Birthday cake

Eadie and I made a birthday cake for Ruby today. We took some photos so you can appreciate the results given what we had to work with. Yes, we did cook it in that benchtop oven!

Happy Birthday Ruby Girl!

Dear Ruby

I think you are amazing. You have so many qualities that I admire. I'm proud of the way you give things a go, even if they seem a bit scary. You have a beautiful smile and you often surprise me with how much you know about the world. Happy birthday beautiful. Love Mummy, xox

Jumping off the bridge

Ruby was really keen to jump off the foot bridge into the water below. I told her that she should do it with Steve. So the next day we all headed down to the beach and Ruby, as keen as hot English mustard, got ready to take the plunge. Steve went first and without hesitation, Ruby followed. Steve then challenged me to do it. It didn’t take much persuasion–it looked like fun. Off I went. I think the girls were surprised I actually did it. They know me as the mum who is usually too lame to get into the water. It was fun. Ruby and I did it over and over again. And guess what? The water wasn’t too cold either!

Raaaglan

The end of our week at Raglan is drawing nearer but here yet. I love this place. It reminds me a little of Byron but way smaller and quieter. The bach overlooks the water and is really quaint. When we're not on the beach we spend time on the deck watching the tide turn. The weather has been fantabulous. Boy, I wish you were here.




The kitchen is basic but has an espresso machine which you all know is top priority. There is one electric hot plate which you plug into the wall and a benchtop oven in which I am going to try and bake a sponge cake for Ruby's birthday (I'll let you know how I go).



Much to Steve's delight, the surf has been pretty good. So often when we go on holidays the surf is crap. There is a surfing comp at Piha at the moment and as the competitors are eliminated they are heading down to Raglan so it is starting to get a bit crowded. This pic was taken above Manu Bay on our first day. Steve caught some waves whilst I searched for flotsam and jetsam. The girls played their modern version of make believe which goes something like “let's fake that we’re a...”.

PS. Happy Australia Day!

Resolutions [an update]

How boring am I do deliver such a stock standard list of resolutions when there is so much to work on? The truth is, when we dig beneath the surface, what we find can sometimes be a little confronting–even scarey. So much so, that we may want to keep it private and get used to what we find before sharing it with the world.

That said, my revised NY's resolutions are (and I figure it's not quite the end of January so I can probably get away with this):
Exercise: Well, I'm still on holidays but I'm committed!
Drinking: See above.
Passion: Still searching...
Food: I'm a carnivore but I think that most of us can benefit from eating less meat (and that doesn't mean substituting it for smoked salmon!). The truth is, I find it easy to create a meal around meat but without the animal, and apart from pasta napolitana, I don't really know where to begin. I am on a quest to have a few hearty, vegetarian meals in my repertoire.
Laugh: I definitely need to lighten up and laugh more.
Anger vs Peace: (this is the revealing one) I am going to try and deal with my anger. I'm not sure where it comes from but it's always there beneath the surface waiting for a trigger. I'm really going to work at resolving this because it has the potential to affect the rest of my world–for good or bad.

Plum jam

I recently made some plum jam and thought it would be great so post some pics of it bubbling away in the pot. Of course, once I got started, I forgot to take a pic. So here’s a pic of the empty pot and bottled jam instead.

Before you all start thinking I’ve gone all Martha Stewart, I have a confession. My friend Meri had been making jam with the plums she got from her neighbour’s tree. She boiled the plums, sieved them then found she had too much fruit and not enough sugar. Her original intention was to buy more sugar and use the last of the fruit puree but after the first batch was over it and offered me the puree. Well, with all the hard work done, how could I refuse. So that’s my confession, now back to the jam…

I thought it would be great to make a batch of scones with the delicious jam on top (I sooo want to by a food stylist for Donna!). Anyway, I didn’t get around to making the scones–I never was much good at baking scones and my attempts at the gluten free variety haven’t excited the troops in the past. So here is a pic of Ava with her 100th jam sandwich, dipping her fingers in the jar.

Taupo

The Waikato is the longest river in NZ. It starts at Taupo feeding from the lake, and ends just before Auckland. This picture of Ava is taken at Huka Falls. The water is really clear and amazing blue in colour.






We are lucky that Steve is such a keen swimmer, seeking out and entering all ocean swims within driving distance. He is now the Australian and NZ Masters' champion for his age group. A great effort–a stomach bug didn't even slow him down!




On the morning of our departure we found a natural hot water spring right on the edge of the lake. Too wimpy to swim in the lake, this will be the first place I go to when we visit next.