Sometimes things just get out of our control. Perhaps it is so obvious that we are unable to see how wrong they are going even if they explode right in front of our eyes.

It can also happen that we feel so confident that something is going to be fine that we don’t even consider the possibility of anything other than success. Sometimes things look good. Very good indeed, and all of a sudden, it all turns awfully wrong.

 There is no definite pattern when the wrecking ball starts, which makes it really difficult to foresee the disaster. Or even worse, when we rely on other people and they don’t give you the heads up on something that is not going as well as it should.

When things depend on the others it seems easier to look from a distance and find an easy solution. But sometimes, the other is just so overwhelmed by the circumstances that is not able to look through the same glasses that we do.

Gardener Muffins with Garlic Mayo

Children are just unpredictable. My sons are at this amazing age when everything is possible. From flying to the moon on a kitchen stool to inventing a magic ball powerful enough to provide the whole city with unlimited energy.

We have been working really hard for The Big Cake Show and they are so excited all the time that it is literally impossible to relax them at bed time.

Yesterday, it was a bit too late. And they were both in my bed chatting non-stop. Sometimes, the things they are telling me are the kind of things that are so interesting and fantastic that rather than try and stop them, I encourage them to keep talking so I can hear more about whatever the story is about. But it was getting really late and we all needed a good rest, so I asked them to calm down and try to sleep while I went to brush my teeth.

Scrumptious Star Bread

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to do a guest lecture at the Business School at Exeter Uni. I was absolutely shocked and excited and nervous and overwhelmed. Preserving fruit is one thing and talking in front of a lot of 4th year business students about creativity and entrepreneurship is a an altogether different beast.

I was unsure of the kind of things they were expecting me to say, so I thought I should say the kind of things that I would have loved to listen to when I was at Uni. Stories about failure, about struggling, about real life. Stories about how life changes and you can choose between letting yourself down or face up to the challenge and go for it. Stories about why we are all wrongly told that success is the only way forward. So instead of going through sleep-inducing theories and approaches from the different schools of thought, I just told them the truth about The Tiny Marmalade.

Marble Mini Loaves

Technology I hate you. I abhor you so much that I going to blog it. To tweet it. To Facebook it. I am even going to gloogleplus it. Whatever that is. To let everyone know how deep my hate is.

I thought I could rely on you. I really did. I entrusted you my best kept secrets. We were together in the good times, as when you showed me that photography digital edition could be a 5 minutes job. Also in the bad ones, as when someone thought that giving me a Windows 7 mobile was a good idea.

I can still remember with excitement that day I discovered I could write "BOOBIES" in a calculator. I felt amazingly successful. The world was my oyster.