Happy anniversary eve, admins 1 & 2! We were gifted fizzy wine, ate solstice cake trifle and scored 11 on the GSQ.
Admin1 is reading The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths. Admin2 is reading Bad Actors by Mick Herron.
Tag: cake
Happy Birthday
Admin1 celebrated his miscellaneous birthday today and was treated accordionly. What a surprise! He also got a load of books, a t-shirt, coffee for (and from) Africa and cups to drink it from. We ate emergency sandwiches (not expecting dinner guests) and yummy carrot cake.
Admin1 is now reading Bad Actors by Mick Herron. Enjoy! [Admin1: And I certainly did! Many thanks, also to GDA&B for the wonderful presents and a terrific birthday. I’ve just realised you could base a tune on their names…perhaps I could play it on an accordion 🙂 ]
Admin2 is reading Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel.
Solstice Cake
Happy longest day everybody.
Admin2 is reading The Mash House by Alan Gillespie, a crowdfunded debut which was beautifully written and horribly shocking.
Considered Trifle
Our concession to the Platinum Jubilee: a sort-of Union Flag in raspberries and blueberries on a fruity trifle based on Admin1’s marble cake (also visible on the right). A splendid meal was enjoyed by all and we scored 9 on the GSQ.
Admin1 is reading The Killing Song by Lesley McEvoy. Admin2 is rereading Spook Street by Mick Herron.
Feed Us All!
Here’s our attempt at the Platinum Jubilee Pudding which we consumed after a very filling and delicious meal of roast lamb,new potatoes, yorkshire puddings, gravy and veg. [The pudding itself was OK in its citrussy way, but not a patch on our usual fruity cakey trifles and we’ll probably never make one again but we had most of the ingredients already and didn’t have to use the recipe which would have taken hours, cost a fortune and left us with a bucketful of superfluous egg whites.] We were too full to think and scored only 7 on the GSQ. Shame!
Easter Eggs
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.
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.