Flowers
Just before work got completely out of hand G and I had a couple of days out to places that I have wanted to visit for quite sometime. One of those was Columbia Road flower market.
For yonks now I have drooled over other peoples pictures of their journeys to this place and back in April G and I got up at some forsaken hour of the morning and traveled from our sleepy village into London to see it for ourselves.
Not even other blogs had quite prepared me for the riot of colour that awaited us there though, nor the utter barginous nature of the blooms! We came home with armfuls of roses, tulips and irises all for a smidgen of the price that you would expect to pay in a florists or a supermarket! (Not quite as cheap as my beloved daffodils but certainly nothing to be sniffed at!)
Columbia Road is what I would term a proper old fashioned market, with stall holders who still shout the prices at the top of their lungs and prices to be cut at the end of the day. The shops up and down the street behind the flower stalls themselves are certainly worth a look as well. There were loads of things that I would have love to have bought and other shops I certainly need to go back and have a closer look at. The linen and china shops at one end of the road spring to mind with absolute clarity.
A few non-flower purchases were made but I will save those for another time I think.
One thing is for sure, I can't wait for the Summer holidays when G is more likely to take kindly to be awoken at the crack of dawn for another visit!!
Normality
Completely unrelated photo!
Well I think that has to be quite possibly the longest blog break I have ever taken! Life here was completely out of whack the past few weeks. What with work preparation for the exhibition then nearly two weeks for the exhibition for itself I didn't have a moment for myself. No time for house stuff, crafting or even time with G never mind time to blog.
The exhibition itself was mind blowing. A scale of something that I have never been involved in before and I was absolutely petrified of screwing up in some way or form. The hours were long and the days were exhausting and whilst I was knackered and beyond stressed on some days it was one of the most exhilarating and fun things I have ever done. When the final day came it was actually quite sad to say goodbye to the British team and all of the colleagues world wide who I got to know over the duration.
I haven't been back to work since! I arrived back on a Wednesday evening two weeks ago had a few days at home and then flew out to Spain for six days for a recovery period and arrived back home in the UK last night. M had been over here in the UK for two weeks, having brought my Bro back with her for job interviews and he is now back living with us again.
Please ignore the fact that G looks as though he is in pain!
Last weekend was taken up with a full family get together, the first time we have all been together in over ten years I think. Certainly the first time G has attended one with the full family in force! A first birthday and a 60th were the excuse and it was great to see everyone all in one place together. The next one is in September for my cousin's wedding, so at least it won't be another ten years before we are all in one place together again!
As for Spain, well it is what it is always is. The place I go to re-balance myself, get my head together and relax, and once again it has done all of those things. I fell re-energised and ready to throw myself back into real life again. I'm looking forward to a routine again something which has been sorely missed these past couple of months.
Alive!
I am alive!! I promise I am. Work is becoming more manageable although it is going to be hectic with late nights for another few weeks yet. The company I am working for are attending this massive exhibition and it would seem I am heavily involved in the organising and actually attending it! So whilst it is ridiculously taxing at the moment it is all great experience and there are times when I am actually quite enjoying it!
I miss things though. I miss coming home and taking pictures in the lovely daylight, I miss actually having energy to talk to G of an evening, I miss cooking and yes I miss blogging and commenting and you lovely people. So, I am promising, two posts a week, even if they are both posted at the weekend I think I should be able to manage two!
G and I did have a nice outing on Sunday, complete with camera so I have something to tell you about besides moaning about work which I will do soon! Saturday I spent lazing in the garden in the sunshine getting more than a little pink! I've also been doing some stitching, not knitting but something none the less! You were all right, it does help, it really has helped me switch off so thank-you!! Don't know what I would have done without those suggestions!
baking as meditation
It's been a hard few weeks in the Generally Gemma house hold. I am really struggling with my job and the stress that it entails, I've never worked at anything quite like it. My normal way of dealing with issues of that nature is to eat and more importantly baking.
I find the rhythmic qualities of weighing, beating, spooning relaxing and requiring just enough concentration so that my mind doesn't drift back to work issues again. But of course being on the diet means that baking has to be in short supply at my house.
Fortunately for me though there have been a couple of birthdays recently which demanded cupcakes! G's brother was 31 and requested chocolate cakes with blue icing, because of course he is a boy.
For my friend who attends slimming group with me though I went with something a bit more grown up, well sprinkles don't count! I've always fancied the idea of trying red velvet cupcakes so went with those and BOY were they good! Moist, just a hint of chocolate and light as a feather. But the colour! Oh my word the colour!
There are no words to describe quite how red these things are! G very very nearly refused to put one in his mouth! He did in the end though, I mean who turns down cake!
Obviously though I can't bake every time work gets too much for me so what do you people do? How do you mange to switch off at the end of the day?
Dear Mummy,
I've been a bad daughter. I forgot to send your card until the last minute and so it didn't get there in time for Mother's Day, it's the first time I've missed one and I feel terrible!
If you were here I'd have bought you these
and of course hundreds of daffodils!
This is the first time in twelve years that you have had a child at home for Mother's Day and I know that Bro is spoiling you and cooking you dinner, I just wish that I was there to help and spoil you too!
There is a teeny tiny present here waiting for you! Come and get it soon!
Your Little Girl
xxxx
Food Fad, Now Focus
I haven't mentioned my diet here for a while, those of you who perhaps have an inkling of my will power, practically nil, may have guessed why. I stalled. I more than stalled. I more than fell off the wagon. I jumped off. Into cake. Then ate my way out.
It all started with Christmas, over which I actually didn't do too much damage, but then as the previous post mentioned life started to get a little hectic and interesting. I don't know about anyone else but when someone I love is hurting I try to fix it with food, fat and calorie laden comfort food!
It started innocently enough one Saturday night with lasagna, Bro and I are particular about lasagna, it mustn't be too runny, have a minimum of three layers and be crunchy on the top.
We followed the lasagna up with a Mississippi Mud Pie. I was given the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook for Christmas, this has also done damage! Oh such delicious damage!
Then on Sunday I made blondies, Bro has a white chocolate thing so these were perfect for him, not so perfect for my hips though!
Bro's 30th Birthday then arrived, bringing with it the traditional family birthday tea, which involved handmade sausage rolls. Oh flaky puff pastry how I love thee!
In addition to these badly photographed delights there has been pizza, fish and chips,chinese takeaway, cake, chocolate, krispy kreme. Let us just say whilst it has been a fabulous few months weight loss wise I have enjoyed every single mouthful!
I'm back on track though, as of yesterday I have lost all the weight that I have put on since just before Christmas. The final four and half pounds came off last night and now I am actually beginning to feel as though I am making some progress again!
Having said that, I've just baked more cupcakes for G's brother's birthday at the weekend, but if I only have one you won't tell will you!
Necessary Cheer
There are times when you need bunches of cheerfulness.
When I got my new job just before Christmas I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that the bad times were over and I suppose for me they were but sadly for others around me it seems the bad luck was just beginning. My Bro and his girlfriend split up just before Christmas which was not fab as you can imagine. So the after Christmas period mainly involved packing him up and moving him out of their shared house. Then in the midst of moving him out he left his job, which had been on the cards for a while. So he moved in with G and I and then last week he went over to Spain to say with M for a bit to get his head together.
Then this evening I had a phone call that knocked me for six. An old friend who has been my "other Mummy" since I moved back to the UK phoned to tell me she has breast cancer. They think they have caught it very early and are very positive that it can all be sorted but phone calls like that are the worst.
So all in all I am feeling in desperate need of my cheapo bunches of daffodils! Even more apt as today is St David's Day! You'd think we would make more of it at my house because G is Welsh, but somehow we never really do. To be honest I'm not all that sure what one is to supposed to do for St David's Day, I think perhaps a touch of research is needed before next year!
Ahhh folks, you know it has been too long when you return to your blog dashboard and your "never log me out option" has been automatically turned off! I have things to tell and show you and reasons for why I haven't been here but I will, hopefully, get to those another time. For now I have been far too remiss in not blogging this before so I am going to kick off my return with a huge thank-you to Laura for being so terribly understanding at my not getting round to blogging about her gorgeous swap package till now!
She sent me the most amazing batch of stuff and for reasons that will become apparent in later blog posts having a little parcel of gorgeousness to come home to each evening really and truly did make me feel special!
The cutest pencils and notebooks to scribble down ideas in, who knows I might actually get round to writing blog post ideas in these!
Delightfully lavender scented teeny pillows which went straight in my underwear drawer!
Then, my most favorite of all! Laura made me my very own knitting needle roll. I have wanted one of these for ages and I am so thrilled that Laura made me one. My pictures don't even begin to do justice to the fabric she used!
I don't know what else to say Laura apart from a giant
for all the goodies you sent my way. I loved each and every single one of them. (Especially the chocolate, that didn't make it to the picture stage!)
If you would like to see what other people received in their 7 Days of Specialness parcels head on over to the flickr pool that Ali set up.
Winner!!
I'm sooo behind this weekend! I've spent the entire time chasing my tail it feels. Yesterday G and I were at my Brother's house packing up his belongings to put into storage before he moves in with us next weekend for a while.
Then today has been supermarket, washing, tidying and trying to get a little bit sorted as I did absolutely nothing in the evenings last week! The cold and dark is beginning to catch up with me and I am exhausted in the evenings now. But this week I have the little parcel of goodies above to look forward to! My 7 Days of Specialness parcel arrived from Laura which was just the thing I needed to cheer me up last night when I got home.
So whilst the winner won't have that exact goody selection I promise a little parcel of joy that will hopefully brighten your day! I used the random number generator after removing the double comments and the one from M! Because she can't win! The number that came out was, 17, which is Jenny! Well done to you Jenny, and I will be in touch shortly to get your address so that at some point, in the not too distant future, I can send you send something special.
Swaps and Presents
At the beginning of January just after my birthday a little package arrived on my doorstep! A package all the way from America for the Gemma Season.
Two of the most loveliest things ever! My very own dove of peace, which has already had a magic wand waved over it while I chanted "you are not just for Christmas, you are for always" three times!
It was wrapped in this amazing bag that had been made from a t-shirt
It is huge!!! Such a clever idea the sleeves have been cut and wrapped round the seam to make comfy handles for holding. Come Summer, if it ever comes this is going to get a massive amount of use.
The lovely person who sent me these is Sarah. In my last post when I talked about the friendships I've found in blogland Sarah is one of the ones that I feel most lucky to have in my life. We "met" in the Summer of 2006 during a swap we both took part in. (Can you believe we've known each other nearly four years Sarah!?!?) Sometimes the best part of taking part in a swap is the person you get to meet in it. When it came to Sarah the friend I found in her was better than anything that could have come in the post.
And so on to another swap! A few months ago I signed up to take part in Ali's 7 Days of Specialness Swap. I've been collecting things on and off for a few weeks now and this weekend they will go winging there way off to Laura! And just because I love to tease people, here is a little peak of what will be in your happy little parcel!
Don't forget you still have a few days left to enter my blogiversary giveaway! I haven't quite decided what it is going to be as in past years I've tried to tailor it to the person who wins and of course I can't do that until after the weekend!!
