Around here

Welcome! This last week we have had 2-3 mornings in the minus temperatures and with a layer of frost covering most things. While walking here, cars were going past with white roofs. It was chilly which makes the legs move faster. :-)

The old fence which surrounds one side of our garden was finally removed.

The huge rose bush was cut off and a new fence put up. It looks so much neater. I am looking forward to Spring so I can get it tidied up with new plantings in place. One day at a time.

Our yard overflowed with cars for a few days with hardly a space spare because ....

... there was a load of gravel delivered, spread and rolled and rolled again. Wonder is they are going to seal it with hot mix?

My sister has been sewing some new slippers for her shop at The Arty Duck. She even went to the trouble of marking the left and right preference. 

I have made some new cowls which have baby alpaca and silk included. They are so soft to the skin and luxurious.

The skies at sunset have been a spectacular colour.  Praise God!


Have a great week and enjoy each day where you are ... Dot

Chocolate

Welcome back to a new week. We are still getting a bit of rain but at the same time plenty of sunshine. So today the clothes are outside on the line and will be aired inside overnight. This morning the temperature was a low 1 degree. Oh dear, and you could feel it. 

One of the jobs on my list this week after returning from the weekend away, was to get my small stool out to enable me to stick my head right in the cupboards. Things move about slightly in travel and it is always good to get them tidy again and at the same time see what you can remove to use or discard. I have a pile sitting on the sideboard that needs using. In the mix was some chocolate. We have not used chocolate for a while and so I found some recipes up and started to bake with it. 

First off the list was Raspberry Chocolate Brownie. I had some for breakfast with coffee. Delicious. The base has cocoa powder in it along with melted dark chocolate.

I still need to make Chocolate Bliss balls and Strawberry Choc chip muffins. I chop chocolate bars up for the bits in the muffins. Perfect, and works out cheaper. 

You can only have so much cake on the go at once so when the brownie is about to run out I will bake the next goody.

I made this using chocolate recently. You divide a punnet of raspberries in a glass, top with double cream and melted chocolate. Mmmmm.  Nice to finish dinner with.

I have been venturing outside most evenings and taking a pic of the sunset. Sometimes I miss it. I nearly have to set a reminder. Gosh!!! But I have got a few shots and sent them to my family. This Saturday is the shortest day and so the days will gradually get longer. 


All the best to you and yours ... Dot 

Long Weekend

Last weekend was the last long one until November for us. So we made the most of it and drove off late Friday afternoon.

The next morning sunrise was at 7.36am but there was too much cloud.

We did some shopping and settled for the next 2 days by the sea.

Cold coffee and crochet!!

And plenty of Lemon Yoghurt cake to enjoy.

On my afternoon wander about. 

Sunset ....

It was such a great weekend with magnificent weather.

Made a new recipe. Beef & Broccoli Stir fry with mint. Thanks Jules from Stonesoup for your new ebook. 

Weekend makes.

Long trains went by and one even came through at 4.30am during the night.

Back home again I went for a late afternoon walk.

I made a salad for dinner and D2 made a Savoury Cheesecake from Jules ebook. It was delicious. 

And now we have a week of rain, rain and more rain. Winter is really here and so while dodging the drips we get about when and where we can. 

Life's good ... Dot :-)

HERBS

Herbs are very handy to have growing in your garden and when you find the garden holds a glut, pick them and pop in zip lock bags in your freezer. I don't yet have a rosemary bush growing in our garden (a plant is currently on the window sill with a wonderful display of roots to go) but this rosemary came from the freezer when I made up a batch of Pumpkin & Haloumi muffins. We love to have rosemary handy too to pop on lamb to roast. Mmm!

In my garden I have yummy spring onions which when picking you collect the leaves only and they keep producing more.

Oregano in abundance. These herbs add flavour to soups, casseroles and plain eggs become a treat combined with cheese and herbs.

Time for some thyme. You need only to pick the stems, rub in your hands and you get the first release of fragrance before adding to your cooking.

Recently I have been making batches of soup. As soon as one is finished another is on the go. Soup is so easy to make and lends itself to filling you up when combined with a roll or just cake and coffee now that the weather is cooling off. 

Soup allows you to be creative. It can simply be made with 5 ingredients or much more. If you start with diced onion, carrot, garlic and ginger with a blob of butter in a saucepan. Get that simmering and pop the lid on to sweat while your prepare your other vegetables. Check your fridge and see what there is to use. The secret is in the seasoning. Chicken or beef stock for example along with salt, pepper, curry, herbs. Vegetables that combine well are pumpkin, sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli etc. When cooked blend with hand blender or mash well and add cream when serving up. Delicious every time.

Along our main street the flower beds have new plants in them. Very pretty.

Hope my blog this week inspired you to plant some herbs or even make soup.

Bye for now ... Dot :-)

End of Month

Well, there are only 2 days left in this month and 2 days till Autumn has come to an end, then we enter the quarter of winter. The weather has turned cooler and we find we have the heater on earlier and longer in our day.

How did my month go? For my 'retail presence' I managed to knit a few hats in different colours and crocheted several cowels. Not only did I make 1 black Apple Cosy but 2 as well as a purple one and a mustard one. I also made an assortment of Sympathy Cards. 

On the personal side of things, I broke a circular needle while working on a project. It causes a bit of anxiety until you have safely picked up all the stitches on a smaller needle until the broken one is fixed. And then it broke again, so I went through the process twice. Oh dear!

I made a Mini bag holder and now my spare bags are all in one spot. I have also been keeping at knitting a sweater for a family birthday coming up. 

For over a week now I have been rising much earlier than usual and I have found myself getting hungry after a few hours. I found a couple of Low Carb porridge recipes to try and I loved the first one I made so I have been repeating that recipe on every other day.

The recipe make 2 serves and so I have one hot out of the pot and save the other for the next day. Here is the recipe.

In a pot: 2 Tb almond flour, 2 Tb flax meal, 2 Tb protein powder, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup cream, pinch salt and sweetener. Stir with whisk to blend well and then cook until thick using a spatula. Serve with blueberries.

So while hubby just loves his toasted granola with yoghurt and couli, I am happy with my hot porridge. Not a skerrick is left in the bowls.

Most days recently have been blessed with showers and so to get a 'nature walk' in I wait for a gap in the radar reading and off I go. Yesterday that gap did not come until about 5pmish. Lovely evening walk and I got my 10,000 steps done. 

Are here are the ducks. Bums in the air, and they don't care! They certainly delight me.

Keep at it ...Dot :-)

Birthday

Welcome back. Over the weekend I had my birthday. Hubby started out Saturday morning washing a small part he wanted to clean on our motor home ... and then ... the whole vehicle was clean top to bottom. Absolutely spotless.

We enjoyed our coffees on the deck. We have had some lovely weather and are enjoying it while we can. The umbrella from this table was packed away in the shed along with the weber barbecue until Spring arrives in 3ish months.

While in the shed I encouraged hubby to help me pull my bike out. I have been wanting to clean it up for ages. It did not take long with his help to oil the chain, while I de-cobwebbed and polished the frame etc. Came up a treat and rides beautifully. 

I don' t normally have breakfast but on my birthday I indulged in some toast with a cuppa tea around mid morning. (loads of butter, vegemite and peanut butter with relish.)

Some of the gifts I received. I have watched the dvd, use the cordless headphones and given the other things a home.

Still being blessed with some spectacular night skies.

Enjoy the beauty around you and give praise ... Dot :-)

Mother's Day

Hello!!! Over the last weekend on my walk I noticed we had had a very high tide the night before. I wonder who got caught on water-laden path and had to change direction?

On Sunday we attended church and being Mother's Day mum's were gifted with a little bag of homemade cookies and chocolate. Very nice.

It had to be done, so hubby and I spent a few hours in the afternoon polishing our 4-wheel drive ready to put up for sale.

We joined family to have afternoon tea with mum.

The usual cheese platter was put out and also some creamy goodness to enjoy.

Mum was overwhelmed with the cards and gifts she received. This little beauty was made by my clever sister. Mum loves red, so it seemed appropriate to get her one of these. No need to worry about watering just a dust now and then.

And I have been busy making beanies and cowels to stock up my shop at The Arty Duck. 

Evening sunsets have been spectacular of late. 

See you later ... Dot