Friday thoughts . . .

I recently read that the average size of a woman here in the UK is a size 14, which is roughly two sizes larger than ten years ago. The cheeky side me wants to say, "Great! Who wants to be below average?" and leave it at that . . . but then again, the more reasonable side of me asks myself what difference does the number on a tag make, so long as you are healthy and active? And then there is the realist in me . . . which ponders and wishes I could be a size 14, but knows that I most likely will never see that number again in my lifetime . . . When it comes to our bodies . . . making sense of all the messages we receive in our culture is not for the faint of heart or the thin skinned.

I once read a comment from a fashion designer who made the statement that the fashion industry is all about the clothes . . . that it was not about the people wearing the clothes, and that the best way to show the clothes off was to drape them over a "human hanger," rather than an actual person whose bumps and curves would ruin the lines of the design. Woe is me . . . to think I have been literally destroying every piece of clothing I have put on over the past 40 years!



When I was getting ready to go to my middle son's wedding over in Canada a few years back, I bought myself a really pretty outfit to wear. It was beautiful . . . all pink and flowery, with soft flowing layers . . . the skirt covered with pretty beads and pastel sequins, a real work of art. The tag on it read . . . "I am your special garment. I am unique and often hand-woven, hand-beaded, hand-printed and hand-painted. My defects are a part of my beauty!"

If only our bodies came with a similar tag!



"Beautiful young people are acts of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Clearly this work in progress of mine is a masterpiece! Today I will celebrate the Monet in me!

It looks to be a sun shiny day again today! I am loving all this beautiful weather. I just hope that this isn't all the summer we shall be getting this year! That happens all too often! The tadpoles are hatching in the pond. Todd was out there tickling them yesterday to see if any were moving and there were quite a few. It will be interesting to see how many actual frogs we get. I do love the sound of frogs on a warm evening . . . We may go and get some bull rushes to plant in the pond. I think they always look really nice.

Mitzie is just loving running around the garden. Most of the winter we kept the grassed area closed off because it was just to wet and we didn't want her getting all muddy. With these drier sunnier days we've let her have free rein out there and she is relishing it! So far she hasn't gone into the pond. I have my fingers crossed that she doesn't!

Here is a really delicious cupcake recipe that everyone will enjoy. Tangy lemon cupcakes filled with the tasty surprise of some raspberry jam. Oh, I do think jam makes just about anything taste better, don't you?




*Lemon Raspberry Surprise Cupcakes*
makes 24
Printable Recipe

Delicious tangy lemon cupcakes with the tasty surprise of a sweet raspberry jam centre!

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
scant cup of sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup ounces softened margarine
2 medium free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one lemon
2 TBS lemon juice
4 TBS milk

To fill:
2/3 cup of seedless raspberry jam

To frost:
4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup of softened butter
1/4 cup of lemon juice

To decorate(optional):
finely grated lemon zest or
candy sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line two muffin tins with paper cups. Set aside.

Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl, with the exception of the milk. Beat together with an electric hand whisk for a couple of minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through the mixing. Fold in the milk. Spooon half of the batter into the paper cups. Top each with a dollop of raspberry jam, then cover with the remaining batter.

Bake for 20 minutes, until risen and just firm to the touch.

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the butter and lemon juice. Beat together with an electric hand whisk until you get a creamy mixture suitable for spreading. Smooth on top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with additional lemon zest or sprinkles if desired.



And over in The English Kitchen today a delicious Chicken and Coconut Curry, just in time for the weekend!