Raspberries from Pop Ward's Garden

I've been busy picking raspberries from the back garden at hubby's old homestead.  The berries 

are super ripe now, actually they are so ripe that as you pick one, sometimes another drops off.  Have a look...........

These are raspberry bushes that Pop Ward planted many years ago.  All the grand-kids have many beautiful memories of going out to the back gardens and picking berries.  It is so relaxing down there...away from everything, just listening to the hum of the bees and the chirping of the birds.......

Don't they look scrumptious....

They smell so good when they are so ripe..... 

I do random, periodic taste testing as I am picking(te-he), just to be sure they are up to standards.  My lips get pretty red...the most delicious lip gloss :o)

....my fingers are red too after I pick through them again before bagging to freeze.

We love to eat these berries fresh, but I freeze most of them.  I love making jams and raspberry vinaigrette later in the fall and winter, and we really appreciate it more then too.

Cheers

:o)

Copenhagen, Denmark

Well, we're off to Copenhagen.
After two nights in London and two nights in Dover, we were all anxious to get on the ship and set sail for Copenhagen.  When we boarded and got to our cabins, there was a lovely surprise waiting for each of us........champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries......YUMMY!!!!!

This was a treat from our travel consultant (aka--the 'world's best travel agent')----thanks Vera :o)

 

Our cabins were on the same floor, so after we all unpacked, we popped into each others cabin to see the view from everyone's balcony.  We then showered for our late dining reservation, at 8:15 pm.  

Dinner was absolutely delicious and we all agreed that the late dining option would work well for the entire 12 nights of the cruise.  

We thought we'd kick it off with a toast .........."To a great cruise"!

We didn't have a real late night as we had been having pretty full schedules since we arrived in England.  As well, we didn't want to miss a thing and we were docking in Copenhagen at 8:00 am the next morning.  We all went back to our respective cabins by about 11:00 pm, and  hubby and I were fast asleep long before midnight.

The sights of Copenhagen did not disappoint us.

Mermaids are of great significance in Copenhagen.....

 This statue of The Little Mermaid had literally hundreds of people taking photographs as we walked by.

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Some of the areas were like we had stepped back in time.  The cobblestone streets were so inviting---I just wanted to walk to the end of every street and see everything.  I was totally mesmerized.

  I loved the colors of the houses along the canals....

It was just so amazing to visit this beautiful city and see how they live.  It was very welcoming, clean and certainly a place I think I could go back to for a much longer visit.  I hope you enjoyed the few photos of Copenhagen that I have posted here.  I have so many, but it is very hard to chose just a few to depict the beauty of the city as I saw it.

Cheers

:o)

Blackcurrants from my garden

It's been a busy week or so since our return from vacation.  The  berry bushes are full and the berries are ripe!  I took some time yesterday evening to pick some blackcurrants.  I decided that rather than just munch them away, as we often do (te-he), I'd make a batch of muffins.  Have a look........

These muffins have orange juice and custard powder, so they have a beautiful rich, cake-like texture.

You could substitute any type of berry in this recipe.  I have used partridgeberries, blueberries and now blackcurrants.......Yummy!!!

Here's the recipe......

Berry Muffins

Preheat oven to 350* F and prepare a 12 cup muffin pan.

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp custard popwder

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 1/2 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup berries

(Put all of the above dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup orange juice

1 egg

(Blend these ingredients well and stir into dry mixture---Do NOT over-mix)

Scoop muffin mixture into prepared 12 cup muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Cheers

:o)

Delightful Dover

Dover, England was such a delight.  It is pretty, clean and we just loved our two days there before we boarded the cruise ship.

There were lots of beautiful old buildings around the town center in the waterfront area......

....like the Dover town hall......

What a sight from the fountain in the town square.......the Dover Castle........

A breathtaking view of the castle from the beach at night......

The famous White Cliffs of Dover were quite a sight..........

Of course, anywhere you can buy fresh steamed seafood---ready to eat--is a great place in hubby's eye.  He actually went back to this great little seafood stall on the pier three times in two days.....

This was the sight we saw as we sailed out of Dover..........

The seaport of Dover was so beautiful and relaxing......a perfect start to a perfect cruise.

Cheers

:o)

River Cruise

Right after we got off the London Eye, we ran to catch a river cruise on the Thames.......always nice to try to look at things from all angles, ha ha!!!

Here are just a few of the things I saw..........

As soon as we got settled in our boat, we looked up............way up.  Here's a a totally different perspective of the London Eye.  It is amazing.

The City of London School sits on the Victoria embankment of the river.  I absolutely fell in love with this building.  I have to go back to London.  I would love to have at least two weeks there to get the opportunity to go to some of these old buildings, go inside and roam around---that would be heavenly.  Can you just imagine the stories the walls inside this building could tell........

Isn't this building just gorgeous??!!??  This is City Hall of London, England.  It's design is quite a contrast to many of the very old buildings along the river, but is is magnificent, nonetheless.

.........and this beauty is The Tower of London.  The history of this building is just jaw-dropping.  I hope you have time to check out the links and do a little reading.

Below is a shot of the columns of the old Blackfriars Railway Bridge over the river.  When the new bridge was completed, the architects and engineers decided to keep the old columns in place rather than removing them.  This decision was made because they feared that their removal would somehow jeopardize the integrity of the new bridge only a few feet away.

This picture needs no explanation.....or does it???  It is the beautiful Tower Bridge of London, however it is often mistaken and called the London Bridge.  It was breathtaking from every angle.

Well, I hope enjoyed this tiny sampling of the shots I got from the river cruise.  Stay tuned later in the week for some breathtaking scenery from Dover area.

Cheers

:o)