Any excuse......

is a good excuse, when it comes to chocolate cake!

Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who celebrate it. 

(we don't by the way)

It is also my blog birthday.  I started in 2006.  Seven years ago.  I only started a blog so I could comment on others, and I am still here!

Jodie

Iced Tea

Lil Sis has acquired a taste for iced tea, so we set about making some at home.  We bought some Cranberry, Raspberry, Strawberry tea bags and used this recipe, but with a cup of sugar we found that too sweet for drinking.

So we froze it into ice blocks and it was just right!  

Then we made up another half batch with no sugar and added that to the iced tea we had left and it was just right for drinking.

We tried it with lemon tea and the girls weren't into it.  Can anyone suggest any other flavours?

Jodie

Wool Eater Wednesday, the last one for a while......

Well it is finished for now, and in use!

I completed 24 bands of colour which is 48 rounds of crochet.

I really believe it will look better if it finishes with a pink round of colours rather than the yellow/purple that it is at the moment.

Also another 4 bands of colour will give it a bit more length.

But for now, even though it is way too hot for this heavy crochet blanket, it is in use!  and that makes both of us very happy!

Jodie 

this was soooooo good!

Key Lime Pie.....

I used this recipe, BUT, I used a packet of gingernut biscuits in the base.  I don't have a food processor, I just bashed them with a mortar, or is it the pestle?  Mine was rather, now what is the word they use these days, RUSTIC!

I used low fat condensed milk (I just had it in the pantry, and why we even had a tin of condensed milk, or low fat at that is beyond me).

I used lime in a bottle (gasp) and therefore no zest.

I used WAY MORE lime that the recipe, because I am not so into sweet, but very into tart.

I took this to a girlfriend's for lunch and it was a huge hit.  (Very rich though).  Miss Paradise had two pieces.  Lil sis was the only one that thought it "too limey"- not too limey to eat every last morsel on her plate though.  

In fact we enjoyed it so much, the above pic was an afterthought (and a bad shot taken with my phone).  Half had already been eaten!

Jodie x

back to normal

The girls started back at school today,

and Tess has resumed her favourite position.

Jodie x

It doesn't rain it pours

Remember just last week I was complaining about the heat?

Ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald has been wreaking havoc here the past few days.

We are lucky and have had no damage from the winds.

The lake has broken it's banks but again we are lucky and under no flood threat.

It has come up once before, higher than this, but that was years ago and the girls don't remember it.

This time though the water is backing up into the lake from the river and that is a little unnerving.

Unfortunately the flood is much, much worse, further north, and unbelievably people who lost everything in the floods two years ago are under threat again.  

The system is heading further south and down into NSW, hopefully they will get some good soaking rain in the bushfire areas.

Jodie

Yes, well.......

Hello, Happy New Year and all that!

I have just taken this photo out the back to show the clouds.  There is a chance it may rain today.  The temps are the lowest we have had in a while.  

Nothing like the 40 degrees plus others parts of the country are getting but here it is the humidity that knocks us about.  Right now it is at 76%.  It has been up near 90% for too long.

So I have been holding off doing a post this year as I wanted my first one to be the final ta-dah! of Miss Paradise's wool eater.  I first posted about this on the 9th of January last year, and gave my first progress report on the 17th and I had no intention of not being finished more than a year later but there you go.  It has just been toooooooo hot.  The blue round that I am working on at the moment will be my last round for the time being.  It won't be as large as I want it to be but it is big enough for an eleven year old and frankly we are both sick of it.  Me working on it, and Miss P sick of it not being finished.  Fortunately it is the type of pattern that can be added to. 

Due to the weather there has been very little crochet action about the place, but I did manage a small finish for my Nan for Christmas.  This tissue box cover pattern is a freebie from The Royal Sisters.   Want to hear a funny story about this?  I used a box of tissues we had here to 'model' it as I was making it.  Once complete I bought a new box of tissues and the new box was taller that the box we had here at home.  So at Nan's place you can see the box poking out the bottom!  

Working with the same colours I used Lucy's tutorial to learn how to join-as-you-go.  This was just a practice piece but I plan to turn it into a cushion cover.  Everyone needs a cushion cover to match their tissue box don't they?  Speaking of my Nan, she is not too well at the moment so if you are the praying kind, please remember her in yours.

We are into the home stretch with school holidays, we go back Wednesday the 30th.  

We have done the purchasing of the school shoes - ouch!  

Time to stop putting off covering the school books.  

Contact is my friend, Contact is my Friend, Contact is .........

I am dreading the trying on of uniforms.  They have false hems on them already, nothing left to let down.

Oh well, enjoy your day.  

Jodie x

03.12.12

something you held

December Photo a Day from FatMumSlim

Really, what else did you expect from me!

A quick snap from my phone :)

Jodie 

02.12.12

Peace 

December Photo a Day with FatMumSlim

I have cheated a bit with this one.  Today it is a struggle to find peace, it is hot and humid and we are all a bit frayed about the edges.  We were in the ornament isle, shopping for school buddy presents when I saw this sign.  I was about to buy it but silver is the wrong colour for our Christmas decorations.  So a quick snap with my phone and we have a little peace in our world!

Tell me why do sisters fight?  

As an only child I just don't get it.  

Individually they are both really nice girls, but to each other..... they can be so mean!    

Jodie

01.12.12

8 o'clock

December Photo a Day with FatMumSlim

Well, not sure how long I will last, I am notoriously bad with keeping up with things, but here we are on the 1st of December and day one of a photo a day.

I am also signed up for Journal Your Christmas, for the first time ever for me with Shimelle.  Not sure how that will go either, think the time difference will be a factor.  I don't like to put photos of my girls here, so the photos here will be edited, but we are getting in the Christmas spirit!  (Ironically this photo is straight off the camera, no editing!)

So hot here!  We got new Christmas lights today from Bunnings, and we put the tree up! Kicking back now in air conditioned comfort with Mr P cooking a BBQ.

Tomorrow's prompt is Peace - let's hope I find some!

Jodie xx

ornament swap

My special group of internet friends held a Christmas Ornament Swap.

I made a Christmas Tree, a Star, and a Wreath.  These 3 patterns are from the Royal Sisters

Grandma Tree

Grandma Twinkle  (I added an extra point to my star)

Grandma all round 

Then for one member I made a banner of Chanuka Stars!

I used the Grandma Twinkle pattern along with this garland of stars pattern.  Again I added an extra point.

Shocking photography on the star banner, sorry about that!

These have all been received, next time I will show you what I got!

Jodie 

the setting sun

I have a new lens......

well to be truthful I have had it since May!

It is extremely heavy.  Mr P bought it for me for our anniversary and honestly I thought it must be good for snapping motor sport and that is why he bought it for me... 

(I know, I'm not very nice).  

But then over the weekend, during all the storm activity I remembered the new lens.... (it doesn't fit in my camera bag with my other gear).

It has been a  long time since I have been into taking photos, but now, re-interest is stirring!

Lots of clouds in our area but no more storm activity since last weekend.  Bring it on I say, I want to take pics!

Jodie

Stormy Skies

Wild weather over the south east this past weekend.

Thunder, lightening, hail stones.

Fortunately for us, all we got was some good soaking rain on Saturday night and some thunder and lightening.

Some brilliant skies though.  All within the space of less than an hour.

Jodie

Wool Eater Wednesday

I have really got back into this project over the past few weeks, 20 rounds of colour almost complete.

Jodie

don't you hate that.....

so close.... and doing so well, and then out of yarn before the last one is finished.... grrr.

The colours are really off, but I guess just now that is the least of my worries :)

Jodie 

a new shape.....

Stars!!! Jodie

Funky Flowers

Some flowers for a special friend......Pattern by Lucy, Attic 24.

It is almost Monday morning again, the weekends fly past so quickly.......Here's to a great week!

Jodie

pot stickers

I found myself home with just lil sis.  We just happened to have all the makings of some pot stickers that appeared on the kid spot website.  (Well truth be told we didn't have the wonton wrappers, but a quick dash to the supermarket after dropping miss paradise to her friends house and we soon did.)

They were delish!  They were rather labour intensive, but just having the time to work through the process was much of the enjoyment.  If you want to make some of your own here is the recipe.  Enjoy....

Jodie