TIME TRAVELLING (part one!!)

Here we are, midsummer already. Everyone's either going or been on their holidays, from far off places to the nearest of coasts, or a favourite destination.
For me, a holiday is about visiting places, seeing and experiencing new things. I've never been one for sitting on a beach for two weeks, I can't stand being hot. Some may say it's my age (!) but I've been like it since I was a child.
I love our climate, and the changing of the seasons, it's so varied.
For this years holiday, we had planned a two week walking holiday in Northumberland.
Unfortunately it didn't happen. After a fall last year, my knee has got progressively worse and a walking holiday was out. I shall need surgery but at the moment I'm trying to carry on as normal as possible, which is difficult at times.
So I thought I would take you on a travelling expedition through my blog of some of my favourite places. But what does the "time travelling" title mean? Well hopefully you can view a vision of the past through my visits to various places.
When I was at school, history really didn't interest me. We went too far back in time. The battle of Hastings wasn't close enough to the eras that I was interested in. Modern history was more relevant to me, what the lives of the last five or six generations of my family were like. Something I could see, and try to be a part of.
So I'll begin my travels with you and our first stop is....Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast


.....
The ruins of St. Hilda's Abbey dominate the skyline.....


....
along side this is the church of St. Mary's. It was here that Bram Stoker found inspiration for his world famous novel Dracula.
and spreading below, ( after you have descended the 199 steps) you will walk along the maze of alleyways and streets with some wonderful shops....



...... which run down to the quayside....


....it's lovely to walk along here, come rain or shine.

I've often wondered what it would have been like 100 years ago, when my grandparents were small and they visited.
There are many themed weekends which happen in Whitby. On our last visit, there had just been a Gothic weekend, photographs were on display in the visitor and information centre. They were absolutely stunning, and the costumes were wonderful. A real inspiration for anyone.




.... then when you get hungry, go here for lunch.....

.... you can eat in, or take out, but i would recommend you eat in the restaurant, you won't be disappointed. They serve some of the finest fish and chips I have ever tasted!
We're going to move on now, and visit York but first stop.....
it's time for afternoon tea, and we find ourselves at Betty's in York...

we'll just take a peek in the window, (while we're waiting for a table) just to see what we shall be taking with us when we leave....


..... once we've eaten we shall continue our journey.
If you'd like to know more about Whitby, I have put a link in below, there's also one for Betty's.
Enjoy, Linda


Betty's

whitby

You are so beautiful!

You are so beautiful!
Originally uploaded by Shabby Tiger

At last, the roses are blooming. This one, I just had to pick as the colour is so vibrant.
Our garden is full of roses, along with many other plants, but roses must be my true favourite.
Mick and I will be going of to the David Austin rose centre in a couple of weeks time. it's not far from Telford, (another lovely place to visit) I'm sure that we'll come back with something special. It's truly worth a visit. They have a lovely Old English style tea room, with the most exquisite delights to tempt anyone. The gift shop is an Aladdins cave, with rose covered china teapots, to the most luxurious bathtime treats. All this and beautiful show gardens with experts on hand to help and advise. Then all you have to do is walk around the vast beds of roses for sale. Heaven! I can't wait !
My camera is already in my bag, and I'll be taking lots of pictures and no doubt bringing something else home too!

A bit of this....

A bit of this....
Originally uploaded by Shabby Tiger

When friends call to say they're coming to see us, I always ask "what cake do you fancy?" Well when my friends Tina and James rang to say they were coming over, the answer was "Oh chocolate, of course!"
So, a chocolate cake it was. I must confess, this one was filled with whipped cream. I always whip the cream and then leave it to "settle" in the fridge for a couple of hours before using to sandwich the cake together. It seems to hold much better.
How long di it last? Not long ....and hubby has requested one for his birthday next week. I'm sure I can manage that! Maybe I'll put some strawberries on it too! Watch this space!

knit one...eat one!

knit one...eat one!
Originally uploaded by Shabby Tiger

Well, the real ones were eaten. Actually the ones pictured were the last few left from a punnet which were eaten with a carton of fresh cream. I didn't eat them all myself, I did share them with hubby!
Doesn't this tell us that summer is just around the corner? I do hope so!
The knitted strawberries are sold, but I will be adding to my shop and blog shop very shortly.

Family Favourites.

I know, some of you (probably my age and older!) will be thinking of that programme which used to be on the radio, and humming along to the theme tune. Which is what I thought of myself as I typed the title to this post. What I was think of, was on the food side of family favourites.
Although both our children now have homes and children of their own, when baking day arrives somehow I still have them in mind.
I usually do a batch bake and freeze, unless I have something special to make, like when we go to visit our daughter.
I usually bake these, my daughters favourites .....


so they get packed up safely for the journey south.
My son and his family, also like cupcakes, but his favourite is this....


I always used to use butter cream or fresh cream as a filling, but family's favourite is marscapone cheese and icing sugar mix. Mmmm! When the fresh british strawberries are in season, they look lovely between the layers and taste so good!
Hubby's favourite is this.....

....Dorset apple cake, made to a traditional Dorset recipe. Served with a helping of clotted or double cream. (My favourite too, I think!). I usually end up making two of these, as one goes off to work with hubby, ( when it's his turn to take a treat in!).
But we all love this...

...rhubarb pie. I soak the rhubarb in orange juice and add fresh ginger. Serve with lashings of hot custard.
There is nothing more special than home baked food. It's so easy to pick something up from the supermarket on your weekly shopping trip. But I'd much rather do it my way.
Now, I'm sure there's some cake left...isn't there?

Spring is in the air!

Spring is in the air!
Originally uploaded by Shabby Tiger

What a glorious day it's been today. Whilst attempting to hang out the washing this morning, ( it's a little difficult at the moment with my knee problem) I realised that not only had the daffodils finally come out, but the violets too. So, time to get the camera out and see if I could get a few nice shots.
At first glance, I thought I just snapped the violets, but was so pleased when I found I'd snapped this too.
Spring is certainly here. Roll on the warmer days and lighter nights!

Playing with colour

I still seem to be on a pink "thing", I think it's because of our grand daughters, as I've done a lot of pink knitting this last year or so! So I've been playing with colours for several projects and these are a few of the images I've been looking at...
My set of ceramic bowls.....

.....although this picture hasn't really done them justice, the colours are really pretty, (and the pink one's gorgeous!)....
Jelly beans, eat them or look at them? Your choice!


...
A kaleidoscope, having made many of these in the past, and I've had a lot of success with them on handmade cards. Very addictive, once you get making them!

...
Spring flowers, they're just an inspiration in themselves...



.. there's still more pink.....


....even though my favourite colour is green!
Then there's this lot to consider...

I just love glitter and sparkle.... and, there's always vintage to inspire...



Don't you just love colour? I think I'll be a while yet, don't you?