Vanities and Valentines Day

We don't really celebrate Valentines Day, I think one Valentines day in our forty five year marriage we went out for dinner.  This year I decided to go all American and start using special cups for the different festive occasions.  I must be getting brainwashed by You Tube.  I hope this doesn't mean I am getting all old and quaint and will move on to garden gnomes next.

We should be moving to our new home in the next two weeks.  The last push to get the final things done so that it is liveable makes me have a flash back to labour, I feel like I am in transition and just don't have the grit to do the last bit and deliver the baby.  This is largely due to the fact that most of the stuff is just hard work and I haven't got to the fun decorating bit yet.  My kitchen fit out and bathroom tiling should be all finished by early next week so as soon as the electrician and plumber have been back we will move and do the rest while we are in there.  We have been so blessed while going through my cancer scare, chemo and now finally getting to owner building our house as we have been renting a beautiful home in Lakelands from our ex daughter in law and her husband, who are moving back in once we move out.  They have been extremely gracious and not rushing us at all, obviously though we would like to vacate so they can get settled back in before their new baby arrives later in the year.

the drawers are in the car ready to go to the house, but you get the idea

I did get excited last night when Allan managed to get the top off the vanity that my friend and I went and purchased from the other side of Perth for $100 in 2014 when we were originally starting our building adventure and got rudely interrupted.  It is quite large 1500 mm long, and had two ugly sinks on top.  It now has its new handles and I will post a picture when it has the top and basin on it.  Vanities this size would be at least $1500 up, so by the time I put a stone top and new basin and tap it will be around $650.  That is the only time I have gone that far to resource something, but knew it was too good a bargain to pass up.  I also bought gorgeous coach lights for outside, that were two big for their house and just right for ours for $40 each.  They were brand new and had cost the seller $150 each.  We will probably have to call our house 'Gumtree' to honour its contribution.  I allowed myself $1000 for the ensuite vanity, bathroom vanity and laundry sink cupboard.  Allan thought I was joking.  I wasn't!  It will probably come in about $50 over largely because I bought expensive handles from ebay for the main bathroom vanity.  I will show you pictures when it is finished.  You can save heaps like this, but, it does cost your time, which we have so not a problem.

Meanwhile we are packing up to move.  I can't believe how much stuff we have.  I think there will be a lot of culling in the near future.

The for sale pile is growing

Check out my other blog on Facebook: Breast Cancer Ready or Not

Easy Chicken Soup

Throw one frozen chicken carcass into a pot with one litre of water, (I never throw these out, there is always one in the freezer)
2 bay leaves and salt and pepper.
Bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes
remove Chicken carcass
Add
l can creamed corn
l onion diced
2 carrots diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 large sweet potato grated
2 potatoes grated
at the 25 minute mark add a cup of small pasta - I used Orzo
Return to boil then simmer for 40 minutes, eat and enjoy.
Really you can add anything you like to this

Check out my other Chemo Cravings on Facebook at 'Breast Cancer Ready or Not'

Fireman Sam AKA Allan

Sitting having an afternoon coffee and having a bit of a read when the peace and quiet was interrupted by a terrible helicopter street sweeper kind of noise.  The dog started barking, the neighbour started banging at our front door, while calling the fire brigade with her other hand.  There is a fire at the back of your house she yelled.  Sure enough flames and smoke were licking over the back fence accompanied by the terrible noise.  Allan grabbed the hose and ran to start squirting the fire out.  Honestly we could have held the barking dog over the fence and let her pee on it, with all the good the water pressure in Lakelands does.  The home owners had run inside because they were terrified that the gas bottle which was in the thick of their barbecue furnace would explode.  Allan is very good in a crisis and doesn't panic, unlike me who had the same fear as the neighbours and was yelling at him to get away in case it blew up. (The noise was getting louder).  The home owner eventually felt bad and came out to help, the emergency was extinguished, just in time for the fire brigade to arrive.

Not all of us are good in stressful situations.  I once ran over our family cat - Rusty.  She would lay on the drive way and not bother to move for cars.  Troy who was a P plater at the time would roar in and out without giving Rusty a thought.  I would get out of the car and shoo her away.  I was always moving her, so why me?  I came into the car port one evening singing happily to myself.  Rusty saw me coming and though Mum's home, dinners up so ran across in front of me.  I thought I had killed her and was screaming for Allan to come and help me,  He was in his office playing his guitar (we were going to music practice at the Church in a while) and didn't hear a thing.  Finally, he responded to the mad woman banging on the office window and came to see what the screaming was about.  'Get the car off the cat' he yelled  That thought hadn't occurred to me.  I had assumed she was dead, when in fact she wasn't.  I also was scared to back out again in case I ran back over her.  I couldn't bear to look.  Anyway, the poor little thing died, and I still feel traumatised when I think about it.

In my defence I have occasionally stepped up to the plate though, when I was 8 months pregnant and  was home with three children all asleep, my neighbour opposite whose husband was also away called to say she heard someone in the carport.  I told her I would have a look.  I gathered up my trusty baseball bat that I kept handy when Allan was away, and set out across to investigate. I was standing on the verge of her house peering into the carport when the thought struck me that she was safely in her house, and I like an idiot, was very pregnant and on my own late at night on a dark road.  Thankfully, I didn't need to use my bat, although it was probably stupid as most women get weapons turned on themselves instead of getting to be heroines.  Another time I extracted  a 20 cent piece sized peppermint from quite a way down a choking two year olds throat, by turning it sideways and pulling it out.  I didn't cry till after the crisis was over.

Chick Pea Curry

Fry a diced onion in a little olive oil

add diced red or green capsicum

1 tin chick peas drained

2 cups vegetables diced (feel free to use fresh everything, 

I used frozen as I am post surgery and making things easy on myself)

1 tablespoon curry powder of choice

1 dessertspoon chicken stock powder

1 teaspoon garlic granules

1 tablespoon chives

1/2 cup sultanas

1/2 cup almonds or cashews

1/2 cup coconut cream

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

serve with rice or noodles

Very early this morning the text alarm went on my phone.  I checked it and saw it was from the Chemist, telling me they would be closed for Christmas but not to miss their huge 50% discounts on Boxing Day, it ended with a cheery 'Merry Christmas to you and your family'  It got me thinking what if for some people, that text from the Chemist was the only Merry Christmas they would get.  There would I am sure be many.  Those with no family, that offer to do the Christmas shift at work, so that those with families can be with theirs.  Hospitals don't close, airports don't close, trains and buses run and cyclones occasionally interrupt the festivities. My brother and sister in law were in Darwin back in 1974 when Cyclone Tracy went through.  Our Christmas day was very tense as we waited to get word that He and his family were ok.  Not till late on boxing day did we get the call and our family could breathe again.

I remember hearing that in some trenches during the first world war the fighting would stop for Christmas Day then resume straight after.  Unfortunately hardship and suffering doesn't care what day it is, at any given time all around the world their are children mistreated, wives beaten, thousands starving and people freezing with inadequate shelter.

So back to the text, I felt very blessed to be busy in my big kitchen, cooking happily for the bunch that are going to descend on us on Christmas Day, and thankful that I have such an abundance of loved ones to wish me Happy Christmas and certainly will not take it for granted.  In amongst the merriment lets remember to text someone we don't normally include when we are busy, you may make their day, they may just have been sitting at home alone wondering if the Chemist and his family had room for one more at Christmas lunch.

Caramel Popcorn

Just made a big batch of Caramel Popcorn for the Grandies on Christmas day.

I popped one bag of microwave popcorn
then melted and stirred bubbling for about 2 minutes:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup glucose syrup
This gets very hot, so be careful, don't make this with little ones (i.e. toddlers, dogs) under your feet.

I poured it into a large bowl containing the popcorn and 2 cups mixed nuts

spread it on a large oven proof tray lined with baking paper, and baked it on 180 degrees c for about 20 minutes, stirring it a couple of times.

Cool and store in tin ready to gobble on Christmas Day.

Caution:
1.  Don't serve if anyone in your crowd is allergic to nuts (this will spoil Christmas Dinner when you have to dash to hospital emergency room).
2.  Try not to eat to much while preparing, from personal experience this makes you feel sick.

Reason for the Season

Ya! only three more sleeps to Christmas.  I tried to play the gee I've been diagnosed with cancer card, but that didn't work, everyone is coming to our house for Christmas and I am making most of the food.  Today I'm making Pavlova and Hayley will bring her amazing Black Forrest Trifle, the recipe is from her friend Mel, absolutely disgustingly rich and decadent (the trifle, not Mel).  What a lovely girl Hayley is, last Friday while stacking shelves with stock in a store down Mandurah way (she is a rep for Coca Cola) an elderly lady was asking her about flavoured pump bottles, which the store didn't stock.  While they chatted Hayley found out that the ladys' husband was going through chemotherapy and not doing well.  One of the only things he could taste and enjoy was the lemon pump.   After they parted Hayley felt very strongly to give the woman some money as it sound like she was doing it tough but, couldn't find her in the car park when she looked.  Being resourceful Hayley asked on Facebook, if anyone knew a lady with a husband seriously ill with cancer in the area where the lady had told her she lived.  The response was amazing,  someone replied that they had asked their neighbour with a very sick husband if she had spoken to a coca cola rep the day before and she said yes.  Several people gave money and Hayley went and bought all the stock of lemon Pumps she could find on the way and turned up at the couples home bearing her gifts.  She apologised for visiting without an invitation and explained how she had tracked her down.  It was a very teary exchange, as both were overwhelmed.  The lady with a stranger's kindness, and Hayley with the joy of being able to bless someone else.  Kindness and giving for no personal gain always gives us an overwhelming sense of well being.  I think that is why we are told it is more blessed to give than to receive.  There is nothing like it, and speaks to us of what Christmas is all about.

Take a moment to breathe, during the preparations.  If you are getting cranky at the shops, work or with family, reassess your to do list, and cross some things off, it is not worth the grief.  No one really cares if the floor was just mopped, or if there are fingermarks on the sliding door.  Once everyone starts spilling drinks and throwing wrapping paper around, your beautifully laid plans for a perfect Christmas will have to be re thought.  So remember that God's love is the motivation behind us celebrating Christmas, so take a deep breath and relax, don't sweat the small stuff

Christmas Lights Canal Cruise

Had a fabulous time with our daughter Hayley, Ben and our grandson Beau on Thursday night cruising the Christmas Lights on the Mandurah Canals.  It was extra special because Sarah was with us as well as Ben's parents.  Sarah flew in from Sydney as a surprise.  The whole family has been thrown into a bit of state since my being diagnosed with breast cancer last week.  Sarah was tortured being so far away and not being able to be here for me, so a beautiful couple at their Church, paid for her to fly home.  Her mum-in-law and a wonderful friend, flew to Sydney to help look after their three active children.  How blessed am I.  The Christmas Cruise was brought forward as I was due to see the Surgeon the next day, and find out what surgery I could expect to have and how quickly.

We had a great night, but, I couldn't help thinking about the previous year.  We always pull up at the pier to get fish and chips, which we did last Christmas on our cruise.  I am an absolute tea-totaller and as it was a hot day, I had raided my husbands fridge and grabbed what I thought was two small bottles of lemon, lime and bitters, not a problem.  We just sat down at the outside tables to eat the delicious smelling fish and chips and I pulled out a drink and took a big swig.  My throat started to burn, my eyes watered up and the first thought that flashed through my mind, was that the lime was off.  The second thought registered that it wasn't cool drink at all but alcoholic.  My husband by this time had realised what was happening and in between hysterical laughter, managed to splutter out a "where did you get those bottles from".  "Out of your bar fridge of course".  He continued to laugh some more, but finally cleared up the mystery.  Apparently the source of my burnt throat was due to the drink not being regular fizzy but in fact Grappa, that a mate of his at darts makes himself, and is probably about 100% proof.  Needless to say, I stayed out of the bar fridge, this time round.

The Mouse Hunt

It's that time of the year, when spurred on by the need of Ms Mouse to have a home, Mr Mouse keen to please the love of his life sets out to find her one.  Sadly, they chose our house, and although we are in a 4 x 2 with just the Moth (Man of the House) and myself residing here, we weren't taking tenants.  They would have been ok if they had flown under the radar, but before they had unpacked their belongings, Ms Mouse decided to come and watch TV with us the other night and sadly that would be the last programme she would see.  I screamed and ran to call our daughter Hayley who having lived by the beach for a couple of years is armed with loads of mouse traps.  These furry little intruders are invading as more and more as land gets cleared to make way for new estates.

If your a catch and release person you may not wish to continue reading.  I gave the Moth a cup of coffee in bed and informed him that our happy home maker had been snapped and that we would have to dispose of it, and that by we I meant him (funny that we assume that men are automatically born able to take care of mice, spiders, fuses and fix leaking taps.  We caught her mate the next night and we hope we are now mouse free.

All this does leave you kind of jumpy though,   I was vacuuming this morning and went to suck up a tail thing that had been poking out of the lounge for two days, it moved under the couch when the vacuum head touched it, I screamed, the Moth came running.  Dashing to rescue his damsel in distress, he lifted the lounge and grandson Beau scooped up the object of my terror - a blue plastic mouse phone with a black tail.  In hind sight I should have known a mouse would not have stayed in the same position for two days.

Spencer the Super Hero

Unlike his technologically obsessed older sister who videos herself doing all sorts of things in all sorts of outfits (she is 8) and uploads them to You Tube, and his older brother very musically minded who cranks up the key board  to warp speed and prances around doing a Michael Jackson thriller cross moonwalk impersonation, looking like a deranged terra dactyl with his hands shaped like the lego people from his favourite movie, our grandson Spencer the more old fashioned of the trio is donning his cape, superhero gum boots and wielding his amazing garden stick wand with magical powers to rid the world of pain and suffering.  Unfortunately in this story, his mother's suffering, caused in actual fact by the superhero in question.  His Mom unwisely scooped him up to kiss his gorgeous pudgy neck and put him back down only to receive a hard thump on her foot from his super hard boot.  Our hero was not to be thrown by the incident, after a quick 'Thorry Mum' and adjusting of his cape he swung his wand towards the painful foot his mother was rubbing, and with a loud swoosh!! he was off undeterred to save the world.

Eat, Pray, Love

I saw a little bit of Julia Roberts new movie Eat Pray Love a few days ago.  She was enouraging her friend to ignore the carbs and just eat the pizza in front of her.  Julia's character had come to the emancipating conclusion that life is too short to never be able to enjoy pizza without guilt. It made me want to shout Halleluhah! Julia more power to you and break into an adaptation of Martin Luther King Jrs famous speech "I have a dream, I have a dream that a woman is no longer judged by whether she has wrinkle free skin or the size of her dress, but by the character she exhibits.  It is time we stopped being dictated to by what other people think we should be. Our self esteem is bombarded by media images of models, some of who are fourteen or fifteen peering at us from glossy magazines and even their youthful little faces have been airbrushed to oblivion.  Why do we even try to live up to such manipulation. Cindy Crawford was being interviewed by Oprah once and I heard her say, that in real life even she doesn't look like Cindy Crawford. (They used to remove her famous mole from her pictures) 

Most women I know, including me would say they need to lose weight, and with the mountains of diet information available,  diet plans in every magazine, low fat, low carb and my generations grapefruit diet to name but a few, you would think we would all be slim.  I know for myself I could utilize my most powerful weight loss tool, I could use my arms to push myself away from the table a bit sooner.  My food bill would go down, my arms would tone up and I could send the savings off to a world relief organisation.

The last time I checked the world statistic site, it said that in America the year before they had spent $262 billion on diets, and I would think most of the Western World would be on par, and yet as Nations we are all just as fat.  (My husband is convinced that it is the cottage cheese as you mostly see fat people like myself eating it - sorry I probably should be politically correct so would that be size challenged)  Imagine what impact just half of that amount would have on some worthwhile cause like world hunger.

Its a constant dilemma. Should we vote with Julia and stuff ourselves with pizza, or should we go with Katherine Hepburns approach in one of my favorite movies 'Guess Whose Coming To Dinner'  She pulls into a drive thru diner with co-star Spencer Tracy her husband in the movie, it is six o'clock in the evening and they are to have dinner with their daughters in-laws at eight.  The lovely elegant Katherine orders black coffee, and gets annoyed with Spencer for ordering boysenberry icecream, ' you'll spoil your dinner', she chastises him.  On the inside I always imagine that I am a disciplined devotee of Kate and have no trouble just having black coffee and not spoiling my dinner, when it is only six o'clock and dinner isn't  till eight pm.  But the truth is that like pudgy Spencer, I would probably order the icecream and it wouldn't spoil my dinner at all

why me or Security frisking part two

You have to have read my blog 'Command presence' to get this.  I rant about the fact that I always get frisked when going through airport security.  I have tried everything making eye contact, avoiding eye contact,  acting cool, nothing works, I always get frisked.  But, our last venture to the airport had to take the cake, as usual they called me over and frisked me, then made my husband Allan (who apparently looks a lot like Magiver) take off his shoes and belt and unpack his bag which they scanned several times after asking him in a stern voice 'Is this your bag Sir' It turned out he had a tiny tripod in the bottom which obviously looked like a tiny Nuclear Bomb.  I by this time was patiently waiting contemplating the fact that we may miss our flight by the time he packed up all his stuff.  Finally he was finished and I picked up my bag and turned to head off only to find that while all this was going on the man that frisked me several minutes earlier had finished his shift and a new fella had taken over….you guessed it, 'Excuse me Madam, can you just step over here'… You have got to be kidding me (I came close to swearing at him)

Pyjamas are the New Black

I love pyjama pants.  They are my favourite piece of attire.  My go to slop round the house choice of garment for winter, spring, summer and fall.  Of course they have to be Peter Alexanders, these give you the added excitement of a near death experience on at least a weekly basis, when you take a stride and your toe catches in their extra wide leg bottoms, you nearly go A over Tush just catching yourself before you go plummeting head first into the fridge or wall (although on occasion I have actually splattered onto the floor).  There is nothing like the adrenalin rush, it keeps you going on those days where there is nothing very eventful happening and gives you the lift you need in between breathing in the petrol fumes at the local garage when you fill up the car. (only joking).

Image from A place of my Own

My daughter posted an old  picture of her sister and herself, from a few Christmases back on Facebook the other day.  They were both in their new Peter Alexanders, which have become kind of a family tradition at Christmas.  It started years back.  There is nothing like pyjamas, we adopted them as our school uniform during our home schooling years, they saved us a lot of time.  We would have breakfast in our pyjamas and carry straight on into school work, non of that annoying showering and changing.  Uninvited visitors who turned up at 2pm would find us still in our pyjamas comfortably relaxed and busy with school work.

Our family think nothing of bringing pyjamas to family dinners, or to their friends so there is something comfortable to slip into when the party moves on to board games and cocoa later.  I mean why not, I am sure if we spread the word, more people will catch the idea, I know Oprah brought out a line of leisure wear that felt like pyjamas but looked a bit dressier for shopping etc., so I know our family is not alone.  The world is obviously over suits and ties.  I know years ago there was a trend among doctors to wear more casual attire, which resulted in specialists coming into hospital rooms to consult with patients clad in Hawaiian shirts.  I guess they may not evoke confidence in their professional ability if they were in their pyjamas, but I am sure pyjamas would be ok for most other situations.

I am almost positive that if you wore pyjamas to the shops, no one would notice.  You could try this during the Christmas rush when everyone is busy and see how you go.  I myself am taking baby steps at converting my friends.  I splashed tea down the leg of my white jeans the other night when we had visitors.  Not a problem I put them in a bucket to soak and came out wearing my pyjama bottoms instead.  It was quite late in the evening and my guests didn't bat an eye.  If they were in fact horrified and just good at hiding it, only time will tell.  If they don't ever come back then I will have to rethink my venture into reeducating the masses on comfortable hostess attire, but if they do I will assume I can take the next step and just be in my pj's when they arrive. Of course, what would really get the drums rolling and the streamers popping, going beyond my wildest dreams and signalling complete victory, would be if I opened the front door to my next dinner guests, and they had turned up in theirs.

Easy Thai Coleslaw

Just made Pete Evans Easy Thai Coleslaw for our Dinner Guests tonight.  I found it when I was wading through old Christmas menus looking for inspiration.  The mint and coriander were a delightful surprise and the light fresh dressing made a lovely change from our usual mayo sodden veggies I usually produce.

I will definitely be doing this again over Christmas and New Year.  If you make a large batch and only dress the bowl full you are using the rest will last in the fridge for days.  Pop a folded paper towel sheet under the extras in an airtight container, this will absorb any moisture.  If you don't like the full on flavour of whole coriander leaves (I think they call it cilantro in the US of A and Me-eecko) you can always pop a 1/4 tspn of powdered coriander in the dressing, then you will get the flavour without it being overbearing.

Yum!


Easy Thai Coleslaw

Combine
1/2 Savoy cabbage - shredded  (I used ordinary)
1/4 purple cabbage - shredded
4 lebanese cucumbers, sliced lengthways, seeded and sliced thinly
1 large or two small carrots peeled and grated
1 bunch each picked and washed mint and coriander leaves
1 tablespoon each white and black sesame seeds toasted (dry roast in hot pan with no oil till they start to go golden)
Toss with Dressing

Dressing:-
whisk together
1/2 cup grape seed oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon mirin (Mirin is sometimes called Rice Wine and is made from glutenous rice, with a low alcohol level but quite a high level of sugar, I used sherry instead and cooked my dressing to get rid of the alcohol.  We usually have it for when we cook sushi rice, but were all out)
1 lemon, juiced

Making Peace at Christmas

I passed a couple who were pulled over in their car yesterday, they were having a full on barney and at least were sensible enough not to fight and drive, shortly after the four wheel drive in the lane next to  me nearly ran up the car in the front's backside because he was yelling at his kids in the back.  The little boy closest to me turned and looked forlornly out of the window.  I thought here we are, silly season has arrived.  The rushing, spending and shoving that we get caught up in, taking it out on everyone within the blast radius until we finally arrive hot and frazzled at Christmas lunch,

and explode all over the relatives we don't see from one year till the next.  Kind of makes me wonder if this really captures what God had in mind when he out of His great love for mankind sent his only very loved Son into the World to save us, and saving us is exactly what we need.  The good news the angels declared was peace, and yet when we look around there is little peace on the outside, someone once told me that at any one time there is at least 25 wars in progress, somewhere on the planet, so world peace is probably not what Jesus was talking about.  It is hard to get two people to agree on anything, so getting 7 billion of us to is probably out of the question.  But, if I can encourage you to just stop for a moment, and take a deep breathe.  Allowing God's love into our life changes us on the inside, and while we may never see the 'World Peace' the beauty pageant winners are talking about, you will have the peace that the Angels were talking about at that first Christmas, so long ago to the Shepherds, that peace that comes on the inside and passes all understanding, that makes you be able to move about calmly in the middle of the chaos, and hopefully be able to share that peace and love with the next frazzled person who asks you why you are calm and not going crazy like the other mortals.  God bless you this Christmas, and remember, the next time you are tempted to do more than you are physically capable of right now, remind yourself that we are celebrating Christ's birthday and that He wont care if you buy fruit mince pies instead of baking them yourself.  Merry Christmas xx Evie

The Reason for the Season

I had fun on Saturday afternoon putting up my Christmas tree alone with Michael Buble' playing away in the background.  The Man of the House who will subsequently will be referred to as Moth wasn't keen to thread ribbon through a tree.  Anyway I came across some little red apples and tartan ribbon while sifting through the baubles and had a moment of nostalgia as I remembered that Christmas many years ago with two young children at the time and not a lot of decorating budget I clad the tree from top to toe with the little red apples (about 20 for $1) and tartan ribbon bows (the wooden duck on the coffee table also got a bow).

 It made me realise how our situation has changed over the years and how I have changed also.  My taste has developed with age and the elegant tree I have now is a far cry from its cheap and cheerful but loved at the time cousin from years ago.

 I don't like a lot of the same things I liked years ago, or think the same about life as I did years ago, with age and the help of God's love in my own life I can try to accept that other people can change too and not hold things against them from a time when they may have been different than they are now.  Christmas is all about forgiveness, it is a good time to invite forgiveness into your life, forgiveness for those that have hurt you, forgiveness for yourself if you have hurt others and asking them to forgive you.    I realise that much of the change that has happened to me is because God's love has changed me, and I would hope you would allow Him to heal hurts in your life, but even if you have never had an encounter with the Reason for this Season, Jesus, forgiveness still works.  Harbouring things eats us up, forgiving releases us.  Some wrongs are really bad and hard to forget, but we can only do our bit, by letting the hurt go and leave it up to God to sort the other person out.  Have a wonderful day!

Putting on Your Best Face

It is probably because I am vein but am I the only one who hates having their photo taken. Photos never live up to my expectation of myself, I find my self saying "That's not what I look like" and my friends say "Yeah that is, exactly what you look like".  I see myself as tall and slender when in fact I am only average and rather round.  It doesn't help that the camera is meant to add ten pounds.  This being the case, I can ignore the back fat and rolls that seem to be showing through my T shirt when someone kindly takes a photo of me from behind.  At least with digital cameras and phones we can just delete what we don't like and pretend we look exactly like the good shots, you know, posed perfectly, smiling with your teeth slightly apart and standing just at a slight angle so you look your slimmest.  I always tell my husband he has to stand in front of me (the person up front looks the biggest) after so many horrible pictures where he looks tiny in the background and I look like Big Bertha in the foreground.  The Egyptians had it right.  The kings and queens we found out when studying their Ancient customs during our homeschooling years, would only have themselves painted slim.  They wore wigs for all their official occasions and had shaved heads to be cool for the rest of the time, hence all the Egyptians looking slim and with the same cleopatra bob hairdo in all the historical records.  At least back then they got to have some honest artist put down if he dared paint what he really saw, now we have no chance, the minute anything the least bit embarrassing happens to anyone, there it is on facebook or You Tube.  I can only be glad that I am not famous, so not many people care what I am doing, but just imagine for a moment that you are Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, no ducking down to get some milk without doing your hair for them.

I have this monkey magnet on my fridge that says "They suit you - really!"

I personally would like to do something quite nasty to the person who invented mirrors, (cameras started out with mirrors in them, so it is all linked) but, I don't think they really know who did invent them, we progressed from looking into still water, ( if you didn't like your reflection you could stir it up a bit and blame the wind for the wrinkles) to shiny metal.  When I checked google I found out that apparently when the Biami people of Papua New Guinea were first introduced to mirrors by an anthropologist they reacted to their reflections with terror.  The Biami's aren't the only ones.  My reflection is getting scarier and scarier the older I get, especially that first look when staggering out of bed in the morning with my hair standing on end.  The only options I can see is to get rid of all my mirrors, never look at pictures taken of myself, never look at Facebook or You Tube or stop wearing my glasses so everything looks fuzzy but lovely or maybe I could just be glad I have made it to sixty two and know that when I am eighty I will wish I still looked like I did now and be grateful that I have my eyesight, all my arms and legs and my faculties are still in tact (I heard that laugh).

Walnut and Rice Roast

This is a great vegetarian, budget meal that I have made for years from my old $55 a week cook book by Cynthia and Peter Mayne.

the gravy looks a little sick, but it was actually delicious

Combine in a bowl
50g chopped Walnuts
95g rice (cook till tender about 20 minutes) or l l/12 cups cooked left over rice
1 medium onion chopped
75 g breadcrumbs soaked in 3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons chopped parsley

mix together and pour into greased oven proof dish
bake for 30 - 40 minutes till golden
serve with hot with gravy

Gravy
Dry fry two tablespoons floor in a frypan on a medium heat till it starts to turn brown (it burns very quickly so keep an eye on it)
add water while stirring to avoid lumps until you have the consistancy you require
add salt and pepper as desired
1 tspn stock powder
also good with parsley, worcestershire sauce or soy sauce added

I believe in Miracles

clipart from PhilipPhysics-contact force

Miracles are fantastic to read about when they happened to other people a long time ago, but, don’t you love it when God does a miracle for you unexpectedly in your own life.  When our four children were young we were travelling back from a holiday at night by car and were on the last leg of our 13 hour journey, four children sleeping peacefully in back and our alternator decided to die, leaving us with no head lights, it was one o'clock in the morning.  We pulled in at the small roadside garage still an hour and a half from the Perth City outskirts.  My husband got talking to the driver of the only other car in the place and he agreed to let us follow him down to Midland where we would then have to go our own way, to wherever we lived in the metro area.

We were stunned by what happened next and reminded of what an awesome God we serve, when the two men continued to talk and we discovered that out of the one and a half million people who live in the City of Perth, and of all the suburbs and of all the streets he could have lived , God had sent us a Good Samaritan, who lived a couple of hundred metres from where we did, in the same suburb of Kelmscott.

Psalm 91;14  The Lord says “I will rescue those who love me, I will protect those who trust in my name.” (LB) 

God seldom rescues us in a way we were expecting, but, He does promise to rescue those who love Him.   When the Israelites were backed up against the Red Sea with the Egyptian army pounding down on them with their chariots and horses, Ps 77 (LB) says God made a path for them no one knew was there, parting the waters for them to cross to safety. 

Remember, all things are possible with God (Matt 19:26), expect great things from Him, no matter what it is you need rescuing from in your life, He will never leave you or forsake you (Heb 13:5).  Expect that He will make a path for you that you never knew was there.                                                                                     

Homemade Laundry Liquid

I have been making my own laundry powder for months, I got the recipe from Rhonda Hetzel at Down to Earth, one of my favorite blogs (4 cups lux flakes or grated pure soap, 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda mixed thoroughly ( use about 2 tablespoons per wash, this gives really good results but works out to about 20 cents a wash, probably not super cheap but at least you are getting a good mix with no fillers or suds enhancers) I planned to make the liquid version but kept putting in off because it just seemed too daunting.  This morning I bit the bullet as it is soooo cheap! It works out to about a cent a wash less than $2 for about 10 litres.

From beginning to end it took about 25 minutes to have it made and bottled.

Stir over low heat 1 cup pure soap flakes, 1/2 cup Borax, 1/2 cup washing soda mixed with 1 1/2 litres water till everything is dissolved

Add soap mixture to about 8 litres of water in a 10 litre bucket.   Stir thoroughly


pour into a jug for easy decanting into bottles or containers stirring before each jug full                

Within about 20 minutes I had almost 10 litres of washing liquid ready to use

The big bottles are to store in a cupboard and the smaller glass bottles for display on the laundry bench along with my glass jar of home made washing powder. This will probably last the two of us a year, so that is a very economical 25 minute investment.
Thanks Rhonda!