Wouldn't just some days you love to be a dog???

Well the biggest decision these two have today is aaaaaa which couch to sleep on or ummmmmmm maybe I should lie in front of the roaring fire...One down fall of being a dog tho is they nearly always have to eat the same food....don't really fancy that...Poor little Mittens sat in front of the oven last night waiting while the pork roast cooked and all she got for dinner was dog roll...Well and the pork bone...so its not all that bad

What better place could there be for your kids to go to school

I have these lovely calico shopping bags for sale

Our lovely little school in Le Bons Bay where we have just 12 darling students have had these great shopping bags for sale as a fund raiser and I just had a thought that I should let some bloggers know about them . If you are interested in purchasing one or more let me know and I can arrange getting them to you. ( they are $6 for one or $10 for two)They are a nice quality strong bag...

The Best invention ever And my best purchase ever

I could not live without this piece of equipment in my house would you believe that i can dry a full load of heavy washing in a day on this rack I love it!!! It's amazing that the small things in life like getting the washing dry mean so much to us homemakers!!!

Finally a new lot of fresh clean cushion covers

I'm in the process of making new covers for our cushions...can't believe how grotty my old ones were...Kids and two small dogs are mainly to blame..and a bit of neglect on my part..anyway thanks to mum and her loft full of material the new ones are well on there way...I won some inners on trademe the other day and just waiting for them to be picked up so I can then carry on with the rest..and a big thank you really goes to my Aunty Ingrid(check out her blog)she gave my mum all the material I'm using for the cushions XX

Tired Tired Tired Today

I thought that when you didn't have babies but bigger little people you didn't have sleepless nights anymore!!! But thats not true....My big girl couldn't sleep last night so up and down I got...Nothing that a mattress beside my bed didn't fix tho...a bit of security is always good..But I think we will pay tonight she will be pretty tired so off to bed early I say.
We have yet another drizzly all day and I plan to get something crafty achieved today as I haven't got onto anything this week...I'm still making the needle felted broaches. I got some nice new colored pieces of wool the other day at Hands Ashfords(Man I love that shop) , unfortunately I had a little person with me when I went there so couldn't spend as long as I wanted in there!!! Damn I must plan that better.

what my 2 kids can do with a few banana boxes and 2 new minatures bears

At the weekend Zac and Zoe spent some pocket money on a cute little miniature bear each and when they got home a huge game started,it was along the lines of the borrowers as they had just recently watched the dvd,The 2 bears were the borrowers and they spent the evening filling there homes with borrowed goods from around the hoise...It was after nine on Sunday night when I finally had to stop the game and get them to bed...The boxes are still in the lounge and the game continues..
My kids have always created fantastic games out of a collection of objects from around the house..They have fantastic imaginations I love it!!!!!

Just a few photos for you to view of things I have made

Thought I would show anyone who wanted to see what mosaic work I have done in the past few years and thought it might inspire me to get back into it a bit....John built me shed for all my horse gear and room to mosaic in but would you fancy being out in a shed at this time of year???

Ahhhhhh what a weekend

Well the country went to the city this weekend...and lots of fun was had by all. John went off to the coast with his girls so they could visit their grandparents and I took my two in to spend some time with their cousins and as it happens their Mama and Pa and various other family members. We had a busy but fun time. On Friday night we went to The Sound of Music performance by St Margarets and Christs College it was great and even little Sofia (2 1/2)came and was a dream to take. The performance was 2 hours and a bit long and we didn't get home till 11pm so a late night for the kids.Saturday was spent shopping, eating taking the kids to QE 2 swimming and then a bit more eating and then once the tribe were put to bed a bit of crafting followed by a cuppa tea and a bit of yummy baking.
And today we trouped off to the Riccarton Market in some not very nice weather and were joined by another sister and 3 more kids.Pa took the boys off to the airport to watch planes come and go and do a bit of grandson bonding while all the girls went browsing the market...As per the photo I purchased a awesome old cake tin which is in great condition and an enamel teapot to add to my collection,how many teapots does one girl need I hear you say!!!,well as you can see in the other photo I have a few and guess what I don't think I have finished yet...one good thing I do use them all, not at the same time of course but different people for tea usually means a different teapot I was also lucky enough to get the 4 little glass bowls from Johns mum(thanks Trish) and I am kicking myself a bit because at the market I had looked at 6 little frosted glasses exactly the same and forgot to go back and buy them....I find I never have enough time at a market like this one and feel a bit pressured to get around and things I see at the start and don't buy in case I see something else seems to get forgotten...So to all you cool stall operators out there group together would you so that I don't forget about you!!!!

My idea of heaven.mmmmmmm nothing beats a cuppa and cheese and crackers

Well I never no what my day is going to bring...I never really plan to much but always seem to have not enough time in a day....Firstly the kids are the most important then once they are at school,its the horses who are next( I have 4 to feed and I'm also looking after 2 others for some friends)so that all takes time...its covers on or covers off sort of weather down here at the moment so thats a big decision for the day....next comes the firewood one wheel barrow load for the log fire , and one for the coalrange...the washing...it must be time for a cuppa and a browse on the net...in amongst all of this I have half an ear on the national radio( i hear you say what do you listen to that for I thought only the older folk listen to that)...but no I am an avid listener...well sort of I love alot of the interviews and think that if I'm cruising around the house I may aswell be listening to something informative but there are parts of it I hate the fact that the news seems to sometimes be for 1/2 an hour every 1/2 hour and that sometimes I find myself singing along to some out there tunes...anyway we don't get any other radio stations very well in this neck of the woods....Blah blah blah

Todays creation

YUMMY MINESTRONI
Made from beautiful fresh veges from my parents garden(celery,parsnip,potatoes,carrots)plus plenty of other yummy ingredients....if you want the recipe then let me know

Whats on my needles

Quite a few years ago a good friend helped me to dye a bulk lot of wool which I then spun and knitted into a jersey for myself...I never felt quit right in it and hardly ever wore it so it has been undone( pretty hard to do considering I am a bit of a slow knitter!!!) and I am now making a vest for my daughter Zoe to wear(this winter I tell myself!!!) surely I will get it done. I have so many things crafty on my mind and now have a bit of pressure on to help open a small shop in our old library over the summer months, which will take a bit of planning.I hope to sell homemade preserves, jams pickles etc...but would love to hear from anyone interested in selling some of their wares through this outlet...the more stuff the better I say...(and yes my two sisters allie and fran and fellow bloggers I am already counting on the two of you!!)

choc chip cookies

Happenings in the last few days

Had a very family weekend...with lots to do and plenty of catching up....was great to see Frans Na'uli feeling lots better....The fellows about the house had a great weekend with a very successful fishing session at the beach...the haul included 21 flounders and a beautiful sea run salmon...Sunday was spent filleting and dealing with the catch...we smoked the salmon with totora woodchips...it was delicious.
The rest of the weekend was spent playing with my nieces and eating and producing more yummy food..Great tasting raspberry,white choc and maple muffins

And a quick load of chocolate chip bickies so that there was something yum for the school lunches

ROLLED OATS FUDGE SLICE

Maybe I should just have a recipe blog....every time I make something I think to myself I bet my followers would like this recipe.
Would love to see some of your family favourites... I tend to cook what the majority in our house likes otherwise I would cook what I like and that could be a problem cause guess who would get to eat it all!!!!
Anyway heres the recipe to go with the photo...has been a long time fav and used to be my favourite to make when I was just a little girl(seems like soooo long ago)

ROLLED OATS FUDGE SLICE

4oz butter
3 T honey
2 DSP carob (or cocoa)
4 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup skim milk powder
1 cup sultanas,(or raisins) sunflower seeds, walnuts etc

METHOD
melt the butter, honey and cocoa together, add the milk powder followed by the other ingredients, mix well and press firmly into a greased slice tin. Refrigerate until firm ,cut and store in a container in the fridge.

Jacket I knitted

NEEDLE FELTING DAY

Yet another wet day to day....was stuck inside anyway as Zac was home from school so found something to do to keep myself occupied...I needed some sort of way of keeping the knitted jacket I made for Zoe shut at the top....haven't been to the city for a bit to look for some sort of clasp so decided to invent some thing....so here it is , it just sort of happened no design plan....I then went on to make another one tonight not quite sure what for yet....but it was fun

THE EASIEST BREAD RECIPE EVER

This is Mums recipe that she got from her german friend Johanna....Mum has been making it for years with out fail....I have also got it down pat so now its your turn

1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 T honey
1 tsp yeast

4 cups flour( I do 2 cups w/meal and 2cups white)
2tsp salt

Dissolve the honey in the boiling water then add the cold water and the yeast.Leave to go frothy, mix in the flour and the salt.This is a very wet mixture so just give it a good mix up,then leave to double in size(covered)At this stage you could leave in for several hours with out a problem....Pour into greased loaf tins and leave to rise again in a warm place.Bake at 200 degrees for approx 3/4 hr. I take it out of the tins and bake for a further 10 mins or so or until when tapped it sounds hollow (this helps the loaf dry out a bit on the outside...
Hope this makes sense if not let me know

Rod Donalds spiced apple cake

Zoe typed this recipe up for me this evening but for some reason it has disapeared so will try again....We all love this cake its so easy to make and soooo tasty....everytime I make it somebody always asks for the recipe .....enjoy!!!

1 Cup sugar
125 grms melted butter
1egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins or currants

METHOD

Mix the apple with sugar- let stand for a couple of minutes
Add the melted butter and egg to apple mixture.
Add this to dry ingredients fruit and nuts. Mix Well
Bake at 180 degrees for 40 mins

WISH WE HAD SMELLAVISION(OR IS THAT SMELLACOMPUTER!!!)

YUM YUM

My kids favorite.....homemade bread....try to make it as often as I can...I purchased some extra large double loaf tins off trademe so my theory is the bigger the loaf the less often I have to make it...doesn't seem to work tho it still dissapears pretty quick.

The recipe I use for this bread is so easy no kneading just mix and leave to rise, then put in tins to rise for a second time, then bake......if you want the recipe let me know

Rainy day in Le Bons Bay

I had to come up with something for 4 the kids to do today.....otherwise the house was becoming to noisy for my liking....We came up with some cute little creatures....but as you can imagine I was the one doing most of it....except for zoe she sewed the whole thing herself and filled it with rice she did a great job....they all had a good game with them afterwards and Johns girls were proud to take theirs home to show their Mum....

PASSIONFRUIT AND LEMON SLICE

I made this today after tasting the yummy scrummy one Mum made the other day thought its definitely worth sharing so seeing as I can't give you all a piece the recipe will have to do!!!

and its easy to make...Mum and Dad have an excess of passionfuit at the mo and I have hundreds of lemons so a good recipe all round

1 cup selfraising flour

1 cup coconut

1/2 cup caster sugar

125grms Melted butter

TOPPING

397 grm can condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup passionfruit pulp

METHOD

combine flour coconut and sugar in a bowl and stir in the melted butter,mix well.Press into a lined slice tin and bake for 15 mins at 180 degrees.

For the topping combine the passionfruit, lemon juice and condensed milk, beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. Pour over the base and place back in the oven for a further 15 mins. allow to cool before cut... store in the fridge.....If it lasts that long !!!!!!

Feeling like a tasty snack ...probably not that good for you but it tastes pretty yummy when you are feeling a little peckish

A RECIPE FOR NUTS AND BOLTS

4 cups Cheerios (breakfast cereal)

3cupsChex (breakfast cereal)

2cups pretzels

3cups mixed nuts

optional seeds(sunflower pumpkin)

1/2 cup melted butter

2T Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp onion salt

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp garlic salt

Melt butter, add spices, pour over cereal mix, stir through.

Bake at 200 degrees for about 1 hour or until nicely browned.,making sure to stir well every 15 mins or so. cool and store in an air tight container.

The cutest pincushion ever

Here is the picture to go with Zacs yesterday comment.....

and a few more of what we have been up to today...the dreaded cross country!!! But guess what they did it both of them!!! Didn't think either of them would at one stage on in tears feeling sick and the other clinging on really tight.....But a few bribes did the trick!!! LOLLIES........They ran to the best of there ability and didn't come in last so thats all good....Its amazing when they accomplish something they thought they couldn't do it really pumps them up they both said they could do it again...

Another photo is the cool pincushion I made....found the pattern in the newspaper the other day and had the perfect cup almost the same as the one in the pattern picture...didn't take long to make...I didn't need a pincushion I already have a few but it was so cool....maybe I should make them to sell...would give me a good excuse to go secondhand shopping to look for cups... It was quick to make ...thats what I like

Allie was over for a visit yesterday..we sat around crafting all morning she was crocheting flowers to go on a cool scarf she has made....and me I was sewing domes on the cushions I have made....I hope to have all new cushion covers this winter and have made a good start at it so far with 4 completed

today mittens our puppy had her dog friend bruno over to play from zac hamilton