h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Now crane flies, what are they all about? Hundreds of them about at the moment, all kind of hopping/ flying around as I walk home in the evening.

House martins have been on the wing the past few weeks, holly berries are already in abundance Even at my age I still love finding shiny conkers on the ground

And I now have under cupboard lighting in the kitchen which is great in the shadowy late afternoons

Autumnal musings of a loony one

We're heading into spring here - which makes me think that the month must be March or April...
A bit of rain today which makes me think of autumn back home. I'm flying to Tasmania tomorrow which is quite exciting. It lookes like a pebble against the huge rock of Australia but is in fact only a bit smaller than Ireland. It's colder there, I have been told so I'll have to take wollies and a coat.

No conkers or holly berries for me this year.

Aww Vestie

I didn't realise *exactly* how big Tasmania is, it does look beautiful though!

Plenty of rain here last night! I found nice shiny 3 conkers on the way to work too

Out in the rather glorious seasonal sunshine yesterday afternoon, abundant leaves underfoot. Not quite this photo(very nice clear skies Thurs.), but it gives a general image http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1225364814062041674YqmKrB Stopped to have a & a large ginger molasses cookie at a cafe's outdoor table - even though I was the only one outside.

Fri. not Thurs.-although Thurs. was great too...out to get (Coconut Curry http://www.theochocolate.com & click on 'Shop Theo' then 'Fantasy Flavors'...actually quite nice, imho). My beastie-largely dormant during the summer months-is asserting itself again.

Thanks jaz'd. The trees are a glorious colour in those photos

Been mostly too wet to sit outside here this weekend. I do think we need an smiley!

Those are certainly interesting chocolates. The Apple cider caramels do appeal to me.
I see one of our chainstores is going to sell marmite chocolate bars for Christmas but others have already had this idea http://www.obanchocolate.co.uk/acatalog/marmitechocs.html

Ahh, speaking of Christmas...I'm already looking forward to Kerstin's Gingerbread as well as Egg Nog truffles! Unfortunately she only brings in a few plain Theo bars & those fantasy flavors bars, I'm rather anxious to try the apple cider caramels too...if I get the chance. Perhaps I should start a petion...if enough people are interested she probably would order those.

Hmm, marmite you say?*gasp* I don't think I'd ever abuse my that way, but each to their own(I suppose the curry & chili pepper strike more than a few individuals the same way).

But, on the topic of 'little things...I had recently bought with the aforementioned little things in it. An American Dagoba superfruit bar with acai, currants & goji berries. And before I forget, I just bought a Cocoa Camino(67%)Mint bar http://www.cocoacamino.com . It has peppermint oil-infused crystals of cane sugar, crunchily releasing the mint flavour.

But weather is still very seasonably pleasant here!

Oooh, I love mint with crunchy crystals I see they do 85% Panamanian dark chocolate, have you tried that? Great that it's fairtrade too.

We have fair weather here too which has lead to a lot of walking this week. Trees are just starting to turn colour and squirrels are scurrying around

I'm working this weekend - I hope I have to do a lot of running around, because otherwise it won't be good for my waistline. We have the "Food Glorious Food" festival on...

Oh yes have tried the Panamanian bar...it seems to me a couple of years ago. I found them at http://www.earthsgeneralstore.com & although they relocated some time ago, I still haven't visited the new-larger-premises. I don't recall seeing them(the small Los Intensos bars)at http://www.planetorganic.ca where I bought the mint bar.

I did buy an 85% Blackout bar there a few days ago(I Really enjoyed that, Very rich & intense). Despite having Bolivia in bold lettering the http://www.altereco-usa.com website states that the cocoa/cacao is Bolivian & Costa Rican(in origin), the cocoa butter from Bolivia & the Dominican Republic & the cane sugar from Paraguay. And coincidentally like the Cocoa Camino bar(s), it or they're also made in Switzerland. However one of their bars, the Dark Twist bar contains bits of crystallised orange peel.

But the purest I've had is the Corallo http://www.claudiocorallochocolate.com 100% tablets/wafers. The sole ingredient, very carefully selected and prepared cacao beans. There are a couple of great youtube videos online(actually taken from British TV).

*waves to Mala & tries not to allover his keyboard as he imagines all that fppd Glorious food*

what? peas(p's) Are food!

It Was a very small paper cup, so I think it qualifies as a 'little thing'.

Saturday Kerstin's Chocolates-she dropped the name 'Cocoa Room'-had an impromptu bTasting of some of their newer products.So what was in that aforementioned small paper cup, was that's right . From http://www.kusmitea.com/en , it's a black Chines flavoured with & spices(really quite good & I see from the site calorie free).

We were also given little samples of a few s & their Valrhona brownies with cocoa nibs as well as a flourless Valrhona ...both Very .

Among my slightly discounted purchases were a few tiny praline-flavoured Meltaways. A soft fudge consistency confection made with coconut butter - they do indeed melt away in the mouth. But I also bought a little(2 oz)packet of with a bit of goat's . The manufacturer is a small-five employees or partners-company in Raliegh, North Carolina http://www.EscazuChocolates.com .

The weather however was no small factor - it was Gorgeuus!

That's a new one on me They do a good variety I see from the website

I've not sampled much recently due to attempting to lose weight. Although I did succumb to a sticky toffee muffin on Saturday My local store does have a good selection of Green & Blacks and Montezuma bars - I am soooo tempted

In the shops here at the moment they are selling bonfire toffee which is very hard and http://www.partydelights.co.uk/sweets/sweet_confirm.asp?ProductID=SWEEBON06&src=gbase

How was the food fest Mal? I missed the local Seafood and Wine this year.

The weekend was lovely here too. We had a flock of and a robin visit. Makes a change from seagulls

It's National week no less!

Like I need an excuse to eat

That with goats was Quite good! Very creamy for a darker(60%), with just a hint of wild/rustic/farmyard('goatishness'?) in the background. This past Wed. I bought a bar the samecompany made with roasted seeds & guajillo chili pepper. I found the guajillo to be probably the most subtle chili pepper I've encountered, so I'm curious about whether or not the roasted seed totally overshadow it.

Ooh, have you tried the new bar yet?

Bought daughter #2 a Thorntons advent calendar yesterday with her name in icing

We have almost enough snow for but not a today.

You mean the one with the roasted seeds, no.*sigh* A downside to the patience & restraint that comes with age. Probably more an erosion of curiosity, it is still ...I'm also waiting as I've found the chili pepper intensifies with age. In much the way that a well-spiced curry is a bit more potently spiced when reheated the next day. The guajillo chili needs intesification in my opinion.

The calendar sounds delightful.

We have enough snow for a but not an excess of it. So a more robust snowman would likely be made in mid to late Dec. I imagine. But yes, we do have quite enough for a good fight.