CuppaTea

I have now read 9 books for the reading challenge - getting ahead of schedule, which is fun. I have just started the book I have chosen for the category 'a book with over 500 pages'... This one has nearly 1500! But the characters are fascinating, and I'm already drawn in. I have really enjoyed reading a wider variety of books than I would normally choose. While I enjoy quite a few different genres, I tend to read mainly classics, fantasy and detective fiction. I tend to avoid non fiction, especially biographies. So far through the books I have read this year I have read historical fiction, mystery, young adult fiction, a memoir, a biography, a glimpse into poverty in a particular time period, and a glimpse into deep grief and the impact it has on a whole family (contemporary fiction). So many new authors, or authors I haven't read in a long time! And stories set on four continents! A few of the books have been very emotionally wrought, and it has been important for ...

Yesterday I used a recipe I've never used before, one from my great-grandmother. I have no personal memories of this woman, as she died when I was very small, and the main reason I chose the recipe was to use some of the huge amount of plums we have at the moment. My Mum has fond memories of this cake, so I was really looking forward to giving it a go and tasting it for myself. Only to find that it is difficult to follow a simple recipe if the woman who passed it on to another generation was the kind of person who deliberately gave less than the full information required...