Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I just wanted to wish everybody (especially those I can't send Christmas cards to) a very Merry Christmas. And I hope that 2018 brings you better and brighter things than 2017.


I am certainly hoping for this. I don't really do resolutions, but I am going to work on me next year. I need to make myself stronger physically and mentally. I need to build my self-esteem so that I don't fall into the same trap again in a relationship. (More on that on another blog post maybe?)


Yesterday the boys helped with the baking. I made a Christmas cake (with photos to follow once I've decorated it.)

Kieran helped make the mince pies and Ben thoroughly enjoyed building the gingerbread house.

They may be older, and so the magic of Santa has disappeared. But as they say, as one door closes another opens. It was lovely all working in the kitchen together yesterday.

Merry Christmas, everyone,

from the Morgans x x x

Advent Calendar Day 23 #ChristmasBaking

Behind door 23 is mince pies!

Yesterday, the boys and I baked our mince pies. It's a lot of stress for someone who doesn't like mess and is a bit controlling in how she likes things done, but mince pie making is relatively easy to do with kids. (She said after consuming a couple of glasses of sherry). It doesn't help that I have a small kitchen either.

Ben's Gingerbread House

I had also bought a kit from Ikea for a gingerbread house, thinking that my eldest might like to make it. Again, a bit stressful, but I tried to stay out of it, other than the making of the icing, and gave him free decorative rein.

I don't think it turned out too bad considering. I actually thought it would collapse as soon as the roof went on, but it held! Yay!

I used to make a Christmas cake and feed it sherry leading up to Christmas, but I haven't done that for a couple of years now, only because it won't get eaten. I'm not really a big cake Christmas cake eater, but I love icing it! And there is only so much food I can have in the house as I don't like waste - or Christmas would go on until February with the amount of cake we have to get through.

Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, we'll be making the Yule Log which Ben is a big fan of and cooking up the gammon.

When I say making the Yule Log, I buy a cheap chocolate swiss roll and ice and decorate it. :) But that's the boys' Christmas cake done.

Do you bake mince pies or have your own Christmas baking traditions?

I am trying to make mince pie baking a little tradition for me and boys each year. That way I don't have to buy them, and they're inclined to eat the ones they've made.

Merry Christmas! Only two more sleeps.

Advent Calendar - Day 24

One Yule Log

It's Christmas Eve! It is Christmas Eve!

Yesterday I spent the day baking mince pies - with the help of the boys; icing a Yule Log (I cheat and buy a chocolate swissroll and ice it); making brandy butter, and jellies. Fizzy jellies for kids made with lemonade and fizzy jellies for adults made with Prosecco.

Today I am going to relax - well as much as I can but we do have an afternoon walk along the seafront planned, weather permitting. What I haven't done will now have to be forgotten. To be honest I have plenty of food, so I shouldn't stress.

Two helpers

And so, with this blog post, I would like to wish all my friends and readers a very Merry Christmas, and may 2015 be full of nice surprises and promise, and as little of the bad, boring, reality stuff as possible.

33 mince pies... well, now 31

Advent Calendar - Day 5

What's behind door number five of the advent calendar...

Not that long ago I had Debbie Johnson on my blog talking about her new book Cold Feet at Christmas. 

This is a lovely Christmassy book cover. And look - cake! But without the calories. 

I haven't made a Christmas cake this year. I decided to leave it, as I love so many other cakes... Stollen, Panetonne... (those I'm not brave enough to make) and I wanted to bake/make some different cakes/desserts this year. 

Last year's Christmas cake

Do you like traditional Christmas cake? Or do you enjoy something else?

Don't Mention The C Word

I know, it's not even October yet, and I don't like thinking about it too much until after my birthday, but yesterday I made my Christmas cake! There I said it. The C word.

I like to make the cake early, so I can feed it sherry leading up to, you know, the time.

I don't really eat it, but I enjoy decorating the cake. It makes the home feel festive with a bit of **** cake. I did only make a small one this year.

I've also booked the panto for Me, Dad and the monsters! It has to be done early to get the best seats. I will mention The C Word no more.

In other news: Today I am over on Annalisa Crawford's blog, so please pop over and say hello to me. You might learn some new gossip about me if you go take a look.

Come back Wednesday for Hump Day Hot Seat with Wendy Lou Jones! 

Good Friday

Happy Easter!

Friday is always a good feeling, isn't it? The end of the working week, the beginning of the weekend. Well, it is if you don't work the weekend (like I will be).

I thought I'd give you a round up for the week. Not much writing has been achieved during the day, as the kids are off, and I've got to entertain them. Plus, even on occasions when they're playing nicely, I just can't sneak off and start writing as I know if they come to me, I get really stressed, and start getting cross with them - because I want to be writing and don't want interruptions. Which is hardly fair on them. So I've been saving the writing until the evenings, but I have managed to get some reading of The Wedding Favour done and fixed the edits that I see. I'm aiming at four chapters a day, and I've got the last three left now. I suppose then I have to start looking at the synopsis, etc. Argggh!

Lunch on Sandford Station

I did enter The Wedding Favour into the Novelicious competition, so may have to hold off sending it to publishers until the 24th April now. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, having to wait longer, but then, you never know, it might come somewhere in this competition and it would have been worth the wait. We will see. Fingers crossed, please!

As you can see by the word count, I'm 50% through Perfect Isn't An Option - so I've been getting some writing done in the evenings! I'm not sure it will actually make 80,000 words but I need to set up a time line, so that I don't get muddled with what happened when. It's more for Ruby and Steve when they were younger, and his filmography. And also, it takes place over 2-3 months, so I need to keep track of everything in relation to running up to Christmas.

The troublesome trucks at Sandford Station

Over the Easter Holidays, the kids and I have so far had a 14.5 mile cycle ride along the Strawberry Line - Yatton to Winscombe - with Grandad Ron (Monday), watched Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, made rice crispy cakes, (Wednesday) and with the weather changing, even played the odd board game (Yesterday - it was too cold to venture out, plus it means I end up spending money). Today, their dad should be taking them to the cinema to see the new Pirates movie, meaning I'll get my run in and hopefully some writing done.

Last night, I watched Limitless with Bradley Cooper. He starts off looking like a drug addict and a tramp, but soon sharpens up his image. With him on screen 99% of the time, I was in Bradley Cooper heaven. Well worth a watch - just for his blue eyes.

Happy Easter everyone!

Butterflies For Nanny

The end result... da daa!

Friday, Kieran didn't want to go to preschool, which is totally out of character for him.  We went, but he clung to me, and I just didn't want to leave him distressed.  It's not like he does it all the time, so thought something must be up.  Even his favourite key workers (who he talks about all the time) couldn't prise him away from me, so I decided to take him home.  Tomorrow, I'll be leaving him whatever tantrum he pulls.  I don't want him thinking he can cry it off whenever he wants - I'm not that much of a pushover... and I want to go for a run, besides it's good training for school.

The best bit of making cakes - licking the spoon/spatula!

When we got home, coats and shoes off, I told him no TV, not until after lunch, because he would usually be at preschool.  He had to play with his toys.  It meant I couldn't go for a run, or do much in writing related activities (WRA as I call it) so instead, once I'd had a cup of coffee, we baked cakes.  The boys have a few cake mixes in the cupboard from Nanny Sylvie, so Kieran chose the mini butterfly cakes, and that's what me made.

'Can I lick it?' is a constant phrase while cooking and he loved turning the Kenwood on.  'I do it.' 

And once they'd cooled and I'd made the butter icing, I cut the tops off, iced them, and Kieran added the sprinkles.  It was a nice morning, actually.  Not too stressful.  I can manage one child while trying to bake.  With two, I run out of room as I feel overcrowded - two heads trying to peer into the bowl, rather than one, plus fights over the spatula!

The mixture made twelve mini cakes... but both chefs had to try one each, so we were quickly down to ten.   They were so small, mummy could pop one in whole!  Yum yum!

Day 22 - Bake Me A Cake

(Sorry this is a bit late - last night I was so engrossed in writing a chapter - over 2,000 words written -  I didn't realise the time!)

Before baking!

Yesterday I was very busy indeed.  I made 24 mince pies (not sure where Nigella got 36 from, unless my pastry is a bit thick and my stars are bigger), 12 cupcakes and iced a Yule log.

I had all good intentions of making the mince pies with the kids, but I'm not the best with my patience and I've been considerably worse lately - and it's not even PMT time!  Nigella said to split the pastry, so I did one batch without the kids (as they'd sloped off), cling filming the other and sticking it in the fridge.  Then, once ready to roll the next lot of pastry I called the boys.

Luckily, Ben had decided to be engrossed in whatever he was doing and only Kieran came.  Yet, that was still stressful because he just wanted to dump the cutter in the middle of the pastry.  He did let me position it, then he cut - eventually.  But he soon got bored and went off to play.  (I'm such a terrible mummy).

Afterwards! 24 made in total, though a few had to be tested!

My dad - the Godsend - turned up at twelve thirty to take them out.  I hadn't even given them lunch.  So after a quick lunch, they wrapped up warm and headed out with Grandad for the bus into town.  They apparently walked the seafront to see the beach covered in snow and caught a double decker home!

I was able to bake and ice the cakes, and start on the Yule log before the return of the monsters.

I only had half a box of royal icing left, thanks to Mr Tesco's not allowing me to order any more.  I couldn't find it on their website for love nor money, and kept forgetting to buy some when out.  Anyway, I had some left over fondant icing from Ben's cake so after some manipulation, it got back to it's pliable form, adding a bit of colour, and I was able to roll it out and cut it.  Did the same to decorate the Yule Log.  

Ran out of royal icing, so coloured some fondant icing

Yule Log for the boys!

Gosh, looking at this blog, you'd think I was a baker, not a writer.  I enjoy baking, when I have the time and can get on with it (on my own).  I'm not very good at trying to bake with the boys sometimes.  For some reason then, my kitchen feels very small.  It's alright if I only have the one, but when two of them crowd over me, I don't have room to swing a cat.  And then they want to lick everything, even if I've not finished with it yet, including the knife I've cut the butter with! 

But this time of year, I'm particularly in the mood to cook.

Baking does get me away from my PC, which is sometimes a good thing.  I do suffer with RSI, and I'm feeling it this morning, having sat at my PC all night last night, bashing away a chapter.  But it was getting exciting!

So far I have failed with any more reading.  But I have made my target of forty books this year!

I now have so much food made that I'm not going to make my Rocky Road yet.  Decided we have loads of stuff here to eat - and depending on the weather no one may turn up to eat it!  If my mum does come to me Tuesday, rather than us go to them, then Monday I might make it.  Otherwise I'll make some for New Years or something.  I am thinking I'll send Dad home on Christmas day with some home made mince pies.  In fact, I might go and see if I can dig out a box...

Mum's Birthday Cake...

That I made! Coffee, Chocolate and Walnut from my Green and Blacks recipe book.  Coffee icing is from another chocolate book.

Oh and Kieran helped... with the washing up!