Alien meringues...

Yesterday found Mr Teacakes and I lying on the sofa with a stack of unread weekend newspapers beside us and the children happily making 'books' upstairs...which is why Mr Teacakes found it completely incomprehensible when I sprang up and said that instead of taking advantage of this lounging time I simply HAD to make meringues...this wasn't as out-of-the-blue as it seems though. A while ago I saw these perfect pink meringues on Cathy's blog. It had never occurred to me that meringues could be made pink, but since this revelation I have felt quite possessed by the idea of having some of my own. And this was absolutely nothing to do with wanting to eat them, and everything to do with wanting to look at them. So here they are all are lined up on the tray pre-baking...perfectly, delicately, delectably baby pink....

...and now here they are out of the oven, their outer-colour stolen, a wretched disappointment on the baking tray. They had the decency to retain their colour on the inside, but it was really the outer shell that I was more excited about seeing (and there's something slightly revolting about their differently-coloured layers, as though alien life has formed inside an innocent-looking meringue). I have no idea what might have happened: should I have put in more food colouring, cooked them more slowly, made each one smaller? I have no idea, but knowing that Miss Marzie has made the elusive perfect meringue makes me want to get out my whisk right away....but as it's not yet Saturday Sweet Day this means that I must wait four more days before I can. Rats.

This week I decided to overcome my fear of zips...they are something I find frustratingly difficult and when I do manage to get one in to place neatly it seems as though it has come about from luck rather than judgement. Perhaps I haven't made things any easier for myself by wishing to install them mainly on curved edges...but there is something that I love about a curved-top slouchy cosmetic bag. I have lost count of the number of times I have put in and then taken out the same zip this week, doing a good approximation of Eeyore with his jar and balloon, but was working on the belief that if each time I did it I looked at what I could do better next time and then remedied it immediately (rather than on my next attempt three months later) then it would result in zip installation wonderfulness. I'm not sure that is exactly what has happened, but I do feel a lot less fearful of them now.

And lastly here is a note that Zebra-girl handed to me before bed this evening...so sweet it made my stomach do somersaults.

Time has been running away with me - I hadn't realised how much I managed to squeeze into the three mornings that Dinosaur-boy was at nursery, but with the children at home my days are mostly computer-free. I'm so sorry for what a poor blogging companion I have been lately - as ever so many unanswered (but greatly appreciated!) comments and emails and so many posts unread on my favourite blogs. Thank you to: Molly Cupcakes, Sew Christine, Cake Makes the World a Better Place, Trixie's Trinkets, Jenny Flower, Creative Nachos and Lulu Carter for tagging me for memes or passing on lovely awards.

And I have been meaning to say, ever since I first clicked onto her lovely site, if you haven't already, do go and visit Clare's lovely blog, Lulu Carter. Scroll down and you will see image after image of loveliness. I always find that she writes about things that interest me, or that leave me thinking: oh! me too! And (this should have been mentioned first, no?) she sews lovely, lovely things! Enjoy. x