Tuesday
Monday
weekend journal
The weekend is over but my word did we pack in some stuff.....
Synchronise your watches please.
Saturday am; beach (where else?), garden centre (5 blue grasses), garden (plant grasses)
Saturday pm; golf lesson (holes in one zero), op shop ($20 Royal Doulton dinner set!!!),
kitchen (re-organising shelves to house new dinner set), scrabble.
Sunday am; homemade honeycomb (remember to use a bigger pan)
melt 1 1/2 cups of caster sugar, 1/2 cup honey and 100g butter in a LARGE saucepan, keep stirring and simmering for a couple more minutes.
remove from heat and add 2 tsp bicarb of soda stirring vigorously.
be warned this is a science experiment of a recipe...
when mix is pale and foamy, we are talking only seconds of stirring, pour into a well greased baking tin and pop into freezer to set.
dip hardened comb into melted chocolate for a truly delicious sweet treat which I keep in the freezer.
Sunday pm; beach (blah, blah, blah), car wash, practise golf swing (novelty hasn't worn off yet), dvd (Look Both Ways...awesome), study (a little), read (a lot) and settle into bed (with flapjack and coffee in new(ish) teacup). Bliss...
Synchronise your watches please.
Saturday am; beach (where else?), garden centre (5 blue grasses), garden (plant grasses)
Saturday pm; golf lesson (holes in one zero), op shop ($20 Royal Doulton dinner set!!!),
kitchen (re-organising shelves to house new dinner set), scrabble.
Sunday am; homemade honeycomb (remember to use a bigger pan)
melt 1 1/2 cups of caster sugar, 1/2 cup honey and 100g butter in a LARGE saucepan, keep stirring and simmering for a couple more minutes.
remove from heat and add 2 tsp bicarb of soda stirring vigorously.
be warned this is a science experiment of a recipe...
when mix is pale and foamy, we are talking only seconds of stirring, pour into a well greased baking tin and pop into freezer to set.
dip hardened comb into melted chocolate for a truly delicious sweet treat which I keep in the freezer.
Sunday pm; beach (blah, blah, blah), car wash, practise golf swing (novelty hasn't worn off yet), dvd (Look Both Ways...awesome), study (a little), read (a lot) and settle into bed (with flapjack and coffee in new(ish) teacup). Bliss...
Saturday
reading matter
Once a month I attend a book club, a beautifully informal affair with cake and coffee or wine and cheese depending on who holds it (when it's my turn I have wine and cake, but that's because I'm greedy).
It's a slightly modified form of the usual club... we all brought a favourite book to the first meeting, these form the basis of our library. Every month each member gives $10 to next months hostess, who then buys as many new books as this donation allows and adds them to the library. At each meeting you wax lyrical about the books you borrowed last month after which the whole group joins in. I enjoy this way of carrying on as it means everyone gets their 5 minutes in the spotlight, rather than all reading the same thing at the same time and then having to listen to two or three dominant sorts blah,blah,blah until there is virtually fisticuffs (I kid you not, I was at that book club meeting).
The hostess, in between sloshing wine into glasses, cutting cake and checking the toilet is clean, tells all why she purchased the new books. Everyone then makes a dignified grab for the new books, however I have devised a cunning plan. If you hang back until everyone else has made their choice you are able to vacuum up all the leftovers and so enjoy that lovely feeling of stacking at least four books next to the bed for a little sleepy reading.
This month I hoovered,
The vanishing act of Esme Lennox: Maggie O'Farrell
Atonement: Ian McEwan
The industry of souls: Martin Booth
Absolutely faking it: Tiana Templeman
I'll let you know my thoughts....
It's a slightly modified form of the usual club... we all brought a favourite book to the first meeting, these form the basis of our library. Every month each member gives $10 to next months hostess, who then buys as many new books as this donation allows and adds them to the library. At each meeting you wax lyrical about the books you borrowed last month after which the whole group joins in. I enjoy this way of carrying on as it means everyone gets their 5 minutes in the spotlight, rather than all reading the same thing at the same time and then having to listen to two or three dominant sorts blah,blah,blah until there is virtually fisticuffs (I kid you not, I was at that book club meeting).
The hostess, in between sloshing wine into glasses, cutting cake and checking the toilet is clean, tells all why she purchased the new books. Everyone then makes a dignified grab for the new books, however I have devised a cunning plan. If you hang back until everyone else has made their choice you are able to vacuum up all the leftovers and so enjoy that lovely feeling of stacking at least four books next to the bed for a little sleepy reading.
This month I hoovered,
The vanishing act of Esme Lennox: Maggie O'Farrell
Atonement: Ian McEwan
The industry of souls: Martin Booth
Absolutely faking it: Tiana Templeman
I'll let you know my thoughts....
Thursday
blanket time
This is the view from the end of my blanket,
a teeny tiny still life, candy floss clouds and a feather sundial that reads wine o'clock.
Check out the seaweed caterpillars.
...happy days.
Submitted my lab report today too so tomorrow I'll regain the will to write longer sentences.
Wednesday
a wallpaper quandry...
the pool man...
Images from beside the pool. Blood oranges, gerberas in a milk jug and an old Lloyd Loom chair. Just the two of us for dinner tonight so Kedgeree I think...
Tuesday
birthday extra's
birthday flowers...
balloons on the verandah...these were amazing as the sun made them glow like light fittings.
pretty cards...
kitchen blackboard wishes...
we saved you piece...
Monday
18!
Lordy, what a weekend...
Lovely Lil is now 18 years old and it feels we've been celebrating for days with the climax being an enormous family party yesterday afternoon. A happy, hungry gathering of twenty two!!!
It's an extraordinary feat that this large extended family has ended up on the other side of the world but all within a 5 mile radius. Even stranger, we barely saw each other in the UK.
How does this happen? Years of unsent Christmas cards, forgetting, or worse, ignoring birthdays and a general lack of interest had been the accepted status quo. Why? Who knows...certain factions have always remained fairly tight but there are a few almost certainly dysfunctional elements (aren't they always the most fun?).
Still, it makes for some interesting gatherings, especially when the wine starts to flow. I'm starting to lose count of how many times an adult ends up in the pool, fully clothed. It seems to have become an unwritten rule that the party's not over until someone gets wet. At first the dip would be the result of a poolside wobble or an overexcited child (son usually) going a little too far with the 'I'll push you in' posturing but we have taken this to new heights of silliness with the invention of 'Walk the Plank'. Renovations mean a heap of left over building supplies and a long length of 2x4 was found to be the perfect motivational tool for a touch of machismo culminating in some strange family dynamics. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.
As for the birthday girl, she claims to have had a blast. Champagne, cupcakes and a mound of fabulous prezzies is all well and good but it's not really a party until Grandma's dunked your uncle, is it!
Happy Birthday darling girl, x
Lovely Lil is now 18 years old and it feels we've been celebrating for days with the climax being an enormous family party yesterday afternoon. A happy, hungry gathering of twenty two!!!
It's an extraordinary feat that this large extended family has ended up on the other side of the world but all within a 5 mile radius. Even stranger, we barely saw each other in the UK.
How does this happen? Years of unsent Christmas cards, forgetting, or worse, ignoring birthdays and a general lack of interest had been the accepted status quo. Why? Who knows...certain factions have always remained fairly tight but there are a few almost certainly dysfunctional elements (aren't they always the most fun?).
Still, it makes for some interesting gatherings, especially when the wine starts to flow. I'm starting to lose count of how many times an adult ends up in the pool, fully clothed. It seems to have become an unwritten rule that the party's not over until someone gets wet. At first the dip would be the result of a poolside wobble or an overexcited child (son usually) going a little too far with the 'I'll push you in' posturing but we have taken this to new heights of silliness with the invention of 'Walk the Plank'. Renovations mean a heap of left over building supplies and a long length of 2x4 was found to be the perfect motivational tool for a touch of machismo culminating in some strange family dynamics. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.
As for the birthday girl, she claims to have had a blast. Champagne, cupcakes and a mound of fabulous prezzies is all well and good but it's not really a party until Grandma's dunked your uncle, is it!
Happy Birthday darling girl, x
Thursday
psyched!!
I've just received the results from yesterday's exam and (drum roll please) I aced it. I am twirling in my chair with glee. I'm working, supposedly, and the urge to canter around the office at breakneck speed yee haaaghing wildly like a cowboy gone berserk is frighteningly strong, but this is a rather traditional wine company and I'm not sure I'd ever be invited back. I'll just stick to twirling maniacally, safe in the knowledge that the boss can't see me.
Tuesday
360 degrees of wonderful
I still pinch myself sometimes...I live in a truly beautiful place and even though we've been here quite a while now it still feels like 'on holiday'.
This is my walking beach...I aim my feet in this direction at least once a day if not twice.
This is 4.30pm in every direction.
The mountain in the background is actually a volcano.
The coffee shop,
my favourite armchair,
my feet, I mean you haven't been to the beach until you get your toes wet
and me. I love shadows....very flattering (I'm not really 6ft tall)
This is my walking beach...I aim my feet in this direction at least once a day if not twice.
This is 4.30pm in every direction.
The mountain in the background is actually a volcano.
The coffee shop,
my favourite armchair,
my feet, I mean you haven't been to the beach until you get your toes wet
and me. I love shadows....very flattering (I'm not really 6ft tall)
Monday
midnight feast
Last night we snacked like queens. Huge mugs of hot chocolate and flapjack. I borrowed Sumea's recipe from here with just a couple of changes; I used butter and added hazelnuts to the mix. Divine, thanks Sumea. Our late night feasting was to accompany 'Marie Antoinette'. I adore this film. You can't beat the masked ball where the costumed dancers twirl to the Siouxie and the Banshees tune 'Hong Kong Garden'.
I used to be a punk a long, long time ago and I still find a brief pogo-ing session can be very cathartic. Unfortunately, my one minute dance parties are rather lonely affairs these days (rocking out mother + teenage children = totally disowned). Still, you can't keep an old punk down so,
2,3,4.......
I'm off now for a lie down in a darkened room!
I used to be a punk a long, long time ago and I still find a brief pogo-ing session can be very cathartic. Unfortunately, my one minute dance parties are rather lonely affairs these days (rocking out mother + teenage children = totally disowned). Still, you can't keep an old punk down so,
2,3,4.......
I'm off now for a lie down in a darkened room!
Sunday
so corny...
Another Sunday, another barbeque, another way to serve corn, (it's in season so is only .65c a cob)
Denude the corn by pulling down the husk, losing the stringy bits and then carefully dress them up again. I like to whistle 'Patricia the Stripper' whilst doing this but it's not compulsory. Soak the cobs in water for about 10 minutes before placing two strips 0f streaky bacon on either side of each bright yellow cob. Season.
Wrap the corn cobs back in their husks and tie them with string. They take about 30-50 minutes to cook...it really depends on the size of the cobs and the heat of the barbie. You need to keep them turning as the the husks will burn in a flash. It doesn't matter if they go black though, just adds to their straight off the barbie charm.
I keep flavoured butters in my freezer and these cobs go really well with sage butter or garlic. My personal favourite though is chilli. Pull back the scorched husks and dot the corn and bacon with the frozen butter. A quick squirt of lime and a little more salt and pepper and you are hot to trot.
I managed a before photo but the locusts descended before I had a chance to snap an after shot.
Saturday
go ahead bach, make my day...
When did Dirty Harry get so old? Grand Torino has just finished and I'm aghast at how aged Clint is. Great film though, it made me cry...although to be honest that isn't hard. I cry rather easily, always have done. When Mary was blinded in 'The Little House on the Prairie', when Zola Budd ran without shoes and to my chagrin in a recent episode of The Wheel of Fortune when a generous contestant gave one of his prizes to a fellow player who hadn't won a thing. Initially the family found it endearing, then embarrassing (I lost it in a cinema when Nemo and his dad were separated on the reef) but now I've become a teary part of the furniture. We are now settling down with 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' and only 20 minutes in I know I'm going to be a sodden heap.
On a completely different note, I've decided to begin a photo journal of all the old beach houses in the village. We call them baches in New Zealand, unfortunately they are being bulldozed to make way for the large, low maintenance, plaster clad homes that seem to be on the modern wishlist.
#1
On a completely different note, I've decided to begin a photo journal of all the old beach houses in the village. We call them baches in New Zealand, unfortunately they are being bulldozed to make way for the large, low maintenance, plaster clad homes that seem to be on the modern wishlist.
#1
school dinners
I love a theme and this one has my tummy rumbling.
For me, a school dinner was all about the 'afters'. I have hazy memories of cheese quiche with concrete pastry, cold cottage pie and carrots, liver and bacon with lumpy mash; but they were really just a necessary evil to be gobbled up as quickly as possible so as to be first in line in the pudding queue.
Jam roly-poly, Spotted Dick, apple and rhubarb crumble all drizzled with hot runny custard. Iced chocolate squares with squirty cream, iced yellow squares with pink shaving foam, rice pudding with a dollop of jam, quivering strawberry blancmange, tinned fruit salad with Angel Delight, ice cream sandwiches with bright pink wafers, banana custard...good grief I'm drooling!
My personal favourite though was a bread and butter pudding made with marmalade and baked until crisp and toasty on top but still gooey beneath.
Deep joy, (sigh)
For me, a school dinner was all about the 'afters'. I have hazy memories of cheese quiche with concrete pastry, cold cottage pie and carrots, liver and bacon with lumpy mash; but they were really just a necessary evil to be gobbled up as quickly as possible so as to be first in line in the pudding queue.
Jam roly-poly, Spotted Dick, apple and rhubarb crumble all drizzled with hot runny custard. Iced chocolate squares with squirty cream, iced yellow squares with pink shaving foam, rice pudding with a dollop of jam, quivering strawberry blancmange, tinned fruit salad with Angel Delight, ice cream sandwiches with bright pink wafers, banana custard...good grief I'm drooling!
My personal favourite though was a bread and butter pudding made with marmalade and baked until crisp and toasty on top but still gooey beneath.
Deep joy, (sigh)
Friday
movies in the moonlight
In America you have drive-in movies...in NZ you sit on a dark beach and cuddle under a blanket while the film flickers on a large screen that wobbles in the wind. Fabulous. And now we're back home watching The Libertine under a beautifully soft moon.
Thursday
arrrrr like a pirate
My local op shop is beautifully situated halfway down a road that has great view of the sea. Its watery situation and the fact it always seems to be packed full of booty is why I call it Davy Jones's locker. I love coming home after a browse amongst its treasures as I'm able to extol the amazing bargainy goodness of my finds in a full on pirate voice, (I have attempted to use this voice to describe purchases from other op shops in the vicinity, but it just doesn't ring true).
This weeks booty includes a gravy boat, pretty eggs, the bottom half of an Abercrombie and Fitch set of pyjamas, a Ralph Lauren polo shirt (this got a round of applause and an answering Arrrr when it was plucked from the basket), a mason jar and a Wee Willie Winkie nightgown that I thought would make for rather debonair husbandly nightwear (in reality it makes him look like a dodgy Egyptian tour guide...but you can't win them all).
This is the view from the bottom of the street.
Slap's response to the Egyptian comment was that as a pirate I bare a closer resemblance to Captain Pugwash than Jack Sparrow....charming!
I'm on the hunt this afternoon for that perfect shade of duck egg blue yarn to start this years first pair of fingerless gloves. A pre-requisite I'm afraid for the owner of a 1972 VW Beatle. A lack of heating means that the first 20 minutes of any journey has to spent with the windows open to clear any condensation. This is a pleasure in Summer, although the same can't be said for a cold and rainy day. There was a definite nip in the air this morning so it's time to get needle clacking once again.
This weeks booty includes a gravy boat, pretty eggs, the bottom half of an Abercrombie and Fitch set of pyjamas, a Ralph Lauren polo shirt (this got a round of applause and an answering Arrrr when it was plucked from the basket), a mason jar and a Wee Willie Winkie nightgown that I thought would make for rather debonair husbandly nightwear (in reality it makes him look like a dodgy Egyptian tour guide...but you can't win them all).
This is the view from the bottom of the street.
Slap's response to the Egyptian comment was that as a pirate I bare a closer resemblance to Captain Pugwash than Jack Sparrow....charming!
I'm on the hunt this afternoon for that perfect shade of duck egg blue yarn to start this years first pair of fingerless gloves. A pre-requisite I'm afraid for the owner of a 1972 VW Beatle. A lack of heating means that the first 20 minutes of any journey has to spent with the windows open to clear any condensation. This is a pleasure in Summer, although the same can't be said for a cold and rainy day. There was a definite nip in the air this morning so it's time to get needle clacking once again.
Tuesday
finders keepers
You know when you put your hand into the pocket of a coat you haven't worn in an age and find a coin....I love that feeling. A surprise gift. I've just discovered a similar unexpected pleasure; at 1pm I packed up my things, waved a cheery goodbye and sauntered to the car park. SO?.....I don't finish work until 2.
So now I have an extra hour to play with because, just like that coin, it's free isn't it. A treat to be enjoyed and just like marshmallows it's guilt free too as I have just 'phoned the boss and he doesn't seem to mind at all?
Note to self: once back in normal time it might be worth wondering why said boss didn't mind, in fact hadn't noticed the early departure at all...even though only he and I were in the building at the time, hmmm.
So, rather than studying for my first exam which looms ever closer, or stripping the beds, or planning dinner, or sanding down the newly plastered ceiling, or sorting receipts for the tax man I'm busy doing nothing. Lovely.
I'm off now to take a few snapshots of truly inconsequential things.
So now I have an extra hour to play with because, just like that coin, it's free isn't it. A treat to be enjoyed and just like marshmallows it's guilt free too as I have just 'phoned the boss and he doesn't seem to mind at all?
Note to self: once back in normal time it might be worth wondering why said boss didn't mind, in fact hadn't noticed the early departure at all...even though only he and I were in the building at the time, hmmm.
So, rather than studying for my first exam which looms ever closer, or stripping the beds, or planning dinner, or sanding down the newly plastered ceiling, or sorting receipts for the tax man I'm busy doing nothing. Lovely.
I'm off now to take a few snapshots of truly inconsequential things.
Sunday
back to basics
Reading back over the last few posts I've come to realise that the renovation, making things, bit of the blog has disappeared. An immediate remedy is needed, and luckily we spent all day yesterday working very hard on a brand new room so I ache contentedly.
Our little cottage has only 3 bedrooms and as Oz moves inexorably towards full on adolescence we've decided that a little more space (literally and figuratively) is needed by all. A fourth bedroom and laundry has been crafted from an unused garage; unused as it had a wall running through the middle of it....go figure! The before picture shows the room with its new door, window and skylight but it still has to be gibbed and plastered before we can begin the good bit.
I've also included a snap of the desk which has to be a best buy this week. I found it on Trade Me for just $30. It's oak and, once it's had its make over, will be Oz's new study aid.
With Oz in mind I've just finished Celia Lashlie's, He'll be OK. I'm not much of a self help reader normally but this was recommended by a friend whose previous choices have always been enjoyable. It was actually rather good and I'm making valiant efforts to persuade Slap to give it a go. He is definitely not a self help reader, in his words 'you can't perfect perfection'....yeah right! However, if you like me are the mother of teenage boys this book is worth a trip to the library.
Our little cottage has only 3 bedrooms and as Oz moves inexorably towards full on adolescence we've decided that a little more space (literally and figuratively) is needed by all. A fourth bedroom and laundry has been crafted from an unused garage; unused as it had a wall running through the middle of it....go figure! The before picture shows the room with its new door, window and skylight but it still has to be gibbed and plastered before we can begin the good bit.
I've also included a snap of the desk which has to be a best buy this week. I found it on Trade Me for just $30. It's oak and, once it's had its make over, will be Oz's new study aid.
With Oz in mind I've just finished Celia Lashlie's, He'll be OK. I'm not much of a self help reader normally but this was recommended by a friend whose previous choices have always been enjoyable. It was actually rather good and I'm making valiant efforts to persuade Slap to give it a go. He is definitely not a self help reader, in his words 'you can't perfect perfection'....yeah right! However, if you like me are the mother of teenage boys this book is worth a trip to the library.
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