Nearly 40

There's a lot sitting in my camera waiting to be shared here, but the for last couple of weeks I have been dealing with poorly children and a severe lack of sleep and so whether you will get to see those photos or not remains to be seen.

Yesterday, according to my husband, I turned 'Nearly 40'. I take issue with this, as I still have another two years to go! But in spite of his comment, I did have a lovely day. Actually, it started a couple of weeks ago when my present fron K was delivered - a bread maker, and you wouldn't believe how happy this appliance has made me! There is absolutely nothing in this world nicer to wake up to than freshly baked bread (spread with butter, of course)... I fear for my waistline! Although I had nothing special planned, it was a day full of little surprises and treats (actually, the first surprise turned up on my doorstep the evening before), and although I would have given anything to be enjoying an Indian take-away with my friends back in the UK, I went to bed very happy!



A blogger friend caused me to rush out to the shops to buy the ingredients for a recipe I'd seen recently on NQN's blog (http://www.notquitenigella.com/2010/02/23/tim-tam-cookie-pops/), and while we were out I was enticed by a cream puff from Beard Papa (premium chocolate, mmmmmmmmmmmmm)... I this is allowed on occasions such as nearly 40 birthdays :-)

The Tim Tam Cookie Pops were a doddle to make, and the kids could barely contain their excitement when I brought them to the table after dinner.



I must say, though, that I will not be sharing any more with M as she is far too wasteful:



Honestly, I felt so loved yesterday - I had so many cards, messages, phone calls, and beautiful and thoughtful presents.... it really was a special day!

Oh, and I thought I'd share with you the card my sister sent me (cheeky!):



Very nice, you might think...inside it reads, "Hallucinating and loss of reality are early signs of brain cell loss in women your age."

For your own good

I may well be preaching to the converted here (where I live is hardly a metropolis, it takes a while for anything interesting to find it's way from the city to our littlish island), but there is something I am just bursting to tell you about! On Sunday we spent the afternoon with friends, and they arrived with two large boxes of the most delicious pastries you could ever imagine - Beard Papa's cream puffs! Now I'm not usually a fan of this type of thing, I've never really gone in for fresh cream or custard... until I was introduced to these heavenly treats:



After our visitors left, there was one pastry remaining - a strawberry cream puff. Not strawberry flavour (yuck), but fresh, strawberry puree whipped into fresh cream. It is no more. Words fail me, you have to try one! There are branches of Beard Papa's globally now (http://www.beardpapa.com/index.php), so if you find yourself in the vicinity of one just walk in through those doors and indulge!