Angel or Fairy?

I've been saving this up  for Christmas week, but I leave you to choose the correct word for this vision in pink!

You can see my great niece chose her ensemble with great care, as is her wont, and you will understand the seriousness of the occasion if you pop over here to read the back story of the doll and scissors... But perhaps I should give you a clue...


I can see her as a doyen of the fashion scene for years to come - if she isn't too busy writing books...Go for it, girl!

I'm going to link this to I saw Sunday and Monday Toads, simple because this little madam is a poem in her own right.

Two Times Fifty Five Is Twice As Nice

Having been talking about cards and Round Robins, I shall continue with a Bah Humbug slant on the Festive Season, especially for Mr Know-it-all's Friday 55 challenge. Except that I have written two co-joined 55's,  hence my post title!

Decorations, trees and cards

greet us on every hand.

I think it’s time we all rebelled

and let sense take a stand.

In olden days, a card was made

by one, to give another.

A special thing, a work of love

to give a dad or mother,

sibling, friend or relative

or possibly a lover.

Now cards are often ‘tit-for-tat’

dispatched with little thought,

‘cept moaning about postage

which costs more than it aught!

And presents? Well, a nightmare!

for costs get out of hand;

children want the ‘latest thing’

to hit the adverts stand.

Here’s to a different Christmas,

where love, not money rules.

Do Have  A  Happy Yule!

Epistles

At this time of year, many of the Christmas cards being trundled around the world, contain, inside their glitter sprinkled fold, an epistle. For what better name is there to describe the annual letter which regales us with the sender's highs and lows since this time last year?

Don't get me wrong, a real letter with a card enclosed, is welcome at any time, for the letter is the main attraction, and the card and additional extra. But once the letter takes second place to the card - it's time to beware. I'm sure you'll know the kind I mean - more like a mail shot than a letter written to an individual! Informative, maybe, but soulless...


However, the Wednesday challenge  on Imaginary Garden today is to write an epistle. They ask us to choose a character or characters from literary history: a fictional character or the person of a poet, author or artist, and to write a poem in letter form (or a letter in poem form), either to, or from the character of your choice.

The Jinksy sense of humour took over at this point!  LOL ♥

Not What It Looks Like

Not a night sky, not a pseudo Christmas tree with candles, not a Jinksy graphic - merely a collection of crochet snowflakes I took to my classmates this morning, to thank them for the fun we've had this term at our creative writing class. I let them cho0se one each.

And over on Fridge Soup, I offered to send one or two to the Blogger who left the cleverest, or funniest caption for the snowman cartoon I'd found on Google.  As ever, you have to be in it to win it, so why not put your thinking caps on? See if you can captivate me with your offering, and I promise to post you a non-melting, everlasting snow flake to say thanks!

Cream Anyone?

cookalmostanything.blogspot.com

Stephen Hayes asked for a recipe for Clotted Cream to go with the scones I showed in the previous post.  So here's one that I'm sure will work, as I once watched, and sampled, cream being made in the same way.

Cornish Clotted Cream Recipe:

To make this you need full cream jersey or a similar milk. The quantity can vary to suit the size basin one uses, with a minimum of 1 litre or 2 pints to make it worthwhile. Pour milk into a basin and leave in a cool place (not freezer) for at least 8 hours until the cream has risen to the top. Then put the basin carefully over a saucepan of boiling water - not letting any water get into the milk. A pudding basin will rest on the rim of the right sized saucepan. Let the water simmer on a slow boil until the cream begins to show a raised ring around the edge and the surface begins to bubble. When sufficiently cooked in about 3/4 - 1 hour take off heat - lift basin carefully and place in a cool place. Skim cream gently off the surface into a dish and enjoy it!


This cream recipe was found here and I've added a recap photo of the scones that rhyme with 'gone ' as Doctor FTSE so kindly explained with this verse:-
 
"I asked the maid in friendly tone
to order me a buttered scone.
The foolish girl has been and gone
and ordered me a buttered scone."  

 I'll email the scone recipe to anyone who asks...and that's still 'scone' as per 'gone', if you're wondering...

And for some glorious sights that were to be found outdoors this week, I suggest you pop HERE  for a Susannah's eye view of her world!

Done To a 'T' (for tea)

This afternoon I suddenly got the urge to make some scones to go with my afternoon cuppa. They are the first ones I've made for years, literally, and I wondered whether I'd have lost the touch!

I think they could have done with a smidgen more kneading, as in retrospect the tops appear a little rougher than usual, but the taste and inner texture were exactly right. From start to finish they took about twenty five minutes - and that can't be bad!

The aerial view doesn't do justice to the luscious depth of these quick-fix scones. By dividing the dough in this way, rather than cutting into rounds, there are no oddments to reshape, as these 'seconds' tend to end up tougher, because of the extra handling.

Every portion is ready to go into the oven at once.

All that's missing is some jam and cream and seven Blogpals to join me in eating them!

I'll email the recipe to anyone who asks...