D and E enjoy "celebrating" Hallowe'en at home and this year it seemed more important than ever to have a few treats. A few photos - D ordered a Hallowe'en Food Box from Morrisons which provided some goodies including paper plates, cups etc. He also ordered some of the vegetarian sweets from M and S.
E made these cupcakes
The above photos were taken by D the rest are mine.
I always make Wizard's Hat Pasties and this year I made Spider's Web cupcakes (both recipes can be found on BBC Good Food website and are vegetarian).
Tuesday morning we dashed down to Herefordshire due to the fast approaching "lock down" so we could bring back some items such as bed linen and food, vacuum bag quilts, pillows and clothes, and do a proper mini "drain down" in case we get freezing temperatures.
The caravan site is due to stay open until 31st December this year but they will be closed during the lockdown period and whether they do re-open will depend on Government guidelines early in December. So it was quite a sad occasion as we may not be able to return until March at the earliest.
I took loads of photos on the journey - most pretty rubbish as from a dirty car window and a moving car! But I'll share a few.
This pub on Brigsty Common looks worth a visit IF we ever get a "normal" life back.
There are various "landmarks" we pass on the journey such as pubs, houses, villages, churches and trees. This is the tree I call the "blasted oak".
This one in the centre of the photo I call the "Dragon Tree".
After lunch we spent most of the afternoon cleaning the caravan!
The tree I have been watching is finally starting to show some autumn colours.
Next morning there was a heavy frost and believe me those caravans get cold before the heating comes on!!!
We did pay a brief visit to Queenswood Arboretum but I'll show you a few photos in the next post.
In other news we have learned that the planning application for next door has been refused! I am feeling relieved! although I suspect it will be short lived as they can of course appeal or submit new plans and they can go ahead anyway with the loft room and reroofing as that does not require planning permission. I refuse to worry about it for now as it was causing many sleepless nights. We will just have to wait and see what happens!
I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
17 comments:
Glad you managed a quick visit just in case. It should give you peace of mind. Loved the journey, and no vestige of dirty windows in sight. I think the dragon tree looks a bit like Soup Dragon. Your Hallowe'en feast looks fun indeed, and your icing on the spiderweb cupcakes is superb!
Stay safe and well.
Rustic Pumpkin - Thank you. If we can't go back in December we will get the site owners to do the full drain down. Hadn't got any antifreeze so put salt in toilets and sinks! I love that dragon tree - about two miles from caravan :) The spider web muffins are quite easy. You put either melted white chocolate or melted dark chocolate on top of muffins. Then pipe 4 or 5 circles of the contrasting chocolate on top and use a cocktail stick to pull down circles from the centre to edge of cake. Very effective though :) I am not good at cake decorating so if I can do it anyone can! Also melted chocolate rather than butter icing makes cakes far less sickly.
What a splendid Halloween feast. I'm glad you got to the caravan and were able to have a sort-out ahead of Lockdown. We are about to come out of our firebreak one, just in time for my husband to be able to have a day out to celebrate his birthday.
Love the photos. I always take rubbish ones when we're driving along - though now I am the only one driving in our car so can't take any at all! I hope it's not too long before you can get back to Herefordshire again.
I hope that the refusal of planning permission will put a proper spoke in the planned works for next door. Are you still thinking of moving?
Those pumpsin are scary Keet in and keep safe.
BoveyBelle - Thank you. Some of my photos taken from car were truly awful! :( Very difficult and those roads in Herefordshire are bumpy!
Happy Birthday to your husband - so pleased you can have a day out to celebrate. No chance of that here atm!!
Thank you re: next door. We have thought of moving for years but problem is I don't want to move local as rural properties Warks very expensive compared to say Isle of Wight or Herefordshire but difficult atm as kids still at home and have their jobs. OH would move just for sake of it to escape round here but he is not sentimental about the house and garden. It really is all very difficult.
Margaret Birding for Pleasure - Thank you. Stay safe and well too.
The Halloween treats look delicious. It's not something my family has ever bothered with. Nov 5th and first footing on Jan 1st + birthdays and Christmas but never Oct 31st as far as I can remember. No idea why though.
MidMarsh John - Thanks - to be honest years ago we never bothered either. Only really since having children and they learn of these things at school.
I'm glad you managed to get a visit in to the caravan and get it ready for winter! It's funny isn't it how you pick up on the tree landmarks, I do the same thing!
Pam - Thanks so much and I am glad I am not alone! I also include churches. I took lots of photos as a reminder in case we can't go until next Spring.Sadly, most blurred or I missed half the church!
I love your pumpkins. Halloween seems so long ago, but we exorcised the demon in our White House. He's orange too, by the way.
Debby - Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment. Ha ha re exorcising your orange demon. Very relieved about that over here!!!
Your cupcakes look amazing, Caroline! Lovely that you at least had an opportunity to celebrate at home for, I expect, the kids, although I'm sure the big kids enjoyed it all too!
Glad you got to the caravan and your photos along the way were fine. I love the landscape and the interesting trees. The photo of the caravans in the frost is amusing as they look like they are floating! I hope you will get a chance to get back there before the end of the year, but then it means you have to take everything back again, and go through the draining etc all over again. What a pain. :-/
Millymollymandy - thank you cakes are easy and delicious. Recipe on BBC Good Food. Spider's Web muffins I think they are called. Kids are now big too - one 33 and one 30!!! But good to celebrate anything atm to cheer everyone up in these horrid times.
lol :) re: floating caravans. Should have gone outside to take photo but it was freezing! Not sure about going back tbh as you say take stuff back and undo draining etc. In some ways I would prefer lockdown continued so my daughter didn't have to go to work even if it meant we missed a December visit.
Sleepless nights? What are those?:) I'm glad the plan was refused, but there will always be someone in the wings waiting. There always are. We had the same issue with a Canadian mining company on one of our precious mountains. They just won't give up. Hopefully our new administration will kill their efforts. That stupid border wall we have here will get eradicated but it has already done plenty of environmental damage.
Your road trek looked wonderful and you totally took advantage. Lock down is a joke here. That's why Americans are dying all over the place. Oh well. I guess it's their right. The guy calling himself president feels good so that's all that matters.
Your desserts, especially the spider cupcakes are a work of art. Find some time to escape when you can. I'm enjoying your pics which are like an escape. I miss Wales so much. I have this longing to go back. I don't know why but I miss the beauty and rain. Maybe next year it will happen.
Rohrerbot - Thanks Chris. Yes I dread the post coming as I am sure the refusal is not the end of the matter.
An awful lot of not adhering to lock down or rules and guidance etc. over here too. :(
So glad to see you will have a new President soon. Good riddance is all I can say about the old one. Your must be very relieved.
So pleased you are enjoying the pictures. The caravan is more or less in the borders so not far from Wales. We can but hope that next year will be better.
I am glad to hear that the planning permission has not been approved, I hope it stays that way.
I love the autumn tinge on 'your' tree :-)
CherryPie - Thank you. I have a horrible feeling it will not be the end of the matter but trying not to think about it!
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