-time crawls like an insect up and down the walls-

*. a little help for my friends.*

I'll help anyone with anything if it's within my remit, so today I have been cleaning and hoovering for Amy & Emma at CoExist. It's all hands on deck as they prepare for Tantalum Memorial & Phone Wars, Base and GPO Documentaries ~ a private viewing at the 'TAP' tomorrow.

After a whizz round with Henry and a rub down with Flash ~ I can safely say that the main entrance is now devoid of disused webs and spider carcasses. Daisy fresh *ish*.

Then a dash home to some dining table productivity for my business partner, Robert. He has taken the mantle of manager to a local four-piece named The Bakerlites. After enlisting our daughter to take photos of the band, he asked me to burn some discs for distribution. Robert has many talents but computer technology isn't one of them *he won't mind me sharing that*.

A little bit of home output, sleeve design, cutting, copy, fold and sleeved ....

.... 22 promo discs to be set free for someone's listening delight.

.... out of place ....

If my little sister's tea was too hot, she would say it was 'crooked' ~ *pronounced crook - ed*

It was her way of expressing the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

The word crooked can mean twisted, bent or out of place. In Australia and New Zealand it means unpleasant or unsatisfactory. Considering she was only about 5 or 6 at the time ~ her word use was succinct.

I'm strangely drawn to even numbers ~ when I'm turning up the volume, I prefer 12 or 14 over 11 or 15. Pick a number, any number. Mine will be even.

Even though arranged objects are better if they are odd in number ~ I will choose 2, 4 or 6.

I think it's a symmetrical thing ~ I love it. If it's not balanced, it jars with me.

I eat eggs for my breakfast most mornings and absent mindedly find myself taking the eggs from the box evenly. I'll even re-arrange them sometimes, to make a pattern. But while talking on the phone one day, I selected my eggs from the box and without thinking they ended up in this shape....

.... and it didn't give me that feeling of imbalance or mess with my mojo.

Perhaps it's because it's a recognised shape and it has relevance.

Actually I don't live my life by this rule. It's a subconscious thing, nothing sinister or ritual. I have been known to be haphazard *what a good word*.

My friend Helen gets a similar feeling if she wakes in the small hours, glances at the clock and the time is not 'significant' *her word*. 4:44 and she is happy, 5:32 and she feels swindled.

So what are you? Odd or even.

^/\ what to do when /\^

^\/ you are given a large piece of sparkly black paper

^\/ fold \/^

~*~ overwhelmed ~*~

.... with the garden growing ....

~* come outside and see what you're missing * ~

.... graffiti bench fighting shrubs ....

~* before you know, there'll be nowhere to sit *~

.... the de-grannification of our haven ....

~* strip me down, dress me up *~

.... the cracks are showing but I haven't the heart to cover them up ....

~* fill the gaps and smooth *~

cake in the community

My Nanny *87 years young* often tells me little tales and anecdotes when I visit her in Kent.

So the last time I saw her I took along dictaphone to capture her Island accent.

In her lounge ~ Nanny, my Mummy, my daughter and I had a conversation about cakes. Four generations of keen bakers in one room. Nanny told me that her favourite was apple cake and my Great Grandmother used to make Seedy Cake. I'd heard of it but never tasted it.

"It's an unusual taste", Nanny offered ~ "It wasn't to my taste", Mummy confessed.

I started to think about baking and how recipes are often passed down through generations ~ Mother to Daughter.

The picture in my head of Mummy showing me how to make pastry and how I helped her make bakewell tarts on a Saturday morning. Spreading the jam on the pastry case and smelling the almonds as she tumbled them into the bowl.

I have always made cakes with my daughter and now she is old enough to make them on her own. Cupcakes are her favourite ~ brightly coloured icing, festooned with sprinkles or chocolate flakes. When did the muffin become the cupcake? I blame Starbucks.

A few of my friends take the time to make their own cakes and biscuits but the Art of baking is fading, along with the Family Photo Album. In these times of faster speeds and ease of use, taking time to weigh out flour or cream butter and sugar isn't for everyone.

I do own a few hand written recipes that friends and old neighbours have passed to me.

Boiled fruit cake from Anna, Welsh cakes from Elsie May and the ever popular chocolate brownies from Miss Jenny-Anne.

As for my favourite cake? Any cake is good in my world.