Unicorns and Chicken Marylands

Slowly but surely, we are getting some dreaded summer weather....sorry to all lovers of blistering summer heat...I am not one of them. I bless each day that we get a chilly breeze.

But it cannot be avoided, so I spent half the day sewing Emilia a breezy peasant dress. The Fabric is from Heather Ross' Far Far Away collection. Its a stunning, vibrant orange with lovely little Unicorns that I have been hoarding for over a year now. The kids were busy playing in the garden, Piers worked all day on his wine and so I spent a couple of blissful hours sewing.

But duty called, dinner was due and i quickly whipped up these juicy legs ... stuffed with garlic, rosemary and lemon, they turned up a treat.

What's cooking in your house?

Alex

From Small things.....

.... big things grow

yesterday Emilia came home with a tub full of these.....they looked like a bed full of maggots exept of course they were not. These little babies are caterpillars of the most luxurious kind....little, tiny silkworms.

The kids have been hatching them and feeding them piles of mulberry leaves and watching them grow and spin their gorgeous yellow cocoons.

I find it quite magical to watch children taking their jobs so seriously. This tub has been travelling to different households each night, being oohhed and ahhed over and their food replenished....some even have names....:)

Must beat a playstation anytime....

Family Gatherings

In November we have 2 Birthdays that fall one after the other....so it has become tradition to come together as a family and celebrate together. Well, any excuse to get together and share food and wine is good for this family of ours.

As it happened, it is also our first firing of the pizza oven for the season and another pizza fest is booked for the 27th of this month. It is indeed a very busy time of the year and having a pizza oven in the backgarden and plenty of space in the garden means a lot of parties and dinners happen here.

And I love it, as it is so lovely to share food with people we love and cherish. We lead such busy lives and sometimes it seams it is friendships that get neglected. We ensure that our children have plenty of play and social time, but we forget that us adults need this social time too, just to refresh our ideas and realise that we are all in the same phase of our life.

It is not just food that nourishes us....but it sure helps....

Memory Lane

It's been 8 months since my trip to Laos and going through the photos I had a chance to think back to those glorious 2 weeks of adventure.

Life has been so busy since then that the memory of my trip had faded into the distance.

Its good just to remember those carefree times, how good it makes you feel.

And then take that memory into the now and bring it back to life.

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!

ok, so it is not pc to sing your own song....but while I may be beyond birthday parties, balloons and party hats, today still gives me a little tingly feeling....

It is a beautiful day and I got so many kisses and hugs from my 4 lovelies that I can't help feeling celebratory....

Today, I got a haircut from a lovely and talented friend and tonight the men in my house are going to cook me something nice....

and I am hoping the mailman will deliver my new camera

then the fun will truly begin....

Back again

It's been a little while....


I stomped out of this space last week, 'cause I got very cross with blogger.....or with the computer, or with technology in general.

After spending some serious precious time composing a post, selecting and uploading pictures, adding links and what not, it all disappeared....I tell you, I was not happy! I probably sat there for two minutes in silent disbelief...I shut the computer, stormed out and went cooking. I had to have a serious think about whether to continue along this path (blogging, e-business, etc.). Could I handle this kind of frustration again? And again?

Well, obviously, I got over it, so here I am once again. What has been happening at my house?

• finished the first sample top
• started another sample top
• Cooked some wicked Vegan meals
• I had a slice of bread and realised that gluten free melting moments are not fat-free...ahem.
• Played around with some seriously cool cameras and decided on the one for me
• Have felt a wide range of emotions, from frustrated (see above) to annoyed and slightly depressed.....
• Am nevertheless happy, 'cause today is a lovely spring day and that always lifts my spirits.

Found this cute design on this lovely blog

















I leave you with some photos taken with a Canon. It's part of an exercise to capture the squishyness and deliciousness of ordinary balls of wool for my new website....(more on that soon, very soon indeed).

Workshopping

Yeah!!!

 The kids are being looked after by a friend as I have started an eight-week course in developing "Web-presence and Social Media for Artists and Community Groups" at the Castlemaine Continuing Education.

Feeling very inspired and focused....

And in case you were wondering, I am still knitting...and sewing. Photos following soon...

And the spring diet? Still going strong. Today we had Brown Rice porridge with blueberries..Yum

Lovely Spring Storms are crowning the day.

Tonight's dinner? Salmon Stir-fry....thanks Jamie (Ministry of Food)

Hope you had a lovely day Mardi

Alex