Clan McAllister

Where's the blog?!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:59:00 +0000

OK, I did it again . . . I intended on blogging all throughout the Easter/Spring break, and I didn't! We're already into May, and I'm back in England after a very satisfying month in Colorado.

Since I've been back to England, I think it has rained, to some extent, every day. Last week, when I returned, I had to overcome the expected jet lag. Gray skies, rain, and slick and semi-flooded streets do not encourage a break out from the doldrums of trip exhaustion.

But don't worry about all the flood waters and continual dreary rain: We are officially in a drought and probably will remain so through the year.

I felt quite impressed with myself that I managed to get motivated enough to order groceries for delivery to the house! Yes, that is one aspect of living in England that I like. It means that I don't have to get in my car, battle the elements and the traffic, use up gas/petrol, fight for a parking spot at the store, and continue that fight to get through the aisles inside the stores. The supermarkets in SE England are always packed and busy.

There is nothing leisurely and enjoyable about shopping 'live-and-in-person" for groceries here. I am one of those folks who like to take my time, eyeing new things on the shelf and reading labels. I am not popular in an English grocery store. I have been known to be run over by crazed mums pushing carts laden with food and their toddlers. This is not supposed to be bumper cars -- or dodge 'ems as they say here.

Most times, no one says anything, like 'excuse me' or 'I'm sorry.' They just push you out of the way, as if this is how all human kind acts. No, it is not!

Sometimes, I feel like a Martian here . . . oh yeah . . . that's right . . . I am!

But back to the grocery delivery . . . it is a divine aspect of living here, as my friend Alisha pointed out the other day. How sublime to sit in jammies at night and casually peruse the grocery aisles without a pushy trolley mum in sight.

That said, I do thoroughly enjoy my trips to the butchers and fruit and veg stands in some of our villages. We have a fantastic butcher shop in the nearby town of Bookham, and it is well known for great produce and wonderful gab. They are always exceedingly friendly, and I will miss them when I eventually leave here.

It's still raining this week, but I have ventured out several times now, and I seem to be heading back into some routine. Living in Colorado and England almost simultaneously is making my head spin a bit, and I try to remember who and where I am!

Point in question: Dear hubby comes home from work after an insanely busy day. Him: "Hello," in a very loving and friendly way. Me: "Do you know what happened to the olives in the fridge?" Him: "I don't remember any olives." Me: "They were there. They were special olives stuffed with pickled garlic." Him: "That's not ringing any bells." Me: "I know they were there, and now they are gone, and I need them to make our salad."

It finally dawned on me this morning that those special olives are in the refrigerator in COLORADO, not England. Where am I? Who am I? Where's my blog?

Back in Colorado!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:34:00 +0000

It's another Easter break at our home-away-from-home in Loveland, Colorado! Sunshine is in abundance, and the temperature this week feels more summer than early spring. But the tiny buds on trees and lack of leaves are true season indicators. Everything is very dry and the only colors come from the few narcissus growing in my neighbor's front garden.

We left our England home at a point when the bulb plants were coming into full bloom -- many daffodils, narcissus, tulips and other plants were happily soaking up the English spring. I always hate missing the floral show and the busy nesting birds that are flitting to and from feeders, but we are still slaves our son Branduff's education schedule.

He especially feels enslaved at the moment, as he's busy revising for mid-May exams in Math, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. The good thing is he has a change of scenery from his tiny little box room he uses as a study in our England home. In our Colorado home, he has run of the finished basement, and has managed to spread out all of his notes, as you can see in the photo.

This afternoon, we pulled Branduff away from his books and notes to head up to the Wapiti Pub and Restaurant, located at the Mariana Butte Golf Club. He was able to sink his teeth into a real American burger, this one with a Southwestern twist of barbecue sauce and bacon! In fact, we've already managed to have Mexican food, Texas barbecue, and American pub food in the space of three short days! I must say that I am loving my freedom from the kitchen and cooking, which are my masters at home in England. Restaurants are scarce and expensive in England, and I find that I have few breaks from my routine as chef and dishwasher. So yes, I am celebrating!

We've had a quiet start to our Easter holidays as we overcome jet lag, and we hope to begin exploring and adventuring out soon. The trip over was, as usual, a literal pain in the backside. I think that things went pretty smoothly, but I will never ever love travel days. They are a necessary evil of getting us to our destination. The entire process of taxi to airport, checking in at the arrivals desk, passing through security, waiting for the flight, boarding the plane, sitting uncomfortably in a rigid airplane seat for 10 hours, standing in lines at immigration, watching the luggage carousel go round and round, arranging the rental car, and driving to our home all takes about 20 hours. Okay. So that's not even a full day. It's manageable. The rewards are wonderful. But I like travel days about as much as I like going to the dentist.

As usual, I seem to have some kind of sign that says, "Kick me." Why am I always the one "randomly" selected for an extra security check and pat down? Why? The three of us were within eye shot of the plane when they pulled me aside, away from my family. Here I am . . . a fat, middle-aged lady of 52, wearing glasses, and sporting a cast on my hand to protect my arthritic hand. Oh yeah. I look like I need to have extra scrutiny and a pat down. Random screening accomplishes nothing. Let's face it. Let's speak the truth about politically correct random checks that cost us all tax money and accomplish nothing, but supposedly give someone (who?) the illusion that we are safer. Really?

Okay, moaning over . . . we are in lovely Loveland right now, and that requires rejoicing! We have been greeted by the Canadian geese that eat our grass near the lake and simultaneously enrich the soil with their natural fertilizer. We also discovered that our robin mates have returned to their nest under our balcony.

The neighborhood is so quiet, and I have to adjust to sleeping in total quiet. I am used to the constant hum of traffic outside my English home. Occasionally, the quiet of our Colorado Rockies home is punctuated by a honking goose or brisk gust of wind. It is all quite blissful, and I hope to keep up with blog posting and write more later.

A February visit to Wisley Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:32:00 +0000

My friend Judi and I had a lovely late February trip to the Royal Horticultural Society Wisley Gardens, which is located just up the road from our Hillside home.

There was a butterfly exhibit in Wisley's big Glass House, but I found that the warm humidity caused my camera lens to fog over. However, just outside the butterfly area, the orchids were in full and impressive bloom.

In addition, I took a few photos of the snowdrops and crocus growing on the extensive grounds of Wisley.

What a great day we had!

Early February Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:16:00 +0000

We had a dash of snow in early February after a very mild winter. Branduff is pictured waiting for the school bus outside our Hillside house.

The snow caught the daffodils and crocus by surprise, as some of them had already begun to pop out of the ground and bloom. In fact, a scattering of purple crocus in our lawn were happily drinking in the sunshine only two days before the snow came!

Above is a familiar winter visitor, a robin, having a nibble of sunflower seeds and suet pellets.

Here is a picture of our very own snow dog Sophie. It was bitterly cold outside, yet she was happily lounging in the snow!

Along with the snow, we had below freezing temperatures for about a week. We had to dust off the fireplace and use some of the firewood that had been stocked up in the shed.

Birthday Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Here are a few of my latest photos from birthday celebrations this week, including what I am dubbing the "birthday altar."

There's a mixture of Christmas and birthday cards because cross-celebrating often happens when one has a January birthday! I received some beautiful cards, with many of them handmade by my crafty friends.

I also snapped a photo of a collection of snowmen on our fireplace mantel.

Removing the twinkling fairy lights after Christmas is always hard, especially if the weather is cold, grey and cloudy. Keeping a strand to illuminate my snow friends is one way to cheer us up until spring!

Here are some snaps of my newest tea sets, Portmeirion's Eden and also Holly & Ivy.

Some of the pieces were purchased for Christmas and some for the January birthday. I really love the Eden set, but it feels a bit premature to use it when their is a heavy frost on the ground!

With a nickname like 'teawife,' you know I love the tea drinking experience! I have found my collecting of tea paraphernalia to have changed over time. I used to collect single mugs when we traveled; I'd have a mug to remember every vacation. Now we seem to travel to fewer places, so I'm not as likely to collect mugs. I also collected solitary teapots, but now I find it is much more useful to have full tea services (teapot, sugar bowl, cups, mugs, milk jug, plates, etc.). These full sets come in handy when my friends come over to craft and chat.

There is something quite elegant and special to hold a saucer in one hand and sip from an exquisite cup. I never used to be the type of person to appreciate that experience; I always liked mugs, and I still love mugs and use them daily, but now I enjoy the ritual of bringing out a beautiful tea cup that has lovely shape, form and weight.

Retirement might change me again; we hope to spend more time travelling once again when dear hubby has a free schedule. What will I collect then? And don't say 'wrinkles'!

Gluten-free pie crust

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:10:00 +0000

Christmas time = Baking time

Although I don't bake near as much as I used to at Christmas, I do like the odd festive treat.

The other day, Dad was telling me that Mom was busy in the kitchen baking our traditional 'bastada' pie, which is sour pork pie that has its roots in Alsace Lorraine, France. The recipe has been part of family Christmases in Castroville, Texas, for generations.

Living in England, I tend to feel separated from my family, heritage and culture, especially at Christmas. Cooking family classics helps to keep the traditions alive, even if we are thousands of miles away from Texas!

Bastada pie is made of minced pork, which is 'soured' in a vinegar mixture along with onion, parsley and bay leaves and left to marinate for 24 to 48 hours. The mixture is then put into a shortcrust pie and baked until golden brown (see above for a photo of my bastada pie!).

Because I'm gluten-intolerant, I can't easily purchase store-bought, ready-to-bake crusts. Therefore, I scoured the internet for recipes and came up with my own shortcrust pastry concoction, which seemed to work a treat!

Teawife's Gluten-Free Pie Crust

1/3 c. Potato starch/flour
1/3 c. Tapioca flour
1/3 c. Rice flour
1/3 c. Almond flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 c. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. vinegar

Egg whites as needed

If you don't have almond flour, double the rice flour to 2/3 cups.

Use a food processor and whir up the butter with all the flours, salt and xanthan gum.

After the mixture is crumbly, drop in the beaten egg into the mixture and whir again. Now scrape down the edges of your food processor to release some of the butter/flour that might be sticking to the sides and bottom.

Add in the vinegar and continue whirring the mixture.

Check to see if the mixture has the right consistency. If it doesn't, you can add in egg whites (I always have a carton of egg whites in the house).

Don't over process or add too much liquid. You can tell the consistency is right when you can squish the mixture together.

Put out on a pastry board and roll it out.

Eggnog

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:57:00 +0000

I've always been a real fan of eggnog, and it's been a traditional item in our family Christmas celebrations since I was a child. However, living in England presents problems in obtaining eggnog, which doesn't seem to be a popular drink. This is a puzzle because the origins of this festive drink are supposed to be English!

I recently had a little Christmas party for some of my American and international crafting friends. I decided to make eggnog since I'm not able to source it here. I loved the results, and I've promised some of my friends I'd post the recipe. I've made this a non-alcoholic recipe; traditionally, it features lots of rum or bourbon.

Teawife's Eggnog

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup heavy or double cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla

ground nutmeg (add last)

Whisk all the ingredients together.

These are your basic ingredients. If you want a bigger batch, you can double or triple the recipe.

What you do next is up to you. Many recipes do not heat the eggnog. However, I decided to be safe and heat set my mixture. You can use a double boiler or carefully cook in a saucepan; but I used the microwave and one of my Pampered Chef glass mixing pitchers. To microwave, use 50 percent power and cook for 2 minutes at a time. Then whisk the mixture. Microwave again for 2 minutes at 50 percent. Then whisk again. You continue to do this for about 8 to 10 minutes total. The mixture will just begin to thicken when the temperature is correct. Do not overcook! Let the eggnog cool and then whip it again. If the eggnog is too thick for your tastes, you can add a bit more whole milk. If you like the taste of nutmeg, you can add it now and mix it through. Now chill the eggnog until ready to serve. Be sure to whisk the eggnog before serving. More nutmeg can be sprinkled on top of each serving.

Big Elk Bulls

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:32:00 +0000

Earlier in the week, tourists were stopping in our neighborhood to take photos of a gang of Bull Elks (or wapiti, as they are called here in Colorado). I've never seen four to six Bull Elks travelling together before; I thought they'd be too territorial. However, here they are, sharing the shade of a tree located across the road near our Loveland home.

Happy Families

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:23:00 +0000

Even though Magpies have a bit of a reputation for being the bullies of the bird world, I happen to be very fond of these striking black and white birds. I think they are funny, clever and great survivors. In fact, some sources say they are one of the most clever of the bird world.

We have a nesting pair that have taken up residence in a large tree just outside of our back garden. As a result, the male and female and their brood use our garden as their smorgasbord. They pick up food that drops from the feeders, or they help themselves to the ground food that I scatter. The parents have spent a great deal of time with their fledglings, which we call the 'teen-agers,' to show them how to look for insects and worms.

The back garden not only has become a dinner table for them, but it's also their playground. And incredibly, Magpies are amazingly playful and social. It's not unusual to watch the teen-agers play tag or engage in other bird games. They also like a bit of tail pulling when a parent is relaxing and sunning on the lawn.

In the corner of the lawn is a gingerbread style Wendy house, and the Magpies have decided this is their place. One of the most touching scenes I've seen was when all five were hanging around the Wendy house, and the male adult was spreading his wings in the sun, and mom came over and cuddled right into him to sun her wings (see the photo above). They are also clever enough to get out of a heavy rain, and I have spied the family sheltering under the eaves of the Wendy house. Yesterday, a large fragment of a suet ball had fallen from the feeder, and a Magpie ran over and grabbed it off the ground. It then proceeded to stuff the ball under the floor of the Wendy house so it could come back and eat it later.

Magpies are large and visible, so it is easy to watch this family of five develop and interact. They take great care as parents to teach and socialize their offspring. I don't know how long it will be before the teen-agers pack up and 'leave home' to set up their own forested household, but this family has been a real treat to watch.

Spring Garden 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:31:00 +0000

We've had a dry and warm beginning to Spring 2011 in our English garden. The garden hose -- or as it's often called here, the hosepipe -- has already been out in force.

Above are currant bushes, a fox glove and Delphinium.

The warm spring has been a mixed blessing in the garden because the ample sunshine has brought everything into bloom earlier. However, great care must be made to keep things moist. I find it all a bit bizarre because I spent April in Colorado, where it was supposed to be mostly dry, and I experienced several snows, hail, sleet, freezing temperatures and lots of rain, and it continued to rain there through May. I come back to England, and they were enjoying summer-like temperatures of low humidity and little rain, and these pristine conditions have continued now into June. I'm not complaining by any means; just observing!

Back to my gardening adventures . . . I've planted a range of flowers in our back garden since moving here about three years ago. Although I re-infuse the garden every year with annuals, we also have perennials that have successfully come back each year, such as the Pink Poppy above and the Red Poppy below (which were planted last spring), along with Delphinium, Lupins, Fox Gloves, Peonies, and Columbine.

I also planted some strawberries in a disused gravel area, and they've come up really strong this spring, with lots of sweet fruit.

We have blueberries and white currants in one of our beds, too.

I also enjoy filling pots with petunias, trailing lobelia, fuchsia, cosmos and other flowers.

Although the pots look a little thin right now, they will be overflowing with color by mid-summer.

The birds also have been taking advantage of the warmer conditions, and many have begun fledgling their offspring much earlier than last year. Some of the interaction can be quite sweet, such as when a parent blue tit was feeding its young while sitting on top of a suet-filled coconut husk. Wish I could have captured this scene today.

*But then there are the STARLINGS!*

They have arrived at the feeders with their fledglings about a month earlier than last year. The onslaught of starlings drives dear hubby Niall nuts! He has nick-named them the Orcs of the bird world (as in the trolls from Lord of the Rings). We can have as many as 65 in our garden at once, and their noise is deafening. They are particularly interested in the suet pellets that we have in the feeders (we use them instead of peanuts). The suet pellets attract a wide range of birds, including stunning Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, which fly over from nearby Norbury Woods. However, Niall is tempted to forgo the suet pellets to dissuade the starlings from overtaking our garden. We seem to forever go outside, clapping our hands and yelling to scare away those persistent starlings. But then, they are back as soon as we turn our backs. If we are sitting outside, taking in the lovely weather, sharing a cup of tea on the patio, the Starlings will perch in trees and wait for us to leave! The constant cacophony of shrills from them is enough to send us back inside.

I asked my contact at Wildbird Direct, where I order my bird food, how to discourage Starlings from the feeders since they dominate and don't allow the smaller song birds to eat. Darren said: 'If I had a pound for every time a customer asked me that question.' Oh well . . .

Then I discovered they have a natural enemy: the magpie. If the starlings are the Orcs of the bird world, the magpies are the Orcas! Not only do they have the same coloration as a killer whale, but they will hunt down fledgling starlings, as I found out one morning. Those of you readers with a predisposition to a queasy tummy should skip this part! Last week, I heard a frantic shrieking from the back yard and saw a pair of magpies murdering one of the Starlings. I tried to get there in time to break up the massacre, but alas, I was too late! Murder by a hundred pecks.

Our garden has become the scene of not only beauty and color, but of murder, mystery and mayhem!!

A Tipping Teapot

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:24:00 +0000

Like many of my friends here in England and in the US, I have been quite a fan of the series, Downton Abbey, the fictionalized upstairs-downstairs period and costume production, which is set around the time of the First World War. I was quite excited when the American Women of Surrey's English Experience group arranged for a tour of Highclere Castle, home to the Carnarvon family and the estate chosen as the film location for Downton Abbey. I booked this trip with the AWS ages ago.

Okay, and then life intervened. You know, best laid plans and all . . . The idea was that dear hubby would collect dear son from school on that afternoon, as I couldn't be absolutely sure if I would get back early enough from our all-day excursion, which was going to include another stop, lunch, and lots of touring. Well, as seems to always happen when I have something planned, dear hubby was told he was going to Spain on a business/science trip. On top of that, when I pre-booked the tour, I didn't realize that my son would be starting his GCSE exams, which would require being dropped off by 8 a.m. and collected after his exam around 11 a.m. How was I going to manage that while I was strolling the grounds of Highclere.

In the end, my role of Mom to Teen and Resident Taxi Driver took precedence, and someone else went in my place, ate the lunch I ordered, saw all the wonders that I was meant to see, and had my afternoon tea.

Me not happy :-(

To try to cheer up myself, I decided to go to the Epsom Downs Racecourse -- no, not to blow all my money on a pony out of frustration -- but to attend their quarterly Antiques Market. I must admit that I was pretty underwhelmed by much on offer. A lot of the bits and pieces looked like the discarded costume jewelry heaped in my old jewelry box -- except that my stuff was in better shape!

But there were some lovely things on offer, too. For example, I found three silver items with which I'm pretty pleased:

1) Art deco stainless steel butter/jam knives for tea (in their original box)

2) Art deco silver teaspoons for tea (in a box, but perhaps, not the original)

3) James Deakin & Sons Victorian silver tipping teapot with stand and oil lamp

The spoons and knives will come in very handy when I host my Wednesday stamping and scrapbooking gatherings. The little knives are perfect for paté and spreads, and the teaspoons are the quaint and elegant touch I need for serving tea and cappuccinos.

The silver Victorian tipping teapot was something I didn't need but found fascinating. In fact, the first time I saw a tipping teapot was while watching Downton Abbey! I loved the fact that it sits ontop of a small oil lamp flame, which works wonderfully to keep the tea warm while not corrupting the flavor of the tea. I also love the way the pot gently tips and pours into the tea cup. So sweet!

This may not the best example of a tipping teapot; it was quite tarnished in places, and Niall and I are still trying to polish up the stubborn black. But, as I quietly vacillated about purchasing the item, holding it in my hands and thinking, the vendor kept lowering the price by £5 pounds a pop. The original price was £65, and I eventually snagged it for £30.

The day's shopping therapy did help to put my mind right, but I still would have preferred to have gone to Highclere. *sigh* However, I wouldn't have my tipping teapot! Also, since I picked up Branduff in mid-afternoon, we were able to have a lovely late lunch at the Rubbing House at the Epsom Downs Racecourse -- http://www.rubbinghouse.com/home.html. It has outstanding food (and the best souvla in the county!!), and it was enjoyable to spend some time with my fast-growing young man.

Gran McAllister's Boiled Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:19:00 +0000

Recently, tea friends Holly and Eve reminded me of an old family recipe that is made with day-old strong tea. The fact that Niall and Robert's lovely Gran McAllister is still remembered for her infamous Boiled Cake, is quite touching. Niall absolutely adores this cake, and I must admit that I don't make it near as often as I should.

By popular demand, I am posting Gran's Boiled Cake recipe here so that a little of her lives on. Enjoy with health!

Gran McAllister's Boiled Cake

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup of cold tea
1 to 2 cups dried fruit

Bring all to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Take off heat and 
leave to cool. Add 1 egg, well-beaten. 

Then add:

1 teaspoonful mixed spice
1 teaspoonful cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 teaspoonful baking soda

Bake in moderate oven (350 to 375 degrees) for 1 hour.

Notes: It's better if the tea sits overnight. In other words, this is a great recipe to rid up the tea from the day before! Also, I sometimes experiment with adding Drambuie or Cointreau or some other liquor. The fruit we use tends to be raisins/sultanas and currants. However, you can add candied citron or cherries, too. The new dried strawberries and cranberries might make a delicious twist.

Feathered Visitor

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:47:00 +0000

We have a new regular visitor to our English garden: a pheasant.

She's been coming once or twice a day to poke around on the seeds that fall from the bird feeders. She mixes it up with the wood pigeons that fly over from Norbury Woods across the road.

Hopefully, she will stay clear of the other garden visitor, Foxy, that I mentioned in the previous post.

Foxy Visitor

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:22:00 +0000

While we've known we have foxes that come nightly to our gardens in England, we rarely see them during the day. However, one fox seems to be particularly brave and unconcerned that we have a Border Collie, Sophie, who usually is quite demonstrative about unwelcome parties. While this particular fox was scrounging around the bird seed, I was able to snap some photos through the window next to my crafting table.

Canadian Geese

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:53:00 +0000

These Canadian Geese seem to be right at home in our back yard in Mariana Butte! They are coming every afternoon before sunset.

Changing Colorado Skies

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:18:00 +0000

I've been at our home in Loveland, Colorado, for about ten days now, and I've been astounded at the changing character of the sky.

While most of the photos I've taken have been off the balcony of our home, facing Lake Buckingham, you can see that things change dramatically from one day to the next, and even every hour!

There was one late afternoon that the sunset was particularly colorful, and I was able to catch the sun receding behind the Rockies over an hour.

Buckingham Lake picks up a lot of the changes in the sky, reflecting back light and color. Quite stunning!

I took a walk through our Mariana Butte neighborhood and caught a glimpse of the taller mountains in the Rockies.

These peaks had mostly been hidden under snow clouds for the first few days when I arrived. Apparently, the skiing regions have been enjoying higher than normal amounts of snow. While down in the foothills and Front Range, we have been very dry with little or no snow to speak of.

Today, I glanced outside and saw a convention of Canadian geese happily lounging on the ice on Buckingham Lake.

We have lots of geese that hang about the Mariana Butte during the winter in large flocks.

They are quite loud with their honking, and leave lots of 'pressies' behind, if you know what I mean! But they are amazing to watch.

On another day, we received a light dusting of snow.

The temperatures were well below freezing at about 11F or -12C. When the snow hit the ice on the lake, it stuck, creating this interesting white snow effect.

At the same time, the day was so dry that most of the snow we received simply evaporated!

If only the snow would evaporate in England. Hubby and son were supposed to join me today in Colorado, but their flight from Heathrow was canceled, along with many, many other flights. I know this has caused a great deal of frustration and disappointment for countless families who were hoping to fly out for the holidays. I am still hopeful that my son and husband will be able to make their re-booked flights on Christmas Eve. That would be the best gift ever to see them sitting under the tree on Christmas Day.

Snow Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:31:00 +0000

Here are some photos from the latest big snow, which began on Tuesday November 30th and kept snowing through Thursday, December 2nd. Now it is about 23 degrees F, so the snow is going crunchy!

Snow Days

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:31:00 +0000

There's so much I should be blogging right now about the recent snows that hit SE England beginning on Tuesday, November 30th (including the SEVEN hour trip I had to collect Branduff from school in Ashtead). However, for the moment, I'll just post these photos of 15-year-old Branduff.

He was compliant in leaving the toasty warm house just so mom could snap these photos. However, in the photo below, that's him saying, "Hurry up, mum, and take these photos. I'm freezing!"

Snow cometh

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:31:00 +0000

After Scotland and the northeast of England have been hammered by the winter weather for the last week, southeast England is now starting to see the white stuff.

The flakes were only lightly falling this morning when the bus collected dear son for school. Now the flakes are coming down thick and heavy, and I'm supposed to pick up my son from school this afternoon. Usually, snow driving is left to hubby, who just happens to be in Moscow on business! My silly car is only rear-wheel drive, which is useless in snow and ice. I'm contemplating using hubby's car, which fortunately has front-wheel drive. Caveat: I've only driven it twice before and it's currently covered by a pile of snow.

Snow is pretty but it sure can be a hassle, too.

In the meantime, my border collie Sophie is totally oblivious to the conditions. Should I say that she's actually enjoying the weather?

For our friends and relatives in Scotland, I hope that you are all managing in this thick white stuff and staying nice and toasty.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:47:00 +0000

We had a fantastic time yesterday during stamping class making Christmas Cards. Everyone brought some lovely food items to share during lunch. I made a pumpkin cheesecake as my contribution, and some of you asked for the recipe.

Notes: My recipe does not have (or need) a crust, but you can use a graham cracker crust base if you wish.

In England, I can usually only find the containers of the Philadelphia Cream Cheese, which are 300g each, or about 10-11 ounces. You can use three 8-ounce bricks of Philadelphia Cream Cheese if you wish.

2 300g Containers of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup cream
1 can pumpkin or 16 ounces or 500g of freshly pureed pumpkin or winter squash
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Use a mixer or food processor to whip the Philly Cream Cheese until soft. Add in the cup of sugar and continue to mix.

Slowly add in each of the eggs, one at a time.

Add in rest of ingredients and continue to mix until completely smooth and creamy. Pour into your square baking pan or round pie pan. I particularly like using my Pampered Chef square baker.

Cook at 165 C or 325 F for about an hour or until a knife comes out clean.

If you don't like pumpkin, you can make this recipe without the pumpkin; just reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup and leave out the pumpkin spice.

Goldfinch Bath

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:26:00 +0000

Hello, folks! Branduff and I have finally returned from our long summer vacation in our new home in Loveland, Colorado. Niall seemed to be very happy to have us back. He had been living off whatever was remaining in the kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer. I think he was thrilled that his cook was home. LOL!

The summer is quickly slipping away here in England . . . a big difference from the mid-90-highs that Loveland has been experiencing over the last week. However, there have been truly lovely days peeking through the grayness and rain showers over here in Surrey.

Some of our little friends still enjoying the remaining summer days are these gorgeous goldfinch, which Niall snapped having a bath on the flat roof over our laundry room. This area also has a tendency to ice up in the winter, and I can imagine the robins having a skate around at that time.

While our beloved goldfinch were having a swim, our least favorite birds, the starlings, showed up to bully them out of the way. The starlings are also incredibly greedy and grabby at the bird feeders. They apparently are good at eating pesky insects in the lawn, so I suppose we have to put up with their Orc-like ways!

Feathered Friends in the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:08:00 +0000

We've had lots of feathered garden visitors over the last number of weeks. The Blue Tits have been bringing their fledgling chicks to learn how to feed on the suet nibbles. In particular, they love the RSPB's Buggy Nibbles, which you can see on the RSPB's website.

These precious little birds aren't too bothered by me, as I'm the mad woman with all the food!

You can hear the Blue Tits flitting to and fro in the shrubs and trees with their young. There is a very specific song they sing when they have the little ones in tow.

I plopped myself into a chair, not too far away from one of the feeding stations, and the Blue Tits happily came and fed while I snapped these shots.

Daisies in the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:34:00 +0000

I planted some Ganzia, African daisies, in our back garden last Thursday. At that time, the daisies were standing tall and blooming brightly in the English sunshine. However, after planting them, our weather turned windy, overcast and downright cool for the weekend. Hubby Niall kept looking at the Ganzia flowers, with their heads completely shut, and questioned why I purchased such reluctant specimens. I promised him that they are stunning when the sun shines and the flowers spread open.

Now that the weekend is over, OF COURSE the weather has improved, the sun has returned, the wind has died down, and the temperatures are warmer. I have taken photos of the Ganzia as proof to my husband that they really do open up during the day!

In addition, the Livingstone Daisies are finally blooming, too. They also wait for the nudging of the sun before they open and share their vibrant colors.

Strawberries in June

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 10:10:00 +0000

If it's June in England, there must be strawberries!

These are strawberries from one of the six plants that I bought last year. They have been prolific this season.

And, last autumn, I potted up about 30 baby plants from the runners from the original plants. This spring, I planted them into an old rubble pile in the back garden.

The plants have lots of lots of little strawberries, ready to ripen. Where's the cream?

We've also had a lot of success with the potted roses this year. There's something in the climate this summer that favors the roses. The entire neighborhood is filled with roses, and you can smell the lovely scent hanging in the air when out walking.

The potted plants in the back garden are just starting to bloom and fill out. In a couple of weeks, they will be a lot fuller and more vibrant, but it's always interesting to see their progress over the summer.

Garden in Bloom!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy the Teawife) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:12:00 +0000

Some of our late spring/early summer flowers have bloomed in the back garden. In particular, the lupins have come out in their majesty, standing tall and proud -- for now! I hate when they lose their freshness and start to droop over. For now, let's enjoy them in all their glory.

I originally planted these lupins last year, and they didn't produce much. However, they are much more established now and seem to like the location and soil.

In addition, we also have a couple of Delphinium, and they has come in strong, too. Last year, the newly planted perennials fell over after they bloomed!

Our first poppy bloomed over the weekend, and I love the frail paper-like quality of the petals.

I'm sure you can tell by the posts on my blog that Niall and I love color in our garden. Hope you enjoy the show, too.