Nearly back to normal...

The older I get the longer it takes to clear up after Boxing Day-usually-but this year we seem to have been much quicker than last year for instance. And i will make that pate again-it was yummo. Only next time I will only use 500gms chicken livers-a kilo was just too much. I will have to throw some away-such a shame . I wish the kids had taken some with them-along with some cheesecake and black forest cake and a whole load of things that we could never have finished eating. It was a very enjoyable day even though some of the grandchildren were missing-now that they are grown up they have to work on Boxing Day. Be mad if they didn't as the pay is always good on Boxing Day.

A selection of photos from the day. Note my jazzy shoes-I just love them. Missing on the day were-Rachel, Kate, Ben, Georgia, Daniel, Jaye, Brad, Tyler, Riley, Koby and Emma. So you can see we were quite a small group this year. And of course Bob and Elaine were absent too.

Happy Christmas to Everyone:)

Well I think we are ready now. Went to see Elaine and Bob yesterday and Bob was awake and we had a talk although I am still not sure he knows me. But at least he spoke to me. Elaine also looked a little more at ease. I couldn't stay long because I had a shopping list the length of my arm and parking was hard to find.
But the stroll to the shops would do me good.
The Gazebo is up and the backyard all ready for tomorrow so I will post a few photos of our readiness..

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We don't have a large tree these days just a baby one.

Maggie's pastry

Thank you Nancy http://www.blogger.com/profile/12867768046703596688 for the comments
Maggie Beer is just the best cook here in Australia and her recipe for pastry is outstanding.
Ingredients: 250gms plain flour
                  200 gms butter
                  120 ml sour cream.
Blitz butter and flour to breadcrumb stage and then add the sour cream to make a soft dough refrigerate for a little while then use in the old fashioned way. Left overs can be frozen and ready for next time. It really is the simplest pastry.
Have to make the shortbread now-being a Scot I cannae do without it!
And I will never make chicken pate ever again... I even put some on the ceiling!!!LOL

December 22nd 2011

Hurtling along! I have made the pastry for my mince pies - it is resting at present. I am using Maggie Beer's recipe this year it is by far the best pastry ever.
I will attempt the chicken pate later in the day then tomorrow it is the shortbread. Then one last shop and I am done. Can you believe it?
Last night we forgot to put the bins out. The timing could not be worse.
At least we remembered in time to get the re-cyclables bin emptied so there will be room for all that waste paper and bottles.
I bought a $5.00 bunch of lilies on Monday have a look at how beautiful they turned out to be. Real Christmas colour!

Does one's heart the world of good.

Not long now:):):)

Christmas is coming with a ruddy blush methinks. Love your latest Angelahttp://www.angelasargeant.com/blog/?p=2345 and you do become more observant as you get into that right brain don't you. I will upload a couple of things I have been doing. I haven't been doing much as my sister in law is in a nursing home as is her husband and I have been trying to visit as often as possible. My brother doesn't recognise me anymore and that is so sad'cause he was the best brother a girl could have had. Anyway I have to make some rum balls and shortbread and some mince tarts and I am going to have a go at making Jamie Oliver's chicken liver pate- Wish me luck:) Now for some photos:-

The dictionary was my husband's handy work not mine. Isn't it great? He does crosswords and the poor dictionary suffered from all that thumbing through it got... I am not sure if I have uploaded some of these snaps     already but allow me some leeway as I really have been busy:)

Santas complete!

Well I have managed to complete the two santas but I did over-fire them so not so happy but they look OK.

Cute eh? Happy that I have been able to add a little colour to my blog but that is going to have to do for the present. I am off to check out Angela's December bargains.

24 Days to Christmas!!!

Help! I feel like I am in a revolving door... Anyone else feel like this? Painting Santas and making cards, housework, hospital visits, shopping-I am quite exhausted. I keep looking at all the books I have to read but so far have been unable to pick one up. And Good Reads keeps telling me 'it is 68 days since you started reading...' GRRRRRR. Now that I have all that off my chest-I wish I had left my blog alone. I need to sit and work out what to do about it but-guess what-I don't have the time. I am going to upload some cards as I intend-get that-intend, to join Oh My Crafts blog ohmycrafts.blogspot.com/ on Wednesday. So wish me luck with that.
ohmycrafts.blogspot.com/

the true cost of handmade | somer sherwood

the true cost of handmade | somer sherwood:

'via Blog this'

What have I done???

I have come into my blog to add a couple of photos and everything has gone berserk! It is too hot to play around with it today so I will leave it as it is and look at it later.  I will upload my latest porcelain pieces and leave it for today.

Autumn in Japan photos

These photos from Japan are superb and thought I would share with you. My Facebook friend Yumi had this on her site.http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYdQwuBVr1a0%26feature%3Drelmfu&h=XAQHiz91qAQFtmRnug9-1fLaCCgTzhFYh6AbcNwSbxmRagg
I don't know if this will work if you try it and it does can you let me know please.

My Mucha lady.

It wouldn't let me add these photos along with my thistles...

                                                                         Isn't she lovely?

November 2011

Well here I am after what seems like ages. Any minute now it will be Christmas. I have asked my grandson, Ben to give me some clues about this blogging thingy. So maybe by next year I will get the hang of it.
 I have been busy writing my life story, so I have been writing -even if not on my blog. I have written about 15,000 words about 20 pages and I have only just arrived in Australia so there is plenty more to write. I am using this as an excuse to why I haven't been blogging.
I was all excited today as I was going to go to the Papercraft Show at Penrith but my son Stuart called around with Aiden and Stu cleared out the gutters for us. Papercraft Show tomorrow now.
If we have visitors tomorrow they will have to come with me as I have been waiting all year for this one.
Next year we are having porcelain exhibition at Parramatta and we have to paint with a country in mind-I might have already said all this on a previous blog-but I have chosen Scotland.
So I am posting photos of some thistles we pinched from outside a neighbour's house. I stuck them in a vase and have a look at the photos! I had no idea that thistles did this-I always thought they came from only dandelions.

I just love those photos so I hope I can transfer some of their magic to my porcelain. My vase with the red flowers should be ready to photograph on Tuesday next. And here is a photo of my Mucha lady which I penned yesterday,now she is ready to paint.

Tu fais comme nous ... - French - English Translation and Examples

Tu fais comme nous ... - French - English Translation and Examples: "tu fais comme nous tu te debrouilles"

'via Blog this'

Cards and Porcelain vase.

I am really thrilled with how the blue vase has turned out.

At least I will have a couple of things to enter in shows in 2012. Haven't been creating much in the way of cards lately but will post a few. I have been visiting Elaine in hospital and it really saps your energy. I meant to go today but my leg is so sore that I really need to lounge about so that I can go to the hospital tomorrow.
Now for some of those cards. Can anyone tell me how to shrink my photos???

They don't look too bad now I have posted them I was sure I had only managed a couple. I must upload a photo of a beautiful butterfly that was in the garden this morning. Art and I are not sure if it is a butterfly or a moth-because of the way it landed-it looks like a moth. Can anyone tell me?

It actaully looked like it was posing for me:)

clean&simple: FTL162 Sending You Sunshine

clean&simple: FTL162 Sending You Sunshine:

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Aiden's card.

The weather is so changeable at the moment I had to take off my warm weather gear this morning and now I have had to put it back on. I guess that is spring in Australia for you.
We babysat Aiden at the weekend and he made some cards. I only remembered to take a photo of the card he left behind. So for a six year old I think this is pretty good. I will post it to him tomorrow as he might want to give it to his special friend Adriana:)

Don't you love the hair flick? We poured the water over his head and then immediately up shot this bunch of hair. Very funny.
My brother is still in hospital as is my sister in law so I must try and visit tomorrow.