Plus Fours , The Showgirl And The Elephant

Sonata:

Saturday included all these and more but it started with a paperboy and a cat .

I was going to Den Haag early and , given the rain , I waited for the bus rather than cycling to the station . As I waited , I watched a young paperboy sort out all the paper's weekend supplements on the bench in the bus shelter opposite , under the supervision of a very fine black and white cat . Once the boy's bag was repacked , he pulled a little bag out of his pocket and put some cat treats down . The cat wound his way twice round the boy's legs and started eating . The boy went off on his round . Cat went back into his garden . A ritual , obviously .

At Utrecht , a middle-aged man got on the train in corduroy plus fours . Unusual in Britain , never seen in Holland . I pondered on how young people can wander round dressed as vampires , princesses or 1940's Land Girls and no-one blinks but how the middle-aged wearing anything "different" are gawped at .

Den Haag , it turned out , was celebrating Classical Music Day and the city was filled with musicians . Whole orchestras offered open-air Beethoven and Strauss , churches had small choirs and chamber music and there was an unusual combination of opera and mime on a small lake . And buskers everywhere .

A Rasta , dreadlocks whirling , danced to a Rumanian trio , a violinist played The Birdie song to an entranced tiny girl in a tinsel crown and , of course , someone had a didgeredoo .

The showgirl stole the show at the wonderful Isaac Israels exhibition in the Historic Museum and the elephant looked very at home in the Rainbow Nation Sculpture exhibition in a nearby park .

All in all , a very good Day Out . It even stopped raining .

Gearing Up For The Ice Age

Given the ghastly weather and my impending retirement , coupled with a new tendency to creak when cold , I've been looking for a knitting pattern . A while ago , Friend , having discovered that mohair made her sneeze , passed on a couple of big bags of Phildar Phil'Douce that she'd found when clearing out her attic . Two sweaters worth !

Now I can , at most , knit a scarf unaided but this naturally has not stopped me collecting a large number of old knitting patterns over the years . So this afternoon I hauled them all out and started hunting for a simple pattern for a warm jumper . Preferably one that I could finish in a couple of weeks .... or sooner . Something basic with sleeves long enough to keep my wrists warm but loose enough to allow for movement . There was this

although I was really looking for something more dignified and less mohairy . Finally narrowed it down to these ....

a couple were even in something called Fuzzy Wuzzy that sounded like mohair and used the same size needles. Promising .

So I think I've settled on this ....

though it seems to have seven buttons , which seems to indicate the need to knit a button band and seven buttonholes .

On second thoughts , it might be easier to try to remember my Ravelry password .

My Cup Runneth Over .... And Not In A Good Way

Sonata:

Work this week has included three lessons on dental hygiene ( " Toddlers Floss , Too" ) for our different groups and their parents , one sudden Fire Drill and one break-in . And it's only Wednesday .....

P.S. In the interests of blog(sister)hood , I'll share my top tip of the week . When someone jemmies open your door and leaves lots of jagged edges at child's face height , just cover up with brightly coloured , left over paper napkins

and everyone will avoid said jaggy edges till the handyman comes , when the children will transfer their attention to the open tool box and power drill left temptingly just by the door .

A Jubilee Baked Item

Sonata:

Having wrestled for the last few days with the chemistry , physics and alchemy involved in making a cake , I've finally managed to produce a baked item . So yesterday it was finally time to make it look festive and Jubilee-ish .

After accepting that my patisserie skills were only going to run to sandwiching it with cream and a rather superior raspberry jam , I decided to continue in the same understated fashion .

Stash was raided for red and white polka dots and some flowers were whipped up from one of those Hawaian leis from a party shop ..... and TAH Dah !!

Smitten Kitchen's Everyday Chocolate Loaf Cake has become our Diamond Jubilee Cake .

Rattling On ( see our sidebar ) will be providing a link everyone who's joining in as well as producing something very stylish and delicious herself .

SmitoniusAndSonata hope you all have a wonderful weekend , wherever you are . Meanwhile I'm going to make some reviving soup and maybe a "cup cake" or two .

Jubilee Day Looms . Cake Required .

Sonata:

Memo to self .... Find recipe for photogenic chocolate cake asap , present recipe ( below ) providing delicious but weirdly squidgy slices .

Not that Husband's complaining . But then his appetite for sweet things is legendary . We all sat fascinated one evening as he consumed an entire family-size container of chocolate chip ice cream , while telling stories about playing jazz in a youth festival in Moscow in the '50s .

__Chocolate Cake Recipe , origin unknown __

100 grams butter

80 grams sugar

100 grams plain flour

30 grams cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

100 gram bar of plain chocolate

2 eggs , separated .

Cream butter and sugar . Add egg yolks and flours alternately ( having already seived flours and baking powder together ) Add grated chocolate . Finally fold in stiffly beaten egg whites . Put in greased and floured loaf tin . Bake in hottest oven for 12 minutes . Rest before taking out of tin .

Or I'll have to revert to plan B . A large muffin decorated with a Union Jack ( I've already made some just in case ... and yes , Husband's eaten some of these , too . He'll only turn down a muffin if you tell him it's a muffin .... if you call it a cake , he'll eat two ) .)

Knee Deep In Possible Cakes

Sonata:
On June 2nd , Rattling On http://rattlingon.typepad.com/ is staging a Jubilee Cake Event on her blog .... the idea being that those interested bake a stunningly decorated cake for the Queen's Jubilee and post a photo or two of the result , which she will then link . A sort of virtual street party .
Now , why I put my hand up for this I couldn't begin to tell you . I very rarely bake a cake and , when I do , it's something fairly basic and hearty like a fruit loaf or bran muffins ( and my scones aren't bad ) . And cake decoration is a totally foreign and arcane idea ..... I've never piped icing in my life and don't think now is the time to start .
But I love the idea of everyone , as one , going "Ta-Dah!!" and whipping the cover off their signature cake . So I've been trawling the web for cake recipes .... exactly how many million do you think there are out there ? I did eventually find an elegant choco-strawberry creation and it looks suitably regal ... not to mention lethal . ( Have I told you I'm a diabetic ? )

Then there are cookery books scattered all over this house full of baked goods . A fair few are from the '50s to the '70s and have suitably nostalgic offerings . Though I'm not sure if H.M. is ready for Grasshopper Cheesecake , a sort of After Eight-ish affair flavoured with creme de menthe on a chocolate biscuit crumb base ... let alone Amaising (sic) Raisin Cake which seems to contain mayonnaise ( instead of butter? ) . So I'll put "Collections From Naples On The Gulf To You " back on the shelf .
Then there's the WI Recipes Round The Year with a very tempting Blodwen's Canal Cake ( lots of dried fruit and a quarter of a pint of stout . Husband would definitely like this ) and Rhubarb Streusel Cake and Ginger Marmalade Cake ( first make your Ginger Marmalade ) and ... But no real party cakes .
There's The Scots Kitchen by F. Marian McNeill which has Scot's Snow Cake which sounds wholesome , but involves beating the mixture for 20 minutes . On the plus side though , it's light , pale and fluffy and plonked on a doiley with a sprig of white heather tucked beside it , might look minimalist and very chic .
And then there's always Jane Grigson ... any one of these would please the most demanding guest

All I'd have to do is make praline powder , proper butter cream and one of three sorts of pastry .

We'll see . The final choice will be appearing here on June 2nd and throuh Rattling On you'll be able to admire them all .

What ?

Sonata:

Husband and I met in Spain where he , having arrived from Holland via Belgium and the Congo , had a book shop in one of those "I remember when it used to be a little fishing village " places . We stayed another twenty years and , since I spoke no Dutch , Husband's English was erratic and the world outside our front door was Spanish speaking , we developed a sort of "home language " .... basically bits of all three with French added .
Then we moved to Holland , the children left home .... the elder two to England and the youngest eventually to Amsterdam ... and he and I are the only ones now who tend to revert to EuroBabble .

This evening , my ballpoint pen having exploded , bits flying everywhere , I was hunting under the table for the spring and having no luck seeing it on the grey carpet . Husband came in and asked "What are you looking for under there ? " " The spring ... the spring from this boli "( boli , short for boligrafo , which is the Spanish for ball point ) . " The spring from your body ? "
After forty years together , I'm not taking this personally .

But the other day Elder Grandson , talking about his baby brother to Smitonius , said "He's fine but sometimes , when he cries , it's difficult to work out just what he wants . When he starts talking , I wonder what language he'll speak ? "
Let's hope it's one we're all fairly familiar with .