love those cupcakes

Digging deep to make lemonade

 

I've thought long and hard about writing this post, whether indeed I should even be thinking of sharing any of what's been happening in this place that was always intended to be where I indulged in a bit of lighthearted rambling.  And particularly at a time when everyone is gearing up for the festivities.  I mean, do you really need to hear my troubles and woes?   But it might explain why I've been distracted, preoccupied of late and account for some absences along the way.  So I'm hoping I'm doing the right thing.

To say life has been a bit rocky at Cupcake Towers since returning from the polar bear adventure (you already know about the still missing cat) is a bit of an understatement. I'd had an inkling of something not quite right before the holiday.   Well, I'm now taking a little break from blogging as I face a stay in hospital for some radical surgery following a diagnosis of a rare form of malignant melanoma.

I know.

Bummer.

Scared as I am (scared? I'm petrified), I know I have to dig deep, maintain a resolve to beat this with help from the health professionals, curb my natural instincts and stay positive with the support of my lovely little family, close friends and colleagues.

And I will be back here soon.

Life's lemons, eh? 

Time to make a big jug of lemonade.

An old favourite

One of my Top Ten films (in my Top Five actually), which never fails to raise my spirits however low I'm feeling, is The Commitments.  It's a wonderful adaptation of Roddy Doyle's novel and I love everything about it, even all that effing and blinding, but especially the "Dublin Soul" soundtrack. I might just have to make space for another viewing over the weekend.  So, what do you load into the DVD player to cheer yourself up?

A taste of the season

One thing I look forward to at this time of year is the return of my favourite Gingerbread Latte.  So, tonight, whilst out shopping, we popped in for a snack and there it was on the menu.  It's a taste that makes me think Christmas isn't so far away.  (And it's a change from all the green tea I've been drinking recently).  I might just have to buy a bottle of gingerbread syrup and start making them at home. 

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Many thanks for all of your comments and e-mails about Billybob.  Sadly, he's still missing but we're hoping he'll show up soon.

AWOL

 
Billybob, the more adventurous of our two cats, hasn't been seen since Sunday afternoon.  We've searched the local area and posted leaflets through 400 or so letterboxes, which is probably about as much as we can do.  There have been some calls as a result and we've found out a little more about where he's been getting to on his jaunts.  He almost needed a passport.  Hopefully he'll turn up soon.

Planting for spring

The pots in the garden are looking past their best so, despite some lingering flowers, it seemed appropriate to pull out the summer bedding plants and plant the spring bulbs.

I bought these packs from Aldi on the way home from work one day.  I've never grown anemones and thought the corms (?) resembled the wrinkled little monkey nuts we used to eat as kids (though I'm not at all sure what they were).  The newly planted pots look bare but hopefully will provide splashes of colour beyond winter.

Latest read

I've posted before about not being able to devour books in the way I used to (I've no idea why that is but suspect the ageing process is playing its part) but I still can't resist buying them.  This is one I picked up in a charity shop and managed to read whilst on holiday in Canada recently.  It's a novel I've been meaning to read for some time but I have to say it was well worth the wait. 

It's the story of Quoyle, a likeable enough chap but one of life's losers with a big chin.  It starts off in New York where Quoyle eventually finds himself working in a temporary job as a journalist.  After a sequence of significant events, the scenery changes dramatically as Quoyle, with his two young daughters and aunt in tow, relocates to the family's ancestral home in a little town in Newfoundland to start a new life.   There's a new job on the local paper, writing about car crashes and the shipping news, but this part of the book is more than just a continuation of Quoyle's story as we find out how challenging life is for all of the residents of Killick Claw.    I liked the author's writing style in the book, and how Quoyle thinks in news headlines, though this probably won't appeal to everyone.  So, if you haven't already read it, I'd definitely recommend giving it a go.