On Wednesday night I went to bed leaving the curtains wide open, hoping to see snow falling when I woke up, night or day!  At mid-day on Thursday 1st March I am still waiting.  Perhaps when this blog is published, it will contain some snowy images. 
As February became colder and colder, me and Mr Cooper decided to do something to really warm ourselves up.  'A week in the sun?' I hear you wonder.  No, a Saturday afternoon spent watching Bristol Rovers pretend to play football, in sub-zero temperatures.  We know how to live!

I should have got Mr Cooper to take a photo of me there, as positive proof, but this will have to suffice.  Mr Cooper bought a programme to add to his extensive programme collection, and I have just discovered that I have to also give him my ticket, to add to his also extensive football ticket collection.  Who says men are a different species to women?  When I asked Mr Cooper what he was collecting all these for, he said it was because he was a collector, and just liked collecting things. sometimes the words 'collect' and 'hoard' can be interchangeable!  After that conversation, I paused to view my collection of egg-cups, as I am in fact a Pocillovist.*
I find my collection to be both useful, and visually pleasing.
Here is a small section of it.  The ones I am really keen to find are the lustre animal ones.

 Returning to the football match, the first half was just a nightmare, with both teams just kicking the ball up the pitch.  The most exciting thing was that 4 balls were actually kicked out of the stadium.
Even half-time was a bit disappointing, as the pasty was both over-cooked and extremely flat.  When I suggested to Mr Cooper that he returned it to get a better one, he said that they were all like that and after looking around, I discovered that we were surrounded by fans eating flat brown pasties.
The chorizo sausage rolls looked delicious, but apparently rules is rules, and going to see The Rovers involves always standing in the Thatchers stand, and only ever eating a Cornish pasty at half-time.
Luckily the second half was very exciting.  The standard of play didn't improve, but the determination from both sides to score a goal did, resulting in a very exciting game.  Scunthorpe scored first, and we equalised (I sound like an actual fan now) just before the end.
Now we were at the part of the match which is always enjoyable, the apre-ski bit.
We hurried to the Drapers Arms, a micro pub down the Gloucester Road, which is an absolute paradise for fans of real ale.  I had three exceptional beers from a list of nine, and when I popped to the loo it was to find these three beauties.

They were nestling together on the cistern, along with some air-freshener.  That really made the pub for me as it pleased me both on the beer front, and then on the twisted, knitted, art front too.
After a Saturday night curry (another tradition, along with standing, and pasties) we returned to The Gables the following day, listening to Desert Island Discs on the way.  The castaway was Dame Minouche Shafik, who is the director of the London School of Economics.  She spoke so well about equality, working women, and also the fact that some of us have much more fortunate lives than others.  If you didn't hear it at the time, it is well worth a listen to.
 Mr Cooper is indeed a creature of habit, and on our return we made our standard Sunday fare, roast chicken.  Well, Mr Cooper always makes the gravy, and the gin and tonics.  It was a sad day on Sunday in the world of my dwindling gin collection, as the bottle of Glasgow gin was finished.
This is both delicious and unusual, as it is best served with a sprig of crushed Rosemary, and a fresh green chili which has been almost sliced in half.  I have removed the label to remind me to replace the bottle.  Well, it lasted from 25th December until the 24th February, so it did very well. (I won't tell you how large the actual collection was, on the 25th!)

Another reason for removing the label was that the bottle was to be used by Trinity.  The art groups have been asked to create 30 table decorations for a posh ball.  And as ever, on a very small budget.
So an assortment of bottles will be filled with azure and gold items plus lights.
Monday afternoon at Trinity was spent creating prototypes before break, and then some sketches after break that were inspired by words and phrases.

These are from my page of sketches.  It does seem like I spend Sunday afternoons drinking gin, and Monday afternoons taking hallucinogenic drugs.  But fear not, what I have is what my Mum calls a 'vivid imagination'.  And by my Mum's definition, it is 'never a good thing to have'.  I beg to differ!

Woohoo, at 2pm the snow finally arrived, here is the garden just beginning to become 'dusted' with snow.
 I was able to go to bed feeling a lot happier, with a snowy walk on the cards for the following day.

The skies on Friday were suitably gloomy and grey, though not actually snowing.  Mr Cooper looked at the weather reports, and assured me that it would snow at mid-day.  We decided to follow our usual snow-routine, which is to walk into Emsworth via the seafront, visit the library and go to a hostelry for lunch.
So 11.30 am found us clad in our winter walking gear, setting off into the bleak countryside.
Here is the view from the shore, with snow clouds on the horizon.

And sure enough, the snow started to fall at 12pm, right on cue.  Here is Mr Cooper looking like he is loving the snowy walk.  I was, as I love the snow, and also the promise of a pub lunch.  A real treat.

After trudging for a mile or so, battling against the biting wind, we reached the marina, the part of Emsworth that is a sailor's paradise. We picked our way through a variety of boats, and I paused to take a couple of arty boat pictures, both from the same vessel.
Here is the first, I just love how the many layers of paint become their own beautiful artwork,

With a sculptural element too.

After changing four books in the library, but stupidly changing paperbacks for hardbacks, we made our way to The Coal Exchange which has two real fires, and a very tempting menu.  Two courses for £10, what is not to like?  We both chose Stilton and broccoli soup, then Mr Cooper chose a lamb leg steak to follow whilst I opted for a steak and ale pie.  When we had finished our soup which was amazing and plentiful, we realised that we were already felt quite full.  But we nevertheless manfully and womanfully managed to polish off the main course too.  When you are sitting by a coal fire, feeling really well-fed and finishing your glass of red, a snowy walk home seems far less attractive and staying by the fire for longer seems such a good idea.  But no, we bravely left the shelter of 'The Coalie' and endured our head-wind walk home.
I was really pleased that we had our snowy walk, as the following day we would have had a slushy walk instead in the morning, and an 'almost back to normal' walk in the afternoon.

Last week I was talking about trying something new.  In my case, it was a new recipe but it was so delicious that it will soon become a familiar one.  Chimichurri sauce, it's amazing.
I initially looked at a recipe by Jamie Oliver, but think that this one by Valentine Warner just had the edge.  There is a warning with it, however.  You must really like garlic, and everyone in the house has to eat it.  After that, you will not be troubled by vampires for a fair while.

I really enjoyed watching Valentine Warner's cookery series on the television some time ago, and bought the book to go with it.  In fact, so enthused was I that when he was a visiting chef where Sam was working, I wanted to be the kitchen porter for the night, in order to meet him and see how he worked.  Sadly, it was the day of my wedding anniversary, so I had to decline, but that was perhaps a blessing in disguise!  In the book, he talks about working at the Halcyon Hotel in London as 'in those frantic kitchen days before I minded being shouted at', but Sam found that this didn't mean he wasn't averse to actually doing the shouting! Strangely enough, Sam has never liked being sworn at and shouted at, but on that day, he was the recipient of both from Mr Warner.  For further details, just ask Sam!
When I delve into his cookery book I always think of Sir Terry Wogan, and a comment he made about Valentine Warner once, on his Breakfast Show.  He remarked that you never saw Valentine Warner and Herman Munster in the same room together.  You are so greatly missed, Sir Terry.

We have had to put our house back on the market, as the people who want to buy it haven't yet managed to sell their house.  So out comes the polish again, and we continue to de-clutter.  But we have gained a most beautiful addition to the kitchen mantelpiece.  Here is a wondrous creation in blue, which I refer to as the 'beautiful being,' being welcomed by the duck jug.  Both were gifts to me, with both benefactors deciding that I would treasure the items more than they were being treasured.

This made me think that a present does not always have to be bought. and sometimes something that you already own would please another person greatly.  I don't mean that you should off-load your junk onto your unsuspecting friends, but sometimes you could make a space by giving a gift.
 And when there is a space, something will usually come along to fill it, though sometimes in a way you wouldn't perhaps have foreseen!
In the week to come, I hope to make some creative space by completing a couple of projects.  My mink stole now needs to be sewn-up, but not until the glass eyes have been added!  When the parcel arrives, which should also contains a couple of mink noses too, the stole will be able to be completed.
Perhaps have a look around this week, to see if you have something that needs to be finished, but that you may have been avoiding.  Get it completed, and then see what else comes along to fill the space.
And if when you have completed it, and you don't like it as much as you thought you would, give it to someone who really really likes it, a win-win situation.
Keep drinking lots of water too!  Have fun, and see you all again very soon.

* Collector of egg-cups.