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      An eclectic five

      September 16th

      Waking up to the loudest thunder crack at 3 am does nothing for my beauty sleep nor my poor old
      Fire brigade looking after us in the village
      ticker.  It took some minutes before I realised that it was just a rain storm passing through and took even longer for my heart to completely calm down.  But wow what a storm, it is still raging now and our wonderful local fire brigade are out there trying to clear the drains and stop our properties from flooding.  Driving John to the station this morning took Olympic driving skills, wishing I had a car I could raise by a couple of feet too. Hope everyone is OK out here in our neck of the woods.  Did you know you can track where lighting strikes, quite fascinating.  You can zoom in on the map and see local to you, but here I show the entire UK map for lightening strikes between the hours of 3-6 am, just look!!

      Lightening strikes in the UK on 16/09/16 between 3 - 6 am

      To have a look at the site yourself click Lightening maps

      It's unbelievable really when you think how wonderful the last few days have been, almost Mediterranean, as I walked out of the supermarket last night a wall of warmth enveloped me and I love it.  I suppose thunderstorms after heat like that are very Tuscan.  Did you see the red sun setting last night?  It was truly glorious and of course my photos did not do it justice but another weatherman I follow on Facebook snapped a great shot yesterday at Oxford station, just look at the colour of the sky, no photo editing here, promise, it just did not need it...


      Pink sky at night in Oxford photo by Oxfordshire Weather Watch

      Life has been continually hectic here in this eclectic home and all of my own doing, my feet have not touched the ground and I could actually really rather do without this rain today as I have a garden party tomorrow for 25 celebrating pappa's 80th, wish me luck with the weather.  As is always the case for family celebration a kransekake has to be made.  It's made and the icing is done just the final decorations need to be added later today but so far it look like this:

      Baking the kransekake

      Ready to be boxed up before final decoration

      To find out what this cake is and how to make it follow the link:  Kransekake

      I have been travelling again, I knew the travel itch was still scratching so we had a sneaky 4 days away last week in Russia.  It was truly amazing and I was blown away by the architecture, the history and the warmth of the Russian people, sneak peak at a couple of photos ahead of a Russian post...


      The Church of the Spilled Blood, possibly one
      of my all time favourite buildings

      Just look at the detail of the interior
       And let's not forget a crafting girl has to travel with her crochet after all and in the spirit (see what I did there!) of travelling to Russia had to partake of some vodka!




      Hope you have enjoyed my 5 for today, I look forward to popping along through out the week and reading all your posts too, forgive me if it takes a while I have a party to plan and cater for and then to recover from!  Joining in with the lovely Amy ...

      There is no such thing as bad weather only the wrong clothes


      Edit:  Just received these photos of the local train station:



      And this is the pub on my road...


      24 comments:

      1. I'm slightly embarrassed that I appear to have slept through the whole thing, even though, according to the lightning map, it passed right over us!

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      2. What a terrible flood! The Russian photos are stunning! Have not been to Moscow, only Petersburg...

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      3. Goodness me! I didn't even hear the thunder, it's wet and much fresher here but not flooded. You must have lots of great Russian photos, I wouldn't have been able to stop taking them! x

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      4. You have had a bad storm, we had one on Monday evening but not last night, it seems to have passed us by. I tried to photograph the bright red/pink sun but couldn't capture how deep and rich the colour was. Your photos of Russia look wonderful:)

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      5. Oh no that looks awful, my daughter's friends in Manchester have been sending her similar pictures. I hope you have not suffered any damage. Your cake looks delicious! I would love to go to Russia, I think I will wait for your post and then try to persuade my husband that we NEED to go ha! Have a fabulous weekend, everything is crossed for the weather for you xx

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      6. we were in the northwest last week and saw the incredible storms up there. I think maybe the whole country is in for some serious weather over the next few days. I hope you don't flood.

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      7. It certainly was a wild night. A lot of places around here have suffered quite severe flooding which has caused problems the morning commute. x

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      8. We were lucky enough not to have the storms last night this time round, we had a terrible storm the week before. Hope you manage to still go ahead with your party celebrations the flooding does look bad. Take care.

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      9. No storms here but the mediterranean weather has been glorious, too. Hope the flooding recedes soon, so destructive. Your kransekake looks fabulous! Happy Birthday to your poppa.
        x

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      10. Happy 80th birthday to Pappa. I just celebrated my Mum's 80th with her. Doesn't seem like she should be that age! The trip to Russia sounds like a lot of fun. Wonderful pictures.

        Have a great weekend

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      11. Hope you have managed to keep dry and fingers crossed the weather improves for your family celebrations. The kransekake looks wonderful. Happy Birthday to your Pappa and have a great time.

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      12. Sending good wishes for good weather on the birthday party day. The kransekake is spectacular. It must take hours from start to finish. Happy Birthday to Papa from the USA.

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      13. That storm sounds awful! Keep safe♥Hugs ♥

        summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com

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      14. Oh my, what a lot of rain! The pink sky behind the train photo is amazing. I found the lightning map very interesting - such a long line of it throughout England. I hope the weather clears up before the party tomorrow. Your Kransekake looks like a work of art!

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      15. Oh my, what a storm! So sorry about the flooding. I hope things start draining. That kransekake is going to be a show stopper. I'm intrigued with your trip to Russia and looking forward to more photos. I'm 100% Russian. Hope your weekend and birthday celebration are real good.

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      16. So sorry about the flooding, but the lightning map is fascinating. Your cake is a triumph and I hope the 80th birthday celebration is as well.

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      17. Well that was quite a storm to leave you with such flooding! We've watched that map here when we were forced off the road by a terrific thunderstorm last year. The map was entirely red in our location.

        Sneaking off to Russia for four days sounds so decadent! Lucky girl :) Have a great weekend, and good luck with your garden party tomorrow! Your cake thingy looks spectacular and I'm off now to check your link.

        Wendy

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      18. That pink sky is extraordinary! We had a terrific storm on Tuesday afternoon but it's been sunny and warm since then. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the lightning map, it's fascinating stuff. Hope the party is going well, many congratulations to Pappa. x

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      19. Goodness, you've had some dreadful weather. I do hope everyone and everything has stayed safe and you have had a wonderful party this weekend.
        As ever, your baking is perfection.
        So pleased you had a great time in Russia. I have enjoyed seeing your photographs on Instagram.
        Much love Selma. X

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      20. Oh, that surely was a lot of rain, quite a storm by the look of things. Hoping all went well with the birthday garden party.

        Diana

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      21. My goodness what a huge storm! Glad you got a few days away in Russia, I have always wanted to travel there.
        Meredith

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      22. Such a contrast with the weather - one day unusually warm, then violent storms and flooding. Berkshire daughter also had a sleepless night because of the storm. I hope your party went well. Looking forward to seeing more photos from your Russian trip.

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      23. The storms must have been quite something! I'm always glad to be inside and cozy during thunder and lightning. The flooding looks awful - hope the damage wasn't too severe. So exciting to travel to Russia. The church is wonderful!

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      24. I was woken by that same storm but we didn't get the rain here that other parts of the country did, I do hope there wasn't too much damage in your locality. I hope the party went well and that the weather behaved for you. How lovely having some time away in Russia, fabulous photos.

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      I will always read all comments and will try to reply but it may take me a couple of days, do please pop back and lets get a conversation going...