Snowdrops!

Today was a work day, so I have not had time to do any clever blog-work. However, I did come across snowdrops in flower, at Worthington park this morning. Mobile photo, so not the best - but still.

Love to all, xxx.

Back at Wythenshawe

Yesterday Millie and I went out for a walk at Wythenshawe again, in rather less icy, but more damp, conditions. I was really happy to see some bulbs pushing through amongst the fallen leaves from last autumn and thought I'd take a picture for the blog, as a little "spring is on the way" offering. Millie clearly wanted to know what was so interesting just there - so, you can still nearly see the daffodil shoots, behind Ms Nosey's busy-ness!

We saw that Ollie Cromwell is still all wrapped in scaffold so decided to try a different walk, skirting around the edge of some woods and this brought us round the other side of the field where the horses live. They were quite keen to say hello and started walking over in our direction whilst I was messing around with the self-timer on the camera, trying to get a shot of me in my new specs. (Maybe when I get this new camera for my birthday I can get a picture where you can actually see the specs? lol )

When I turned around two horses were right up to the fence behind me and Millie was some way away, watching but figuring that you shouldn't really get too close to anything that big. Consequently she didn't really see me feed them with the only treats I had in my pocket (dog kibble, of course!).

After this we started out back and I managed to step in a puddle which was deeper than it looked and got my shoe, sock and bottom of leg of jeans quite muddy. I did consider another photo but then realised that mud was still quite cold and wintery and I'd rather just get back to the house!

Later on though, Annie and I did do our first bit of tidying up around the plants in the front garden (yard y'all) at home, so Spring must truly be coming. I'll take some pics out there, when there's any decent sunlight to show you :-)

Happy January all. Much love.

Bread and Butter Pudding

A little while ago I was asked whether British bread sauce is the same as American Bread Pudding. In truth I think that Bread and Butter Pudding (in Blighty) is pretty similar to the US Bread Pudding and just a while after I was asked that question my Mum arrived with a photocopied recipe for a very different version of B&B Pud. So, here is our attempt at Jamie Oliver's Baileys and Banana Bread and Butter pudding. Full recipe available here: http://www.crookandchase.com/Recipes/Celebrity-Kitchen/BAILEY-S-BREAD-AND-BUTTER-PUDDING.aspx

Our verdict - that this was a lot more complex to make than the old bread pud we remember! Also, we weren't sure the almonds worked terribly well and may well go back to the more traditional raisins next time. But yes oh yes, to the Baileys - a fine addition!

Melin-y-Wig

Here's our car, parked outside the "Shippon", amidst farm buildings, near the village of Melin-y-Wig, which might mean "mill (by) the wood" but my Welsh leaves much to be desired ;-) The place was really lovely, beautifully presented and with flowers and treats as well as a Christmas tree left for us. The area was very secluded so there was lots of peace and quiet (even Millie was able to relax on the sofa rather than run security 24/7 in her usual way).

Out back there was a little enclosed yard with two trees and peanuts for the birds, so we all watched them feeding, though Millie, as ever, tried to eat anything extra that I was foolish enough to try to scatter on the ground for the birds!

Nearby we found Clocaenog forest, which was a huge hit with the whole family, being very lovely, easy to walk around and (apparently) absolutely full of excellent smells.

I really liked this little tree, a perfectly sized Christmas tree, shame we found it a bit late! Most of these pictures were taken on Sunday, and at that point it was fabulously cold and somewhat frosty, but not actually snowy. Overnight however, that position changed.

On Monday, we had proper snow and some absolutely beautiful sunshine. The result was that the forest looked even more gorgeous than the day before.

We also went for a drive around some of the countryside and saw much really lovely scenery. Whilst we were away we ate at the Shippon each night and tried out three new main dish recipes (nobody tell Val that I didn't think to photograph the food, ok?). All three recipes worked out pretty well and my Mum is now coming over on Friday to try one of these with us, so we've tried some new stuff already this year and I'm happy about that!

After our drive around we went back to the forest to have a second walk and see if we could find some wild horses we'd read about. They are three Przewalski's mares, surplus to a breeding programme in a local zoo, and have been released into a secure area within the forest. We walked a good distance and had given up, were on the way back to the car, cold and disapponited when, oh my, we came across the group of three, happily feeding! It seems someone had been by and dropped off their feed whilst we were walking around, and so we just happened to head back at the right time. The horses were really calm about having us nearby (we did tie Millie to a telegraph pole a little way away) and they were just beautiful. So glad we found them!

After all this excitement we went back to the Shippon, ate our last new menu and then packed up to come home. On Tuesday morning the weather was much the same, still snow and still sunny. We headed home via Llangollen, and stopped for a walk/run at the ruins of a medieval Cistercian abbey, Valle Crucis. This was our last scenic stop for the holiday and was another success. The place looked beautiful in the snow and there was nobody there but us and some workmen (couldn't really work out what they were getting ready to do, but they were quite friendly). Handily I had my brown hoodie on, so almost looked like a medieval monk!

Millie had a great time running around, though there was one heart-stopping moment when she ran on to the frozen pond. With visions of her going straight through I yelled "Get off there, Now!" much to the amusement of the workmen and to the surprise of Millie, who prefers her lady to be a bit more peace-loving! Luckily she took me seriously and no ice cracked!

Inside the abbey, Millie wanted to look out of the window in the chapter house, which I thought was rather cute so tried to take a picture. However, a terrier moves quickly when in checking-out mode, so I missed the opportunity. Undaunted I bribed her back up with the treat you can just make out, sitting on the edge of the window! We arrived home on Tuesday afternoon but I've been running since then, so I'm sorry it's taken a while for me to post. We came home to scary news reports of a man who has been into a frozen pond to get his dog out, but luckily everyone survived well enough to be on the news telling their tale. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7812546.stm.

The dog is called Jarvis, and is a cocker spaniel. So that's a play on the name of Jarvis Cocker, singer with the band Pulp. This got me thinking about other potential dog names - so far we have Vonda (a Shepherd dog) and Jerry (a Springer spaniel).

In all it was a really good break and we all enjoyed spending the time together. However, nothing excites Millie quite like being home, so she's really content with being here today. Back home, the snow has melted, leaving it cold but easy to get around, so that makes Annie and I fairly cheerful too. However, we also came home to the horrible news that the husband of a friend has died completely unexpectedly and so I am firmly in counting my blessings territory today. In this spirit I send love to everyone, and do aim to keep well and warm.

A Cold New Year!

Today we went for another walk across the frozen wastes of Wythenshawe park. We were there fairly early and if this cold keeps up I'm going to have to invest in one of those spherical jackets people buy for skiing and other idiotic activities :-( That said, the light was absolutely delicious.

When we arrived this morning some horses in a field adjacent to the park were just being fed. It seemed to take quite a lot of yelling to get the beasts to come up to where the food was, so maybe they lose heat by moving around? Anyway, they did eventually get stumbling along and were eating well by the time we got back to the car.

As ever, Millie had her own agenda and was not in the least bit interested in my attempts to photograph the horses.

Tomorrow we drive down to collect my Mum, who has been visiting my sister, in the south of England. That is likely to take quite a lot of the day, though I can give Annie the camera and we can see if she comes up with any good blog shots en route. According to google maps, this is a 2-hour drive, but that does not allow for the vagaries of the traffic build-up on our beloved highway, the M6. We'll then meet Mum, Susan and whoever else has jumped in that car and have lunch before driving back again.

On Saturday we then depart for a cowshed, in Wales. I know it's a bit late for nativity scenes, but you know us and our adventurous self-catering holidays! This "Shippon" is in a farmyard near Corwen, not far from the border between England and Wales. http://www.brynhalenmawr.co.uk/ It's only 90 minutes drive from here, but will be a few nights away, hopefully with some different scenery. We're taking all the food we could wish for (oh, and some drink) plus Millie (our "well-behaved" dog allocation) and we won't be back until Tuesday sometime. So, until then, take care my dear friends :-)