crisp day

a loaf of rosemary wheat bread. 

This is the second loaf of bread I've made recently, and it is delicious. I learned the hard way that convection ovens take less time to cook than what I'm used to. . . the last one was a bit charred. . . but still edible!

It's been a nice weekend across the pond. Besides our usual work, we went out on Saturday to do a bit of shopping, and we really lucked out with a beautifully crisp day. After all of the rain last week, most of the leaves have dropped from the trees, and coat the sidewalks yellow and orangey red.  

baking.

I think this cold, wet weather has me inside wanting to bake. . . 

white chocolate raspberry scones. 

And I baked a whole wheat bread. 

(Here's one with frosting and a glass of milk, ers!)

the weekend.

Guy Fawkes Day:
November fifth is Guy Fawkes Day here in England. Guy Fawkes was in charge of protecting the explosives that were to be used in the Gunpowder Plot set out by Robert Catesby, in his plan to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch. However, authorities were tipped off that there might be something suspicious in Westminster Palace, so on November fifth 1605, they searched and found Guy Fawkes guarding the explosives in a storage room beneath the House of Lords. He was then questioned and tortured the following days and finally gave the details about the plot. Before his scheduled execution on January 31, he jumped from the platform where he was to be hanged, breaking his neck, and avoiding the drawing and quartering that was to come.  So in remembrance of him, people shoot off fireworks and have bonfires. (I think it might help to get an insider's take on this one. . .) 


Saturday evening we took a walk to the Victorian Christmas Fair in town! which looked promising, except that vendors were packing up early. There were stands with knitted items, spices, cheese, Harry Potter treasures, stones and gems, nuts and dried fruit, Turkish Delight, cookies and breads, jewelry, hot chocolate and cider, AND the vendors were dressed in Victorian attire. Quite lovely, really. We picked up a very tasty cupcake along the way. 


Fantasy Football took off on Sunday evening, and so far my team is looking pretty good, Ray is also winning. Plus, I saw the Saints won, LSU won, and the Hornets won. Nicely done!


Yesterday I decided we needed a treat, so I baked cinnamon rolls. And they are delicious.

Ray gives them a thumbs up. 

Here is a picture I've been meaning to post, of the new scarf I found at a vintage clothing store in the arcade.

pizza: trial one.

Two delicious pizzas.

(When I look at this one I keep thinking, "I'm a little teapot. . ." you know the song.)

Last night we made homemade pizza with whole-wheat pizza dough. To dress the pizzas, we used a basil pesto I made from scratch, spinach, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms cooked with a bit of garlic and shallots on one, and bacon on the other.  

Thanks to Ray for taking the lovely photos. 

november!

Yay, it's November! That means it's Dad's birthday and Ray and I's anniversary month; five years! (We can't remember the exact day, so we have the whole month.) 
Other highlights for the month include the showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I in the theaters, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, a visit from Tim, and Thanksgiving! 
It's been a busy last few days and I haven't blogged in while; as Ray says, "Two whole days and nary a blog post." So here are some pictures from recent adventures. 

On a dreary Sunday, we set out with our umbrellas for a walk in the town. . . 

(Foggy Halloween morning.)

The Olde Hatte; a local pub.

Mail can be dropped off in these Royal Mailboxes. 

We aren't entirely certain what "Franked" mail is but I think it's metered mail. 

A nice tree we passed on the way home. . . 

And some little berries Ray picked for me.

(In the background, an old picture of Blaine and I in Yscloskey.)

Halloween night we walked from our house over to Kate and Iain's to watch scary movies and eat sweet treats. There were zombie gingerbread men, zombie guts cupcakes, pumpkin pie and Haribo chewies. We watched what I think was my first Zombie movie ever? called Flesh-Eating Zombies. And we watched an older film, The Haunting (1963) with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom and Richard Johnson. Both were great picks. By the end of the night we all agreed that Ray would be a very good person to have around should any Zombies creep out of the ground. It was a dandy night hanging out with some new friends.