Handing out my heart(s)

May I just apologise for the horrendous amount of time which has passed since my last blog, Auntie Kate, Granny Bet, my bad.

So, 2010 is well underway.  Hang on, I think I mean 2011.  Wholly molly what is going on with time passing by without anyone letting me know.

So I had a delightful visit from my cousin Jon in January, we hit up our local pub called "The Arc" for some beer wine and chips while he tried to watch his beloved Liverpool get beaten...again.

I managed to tick some more markets off my list - Borough Market was very cool, very old school - smells of everything from mulled wine, fresh bread, cooked meat and garbage wafting through the air.


Columbia road market has been recommended to me as the place to buy flowers for weeks now and I finally made the trip with Nick last weekend and was it worth it...oh yes.

An entire street lined with flower stalls with men yelling at you "too-lillies-fo-fi-paaaun!  git-our-lillies-eree"which translate into "here you can purchase two bunches of lillies for 5 pound each, buy them from me not the twat next to me please"

Best flowers I have bought so far, they have bloomed beautifully and smell incredible!  This photo was taken today, 8 days after I made the purchase.

From flowers and baking, I am not getting old.

I have taken to baking like computer programmer to speed dating.  Slightly awkwardly but with some success.  It has come to the point where my colleagues actually get upset if I don't rock up on Monday morning with some sweet fatty tempting delight so I have strategically  put myself in the position where they will have to think at least twice before firing me.

Yesterday I did something I have never done before, made shortbread.  This was a big moment for me as my grandma Bet is the unrivaled queen of at least four things; knitting, Christmas pudding, table tennis  and shortbread. 

It was a special occasion being that today is Valentines Day (BIG SHOUTOUT to my not so little brother Tom on his 21st birthday, if only you had of got your license on your 18th you would be off those damn P plates today!!) so I thought I would do something fitting and make delicious edible love hearts, some sandwiched together with a layer of rasberry jam and shavings of white chocolate, dusted with icing sugar and some dipped in melted semisweet chocolate.

They went down a treat both at home and at work, Bet I think you would be proud :)

 

Nick and I did something that we would not usually do last week and went to see a live band, Art vs Science.  I only knew a few of their songs but when tickets are 8 quid each what have you really got to lose?  It was heaps of fun, here is a little snippet of one of their better known tunes.

 

On a not so interesting note our house is falling apart.  we noticed that the corner of the room was looking a bit damn and within two weeks this has happened.  The property manager is "onto it" but I think I am one step ahead.

It is my belief that the source of this problem is alive, furry and has teeth.  This morning I awoke to a sound that I have not heard in a long time but stirred a deep memory from my childhood.  The sound of grating, of friction, a gnawing repetitive digging which could only be a cute harmless little mouse doing what it does best with those two overgrown teeth which are so vital to its survival.

From my experience as a mouse owner when I was about 12 years old I do believe that there is a rodent on our roof, either making its house or makings its teeth shiny in the structure, therefore opening up the floodgates to the London rain to seep slowly through the bricks and mortar.

I almost don't want to disturb this little dude, he has been working hard making its home up there.  Nick calls me crazy.  If only he knew.