Wimbledon fever!

Goodness I feel exhausted today. A combination of doing battle for an hour with a two metre long wooden Venetian blind to make it get back in its box, watching Andy Murray slog it out with David Ferrer to reach the semi-final at Wimbledon and perhaps a little too much Chardonnay for a school night...

I'm feeling the Wimbledon fever coming upon me. The second week always makes me twitchy. I can't wait for the men's semi-finals tomorrow. Come on Andy, you can do it!

I really must do some sewing. I've been spending too much time surgically attached to my laptop trying to build my social networking profile (otherwise known as entering another time zone while faffing about - before you know it hours have passed). But it's worth it in the end.

I'm working with some new fabric today. It's a contemporary floral with huge red blooms on a neutral background. I'm thinking zipped with piped edge for my cushions. I'll show you when I'm done.

Meanwhile, here's a lovely recipe for something sweet. These will get softer the longer you keep them. But I wouldn't worry; once you've tasted them, they won't be hanging around for very long!

Time for a smackerel...

Peach and Pecan Oatbakes

Makes 16

5 peaches stoned and sliced (8 slices per peach)
100g pecan nuts
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
200g butter
100g soft dark brown sugar
250g plain flour
125g porridge oats
1 tsp salt

• Preheat the oven to 200c. Grease and line a brownie tin.
• Place the peach slices, pecan nuts, maple syrup and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and sugar together over a gentle heat until the sugar dissolves. Leave to cool a little.
• Mix together the flour, oats and salt. Pour in the melted butter and sugar and mix well.
• Press half the oat mixture into the brownie tin making sure you get right into the corners.
• Cover evenly with the peach and pecan mixture
• Add the rest of the oat mixture making sure you cover all of the peaches and pecans. Press very firmly.
• Bake for 25 minutes until rich golden brown. 
• Leave to cool for 10 minutes, cut into 16 pieces and leave in the tin to get completely cold - don't try to turn them out of the tin too soon as they'll break up.