Friday 1st December - not real Advent yet...

 Real Advent starts on Sunday; but everything 'Adventish' starts today; my Advent book 'Haphazard by Starlight', poems chosen and presented by Janet Morley,

and ALL the other Advent calendars! 

I'm hoping to add a paper craft and a biscuit recipe to the Advent weekly collection if anyone fancies making and baking along. I need to make a smart version of the paper craft, and write out the biscuit recipe. The knitting craft us already posted. 

This year's Advent ring is going to be all-electric. That simplifies things considerably.... but that's tomorrow's job. I'll take a picture when I've worked out what I'm doing.

My cross-stitch arrived safely at Ang's, so I can share what I did;

I think it's my favourite of everything I've done so far. Every morning the starlings gather for their 'morning meeting ' on one of the TV aerials, and I love watching them jostle about, pushing in, or hanging about on the sidelines. There's clearly an 'in' crowd and an 'out' crowd, birds in the latter group having to perch on a nearby aerial or maybe a chimney pot, watching for their chance. Then they fly off to another aerial and start all over again.

I cooked Nigel Slater's recipe for gnudi today. It's relatively straightforward to prepare and cook; just flavoured ricotta cheese, rolled into balls, coated in semolina and left to dry out for a day or so in the fridge. Then you boil them quickly in water, and serve in a sauce. It's a sort of gnocchi kind of meal... I guess the nearest thing in British Cookery is cheesy mashed potato. I served them with a sauce of chopped olives and fried tomatoes, garlic and lemon juice. Tasted good.