My month in numbers 2011: February...

It appears that somebody has stolen yet another month. I know February is only 28 days long but March already? Really? Despite the apparent sneaky month thievery it would appear that quite a few events worthy of note have taken place this month...

[Graffiti quote on the outside of the wall protecting the Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona]

As this rather fabulous graffiti quote suggests the reduction in the number of days hasn't affected the amount of *stuff* I have achieved throughout the month of February:

5 = The number of nights I spent in the fabulous city of Barcelona.

[Wall sculpture on residential buildings outside the MACBA]

4 = The number of loads of washing I did in one day after returning from Barcelona; quite an achievement considering I don't have a tumble drier and live in Cumbria; possibly the wettest county in the UK.

2 = The number of rather special items of clothing purchased this month, keep your eyes peeled for more details soon. I'm saving them for a *best* post.

12 = The number of pink roses I received on St Valentines Day. [for the first time ever. Whoop! Happy face]. The roses are now drying, quite successfully, hanging from my staircase.

6 = The number of heart shaped bread rolls I baked on the eve of St Valentines day: Nigella Lawson has nothing on me. 

[Tasty home made granary bread rolls with homemade smoked salmon terrine]

900g = The amount of cream cheese this rather fabulous chocolate cheesecake has in it. This was my first attempt. I was rather pleased. I also felt rather sick after eating it. 

[Yes that is a bowl of extra thick double cream you can see in the corner. In for a penny in for a pound and no it is not topped with grated cheese that is white chocolate shavings!]

1 = The number of rather public Facebook profile information changes possibly prompted by the meal shown above?!:

[I never [ever] blog, scrapbook or in any way publicly talk about or record my relationships. I guess I wouldn't want to throw away or burn anything I had created should it become a painful reminder. That doesn't seem to apply this time. Go figure].

£1 = The price of the rather marvelous table cloth that you can see in the above photos: gotta love a bit of charity shopping.

Many = The number of cakes consumed at the afternoon tea party I attended this month.

[The Plough @ Wreay - yum yum]

97.6 = The number of miles travelled to see my dad on his birthday. 

2 = The number of bird boxed built with my Dad in some quality Daddy Daughter time. My blue tits shall now have a warm and cosy home [hopefully].

[One of the many uses for spare floorboards]

3 = The number of sleeps before the biannual crafting weekend in Draughton where much eating and crafting shall take place.

[The November 2010 Draughton Weekend, missing Jean :-(]

2 1/2 = The number of Ratty Fascals consumed in the same number of days when I visited home and Mum had been baking. Ah tasty goodness.

[Are you an eyes or a teeth person?]

I am still aiming to grab some higher numbers during March so if you have any suggestions how I can raise my game please feel free to let me know, although 900 is a fairly high number admittedly. Especially when it's referring to lard. 

Till soon,

♥

just because it's tea time...

I thought I'd share with you the results of Saturdays [accidental] mega bake-a-thon....
Please bear in mind this was my first ever attempt at making bread without the supervision of a mother...

 [Super mega-bake-a-thon]

I was so super pleased with the results that I had to phone Mummy dear and ask her to go onto Skype so I could show her the results! Unfortunately she was on her way out and asked to be shown the results via blog-land.

[Variety of breads]

So ta-da! Above we have a white loaf, sun dried tomato and parmesan buns and a sun dried tomato and parmesan twist.
I was on the phone to Dad mid white loaf baking when I rapidly had to put the phone down as the loaf had risen so much I was afraid it was about to stick to the roof of the oven!

[The super expanding white loaf]

But as you can see all was well with the tasty tasty loafy-ness [drool], it did not require scraping from the roof of my oven.

[Sun dried tomato breads]

 [Bacon and egg quiche & sausage rolls]

[Sausage rolls & maids of honor]

To accompany the fresh bread we also had a bacon and egg quiche, sausage rolls, maids of honor and a chocolate cake. As well as many other tasty delights which constitute what is known as a 'tea-tea' at home.
I felt quite homesick this weekend and baking was a comfort - however not having family to eat it all with was a bit of a bummer but at least I have cake to make me feel better!
Right I'm off to plough my way through the remainder. :)
See you soon [when I' about 12 stone heavier and shaped like a cake]
♥