More memories

One thing that has stayed the same color is: yellow gates!

Yep, if you see the yellow gates thats us.

Jo

Memory Lane

 

Heres a trip down memory lane .This is the before, but not the first before, if you know what I mean. I keep changing things, walls have been knocked out thanks to Basil, and his wife. The old kitchen has been replaced. Many different colours of paint have been applied to walls, the fusia pink, was the old front door and you will notice the black window frame before the latest makeover.

I think I have makeover madness

Jo

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

If you have this many mirrors, you need to do something with them. It has also made the room look bigger. I painted them in shades of grey (except the shinny mosaic one). That was an after-find: on the way to mum and dad's house, passing an op shop -- "Stop the Car!!!!!!!", I said to hubby.  There it was glistening in the doorway. In the back of the car it went -- love a shiny bargin.
Hope you all had a great weekend. We did. We went down the coast with friends, and I found a wonderful shop that has all sorts of things. Oh, if only I had more space. I shouldnt tell you, but its at the back of the Dromana drive-in.

Loving this weather,

Jo

Mish's bithday cake

 

In my mind this seemed a lot easier than what it seemed.
Now that I've conquered the cake, next time it will be a breeze.
It was my friend's birthday, so cake was what was needed.
A Pavlova cake was best suited as it needed to be wheat free and gluten free for my friend .
  I used one of those easy pav eggs  Toffee was easy as I conquered that weeks ago. Now for the chocolate. Well the second batch, after hubby doing a dash to the supermarket with 1hour to go, and some advice from my 9 year old neighbour -thank heavens for Junior Master Chef .
Meanwhile, Charlie was licking spoons and was covered in chocolate. He was a real Charlie in the Chocolate factory. It was a very precarious drive to my friend's house. It was eaten in about 5 mins like a plague of locus. "How long did it take to make" they said. "oh the best part of the afternoon .
(we all laughed)

 

Recipe

• one pav egg (get at supermarket)
• small bottle cream
• punett strawberries
• 3cups white sugar
• milk choc melting buttons
• white choc melting buttons

 

Make pav according to recipe. Beat cream until stiff.
To make toffee mix 3cups of sugar and 3tbl water on stove on low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Stop stiring, watch it about 10 mins on low. Try putting some in a saucer of cold water. If it goes hard it's ready. Drizzel over baking paper. Melt choc over pan of boiling water.
W'hen its melted,  spread between 2 sheets of baking paper in a long strip that will go around the cake. Now this is the hard part. The choc needs to cool to a point where it won't drip but also not too hard that it will crack. Wrap around pav with paper and put in fridge to harden. Then carefully take of paper.
To make heart, melt white choc in same way. Then spread thickly on baking paper, you can make any shape you like.Put in fridge to set. Put a little dark melted dark choc in a plastic lunch bag and cut a very small hole in the the corner of bag. Then squeezing the bag you can write your message.
Take paper off carefully of the dark choc ring. Place cream in the middle.
Put your greeting sign in middle and break up toffee in large pieces and place in pav.
Place stawberries inbetween toffee sharft. Sparklers look great as candles.

Happy Birthday Mish! Jo

 

 

Pizza for Three

 

This old writting desk is working well as a kitchen table. I've had it for about 20 years now - it was in a back room of a shop I was working at, all covered in cream oil paint. I stripped it back to the wood and it's been a really handy piece. It's moved to all my homes and when its there in place, I feel like "OK, I'm home".

Just recently, I gave it polish with white bees wax (you could also use white shoe polish). I applied it with a shoe brush and then buffed it with an electric car polisher ($45 from a popular car store).

I was short on bench space and it turned out to be great to eat at.  Our god daughter, Charlotte, her sister Tessa, our son charlie and even Winnie the wonderful Cocker Spaniel hoping to get a little pizza.  The three (and Winnie) are best mates and they sure can get up to michief together. As you can see, it's rather hard to get three children and a dog looking at the camera (smile kids).

It's buffed,

Jo

Scrabble

Anyone for Scrabble?

The window frame was sitting in our carport for sometime; I was given it by a friend. I'll do something with that (I thought): too good to put on the scrap heap.I had no idea at the time what I would turn it into, but it ended up in the carport anyway. Maybe I would use it as a window - a bit frenchy... So, desperate to get the carport empty, I put my mind to it .

After a while, I made my first attempt at it -- I thought to put pictures in the individual frames. My neighbour (who was five at the time) helped me create some drawings on black card with crayon then I hung it on the wall for some years with pictures of knitting needles, shoes, umbrella, fishes.

As you do, I got tired of looking at it in that way and, inspired by a picture I saw in Notebook magazine, turned the window into a Scrabble board. Lucky I have a father who is a retired sign writer as he was able to draw the letters for me on paper. I cut them out, sprayed them in black and stuck them on with adhesive spray.

Half way through all this, the whole jolly thing fell on me but it is still in one piece.

I could probably pass first year fine arts with an installation like this!

Jo

Apple Muffins

Charlie was in the mood for some baking so apple and lemon rind muffins it was. I was also keen to use some of the pattie pans I had to have at Melbourne's "Vic market". This recipe is so easy even Charlie and I can make it -- you don't need to be to fussy with quantities. All I did was take Beach Cottage's Blueberry Muffins and substituted apple.  I'm off to see Annie (the musical) in which my lovely friend Olivia plays the lead.

Happy Baking!

Jo

Its in the can

It's been a week of the bathroom make-over.  These are a couple of pics of the cuboard and the new laundry bag I made to match. While I was making dinner, I was putting things back in the freshly painted cupboard (all under the watchful eye of Charlie).  I thought these tomato cans would look good as well as being practical; now they proudly hold all the bits and pieces

The ensemble

Ruths skirt

Ruth Kingston

I would like to share with you the wonderful creations that my niece Ilana crocheted for her doll Ruth Kingston. She crocheted this ensemble without a pattern - she should be very proud of herself. Well done Ilana!

I did it !

I did it! My laundry cuboard is organized and it doesn't all fall out each time I open the door any more.  I used to stuff everything in that cupboard and the vacuum lived under the bed - now it proudly has its own little shelf.  I gave the shelves and edges a white wash and the door got a couple of coats of grey. I think this was a "Cup Day" well spent (mixed in with a few trips to my neighbour for a little cup day gossip with the girls).

Sticky Orange Toffee

Today was the day for orange toffee on sticks. Friends for dinner. Having conquered making toffee the week before; and having bags of oranges, it was a good opportunity to make toffee apples but with oranges.
. 3 cups of sugar in a saucepan with a cup of water
. put on stove on high and stir until dissolved
. boil on high until sugar turns a caramel color
. dip orange segments on sticks in toffee
. serve alone or with icecream