The Written Word National Handwriting Week Giveaway

I have always be a lover of the written word , the eloquence and love, passion , sadness and every other human emotion can be conveyed in this way. The other year my teenage son penned one of their letters to your Sixteen year old self in a retopsoective fashion . When you write others can see a maturity in your words that they never thought was there.

Written words brought my Grandad to me when he couldn't come to my wedding due to illness and that added even more sparkle to my wedding day even though my Grandad wasn't there. He had even asked for a written invitation even though he knew he wasn't coming just so he could show everyone about the wedding .



Spoken words  matter.

Written words even more so.

So as it is National Handwriting week I have a giveaway.

The giveaway will end on the 6 th April 2014

As part of its celebration of all things stationery, National Stationery Week is giving one lucky winner the chance to win a bumper stationery hamper worth £50! National Stationery Week takes place from 31 March – 6 April and is dedicated to encouraging Britain to pick up its pens. Good luck!

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Corners of my home

A corner of my home now what can I say as I'm ecleptic in life than this shines through in my home styling . As a child I adored Bagpuss I wanted the cat, I wanted to be Emily I  also fall in love with  unusual I can see and sense a story that others might not understand.

I 'm a collector and my eye can spot carnival glass for  example a mile off , I don't stick to a particular theme I just rotate what I have . The other day as I wandered into the village charity shop I happened upon some Rolls Royce bulletins.

A Doulton plate , a Doulton figure , a Tiffany plate , a a Teddy bear cricketer , a Chinese  trinket from Paris , carnival glass .

And a cucumber dish that my Nan had.

Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

A Visit to T Maxxamus ( TK MAXX )as I call it can leave you light of pocket because of the temptation that is thrown your way , some folk liken it to a up market jumble sale with style but if you know what you are looking for or have a theme in mind then it becomes easier.

Lemon drizzle cake

Everyone loves cakes (and I believe home cooked tastes so much better , heavily intact ) when I get bored I bake so why don'y you bake this  this light and tangy loaf? It is quick, easy and sure to please everyone

Servings: 8-10 depending on what tins you use.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Cake

• 175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 175g (6 oz) butter or magarine (softened)
• 175g (6 oz) caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Finely grated rind of 2 lemons

Lemon syrup

• Juice of 2 lemons, strained
• 115g (4 oz) caster sugar

Method

• Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, butter or spread, milk and whisk for 1 minute with an electric whisk or  2 minutes by hand.

• You can either the mixture into a greased and base-lined 1 kg (2 lb) loaf tin or as I did split into 4 mini bunt tin spooning the remaining mixture into 4 muffin cases, I again use lakeland cake release and this does the trick 99 .99 % of the time.
• 
  
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4 for 1 hour if cooking in a 2lb loaf tin  or if using 4 mini bundt tins then cook for around 30-5 minutes.

• Turn out on to a wire tray.

• Put the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.

• While cake is warm, drizzle the syrup over so that it soaks into the cake.

• Slice and serve warm.

I bought the 4 mini bundt tins from TK MAXX myself and wasn't directed to write this post I was driven by boredom and cake. Cake makes the world go around. * fact.

To The Manor Born

"Younger than Springtime am I " is what I feel like singing glorious weather warms the heart,mind and soul and recharges us from the darkness of winter.

If you know me well enough by now you 'll know I am penchant to wandering about either in the countryside or around my village heart . This week has seen me wander 5 minutes from my place of work to a mystery manor it is on the side of a much older manor and is Victorian and was very grand in it's day. I am hoping when the owner finally answers the door to actually wander round the gardens but it is ramshackle now but there is a elegant beauty about the place.

The Veranda  of The Manor house 

Moss covered now but once was stunning I am sure, it is still beguiling.

This cottage is just called simply "The Cottage"

The lane I walk to work.

Bahlsen PiCK UP! Biscuit Giveaway The Ninja Edition !

Now Ninja cats can't eat biscuits let alone advertise them , Rollie is sulking over this some what as he thought he could be the only Ninja in the pet world! But he is gracious in his defeat and not advertising the biscuits but that Chihuahua better  look over his shoulder !

Now you'll have all have seen the hilarious Ninja Chihuahua advert ! I love the biscuits myself for elevenses or when I get home and want to relax , rest and unwind from a busy day at school. If I took these into the staff room I wouldn't get a look in as biscuits move quicker than the speed of light.

Bahlsen describe PiCK UP! as a mouth-watering slab of thick milk chocolate sandwiched between two crisp biscuits. They are individually wrapped, locking in the freshness and perfect for when you're on the go.

Well, you can find out by entering this Ninja Biscuit Giveaway here on  Ninjakillercat Bahlsen have case of PiCK UP biscuits to giveaway –a case contains 14 packets = 70 biscuits . Enter below by the Rafflecopter magic below before midnight next Monday (31 March) to be in with a chance of winning this great, delicious prize!

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Disclosure I am going to get some biscuits not 70 could be 14 i.e. a packet  . * not sharing *


Uk only I don't think they will post biscuits to Botswana sorry!