Top Ten Thursday - Speaking Up

This week's top ten is all about speaking up in situations where someone needs to do the right thing. As I start this I'm not sure if I'll get to ten, but lets see. Thanks to Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom for the challenging theme. Sometimes speaking up can be just as much about action so some of mine might be things that I do.

1. One way I speak up is by signing petitions for things that I feel strongly about. The most recent one I've signed is about the law when a cat gets hit by a car. This may sound trivial to some, but cats are the second most popular pet in this country and yet you don't have to report when you hit a cat but you do if you hit a dog or even a goat. If you're interested in signing this petition, follow the this link - Sign for Cats. I was actually going to start the petition myself when I found out about this law, but was glad that someone else had started it.

2.Becoming a pescatarian (fish eating vegetarian) is my way of speaking up for animals. There are several reasons that I made this decision, but protecting animals is definitely one of them.

3. Buying the Big Issue from street sellers gives them a wage which means they're working and this will aid them in whatever their goals are for the future. Here is a really good article that debunks a lot of the myths that people believe about the people that sell this fabulous magazine - Big Issue Article. I hope that when others see us doing this that they may buy it as well.

4. Choosing not to buy products from certain countries who have atrocious human rights records is another way of speaking up. If I believed that the money actually went to the people that need it then that would be different, but unfortunately the money usually goes to big businesses that keep the money between the entitled few.

5. I refuse to wear fur - it looks so much better on the animals than on humans. Wool is fine as you don't have to kill the sheep to get the wool.

6. I have spoken up a lot and signed loads of petitions on marriage equality in Australia and finally, after the nation has spoken, it seems to almost be a reality.

7. Another product I try to avoid is palm oil. This is in so many products and if I know I don't use that product due to the environmental devastation that is happening in lots of countries just to grow more palms. Unfortunately I discovered that it's in Nutella so that is now a no no.

I've run out of steam now so the last three are not me but people that I admire for what they spoke up for (hint, they're all females).

8. Rosa Parks is often called the first lady of the civil rights movement which all started with her refusing to give up her seat for a white man in 1955. A very brave thing to do in 1950's Alabama.

9. Emmeline Pankhurst who regularly spoke up for the right of women to vote.

10. Malala Yousafzai who spoke up for the right of girls to get an education, was shot in the head, and continues to campaign for this. An amazing young woman.

Do you find it easy to speak up when things aren't right? Do you have things that you do to help speak up in a different way? Before you go, pop over to Tamara's blog, Part-time Working Hockey Mom to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and do something this week for someone else.

Pamela & Ken
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A Hodgepodge of Thoughts

It's time for Wednesday's Hodgepodge, a prompt based weekly blog challenge, with the prompts provided by Joyce at the blog From This Side of the Pond.

1.  What's something blogging has taught you about yourself?

Blogging has taught me that I can ramble on about the most inconsequential things and has reminded me how much I love writing. It's also taught me to take photos of all sorts of weird things that I may not have really stopped and noticed before, as you never know when it will be of good use in a blog post.

2.  Leftovers...are you in the 'reheat and eat' camp or the 'put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them' camp? What's your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?

I'm quite a fan of leftovers but my beloved not so much - he always worries if it's okay to eat something still. It's easier now that we don't eat meat, as I tell him a vegetable dish that's a few days old isn't going to kill him.

This is really embarrassing to admit, but when I was in my twenties my favourite leftovers were pizza, eaten cold the next morning for breakfast, or Kentucky Fried Chicken, again eaten cold the next morning for breakfast - now the thought of it turns my stomach.

3. 'Me time'...your thoughts?

I don't think it's so much about having 'me time' as taking time to do things that restore your soul. For some people that may be having time by themselves, taking time to meditate, or even just soaking in a bubble bath. It could be about meeting friends for a coffee or going to the gym - whatever it is that helps you regroup and have the energy to keep doing whatever it is you do. For me it's about spending time with my beloved and taking time to enjoy the little moments in life. 

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

I like to think that my way of helping is listening. I don't think I have many skills that would be helpful to people, but I love being able to support people if things are tough.

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.

The smell of my childhood would be hay. I loved it when the hay harvest was on and you could smell it in the air, and then we would often play in the barn amongst the stacked hay bales.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I had a fabulous argument with a three year old at work this week. We were talking about what he might want for Christmas and I told him I wanted a unicorn, to which his reply was, they aren't alive (meaning they aren't real). I was horrified (not least because a three year old didn't believe in unicorns) and proceeded to tell him they are very real, and then followed a bit of back and forth with no compromise from either of us. I then asked him if he believed fairies are real? Yes, because the tooth fairy is real (at least he believes in something magical, even though I suspect it's because of the money aspect). I then informed him that the unicorns live with the fairies so if fairies are real, unicorns must be. I'm claiming that as a victory.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and look out for any unicorns needing a home.

Pamela & Ken

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Sparks of Love

Sparks is hosted by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and her words are the best to use to explain:

"I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!"

The aim is to post a positive quote, thought, poem, or verse - I love this quote as it points to hope of a future where peace and love eradicate war and hatred.

Pamela & Ken
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Santa Arrives in the Highlands on a Trike!!

It's been a real Christmas themed weekend despite it still being November (my beloved keeps muttering this as he has a thing about Christmas too early in the year). Today we went to the Baxters Village near Fochabers to see Santa arrive in the Highlands. Lots of kidlets had been dragged out in the cold to see the jolly old man, and there were lots of irritable parents and whiny children. Annoyingly, in the middle of everyone there was one old man smoking so we had to move away from him as it was awful.

Trying to keep the crowd happy whilst we waited was Rudolph and Sugar Plum Mary.

Finally Santa arrived in style, on the back of a Rewaco trike.

Once Santa had arrived and was being mobbed, we headed to the dining room before everyone else did - it was a smart move, as no sooner had we sat down than a huge queue formed. When I told people at work that we were going to the Baxters village they told me that I must try the pancakes as they're 'amazing'.

The pancakes are huge (remember we are in Scotland) so I only had one, and I went old school with maple syrup and icecream. There were lots of other options but this is my favourite. I only managed to eat about half of it, and the sweet waiter offered me a takeaway box for the rest - I didn't accept as I don't think the ice cream would have made it home in one piece.

After our sustenance we headed around the shops to look at all the lovely Christmassy things. The food hall always has lots of lovely things on display, and wonderfully they had lots of tasters, mulled wine, and mince pies. We tried lots of pieces of fudge and I think our favourite was the panettone fudge - the Christmas pudding fudge was not nice.

Lollipops

Tins of fudge

Lovely antique cash register

Tins of Biscuits

After the food hall we went in the whiskey shop, and I was fascinated by the fact that is written above these bottles. It states that Speyside (the area around the River Spey) contains more than half of Scotland's distilleries - that's amazing!

One of the shop assistants was trying to tempt me with a taste of whiskey, but I declined as I really dislike it (slight problem being in Scotland) so then she offered me Gin, but I have the same problem, awful stuff. Her next salvo was to ask if I liked Baileys, which I do, so she gave me a sample of a whiskey cream liqueur called Magnum and hey presto, I loved it. There was one older gentleman in the shop who I think had tried one too many samples, he was a little bit merry.

In the courtyard between the shops was a brass band performing Christmas Carols - they must have been freezing, and their lips must have been so cold on the metal. Despite the cold they sounded wonderful.

Our next stop was the Christmas shop, which is my favourite, and yes we did buy a new Christmas decoration. At the back of the shop is the grotto with Santa, so lots of kidlets and irritated parents queuing to see him.

There are so many things of loveliness in the shop that I'm just going to share lots of photos for you to enjoy.

On this lovely letter box for letters to Santa the times of collection are; Bedtime, After Dark, and Fast Asleep.

It was a really magical day out and I was very excited to see Santa. Do you still get excited by Santa, or are you too mature for that now?

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and I hope all is good in your little corner of the world.

Pamela & Ken
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Christmas at Historic Brodie Castle

Today we went to our first Christmas fair of the year. It was held at Brodie Castle which was the home to Clan Brodie and parts of the castle are thought to date from the 1100's. It's a beautiful setting for all things Christmas, especially with a light dusting of snow on the ground.

This year the stalls were set up in three different areas - a marquee, upstairs in one of the outbuildings, and then in several rooms of the castle. Loved these wooden deer that one of the stalls were selling.

One of the stalls in the marquee contained visions of scrumptious delight. Who could resist such pretty edible things, so of course we didn't.

Ken had one of the raspberry bakewell tarts, and I had one of the keylime tarts - we were very happy little munchkins.

The area in the outbuilding.

With our entrance tickets we got a mug of mulled wine (nonalcoholic) and a mince pie. They had put tables and chairs in the old kitchen for this, and it was really lovely sitting in such a historic setting.

The mulled wine was lovely and warm which was perfect on such a cold and damp day.

As it was quite muddy outside, to go into the castle we had to put on these very sexy shoe covers - Ken said he felt like he was in an episode of CSI.

The castle rooms looked even prettier with all the colourful Christmas decorations and interesting things for sale.

 Choir serenading us with Christmas carols.

After enjoying the delights of the castle and the stalls we headed to the tearoom for some more refreshment, and discovered this fabulous sign at the entrance.

The tearoom with a table covered in sweet treats. The ladies working in there said that we should have been there at the beginning of the day when nothing had been touched - we thought it still looked great. Shockingly neither of us had anything off the table, instead I topped up my caffeine levels and Ken had soup.

Apart from the scrummy tarts, this is what I bought at the fair. It's a bat for our Christmas tree - I love it as it's so cute. Apparently the star hanging off it glows in the dark, which I'm a little bit worried might be too tempting to Cookie when it's on the Christmas tree.

Have you been to any Christmas fairs yet? Do you like these sort of things or are you a bit of a humbug when it comes to Christmas?

Until next time (and I'm warning you, there may be another Christmas event in our very near future), be good, stay safe, and be kind to yourself this week.

Pamela & Ken
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Friday's Friendly Fill-ins

One of my favourite things to do, apart from reading, is writing, so I love this blog link up at McGuffy's Reader. In the Friendly Fill-ins we're given written prompts (the words in purple bold) and then complete them how we wish.

1. I start to decorate for Christmas/Hanukkah as soon as December gets here. One thing that I keep all year is my door for santa's elves - they need a way to get in and out when they're checking up on things. It sits in the skirting board near the front door.

2. I prefer a real Christmas tree because it smells lovely and looks beautiful with the decorations all over it. I do love the not so real trees that you can see around towns at this time of the year, especially if they're totally covered with fairy lights (the best sort of lights there are).

3. The best thing about the holidays is having eleven days with my beloved without work, enjoying the real spirit of Christmas, and taking time to restore our souls. The other really good thing is enjoying Christmas fairs and all the lovely decorations and nibbles that are around.

4. The worst thing about the holidays is that it's winter time and the days are so short. I really don't like the short days and when the days are dull and grey. Hopefully there won't be too many days like that and instead we'll have lots of crisp, bright days where we can get out and enjoy more days of fun.

What's your favourite thing about this time of the year? Before you go, hop over to Annie's blog, McGuffy's Reader, and see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their responses.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and have a really lovely weekend.

Pamela & Ken

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Top Ten Thursday - Have your cake and eat it

Today's top ten is a list of our favorite cakes, pastries, cookies or pies. Finally a list where I can use all those photos of food that I take. Thanks to Tamara, Part-time Working Hockey Mom, for setting the theme.

It's also a great topic as I am married to the self proclaimed president of cake club. First rule of cake club? You must never leave cake! Second rule of cake club? You must never leave cake! You get the picture.

Here's my list........

1. Mint Slices - my absolute number one, dark chocolate covering mint and a chocolate biscuit. Simply divine and a total taste of home (not sold in the UK).

2. Red Velvet Cupcake - so, so good, and the best is from the Hummingbird Bakery (none in Scotland).

3. Lamington - an Australian delicacy. Sponge cake dipped in chocolate and covered in coconut - a real taste of home.

4. Carrot Cake - and it has to have cream cheese frosting. One of the few cakes that my beloved will accept vegetables in.

5. Plain Croissant - I'm quite a simple girl really, and love a plain croissant, often with nothing, but also with butter and strawberry jam.

6. Coffee Cake - I'm not only a coffee drinker, I also love it in cake form.

7. Pasteis de Nata (Portugese Tart) - puff pastry and egg custard.

 8. Scone with Jam and Cream (preferably clotted) - strawberry jam is the best.

9. A Tunnock's Teacake - this is a Scottish delicacy. A biscuit base with soft marshmallow on top and then all of it encased in chocolate. The teacake was born in 1956.

10. Strawnoffee Tart - this is a treat that we've had once at a cafe on Scotlands West Coast. It's caramel, strawberries, cream, and chocolate - so good. The name is because it's like a banoffee pie but instead of bananas it had strawberries. 

Are any of your favourites on my list? What would you have instead? Before you go, make sure you visit Tamara's blog, Part-time Working Hockey Mom, to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and treat yourself to your favourite sweet treat this week.

Pamela & Ken

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