Day 5 - Trans Scotland canoe challenge. Yesterday, after a frightening encounter with the monster which is Loch Ness - I was left exhausted and down hearted. 5Km but finally giving up defeated at around 20Km.

Cooking is a Game You Can Eat. First the oven, then the tin, wash your hands and then begin. Wednesday, 17 April 2013. I can happily go out, leaving it to do its thing and when I get home, there it is, cooked and ready to eat and I can dish it up to hungry mouths and feel all smug and virtuous. Splash of oil or dab of butter. Wash and slice the leeks and celery.

Thoughts, recipes and musings on life in a country cottage. Saturday, 5 February 2011. but of course it is not as bad as that. honest! Over here in England, we are enjoying gale force winds - I hasten to add that these winds are nothing remotely like the force poor folk in Queensland, Australia have recently had to battle through. And after all those horrific floods too. Sunday, 16 January 2011.

Over a month has gone by and no time to sit down and write my blog. Time on this island just flies by or maybe it is just age! A famous personality whose name I forget once said that he new he was getting older as breakfast seemed every ten minutes! I know the feeling well.

Walking along the promenade on a stormy evening in Thessaloniki it was the girl with the bright red hair that caught my eye. Sitting with her friend the two teenagers were laughing and chatting together as they rested by an ancient monument celebrating Alexander the Great. A place with a youthful vibe steeped in thousands of years of history.

Another of our trips was to a local country park. The children and I packed up a lunch and set off with the dog. While we were there we made it our mission to find all the points on an orienteering map we found online. A castle entrance that Mlle. adored though Littleman was convinced there were dragons on the other side. And some rather wonderful wooden sculptures including a tipi in the centre of a spiral and a large wooden fish.