A decision : that from now on, all presents for family people (at least) will be wrapped in material, not in a clever Japanese way (furoshiki), just a pedestrian use of patterned material (forever recyclable) instead of paper.
Our presents from the world this week ; carpet tiles that were going to be thrown away at the local library to use until we can afford real new stuff and Lisbon referendum election posters (mostly No on this batch) to use as wonderful shed-roofing material (note that : election around the corner, harvesting time after closing time or the morning after for anyone with shed-roofing projects).
Seed-swapping day at Knockvicar this Sunday, 12 to 4. Seeds, hot food, hot drinks (for the benefit of Survival International as usual) and Seed-saving workshops with Madeline McKeever of the Brown Envelope seed company. Some cake even perhaps but not the birthday one for N you can see below, see but not taste as it has all been eaten already in very thin slices. This same cake, was once made for me on my birthday, a long time ago (my mother, dead 7 years ago yesterday, still some ropes to learn). Raymond Oliver’s Gâteau au chocolat du Prieur, chocolate génoise in thin slices, Chocolate buttercream, Coffee buttercream, a lot of labour believe me, hmm. It will be even more delicious next time it is made here, had not put the two tablespoons of rum in the chocolate buttercream and also had to skimp on coffee buttercream because of a planning error. The buttercream is made with sugar made into syrup and brought to 120ºC so no crunching of caster sugar undertooth.