Magpies have built a fine nest next to our house (apparently magpies nest next to humans to keep away their crow kin) and today Admin1 sent up the drone to look for blue eggs or fluffy chicks, but they had built a roof and the tree was in leaf so no luck.
Meanwhile Admin1 had his first stab at making a Battenburg cake which turned out extremely well. A lovely meal was had by all and we scored 11 on the GSQ.
Admin1 is reading The Stone Chamber by Kate Ellis and Admin2 is reading Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard, which was extremely implausible.
Tag: cake
Trifling Matters
Another yummy post-cake trifle which we sadly had to share at a distance because unlucky Gez had sprained [update: broken] her ankle. We did the quiz on zoom and scored 9.5.
Admin1 is rereading Breathe by Dominic Donald. Admin2 is reading What You Pay For by Claire Askew.
Happy Birthday Gez
It rained and snowed and hailed and sleeted today, with sunshine in between, and stayed freezing cold throughout. It might as well be spring.
Admin1 is reading A Matter of Time by Claire Askew. Admin2 is reading The Soul Breaker by Sebastian Fitzek, a weird book about an amnesiac encountering an outbreak of unconsciousness in a psychiatric clinic.
Congratulations and Celebrations
Happy New Job, Gez, and a late Happy New Year and quiz at which we scored 10.
Admin1 is rereading Doctor Sleep by Stephen King and Admin2 is reading Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
Happy Birthday Audrey
Boom boom shake the room! Here’s a close-up of the cake.
She’s The One! She’s Every One!
Admin2 is reading Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
We scored 10.5 on the GSQ; thanks to the self-isolating Dave on Zoom.
Dish of the Day: Apricot Tart
Yums!
Admin1 is reading The Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas and Admin2 is reading The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry.
We scored oh dear 8 on the GWQ.
Chrismas
Happy Birthday Chris!
Admin1 is reading The Trawlerman by William Shaw (thanks Admin2!). Admin2 is reading Agency by William Gibson.
Happy Birthday Lee
Pizza, pigs in blankets, eggs, salad and a pink fruity cake. And the family to enjoy it with at a distance.
Admin1 is reading Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler and Admin2 is finishing reading The Russian Interpreter by Michael Frayn.
We scored 10.5 on the GWQ.
Like the Circles That You Find
Pizza followed by trifle!
Admin2 is rereading My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time by Liz Jensen.
We scored FOURTEEN on the GWQ.
Raspberry Pie
A damn fine pie made with raspberries from our garden. Admin1 is rereading Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin and admin2 is reading Bryant and May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler; a damn fine book.
We scored 11.5 on the GWQ.
Last of the Cherries
There were a fair number of cherries on the tree until yesterday when they were suddenly snatched away by wind/squirrels/birds. Here are the last two survivors on Admin1’s lovely cake incorporating multicoloured glace cherries from Gez.
Admin1 is reading The Falls by Ian Rankin. Admin2 is reading Ten-Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler.
Happy Birthday Chris
A coffee cake with Tia Maria icing and lots of presents. Today is the hottest day of the year: 33.3 °C with plenty of sunshine: 12.5kWh. Admin1 is reading Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler.
Happy Birthday Dave!
And Eid Mubarak too!
How sad to be just one kilometre away and unable to taste the cake, especially as we made it.
Admin1 is reading The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths.
Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries
Admin1 made this delicious cherry and almond cake. Thank you.
Admin2 is reading Gallowstree Lane by Kate London; compelling. All KL’s books have been good; too bad she’s only written three.
Happy Birthday Gez
Thanks to the next doors for transportation to the isolation celebration.
Admin2 is reading Northern Lights by Philip Pullman.
International Womens Day
Women are not to be trifled with.
Admin1 is reading The Runaway by Ali Harper.
We scored 11.5 on the GWQ.
World Book Day
Today was our sunniest day this year: 3.769kWh
Happy Birthday Bob
Hip hip hooray, the Bobs is four today!
Despite the ongoing Storm Denis it was our sunniest day this year so far: 1.827kWh on the 3000th day of our solar panels.
Admin1 is reading Slow Motion Ghosts by Jeff Noon. Admin2 is reading The Fire Court by Andrew Taylor.
We scored 10.5 on the GWQ.
Raspberry Pie
Raspberries are red
Cream is white
Chocolate is sweet
And you are all right
Admin1 is reading Girl at Midnight by Katarzyna Bonda.
Happy Birthday Audrey
Two cakes!
Admin1 is reading Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths. Admin2 is reading Sewer, Gas & Electric by Matt Ruff (thx Admin1), a mad caper written in 1997 but set in 2023.
We scored 10.5 on the GWQ.
Cake
More birthday fun with a slap-up Chinese banquet, followed by a visit to Terror from the Skies
Admin2 is reading The Second Sleep by Robert Harris (thx Admin1), an engaging book set in a post-apocalyptic medieval theocracy where archaelology is anathema (he could have callled it A Canticle for Morgenstern).
We scored, um, 8 on the GWQ.
Mazel Tov Sarah and Ian
And props to Gez for these sublime vegan wedding cakes.
Admin1 is reading Tombland by CJ Sansom. Admin2 has been reading Normal People by Sally Rooney: boy meets/loses/finds again/loses again/finds again girl, rinse and repeat.
We scored 12 on the GWQ with a little help from Dave.
Pizza Cake
Admin2 made a pizza trifle with cake for base, jelly for sauce, custard for cheese and grapes, cherries and bananas for trimmings. It was disturbingly floppy.
Admin2 is reading The Nightwalker by Sebastian Fitzek; nightmare scenario.
Happy Birthday Dave
He got Theresa May’s resignation as a birthday present, spent the morning on the climate march and got into the Guardian.
and it was the sunniest day of the year: 12.89kWh.
Admin1 is playing Bioshock and Admin2 is reading Inhuman Resources by Pierre Lemaitre. What a lovely day.
Impasta
A spaghetti and meatballs (actually biscuit, truffles, jam and nuts) cake in honour of His Noodly Majesty the Flying Spaghetti Monster, bless his noodly appendages. It fooled the cat.
We had our sunniest April day ever (10.83kWh) and scored 10 on the GWQ.