A Weekend of Flowers, Texts & Cheese

As I think you may have gathered by now, I began my weekend last Friday with a trip to Manchester's Christmas markets and it certainly didn't disappoint. We ignored anything to do with the festive season and concentrated purely on food. All our favourites were back, so we were able to buy a black ham, Mozart chocolates, brandy snaps, nougat and a bounty of french cheeses. However, as an extra surprise, new to us this year, is a stall selling mini Gaperon's. And what is Gaperon? It's french, it's cheese, it's dome shaped, it's made with garlic and it's wickedly moreish. I was put onto it by Inky Fingers herself, fellow francophile, Cath. Even in France it isn't easy to come by. So I was quite the happy chap to have found it.

Saturday, I had planned to spend the day crafting at our local crop & I even had my plastic crate packed to the brim and ready to go. However, on waking up to a sunny day, I was itching instead to make the most of the outdoors (apologies ladies if you're reading :) ). At this time of year, you have to make the most of it, as we may never see the sun again until Spring next year. So we took ourselves out into the countryside for an autumn stroll.

The plus side was that I had a date with another group of crafty friends, in Padgate, on Sunday and I didn't even have to think about packing as I still had my full crate sitting there on the table top. I spent the morning on a project which isn't finished yet but if I can find time this week, I'll finish and blog on here. What I do have to show though are these homemade flowers. The ones on the left are a fringe technique using cotton fabric. The ones on the right are from paper, die cut, flower shapes with a dab of puffy paint on the edges (I found a tutorial here).

I left early so that Nick & I could get one more dose of exercise in for the weekend but it wasn't early enough to make the most of the daylight. For the first time in a long while, we strolled through woodlands and by the side of the river, in the dark. We could just about make out the paths to walk on. It's certainly very atmospheric, as everything is still and quiet. It was two very weird and interesting hours.

Finally, I wanted to share a text I received at the weekend from my younger brother, who as I type, is in Vietnam, helping out the with the Red Cross. As you can see, for those who don't know already, I own a brick for a phone. It's hardly ever switched on and I'm terrible at being contacted through it. But with my sibling off in foreign lands, it is useful to switch on every now and again, to check for messages. As you can see, he has the same adventurous spirit towards food that I have. Only difference, is that he's stayed slim over the years.

Well that's my weekend. Not a lot of time spent creating. More talking, walking and eating. Hope you all had an interesting few days too. I'm guessing for those of you over the pond, there's been a heap of preparation for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day.

Enjoy your week. Paul xx