Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Back to school


As delightful as they may appear, I am ready to send them back to school.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Twelve



How did it happen? It seems like just last week you were a sweet little toddler who was so happy and easy to please.




Now you're twelve... and still gorgeous! It's nice to watch you develop your own style and foster your own opinions.



Happy birthday Ruby girl!
Love
m, xox

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Plums


We have two plums in our backyard. One is full of fruit now and, apparently, when it finishes, the other of starts.



What does one do with so many plums? Well, I've made plum shortcake, spiced plum chutney, grilled plums on the BBQ and plum crumble. When I accumulate a few more jars I will make some plum jam [I'm really annoyed that I tossed out so many when moving!]. If you have a favourite plum recipe, or one where another fruit can be substituted for plums, I would love the recipe.

Introducing...


Ben! Isn't he gorgeous? Some people say he looks an awful lot like another beloved cat.

For years we have had to endure conversations with the kids about why we don't have a pet. We had lots of excuses, oops, I mean valid reasons not to have one which go along the lines of: responsibility; what to do with them when we're away; responsibility; life-time commitment; responsibility...

When we bought our house [which was actually a while ago despite only recently moving in], the girls asked again, "Can we get a cat when we move into our new house?" And to this Steve replied, "Absolutely!". Needless to say, everyone's jaw hit the floor at this response, including mine.

But when the girls wanted to go to the SPCA the other day for a "look", they really weren't expecting to come home with a kitten. Steve is many things, but he is not a push-over, but I think he'd decided that the time had come... and now we have Ben. He's a bit bouncy at times which can be a bit freaky, and he tried climbing up my leg the other day [ouch!] [must have thought it was a tree trunk or something?], but he is already a member of the family.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Mini lamingtons


I wanted to squeeze in this post before the close of Australia Day. At least it is for us in the southern hemisphere.


These mini lamingtons are are healthy alternative courtesy from the healthy chef and were a pleasant treat at the end of the day.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie


Well folks, it has been a while but I'd just like to say:
Happy Australia Day!

When friends of ours from Cairns dropped in yesterday on their way home from travels in South America, we took the opportunity to kick off our Australia Day celebrations a day early. As we all know, no Aussie BBQ is complete without steak, lamb chops, snags and my favourite brown rice salad all washed down with some beer and wine. And to top it off? An Aussie pavlova of course (just don't tell the Kiwis).




PS. There have been some requests for pics of our new home. I had planned to blog about it when all the boxes were unpacked however I now realise that could take a while. Watch this space...