Grannymar

Last week Rhyelysgranny had an interesting vegetable dish recipe over at Tea and Wheaten Bread that included cumin and cardamom pods.  Somehow it reminded me to hunt out this one again to share with you

Ginger Glazed Carrots

¾ lb Carrots
½ oz Butter
1½ tablespoons granulated Sugar
½ inch fresh root Ginger, grated or finely chopped
Salt & Black Pepper

Peel the carrots then cut into sticks.  Place in a pan with just enough water to cover.  Add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil & boil vigorously for 10-15 minutes or until the water has evaporated to form a glaze.

I am a true ginger fan, right from the root used in cooking to the preserved ginger in syrup or covered in dark chocolate!

Question Two from a Meme

What is your favourite time of day?

When morning has broken
Like the first morning
When no one has spoken
But the first bird
I’ll not be singing
I’ll lie still and listen
Hoping to hear
Each new bird sound.

I wish I could sing as sweetly as the birds!

I was busy yesterday, enjoying a day in the Big Smoke!  Years ago Cities were often smoky places.  Yesterday Belfast was bathed in glorious sunshine and perfect for sauntering.  The journey was smooth and uneventful giving me time to mosey about for an hour before meeting ‘my date’.

It was a bonus to meet @zcott near the Victoria Centre and I suddenly realised how much I missed the Flickr group.  I hope I managed to convince him to arrange with the lads for another photo-walk soon.  Very soon!

My friend and I managed to reach the appointed spot at high noon and his suggestion for lunch was Deane’s.  We walked and talked the short distance and were soon seated comfortably perusing the menu.  We were the first of the diners to arrive and almost the last to leave, I couldn’t believe it was four O’clock when we stepped out onto into the afternoon sunshine once more.  A lovely day and a break from the solitude of my life.

Good friends are goldust.

Our Loose Blogging consortium includes Anu, Ashok, Conrad, Gaelikaa, Ginger, Judy, Magpie 11, Maria, Ramana and yours truly.  Each of us when available, will contribute a piece for the topic for the week. The call of work, study or family concerns, often prevents some members from taking part on the day or indeed the week in question.  This weeks offering was chosen by Ramana.

Solitude

Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.
~ Alice Koller

It has taken time, but I have achieved solitude and like my own skin, I am comfortable with it!

Pipes or Strings

An older lady was somewhat lonely and decided she needed a pet to keep her company. So, off to the pet shop she went. She searched and searched. None of the pets seemed to catch her interest, except this ugly frog. As she walked by the jar he was in, she looked and he winked at her..

He whispered, ‘I’M SO LONELY, TOO.  BUY ME AND TAKE ME HOME.  YOU WON’T EVER BE SORRY.’

The old lady figured, what the heck! She hadn’t found anything else.  So, she bought the frog.  She placed him in the car, on the front seat beside her.   As she was slowly driving down the road, the frog whispered to her ‘KISS ME AND YOU WON’T BE SORRY.’!

So! The old lady figured, WHAT THE HECK, and kissed the frog.

IMMEDIATELY the frog turned into an absolutely gorgeous, sexy, young, handsome prince

THE PRINCE THEN RETURNED THE OLD LADY’S KISS.

SUDDENLY THE OLD LADY FELT HERSELF TRANSFORMING FROM HIS KISS.  NOW CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THE OLD LADY TURNED INTO?

COME ON GUESS!

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SHE TURNED INTO THE FIRST ‘TRAVELODGE’ SHE COULD FIND!!!

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Thanks to Noreen for this one

Time for the unveiling!

It began with a challenge to make a web that included a spider.

Gathering the toys

End of Day One.  The beginning of the web.

Pencil sketch of Spencer Spider

Playing with colour

Spencer is complete

Setting the web spines on fabric

Finished cushion with Spencer Spider on the prowl!

If you were a garden, which would it most resemble:

A Wild flower Garden: carefree, easy-going, and enthusiastic

or

An English Garden: accurate, organized, and detail-oriented

I would be the former!

Avocados and….

Avocados make a simple starter or lunchtime snack, ideal for this time of year.

Simply halve avocados lengthways, remove stone, brush flesh with lemon juice to prevent browning and top with one of the following:-

Dice a red-skinned apple and mix with shredded celery, chopped walnuts and a squeeze of orange juice.

or

Quarter cherry tomatoes and mix with finely cubed mozzarella or feta cheese and freshly chopped  basil.  Toss in olive oil and a little white wine vinegar.

or

Mix cooked peeled prawns with mayonnaise, a little grated lemon rind and a drop of lemon juice.  Season with ground black pepper.

Serve with a little lettuce and crusty bread.

Yesterday while taking part in a meme set by Nick, I was required to set some questions for others.  In life I never like to ask others to do what I am not prepared to try myself.  I set seven questions to tax the minds of other Bloggers, so over the next few weeks I will take a question and answer it.  Now for question No. 1.

Do you like to be challenged?

In the past I was challenged whether I liked it or not:

I climbed the tree and scraped my knee
My dress it got a tear.
I walked the wall and did not fall,
The boys they stood to stare.
Underneath my headscarf I had rollers in my hair
My mother tried her best to tame Ma..reee…ah!

I hope you were singing along