Jan
02
2011
0

The 2010 review

Well, a few days late, here is my review of the year.

4801-1022010 started well with a move up to Yorkshire to start a life with my lovely Mister. We got married in 3 April in a gorgeous little church in Guernsey, and it was truly the happiest day of my life. It was a perfect day (with the exception of the pouring rain) and I wouldn’t have changed anything! The chance to celebrate this event with family and friends was amazing and I was very grateful for everyone who came and shared the day with us. We followed the wedding with a fabulous week in St Ives. The weather was perfect and Cornwall was a delight. Fabulous. The Mister has been learning to live with me ever since. He is both a brave man, as well as an amazing man, and I know I am extremely lucky!!

I started working in June. A job which is both amazing and hard. The staff team are fantastic, but like any other job I am finding the paperwork and the politics annoying and nightmarish.

P1040654.JPGThe summer saw an extremely wet but fun camping trip to Wales with Tom and Anne and their boys, two of which are our godsons. It was blissful to spend a bit of time relaxing, eating, drinking and laughing with good friends. This was followed by a trip to Greenbelt where we managed to catch up with a whole bunch of friends. It was a great holiday, just wish it could have been a bit sunnier! Highlights of Greenbelt were seeing Jars of Clay and listening to an interview with the two writers of Rev. Roll on the next GB!!!

P1050790.JPGMy nephew Barnabas continues to be gorgeous, as well as hilarious. My sister is expecting again and is due to drop at the beginning of March. As ever, this has brought extremely mixed reactions for me. I am pleased for her, but I had really hoped that I would manage to get pregnant before her this time. I continue to hope that we will be able to achieve this in 2011 although I am still concerned that my age will be a negative factor for me.

So over all, 2010 has been a vintage year, probably the best I have had in a long time. Who knows what 2011 holds for us, although I expect another move (a big one possibly!), maybe in the summer. This will depend on jobs and stuff like that so we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Thank you to everyone who had read this blog, and I hope you will keep on this journey with me. I hope 2011 is as good, if not better than 2010 and we all get our deepest wishes fulfilled.

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,
Jan
03
2010
2

Happy New Year

Well I am already slacking a little bit on the blogging front, but that is partly because I didn’t have much internet access over the New Year.

The Mister and I spent a very pleasant few days up in Stockton-on-Tees with our friends Tom, Anne and their children Matthew, Andrew and latest delivery Mark. It was lovely to be with people with whom we could just relax and chill out and that was exactly what we got. New Year’s Eve was spent drinking wine and a eating curry and watching TV, oh and watching the big flurries of snow outside. One New Year’s Day The Mister, Tom and I took Matthew and Andrew out to the park where there was just enough snow to go tobogganing. Lovely indeed.

So, all that was followed by a long drive back to Hertfordshire. I have to go back to work and I really don’t want to, but I guess I only have a few weeks left now (both Yay! and eek!!)

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Jan
01
2009
3

Happy New Year & Guernsey Bean Jar

Last night The Mister and I went off to London to watch the fireworks from Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath. This was hampered by a bloody big building in the way. However, it was fun to be on top of the hill with hundreds of other people, watching fireworks go off across the city.

Before we went out I decided to make Guernsey Bean Jar. For those of you who have not yet been educated, Bean Jar is the most fabulous bean stew, but it also makes people unbelievably windy. So, here is my step-by-step guide to making Bean Jar. The recipe has been borrowed from here.

1 pigs trotter or shin of beef (I just used a chunk of pork)
½lb (200g) Haricot beans
½lb (200g) butter beans
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots diced
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2 pints beef stock or water

1. Soak the beans overnight in water.
2. Place all the ingredients in either an earthenware pot or a large casserole dish and pour over the water or stock.
3. Cover the jar or dish and place it in a moderate oven at gas 2-3 or 150-170°C for 6-8 hours.
4. Check the dish occasionally and top up the water level as needed.
5. Check the seasoning, remove the bones from the meat, and remove any fat from the pot and remove the bay leaf.

It was so simple to make and it was absolutely delicious.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

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