An old man, his son and missing bodies!

An old Italian man lived alone in New Jersey. He wanted to plant a tomato garden, but it was difficult work, as the ground had become extremely hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was now in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament: Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too damn old to be digging up the garden plot. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days. If you were here my troubles would be over. Love, Papa

A few days later he received a letter from his son. Dear Pop, Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried. Love, Vincent

6 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area looking for, but without finding any bodies. Finally, they apologized profusely to the old man and left.
Later in the day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Pop, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances. Love you, Vincent
I hope you enjoyed this piece of 'humour' that my friend Mandy sent me some time ago.
Have a blessed week.

A Victoria Sponge with a twist!

Tonight, Imo asked me to bake another cake (I baked one yesterday), first I refused as it was getting late but she insisted so here is the recipe I used for this Victoria Sponge with a twist. Click on the words Victoria Sponge to go on the website.

150g softened butter or marg (not low fat spread)
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g self raising flour
Tip: You can make smaller amounts (or larger!) by using 50g of flour, sugar and butter for every egg you use. So, for example, you can reduce the quantity by using 2 eggs and 100g of the other ingredients.
Set the oven at 180 C /Gas 4
Rub some butter around the insides of the two sandwich tins, and line the bases with circles of greaseproof paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until mixture is pale and creamy.
Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time and stir until smooth.
Add flour and mix gently into the mixture.
Pour half of the cake mixture into each sandwich tin and smooth it level.
Place the tins in the oven for 20 to 25 min's
The cakes are done when they are well-risen and golden brown and feel springy in the middle.
Turn them out onto a wire rack to cool. Remove greaseproof paper.
I made a few changes, first I peeled and cored two small apples then sliced them and put them on the greaseproof paper. I also melted 50 g of dark chocolate in the microwave and incorporated the mixture at the end! So I only used 100g flour. Also I did not have self raising flour, I used plain flour and added baking powder. Everybody had a taste of it even the boss! It is yammy! 

Have you been baking lately? What is your favorite desert?

Barn dance?

I've just come back from our PCC at Hixon; ideas and suggestions were forthcoming for next year fundraising events and our secretary said: 'what about a barn dance!' I thought that it was an excellent idea. I remembered the last time I went to one, it was fun even though I did not know many of the people there. What amazed me was the feeling of friendliness.. families and single people were mixing and dancing and joy was there. There was a genuine commitment to one another. So this could be a good idea! What do you think? Would you go to a barn dance yourself? Any suggestions?
Blessings to all. Your sister in Christ. N

In my inbox!

Talking about family, Chennai and Napoleon!

We've just come back from spending a week caravaning in Heacham in Norfolk where we visited my father-in-law Laurie. We were pleased to see that he is keeping well even if his breathing is difficult. 
On Sunday, we went to the Methodist church (Heacham) as Steven was invited by Mike and Kim to preach there.
During the service Imogen talked about her charity Chennai Challenge and her trip in India for a few minutes and also thanked everybody for their support. We then stayed for a chat over a cup of coffee.

At the beginning of the week, we took dad bird-watching with us. He stayed in the RSPB coffee shop at Titchwell. Imogen kept him company after taking a walk to the sea (about 1 mile). We saw our favorite waders, i.e. avocet, sandpiper, golden plover (photo below)...

On Monday, we went to Kings Lynn to the Orange shop to sort out his mobile, it failed to charge. While the boss and his dad were discussing the problem, Imo and I went round the shops. 

There were some sales but nothing exciting so we came back half an hour later only to find them still talking through.

Eventually, they told us that dad would get a new phone on the following day and we had to be home from 9 to 1 pm. Guess what, they brought the new phone at 12:50! 

That evening, Imogen asked if we wanted to watch a dvd at dad's and she chose Napoleon Dynamite. I don't know if you have seen that film. Here is the review I found in IMdb: A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home. To cut a story short, dad watched the film but the boss did not...I realised that I watched it before but it had not made a big impression on me then..
Imogen was not allowed to choose any more films for the rest of the week!
Blessings to all. N.