and breathe...

I am T minus 2 days away from my mother's 50th birthday party in Brighton, and I am responsible for providing the cake. I am stressed about this on several levels......

My plan is to bake a chocolate sandwich with a layer of chocolate whipped cream between and on top, to place this on a cake board and garnish with fresh white and pink roses, with pink candied rose petals scattered on top. Fine. Except I also have to get it to Brighton intact and fresh, and that means surviving a 4 hour car-journey. The cake is for 20 people.

It'll be ok though, because I have an elaborate plan to transport everything separately- sponges, cream, flowers, and assemble at the restaurant. I'm trying not to think about it, mostly.

On the other hand I did manage to get Robert Opie's '1920's Scrapbook' on sale at work...

It's a fantastic collection of newspapers, adverts, and memorabilia, arranged into chapters such as 'hair and hats'. Excellent social history record, and very nice to open randomly and pore over. There is also a '1930's Scrapbook' which I'd love to get hold of...

Speaking of social history, top of my wishlist at the moment is this book by Shirley Hughes. It contains a painting for every other year from 1900 to 1950, and 2 pages of text and black and white drawings summarising the social, cultural, and political history of that year. Most of the paintings depict meals, and my favourite is the very first...the kitchen of the grand townhouse.

I just got my registration papers back from the OU, I am officially started on my history degree, an ambition of some 6 years standing....so excited!

Just as long as the cake turns out ok....

paper art

Here's a book to fall in love with....'Playing With Books'

It has a number of projects to turn beautiful books, pages and covers that will never be read into decorative and useful items, such as a clock, bag, or flowers. Then at the back features some serious artists practising the craft. The dress on the cover for instance, but also 'butterflies' and my favourite, a tiny but perfect age-of-sail ship cresting the wave created by the pages of a book.

Have a look at the website of Tracey Bush, I adore what she does, particularly the use of maps.

Another nice book is 'Things on Toast'. Yum, yum, yum.

There won't be any more children's books featured for a while because I am on the long-list reading panel for the Children's Book Prize run by my company, and I cannot divulge the titles.

I tried salt-dough today for the first time, no pictures yet because its in the oven, and I need to find some paints...