Weary...

...only because I did not sleep well last night and was up at 4am. Early to bed tonight.

The house is reasonably quiet. It is just hubby and I for a couple of weeks and our neighbors have returned from a long break and have been busy around their home doing things. We have a beautiful sunny week ahead of us and so I hope to get outside too.

Some things from last week:

The popcorn was very nice. D2 had melted some marshmallows and put through it. 

D3 and I played a couple of games of scrabble. We both won a game each.

I thawed some of my raspberries I collected from my patch last summer and made into jam.  

Hubby doing some repair work for D3. 

D3 cooked us brunch on Saturday. 

And dinner that night. 

I have been working on the baby blanket here and there and it is nearly the size I want it. 

Have a great week....Dot :-)

18th August

Today marks the day of my mother's birthday. She would have turned 72 today. Her twin brother is still with us but I have not seen him for a while. I often see his wife and daughter around town.

It is so nice to have two of my daughters home at present. We had a family dinner last night and 10 of us enjoyed a yummy meal. We had Cold Meat Pie, peas, Mushroom Risotto and crayfish salad with homemade mayo (my mum's recipe which my brother made). For dessert D3 suggested I make the Thermomix recipe for Sticky date pudding. We served it with icecream and everyone enjoyed it. 

We all sat around the table and as always had a wonderful noisy time. 

D3 asked me to make a pot of chicken soup. It was very easy to make and delicious. Here is the recipe:

Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 carrots

1 parsnip

1 swede

3 large sticks celery

2 onions

500g diced chicken

2 litres stock

Dice celery and onion. Grate the remainder of the vegetables. Place all in a large pot, bring to boil and simmer until cooked. 

Option: 10 mins prior to cooked add some soba noodles. 

On Saturday hubby was in a 'repair' mood and fixed a dodgy door handle, then spent quite a while on the coffee machine replacing some seals and giving it a real good service.

It works so much better. Next time I don't think we will leave it as long before a service. It's like new!!

 I am currently working on crocheting a baby blanket. I will keep you updated with progress. It should not take long as it moves about with me and is easy to to. 

Off to do some more.....Dot (wait for it, I just heard the popcorn machine, we are in for a treat)

Mirror

Hello!!!

This week I received my last package for the winter swap I was involved in. 

In the package was some lovely yarn again, which I plan to make a basic but chic hat. Along with the yarn there was a pair of scissors, buttons and a couple of stitch markers. I was very happy with it. 

My sister and I have been busy with our crochet hooks this week again. 

I started out by using up a bag of chunky wool scraps into a hooded scarf. When my sister saw it she wanted the pattern and has made one for herself and another for her daughter. I am selling this one, but....

...I made this one for myself. 

My daughter (D2) has been making me a batch of popcorn most nights over the last few weeks. The other night I asked her to make her recipe of Butter Nut Caramel popcorn instead. She was happy to oblige and so we polished that off over the evening. Hubby does not like popcorn, so we have it all to ourselves. What a treat!!!

She has the popcorn made here and is just about to mix in the melted butter, sugar and honey. She also adds some peanut butter at some stage too. It's nice warm (which we sampled) but later we had it from the fridge and it was just as enjoyable. 

Tomorrow night Hubby and I collect D3 from the airport. She is coming to stay for a few days and I am so excited. I love my family so much and always look forward to catching up with regularly through Instagram, email, skype and snail mail.... but 'in the flesh' is the best!

Have a great week, I will.....Dot :-)

. 

In the middle

Just a quick post today. I am in the middle of getting over an ear infection and so this week, as well as having a few appointments to go to, we have our youngest daughter flying home for a couple of weeks. Whooohoooo!!!!

I am also in the middle of....

Knitting this cowl using Malabrigo yarn. 

Cleaning up the office. (this is my corner)

Studying Psalm 91

Morning smoothie

Winter Day. 

Spring is just a few weeks away....Dot