The BB cafe

[Kazzl]

The BB cafe is open for business!
Welcome all to a new chill and chat place for everyone on the forum.

The BB cafe is whatever you want it to be. There are comfy sofas, tables and chairs, coffee machines, a kitchen stocked with everything. There's a pool outside, a bbq area, an annexe with comfy beds for a quiet sleep, tv, dvd, books and whatever else you would like to have here.

Most of all, it's a place to meet friends and fellow travellers for a bit of company. Talk over problems, tell jokes, share your day, escape into a world of your making. Grab a coffee and pull up a chair ... 

So, with a nod to the wonderful Carole King (Hard Rock Cafe) ...

Now if you're feeling just a little bit lonely
Don't sit at home just mopin'
Come on down to where the friendship flows freely
You know the door is always open

At the BB cafe
Come to the BB cafe
They will help keep your blues at bay
At the BB cafe

Important Message from ModSupport: 
The main intention of the BB Cafe is to encourage light conversation. Please look after your fellow community members by nuturing the BB Cafe as a place to escape some of the more pressing issues in life and save those conversations for personal threads. 

[Fiatlux]

Hi everyone,

All the talk of ice skating has given me anxiety. We had an ice skating rink near to us when I was in High School. I avoided that place. I’m afraid I never learnt to even ride a bicycle. No sense of balance apparently. 

The only thing that I have iced is a cake.

So are you a snow bunny or a hibernating bear in winter. I am definitely a bear. I don’t like snow or ice and definitely prefer the warm weather.

Have a wonderful week, wherever you are. Fiatlux 🙏🏼

[Amelin_21]

Hey there!

I used to ice skate but hubby is similar to you FiatLux so now I stick to rollerblading. 

I'm keen to learn more about this cake you iced though. What type of cake was it and what kind of icing did you go for?

I enjoy baking sometimes and find it can be therapeutic when I get a bit overwhelmed. Baking with some jazz and a cuppa (or a wine) can go a long way for my personal time. It's also a nice 'winter sport', especially if you have a fireplace to ramp up the ambience. 

Stay amazing everyone!

[sbella02]

Fiatlux, I also have no sense of balance when it comes to ice skating. I always find it funny going to ice skating rinks (on the rare occasion that I go) and being extremely cautious at the beginning, then slowly getting better over the course of the session. I still think I'm the hibernating bear, but also I haven't seen proper snow either, only fake snow at ice skating places.

What are everyone's favourite activities to do in the winter? I've been quite into baking recently, and I just made a batch of warm chocolate muffins. Perfect for cold weather.

[Fiatlux]

Good Evening everyone,

I have just made a batch of homemade sausages rolls. I am baking more savoury things for winter, rather than having sandwiches. 

After watching a cooking show where the chef uses sausages, I got motivated. Had a pack of pork sausages with caramelised onion and sage from woolies. I added carrot and minced mushrooms to the sausage filling. They are pretty tasty. I have to be careful not to eat them all. 

As far as winter activities go, I wish I could say that I jump on my exercise bike… 

Enjoy your dinner everyone. Fiatlux 

[Wiltingdaisy]

Hello everyone, 

It is my first time at the BB Cafe and can I say what a relief it is, as I do not have an oven where I live and I am in the mood for some baked goods.

If I did, I would love to learn and bake everyone some delicious scones. Nothing beats a simple scone with jam first, then a healthy dollop of cream. 

While we eat these scones, it is so nice to watch the little wrens flying around and landing on the tables. 

Perhaps my favourite winter activity is bird watching, when the sun chooses to come out. 

[Ggrand]

Hello everyone…..🤗..

Its nice to meet you Wiltingdaisy, welcome to our amazing virtual cafe…..promise you everything we eat or drink from the cafe is calorie free😂😂..

Awe Fiatlux, I’m sorry if I caused you anxiety from mentioning ice skating…I do hope i didn’t trigger you too much…🤗…Gee I have never been able to skate, ride a skate board, I did roller skate a bit when I was younger….the skates I used back in the 60’s would probably be labeled as unsafe…

Winter activities for me is curling up on my lounge with either a colouring book, diamond painting or watching movies on YouTube….nothing exciting at all…

I do like to cook soup in the colder months …I cooked a vegetable soup today, brought heaps into the cafe….

We are having lots of frosty mornings, car windows thick with ice,  birdbath water and my dogs water freezes through the winters nights….my drinking water bottle I take to bed with me stays cold throughout the night, it’s nice when I wake through the night that the water is so cold and nice to drink…heaps better then in summer, waking and drinking lukewarm water….

Stay warm, snuggled in something warm and have a good night tonight everyone..

Hugs,🤗🤗🤗🤗.

Grandy....

[sbella02]

Fiatlux, I'm with you, sandwiches are my go-to - they're easy, yummy, and can be really healthy. 

Wiltingdaisy, I'll help you with the scones! We can also make some strawberry jam, and I'll help whip up some cream. Bird watching is always fun, it's nice to sit out in nature and just watch the world go by.

Grandy, I haven't done a colouring book in a long time but they're always good fun, and quite therapeutic. You always have the best imagery to describe things going on around you, too. 

I'm currently sitting outside soaking up what little sun we have in these winter months, I find the sun's often more prominent in the mornings then as it approaches the top of the sky, the air outside gets colder and the sky cloudier. I don't mind winter because there are lots of inside activities that you can do around a fire or by a heater, but the cold weather is definitely not my favourite.

SB

[Fiatlux]

Hi everyone and happy sunny Sunday,

It’s lovely to meet you Wiltingdaisy. I haven’t baked scones in possibly 10 years so more. I first learnt to bake them in High School. I have experimented with scone dough and have made both sweet and savoury scones. It’s a very versatile dough recipe. Wiltingdaisy since you don’t have an oven, do you have access to a hooded bbq or is it open fire where you are. I have seem people bake damper on a Weber with the hood down and it works well. 

I mentioned earlier in the year that I put some duck scarers in the swimming pool and it has worked well. But what has happened is that I now get more magpies visiting my backyard. The baby magpies are so cute. I am really enjoying watching them. We must have worms in the garden as they often dig and scratch up the garden. We use organic compost made from kitchen scraps.

I often have pumpkins growing randomly in gardens. I picked 2 pumpkins this year. The smaller one I removed the stem and cut a hole in the top and baked it whole in the skin. It was delicious. I am not exaggerating about how much tastier it was than the store bought ones. The larger pumpkin is drying out in the pantry and I am now considering making pumpkin scones next week. 

My son bought a really good dough mixer early this year for his pizza dough so it will make my dough making easier and a lot less messy. 

Have a lovely Sunday everyone. Fiatlux 🙏🏼

[Wiltingdaisy]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the warm welcome, especially since it has been so cold 😱

This week is a bit different, my partner decided on a whim to bring some korean bbq to the cafe! Complete with a smoked out room & spicy bean sprouts. 

Grandy, the food at BB Cafe is calorie free? But I simply won't get that naughty/nice indulgent feeling 😂 Ahh winter is the only time of year I eat soup. Arguably the best soup is pea & ham!

SB, homemade strawberry jam and whipped cream...now you're talking my language 😍 I also enjoyed some time outside in the sun today. How different does the sun feel in winter compared to summer. One is soothing, like a hug from a loved one. The other is searing, burning pain! 😅

I do have access to a hooded BBQ, however it has not been used in a while. I mostly cook with a fry-pan & microwave 🤣🤣 I hope this virtual cafe likes 2-minute noodles! But I will be going somewhere soon with a fire-pit, so maybe I will look into making some damper because that sounds amazing. 😍 And how much fun are magpies! I love it when they lay on their backs with their wings out to the side. 

Hope everyone has not had a manic monday! Unless they like it that way of course 😄

[blondguy]

Hey and thanks Whiltingdaisy 

New posters are always welcome too! The forums are a Safe and non judgmental place for you to post

Im in VIC and its going to be FREEZING COLD with a top of 12 today. UGH!

Paul