catching up...

I seem to be constantly behind on something at the moment. Never quite catching up on all the jobs that need to be done.  BUT, I am getting there and I have some, now, very tight deadlines.  Evidence part one above, a sneak of some mail art I have made, all it's waiting for it to me to address it and pop it in the post!

And look.... Can you see that, decidedly scrappy if you ask me! Another project completed. Just a peek though for now. Secret squirrel work and all that. 

The next job on the list is to review a book for Waterstones.  This has had to wait a little while until I got my new funky specs. Ahh, and now the text is clear.  I do need to get a shimmy on though as the book is due in stores in a couple of weeks and I am the worlds SLOWEST reader!  I'm saying that but I can rattle through John Grisham books quite quickly so it's time I put down my current book and read through this one and got the review written and submitted. 

I once worked for someone who said I like to work to the JIT Methodology - Just-In-Time. That has to be THE most accurate statement anyone has ever said about me, but with all these deadlines and builders due in very soon I really do need to catch up.  

Wish me luck!! 

Love her or hate her...?

I know I have literally just posted but I left blogger to check my email where I found one from Waterstones.  As a book lover who likes to eat (more than she should!) I had to check it out and I can't tell you how excited I was to see that there is a new Nigella Lawson book due out.  I know a lot of people hate her, but I love her.  She a cook who looks like she eats! Yay!!  I hate skinny cooks.  I have a collection of her cookbooks and have yet to have a recipe fail me, so you can imagine just how keen I am to get my hands on this.  I won't blindly order it though, I want to read through it first.  Looks like a trip into town then.  Oh no, what a chore.

I'll leave you with the blurb about the book.  If you get your hands on a copy before me, pleeeease let me know what you think, especially if you are a Nigella fan!

"A big, compendious, comfortable, informative and utterly engaging book, "Kitchen" brings us feel-good food for cooks and eaters, whether Express-style and exotic-easy during the week, or leisurely and luxuriating (in the spirit of How to be a Domestic Goddess and Feast) at weekends or for occasions. Divided into two parts - Kitchen Quandaries and Kitchen Comforts - Nigella gives us the wherewithal to tackle any situation and satisfy all nourishment needs. But real cooking is often about leftovers, too, so here one recipe can lead to another...from ham hocks to pea soup and pasties, from chicken to Chinatown salad. This isn't just about being thrifty but about demonstrating how recipes come about, and giving new inspiration for last-minute meals and souped-up store cupboard suppers. As well as offering the reader a mouthwatering array of new recipes, both comforting and exciting - from clams with chorizo to Guinness gingerbread, from Asian braised beef to flourless chocolate lime cake, from Pasta alla Genovese to Venetian carrot cake - Nigella rounds up her kitchen kit must-haves (telling us, too, what equipment we don't need) and highlights individual ingredients - both basic essentials and modern-day life-savers. But above all, she reminds the reader how much pleasure there is to be had in real food, and in reclaiming the traditional rhythms of the kitchen, as she cooks to the beat of the heart of the home, creating simple recipes to make life less complicated."

It's not often....

I get excited, but an email from Waterstones this afternoon made me hot foot it to their website and place a preorder, for this book....

The eagerly awaited 4th novel in the bestselling Conqueror series, continuing the life and adventures of the mighty Khan dynasty. Genghis Khan is dead, but his legend and his legacy live on. His son Ogedai has built a white city on a great plain and made a capital for the new nation. Now the armies have gathered to see which of Genghis' sons has the strength to be khan. The Mongol empire has been at peace for two years, but whoever survives will face the formidable might of their great enemy, China's Song dynasty. The great leader Tsubodai sweeps into the west: through Russia, over the Carpathian mountains and into Hungary. The Templar knights have been broken and there is no king or army to stop him reaching France. But at the moment of Tsubodai's greatest triumph, as his furthest scouts reach the northern mountains of Italy, Tsubodai must make a decision that will change the course of history forever.

Roll on the 2nd September when it's published!  Sorry, did I mention I'm a tad excited!

And now, I have an even bigger shopping list.....

...and this is why!

Now, it's not often I watch QVC, honest, it really isn't, but I spotted a note on Dyan's blog about Sir Tim being on. So I popped and had a look and noticed the "thing of the day" (see I'm not even sure what they call it) was a bucket full of goodies with his new book. So, as one of no doubt hundreds, I ordered it and it came today.

The book came with a mini mister, a pot of perfect pearls, a distress ink pad, rock candy crackle paint and stickles, a blending tool with two pads (as seen in most stores) and two small bottles - one of glossy accents (of which you can never have enough) and one sepia accents. All this for £25 - plus p&p but even so it made it worth while.

Flicking through the books I've seen and tried a number of the techniques, most on his blog but I love just having it to hand for inspiration. The main inspiration at the moment is to spend money (not so good). On the flip side I have tons of Tim's products, such as the fragments, which I had forgotten I'd got until I looked in the book. So I feel inspired to use some on my father-in-laws birthday card, or just play and keep somewhere to look at.

That's it from me for now. We're in the middle of a snow storm here with big fat juicy flakes. Chris is "down south" today so I do hope it doesn't cock up the trains. Either way I fancy a snuggle in front of the fire with the kids and my new book, maybe even a cup of hot chocolate.

Stay warm and thanks for stopping by!

365 #215

Books. How do you read yours?

In my case either quickly or I take forever... This is my current read, and has been for a couple of months. I get tired, or distracted by other things and they end up sitting on my bedside table looking longingly at me, waiting to be pick up and enjoyed. It's not even the case that I don't enjoy reading this one, Tall Stories, (an omnibus edition containing "Expecting someone taller" & "Ye Gods!") by Tom Holt. I love it and it is has become part of my light therapy. Each morning I now spend my twenty minute light therapy session reading. I'm finding it a nice way to start the day. Oh - and for those of you interested - yep, it's working already. I no longer feel ready to crawl into bed during the day.

365 #69

I love reading but am often too tired to do any. Yesterday I finished reading Ben Elton's Chart Throb, so last night I started reading this one, "Once in a house on fire" by Andrea Ashworth. I can't put it down. I was even reading in bed at 6am this morning hence the decision to make it the subject of my photo of the day.