changes afoot.....

A few days ago I woke up & decided to make a change...

I neatly tided all my sewing threads, fabrics and general stuff into a corner of the studio & unpacked my printing inks, rollers, easel & canvases.

This has been a long time coming & I feared my block would never shift. After the flood when I lost a substantial amount of my work & began my creative melt down I wondered whether I would ever really want to paint again....then along came Violet so other things played on my mind & there was no space for thought or pondering.

I fell back onto my sewing which has always been there for me propping up that creative need along with various shenanigans about the house & garden but its just not enough, just a stop gap or transition, there was also the beginnings of boredom sneaking in & that would never do...

So what I need to say to all my lovely customers is that I will only be doing custom orders in the future & I am also planning to pop a few bits in mt etsy store but definitely on a one off basis

mad for macaroons

I love almonds...

anything which encompasses these lovely little nuts in whatever disguise in a winner in my book...

bakewell tart....nutty chocolate or those yummy almondy croissants

then there are macrons....

i never in my wildest dreams thought i could master baking these little circles of colourful delight

I have dabbled with various recipes, had some sucesses & lots of failures
 but then i got hold of a copy of this little gem

Suddenly the clouds drifted apart & the sun shone through....sucess everytime....

Jill generously shares all her secrets which make all the difference

My personal favourite...lemon merguinue macarons...filled with home made curd.

There is also a recipe for a nut free version which I am tackling next as I have a lovely friend who cannot indulge in almondy goodness

and even a section on what to do with those left over egg yolks...what more could you want.

I still have a few issues to iron out like my blasted oven which is turning the preety pink ones brown but for lovers of these sweet treats its an absolute must...

ps.... it also helps that the hens are on top laying form and the constant supply of various citrusy curds are rather delicious too.....

that bath

at first there was this...uninspiring, mouldy & rank

then.....the reveal of those lovely legs

now.....my perfect room although can't have long lovely bubble baths because the water runs out when its about 1/4 full.....enough for a paddle!