Melanie’s October Monthly News

Boo! Welcome to Melanie’s October Monthly News and Happy Halloween to all! Well it’s safe to say Lily LOVES pumpkin!! My friend Jo and I carved my dads pumpkins this year, which were huge by the way, and Lily was besotted! Jo took this photo below. Can you see Lily looking up just waiting for the pumpkin to drop?? Scroll to the next photo too!!

As we were scraping the insides out, as fast as it was falling on the floor, she was hoovering it up. As you can see she ‘really’ wanted to run off with this big piece that Jo had. Apparently pumpkin is very gentle on their tummies and she was fine.

Now the pumpkins are done and in the front room, she does keep sniffing them. I think she is waiting for us to turn our backs and she might start to gnaw at them….. 😀

So this chap is my pumpkin which is a kind of ‘evil but dopey looking cat’….

And this is Jo’s amazing ‘Old Lady Witch’ which she cleverly designed around the stalk of the pumpkin! Arent they fab! Much fun was had by all!

Christmas is coming…..

Yes … yes… I know it’s only October (or early November!) but Christmas cakes need to me made in advance and fed with plenty of Brandy! The Christmas cake recipe from a Hairy Bikers 12 days of Christmas book always turns out really great. I really recommend the book as a whole too. Bizarrely the recipe even has grated carrot in. I can never seem to find the listed ingredient dried pineapple in shops so it thats omitted, but it really is a lovely cake.

It cooked evenly and didn’t go down in the centre which my cakes sometimes do. So yeay to the cake fairy! We use marzipan and chocolate topping instead of icing and it is utterly delicious. If you haven’t tried topping a cake with those combinations you are missing out. its not the norm I know… but it is wonderful. When its complete in December I will post a photo!

Chickens Honey and Snowy

My two chickens Honey and Snowy are still happy. They have full run of the garden most days now that the plants in the garden have gone over. They run after us and come when called far better than Lily does! Honey is in the photo below.. and yes she would come into the studio if we let her…

Snowy is a little more polite and tends to stay at the door. They are always after a treat of two… Jacobs cream crackers are their favourites at the moment! It also seems that if I pick one up for a cuddle, the other one stretches up as if to say.. my turn!! They are truly comical.

Melanie’s October Monthly News – Aberaeron Visit

We headed to Aberaeron recently to have a little picnic in the car. Our local towns and costal areas seem to be as busy as they were in the summer. Gone are the days we can have a quiet little picnic in an empty carpark at this time of year. Everywhere is bustling. It’s great for the shops and local businesses. It might make them stay open for longer in the season so we can take advantage of them! The weather was fairly cold but lovely and it was raining out to sea as you can see by the double rainbow.

I even managed to capture a seagull in the photo below. When we were sitting eat our lunch we could see a seal bobbing up and down, but by the time we had got out of the car he’d bobbed away. It was my first seal sighing!

Bluetit Sea Swims

I have done a few sea swims with friends this month for the first time ever. There is a local organisation called the Bluetits Chill Swimmers and we met the founder, Sian Richardson on our second swim. She welcomed us with open arms as we dipped courageously into the sea. The photos below are from the final swim of this month. I loved every minute. I’m not sure I have any more planned for this side of the year due to other commitments. We are busy with Christmas portraits and of course running, but when the spring comes I will definitely be getting back out there. Id like to get a full or shortie wetsuit for the different temperatures too.

Once you get in and past the … ooh thats cold part, it is actually very pleasant and lovely. You can just about see us in the distance below.

I am not a strong swimmer by any means. You could say I’m actually a poor swimmer and don’t like putting my head under water and rarely like going in the deep end of the swimming pool. However out in the sea, being out of depth and not having the edge of the pool to hold onto, I found was fine. Amazingly. It seemed completely different and was quite a revelation. I very much respect the sea and would only swim with other people. Nicholas was watching as of course was Lily too. Can you see us in the photo below??! The dolphins were out that day too, but we were so low in the water we couldn’t see them. Lily could of course!

And Finally…

Well that’s about all from us this month. Another month has flown already and I know Christmas will be upon us before long. We are both overspilling into the New Year with our portraits. So if you wanted a gift voucher or book a painting or drawing in for the New Year, please do drop us a line. And as always if you missed our antics last month, head on over to my Melanie’s September Monthly News and take a peak! See you here next month!!

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