Pendants

Nearly there!

I'm making pendants to sell at a Christmas fair, and finding the time to finish them has been difficult.  So far I have 17 pendants, but I'd like to make a few more. 

The mica is lovely, but I think I'll only use it for a few pieces (and some of my designs have changed).

Working with the clay has been a bit more difficult than I thought.  It takes a really long time to get the pendants the exact shape that I want (so they fit the image that I put on them later), but with time I think I'll become faster at doing it. 

My gold and silver leaf have arrived, and I've also bought a beautiful dark chocolate colour cord to hang the pendants on, and I've ordered more (hopefully they'll get here in time).

Here is a picture of them before they get painted this week (I'll post more photos when they are finished).

On the Easel - Jester head Part 5 & 6

Walk On The Wild Side - Episode Three Preview - ...

Frog Conductor

Jester - Part 5 & 6

Super Mario Style - LOL of the day

I find the prevalence of this tune everywhere to be a tad bit annoying, but this is brilliant, and made me LOL!!  The one in Luigi's costumer seems to be the best dancer - especially from 2 mins in.

Jester - Part 3 & 4

At the beginning, a painting is very fun to paint when there isn't too much pressure, and when you don't have to worry about texture and small details to much!

Jester - Part 1 & 2

 

From now on, I'll start posting pictures of my painting, from beginning to end (click the photos to enlarge them).

Remembrance Sunday

Today is Remembrance Sunday in Britain.

This is a poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye, 1932


Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

Language Courses

My recent little obsession (recent by about a year ½), is languages.

What I don't understand, is why so many courses focus on extremely tourist-based formulaic lessons. Most of the courses I've seen focus on travel, going to the doctor, ordering food, souvenir vocabulary and buying tickets.

I'm guessing that most people, when they go on holiday, maybe get a phrasebook to help them when they are in that foreign country, but not much else. In fact, I think a lot of people don't bother to learn anything more than 'hello' 'thank you' 'goodbye', 'help', and 'Do you speak.....'. Therefore, I don't think many people would sign up for a 8 – 12 week language course if they're just going on holiday for a week, unless they're particularly interested in that culture.

Most of my local courses are extremely formulaic, so when you're out of those formulaic situations, you might feel a bit lost. I wish there were more courses which focused on actual conversation. For me, that's what real language learning is about. The ability to ask someone how their day went, being able to express an opinion about films, books, or the news. Telling someone what you're going be doing next week, not just 'May I buy a return ticket to …...'.

Beddgelert gate

This is a photo I took of a gate that's in north Wales, in Eryri  (Snowdonia) national park, although it looks like it could be from Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings!

  It's the start of a route that follows a river, and gets wilder as it goes on. 

Sticky date pudding

It's one of the best puddings I've ever made.  The taste is just wonderful!

I got the recipe (as always), from BBC Goodfood -

Sticky toffee pudding recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food

I've made some changes / additions -

 I used redbush tea instead of black tea, and it tasted great. First, I added the tea bag to the boiling water in a Pyrex jug, making sure it was as strong as possible (because Redbush is a bit more subtle than normal black tea).

Next, I poured the tea infusion into a saucepan with the dates, and then let it simmer gently for 2 - 3 minutes. 

 I used around 280 - 300ml of water because after the water's turned into steam, you'll be left with 250ml.

 I wouldn't recommended adding your teabag in with the dates and then bringing it to the boil, because the bag could tear against the dates leaving you with a mess!

Instead of using mixed spice, I used 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

If you have plain flour (like me), add 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.  

I reduced the temperature to gas mark 3 1/2, and baked it for around 50mins.

You can make an interesting sauce by mixing a little golden syrup into creme fraiche. This gave a slightly tart, but sweet lemony flavor to the richness of the dates. I may add a little vanilla pod next time.

Old photo

Love this photo.  I wish I knew who took it.