Autumn Apple Cake

In my head there is an ideal Apple Cake.
I can't describe what it looks like
but I will know when I taste it.
I am committed to finding this Apple Cake
which means a lot of baking and tasting.

I don't remember eating apple cake as a child.
My mother makes the most wonderful apple pie
but I don't think she made apple cake.
Did I read about it somewhere
"Little Grey Rabbit" or "Anne of Green Gables"?

This recipe is Mary Cadogan's Apple Cake
via another Mrs M : The Domestic Novice.
Do you know her blog? Go and visit, people,
she is renovating the sweetest cottage.

It is a wholesome autumn recipe,
the sort of cake you might eat at the allotment.
You couldn't feel guilty eating this...
even if you had another slice.
I wasn't sure about using the china plate...
it is a greaseproof-paper kind of cake.

It is moist, spicy and very delicious
especially the demerara sugar topping
but it is not The Cake of my dreams.
I'll have to keep trying.

at the end of the day

It is only a small kitchen
but I love it very much.

I love it most of all
at the end of the day

when the house is quiet
and everything is packed away

and I can sit for a while
in my new-to-me chair
that I bought for £40.
The man said I had a bargain.

It feels as though
it has always been there.

View from a Turkish Tent

We spent the afternoon in Painshill Park,
wandering from Gothic temple to Crystal grotto
and then on to the extravagant Turkish tent.
The Grand Tour compressed into three hours.

The last time I came here was a school trip
with a tiny MasterM and his friends
and I was afraid it would make me sad
but I could only hear excited little boys
running across the Chinese Bridge.
It was a memory to make us smile.

We climbed to the top of the tower
and looked out across green landscape,
Canary Wharf was somewhere on the hazy horizon
but we could only guess which direction.

It was a peaceful afternoon
at the start of autumn.
Just MrM and I.

I bought a card in the gift shop
illustrated with the Iris Murdoch quotation:
"You can only learn to love by loving".
A lifetime compressed into eight words.

Hot Chocolate

The man in the coffee shop said
we deserved extra hearts
because it was so wet.

We didn't disagree.

My Mother said...

an October posy from my mother's garden

"I went into The Granary in Falmouth last week and they had gemsquash! I was so pleased because I haven't seen any this year. They asked me how I cooked them because most people just use them for decoration. I said that you cover the squash with water, bring to the boil and then boil for about 30 minutes until they are soft and then you cut them in half and serve with butter. They are really delicious.

Oh, and you must stab them with a knife before you boil them. I forgot to mention that which is a shame because they explode if you don't stab them."

between jobs

Seated Woman with Wristwatch

Pablo Picasso (1932)

It is the first time for many years that I have time without responsibilities and I am out of practice. How do you structure a day? This may seem an odd question if you have children at home or care for elderly relatives - but it is something that I am trying to work out from scratch. I started by writing a timetable for each day because that is what I did at work and filled the hours with chores. You will not be surprised to hear that I quickly discovered that this was not the way to self fulfillment and happiness. It is a very short time - only a month until I start my new job - and I can't waste a moment. The list of things I want to do is long and I must learn to do the chores as quickly as possible and enjoy the rest of the day without guilt. I may not have responsibility for anyone else but I do have a responsibility to myself.

of doorbells

Am I the only tourist visiting Florence
fascinated by the panels of doorbells
beside the huge doors of old buildings?

The gleaming brass,
classic pre-war designs,
and the names. Oh, the names!

I would have taken more photos
but MrM was expressing exaggerated patience
in a most distracting manner.

Each button, each name is a story
with a different ending.
Press this one or that one -
it is so tempting.

Life is full of possibilities...
even the tiniest of choices
makes a difference.

You have to be brave though...
no pressing the button
and running away.

Is it Monday already?

Goodness, I'm out of practice.

It wasn't a busy weekend

but I don't have a post ready.

Let's see if I can think of an excuse...

I planted my window boxes

pale blue violas, very subtle...

I think you would be impressed.

I cast on a hot water bottle cover,

also pale blue, must be my subconscious...

many thanks to Tracy and Nancy

for measuring their hotties for me.

I thought about making some chutney.

So you see it's been hectic.

Oh, alright, don't look at me like that...

I've been shockingly idle.

I shall have to up my game.

WAIT ...I've just remembered...

you can have a fruit tart from Sketch

but you have to be suitably groovy.

Purple lipstick would work.

I went with my sister Demelza

who was wearing gold plaforms

and MissM and my fab niece.

We drank cocktails and ate pastries.

Yup. Sometimes my life is like that.

Living with Geographers

Five years ago I walked into this building for the first time.

I opened the door of my new office,
heard laughter down the corridor
and knew that I would be happy.

Now is the right time for me to move on
but it is very hard to leave my friends:

the lovely ladies in the front office;
Jenny the cool cartographer;
two Heads of Department;
two Exams Officers and Deputy Don;
Dr Harriet next-door and busy, busy Dr B;
the Young Academic and the Scottish Academic;
the Lady Professor and the Enthusiastic Professor;
the Professor who observed the Falklands referendum;
the Cultural Professor and my Favourite Professor;
the Academic who knows about kites in Tibet;
the Academic who was 39 when I joined;
the Academic who flies gliders
and the Admissions Tutor.

So many inspirational colleagues
that I have been privileged to work with
and so many students filling my office
with their energy and enthusiasm.

I have an exciting new job to go to
but right now I just want to remember
what an amazing five years it has been:

Living with Geographers

I have been so very, very fortunate.

Before I Forget...

There are five things you need to know:

1.
The following photos are not fake.
The Young Academic was there
with his lovely family
and they will vouch for me.

2.
The judges commented that my Swiss Roll
had the right amount of cracks
to demonstrate it was homemade.

3.
The cheese scones did not win
because they had "no flavour".

The Dundee cake did not win
because it had been "overcooked".

4.
The Victoria Sandwich
had a "nice amount of jam".
Can't say fairer than that.

5.
I beat Mavis Waghorn,
local baking Goddess.
I am ashamed to admit
how gratifiying that was.