'cause there's no-one here to say we can't have cake for breakfast'

 Cyclone Gabrielle came and went, leaving a world of pain behind her.  There are no words adequate to describe the loss and fear some have experienced.  I want to tell you how our week has gone but first I must state that there are plenty of people hurting and as much as we were able to have some fun we did not forget that we were luckier than others.  During the week, I jot down notes that are then edited, refined, most often deleted in the final draft before publishing. I have left those notes in italic to show where our heads were at in the few days before Gabrielle arrived. Remember the Games Night Gathering from a few weeks back...the jigsaw came out. It took us 8 days and lots of guests. We all paused at the table and were duty bound to place at least one piece before moving on. It was exciting to come back to the table and see how much had, or hadn't, been done. We're now actively looking for jig-saws. We are in puzzle-mania mode! Much of this week has been pr...

I told the story last week of an inconsiderate guest. It's true, I don't love them all.  However, some guests surpass the status of guest and become friends.  It's one of the nicest things about this industry.  We meet wonderful people and make good friends. We have two guests in the house currently, who have crossed the barrier to become personal friends. They are people that I would invite to my own home, even if it wasn't at Toad Hall.   This vibe seems to have rubbed off on everyone this week. Wow! We have hosted the friendliest, fun, considerate and interesting folk this week. It's been an absolute pleasure hosting them all. The breakfast table is a hive of chatter. Folk are sharing experiences and plans. Grouping together for day-trips and making plans for shared meals. This is exactly as a shared-house model should be.  Feels like a win! Roof terrace design Summer has finally chased out the rain, for now anyway, so it was time to tackle the issue of provi...

This bread needs no toasting or spread.  It's perfect, just as it is.  Make a sweet dough in the bread maker 1 cup milk - warm 50g butter - melted 5 Tblsp sugar 3 tsp yeast 2 eggs 3.5 cups flour ¼ tsp salt Set bread maker to dough. After mixing leave to rise for about an hour. By hand or with a mixer using a dough hook add: 100g pitted chopped prunes 150g chocolate drops Divide dough in two Place each dough into loaf tins Leave an hour to rise Bake at 175°C for 40-45 mins. Note: keep an eye on the top and cover with tin foil if it's getting too dark.