Saturday's Bake ... and Work Choices ...

Baking is one of the things I like to do as a creative hobby. I love the preparation, mixing the ingredients together, waiting for the cake to bake and best of all of course, tasting the end product! I did this bake while I was at work ... 

An Orange Cake with Orange Icing and Small Cup Cakes with Royal Icing

I've been working as a 24 hour carer since August and as the lady I care for loves cakes, its nice to do something for her that I know she will enjoy. Its also a good method of relaxation for me as I have found 24 hour care has been stressful and not something I feel I could do long term.

It has given me an insight into the challenges of caring for someone who has disabilities both physical and mental. It is not an easy task by any means, it has both is negative and positive aspects, as all jobs do. But the reason I don't feel that I could do this long term, is that I actually find the responsibilities quite stressful. In fact the stress has affected my own health. I am searching for vacancies in the educational sector, as this is where I would prefer to work. A learning environment where both young and mature people spend their time, making discoveries, researching, questioning and achieving goals and dreams. Having studied myself for four years to achieve my BA (Hons), and enjoying every minute of that time, I know that working at a college or university would better suit me. I'm hoping that the universe will smile on me and lead me to the role that would make me happy.

A Fascination with Ancient Churches

I've been visiting Ancient Churches in the past few weeks. I find them interesting, the old graves, even with their short epitaphs, giving me information about the lives of past generations. There are always many young deaths. Life in the past was not privileged to the medicines we have now, and far more precarious, or so it seems to me. My own great aunt died at the age of 9 years, I only recently found her grave and now think of her often. I don't know how she died, there is no one left in my family who could tell me.

These ancient churches hold so many stories that I have yet to unfold. But its the atmosphere and spirituality of churches that attract me. I feel a connection to the past which holds my attention, and I always allow my imagination to be transported back to times past. I have always believed that our ancestors live on in us and that it is good to keep them alive through talking about them and trying to understand who they were, how they lived, the difficulties and challenges they faced and the happiness they felt in their lives.

In Nevern there is the church of St Brynach where there stands a Celtic Cross dated from the late 10th or early 11th century. The story goes that the community would surround the cross to await the beginning of spring; when a bird landed on the cross they accepted that spring had begun.

Nevern Cross

Interior of Nevern Church

Embroidery of St Brynach 

Samba

I want to do this ......

http://www.sambadoc.org.uk/

Lethargy

Definition of Lethargy Oxford English Dictionary

A lack of energy and enthusiasm

just saying .............

From Angle to Baking

A visit to Angle .....

The end of the peninsula looking across to Milford Haven

 An old Telephone Exchange looking towards the power station

 Cows on the horizon

I drove to Angle this morning, a small village at the end of a Pembrokeshire peninsula. I walked along the beach and a short way along one of the public paths. I did shoot some 35mm photos, I particularly liked the Power Station, it was somehow beautiful in its ugliness. But those photos will have to wait to be seen until I've had the film developed. (Film now developed and a few images added here)

I would have driven to Freshwater West and St Govan's Church which is built in the rock. But I hadn't noticed that I was running short of petrol, so I decided to leave that for another day.

This afternoon I baked a sponge with a layer of lime butter icing. It is delicious; I left it in the oven a little too long so the edges are a bit crispy! The crispy bits don't detract from its loveliness though! I'm not sure why it has air holes, maybe I used too much butter in the mixture ... not sure. I'.m not an expert baker, I just love doing it and love eating even more! Its so much nicer to eat something that's home baked, as opposed to buying a cake in the shop or supermarket. The good ones are expensive, and the not so expensive taste like rubber.

Lime Sponge with Butter Icing