Photo diary: Project 365, week 17 2026

I think most days I cook the same dozen meals on a rota, with occasional takeaways, when my guys want a treat. I fancied trying a new twist on a recipe which I haven't cooked in years - crab cakes with a coating of Panko breadcrumbs and crushed crisps. 

You will need two tins of white crabmeat (drained), mixed with 2 eggs, mashed potato (from 1 medium potato), 1/3 cup of Panko crumbs (I used this measure for convenience as it's easier to scoop up the crumbs with the cup), 1 tbsp corn flour, salt and pepper. If you have chives, add chopped chives.

Mix well, roll into balls, flatten a bit - be gentle with the mix, as the patties are quite soft, place in the mix of breadcrumbs and crushed crisps, coat on both sides, and quickly pan fry in oil.

Serve as an appetiser, or light lunch or dinner with salad.

I used Seabrook Tomato Ketchup crinkle crisps, they added some flavour and texture to coating.

The greens on the plate are called Monk's Beard. They were on offer from Ocado. Never tried them before. Basically it's a coastline succulent, similar to samphire. It's OK, I ate it. My guys were not keen. Don't think I will buy it again, but it was fun to try.

 

We watched Greenland 2 Migration with Gerard Butler, and there was a scene when they arrive by boat into the flooded Liverpool. I just had to take a snap for Eddie, who recently visited Liverpool to watch a football game.

Apparently we've seen the first film, though I have completely forgotten about it. I vaguely remembered some scenes, but overall it was a very distant memory. I think it came out during the first year of Covid.

Have you seen Greenland & Greenland 2?

Our local library was closed for refurbishment for almost a year, and now that it is back, I'm trying to visit it at least once every three weeks. It also should help with buying less books (that is, it should in principle, in real life this hasn't solved the problem so far).

The shelf I am drawn to is the British Library Tales of the Weird. I bought several books from the series, and borrowed quite a few from the library. They vary in themes, each volume has a selection of stories on a certain topic.

Roads of Destiny and other tales of alternative histories and parallel realms must be one of the best ones in the series. Absolutely loved the Introduction by Alasdair Richmond, it's superbly written, informative and inspiring. I made a long-ish list of books, mentioned in the Intro, that I would love to read.

Think alternative history, multiverse, where familiar events take a different turn. One of my personal favourites was a short story by Gerald Kersh, called An Undistinguished Boy. It imagines a Nazi-occupied Britain. Poignant and moving, it makes you think.

An excellent collection.

My Mum has been writing poetry since her early teens, both in Russian and Ukrainian. She was in a boarding school in Donbas. Sadly, the town where she grew up, is almost a wasteland now thanks to the senseless war. One of her poems, written in high school, was the winner in the regional competition, and she still remembers that with fondness.

I wanted to translate one of Mum's poems into English. It is very personal. I love it but also feel conflicted about it, as it's meant to be about my father, who I loved very much. They were very different people, quite incompatible, both talented, each of them vivid and creative in their own way.

My darling Dad is gone these past 26 years. 

The poem is quite savage, a declaration of self, fierce and unbending. Trying to keep true to her poem, I kept my translation simple, capturing the mood and sacrificing the rhyme.

The illustration is a reference to her thoughts, galloping like wild Scythean horse.

At the weekend, when my husband is not travelling, we take Sasha out to his favourite cafe, where we often meet a retired American gentleman who loves to chat. 

A couple of weeks ago, while queuing, I asked him what he was reading, as I spotted a book he left on the table when he went for a refill. He told me he's a big fan of John Grisham. 

Then a week later he arrived, when I have already left the guys to enjoy their food and drinks, and gave my husband a bag with two Grisham's books for me. 

At first, I was a bit peeved, as I have so many books to read, including some that I agreed to review for the blog tours. I do appreciate a kind gesture, it's just the timing is not perfect. 

I did a couple of book reviews on my blog in the last week, and decided to start reading The Exchange, which is a sequel to The Firm (love the film, which we've seen many many times, and it's still brilliant, and read a book years ago and enjoyed it too). Now I'm glad that he took the initiative. The book is very good so far.

First week of May, and a new Penandinkchallenge list of prompts. This week's prompts are all about hobbies/pastimes, like knitting, sewing, gardening, etc. I painted my little witch and her chunky cat, in a total yarn chaos.

A wet day. Don't know if it has anything to do with a changing weather and the atmospheric pressure, but I was feeling awful most of the day, with dizzy spells and nausea. Checked the blood pressure a few times, and it was high for me, though not dangerous, according to the online sources. 

Ordered McDonald's for my guys, as I could hardly move around, and ate a bit of soup myself. 

My rhododendron is beginning to bloom. Last year I hardly had any flowers, and this spring it is covered with blooms. It looks pretty with the raindrops.

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Photo diary: Project 365, second half of August.

 Good bye, summer! 

The last two weeks of summer were a bit of a turmoil. I was parenting solo for most of that time, and it wasn't easy. My dear husband returned home last Thursday, and off he goes again on Monday. Deep sigh.

Most of the snaps I have taken are of food, either what I saw in the shops, bought or cooked. 

Shopping for groceries after our return from Cornwall, I spotted two new chocolate bars in Waitrose, Danny's Dubai style chocolate (£12 each).

They couldn't shift Lindt Dubai, as nobody was buying £10 bars (apart from a few simple souls, like us. I did buy a bar, and resented every penny of it). And instead of lowering the price to a less money-grabbing level, they introduce an even more pricey chocolate. Thanks, but I won't be buying it.

Would love to know, if you have tried it, and what did you think?

Jolly sunflowers in town...

Another novelty product in Waitrose - Tyrrells Honey glazed glorious gammon flavour crisps, with the Downton Abbey crew on the packaging. As if Lady Mary is partial to crisps, "Pass me that bowl of crisps, Carson".

They were OK, but I won't buy them again. I prefer Co-Op Sea salt & Chardonnay vinegar crisps, they are superior.

Eddie and I watched Wednesday season II, and were slightly less enthusiastic about the kooky family. In comparison with the first season, it seems to have lost its allure.

Wednesday's one-liners are not very funny, and she doesn't look like a schoolgirl any longer. We're still going to watch the second half of the season, when it comes out in September.

Just before we left for Cornwall, I had an email from Steenberg's, saying that I won their prize of a trio of spices and Naturally Vegan cookbook by Julius Fiedler. 

I love this brand of spices. Their Mild Curry spice mix is my favourite, and there are many others that I use in baking and cooking. 

The book looks good. None of us are vegans, but I do cook a lot of plant-based dishes, and there are quite a few recipes that I have bookmarked.

With plenty of windfalls in the garden, this is a season of apples in everything. Baked a simple apple cake Sharlotka, using Steenberg's cinnamon. Apples and cinnamon are made for each other.

It's probably one of the first recipes I have learnt as a young girl, so easy but tasty. It's just eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon or vanilla and apples. No butter or oil. Lovely with custard, cream or ice cream.

I have a shallow bird bath on the stone ledge outside the kitchen window, and often see birds taking a bath, like this fluffy-feathered chap. 

In summer I top it up daily on hot days. 

One of our old apple trees in the garden has this mushroom growing on the side. Do I have to remove it, so that it doesn't affect the tree? Or is it harmless? It does look rather sinister.

Last week was very wet, we had rain almost every day. 

Last week's Penandinkchallenge on Insta was all about recipes. This is my page with Spaghetti Bolognese recipe and a quick sketch of little Eddie. I remember the days, when he couldn't pronounce the word spaghetti and called them sghetti.

This snap was taken by Eddie on the walk through town. Somehow I missed seeing the rainbow.

On Saturday we went to Oxford to do some last minute shopping for school trousers and shoes. Walking in Oxford, we saw this unusual plant with enormous leaves. I have no idea what it's called, but it is impressive.

We walked from Summertown into the town centre, I showed Eddie my old department, where I used to work, and we stopped by in Jericho tavern for a quick sandwich. Only it wasn't quick at all, it was very slow. They didn't have a coffee machine, and could only offer a black or white coffee. 

I asked if they have tea. The choice was between Everyday, green and mint. And then the mint tea was served with milk. Who drinks mint tea with milk?! 

The food was very average. Won't recommend the place. This is my halloumi sandwich.

Shoe-shopping with Eddie is like accompanying Imedla Marcos to choose a new pair, he is so very particular. I got flustered, traipsing from one shop to another, I absolutely hate shoe-shopping. He was in his element though. 

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Photo diary: Project 365, weeks 20, 21

 

Playing Solitaire in peace, I was rather annoyed when my laptop shut down with a message Fatal Error. I absolutely detest using my iphone for blogging, so had to wait for my laptop to be repaired to write anything. Hence two weeks' worth of photos today.

Our darling Sasha kept showing me the images of the church in his social story and random books, indicating that he would like to visit the church. But, of course, he expects it always to be as jolly as the Christmas Carol service, or a very short visit, like when we go in and out after looking around (for example, when we are in Cornwall we always pop in at the local church in Perranuthnoe).

I told my husband we should sit in the back in case we need to make a quick escape. Does he listen? No, he plops himself right in the middle row. Sasha kept yawning (and rightly so, I felt like yawning myself; it wasn't the most inspiring service). When everyone got up to shake hands and wish peace to each other, he thought it was the end of the service and got quite upset that we all sat down again. As Sasha was getting distressed, they had to leave. Eddie and I stayed until the end. To be fair, nobody seemed to mind, as they all know our family and are aware of Sasha's condition, and everyone is very welcoming and friendly. 

It was not a complete disaster, but not exactly a success either. Oh well, at least for now Sasha changed his plans and keeps showing me the old photo of the bowling alley he went to with his old school. Bracing myself to a trip to the bowling place now. :)

I did quite a bit of gardening - covered my three potted berry plants (two honeysuckles/lonicera and a white currant bush) with netting against the blasted birds, who gobble up any berry growing in the garden.

We have a very old rose in the garden, which we inherited, when we bought the house. My Mum keeps asking me what the name of this rose is, but how would I know? It truly is beautiful, and the scent is amazing. If anyone could help me with the name, I would be eternally grateful.

Trying a new Magnum pistachio ice cream. The flavour is not overwhelmingly nutty, as you would expect, and a bit too sweet for me. The texture is nice. Still undecided, whether I would buy it again.

Gorgeous peonies that I treated myself with. Such a deep intense colour, and most beautiful shape. They lasted about a week before collapsing in a bright pile of petals.

For the last couple of years my husband works in Paris, so he spends three-five days there and the rest of the week with us. Not easy for me, but it is what it is.

Since he can just about make a coffee and a toast for himself, and cannot cook for toffee, he eats out, and often has a pizza in an Italian place nearby his flat. We went there once together, and since then I call it a "sad place" (as in Have you been eating pizza in the sad place again?). He says the pizza is good.

Stuck at home and not able to leave Sasha on his own, unless he has PAs to take him out, I have recently started to use UberEats more often for grocery deliveries. The problem is, of course, you don't choose the produce yourself. The last Uber delivery brought a rotting watermelon. They have refunded me after I sent some photos, but alas, the watermelon wasn't edible and I put it out in the garden for the birds. The contents were all polished off in a couple of days, so it wasn't a complete waste.

And here is my photo, let's call it conceptual art. 

There was an annual food fair in town last Saturday. It usually takes place in & outside St Mary's Church, with lots of stalls selling local produce.

Eddie and I were wandering around, checking out what was on display. He fancied a crepe with Nutella (£5.70, eeek). 

I got a little haul of cheese (including my favourite Oxford Blue), honey, blueberry and peach jam, very nice sourdough bread and some salami. 

On the way to the fair, some random chap stopped me to compliment on the Hunger Games badge on my jacket. 

In the evening Eddie went bowling with his friends, and then on to the sleepover, so my husband and I watched Eurovision on our own. I had to re-watch it with Eddie the next day. It was the usual silliness from most of the contestants. 

I liked the Italian singer Lucio Corsi's song the best, as the lyrics were beautiful. His make-up and outfit was a mix of Ziggy Stardust and the Venetian carnevale character of Pierrot.

Vocal-wise, I thought the lady from Israel was one of the strongest contestants. 

Cerne Abbas Man Cheddar was one of the purchases from the food fair, and very nice it is. Sharp and crumbly, it's a proper Cheddar, not one of those plasticky varieties that give this cheese a bad name.

I saw this beautiful bouquet in Waitrose. Not sure if it's one of the agapanthus family, but whatever it is, it's very pretty.

A new Middle Eastern cafe has just opened in town. Looking at the menu, they have dishes from Palestine, Lebanon, Israel. Sasha was out with his PAs, and I invited Eddie to check the new place out after school. We only had drinks. I ordered a lemon and mint spritz, and could hardly drink it. There was zero sugar. It was pure lemon juice with ice and mint leaves. Perhaps nice with fatty rich and spicy food, but on its own, very sharp and sour. Eddie fared better with a blueberry and cashew smoothie.

One of my sketches of Eddie with a pistachio ice cream, using a photo from our last trip to Paris as a prop. It was a very quick exercise. I've nearly fisnished my Moleskine watercolour notebook, which I started last summer. I tend to use several different notebooks and paperpads for sketching, of different paper types and textures, rather than filling in one at a time, so it takes me longer to complete each one.

I'm quite pleased with this sketch. It might not be the best likeness, but I think it conveys the happy vibe.

On Thursday Eddie went to London to see Romeo and Juliet at Globe. There were only fifty tickets for the whole school, and they were allocated randomly. On the day of the trip we had a big argument, as my silly child was moaning that he didn't want to go as none of his friends were going. I was so cross with him, saying that if he didn't go, that would mean, he has taken a place of someone who would have been very happy to have such an opportunity. We parted ways on a sour note.

They came back from London around 1am. In the morning Eddie said that he actually enjoyed it, and it was very cool. Teenagers, eh?!

That's one of the snaps Eddie has taken during the break (no photos during the performance).

I could see that one of my potted honesuckle honeyberry plants had ripe berries.

And that's my ginormous harvest of ten berries. I had to laugh. I've been looking after the plant, feeding it, covering with a special netting against the birds, and that's my reward for all the trouble. The berries are an acquired taste. They are supposed to be rich in antioxidants and have several health benefits.

And more pics from our garden - this ladybird looks so shiny, as if polished.

What I was reading these two weeks:

I finished two e-books by Eva Björg Ægisdottir - Girls Who Lie and Night Shadows, both from Forbidden Iceland series (books 2 and 3), which I started earlier this year. Icelandic detective Elma is the main protagonist. She arrives to her hometown Akranes after a tragic death of her boyfriend and joins the local police force. It's a small community, where everyone seems to know each other.

Both books are twisty and chilling. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with a strong police procedural element, it's quite an addictive series with a likeable detective. 

There are murders, but they are not as graphic as in Camilla Lackberg's creations. I read a couple of books by Lackberg, and found them so explicit and full of unnecessary gore, that I am still traumatised, and I'm not usually that squeamish when it comes to thrillers. 

How did your week go?

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Photo diary: Project 365, week 16

 Easter holidays are over, full of adventure and buzz. This was the last week before Eddie does his mocks, starting tomorrow (eeek!) and he's been revising a lot. And I have been working in the garden.

When we were in Paris, we left the keys with our friend who hired a shredder/chipper equipment to chip the lilac wood trunks he cut earlier in the month in our garden. Sadly, some of the old plum trees were getting quite diseased, a fig tree needed trimming, etc. He knows his way around the trees, and I trust him to make decisions of what needs to be done. Now I have four huge bags of chips to spread around the garden for compost. 

Eddie has been spending most days indoors, but he goes around the garden to keep up the step count on his watch. While walking around, he was swinging his arm and managed to throw a key to the summerhouse somewhere in the greenery. I've been trying to find the blasted key for days, but to no avail. We do have a second key, but I have bollocked him for doing silly things. Who walks around, swinging the keys?! 

My lilac is in full bloom now, and smells so wonderful. I adore the scent of lilacs, it's bitter sweet. I have picked a bunch to put in a vase in our hall.

Not a photo but a screenshot from an old documentary I found on Youtube made in 1978. My Mum looks so young here, she was 34 years old when the documentary was filmed. And I was a 10-year-old child then. 

My Mum was already known for her beautiful art, and that's the film about the production of hot enamel art, and the local jewellery factory which was well known in the country. 

We lived in a two-room apartment on the ground floor then, and by two rooms I mean two rooms, not two bedrooms. My brother and I shared one room, we also had a gorgeous Siberian cat and a parrot. 

I don't remember feeling deprived or anything, as everyone I knew lived in similar conditions in the big cities. There was a small strip of garden just outside our windows, and in summer I climbed out of the window into the garden, where my Mum grew flowers and raspberries. In my dreams I often re-visit the old place and check out the post box on the front door for mail. 

I'm not romanticising those days at all, but I'd love to go back in time just for an hour to see my young parents. I'm much much older now than they were at that time.

We do like novelty chocolate, but I literally gulped when I saw the price of this Dubai style chocolate in one of the local corner shops. I thought a tenner for Lindt Dubai chocolate was already too much, there is no way I would want to spend £15.99 on a bar.

Taking some photos for the coming post on the current Degustabox. The parcel arrived when we were away. I have emailed the team a week before, asking if the parcel could possibly be delivered after we were back from our trip, so that it didn't sit outside as a flag that there was noone at home. The couriers usually dump stuff at the door, take a photo that they delivered and leave it there. The team got back to me, saying not to worry, the parcel would arrive on Friday. 

Guess what, I had a notification on Wednesday that the parcel was delivered. Thankfully, our friend with the keys was able to bring it in, but what a nuisance.

The goodies look good though, my guys are happy with all the chocolate and the pancakes.

My dear husband has been away since Sunday evening, and was supposedly coming back on Friday. Messaged him on Friday, asking what time to expect him, he replied that actually he was returning on Saturday instead. That's "fab", as I planned to do the last minute grocery shopping, since we have guests coming for Easter lunch. You know what my darling said, "We can always order pizza". The man is clueless, I tell you.

My grocery order came on Saturday morning, missing some bits, so I asked my husband to buy some cheese and a Colomba cake (Easter cake) in the airport. He was already waiting to get on the plane so managed to buy some cheese. This is the photo he took, asking me which cheese he should buy.

Thankfully, by the time he arrived home, I was still able to run to Waitrose for some bits and bobs, and they did have a Colomba cake on offer. Win-win. 

On the way home, I snapped the new floral decor in the shopping area. Last year it was butterflies, and the summer before umbrellas. Not so sure about the uniform-looking clusters of wisteria blossom, I think they would have looked better at different lengths and levels.

I started my weekly post with a photo of a lilac blossom, and finishing it with another one. As I was showing my Mum our garden, talking on the phone, I spotted a five-petal lilac flower. When I was growing up, we believed it would bring good luck if you found one and ate it. So, I tell my Mum, that I am a lucky girl now.

Can you spot it? Did you believe in similar things when you were a child?

How was your week?

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Photo diary: week 37, project 366

The second week of school went relatively smoothly. Eddie is getting used to the new school arrangements and is less anxious, compared to the first few days. I'm relishing peace and quiet at home, when I'm on my own. I don't even bother to watch anything on TV. I read, potter in the garden, do chores like mending and decluttering.

I've been growing nasturtiums from seeds since spring. Though I had plenty of leaves, the flowers didn't start to appear until recently. I was quite disappointed with the lack of blooms, as I see them growing around in town in big splashes of colour, and they are supposed to be easy to grow.
I was hoping that I could pick both flowers and leaves for salads, but there are so few flowers, I only eat an occasional leaf or two. They have a nice peppery taste.

I'm not comping as much as I used to do, but I still enter book competitions, mainly on Twitter and Instagram. A couple of weeks ago I won a new book by Angela Britnell and a little Lindt bar.
The author is Cornish-born, and lives in Tennessee now. I read one of her books earlier this year, A Summer to Remember in Herring Bay (my review is scheduled for tomorrow as part of the blog tour, if you are curious to read it, I will add a link, once the post goes live).

I walked to Sainsbury's in the morning, after taking Eddie to school, and snapped St Mary's Church. It was quite misty earlier, but getting clearer by the minute.

When my husband was in Venice last week, he stayed with a friend. It brought back memories of our stay at her father's villa in Agropoli, when our Sasha was four years old, and their daughter was a baby. It started as a Greek colony, and there's the famous Greek temples in Paestum not far from the town.
I was looking at the old photos from that trip. Sash was so cute then. Here he is, sitting among the ruins of Paestum, a little boy lost in his own world.
I love this photo. My Mum did a beautiful painting using this image, only she placed Sasha by the sea, with the waves behind him. If you want to see her artwork, I wrote a post about it several years ago, called Boy-Island.

Meeting with my friend for coffee at Blue Boar. She is another Russian lady, whose son goes to the same school as Eddie, and they were both born on the same day, a year apart. How's that for a coincidence?! For the last few months I missed meeting her for a natter and a good moan about our husbands.

She has told me of a new Romanian shop in town, called Gusturi Romanesti. I loved browsing in the shop, and will definitely be back. I bought some biscuits, breadsticks, pickled vegetables and a jar of peach jam. Next time I go there, I should take a bag on wheels so I can get some heavy jars of honey and pickles.

On Thursday Eddie and I were watching a live talk with Ross Sayers on YouTube. He was talking about his new book called Daisy on the outer line. It's written in Scots. We liked the idea of the plot, but the question is - will I be able to understand the written Scots?!

A friend brought me a DVD of The Small Hand, with Douglas Henshall (love him in Shetland!). I read Susan Hill's book years ago, and found it wonderfully creepy. The film turned to be a bit of a disappointment. The actors were mumbling a lot, I couldn't catch everything they were saying, and there were no subtitles on the DVD. Also they changed the plotline quite a bit from what I remember. And I really hated the ending.

Eddie said it was not scary enough. He likes scary films (last week we were watching Locke & Key on Netflix), and keeps telling me we should watch IT and Pet Sematary, as apparently many of his class mates watched them. I told him there is no way we're going to watch either.
I've seen the original Pet Sematary many years ago, and that scarred me for life. For me it's one of the creepiest, scariest horror films ever. I shiver just thinking about it.

My darling husband came back from his holidays in Italy. Guess what he brought me as a gift for coping with the guys on my own for almost two weeks?!
A bleeping fridge magnet! (insert a long mental stream of expletives) Actually, Eddie and I laughed at him. What a thoughtful gift.

Yesterday I baked an apple tart, with our own apples and the peach jam I bought in the Romanian shop. I served it with Rodda's clotted cream. Now that we have so many apples in the garden, I will be using them in cooking for months ahead. I might make a batch of apple jelly too.

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