Fragrances

I love fragrance and seem to have an acute sense of smell so when a lovely person bought me these scented stocks I was overjoyed.  They have lasted almost two full weeks and have filled the house with their delicate scent.

There's another fragrance that I have been enjoying recently too and that is the delicious smell of oven ready cinnamon rolls.  Check these lovelies out:

.  

There are not so hard to make from this great recipe from Our Best Bites and a new one they have just posted which is even quicker to make! Everyday cinnamon rolls  I might just have to make another batch today!

Too, too busy!

I know I shouldn't complain at all!  And being freelance means you have to take the work as it comes as you are never quite sure when or where the next lot will come, but it has meant that I have been unable to update my blog or post some fun posts which came into my mind as I was busy travelling or writing up a report.  But here we are - and now can I think of any of those posts?!!! Part of this absence has been to do with the computer situation as I am not yet used to my new macbook and iphoto, not to mention the fact that in migrating my data the photos are all over the place!!!  However there is much to be thankful for as ever and here I am, having finished a report I have been putting off for ages now - yippee!  It is still in first draft stage but at least there is some structure to it and I can now play with the words as necessary.

Has it been cold where you are?  We have had heavy frosts this week and it snowed in east London so daughter no. 4 told me!  It is time for hot meals and cosy evenings.  Tonight we have a chorizo and mixed bean stew served with oven roasted potatoes, sprouts and broccoli, followed by some homemade banana and cinnamon loaf.

I'm really hoping to do some crafty projects this weekend and begin to get ready for some Christmas gifts I hope to make - I will be sure to take some photos.  We have decided as a family to do the 'secret santa' idea for this year so we will all pick a family member's name out of a basket and just buy one present for that person.  It will make for a simpler Christmas which I am all for.  Have you seen the shops recently?!!  It is crazy out there already and so much choice it is enough to give you a headache before you even start!  Or am I the only one opting for a simple Christmas this year? I suspect not.  I'll be back soon.

Bleak Monday!

Yesterday was a very bad day as my trusty computer of 5 years suddenly died!  Now you will know that I was aware it was suffering but ironically I had made the decision to transfer all my date to my new computer next weekend!  The reason being that last weekend we were moving daughter no.4 to her new room at Uni.  So I am now very bereft!  All my work emails were stored on outlook which is now inaccessible.  I did back up all the other data a few weeks ago so have transferred that to my new computer late last night.  I have someone coming round later today to see if we can access and retrieve all that is lost - I sure do hope so.  

So if your computer is on its last legs, is making funny noises, or is very slow - be afraid, be very afraid and back up now before all is lost!!!  I'll keep you posted.

On a happier note, take a look at these lovely chillies which are the last of my batch from the garden:

Crazy Life!

I love this peaceful shot in the Autumn sunshine. It's a far cry from this past week which has been crazy to say the least but I knew it was going to be just looking at the diary. Trips to London for various meetings and then hosting the conference and all that goes with this - welcoming, lots of talking, introducing speakers etc etc. It was a successful time with over 35 new people coming along so we were pleased. Then back into London the following day for meetings, after which I had to scour Oxford Street for a birthday gift for hubby! You might have thought it was easy to find a wash bag for a man in central London but if you did, I can tell you that it definitely isn't!!! John Lewis only have one to offer you and it costs £40 because it is leather!!! Well, this I didn't want so ended up finding something locally in Debenhams. But at the end of this long day and long week, I decided it was time for a little treat and took myself off to All the Fun of the Fair which is a tiny shop just off Carnaby Street selling wool and haberdashery items - the home of knitted cup cakes and the like. If you are in London and want to visit the yarn stores then John Lewis, Liberty, Loop and this little place make fun visits.

I met a lovely lady in there and we chatted about 'the need to find some time in each day just to knit or sew, a bit like an addiction but much less harmful!!' I instantly felt rejuvenated and fuelled to make the next visit which was to the Apple store to talk about a new laptop! I had some questions I needed to find out answers to and wanted to talk to someone rather than use the internet. That said, it was a fairly brief conversation in the end because as far as the chap I spoke to was concerned it was easy 'why should anyone NOT want to go the Mac route and why did I even think I might still want to use Windows?!!!' I am still pondering but this week will see me make a choice as the need is great as this little computer has passed its sell-by date.

So yesterday was hubby's birthday and we had a special celebration meal (his favourite) and all the girls came home for it and we watched a movie together which was fun. There was enough leftovers today for dinner so we hopped out into the country and sat in the glorious sunshine, reading and enjoying these last warm days, before getting back and mowing the lawn and having some tea and toast!

So hopefully, normal service will be resumed this week with a post or two before Thoughtful Friday. I hope you have had a good weekend and the sun was shining where you are.