stormy saturday

It's a grey and stormy day but life is good. I've had two lovely comments and I'm chuffed.

Thank you!

I love a weekend full of sunshine and parties but a rainy weekend with nothing to do but loaf is a little bit special. Baking, reading, walking, snoozing, a huge pile of DVD's and my most favourite thing.... pottering.

Fush....

and chups for supper.

dr daughter

I'm so proud. Lovely Lil has been accepted into uni' and begins her studies in earnest next week. A huge achievement for a girl who is still not 18. This is Lil in her new lab coat, shaking out her hair in our reenactment of every staid/sexy doctor on General Hospital.

What a woman!

yum!

I just had to mention the most delicious potato side dish enjoyed by the family Slap tonight.
Agria potatoes cut into medium thin slices and boiled. These are then layered with 2 sliced chorizo sausages, fried onions and garlic in a saute pan. All finished off with a greedy handful of grated cheddar cheese and a drool (not sure if that's the correct terminology but I hope you get the picture) of cream with a big teaspoon of dijon mustard mixed in. Season. Warm up the pan on the stove until it's starting to bake (medium about 7 minutes) then put into the oven to finish off for 10 minutes or so or until the cheese bubbles. I served this with herby roast chicken...delicious! In fact Slap commented that it was a Saturday meal, not a Thursday. Back handed compliment? Paranoid? Just take the compliment. Good Lord!

a week in pictures

A new semester began last Monday so I am just getting back into study mode. Psychology, plus some new book club reads and about 10 new blogs....all this reading can't be good for you!

Add to this a birthday party for a man with a beautiful new shirt,

a delicious prawn pasta (simple too, just prawns, bacon, butter, garlic, basil, lemon, thin spaghetti, season and serve with crusty bread.)

a food and wine festival followed by far too much sing star. I love sing star actually. I'm not a fan of computer games, play station and the like but sing star has to be the modern day equivalent of a Jane Austen type musical interlude or a war time sing song. I love the idea of us all standing around the piano bashing out a tune, unfortunately the drums are the only instrument played with any prowess in this house and they don't lend themselves to sweet ballads at least not the way Oz plays them. Ace of Spades on the otherhand.....

Hydrangea's are back, hurrah! as are nectarine's, hurrah, hurrah!! as are nits harrumph! Bloody things. The letter has arrived home warning of the imminent invasion so I am armed and ready with spray, comb and eagle eyes. Where do they come from? Who has the king nit and why do they only invade sporadically? Questions that keep me awake at night, I kid you not.



I also found a minute to prettify a corner using the aforementioned Hydrangeas. Good times.

dancing queen, young and sweet only 41...

I feel like this weekend was a blur, so much packed into two short days. Fabulous though.

We ended Sunday with a concert at the Villa Maria vineyard.

A beautiful sky and a crazy photo of the stage, although we had been lying in the sun and drinking since 3 in the afternoon which may explain the wobble.

A trip to Uni and a stint at the old people's home has left me too tired to talk let alone type so that's all for now.

muffins and whales

Valentine's day...all homemade this year. I got the vintage prints from an amazing blog and the little bird from another; add this to some pink and shiny cupcakes and you've got a start to the day so sweet it makes your teeth ache.

To counteract all the fluffy stuff I signed Slap and me up for a days training with Project Jonah, a charity organization that over the years has equipped everyday New Zealanders with the knowledge and skills needed to rescue stranded dolphins and whales. We have had a fantastic summer so far, unfortunately the sun had a day off today and so this afternoon was spent on a cold rainy beach gamely grappling with Lionel the vinyl Pilot Whale. If I'm honest I was expecting to feel like 'Whalerider', the reality was 3 hours in a classroom followed by a roll around with an enormous blow up mammal, sand chafe and a bunch of foreign students. Spiritual, perhaps not? However, it was educational, inspirational and at times incredibly funny, and we are now MAMMAL MEDICS! We have the laminated back stage passes to prove it too.

All in all a fantastic Valentines day, so great in fact that we've decided every Valentines day should be spent outside of our comfort zone. It's Slap's choice next year but I'm hoping that some clever planning (i.e. hinting) will result in a slightly warmer experience.

N.B. This is a day that requires a wetsuit, apparently my dad's rash shirt and a pair of shorts I wear to bed just don't cut it in the whale wrangling fashion stakes. I thought I was looking fine until a well meaning (yeah, right) husband whispered, "Lucky this is Project Jonah and not Project Runway...auf wiedersehn"

perspective

I have just been advised that Dishwasher Dave is on holiday until the 16th Feb...Good Grief!!!

However, all the tiny frustrations in life pale into complete insignificance in the wake of the nightmare still raging in Victoria. I began this blog after being inspired by a blog called Peasoup (I admit it...I'm the one who read the entire archive!). I discovered Suse, her family and community just a few weeks ago but the incredible sense of relief I felt on reading the most recent post confirming they were all well surprised me. The power of Blog.

My heartfelt sympathies and best wishes to all those affected by the fires.

not the boomtown rats

I love Mondays. I always think they are so full of promise I also love the 1st January, the start of a new school term, the first day of the holidays...anytime in fact when there is a feeling of either brand new or start again.

I begin a get fit, springclean, new me adventure every week. I acknowledge the adventure has usually petered out by Thursday afternoon but so far that hasn't dampened my enthusiasm.

Today is no exception, I've had a healthy breakfast, a walk on the beach, got two lots of washing done, had a fairly lengthy conversation with my mother that didn't include a single eye roll or lip biting incident (me) and a quick chat with my daughter that was also facial contortion free (her).

All in all a very good start.


In the UK, children start a new school year in September; new pencilcase with felt tips, new school bag, new shoes and socks and growing up in our house there was the inevitable new haircut (was it just me or did hairdressers always cut your fringe too short?)

Here, the new year starts today and although I'd love to say the boys are filled with the same joy and enthusiasm ....HA!

remember those tomatoes?

We have had an abundance of beautiful plum tomatoes off the kitchen garden vine this summer. We added wine, a baguette and salami to the salad of tomatoes, mozzerella and home grown basil, delicious.

I've discovered a new setting on the camera too. To celebrate the flower button I rushed around snapping frenziedly...
the view from the fruit bowl...

...and grapes nestling under the verandah.

Not even Lulu was safe.

things and places this week

1. We have a secret club...it's called the wag club and this is the view from our clubhouse.

2. So many cakes, so little time. Chocolate, lemon, coconut and some museli biscuits.

3. Lil and I watched the film Perfume this week. We loved it in a screwing up your nose and tilting your head sort of way. I'm searching for the film Quinceanera at the moment as all this beautiful weather has left me in need of a Mexico fix.

4. We've eaten a lot of ice cream...

5. ...and popped in some beautiful old cedar doors found at the reclamation yard. We snapped up some shutters too which, once dipped, will look wonderful on the verandah.

6. Someone got a new pair of boardies.

make a wish....

Con is now 10...unbelievable! A lovely time was had by all. Copious amounts of cake, tramp action and drumming with the usual galloping, giggling and jumping off the furniture...and that was just me!
I wasn't around for Con's christening and not really being a religious sort the rules of godmothering seemed to pass me by. However, I was absolutely delighted to be given the role and so wrote my own manual:
1) When babysitting, encourage godson to lick the bowl, toboggan down the stairs and climb the mud mountain outside the back door.
2) Insist on regular drum recitals in the office.
3) Never renege on a promise...even if it results in days and days of google shopping, mall shopping and specialist store shopping until the CORRECT pair of fingerless goalie gloves are found.
4) Feel, quietly, very,very pleased when I hear that godson sleeps in said gloves, in fact the only time they are removed is in the shower, at godsons' mothers insistence.
5) Enjoy him!
Happy Birthday gorgeous....

hello wembley!

Testing, testing 1,2,3... nobody around, so a garden shot taken with the new camera. Hurrah!

number 1

Having just discovered the world of Blog I thought....I can do that! Especially as I have just purchased a new -ish- camera that I plan to use far more regularly than the old one. Once my Trade Me treasure arrives (fingers crossed...I've had a bit of a poor run recently) I'll post a few scene setters.
Until then, here starts the first list (it's an obsession...sorry)
This Weeks;
1) Most successful meal - Butterflied, herby roast chicken with broadbean and parmesan risotto and a green salad.
2) Best buy - Wooden trugs from the junk shop for just $3 each. Apparently they were used by banks for transporting money. I intend to use mine for growing herbs.
3) Book- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon. This is a Book Club choice and although enjoyable it's bringing back a few memories.
4) Frustrations - The dishwasher breaking down again, just 3 months after the best part of $300 was spent replacing the thing inside that makes it go. Even more frustrating is that Dishwasher Dave is on holiday until the 9th Feb. I don't normally go in for all that conspiracy theory tosh, HOWEVER, this will be the fourth costly callout since the warranty ran out and what other occupation allows you two months off over Christmas? It's pants!
5) Happiest event - Persuading both sons to join the Slaps for an afternoon walk, swim and picnic on the beach. Malf is an easy date but Oz is now 14 and the lure of the skate park is strong. However, a mixture of bribes, threats and wobbly lip begging won out in the end and a delicious few hours were spent in the sun. Maybe next time Lil will join us too! (I don't have an audio thingy so please imagine slightly hysterical laughter followed by a a big sigh here)