Almost Spring, But Not Quite...

I would love to say that Spring arrived with February, but it didn't.  The wind still howled, the rain still lashed down; it is still bitterly cold.  But..there are stirrings in the air, the first lambs are playing in the fields, the robins sing with more purpose and if you look very closely, there are tiny buds popping out on black branches.  It's not here yet, but it's on it's way!

The boys and I went for a much needed walk at lunch time today.  H2 had consumed two doughnuts at my mum's earlier on the understanding that he would then have to walk further and with more enthusiasm than his usual attitude to walking in the countryside.  He agreed readily and off we went.  I had my Spring eye out in a desperate attempt to convince myself that this awful weather would, at some point soon, leave us in peace and that warmth and sunshine would take it's place.  The natural world can feel this change sooner than we (or I) can, so signs of the earth warming up were all-important to me.

There are some buds appearing on Honeysuckle, (gosh I love that word!) and as mentioned before, the gorse is becoming more buttery yellow every day.  The bare, brown earth has patches of green here and there.  Not the fresh, vibrant green that proper Spring brings, but it's a start.

The sun makes everywhere look greener and more appealing, even when it is still bitterly cold.

January is now over and well out of the way for another year.  February is short and then it's March and we are on our way to warmer weather.  Yippee!

In order to keep myself warm, I decided to bake some biscuits.  I could stand next to the oven whilst it was pre-heating and feed my family at the same time.  At this time of year, I start to get a bit bored with my food.  I churn out the same few things over and over as they are easy and I know what I'm doing, so it was time to find something tasty, different but not too faffy, as I didn't want to linger too long in the kitchen.  I found a recipe on a piece of paper, in my own handwriting, that I cannot remember writing down, nor where or when I wrote it.  I certainly can't remember ever baking these biscuits before, so it was time I had a go.

They are so easy to make and so incredibly gorgeous that it would be wrong of me to keep them all to myself.  Even if you don't normally bake, please have a go.  You will not be disappointed!

GINGER NUT AND CHOCOLATE COOKIES.

350grams Self-raising flour
200grams Caster sugar
3 teaspoons Ground ginger
1teaspoon Baking powder
115grams Butter
85grams Golden syrup
1 Large egg
100grams Chopped plain chocolate

1) Put flour, sugar, ginger and baking powder into a bowl.
2) Heat syrup and butter in a small pan.
3) Pour melted butter and syrup onto dry ingredients, add beaten egg and mix together.
4) Add chopped chocolate chunks.
5) Roll dough in your hands to walnut-sized balls and place on a greased baking tray, flattening slightly.
6) Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170c for 15 to 20 mins.
7) Place on a wire rack to cool.

And that's it!  They are delicious with a cup of tea, just before the children get home!

Tomorrow is dad's birthday.  In keeping with my thrifty promise, I will be giving him two books that he wanted.  They are old books and not in print anymore, so buying second hand was not a problem!  I also made his card using my new-found fave hobby, paper cutting!  I used some paper that came with Homemaker magazine recently to cut the design and stuck it onto a blank card that I had lurking about in my box of bits and added a strip of embroidered ribbon to the top, to brighten it up a bit.  Hope he likes it!

I am off to curl up in my chair with my quilt wrapped round my legs, old lady style, with a cup of scalding tea and a magazine!  I hope you have a lovely weekend, drink tea, make cookies and smile a lot - Spring's almost here! xxx