New Camera!

Before I went into hospital I thought I would treat myself to a brand new camera. I've had a lower spec Lumix for quite a while and I do love it to bits, but I've been wanting one with a bigger zoom and other features for some time so I took the plunge and ordered the Lumix TZ8 above.

I am going to America in a few weeks (October 8th!) and I can't wait to use it there. I've had a little play with it but so far I haven't had too much opportunity between naps and coming out of a drugs haze.

I received a big order yesterday of felt. I've been waiting for ages for it so I'm glad it's finally arrived. I managed to plonk myself on the floor to sort it all out too which definitely indicates I'm on the mend! I naturally forgot to order a couple of colours, but they should arrive next week (doh!).

Yesterday I started sewing on lots of poms for my Christmas tree hangings. It's quite relaxing sitting doing that while people bring me cups of tea!

Hope you're all well and I want to thank you all once again for your sweet words and get well's. I'm getting there and I really do appreciate the kindness. :)

I'm home!

Hi all. Just a quick message to let you know that I'm home and on the mend. I'm very sore and very tired but I'm also getting quite bored of sitting around not doing much so I think that's a good sign. :)

I won't go into too much detail but the surgery was a success. They removed the cyst from my ovary and it was the size of a fist - which is a bit scary. Anyway, they don't see any problems for the future which I'm really happy about - I didn't have the best stay in hospital (had a funny turn, nurses weren't very helpful) but I'm glad to be home.

Thank you all so much for the well wishes. My mum has sent out some parcels already and anything outstanding will hopefully go out tomorrow.

I'll hopefully back to my normal chipper cute loving self soon. :D

Down time

Just a little announcement to say that on Monday I am going into hospital for some keyhole surgery. I have been having uh... lady trouble for the last few months and after lots of scans and tests, it's been found that I have a (still growing) cyst in my left ovary which I am going to have removed.

I've never had surgery before or gone under general anaesthetic so I'm not sure how my body's going to cope. I've been told I may get to go home the same day, or it might be Tuesday - it will just depend on how well I feel.

As such, I am going to keep all the shops open. I won't be able to move around much for a few days but my mum is going to be on post office duty for me so deliveries will be kept up to date - however just to note that there might be a 1-3 day delay in sending orders.

I intend to be able to get online when I'm home (all snuggled up in bed) to let you know how I am and a status update on the orders (if there are any!).

Chocolate Peppermint Muffins

Today I did a spot of baking. Whenever I do, it's usually a spur of the moment type thing. I've been wanting cake for a good week now so I thought it time to do something about my craving. I tried following a friend's recipe but in the end I took a classic recipe and made it my own.

I have to say they turned out delicious! I used peppermint creams (which you can buy in any supermarket) and as the muffins cool the peppermint adds a nice chewy texture to the cake. REALLY nice. Anyway, I thought I would share the recipe with you. Hope you like it!

Chocolate Peppermint Muffins

(This is what they look like after about 10 minutes out of the oven. Look at that lovely melted chocolate!)

Makes 12.

Ingredients:
6 oz plain flour
1 1/2 oz cocoa powder
4 oz caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz/100g chocolate peppermints, crushed.
1 egg
250 ml milk
120 ml oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, take your peppermints and crush them with the end of a rolling pin or something similar. Don't make it mushy, just crush it so there's no big chunks left. Add this to the flour mix.
3. Beat together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla essence in a separate bowl.
4. Make a hole in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture, then stir together until well mixed but lumpy.
5. Spoon into muffin cases and bake in pre-heated oven on 200c/400f/gas mark 6 for 20-40 mins until well risen and springy to the touch.
6. Take out, eat and enjoy!

Huge Giveaway!

I have donated $25 worth of supplies to the MEGA rikrak studio blog giveaway!! Up for grabs is a pack of RIC RAC (yay!), pack of spotty ribbons, 10 mini deco tapes, fawn fabric buttons and a big bag of hot pink buttons. Also available in the same prize package (worth approx $100!!!) is a cute set of alpha blocks, a gorgeous necklace and a cow tshirt.

To be in with a chance of winning, head on over to the rik rak studio's blog and follow the instructions. There are lots of ways to enter so check it out!