It's party time!!! International Virtual Pot Luck Blog Hop!

Hullo and welcome to my blog, I guess you are travelling around the globe visiting all these amazing bloggers and their tasty treats. So far you should have had your drinks/appetizers, your soups/salads, your sides/main dishes and now you are on to desserts (aka sweets/puds/cake all things naughty and yummy!!). Hopefully you arrived here from Stephanie.

Here is the complete list in case you missed anyone or have got a wee bit lost with all the international jet setting!

Drinks/Appetizers

Deb @ PaperTurtle – http://paperturtle.blogspot.com

Rinda @ Gallo Organico – http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/

Beverly @ BE glorious - http://beglorious.blogspot.com/

Soups/Salads

Alison @ Life in the Slow Lane – http://alisonslife-in-the-slow-lane.blogspot.com/

Fiona @ Staring at the Sea – http://fiona-staringatthesea.blogspot.com/

Amy @ Over at our Place - http://overatourplace.blogspot.com/

Side/Main Dishes

The “Not So” Small One @ From High in the Sky – http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/

Jacky @ Scrappy Jacky - http://scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/

Deb @ Deb’s World – http://debs14.blogspot.com/

Ginger @ Ginger’s Life of Spice - http://gingerslifeofspice.blogspot.com/

Karen @ Tales from the Scrapheap - http://talesfromthescrapheap.blogspot.com/

Karen @ Random Reflections - http://kbwalker.blogs.com/random_relfections/

Ruth @ Everyday Life of a Suburban SAHM - http://suburbansahm.blogspot.com/

Desserts

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita - http://dreamingladolcevita.blogspot.com/

Ruth @ Chatty Crafty Arty Pig - http://chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com/

Margaret @ Finnegan Begin Again – http://margaretfinnegan.blogspot.com/

Becca @ La Jolie Fleur Rouge - http://lajoliefleurrouge.blogspot.com/

Rhona @ Life in General - http://rhonacs-lifeingeneral.blogspot.com/

Cheri @ Scrap Dreams - http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com/

Carrie @ Rosalind Revival – http://www.rosalindrevival.com/

This blog hop was organised by the wonderful Deb at Paper Turtle over in Arizona USA, please take time to look at her blog as it is an inspiration. I am addicted to her posts and her beautiful photography and love her dedication to her family (big Hi to Marti!). I wish we were all eating, drinking and chatting together as it would be a great party. Instead I am helping a friend at a jumble sale for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and this evening I am at a fundraising event for my son's scout group... it's bingo night!

I was going to amke the easiest ever Key Lime Pie recipe that my friend gave me but instead I have made chocolate refrigerator cake for Deb's party and I am taking the left overs to the bingo. I chose this recipe as my mum used to make something similar and we called it chocolate crunch. It made an appearance at all church teas and lots of celebrations.

I like it as it uses store cupboard ingredients that are readily available, it is simple to make and easily transportable.....

firstly I took a packet of digestive biscuits (400g) I think these are similar to Graham Crackers but I have made this recipe with any biscuits/cookies I have to hand in the past

I placed the biscuits in a plastic bag and bashed them with a wooden rolling pin

To a saucepan I added 175g of butter (margarine will do), 250g of golden syrup and 500g of dark chocolate (I have used a mixture of dark and milk before)... boy half a kilo of chocolate!!

heat gently and stir until melted

add 300g of dried fruit, I have used a mixture of sultanas and cherries as this is what I had in the cupboard but you can use anything or substitute some for nuts or marshmallows

stir the biscuits and dried fruit into the melted choccy mix then place in a lined tin and leave overnight in the fridge to harden

the next day chop the choccy fridge cake into pieces and enjoy

Obviously I had to sample my cooking before offering it to you, mine is served with a cup of tea in my patriotic mug, in my sunny English spring garden.

It has been lovely to have you here today and I hope you will pop over to visit again, enjoy the blog hop next up is Margaret. I hope to be able to visit everyone at the party this weekend, enjoy it wherever you are and thank you for having me Deb xxx

Family 12x12 blog hop March 2012

Time for the March family x 12 blog hop hosted by Margie... where has that month gone???

February included a family holiday for a week in Suffolk with my parents. We had really variable weather including snow.....

that's us on Dunwich beach, I don't think I can remember being in the snow and on the beach ever before!! Can anyone guess what we are trying to spell?? They wouldn't pose long enough for me to get a better shot!

We also saw some sunsets......

although it was still cold and not long after this photo was taken we found that the car battery was flat and we had to get help! By then it was pitch black and we were cold and damp in a car park in the middle of nowhere!

I think this is my favourite family shot for February

This 'Bronze' is titled 'the Family of Man', is by Barbara Hepworth and is found in the grounds of Snape Maltings, The photo was taken by my Dad and I have an alternative version where he stands in the same spot as me!

My post layout is not quite going to plan (I blame blogger!!) so I do apologise but hope that you will continue hopping round visiting all the other family photographers this month

Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog
Moncia http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
Ruth http://www.chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com
Jo http://www.mrsbeee.blogspot.com
Jill http://jillconyers.com
Patricia http://patoliveira.woodpress.com/

Thanks for visiting today and I hope to see you for April's family x 12 blog hop (please contact Margie if you would like to join in)

Story Telling Sunday April

It was an ordinary day, just like any other. In fact so indistinguishable from any other day that I cannot tell you the date or even the day now. I was home alone, the children were at school, husband at work, a normal afternoon. The telephone rang and I answered it. I had won a holiday!

Off course I had won holidays before, I was familiar with the cold call announcing an amazing win. The caller always explained the fabulous prize, then explained the catch! Sometimes a compulsory attendance for 2 people at a London based seminar (read sales event) and/ or all flights and taxes had to be paid by me ......... so not really a free holiday at all!!

This caller claimed to be from a travel agent (one I had never heard off),she said I had won a holiday for 2 people to New Zealand (not very believable) and that it was the prize in a competition I had entered (which I didn't even recall!) I listened intently for the catch to come but it didn't. I gave a few of my details said I would discuss it with my husband and the 'travel agent' would call me again.

I immediately looked up the travel agency online and it seemed to be real. I looked up the competition I had entered and it clearly existed, the prize from an online lingerie company no less... a holiday of a lifetime and rather expensive swimwear. I spoke to my husband and we decided to watch and wait.

I was still in denial when we arrived at the airport, I expected to be told there were no flights, no holiday and no win. But it was all real! I had indeed won an all expenses trip for a week to New

Zealand.

We didn't take many photos, we missed the children dreadfully, we wished we had extended our stay (we did manage 10 days in the end) and we really loved the small part of New Zealand we saw.

Hundreds of dolphins (with a few whales) on a boat trip from Auckland

A vineyard tour on the Island of Waiheke

A rainbow over the Coromandel

This is my second story about winning, last month was all about my mum winning a car, this time it was all about me! I think our winning streak has now run out! Also just in case you are interested I never did get any of the expensive swimwear I was meant to win but it didn't really matter!

Please visit Sian's blog from High in the sky for more story telling Sunday tales from around the globe xxx

Story Telling Sunday March

Why do some people have all the luck???

Have you ever been a winner? Have you ever known someone personally that has won the lottery or won something else amazing?? Actually I have!

source

Many years ago when I was in my early teens, the biggest supermarket ever in the UK was built nearby. When it first opened there were loads of promotions and in store competitions. The main object of everyone's desire was a car, a brand new mini and many people entered multiple times, repeatedly writing their details on paper and posting them in the contest box.

There was a grand presentation of the car and a celebrity to present the keys. The winner had posted one entry only. The family that won were due to go on their annual camping holiday, so arrived with their ancient estate car full of equipment. The press were there and took fake photos, they made the dad stoop as he was taller than the celebrity. They reported the story incorrectly, the wrong model of car, the wrong colour and quoted the mother inaccurately.

source

Kenneth Williams was the celebrity ( hands up who remembers him from all those fabulous Carry On films???). He was fantastic with the family putting them at ease prior to the presentation and telling them funny stories. He asked if they had packed everything and said once he travelled abroad and had forgotten his socks, he sent his aide to buy some from a local marketplace, he wore the socks in the heat and the dye came out and he had dark blue feet for the rest of his trip..... a very funny man! He has sadly passed away now but he did write 'the Kenneth Williams Diaries' but his day out at an Essex supermarket did not feature!!

Todays true story was brought to you by Sian's Story Telling Sunday check her blog for many more terrific tales. Come back next month as I think there may be another 'winning' story.

Story Telling Sunday February

We had been planning for a while, hoping that our wish would come true and we would have an addition to our family, making it complete.

As the delivery date due near we were sure it was a girl and we wondered what she would be like. How small would she be? What the colour of her eyes might be? How our lives would change once she was living with us? What would her name be and who would choose it?

The day she arrived at home, the house was buzzing with excitement. She was carried through the front door and introduced to her new home. She was tiny, totally cute, with big eyes and

from that moment on we knew she would be an important part of our family.

A name had been carefully chosen, there had been many possibilities but after much deliberation, DD had decided that 'Tinkerbell' would be perfect. (DS wasn't that interested really as he had only just turned one).

As we held her for the first time we noticed a small problem..... she was in fact a he!! DD felt we should still call him Tinkerbell but eventually compromised and we named him Tinker.

Ten years later Tinker is still part of the family, enjoying life with us even in the snow today.....

This snowy tale has been part of Sian's Story telling Sunday please visit her blog to see what all the other tellers of tale have to share today..... I still have lots to read!!

February Family 12 x 12 blog hop

Welcome to the February Family 12 x 12 blog hop hosted by the lovely Margie. Just a short hop this month and I am the final participant on the list.

I am determined to join in each month with a family snap, so I managed to get a group shot courtesy of a friend on January 1st.......... how keen was that!

After a fun NYE with friends we returned to Surrey to meet up with several other families and join in a walk. Unfortunately the heavens opened and we all ended up soaking wet, so saturated the rain went through all our layers! We stopped half way as some people had been sensible and brought money so they could buy a hot drink (sadly we were not among that number!!!)

I hope there are more flattering photographs taken the rest of the year! Thanks for joining us today, please bear with the list as we are an international group so timings can be a bit off here is the list of the Feb 5 FAMILY x 12 Blog Hop Participants

Margie http;//xnomads.typepad.com/blog
Monica http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
Jill http://jillconyers.com
Ruth http://www.chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com (You are here!)

More New Year Resolutions..... mine

I read 'somewhere' that 'someone' had decided to set 12 goals for 2012 and I thought I would do the same (sorry I can't remember where and who or I would give you credit, honest)

So without further ado here are mine (12 4 2012 on the 12th!)

1. scrapbook more
2. walk at least once a week
3. declutter each week
4. be at least 1 stone lighter by the end of 2012 (ie maintain weightloss!)
5. send at least one piece of 'happy mail' each week
6. read 52 books (I lost count last year and don't think I managed it)
7. spend more time with friends and family
8. pay it forward x `12 ( I didn't actually manage a single pay it forward in 2011.... hangs head in shame... so I am going to do one each month during 2012, some may be random on the blog, some will be given as a surprise and some might even go to those who are owed one from last year!!)
9. take a photo each day
10. be more organised with Birthday and Christmas cards
11. blog more
12. 'Just do it!!' (well done if you guessed this was my NYE resolution!)