Chocolate Brownies

This morning I decided I should use up some of the Bournville chocolate I had so that I don't eat it all. Everyone seems to love Chocolate Brownies and these ones are delicious. Please note that they are on the cake stand :) Thanks Deb!!

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For those of you who may like to try these out, here's the recipe

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CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Makes about 16 large and 25 small ones

180g (6oz) butter

180g (6oz) good dark chocolate (though I use Bournville and they're fine)

3 eggs

250g (9oz) caster sugar

110g (4oz) plain flour

100 - 150g (3.5 - 5.5oz) chopped walnuts or muesli (optional)

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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line the bottom of a 20cm (8") square tin, or a small 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13in) swiss roll tin, with greaseproof paper or tin foil. Carefully melt the butter and chocolate in a pan on a low heat.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. When the chocolate has melted, let it cool for a minute and then mix it with the eggs and sugar in the bowl. Stir in the flour and nuts (if using) and beat to combine. Empty into the prepared tin and place in the oven. Cook for 32 - 42 minutes (depending on the oven). When cooked it should be crisp on top but still slightly dense and fudgy inside.

Cut into squares, and when it has cooled, take it out of the tin.

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I line the tin with parchment paper and omit the nuts because Claire doesn't eat nuts. Please let me know if you try the recipe and if you enjoyed the brownies as much as we do.

xx

Are we mad??? (Please DON'T answer that one!)

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that today we were going down to the Cats Protection Center to see a couple of kittens. We got there only to be told that the kittens they had thought would be suitable, wouldn't be. They had come from an environment where there had been cat flu which means they are carriers. Because we already have two cats they said they wouldn't house the kittens with us as it could be detrimental to Tom and Charlie.

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We were asked if we'd met Sally and Mac on our last visit. We didn't remember seeing them but they'd only just been moved from Maternity to the viewing area this morning. They're 6 months old and a bit older than Emily was hoping for, but we went to view them anyway. She fell in love with Sally (the tabby). When we asked if we could see her we were told that they wanted the two cats to housed together. Hmmmm........

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I called Jon to see what he thought of that and he surprised me by saying if they were the ones Emily wanted, and I was alright with it, he didn't mind!! So, we agreed and asked to have a visit with the kittens. We were taken into a side room and spent about 20 minutes with the kittens and one of the staff members - who explained about integrating them into the home and introducing them to the other animals. After the visit Emily was more keen than before. We have a home visit arranged for lunch time tomorrow (because when we got Charlie and they did a home visit, we were in our previous house) and if that goes well, we can go straight down and pick them up!

Sally and Mac Mac was more reserved and happy to watch from the outskirts

We did get to pick him up and have a hold; he's so soft and cuddly

I think he wondered what the thing in front of my face was (the camera lens probably looked HUGE to him)

Emily got to hold Sally (who is likely to be renamed Bellatrix Echo Bronte !!!)

My friend Helena was holding her here and didn't want to be in the photo ;o)

This shot is just to give you an idea of how big they are, they're still quite little at 6 months

Love the little tip of her tail! This little lady was quite inquisitive and had a good look at everything that was going on the other side of the door.

So, fingers crossed that all goes well tomorrow and we bring the new additions home.

xx

PS. Mum and Dad, I know what you're thinking, you'll just have to bear with us on this one ;o)

A quick Thursday post

Claire had the day off today and Emily went back to school today. I spent most of the morning at home doing housework and then went in to town for another contact lens check. I've been having problems with my lenses smeering and not being able to see clearly. They've changed the solution I use which will hopefully eliminate the build up on the lenses. I'm hoping it works because I don't enjoy wearing them at the moment.

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While I was in town there were three fire engines at the top of London Road. I needed to cross because I wanted to go into WH Smiths (a newsagents). The trucks were outside Smiths so I asked the policeman on duty whether I could get in to the shop. He said he thought so but then had another look and said no it looked like it was shut. As I was walking down the road I heard someone telling a friend that it was actually Smiths that had been on fire!! As Jon was saying with all the books/newspapers/magazines etc in there it would have gone up quite quickly. Not sure how much damage has been done but if it's closed for any length of time it's going to be sorely missed!

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Hugh went up to London to see Sarah today and Jon took him to the station at lunch time. He suggested that we go to The Broadway for lunch and we asked Claire if she'd like to come with us. We hadn't eaten there since the pub changed hands but the food was still as good as ever. We had homemade burgers, chips and salad with onion rings and garlic bread on the side. It was so full I don't think any of us actually finished what was on our plates. Claire and Jon at The Broadway

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There was a message from the Cat Protection Center on our phone this afternoon letting us know that they have different 4 month old kittens, who had been reserved before but the people are no longer able to take them. They were asking if we would like to go and see them - silly question! I tried to call back this afternoon but the Center closes at 4pm and we just missed them. Emily has an inset day tomorrow (a day off school for teacher training) so we're hoping to go down in the morning and see the kittens. No idea what they'll be like but we're looking forward to finding out. As we've told Emily, if they're not what she is looking for we don't have to take one. Last time we were there they told us February / March tends to be the start of kitten season so she wouldn't have long to wait.

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At lunch time tomorrow, Emily is going to a friends house for a mid day sleepover ;o) They're going to put on their pyjamas, have duvets in the lounge and watch movies. Sounds fun to me!!

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xx

Very low key day

We've had a very low key day today. We put Cloud in her usual basket to sleep last night but it didn't go too well :( - she whimpered and barked on and off most of the night. I ended up sleeping on the sofa half the night because I was so tired and couldn't keep getting in and out of bed. Each time she barked I just called through to her to go back to sleep and she went quiet again. It felt like a long night though! I've been so tired today and am hoping for a better night tonight.

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This afternoon I decided to make a beef casserole for Jon for tomorrow night. He goes out on a Thursday night and I like to have something ready for him to eat before he goes. This way it's ready in advance and I don't have to worry about it tomorrow. I've made curried sausages for tonight as it's cold outside and we need something warming. It's also one thing that most people will eat :)

This beautiful bunch of roses was dropped off for us yesterday by a kind friend. Thank you Kayley, it's so nice to have a splash of colour to brighten the day and make us feel a bit better!

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Finally, before I end,

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Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, dear Jane!

Happy Birthday to you!!

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Today is Jane over at Escaping the City's birthday!

Have a wonderful, fun packed day with your family :) I'll be checking your blog later / tomorrow to see what you've been up to!

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Have a good evening

xx