Hi Everyone. Welcome to the holidays. I realise they all start at different times for each of us over the Christmas period and we find that we work in with flights in order to get to see family. Hubby and I are off in a few days and are getting very excited.
Over the weekend I attended a Garden Christmas party at a local nursery and I picked up this beautiful daisy. I just had to bring it home and it is going into a pot soon. It is raining here today so I wont be venturing out. There is tomorrow.
And guess what...
... my cotton summer cardi is complete and it is coming with me on holiday. I love it!!!
Recently Hubby, D2 and I had our first Christmas meal over lunch. I made devilled eggs and red lentil hummus and we had coffee all round.
D2 added her touch and so we wore our hats over lunch and beyond. We exchanged gifts followed by cooking a few things to take out to in-laws for Christmas dinner.
And it was yummo!!!. Roast lamb and gravy with baked and steamed vegies and a herb scone to finish off.
A Christmas meal is not finished unless there is dessert. The fresh raspberries were a 'first pick' from a families garden. D2 made the apple tart.
That's all from me for another year. Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday time and I will communicate with you again in 2016.
Blessings ... Dot
A big hello to all my lovely readers. Spring has gone and Summer has arrived today. The last few days have begun warm and calm (so we have been able to get out for a walk), then the wind picks up and in the afternoon the showers start. We have had some heavy rain in the night which makes it feel like summer. The vegi patch is loving it.
I was out in the morning of this day and swept all around our yard and then down came the rain.
Last Thursday we had 3 lots of hail during the course of the day. It was very pretty. The garden was white.
This is my latest page of colour.
On Saturday we decided to bolt and head up the coast. D2 came with us and between the 3 of us we filled in the day shopping, eating out at Thai and caught a movie. I have read the book (kindle download) and D2 enjoyed watching it on screen with me while hubby watched Spectre elsewhere.
Today I made a salad to go with our pizza for lunch. I wanted some dressing to go with it so I just whipped up a small amount in a little bowl and it was SO nice. Here is the recipe:
Grapeseed oil
dijon mustard
soy sauce
honey
lemon juice.
Using a whisk, mix up in bowl and pour over salad. It was nice and thick and absolutely delicious.
Bye for now ... Dot
Hello. My friends came back to visit the other day. They seem to do this on a weekly basis. Cute!!!
I made up a new batch of soap and it is drying very well by the window.
And today it is forecast RAIN. We had 8mm during the night which everyone is pleased about.
The garden is enjoying the rain. Our hedge has been trimmed nicely.
Toodah!!! This is my favourite cookbook at the moment. We have been enjoying many recipes from it and they are so easy to make. The key is to prepare ingredients ahead of time. This book was gifted to me a few years back and I had not used it much until now and each recipe lists the kilojoule amount which I like.
Below is one recipe I have made before and will be making again over the next couple of days.
I just need to buy myself some broccoli and mushrooms.
Have a great week ... Dot :-)
Vegetables with Honey and Soy
1 tb sesame seeds
1 tb oil
1 ts sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 ts grated fresh ginger
2 spring onions, sliced
250g broccoli, cut into small florets
1 red capsicum, cut into thin strips
1 yellow capsicum, cut into thin strips
150g mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup pitted black olives, halved
1 tb soy sauce
1 tb honey
1 tb sweet chilli sauce
1.Toast sesame seeds and put aside. Heat a wok, add the oils along with garlic, ginger and spring onions. Cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the broccoli, capsicum, mushrooms and olives. Stir fry for a few minutes until vegetables are just tender.
3. Combine the soy sauce, honey and chilli sauce in a bowl. Pour over vegetables and toss lightly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
Serves 4 (550kj/130 cal per serve)
On Saturday we spent the day attacking the list we have of things to do about the home. We covered a fair bit on Saturday but of course there was still things on that list. I woke up just after 4am on Sunday morning and my mind starting ticking over. I stayed there for another hour or so, got up and turned on the coffee machine and headed outside. It was very refreshing out there and look at the beautiful blue sky. In for a beaut day!!!
After 3 days attacking the spring cleaning I decided that today I would go out. Don't look too close, those toenails needs some tlc.
And so my first stop was to make an appointment to get those nails done. Christmas is nearly here and you can feel it in the air.
I am determined to get my cardi done soon and so I called in to haberdashery and found some beautiful buttons for it.
I walked the town block and called into the supermarket for some supplies. There were some chocolates there on special, but I did not succumb to temptation even though the thought was there.
On the last leg home and all the Christmas decorations have been put up. The huge tree in the background was lit on Saturday night and it quite spectacular to look at before heading to bed.
Ring ring, hubby just called. He will be here soon for lunch. Until next week ... Dot
Hi Everyone
Today is my hubby's birthday and I have planned meals for him that are his favorite. I have toasted some sesame seeds until golden and they are cooling down (kitchen smells wonderful) to go on a stir fry for lunch.
I cleaned out my pantry over the weekend and found a stir fry cook book. It is surprising how low in kj the recipes are. I have made a list and slowly going through them. Today for lunch I am making a tofu stir fry. I have cooked brown rice and it is cooling ready to make a meal in one.
This is a special dessert hubby's mum prepared for him (and us too) over the weekend. Jelly and cream, icecream and wafer and cheesecake with topping.
These fish are in a huge tank set up in a room where hubby and I visit the chiropractor. They are relaxing and interesting to watch.
Aren't these just golden. These were gifted to me and sit proudly in the corner of my kitchen. I have had them for 2 days and they have opened up more today. Beautiful!!
That's all for today. I am relocating to the kitchen, where I have Christmas music playing, and prepare for lunch.
... Dot
Hello
Where has the last week gone? I cannot believe it is Tuesday again. We have just come out this side of a long weekend. Hubby and I started last Friday afternoon and covered a lot of jobs around the home both inside and outside. We cleaned out 'under the house' and that was a major job. We distributed 4 loads of bark around most of our garden. Today we are both feeling a little sore and tired, I wonder why?
This morning I took a wonder outside around our home and today I will share a few garden pics with you.
Have a great week ahead ... Dot
This month on date night, hubby and I headed up the coast and along the way hubby asked if I was going to take a picture of the tulips. I immediately pulled out my phone (as we were nearing the spot) and set it up to take a pic. Well we were running late, so we could not pull up, we had cars up our bum and were about to emerge into a passing lane so hubby wound down the window and said "go for it'.
Not too bad of a pic of this glorious carpet of colour.
The other day I was doing something without any background noise going on and I heard this tapping going on up in the family room. Lo and behold some cute (but probably pests) birds were admiring themselves in their reflection and flitting about everywhere. They had fun and I had fun trying to get them into a shot. (one pic had no birds)
I completed a chick to go with the mother bird this week and posted it off for a secret pal. The recipient is the sole female in a home full of males so this should add a little sweetness to her kitchen.
On Saturday, hubby had a loan of some ramps and fixed his car. It worked!!!! We were both so pleased. He had to replace a little part and away it went. Mr Fix-it, done it again!!
I now have my car back but it is still in the drive. I am so used to not having it and I love to walk everywhere now the sun is out most days.
Enjoy your week ... Dot
A big 'hi' to all my readers. Today I will share with you the last leg of our trip to New Zealand.
D3 and I took a walk to see Lake Dispute (pictured above). It was a decent track that took us about 1 1/2 hours and we felt great afterwards.
We all took a cruise around the lake at Queenstown. It was very interesting and we came away with a clearer knowledge of the area.
We then went to an underwater aquarium. I loved looking at the ducks swimming on the water. It was funny.
Then they would dive down and smartly scavenge for some food before heading back to the top.
Our lunch view. Wow!!! And delicious food too.
We took up a segway tour around town which led us through the botanical gardens. It was a lot of fun. The boys really put the machines to the test, can't you imagine?
This is our trip up in the gondola. Veeerrry steep!
Then it was time to leave Queenstown behind and take the road to Christchurch to fly home early the following morning.
We arrived home to warmer weather, which was nice, and have settled back into the normality of life.
Be happy ... Dot
Good day! Today I will continue on with what we got up to in New Zealand.
We took up a 45 minute walk to visit the Craters of the Moon.
It was just amazing to see spots here and there of hot steam and yet the day was chilly. We were rugged up and when you had the opportunity to get close to one of the craters, you certainly could feel the heat.
A must for every holiday is to visit a museum and we did. We went to the Te Papa National Museum which covered 6 floors. Of course, we did not get through it all but did cover a lot of interesting areas. The Gallipoli: The scale of war, was a very tranquil area to stroll through (no prams or bags allowed).
We made it to the bottom of the North Island and took the ferry at Wellington to Picton on the South Island.
It was a very early start and Day Light Savings had kicked in over night for New Zealand. We were the first to get to the terminal; we had the pick of where to 'take up sitting while we waited'. It was not long and the placed was packed. Once we boarded we were fortunate to get a window seat and it was not long before some of us got a little 'shut eye'.
"From the mountains to the valleys, hear our praises rise to you"
We were in awe of those majestic mountains and the beautiful countryside.
We were making our way to Queenstown and on the way we pulled up for lunch at Fox Glacier. We chose to eat at a rustic pub that had candles lit all around the rooms and an open fire blazing around a corner. It was comfort plus.
Next week I will give you a taste of Queentown, New Zealand. Have a great week ... Dot
