Happy Christmas Blog Fans!

A big Christmas kiss under the mistletoe to all of you who've been following the old blog and the new one. Thanks for putting up with my occasional grumpiness & here's wishing you a happy 2009!

Festive Cupcakes

They're not strictly Christmasy but the spices they contain (cinnamon, cloves, cardamon & ginger) smell pretty Christmasy to me & I love the fact that they contain tea. This is my first attempt at vegan cupcakes & I'm pretty happy so far.

Some Festive Tunes

My Mum & I both have a festive tradition of buying or making a new decoration for the Christmas tree each year. I also have my own tradition of getting a new Christmas CD too. I have quite a little collection now ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime but this year it was really easy to choose. Glasvegas have a limited edition of their album out with an additional Christmas CD that comes with it. Love it!

No Power Activities

Well, most of last week was a bit frustrating. We had a decorator and electrician here to do the repairs caused by the leak from the flat above that happened while we were away. It was great to get everything fixed and they did a great job but it took a while & meant I was stuck in the house for most of the week unable to use any part of the kitchen or anything electrical. Still, I found there are plenty of things you can do with no power. I read a lot & the socks came on just great. I finished off one pair and moved onto the lovely alpaca yarn I picked up in 'Lettuce Knit' in Toronto. Also got to have a go at sticking cloves in oranges to make Christmas decorations like the kids were doing at last weekend's school fair.

Vegans Like Christmas Too

Woo Hoo!! Finding it pretty hard to control my excitement about finding a vegan Christmas pudding. I've already tracked down mince pies & cream I'm going to be trucking this little baby up to Yorkshire to enjoy on Christmas day. You can stop worrying now Mum. A happy Christmas is guaranteed : )

Now that's a set

We went to see 'Joan As Policewoman' on Tuesday night. It was so good to see someone perform live who obviously enjoys it so much. She played for two solid hours, interacted with the audience throughout then came out to the foyer straight afterwards to chat to the fans & do a signing. She was so sweet. It's like she didn't want the night to end. I've seen her once before playing an acoustic set at Latitude. It was nice - very lo-fi & low key but for this gig she really pulled out all the stops. If you don't know her, both her albums are great - slow burners but the best ones always are.

Snow Globe Time

Yes, it's that time of year again. Mum got me this snow globe a few years back & I love to be able to get it out of it's box again for another year. It's musical too but there are only so many tinkly verses of 'We wish you a Merry Christmas' a girl can stand so I usually just stick to watching it. Maybe time to dust off my snow globe necklace too ; )

A Christmas Crafty Bonanza

I've got Mum here visiting this weekend & luckily she like crafty Christmas markets almost as much as I do so I drag her off to two in one day.

The first is at the Joseph Steiner school in Islington & what a fab little market it is. My school fetes were never like this! There are beautiful carved wooden spoons, lots of felted, knitted & crocheted things & some lovely silver pendants & earrings, all handmade. I pick up a necklace & a gorgeous green lambswool scarf.

I've started stroking knitted bonnets & fondling animal shaped cushions when Paul drags me out of there before I get too over excited & we stop for a spot of lunch at 'Sausage & Mash' on Essex Road. They're very vegan friendly. Top Marks!

The second market is at St Aloysius social club in Euston. I've been here several times before to their fab jumble sales complete with bar, DJs & food. It's such a cool little place, tucked away in the basement under a church. Have to admit that the first time I went it was largely because I like the name Aloysius but it turned out to be quite a find. Anyway, today there is a crafty market there organised by 'Bust', the magazine edited by 'Stitch 'n' Bitch' founder Debbie Stoller. There are some lovely things on sale but I've spent all my available pennies & just stick to browsing & yearning.

Christmas Comes Early

Paul got an early Christmas present to cheer up this poor old unemployed grumpychops.
It sure worked!

Look! More Bread!

The squirrel is back! Smart squirrel. I think he's using my balcony as some kind of food store. I haven't got the heart to move it in case the poor thing is starving so it looks like it'll be mouldy bread displayed out there all winter. Hey Ho.

A Warming Winter Stew

After a delicious vegan lunch with the lovely Anne at the Spiral Lounge in Camden (they made cheese with cashew nuts! How do they do that?) I decided that I needed to up my game with the interesting vegan recipes & had a go at this cannelini bean, squash & roasted tomato stew. It was yummy. I meant to take a snap of the finished dish but had wolfed it all down before I remembered (a good sign, I think). There's nothing like having a big pot of beans bubbling away on the stove to make you feel all domesticated on a winter's evening.

More Booty

A Moominpapa cookie cutter to add to my collection; some raspberry cordial as served by Moominmama (Paul is especially excited about this purchase as it's very like stava, a cordial that his Czech grandmother used to make for him; some glogi (Finnish mulled wine); and some Moomin-shaped biscuits. What a shopping basket!

The Booty

So ... we have Finnish christmas chocolate with almonds, cherries & pieces of gingerbread - divine!! We have liquorice sweets which can be ground up & added to vodka to make a delicious tipple and we have Finnish rye flour which will soon be added to Bob (my lovely sourdough starter) to make some scrummy bread.

The Finnish Church Christmas Bazaar

Down at the Finnish church in Rotherhithe we were given free licorice & chocolates by a round bellied santa & even got to meet Moomintroll himself. Enjoyed a delicious cardamon scented cinnamon roll & some great coffee & stocked up on all kinds of yummy Finnish goods.

A Little Present From A Furry Friend

We have a little visitor to our balcony. He shimmies up the wisteria to the third floor & helps himself to what's left of our rosemary bush. He comes every morning & has no fear. I've tried shooing him away but he's not having any of it & I've learned to actually like him a little better because of this. We've come to an understanding, me & the squirrel. I don't bother him now & the other morning he left me this little token as a thank you.

Advice for a Long Life

I watched Mastermind last night. One of the contestants was a beautifully fresh faced, well preserved 81 year old woman. When John Humphries asked her to reveal the secret of her youthful appearance she said 'Clean living ... and dirty men'.

Oo, it's tempting

Leaving my flat I noticed this big pile of freshly raked leaves on the kerb looking all crispy & just asking to be jumped in & kicked around. I was about to get going when I saw the man with the rake a bit further up the road eyeing me suspiciously. Damn!

Angus & Julia

I'm potty about these guys. Saw them support Martha Wainwright & really, really love the album. Check them out at:

http://www.angusandjuliastone.com
http://www.myspace.com/angusandjuliastone
http://uk.youtube.com/angusandjuliastone

Look at those socks go

One down. One to go ...

The Good, The Bad & The Wonky

A horrible spreading crack has appeared in my beloved silicone loaf tin. I thought for a while that I could carry on regardless but now the dough has started to ooze out of it while baking. Rats! I decided a trip into town to pick up a new tin was in order. Was also hoping it'd give me a break from the tedium of job searching but sadly no one seems to sell these tins anymore. I can't think why. They're really great! Oh well, looks like my bread's going to be a bit more freeform in the future.

To cheer myself up on the way out of the department stores I thought I'd see if I could be cheeky & get some free cosmetics from the scary women on the beauty counters. Full marks go to Elemis who gave me all these lovely goodies. I didn't pay a penny & she didn't even ask me to make an appointment for a make over. More mixed results at the Lancome counter. She sat me down, put concealer under my eyes & told me off for never having worn blusher. Here's a snap of me wearing it. She said it 'brightens my face'. I think I just look a bit pinker than usual. Despite having mentioned getting free samples in the past none were to be had here. Never mind. It was worth a try.

A Low Key Halloween

Usually I like to dress up for Halloween, go out & do something silly but I haven't really got organised this year so (much to Paul's relief probably) we decide to stay in, get some goodies in for the trick or treaters & cook Mexican food instead.

We give our quesadillas a seasonal flavour by adding some garlic roasted squash & also make a (not so seasonal) peach salsa. It's a hit.