Christmas is here soon and have you decided what to cook yet?

For us, we just finished our late Christmas shopping and nailed down the basics.

Our menu includes;

Starters: Vegetarian spring rolls

Main & Side Dish: Honey Glazed Turkey with cheese topped roasted potatoes, courgettes, tomatoes and pesto gratin.Hubby got some Yorkshire pudding just in case…

Back-up main: Embutido, a Filipino mince pork dish with vienna sausages, sweet pickles, raisins and spices.

Desserts: Christmas Pudding, Vanilla Ice cream and Custard.

Drinks: Red wine; someone here likes St Emilion (Diablo is held as backup), our guest love Baileys and the kids have Apple juice. I did not forget mine – we have a box of Coca Cola in the fridge.

Nothing too fancy this year.

Vegetarian spring roll. It’s always different everytime I make my springrolls – i have difficulty following instructions.

This is my chicken a couple of years back. I am using the same recipe but will marinate the turkey for a day first then stuff it with some really nice things.

Stuffed potatoes covered with cheese! It will be accompanied by Courgettes- Pesto gratin. Yum yum!

And we will finish with the traditional Christmas pudding.

We just got ours from Sainsburys but we do love ours with custard and vanilla ice cream.

Hopefully, the glaze will be perfect this year for a photo finish. That chicken in 2007 is selling rather well as a stock photo.

Anyway, I hope that you got your Christmas dinner sorted out as well as ingredients for the left over later.  Have a great Christmas and looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

After playing with m1 & m2, I got them to help me make Mr Jack. I finished working on him when the kids were eating.

Mr. Jack have blue eyes and red nose and wears a tweed scarf and newsboy hat with a ladybird button (both handmade by me).

Before I start, I must say that I did not like the adaptation of Twilight at all. Having read the books several times over, some scenes did not come out as I imagined them to be. Yeah, visually – things are great but the story was not what I read, Twilight the movie was another version of Twilight the novel.

I re-read (7th time) the New Moon book before watching the movie and finished it last night so everything is still very clear.  The movie is loyal to the book.. if those who said they read the book but still expected something “smashing” I am sorry you were disappointed. New Moon is full of cheesy lines . The characters are expected to be awkward (except for Jacob) -  Jessica hooks up with Lauren who was anti-Bella, Charlie was dead worried about Bella, Jacob’s dad  about Jacob’s transformation, Alice because she wasn’t allowed to come back…   how else would you portray/show awkward? broken-hearted, nervous, hallucinating? How would you behave when you know that the girl is completely lost to another and you do not even have a slightest chance to have her for yourself? eh?

The flow of the story is good (though not perfect) and the atmosphere is very different from the first film. This one is more “real”,  the saturation toned down a lot more. Although, I would’ve liked to see some atmosphere in the forest when Edward left Bella. Some fog or something to really make that bit memorable. They managed to add some humour which is a great, a welcome surprise. The fight scene is great, I love the way Edward gets tossed around by Felix.

There were slight changes; like Bella’s “kiss me” after the accident and Harry’s heart attack. Also some missing bits like when Alice and Bella took the plane to Italy – that conversation explains a bit somethings or when Alice bribed the police in Italy or their arrival back home – I’ve imagined that arrival from Italy many times and I was disappointed it wasn’t included.  Oh, I was wondering whether they’s include the “bonfire” when the Cullen’s left or Bella’s confrontation with her Dad about Sam or her defense of the pack afterwards. Those were not shown, nor her insistence that her father allow Edward in or Edward telling her about the photos under the floorboard,  and when Jacob remembered Sam’s memory of Bella when he found her in the forest around Edward. They also forgot to mention the Denali, which is important to the fourth movie. Because Laurent formed a bond with one of the Denali vampires and when Laurent was killed that  vamp was left emotionally unwell.

What was often forgotten by some audience is the fact that Bella and Edward are mates – made for each other, one cannot survive without the other.  Like Carlisle  to Esme or Jasper to Alice or James to Victoria.

I really think this movie was done well.  If you consider the general awkwardness of the characters in the book , the portrayal of the characters in the movie is okay.

About the abundance of bare-chested men with rippling muscles. I won’t say I did not like seeing all those muscles… boys you are just jealous!  Boys who complained, don’t watch the next movie… there are a lot more of that in the next movies!

If you were thinking of watching and you’ve read the book, I advise you to re-read the book to remind yourself that this movie is about a broken heart, loyalty and friendship. Nothing romantic at all.

If I were to make a list of things in each book then see below:

Twilight

• Bella and Edward meet, they are mates, not the Australian word for buddy.
• Bella get terrorised by another vamp (James)
• James was killed and his mate victoria want vengeance
• Bella and Edward were back in Forks

New Moon

• All goes well until Bella’s b-day.
• Accident happened.
• Edward felt he need to get away to keep her safe. So he left
• Depression (who haven’t thought of suicide after a break-up with a “real love”?).
• Getting Edwards back.
• Marriage proposal.

Eclipse

• Graduation
• Tense relationship with Jacob and Bella trying to mend it ti keep her best friend
• Attack by Victoria’s new-born vampire army
• Their promise to the Volturi.
• Wedding preps

Breaking of Dawn

• Jacob sulking,
• Wedding and honeymoon
• Pregnancy
• Childbirth and Bella’s transformation
• Bella the Vamp and her baby
• Volturi

This is a very quick dish with potential of being very photogenic, especially when you use those nice looking  ramekins and small bowls.

What you need:

2 Ginger cookies – broken into small pieces

2 chocolate cookies – broken into small pieces

2 small bananas, sliced

2tbsp toffee sauce

2tbsp muscovado brown sugar

100ml whipped cream

{ One } Divide the the biscuits between two ramekins and lay the sliced bananas on top and drizzle with toffee sauce

{Two } Whip the cream stiff, then spoon over the banana base. Sprinkle with surgar and serve.

Voila! your 10 minute dessert Enjoy!

I am fond of fiction, paranormal and sagas. Autobigraphies are of no interest to me, especially the contemporary ones. Bookwise, my husband knows that if the story is about a woman of strong character, I might be interested. Does not happen often however. Like, when I saw D. Gemmel’s White Wolf, I was instantly attracted .. so bought the whole series (I think).  Also, when I check something out, I always, look at the last pages. if I cannot form the image in my mind, then I will be bored with it or I won’t understand it.

I have a lot of other books I bought between 4-10 years ago which when scanned were not recognised so I leave those out of the list. I still re-read some of them, others are almost completely forgotten. And there is a series which a friend considers my “filthy reading” which I did not add here. I am not shy about them, I am considering some of my “younger readers.

Voice of the Gods Age of the Five ISBN 9781841493886

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The High Lord Black Magician Trilogy ISBN 9781905654093

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The Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan

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The Novice by Trudi Canavan

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Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe Lewis, CS 9780007202287

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Lord Of The Rings Tolkien, JRR 9780261103252

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Harry Potter The Sorcerer s Stone Paperback Book

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

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Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix Rowling, JK 9780747551003

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Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince Rowling, JK 9780747581109

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Book 7 Adult Edition ISBN 9780747591061

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White Wolf Gemmell, David 9780552146777

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Stormrider Gemmell, David 9780552146760

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Midnight Falcon Gemmell, David 9780552142571

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Swords Of Night And Day Gemmell, David 9780552146784

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Waylander II David Gemmell 9781857235814 Book

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Hero In The Shadows Gemmell, David 9780552146746

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Waylander David Gemmell 9781857236217 Book

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The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend by David Gemmell

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The King Beyond the Gate David Gemmell 9781857236651 Book

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Quest for Lost Heroes David Gemmell 9781857236712 Book

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Sword In The Storm Gemmell, David 9780552142564

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Ravenheart Gemmell, David 9780552146753

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Last Sword of Power David Gemmell 9781857237979 Book

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The Hawk Eternal David Gemmell 9781857238525 Book

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Knights of Dark Renown David Gemmell 9781857236330 Book

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Ironhand s Daughter David Gemmell 9781857238518 Book

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Legend Of Deathwalker Gemmell, David 9780552150811

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Dark Moon Gemmell, David 9780552142533

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Ghost King David Gemmell 9781857236422 Book

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Winter Warriors Gemmell, David 9780552142540

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Morningstar David Gemmell 9781857237856 Book

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Wolf in Shadow David Gemmell 9781857237887 Book

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When Darkness Falls by M. Lackey

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To Light a Candle by James Mallory

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Hobbit Tolkien, JRR 9780261102217

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Sorcery Rising Bk.1 Of Fools Gold Fisher, Jude 9780743440400

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Wild Magic Fisher, Jude 9780743440417

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Dragonmaster by Chris Bunch

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Eragon Paolini, Christopher 9780552552097

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Eldest Christopher Paolini 9780385607902 Book

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Brisingr Paolini, Christopher 9780385607919

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Keeper of the Heart by Johanna Lindsey

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Clicking Her Heels

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If You Could See Me Now

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Career Girls

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The Devil You Know Louise Bagshawe 9780752849843 Book

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Everyone Worth Knowing Weisberger, Lauren 9780007182657

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Chasing Harry Winston Weisberger, Lauren 9780007262717

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Practically Perfect Fforde, Katie 9780099472377

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Tuesday s Child

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A Loving Scoundrel Johanna Lindsey

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Gift Ahern, Cecelia 9780007296583

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One with the Shadows

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Demon s Hunger

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Passages by Connie Willis paper copyright 2001

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Darkest Night HQN

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The Darkest Whisper Bk. 4 Lords of the Underworld Series MIRA S.

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Book Return To Mars Ben Bova

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Heart Of The Sea Roberts, Nora 9780749937379

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Jewels Of The Sun Roberts, Nora 9780749937331

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Man To Call My Own

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No Choice But Seduction Lindsey, Johanna 9780552156325

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Other Boleyn Girl Gregory, Philippa 9780006514008

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Longitude Dava Sobel 9781857025712 Book

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The Love Poems of Rumi by Deepak Chopra

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Jacob s Room by Virginia Woolf

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Short History Of A Prince Hamilton, Jane 9780552998017

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Short Stories Paperback

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When the Emperor Was Divine

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Blue Smoke Roberts, Nora 9780749936662

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Red Lily Roberts, Nora 9780749936143

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The MacGregors Alan and Grant WITH All the Possibilities AND One Man s Art

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Completely Unexpected Tales Dahl, Roald 9780140098204

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The MacGregors Serena and Caine

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The Villa Nora Roberts 9780749932664 Book

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Blue Dahlia Roberts, Nora 9780749935337

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Queen Of The Big Time Trigiani, Adriana 9780743462273

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Playing Easy to Get by Jaid Black

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Labyrinth Mosse, Kate 9780752877327

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Gods Behaving Badly Phillips, Marie 9780099513025

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Edge of Danger A Novel

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Edge of Darkness by Cherry Adair

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Darkness Everlasting Ivy, Alexandra 9780821779392

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Embrace The Darkness Ivy, Alexandra 9780821779378

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Not That Sort of Girl

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Flesh and Stone Berkley Sensation

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Doomsday Conspiracy Sheldon, Sidney 9780006472087

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Tell Me Your Dreams Sheldon, Sidney 9780006512240

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Best Laid Plans Sheldon, Sidney 9780006510550

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King Of Torts Grisham, John 9780099416173

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The Street Lawyer John Grisham 9780099244929 Book

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The Darkest Pleasure HQN

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The Vampire s Bride by Gena Showalter

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Dragonflight Mccaffrey, Anne 9780552084536

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Digging To America Tyler, Anne 9780099499398

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Bloodline Sheldon, Sidney 9780006175018

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Dark Thirst Reinke, Sara 9781420100532

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Body Surfing Shreve, Anita 9780349119014

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Red Lily Roberts, Nora 9780749936143

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The Little Pretender Romantic Times Classics

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The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

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Ivanhoe

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Dark Desires After Dusk

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The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

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No Rest for the Wicked

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Wicked Deeds On A Winter s Night

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Kiss of a Demon King

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A Hunger Like No Other

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Dark Needs at Night s Edge

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Warlock Smith, Wilbur 9780333761342

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One Night With A Prince Jeffries, Sabrina 9780743477727

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Paperback Book Bantam List Price 6.99

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In The Prince s Bed Jeffries, Sabrina 9780743477703

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Seduction in Mind by Susan Johnson

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When Someone Loves You by Susan Johnson

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Again and Again Brava

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Harper Choice Fiction Book PB 5 Digit Extention

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Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin

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Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara

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Other Queen Gregory, Philippa 9780007190348

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9781904233916 Eclipse. Stephenie Meyer.vampire Romance.

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9781904233886 Moon. Stephenie Meyer.vampire.

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Outlaw by Susan Johnson

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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

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Poison Study Snyder, Maria V. 9780778301929

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Magic Study Snyder, Maria V. 9780778302438

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Fire Study Snyder, Maria V. 9780778302650

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Tales Of Beedle The Bard Rowling, JK 9780747599876

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A Painted House John Grisham 9780712670395 Book

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The Last Juror

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The Broker by John Grisham

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The Accidental American Tony Blair and the Presidency

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Water Horse Gregson, Julia 9781409102656

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Pillow Talk North, Freya 9780007245925

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Under A Blood Red Sky Furnivall, Kate 9780751540444

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Three Complete Novels of Courtly Love The Prude and the Prodigal Lies for Love From Hate to Love

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Three Novels of Earls and Their Ladies

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Three Complete Novels of Marquises and Their Ladies Three Complete Novels of Marquises and Their Ladies Ola and the Sea Wolf, Looking for Love, the Call of the Highlands

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Three Complete Novels of Dukes and Their Ladies The Disgraceful Duke Never Laugh at Love A Touch of Love

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Three Complete Novels of Royalty and Romance A Witch s Spell A Song of Love Revenge of the Heart

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Birds Without Wings De Bernieres, Louis 9780099478980

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Blue Smoke Roberts, Nora 9780749936662

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The MacGregors Serena and Caine

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The MacGregors Alan and Grant WITH All the Possibilities AND One Man s Art

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The Villa Nora Roberts 9780749932664 Book

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Blue Dahlia Roberts, Nora 9780749935337

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City of the Beasts

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There is this Apple app that I downloaded recently that got me to making an inventory of all of my books. The first that I took of the shelves are the home, crafts and photography related books. These are my favourites and I even kept the photography basics which might be useful for my husband and kids later on.

The apple app is called Redlaser, it is a barcode scanner. Unfortunately not all the books with barcodes got recognised. All of my japanese craft books were not found on google and amazon.

Check out the list below.

Collins Complete DIY Manual Albert Jackson,David Day 9780007185238

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La decoration Feng Shui Le bien tre dans votre maison

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Big Book of Small House Designs

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You Can Paint Oils A Step By Step Guide for Absolute Beginners

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Petits espaces De 16 60 m2, grandes id es pour mini lieux

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Compact Living

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Small Spaces by Chris Everard

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Small Spaces by Yoshio Shiratori

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Complete Book Of The Flower Fairies Barker, Cicely Mary 9780723248392

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Woodcarving A Manual of Techniques

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Bulbs Geoff Hodge

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Figure Drawing for Fashion Design Elisabetta Drudi 9789054960805 Bo

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Tout un sac

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Bead Fantasies by Takako Samejima

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Bracelets by Amanda Walker

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Doudous et compagnie

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Doudous c lins A coudre

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Couture avec Charlotte

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Last minute Fabric Gifts by Karen Phillipi

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Toys to Sew by Claire Garland

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The Crafter s Companion by Anna Torborg

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Lotta Jansdotter s Simple Sewing Jansdotter, Lotta 9780811852579

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20 objets en feutre

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Bijoux accessoires en feutre

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Sacs de filles

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Tendance sacs 22 Mod les faire soi m me

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Bags of Style Ellen Kharade

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Hip Handbags by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader

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Baby Couture

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Je d bute la couture

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Making Handbags by Ellen Goldstein Lynch

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Quilted Bags Purses Hiney, Mary Jo 9781402702013

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Id es de sac

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Lions, l phants, lapins et canards en tissu

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Bags by Caroline Cox

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Amy Butler s In Stitches Butler, Amy Mcguire, Colin 9780811851596

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Tiaras and Hairpins by Michelle Bungay

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Necklaces by Stephanie Burnham

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Seaside Style by Angelika Taschen

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Fashion DIY by Carrie Blaydes

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Baby Costumes by Bettine Roynon

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Le grand livre du Scrapbooking

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THE ULTIMATE PAPERCRAFT AND ORIGAMI BOOK

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Natural Decorating, Sophisticated Simplicity with Natural Materials

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Le Livre du mariage

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New Inspirations in Wedding Florals by Terry L. Rye

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Quick And Clever Instant Cards Hickey, Julie 9780715320907

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Photography for Scrapbookers by Tracy White

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Painted Pieces In a Weekend

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Table Inspirations

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Pure Style

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Designing Handcrafted Cards by Claire Sunok Choi

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Clay Characters for Kids by Maureen Carlson

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Fairies Gnomes and Trolls by Maureen Carlson

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What Not to Wear Susannah Constantine,Trinny Woodall 9781841882499

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The Earth From The Air 365 Days

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Gardens At Kew Paterson, Allen 9780711225367

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The Art of Close up Photography

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Creative Digital Photography

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Children

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Special Occasion Photography

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The Book of Digital Photography

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Professional Children s Portrait Photography by Lou Jacobs

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Fashion Photography Course Siegel, Eliot L. 9780500287699

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The Complete Guide to Professional Wedding Photography

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Digital Photography Book Kelby, Scott 9780321474049

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Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color by Leatrice Eiseman

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Contemporary Wedding Photography

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Capture The Portrait How To Create Great Digital Photos

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Wedding Photography Now

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London by Martin Kunz

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Your Wedding Anniversary by Cookie Lee

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The Step by Step Guide to Planning Your Wedding 3rd Revised edition

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127. Simple Scrapbooks Scrapbooking Made Easy by Leisure Arts

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Photocraft Things to Do with the Pictures You Love

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The Art of Flower and Garden Photography by Clive Nichols

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Annabel Williams Annabel Williams 99 Portrait Photo Ideas

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I initially planned to cook salmon fillets but the fish was still partially frozen so I cooked the pork steaks instead. This recipe will only take between 30-45mins to prepare and cook unless of course you decide to marinate the meat a bit longer.

Ingredients:

2 pork shoulder steaks

1 tbsp soy sauce

2cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tsp olive oil

1 bunch spring onions

Procedure:

• Mix the soy sauce, grated ginger and olive oil and marinate the meat for at least 10 minutes. For better flavour, marinate for 3 hours.
• Heat the griddle pan until smoking, DO NOT brush oil.  Add the meat and cook for 3-4 minutes each side. Longer if necessary.  Remove from the pan and keep warm.
• Add the spring onions to the pan and brush with any remaining marinade. Cook for 1 minute on each side. Arrange on serving plates and sit the meat on top.  Pour over any juices from the pan and serve with roasted vegetables or crushed new potatoes.

Note:  You may change the meat and use Salmon Fillets instead. Cooking time for the fish is 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Cook skin down first.

I have this old book children’s book The Wind & the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.  This is the un-illustrated 1955 31st reprint of the 21st edition published 29 years earlier. The book, with bright green cloth boards with gilt text and decoration to spine was published by Methuen & Co Ltd in 1955 and printed by Jarrold & Sons Ltd.

Book condition:  Inside the front cover are some writings (name and number). The pages are in very good condition, no tear, crease and writings. There is no dust jacket.

I’ve had some difficulty finding this book online, if you know a link for this edition of The Wind and the Willows, please do share it.

Thank you.

Went for a drive last weekend and ended up at Ongar. A small village close to Epping, in Essex. It has some charm unfortunately it is ruined by the main road passing through it. Although it was Sunday, it was still very busy with some fast cars passing by.  It is small but there are at least 4 pubs there. I like the old Church, built circa1080.

Ongar, Essex

In the olden days, large estates with an army of servants have dedicated rooms for different uses. The above is a dedicated laundry where they wash, dry and iron the linen. It requires to people full time to get things done.

Thank goodness for inventions like the washing machine, flat iron and tumble drier!