oh little lights

The lights on my little tree, 150/365

My eyes are currently telling me it is time to go to bed, the cake in the oven though is telling me something else. According to the recipe it still has about 10 mins to go, knowing my oven that could be anywhere between another 10 to 50 mins. I can smell the ginger wafting through the house and oh it smells good. This afternoon I also made my first batch of peanut brittle – should have doubled the recipe but other than that fairly good.

I came across a link to this dress on some blog the other day. Is it not just one of the most gorgeous dresses you have seen? I would love to wear this to a party and the ballet and dinner and the shops etc etc.
gorgeous dress

A Foiled Birthday

I turned the pretty average 24 today, I am officially in my mid 20s now!

My breakfast blend
Birthday Smoothie

The girls called me shortly after leaving work yesterday and told me that I was to sleep in this morning and come to work at 0830 instead of my usual arrival between 0730 and 0800. When I walked towards the office, all I could see was Al-Foil all over my desk 😀 I walked in to hugs from the girls and Al-Foil. They did fantastic job of Al-Foiling my desk, my drawers, my chair, my stationary, everything!

Foil all around
A Foiled birthday

A Foiled birthday

A Foiled birthday

A Foiled birthday
A Foiled birthday

A Foiled birthday

We had decided yesterday to have hot dogs for lunch and one of the girls had said she would bake me a cake. I very much believed that would mean the purchase of a cake from woolies. I was to learn today that no, she had actually baked me a cake! I was quite impressed.

I went down to see one of the doctors and she asked me if we were having the Lamingtons she had given me for morning tea at 0930. I just said ???? what do you mean morno’s?? We are having hot dogs for lunch. Thinking to myself crazy doctor. I went back to my desk and oh about 0930, Cathy swings her chair round to face me and goes “Tea?” I go mmm I don’t know this morning, she goes “come on” and off we go to the lunch room with our tea cups in hand. I open the door to the lunch room and before me I see my fellow medical staff and the interviewing staff and a big spread of mornos 😀 I was speechless for the second time in as many hours.

My cake!

For lunch Hot Dogs were made 🙂
Birthday Lunch - Hotdogs

For Arvo’s I had a lamington, well half because Cathy stole half of it.
Afternoon tea, 55/365

Then it was time for the F-111 trial fly-over for Riverfire tomorrow night. I got video of the flyover but it doesn’t currently want to get off my SD card. This is the view from the testing room on the floor below me. oh the city is pretty.
Oh the city from Lv 11
Oh the city from Lv 11
Oh the city from Lv 11

I was absolutely touched at the effort that the girls and boys had gone to to make my day special 😀
Then it was home to find a birthday parcel from dear Georgie currently in Sydney 😀 Now I’m watching the footy and hoping the Lions can beat the Bulldogs….

and just because

Sunday comes about but once a week

“Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week.”
Joseph Addison

Sundays are nice days, out of Saturday and Sunday I think I like Sunday the most. Sundays are not so frantically filled as Saturdays. Sundays are about delighting in the littler things. Wiping the kitchen benches down and taking a moment to pause and smile at those clean surfaces. Ripping out 70% of the crochet you had done that day because you discovered a mistake which you know you could never ignore. Whipping up a very fast treat baked treat for Brown Owls. Sitting on your bed and just listening to James Morrison. Finding the basket for my bike that fits my criteria the most, now to get it painted white. This was my Sunday

This is my current wip, that I started this morning at Brown Owls. A granny square with larger than life dimensions, no idea yet as to how large it will get but thought is that it needs to be snuggable, so I’m thinking it will need at least 7 skeins. I am using Noro Taiyo in colour 11, which I just adore, it feels so lovely.

This arvo after I had done another row or two, I was looking at it closely and realised that on one side I had managed to get two extra clusters, gah. I thought about ways to reduce it but ended up ripping it apart till I had only three rounds completed…. I’ve done about seven rounds now and it looks much better than it did before.

On the way to becoming a very big granny square On the way to becoming a very big granny square

Yesterday I made my book case curtains and today I borrowed the drill and put it up. It looks so pretty! I love the fabric. I had a fun time using the hemmer foot.
Curtains!

This is what I took for morno’s at Brown Owls, a pear and hazelnut torta which is a recipe by Belinda Jeffery in the May 2009 issue of Delicious. It took me about 10 minutes this morning to put it together and then it was in the oven for about 30 mins and ready to go. I am going to make it again in the near future but playing with different nuts and fruit.
pear and hazelnut torta pear and hazelnut torta

a saturday

At the moment I am watching Dr Rosemary Stanton on Ethical Eating. Over the past few years I have enjoyed reading editorials by Stanton and she is a very very good presenter. If I see a public lecture from her in Brisbane I will be going! I have to add again how much I love ABC Fora, I have listened to some very interesting presentations over the last year or so.

Today, I woke up at 6ish but dozed in bed till 8ish, so luxurious! I popped into work for a while to pick some stuff up/drop some stuff off and say hello to the reservists I don’t normally get to see during the week. I also visited the RSPCA opshop at New Farm and picked up a Le Parfait jar and some crochet doilies for the grand total of $3. Then it off to Flannerys to stock up on rolled oats. Then Ikea called.

I have had a clothes rail for my wardrobe for the last 7 mths or so which I have kept covered with a dark doona cover to keep my clothes dust free and stop fading. I said enough is enough today. I had been umming and ahhing between a few different ones the last few nights on the net. Looking at them today I decided on the Aneboda. I also picked myself up a bookcase, a Billy of course. Looking at them now in my room, I love how they melt into the white walls. I also bought my first Ikea fabric, this nice orange one, which I am going to use to make curtains for my book case. Tomorrow I will have to take some photos. I still have bits and pieces to put away but it looks a lot more roomier now. Also tomorrow I have an SES fund raiser to attend, washing to do and family to visit!

Two photos to share.
I took this photo back in April one rainy afternoon at The Farm. I love how the rain drops.
Rain, The Farm

And sharing my Food Connect box from last week, I had fun this time arranging the fruit and vege for the photo.
Food Connect Fortnight 4

On a sad note, I finished watching The West Wing the other night. It has taken me about 6 or so weeks to watch all 7 seasons and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have laughed my head off at times, wept at times, shaken my head at others and at others just absorbed the drama, the wit, the speeches. And this quote from In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II

Margaret: Can I – can I just say something for the future?
Leo: Yeah.
Margaret: I can sign the President’s name. I have his signature down pretty good.
Leo: You can sign the President’s name?
Margaret: Yeah.
Leo: On a document removing him from power and handing it to someone else?
Margaret: Yeah. Or… do you think the White House Counsel would say that was a bad idea?
Leo: I think the White House Counsel would say it was a coup d’état!
Margaret: Well. I’d probably end up doing some time for that.
Leo: I would think. And what the hell were you doing practising the President’s signature?
Margaret: It was just for fun.
Leo: We’ve got separation of powers, checks and balances, and Margaret, vetoing things and sending them back to the Hill.

Minestrone Muffins

Minestrone soup, the soup with many ingredients. The soup you make that uses up the veggies in the bottom of the fridge. Minestrone muffins, the muffins you make to clean out the “pantry” aka your drawer in the kitchen.

Minestrone Muffins

These muffins were made on my standard muffin recipe but my additions were not the usual berries but mint chocolate, rasins, walnuts and sunflower seeds. I was sure about the last three ingredients but wasn’t too sure how the mint chocolate would pan out. I am pleased to report they are very tasty 🙂