Blog Chucking and Giveaway Date!!

I feel I have been remiss; I have had very little time to read blogs lately and it's just not good.   I love reading them and I'm itching to catch up on what has been happening but alas, sometimes kids, work, house and social lives take over.   I always stop first at those people who come to visit and then manage another few each day, sometimes a lot more, if I take a morning off.   It's always lovely to know the blogs I read are all there waiting for when time is easier.

Bearing that in mind, I was rather surprised to get an email from a bloggy follower telling me I was chucked.  Yes.   Chucked for not spending enough quality time with her/him.   She/he had left me.   Sob.   Having only ever been chucked once in my life before I've led a semi sheltered life...., I started to ponder what this bloggy chuck meant and what is the correct decorum in these situations?   Should I cry into my keyboard or should I go on the hunt for five bloggers in one night, aggressively pursuing them and hoping they'll love me in the morning?

All joking aside, I felt bad that I'd upset someone enough to get such a strong reaction from them and was all set to albeit confusedly profusely apologise.   Now of course you're wondering why I would be so public about it.  Well, y'see, I started to get a deja vu feeling.   Something didn't seem quite right....

Feeling a wee bit ashamed and guilty after the eyeball rolling at my  "Dear Helen" letter, I went to the blog in question and looked round.    Something wasn't quite right, right enough!   It was puzzling me.  I looked at the last ten posts, posts which seemed......strangely familiar.   Wait.   Hadn't I actually read these?   There was the post on...oh, and then there was that post......   Yes.   Yes I had.

Not only that, I'd commented.   I'd commented rather a lot.   Had the blogger failed to read the comments?   Was the blogger a bloggard?   I looked round the site and found responses from the actual person in question, responses directed at me.   What was wrong with this picture?

And then it hit me; the posts were old my friends, OLD.   The blogiot hadn't posted for over 9 months.   NINE MONTHS! What the...?  I chuckled with barely contained glee and flexed my fingers before typing a reply.   I waited for a response and none came.   Email silence.

Tumbleweed.

I sent one final response and eventually I got a reply.   The blogger had started a new blog without closing down the old.   She/he had assumed that I was still on their list as I am on their email address book under bloggy love of course!   She hadn't thought to tell anyone that she had moved to a completely different format and many not just me eventually, obviously stopped coming by.   The blogger was very contrite and I shall refrain from calling her/him anymore bloggy names because it was a mistake and we're all allowed at least one.....

Bloggy friend, you know I'm posting this as I said I would, I'm only partially joking, I'm sorry and I forgive you at the same time!

You know that giveaway I've mentioned every now and then?   Well, it's happening next Wednesday, 17th March in honour of St. Patricks Day and my niece's birthday.    The more comments you leave, the more chances you have with every follower automatically entered.   The 'prize' will be one of my homemade dollies or one of my paintings.   You get to choose and even customise!.   Here are a few samples....

 Just tell me once what you'd like to win and why you would customise it, i.e. a little boy painting with a blue shirt or a dolly with a pink ribbon etc. and thereafter, for every other comment, just mention the word 'giveaway' at the end.

Edited to add, as per comments: open to all, worldwide.  No discrimination here. ;O)

There will also be a travelling dolly, a wee tartan minx who will wind her way from blogger to blogger with a little journal so that her adventures can be noted.   If you are interested in taking part, mark 'travelling dolly' on your comment too.  More details to follow.

I would like to leave you with the cake of the year!   My lovely friend Pauline had a request from her son to make him an eyeball birthday cake; once she stopped pondering why, she rose to the challenge and then some.  

 Aren't they delightfully gruesome?

Fried Prawn Patties

I had a lovely lunch with Maureen today; well, when I say lovely, it was grand to see her but the Burnbrae has been bought over by some cost cutting, penny pinching morons who provided us with half the portion of food we were used to and decided on a 'half hot half cold' theme when providing grub. When asking for a latte, they informed us that it was instant coffee for now. Bill please. We headed to Costa for a proper cup of the black stuff.

So, hunger set in rather quickly on my return and on searching the freezer for some sustenance I uncovered frozen, raw prawns (shrimps) hidden at the back. What to do, what to do? I could stir fry, breadcrumb, curry or chop. Saute, flambe, souffle or plop. Hmmm. Skewered? Fried? Fried! I had a brainwave.

Fried Prawn blobs Patties! Just the thing.

First job was to defrost the prawns. Obviously, fresh prawns would be better but hey, when hungry and frugal, frozen will do.

I shelled the prawns, shoved them in a blender alongside a finely chopped clove of garlic and 2 finely chopped spring onions. I added half a teaspoon salt, a good grinding black pepper, a little cayenne and 60g plain flour. If using Nigella's recipe, you'd add 4 teaspoons of sherry as well but I prefer wine to the mix. I then added water and mixed to make a thick batter, covered with clingfilm and waited 1 hour.

During this hour, I continued painting; I have been decorating. I have one room half completed, five more to go. Why do I start these things? Kelly is moving into the big room so she was first; after some deliberation, she decided on lilac for one wall, magnolia for the rest. She then decided she wanted painted onto the wall, a girl holding a baby dove, looking over at a mummy dove on a branch........yes, this is what she decided. HUH?? Was my first response. What the freakin'......?? my second. "Ooooookay, Kelly" I said "I shall do my best". Well, it's finished, for better or worse....

So, the hour has passed and I heat some olive oil in a pan. I take teaspoons of the mix and fry in the oil, turning after a minute and cooking on the other side. When brown on both sides, place onto plate covered with paper towels.

I like to make homemade mayo for this but Hellmans will do the job just as well! Add some lime and fresh coriander though. If not partial to mayo, squeeze some lime juice over the tasty little blobs and eat immediately. Bleedin' luverly.

Tomorrow is the big silver wedding anniversary party. My friend Sam did the cake:

Isn't it wonderful? I know you can't see the whole thing, I was not averse to pulling it out and setting it up for your perusal but you just know what would happen, don't you? Especially with three wee acrobats around. I shall take some more pics at the event and report back on the deliciousness of this tasty baked lovely.

Have a freakin AWESOME weekend!