When I talked about imagination being the absolute form of frugal entertainment one mustn’t forget the beautiful and natural things around us that maybe we overlook in our day to days lives. There are many things which can inspire, calm, delight and indeed provide lasting memories that can be delved into like a favourite book, over and over again..

Some of my fondest memories come from gardens and ancient buildings…

As I looked through the many hundreds of files on my computer the other night, I came across a vast collection of photos taken from ‘Aberglasney, A Garden Lost in Time’.. a place I visited a few times before we left the UK in 2004 to move to Nova Scotia.

Aberglasney, was just a short drive from where we lived in Wales but only discovered it’s beauty shortly before leaving…

The gardens themselves are simple, serene, beautiful, tranquil, productive…infact they range from a cloistered formal garden to beautiful walled gardens, walled vegetable and herb gardens, and a small mysterious bluebell wood…as they would have done in medieval times the gardens are tended by hand for the most part

Looking at the photos it only took moments to remember the touch of stone, smells of the woodland and herbs and the sounds of the bees as they busily collected pollen.

I have dug out a few photos to share with you…

QUOTE: Spectacularly set in the beautiful Tywi valley of Carmarthenshire, Aberglasney House features one of the finest gardens in Wales. Aberglasney Gardens have been an inspiration to poets since 1477. The story of Aberglasney spans many centuries, but, the house’s origins are still shrouded in obscurity…

Click here for more history on Aberglasney- A Garden Lost in Time

With so many options these days to keep us all entertained for every waking moment of our days (Internet, TV, DVD’s, Gaming, Sports etc) it’s easy to fall into the trap of no longer having quiet moments using our imagination to create our own entertainment…

Our imagination costs us nothing, it’s the ultimate form of frugal entertainment. It can be scary, humorous, thoughtful, productive, bizarre, unrepeatable, questionable, laughable, insane and serious but nevertheless it can take you on ANY journey to ANYWHERE.

Imagination forms a BIG part of my household. Ever since birth the kids have learned not to take things at face value and this can lead to serious but also fun or bizarre discussions…A pebble is just a pebble right? Or what about that man in the field on his tractor, or the trees, the rain, the cows in the field resting but all facing the same way, the thunder in the sky or the billions of stars and planets in our universe….sometimes it would be easier to accept that a pebble is just a pebble.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHILE SAT ON THE TOILET? I CHANGE INTO A WOLF…

I just don’t get those people who go “EWWWWW” when someone talks about bringing a book or a magazine into the bathroom to keep oneself occupied while waiting to feed the toilet. What do these people do instead? There is only so many times one can find entertainment out of folding a piece of toilet paper exactly 7 times….. I wonder if they do what the hobbits and I do sometimes (when we have forgotten to bring a book in) and morph themselves into something completely different? You too can now enjoy this frugal entertainment but please note- this is not for the faint hearted as morphing can be scary..

How to morph in the bathroom..

Half-light is best.

Stare at your reflection in the mirror focusing specifically on your eyes.

Try not to blink, breathe quietly and shallowly- keep staring

After a minute or two your reflection in the mirror becomes darker and begins to disappear except for your eyes …keep staring

Just as the background disappears and your eyes remain you will morph into something- just for a second or two at most

When I do the morphing in the bathroom trick I consistently change into a WOLF….

And you know how everything in the universe is strangely linked in some way? I have plans in the future to return my surname back to my real birth name so I was googling my ancestors and found some interesting origins on my name HYLAND

a) The Irish surname Hyland is the modern anglicization of the Old Gaelic surname O’hAolain. The name is of local origin, being one of those based on the name of the dwelling place or locality where a bearer once lived. In this instance, the name was originally trans- lated as ‘high land’ and the name came to denote one whose residence was situated on such a slope.

b) Alternatively, this surname can derive from the literal translation of the Old Gaelic for “O’hAolain.” The literal meaning of this name is “a descendent of Aolain.” This personal name was very common in Ireland during the Middle Ages, as it had been the name of several famous erenaghs in Ireland of Old. Erenaghs were lay lords whose families held church property and titles from generation to generation. It would appear that an early chief of the clan was granted this name which means, literally, “A LITTLE WOLF”

So maybe morphing in the bathroom is not just a bit of fun for people sitting on the loo waiting for nature to take its course but rather a modern day portal into the history of time……..

You decide its your imagination after-all.

So here is just a quick blog post that I HAD to share with you..

A month or two ago, I was visiting my work colleague, Jana who kindly made us a great lunch while we were there (Em & I).. Part of the lunch was oven roasted veggies with olive oil, garlic and thyme. The smells from her kitchen were well….divine!

Ever since that day, the very same lunch has become part of my weekly diet….usually on a Sunday.

I’d like to share that recipe with you – not only does it taste great but its really very good for you too!

Jana’s Veggie Wraps (enough to fill 6-8 small tortillas)

Ingredients
1 zuchinni (courgette for the Europeans)
1 pepper
couple handfuls of sliced mushrooms
1 onion
dried thyme
garlic or garlic powder
salt

Method
Take your veggies and slice up into medium sized slices.
Place in bowl and drizzle olive oil over. Use hands to turn veggie and make sure olive oil covers veggies lightly.
Spread out on baking sheet.
Sprinkle over salt, garlic (optional) and plenty of dried thyme (gives such a nice flavour)
Place in pre heated over 220 celsius
Cook for about 20 minutes or so until veggies begin to look brown on the edges.
Place hot veggies onto wrap
Turn up bottom and then roll/wrap
Eat immediately!