WHAT A CRAZY WEEK!

What a mental week  ...  I don't think I've stopped for days!

Our bread course was a magic day - it poured with rain so I think everyone felt it was a good place to be with the sweet scent of baking pizza & loafies.

Our pizza demo ... fig & goat's cheese, strawberry salad, blueberry cheesecake - what a feast!  The pizza & salad is a Loaf Face staple from our baking days at a strawberry farm.

Since then I've been flat out in my day job - finishing up a research project on Unscheduled Care but actually having a lot of fun crafting my slides & final report ...

Fancy a tin of Unscheduled Care?  

Or feel the need to post some patients round the system?

Today was just mental .... Locked out of the office at 5am as I tried to finalise my talk ... Still it all went well in the end!  My boss bought me a delicious banana muffin to say thanks ... She is the best boss ever!  Thank you Professor!

GET READY, GET SET ...

What a busy day!  Kicked off with a run come dog walk and a sneaky snack ...

Then off to Oldmeldrum to get organised for our bread course ... (Although the prep for that started ages ago with ordering and collecting our ingredients.). We arrived to find the beautiful steading kitchen smelling divine as there had been a flower class on first.  We then got to work weighing out all the ingredients.

We had to whizz home for the kids coming home, cook the tea and get back on with the work - caramelised figgy onions for the pizza, veggies for the salad, tatties from the steading garden, beautiful baked blueberry cheesecake - feast awaits!

Still, there was time for a wee play ... Boules at Collieston's 'bouledrome' ...

Ok bed-time ... Sweet cinnamon dreams ...  

THE RETURN OF THE ROAST DINNER

It is so fab to be home again for the much missed return of the roast dinner!  The kids went back to school today, I went back to work on my other day job (the lovely University of Aberdeen) & it was great to cook up a storm for tea ... You cannae beat roast chicken with an orange, honey & garlic glaze, baby tatties, cauliflower cheese, asparagus & baby corn with skirlie for your tea on a school night no less!  I know I shouldn't but I just cannae have a fine feast without a wee glass of vino ... 

We did have a lovely holiday but I reckon the kids were happy to be home again and back to see their pals!  Here they are heading off to school on this fine day ...

They came home & disappeared straight out again - one to a pals', one with a pal into the sea ... 

I just wish I was their age with a few extra years of sneaky fun to fit it!  The only question that remains is whether I will actually manage to bend at yoga tonight??!!  I'll keep you posted ...

MUNCHY MUNCHY

Well the munch fest is nearing an end as we need to head home tomorrow - bah humbug - but Dunkeld has been a gourmet heaven - passion fruit ice cream - wow - even Dolly (our doodle-bug) indulged in an ice cream to cool off ... Giving a paw for the privilege ...

We then wandered a tiny bit further to find a cafe for a cooling drink (& a wee spot of crochet) ...

We rounded off our lovely day with some footsie in a tiny basin, with some massage & cucumber slices to cool off!

Ah the life of little loafies on tour - was a 'soup-erb' day (the mushroom soup for lunch at Birnan Arts Centre to die for - if a wasp didnae get you first) x

MUNCHING ROUND THE BORDERS

Mmmm ... We're on a munch fest round the Borders now ... An award winning bakery today for today's treat - puddings and brownies ahoy!  Dunbar and North Berwick on our travels ...

Blue lollies ahoy at the Berwick Fringe Festival ... D got the shock of her life when the singer got up close!

Collieston Pier on tour ... 

Thoroughly recommend Dunbar & North Berwick as foodie destinations!

A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH

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We had a close encounter with the Bakelite Girl and the crew from Wallace & Gromit at the Rheged Centre exhibition.  That's such a fun movie for baker girls like us.  Then the kids got to craft their very own Gromits ...

Bless!

We are nearing the end of our glorious gourmet week in the Lake District ... We have been pretty lazy watching all the fitness fanatics race about on the bikes up steep hills, hikers aplenty, canoeists canoodling (not really!) ...  Meanwhile we've sought out the wee boozers on remote hillsides with a fine ale on tap ... Like this one the Mortal Man ...

Check out the burgeoning beer bellies ... Still time for a tickle of the hairy beastie ...

We did go for some high wires though ... Light weight I know (tho my burgeoning girth did strain the ropes somewhat!) (oops no pics on my phone - honestly, they're shameful!). But the kids did walk on water (well try to) ...

Today we chilled on Ullswater on the Steamer boat ... Just my thing, a bit of crochet on the water ... Reminds me of my last two cruises - the Great Barrier Reef in Oz & Milford Sound in NZ - those were the days ...

The relaxing drift of the lake was just too much for M who was flat out in no time ...

Oh well back to Scotland we go tomorrow!

POTTY

Imagine my joy to be able to indulge in another great delight of mine ... Whilst the title of 'Pot Fest' may mean certain things to certain folks, to me, ceramics feature somewhere on my dream day out.  It was even better to catch up with a chum from way back and wander the pot stalls together.  The only hiccup was when I dropped my loot to hear it shatter ... Still superglue to the rescue once more - I reckon the crack adds to the rustic appeal!

Today has been a bit of a wash out day where we just had to frequent foodie stop after foodie stop - the enormous queue at Keswick Pool made us abandon any hope of exercise and hit Ambleside where we found the Apple Pie Bakery which welcomed dogs - kind of surreal to hear the doggie banter in between the human chit chat!  Our poor pooch was in the car so missed out on that whole cafe scene.

After a trip to the flicks to see the Smurfs (dinnae bother!) we went home via the Queens' Head at Troutbeck.  This was a total trip down memory lane - last frequented about 20 years ago.  The bar is a four poster bed; it's really neat, the ales flowed nicely and I so enjoyed my asparagus salad (even if my wee one nicked all the tips - cheeky!)

MHOR LOAFING (& MUNCHING)

We are touring about the Trossachs having a fine old time, nipping from cafe to deli to ice cream shop - have yet to fit some pubs in but there is time (& hope!)

This fab bakery and tearoom - Mhor Bread ticks all my foodie boxes - wonderful choice of dishes, great service, funky decor - what more could a girl ask for!

I opted for a beetroot & mackerel pâté while M opted for a classic Scotch pie & beans, Prof Elf went for a black pudding & steak pie, with the wee lasses going for  macaroni cheese.  The kids had a delux hot choc with all the marshmallows and cream a kid could ask for!

So Mhor Bread gets a big thumbs up from us ... It's my wee dream ticket for Loaf Face Coop in the future - you just never know!