Family.

Every year my aunt writes a poem for the family which is usually read at the Christmas table. This comes from having an aunt who is a famous author and poet! 

This year the poem really struck a chord with me, I felt emotional reading it and it made me think of all the silent acts of love and service of my grandmothers and their mums and how these things become part of us. So beautiful, sad and wonderful all at the same time...

Christmas Poem (13)

In Belaruse and old woman keeps a language
alive in her evening prayers.

In a family, language is a thousand little things-
the star on the dark green tree
the way we sing to babies and tell children
stories making promises that only some of us
can keep. The cauldron of apricots
boiling on the stove and cake coming
from the oven with our mothers hips
blocking out the view. Her apron's tie
hung down across the floral frock.

Our verbs were the way she bent
collecting eggs or planting fruit trees
and every Monday morning lifting
sheets, shirts and pegs from her
washing basket.
Language also being landscape
bending, she was our only hill
although, living beside the sea
we did have dunes.

We also had a prayer
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild...
don't let the boys break my doll
teach me to swim and let me stay up
late so that I can see those stars
I saw after reciting at the concert"

Kate Llewellyn


It makes me remember my Mum and Nan lifting cooking from the oven... it makes me think my apricot jam and fruit trees and collecting the eggs are not a coincidence... and each of us has sung to our babies to get us to here, where we are now... almost Christmas, the time to count our blessings.... which in my case are many.

So I thought I would share some family photos as I talk about my family constantly. 

This is my husband Andy. He is a great musician and very kind guy!

My Dad and Lucy at her engagement party earlier this year...

Chloe and Lucy...

Mum and Lucy....

Chloe...

Once day Ill post pictures of my Nans as I am always speaking of them!

Christmas is such a special time, Christmas day is a huge day for our family. Dad just loves it. He waits for us all to arrive impatiently! It is an amazing day. Mum does the whole huge english style hot turkey, Christmas puddings and so many trimmings and side dishes, a stunning table and it is all repeated in a cold version in the evening!

I'll see if she will share her pudding recipe as it is amazing.

Have a beautiful Christmas to everyone.

And I'd like to say hello to Shaveta who wrote me the most beautiful email and is probably reading this on the train on the way home after work.  Shaveta thank you so much! xxx

Jars of Sunshine.

A bowl of lemons is a beautiful thing! After free lemons came to us last night all the possibilities came to mind... I love lemons! 

Firstly every morning I will squeeze half a lemon in to a big glass of water and drink it. There is nothing better for your skin or body and it makes me drink my water.

If you have more lemons than you can use before they spoil I would squeeze them and fill ice cube trays with lemon to pop into my drinks or use in salad dressings.

But the best thing is to make Lemon Butter. It is so easy. In the old days it involved a double boiler and constant stirring for ages so it was a bit of a job to make it.  My recipe is so quick and easy. And when we have plenty of eggs it's so cheap to make. Everyone wants a jar!  Home grown eggs or free range eggs will give you a much better result as it will be deep yellow between the eggs, the lemon and the butter which makes it look to me like a jar of country sunshine! 

This is the result! 

So here is the recipe...

10 eggs, 

juice of 8 large or 10 smaller lemons,

250 grams butter,

4 cups white sugar.

In a large microwave proof bowl (I use my big pyrex jug) blend this with a stick blender until perfectly smooth. If you don't have one a mix master or blender will do the same thing.

Then microwave, uncovered,  on high for 3 minutes and stir. Continue microwaving and stirring every three or four minutes making sure you stir it well and keep it smooth. Once it is thick and about to bubble your'e done! It's like you would make microwave custard or white sauce...

Pour it into clean jars. I top with cellophane jam tops and a lid. It will keep a couple of weeks in the fridge.

It is divine. It takes all my effort not to just eat it from the spoon. Good on toast...

Or... now you have the basis of some flash deserts. You could fill parfait glasses with layers of this and cream. Anything in a parfait glass looks fabulous.

You can fill little pavlova rounds, or tart cases or a bigger flan case with this, let it set, top with cream... spectacular. People are impressed!

Or you can do as I did here... buy a $4 sponge and fill it...

I'm thinking round on a cake stand would have been even better but not big enough in this case... I was lucky these are roses from a climbing rose out the back and they match the colour of the lemon butter perfectly! 

Or give it as a gift in a jar, there are people who LOVE this so much.

In the spirit of "use what comes your way" if life gives you lemons you can make Lemon Butter and make some glorious things from there.

Hydrangeas.

Just now our Hydrangeas are flowering. Ours are white with very soft colours through them and they are lovely. I did try to encourage them to be blue but nothing changed and so I am just grateful to have them and enjoy them to the fullest.

Out the front we have a row of seven and one big one out the back. They drink a lot! I will have them well watered and if the next day is hot they will start to wilt and I'm back out there watering. To cope we use the water from the laundry and bath on them! Today is warm but tomorrow and thursday are shaping up to get to 40. last year we had one day that was 46. I will be soaking them tonight and in the mornings as well. Around Adelaide I see many people prop umbrellas over theirs in the heat but ours are under trees and so quite happy mostly.

They extra joy is they look amazing picked indoors and they last and last! In a vase they also drink a lot of water, you have to add water everyday. Fresh flowers in the house are just beautiful. This vase was one of a pair from an op shop. They are plastic and were black. I painted them to look like stoneware urns. Just right for big arrangements like this! 

It is hard to show how big this is, its really huge and spectacular! 

The colours are wonderful! Last year I had several vases this size. Then if you keep the water in the vase they will gradually dry and keep most of their colour. Then they are very good for filling in vases, wreaths and lots of floral crafts. If I knew someone who dead head and prune their hydrangeas I would ask for them and hang them upside down in bunches as they are so gorgeous and people actually throw them out. Others are smart and sell them to florists. This to me is an example of use what you have, there are so many things that you could make.

These are previous years hydrangeas used as a filler with roses I make. They still look pretty. 

One day I'll do a tutorial on how to make the handmade roses. I use crepe paper that I dye soft colours. They are actually really easy to do yet I have seen handmade roses for sale online for small fortunes. 

The next few hot days I will be staying in as much as possible, watering the garden enough for it to cope and swimming in the evenings. The heat is very hard on people, animals, birds... I am lucky I can stay out of it mostly. Many people cannot. I keep the freezer full of ice and like when the girls were at school send frozen drinks, frozen dampened face washers and hand towels in zip lock bags (these keep lunches cool and then can be used to wash and cool yourself) , ice packs etc to work with Andy. Also bowls of water under the verandah for the birds and old sheets over the chook house to wet during the worst of it. 

Hot days are wonderful for quite things indoors. It's another reason having something lovely to do makes you happy. You don't feel frustrated or bored you feel quite happy to be working away on your crochet or card making or what ever you are doing. It makes it a little better!

Gorgeous blackboards.

Blackboards came into decorating fashion a couple of years ago, they are everywhere. This is something so easy to do yourself and so useful!

My first attempt was when I found a huge painting in a gorgeous frame. The frame was just beautiful but the painting was hideous. So I painted right over the painting with blackboard paint. It was a service to humanity and gave me a huge blackboard for my kitchen which I would write various things on as I felt like....

Then blackboard tags. I bought little wooden hearts with a hole drilled in them and painted them with blackboard paint. Tied on to bottles and jars they look great as labels. Also I have tied them on to my pantry and freezer baskets and labeled things that way and it looks really good.

I always have an easy time making things for girls, boys I find harder! I have used a blackboard theme on some parcels for Christmas, you can do the same for tags... 

Black paper or cardboard and white writing = the blackboard look. It looks quite stylish!

Ok so some secrets... it is hard to get lovely writing with a piece of chalk. The gorgeous signs you see are mostly made using not chalk at all but liquid chalk markers. They look like chalk but they are fine and accurate and do not smudge or wear. Big difference! 

I did this sign for my husband for his office, it's in a thick black frame which I found on the side of the road and painted black...

Andy really likes his sign, it was a hit!

So two things... as I don't intend to rub it out and change it I use the texta and there is no point painting a blackboard, black cardboard LOOKS exactly the same, you cannot tell! Big money saver for framed signs.

When working on a sign, use real chalk or a pencil to lightly design your work and do the final thing in the liquid chalk texta. Very easy. There are online tutorials on how to draw up a design or even trace one.

The liquid chalk came from Spotlight. If you have trouble they are available online readily. It's the best stuff. It means you can make labels for all kinds of things that look really neat and clear. I have never been able to work out how the signs I have admired are so neat when my chalk writing looked to shocking! This is it! Now please note the liquid chalk on a porous surface is not removable unless you paint right over it so it is strictly for things you want to stay put.

There are just so many things you could do. Yesterday I saw an old door thrown out. I thought if I had little kids I would paint it in blackboard paint and mount it somewhere for them. Or you can paint the top of an old coffee table as a play table for the kids.I have a friend who did that recently for her boys and it looked great!  Or if your fridge or freezer is scratched paint the whole thing and write artfully on it! This looks amazing! Or a whole wall...  For a fabulous and inexpensive gift there are so many options and for designer style home wares for yourself. My next project is finding the top of an old bed head ie Queen Anne style and painting that as a sign for on top of my kitchen cupboards... but the side of the road has failed to deliver (so far)!

Easy and stunningly good shortbread.

Shortbread is like scones to me. Both took me most of my life to get right! Finally I have a recipe that doesn't crumble, break and be generally difficult. I don't know if it's been just me, surely not... 

Anyway yesterday I made this years, for Christmas. I made heart shaped biscuits for the neighbours, some for my husband to take today with his son fishing and a large round for Chloe to take to her work Christmas morning tea tomorrow. For those I added a pack of cellophane bags and red ribbons so that the girls can share the left overs and take home to their families.

The heart shaped ones I sealed in cellophane bags with a little ribbon.

This has a lot going for it. It cuts nicely into shapes. It is very inexpensive to make and give and much cheaper as gifts than say, fruit cake.

Also cellophane bags are wonderful things. They make food look professional. And these days you can buy them in cheap shops and they are only a few cents each. If you need a really large size use and oven bag, same effect.

The round one I made in a pizza pan. I packed it to go whole still in the pan, wrapped in cellophane and tied up with ribbon. This looks impressive! I lifted out a slice so you can see how it doesn't crumble... it slices beautifully and perfectly! 

So here is the recipe...

This is a big lot enough to make 2 trays of biscuits and one large round.

500g butter, melted.

1 and a half cups icing sugar and more on hand to sprinkle when you roll the dough,

3 teaspoons good vanilla essence,

4 cups plain flour.

Ok so just mix well together. The butter needs to be runny soft. Once combined knead it until smooth. If too wet add alittle flour or icing sugar so it doesn't stick to the board or your hands. Once smooth roll out and cut your shapes. Bake them on baking paper in slow oven around 160 degrees for about 15 mins. Every oven is different! You want slight browning but shortbread is pale. Also if you like crisp biscuits or if you prefer chewy biscuits go accordingly.

For a large slab I used a deepish pizza pan. Line with baking paper. I think it's easier to press it in than roll, it doesn't matter. Make a fraction less than a centimetre thick... Once it is flat and even slice it as you want it to be when it's finished. I sliced mine into quarters first, then divided more so it would be 12 pieces.  

Cook until lightly golden at edges... mine took about half an hour. Once out of the oven and while still hot re cut the lines you scored in. Do it carefully and neatly, right through. Let cool.

Now with you could do variations... glazed cherries pressed into it is divine and looks spectacular. So do chopped macadamia nuts, or both! Just gorgeous! 

On the slab you could have the kids press cherries and nuts into it as if decorating a pizza and then bake. 

Wrap prettily when cool. Spectacular present or table presentation. 

I hope this recipe helps someone as much as it has helped me. 

Hollywood Bubble Bath.

There is to me only one thing better than a bath and thats a bubble bath! Soaking in beautiful scented bubbles is my idea of bliss!

Luxury Bubble Baths are very expensive. But over the years I've tried many recipes to make it and have come to a final perfect and easy bubble bath to make. This can be personalised and the bottle is just as important to me as the content, especially if it's a gift.

This week I saw luxury Bubble Bath for $50 a bottle. So it reminded me to make some more!

I always save up pretty bottles. In op shops they are usually $1 or so. This one is my own in the bathroom most of the time bottle. Now for gifts I suggest you need a screw top or secure lid as you don't want leaks. 

I found these little bottles and they are ready for me to add sticky balsamic  vinegar that I make. I just add lace and a charm to make them cuter and this kind of thing would work for your Bubble Bath as well.

Or you can decorate bottles... these are all free bottles recycled. If you know anyone who drinks spirits... or liqueurs the bottles are fabulous!

Ok all you need is to find an inexpensive supermarket bubble bath or shampoo. You want something that smells nice and is a lovely colour. I tend to go for something pale pink and rosy or something creamy and vanilla. So for my at home recipe I use:

1 bottle of bubble bath or shampoo, one cup or so of epsom salts, half a bottle of glycerine and a few drops of rose essential oil (if its a pink mix).

This mix needs shaking or stirring before use. It is DIVINE. The epsom salts are beautiful on your skin and good for you. The glycerine makes the big bubbles. 

Use a good amount placed under the running tap. That's it! 

To give as a gift, use sealable bottles. I leave out the epsom salts as it settles to the bottom of the container which needs shaking. You could include it with instructions that it must be mixed.

For a little girl (or maybe a big one!) a tiny amount of glitter can be added. Clear makes it sparkle and is fabulous!

It is a great gift for someone who you know adores baths. 

For someone who loves lavender, find a lilac colour base or mix a blue one with a pink one to get lilac. Then add lavender essential oil and tie a few sprigs of dried lavender to the bottle. They will love you! 

Never go past a free or bargain lovely bottle. I have so many things to make that need bottles so I always collect them. And over time I'll share all these things so you will always have lovely gifts to give. 

A beautiful garden.

Yesterday I visited my Aunt for Christmas. She has a very productive garden that she created herself. There is a plum tree, apricot, fig, oranges, limes, cumquat, grapes ... then vegies, tomato, spinach, eggplant... herbs... then chooks. It's fabulous!

A few years ago my aunt returned to Adelaide after years interstate. So this garden she built from scratch really. I said to her she needs chooks, as you do, but she wasn't sure about this. Nan always kept chooks even into her old age they were just the norm. I'm sure that is why I have always kept chooks myself even here in the city these days.

When I first moved to the city I felt my chicken days were over but I soon found many city people keep them and it's no big deal. So yay! I could get chooks again. I had a small home and small yard... It was hard rubbish collection near by so I went for a drive. This is the best fun. To my delight and excitement I found a huge wooden dog house. It was huge, it must have housed a great dane or something... Anyway there it was and I have a four wheel drive so it looked like a possibility to me. But no, it was not going to fit and anyhow I could not even lift it. :(  I stood there considering my options. I wasn't married to Andy then...

Eventually a man said to me (same scenario as the garden urns!) "doesnt fit hey?" This man was removing hardware from old doors and windows... no doubt for sale. This man had a ute I noted...

I agreed no it would not fit and I wasn't leaving without this dog house! "what do you want it for?" ... I told him I was going to paint it pink and turn it into a chicken house. Well, at that moment he asked where do I live? That was the moment he cracked... he said ok he will put it on his ute and drive it to my place! lol I always talk to strangers and my family laugh how people always end up doing stuff for me.

So a couple of hours later he arrives at my place after I gave him my address on a scrap of paper. Further to his trouble the dog house would not fit through my front gate and he had to remove its roof. Lucky he had tools...  The roof removal was handy as I needed that anyway to lift to collect the eggs...

What a guy!

Anyway I repeated this entire performance and found a smaller dog house (which did fit in my car) and painted it white and covered it in tinsel and took it to my aunts... over the door way I wrote "bless this nest" for her Christmas present. And that is how she came to keep chooks. Recently she said to me how people pay hundreds of dollars to set up chooks and we did it for virtually nothing. Well yes, that is the point many people seem to miss, to have fresh beautiful eggs, to save money and to have happy healthy chooks. It does't have to cost much at all. And hens are funny and have personalities and you waste nothing! Then you have your garden fertiliser production unit installed as well! 

The highlight of the garden yesterday was a whole fence covered in Brugmansia. I mean huge thick, cascading, amazing, prettiest colour bell shaped flowers and each flower bigger than your whole hand... as big as your head really.

Honestly just incredible and she grew them all from cuttings....

I love flowers and they are one of the most amazing things I have ever seen!