I know it's early, but....

I really couldn't help myself. I have to say that I'm not a big fan of Starbucks, I prefer supporting small independent businesses rather than large American companies, but Christmas at Starbucks is great. I know it's a bit early for Christmas yet, but I love Christmas so much and so excited for the day when I can get my Christmas box out and decorate the house in red...

Finally Friday!

This week felt so long, and it's so nice that we've made it to the weekend! Hurrah!

I'm looking forward to Bonfire night tonight, drinking mulled wine and watching the fireworks.

Hope you all have nice plans for the weekend, I'm planning on drinking lots of tea and reading, all wrapped up under a blanket.

Things that make me happy today:

-this toilet paper, with lots of little snowmen on it:

And if you've never seen The Snowman, it's quite a big deal over here at Christmas, you can watch some of it here. It is fantastic!

- having breakfast in bed, listening to the radio.

-looking forward to the Christmas market I'm going to next Friday!

-practising songs for the Christmas play with all the kids. So much fun.

-eating some more of the wonderful homemade pasta I made.

-drinking lovely Chai tea.

-all the amazing colours on the trees outside. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Polkadotdays

Obsessed with polkadots? Me?? Never!

Happiness is......

....driving on the little, windy roads out to the sea, to Anstruther, and buying the best, crispiest, freshest fish and chips you'll ever eat...

And the fish is so fresh that it just falls apart, and it tastes so lovely. They even have a sign in the shop that tells you where and by whom the fish were caught!

Scotland

The beautiful village of Falkland

Wonderful cafe Pillars of Hercules, just outside Falkland..

Lovely Arbroath, a little fishing village by the North Sea.

Downton Abbey love

Love, love, love the new ITV series 'Downton Abbey', set in England at the beginning of the 20th century. Created and written by Julian Fellowes, who is very good, and has a great cast that includes the always wonderful Maggie Smith. And the costumes! Sigh!

Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)

Scotland is crisp, cold and stunningly beautiful!

Adventures

It was early Saturday morning, when Husband and I packed Pug, our car, and set out on our journey to Scotland. England was beautiful in yellow, red and orange, and Scotland welcomed us with ominous black skies that made the yellow trees look even brighter than before. We packed our lunches before we left and stopped in a little village just over the Scottish border to eat and drink our coffee.

Scotland is beautiful as ever, the sky high and wide, the sea black with white wave tops, and the sunsets magnificent and sparkling. We will stay here for two long, wonderful weeks, and eat, live, laugh and love, before we again pack our lunches and coffee and start the journey back south again. Oh life, oh joy.

Things I like about living in Britain, pt 2

BBC Radio 4. According to Stephen Fry the greatest achievement of British culture, and I have to say I agree with him. There is nothing like it in Norway, and it's full of so many treasures... Excess Baggage, Saturday Live, The News Quiz, Women's hour, Book of the week, Desert Island disks, PM, Poetry Please....

Farmer's Markets. They're everywhere, every weekend. Great places to buy home made food, cheese, breads, organic food and vegetables, meat, cakes, you name it. And they always, always have free tasters!

Pubs. There just isn't another country that takes its pubs so seriously. You find them on almost every corner, and although a lot of them are shabby and not so nice, quite a few have great atmosphere, good beer and lovely traditional pub food like burgers, pie, bangers and mash... And some of them are extraordinary, like Anglesea Arms and The Dove in Hammersmith. Outstandingly good food and the best beer! And this takes us to the next point.....

Beer. Although not as good as the Belgians, the British know how to make a good beer. Preferably served in a nice pub, by a nice fireplace, in good company. Fuller's, Wychwood, Brakspeare; Honeydew, Brakspeare Oxford Gold, Hobgoblin, Wychcraft, Discovery..

Roast Sunday lunch. I really like this tradition, and even if it's not that different from what we in Norway call 'Sunday dinner', there's something special about everyone having a roast on Sundays. Families getting together, the roast cooking in the oven for hours, creating a lovely smell all day long. Roast chicken, roast lamb, roast gammon, roast pork, roast beef. Mmmmmm....

Marmite. You either love it or hate it. I love it. Perfect with cheese on toast. Yum.

Take a walk in the park...

And my tights matched the trees...

We met a little friend who was stocking up on food for the winter.

And the trees were very pretty..

And we picked some conkers, too..