouille in my life and I'd kill for a Ploughman's . But , like all diets , to work it'll have to become a way of life . So I'm subliminating all this yearning for dairy foods and bacon butties in a purely scholarly interest in stuffing your face , 18th century style .

This book's fascinating . Not to cook from ; it all sounds very beige and brown , contains alarming amounts of cream , eggs and boiled fresh water fish and the quantities alone would kill one . There's a Maigre Sauce , for instance , for a boiled salmon jowl made from fish broth , a roux , cream and the yolks of 4-5 eggs .

But it is full of little bits that make me smile . There's a recipe for Turbot a l'Italienne that says that the fish must be simmered very gently "for about an hour , that it may be done rather by fumigation than hasty boiling "

When making soup soup from Nantiles , a sort of French grain ( like Barley , perhaps ) "You must be so extravagant as to have a roasted partridge ..." , probably to zip it up a bit .

Or to warm a cream sauce "Just shew it to the fire".

I'm not proposing to make any of this . It was definitely cooking for the well-to-do with scuttling kitchen staff . Never mind about cholesterol levels , there's the strong possibility of gout . There's an awful lot of offal in there .

But I must at least try using his wider range of herbs and greenery . Purslane and sorrel , pimpernel and savory , burnet and parsley roots . And if I ever have occasion to fry a batch of minnows , remember to add primrose flowers and tansie .

At the very least I can aim for "Genteel and good dishes ... that never fail of being well eaten "

In moderation .

the wood for the trees

2010-05-17T03:40:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

Continuing on the tree theme, but in a different location. I live in a bungalow in North London with an unusually large garden for the area. We have 4 large trees, one of which is near a boundary wall. On Saturday we received a letter from our neighbour's insurers, and - sadly - one of our trees has got to be felled down completely. Apparently, it is the cause of subsidence. A Robinia, covered in Ivy and host to much wildlife - see how large the tree is?:

On a more cheerful, and also woody theme, we had bookshelves fitted in the hallway this week. After years of hosting books on the floor, they now line our walls:

Fancy a close up? That way you get to see which books we have been reading....

What have you been reading lately? I have just finished reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Which I did enjoy, mainly because we had visited Savannah. And the other book on the go in the household is: The Moonflower Vine, which is being loved.

Adenda:
Loving the support - re: the tree. In fact, this neighbour has done things by the book, and the report is not simply from the insurers but also from tree specialists contracted in by insurers. And they will pay. At one point last year, when the problem was pointed out by another neighbour (who expected us to pay for the tree to be cut down ourselves, out of the goodness of our hearts and with no report), we refused - though we did pay to have her trimmed a little. Sadly, the tree has been living on borrowed time. But we will press for tree contractors that we respect, and the correct time for the work to be done for fledglings and other nesting creatures.

Chainsaw Massacre

2010-05-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Sonata :

I hope the Mayor saw this

We had 8 of these beauties

in the little open space at the end of our street . There's a big climbing frame in the middle that the neighbourhood children love and , when it's hot in the summer , everyone hauls chairs outside to drink tea and chat .

Now we have 8 of these

and we're all stunned . They were top-heavy apparently .....? But aren't all trees ?

The children spontaneously pinned protest notes on all the stumps . After heavy rain melted them , one young lad came back and carefully removed all the drawing pins and took them home .

Tomorrow is the annual Flower Market in town , wholeheartedly promoted by the Town Hall .

Irony ?

The Non-Which Guide To Digital Camera Buying

2010-05-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sonata:
Or "Two Numpties In A Chain Store , one of whom is me ".

There I am on the first morning in Amsterdam when I

realised that my beloved Canon has died . It is totally kapotski , deceased , gone to a Better Place .

So , unable to function any more without a camera in my hand ..... have I been here ? .... , I rushed into Dixon's and bought the cheapest model by a maker I recognised . A slim little Olympus that seemed to be just what I needed .

I retreated to a cafe

to read the instruction manual and familiarise myself with my new toy . Only to realise that , of course , that I'd forgotten to buy a memory card . Back to shop . Same saleswoman sold me a microSD card ( you might be ahead of me here ) and I returned to cafe and more coffee . I have to have an Xd card . This time go to a photo shop where nice person sells me the right card and puts it in for me .

Anyway I then had a lovely time wandering about for the next couple of days , doing nothing in particular . It really is the perfect place to mooch and admire everything . The Jordaan with its little cafes , and "real " Amsterdammers , friendly , chatty and full of life . The Amsterdam Historic Museum . And more shops than you could shake a stick at . I particularly liked the one called "Your Real Indian Hair " , with pots of Hair Mayonnaise conditioner and fluorescent wigs if it didn't work .

I met an old friend who seemed to have found a new position in a boutique near the Sarphati Park .

Saw some wildlife at the daily market in Albert Cuypstraat . The rooftops are full of cranes and they swoop to pick over the leftovers at the end of the day .

And Youngest Daughter and I ate in Bazar , a Turkish restaurant in "the Cuyp" . A starter of grilled sardines to share , salmon marinaded in lime , saffron and garlic for her and Tabouleh with chicken brochettes for me . Delicious .

On the way back to her flat we stopped at the Resistance War Monument and joined in the Remembrance ceremony . On May 4th Holland remembers its war victims at 8.00 in the evening and Amsterdam falls silent for two minutes . Even the trams stop . As we left , I noticed that we'd been standing in front of a Tibetan monk , who may well have been remembering the monks who died there recently .

Outside the Anne Frank House there was one white rose before the door .

Elephants on parade # 1

2010-05-04T05:28:00.001-07:00

Smitonius:

There is an exciting new outdoor exhibition in London called Elephants on Parad e, where over 250 elephant casts are painted and placed around the capital. So, we set off first of all to the City of London armed with a camera and the list... all in all we managed to locate 23 elephants. Only a few more to go.... ejem!

The first one we came across is called Izzy, after Isambard Kingdom Brunnell. All over quite a witty bit of painting (her rear view becomes a tunnel)

and, not only that, but there is a mouse to be found too:

There are so many different styles out there, look at these eyes:

And one elephant even has a city inside it:

Right, now to upload my found pachyderms onto Flickr... along with all the other elephant hunters and gatherers.... I wonder how many I will manage to see over the next few weeks?

An Average Sort Of Week , Give Or Take ....

2010-05-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Sonata :

an enforced computer-free week hasn't led to wild creativity and a rediscovery of Great Literature or even a quick dabble in Macrame For Beginners . I haven't even caught up on way overdue letter-writing , written my half-year report or filed the last couple of months' pile of Don't Throw Away envelopes , unless you count knowing roughly which piece of furniture they're resting in .

But I've watched a football match on television and demonstrated a knowledge of the offside rule which surprised even me . I've shared a space with rainbow crystals and Baby Boomers . I've twice survived an Art Project with visiting artist with a surprising amount of finger paint , ice cubes , food colouring , feathers , sand paper , glitter and bongos with a dozen three-year olds . And I've watched Julie/Julia with very good friends , good wine and impeccably low-fat delicious nibbles .

With the rest of Holland , I've celebrated the Queen's birthday in customary style . The country becomes a giant open air Flea Market and I joined the rest of the population strolling around in the hope of finding undiscovered treasure .... or at least an orphaned button or two .

No luck but I did find some great books

and some vintage fabric

including a little piece of this lovely fairy-tale material

with a tiny Cinderella and a Prince with attitude .

I bought this which we enjoyed greatly

easy listening , circa 1750 .

Which brings me neatly to my apology to any of you who may have been expecting Naked Willie's "Bring Me Sunshine " to be startlingly risque or humorous . No , what made me laugh so much was the fact that , whatever else I'd expected from this ponytailed , pot-smoking Country and Western icon , it wasn't a Morecambe and Wise impersonation .

But , don't worry . I got my comeuppance .

I took Willie and two other c.d.s back to the library and fed them into the maw of the machine that registers returns , whereupon it told me that I'd returned 2 items .... NO! . So I went to the Help desk , with which I'm not unfamiliar by now . Nice lady said "I'll check ", then returned to tell me I'd returned only two from my total of borrowed items . "I can't find Naked Willie ", she bellowed to the growing queue behind me , "Are you sure you returned it ? " . I felt like doing my Frankie Howerd impersonation , "Titter ye not ", but didn't , you'll be glad to know . Finally exacted her promise to let me know by post . So I can expect a salvo of postcards about NAKED WILLIES from the local library , then . Should raise my profile locally .

And now I'm off to Amsterdam for a couple of days . If I remember to take my camera , I'll take a photo or two , I expect .....

ancient crafting

2010-04-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

Smitonius:

It is that time of the year again, when sunny (or not so sunny) week-ends mean camping in our mini camper:
We were joined for breakfast by some feathered friends (but we didn't tell them what was on the menu):

And we stumbled across an Anglo-Saxon village: a recreation in West Stow Country Park.

It was like stepping back in time, though I have no doubt that the past was much dirtier and smellier that this! It was possible to step into the reconstructed houses, and one was a weaving room, with plant dyed skeins of yarn hanging on beams and lots of weaving looms:

I decided that I would stick to the present, despite the tempting idea of all that crafting... there would be a lot of back breaking work as an anglo-saxon maiden! And, heck, all the plant dyes in the world do not produce as lovely yarn as this:

On our way back to London, we stopped at a pub, and opposite that pub was an old forge with a sign on the door that said open... and inside that forge there was lots of yarn lovelies for sale hand-dyed by Paula at The Yarn Gallery (do check her stuff out!). Aha, time to get that spindle out again, and reconsider sock knitting.