It's the little things.

Don't you think that sometimes we focus on all the wrong things?
In society today it is all about who has the latest gadget or the fastest car. Is my house as nice as yours, I can buy better things than you.

I really don't understand how people can be so caught up in spending money and showing off. I live a quiet, simple life and have never had the luxury of wealth in a monetary form, and to be frank I don't think I would enjoy it. Yes I do like nice things, but not at the expense of essentials and certainly not just because I can.
There is something rewarding about saving and planning to buy something you value. You take better care of it and have a feeling of satisfaction when you know you have worked towards something and have no debt from doing so.
I was talking with a friend the other day and we were agreeing on the sad fact that children today really do not seem to know the true value of money. With the cost of living rising rapidly, and pay freezes for many public sector workers, a lot of people will have to tighten the purse strings to make ends meet.
I often think of my Gran and her generation, who held things together at home during the war and all the difficulties that brought them. A few years ago, I remember things being tough at home and having to scrimp to buy simple things like bread and milk. How often I would be frustrated if the kids didn't want to eat the meal that was for tea, upset at food getting wasted and unable to offer anything else other than cereal or toast. Thankfully they are older now and not so demanding.....well maybe still as demanding, but in a different way!
The other week a friend on facebook published a picture and it helped spur me on to make something I have fancied trying for a long time - Battenburg.
After looking at Julies blog and reading the various recipes in my collection, I made the decision to go for it, it also helped that I had all the ingredients at hand and the fact that we were having a coffee morning at school sealed the deal.
I followed my trusty Mary Berry's Baking Bible recipe, and armed with tips and a lovely decorating idea from Good Food off I went into my teeny kitchen to create my mastepiece.
I was thrilled with the end result and hopefully it will go down well with the staff and parents at the coffee morning.