Just Humans Being...

Early Morning Sunshine , a photo by thesmithsontour on Flickr. The view from our dining room window this morning... Even though it's very windy & the windows are rattling... It's still a beautiful start to the day! Our glass snow flake is a permanent fixture - a friend made it some years ago & we really like it. So along with our fairy lights - it always looks like Christmas in here! We usually get a tree around the 21st, either save one which would be turned to sawdust or we'll get a potted tree, which will then live in the garden. Time for second breakfast, we do have to work today - though we're in no rush... Have a lovely weekend everyone. Kay & Sime xx

Lobby , a photo by thesmithsontour on Flickr. Lobby is the name potters gave to a simple stew. We both grew up eating it most weeks. My Grandparents always had a big pan of lobby on their stove & my mum used to make it in her pressure cooker.... Our version of the North Staffordshire dish is so cheap & easy to make - we love it! We use onions, garlic, lots of root vegetables, pulses, some greens & fresh herbs. You can add stock , miso or soy sauce, but cooking it slowly for a couple of hours just makes it taste so good & finishing off with a sprinkle of black pepper & the juice of half a lemon. Served in large bowls, with some home made bread fresh out of the oven... Makes a great warming meal! Hope everyone is keeping warm! Kay & Sime xx

Our Sealed Pot , a photo by thesmithsontour on Flickr. Today we are linking up with  Saving For Travel . A year's worth of saving begins & this will be the spending money for our December 2013 holiday with the kidlets... We've not quite decided where we're going yet, but it will probably be for a week & just before Christmas. Scandinavia & New York have been suggested, but not sure whether Momma & Popsy's funds will stretch that far... We shall see! We have decided to also include money we save, instead of spend... On Tuesdays we sometimes go for a coffee, but instead the money has gone into the pot... We didn't have a £5 note, so we've started our pot with £10! Thank you all for your comments on the previous post - we'll send replies probably tomorrow now, as it's dinner time! Bye for now & happy saving to those joining in!!! Kay & Sime xx

Family, Food & Flood , a set on Flickr. Hello! Oh dear, we seem to be so busy... These photos were taken last weekend & everyday we've been meaning to post them, but things get in the way - in a nice way of course... We have another guest coming in the week, can't believe folks are still coming down, but it's great! Between our guests, occasional holiday let guests, Sime's gigs, Hugo's circus workshops/rehearsals & lots of never-ending paperwork... We are very busy & time is just flying! The kidlets came over for lunch (a very rare get-together) & we drew our Secret Santa names out of Sime's top hat, so now have 3 weeks to get sorted & in true Smith style... We've done nothing yet! We have to either make or buy second hand & have a £10 limit to spend. In the early evening last Saturday, the kids left & within minutes rang to say they were struggling to get out of the area due to flooded roads. None of us had quite realised jus

Thanks for your comments regarding photos... Will read them all thoroughly when we have a bit of time, but for now... Saw this & wanted to share. Enjoy! Kay & Sime xx

Hemmick Beach , a set on Flickr. Hello everyone, We're having quite a busy time & on top of all that our photo space has run out on blogger. Have discovered we can post from here instead, so that's good! We've been having really bad weather in the south west & probably in other parts of the country. The lanes around here are flooded & we insanely ventured out to Sime's gig on Saturday, but amazingly made it back in one piece! We shall try & do another post soon about the weather... But are preparing for a guest to arrive by train (if she makes it). For now, we took these on Friday morning - while we were on the beach collecting driftwood for the woodburner. Bye for now & hope everyone is well. Kay & Sime xx

How time flies... It's almost a week since we were here... Perranporth Beach... The Watering Hole is the UK's only bar properly on a beach & The Dolphins Fly have played there! Perranporth is on the north coast of Cornwall & 25 miles away from where we live. We had dropped Hugo off at the home ed group & fancied spending the day enjoying the sun. When I heard that Perranporth beach is 3 miles long... I thought we should check it out! We had the most perfect time & the beach is amazing... Though we both agreed that neither of us would like it when it gets busy! Then it was on to Truro... This cafe has changed name so often that I can't remember it's name now... It used to be veggie & now sells meat & fish! :( But they did make a very nice vegan sweet potato, pumpkin & coconut soup. Sal & Ryan met up with us, as did our friend Jane - she had been supervising the home ed group &a