Home Baking, Gardening and Work

Since my return from France I have a new project: finding the perfect Shortbread recipe. This cooking quest began innocently enough last weekend after Nigel and I had polished off a batch of my mince-pies and again remarked how utterly delicious the pastry was – sort of melt-in-your-mouth like Shortbread.

Naturally, this got me thinking about making my own Shortbread. Now how difficult can that be? Simples, eh? Well, you would have thought so, but here I am having just finished Test #3 and planning Test #4 for tomorrow morning. I shall keep you posted on my (hopefully) edible results.

Still in cooking mode, this morning I baked my third Dundee Cake – we ate the other two some time ago (sigh). However, I have a sneaky feeling that I may have to bake another one before Christmas lands on our doorstep.

Like any good trade’s person, I too believe you need the right tool for the right job and, where cooking is concerned, I’m in 7th heaven. As luck would have it, Norfolk has the largest independent cookshop (The Kitchenary Limited) located in Taverham – which is not quite down the road from us – but nearly. This shop is jam-packed with wonderful utensils, pots & pans I never knew I needed. Thankfully our chimney is nice and wide so Santa won’t have too much of a hard time coming down, laden with a sack-load of cooking paraphernalia for yours truly!

Least you may think I’m spending most of my waking hours in the kitchen, think again. I’ve also set myself the task of working one hour every day in the garden. How else am I going to work off all my cooking calories? Today I battled with a very thorny and dense Pyracantha bush which grows along the side wall of our outbuildings. Tomorrow I have the pleasure of doing battle again but, knowing how great it is for wildlife, I don’t begrudge the few scars I get while clipping him.

And of course, sandwiched between my cooking and gardening I try and work! Never a dull moment, I can tell you!

A Smart New Lake

We finally have a rather smart new lake – something we’ve been looking forward to since we first arrived in Belaugh in July.

 

It took the workmen (three of them) just under a week to empty the lake, clear all the bulrushes and refill it.

Needless to say Freddy couldn’t resist taking a closer look and returned covered from top to tail in sticky, vile, smelly mud. Thankfully, Bertie was much more sensible (well, he would be wouldn’t he?) and steered clear of it, mooching around on the soft grass to his heart’s content – something he’s not seen or had for over a year!

Once spring is here I’ll work on adding bog plants and water lilies as I’d like to encourage more wildlife. I’m told that otters used to visit – perhaps our smart new lake may entice them back.

The Mallards and Moorhens seem happy with the way the lake is now and in fact, we seem to have more of them splashing around. Even the local heron has come round to inspect it, finding the odd eel here and there.

Working Weekend

Can you believe it? Just two more days and we fly back to Peymeinade. I’ve not even had time to do any gardening. Bother!

Apart from filling up the bird feeders and working on a couple of client websites, since our return I’ve been mainly editing a wedding trailer for Mark Shipperley Films. You can read more about the making of this film in Alice Barker Weddings.

A call yesterday from my friend Christine Davis of Chrisma Estate Agents means that, upon our return to France, we’ll be filming a property for her over in Tourrettes-sur-Loup. I find filming properties somewhat less stressful than filming weddings . . .

Although a busy bee, I did manage to get bum off seat this afternoon to visit the Norfolk Arts, Crafts & Design Show out at the Norfolk Show Grounds. Various stalls displayed artwork, jewellery, local and Mediterranean produce and craft-ware but on the whole it was a little disappointing. Not much of a turn out either.

On the other hand I did meet the owner of Wild Norfolk and loved his work. Peter Mallett has a farm in North Burlingham and has taken some fantastic photos of his local wildlife on and around it. I so aspire to photograph as well as he does.

This evening as I walked round the garden I was greeted by a very friendly swan, oddly on its own. She seemed very curious by the various cabin cruisers and small boats making their way downstream to Cottleshall until she spied me and came over to say hello. Having only my tiny Canon IXUS100 IS I did the best I could to photograph this beautiful creature.

As I walked past our lake I wondered how much wildlife would still come and say hello to us once the dogs (and cats) are here – Bertie and Freddy arrive with us when we return to Belaugh on Sunday 9th October. We then return to France to collect the cats in November and the Mexican Jumping Bean (Muffin the Chihuahua) in December.

Extending One’s View

Yesterday DHL delivered my Canon Extender EF 2x II which Nigel had bought for me to attach to my Canon 70-200mm F/2.8L lens, thus amplifying it to a whopping 400mm. My Canon 600D already gave it an extra 50% zoom (compared to my regular Canon 5D Mark II) so imagine my delight when my whole world came even closer!

As you’d expect, yours truly sat glued to her seat in the Garden Room in the hope of capturing something special. And along it came in the shape of Monsieur G (so nicknamed as J in French is pronounced G). Since he (and most of the other wildlife around here) has discovered that food is currently available at N° 8, he’s become a regular visitor. My patience was kindly rewarded when, thanks to the Extender, I was able to get a close up him stuffing himself to the gills with peanuts.

I do promise to photograph something other than birds but, for the moment, that’s all we’ve got around here – apart from a couple of rabbits who come round for late afternoon tea.

And just in case you’re wondering I am working in-between my birdie photographic sessions. I’ve just completed a short wedding highlight in Adobe Premiere (having decided not to learn FCP X) and tomorrow I’m filming (and will then edit) a Church Wedding in the delightfully named village Drayton Beauchamp in Buckinghamshire.