Nice things

Today was a good day, I feel that nice tired like I will sleep sound fully. There was .....
Yoga followed by bagels with cream cheese and lemon curd with a spirulina and apple juice, minus the cream cheese and lemon curd I feel virtuous just writing this .

Cleaned the whole house, bought a new washing machine to get through the shoulder high washing pile that has accumulated following the passing of our other washing machine a week ago. Made afgahn biscuits. Was gifted a beautiful rimu chopping board and some popping corn still attached to the corn.

Walked harper with a friend, stopped midway for hot chips with loads of vinegar (possibly may have lost virtue of spirulina and yoga), made the bed with the loveliest flannel sheets.


Made the bathroom look pretty and now I am sitting down to a feast of feijoas from our tree, a glass of milk and an afghan, these things make me happy.

2012

2011 was a massive year, we got married and we bought a house. Two very big commitments. When I look back it seems like 2011 could have been ten years all in one.

When I think ahead for 2012 my biggest want is for some plain old normality and appreciation of the small but wonderful things in life. I have always struggled with an inability to ever be happy with my accomplishments and the hand I have been dealt in life. I am a perfectionist and my aim this year is to make do, and to let go more so that I can soak up more of what is already so good around me.

Coming back here I think will help as it makes me take time out to reflect.

Just for the sake of some pictures here is a bag I made for a friends birthday and a little blanket for a friends new baby.

Wedding Bells

It was the most perfect happy day. So much love and support from the people we love. It could not have been better. Just a few photos here. Our amazing photographer Candy Capco did an amazing job capturing the day for us.

Fitting it all in

Afghan biscuits, they look so pretty in the tin. It is hard to fit everything in to one day, work leaves me with not much energy.
Making something that looks pretty, gives me some energy back.

Some of Summer

After work river swims.


Exploring new places. Taranaki and its beautiful beaches.


Lots of cuddles and playtime with this sunsmart munchkin.

Christmas kisses from my puppy, after a action packed christmas day, adventures on the river, time spent in a spinal collar, westpac helicopter, and then a christmas evening in the ED apartment.


Backyard wedding. Home made wedding dress made from a great great great aunts crocheted table cloth. (no cutting of the table cloth allowed)


Delicious berry treats, meals shared, warm long summer evenings.


Cake fit for a 9year old pirate.

Christmas gift made for Ben's 3yr old niece. I want one too.


Grapes from the next door neighbour, will be grape juice bottled and stored to warm up and drink on a wintry day.

Birthday

Last thursday I got one year older. This year was for many reasons the best birthday I can remember. I think this is a reflection of the wonderful people I have in my life and where I am with being me. I can honestly say I feel blessed.

I got the most amazing hoard of goodies which I am thinking I shall devote a whole post to.

I spent the morning as I do every thursday at the SPCA walking and hanging out with the dogs. Shared custard and fruit croissants and rocky road with the other volunteers, and had lots of cuddles with the puppies. Even took one home for the day.

That evening Ben planned a BBQ which I loved every minute of, being surrounded by the most genuine and beautiful big and little people. Yummy food, delicious lemon cake, sitting by the fire with the puppy cuddled on my lap and the ten year old next door neighbour along with her mum singing their hearts out. It really was perfect.

Elderflowers

The elderflower cordial tastes so amazing, sweet and summery and just like it should do. We have been drinking it with soda water. Trialled using brown sugar instead of white which made a beautiful amber coloured cordial but I think white sugar is the best.

This is the recipe, I wrote down a while ago. Most of the recipes I have come across are similar. Main difference was the soaking time of the flowers and whether to boil it or not. The following is what I did

Elderflower cordial

1500ml of water

1kg of sugar

50g of citric acid

2-3 thick slices of lemon

20 large heads of elderflowers

Boil the water, dissolve the sugar, add the lemon slices. Some say cool the water and add the elderflowers, I added the flowers when it was cool and then the next time added the flowers when it was still hot, seemed to make no difference.

I did'nt wash the elderflowers just shook them to get the spiders out. Leave the mix soaking for 48hours. I then added the citric acid and boiled the mixture pouring it into sterilised bottles.

Following the way I always cook I did a lot of estimating, some elderflower heads were little some big so I added them until I thought it looked a good amount, I also probably only put about 30g of citric acid. 50g seemed like a lot and it worked out fine.

In the garden

For the last two months we have been able to go out to the garden to gather the greens for salads. It is the most satisfying thing. We have had red, cos, and chinese lettuce, lots and lots of rocket spring onions and a little leafy plant called dutch corn. Coming home from work and spending time in the garden watering, weeding and checking up on progress feels almost as good as a back rub (almost!).

Plus all day I am washing my hands and sterigeling between patients and coming home and getting dirt all over my hands and under my fingernails feels rebellious.

I love the snap pea flowers and the tomato has gone crazy.

I have been monitoring daily for the apperance of the little broccoli head. It is amazing how fast everything can grow, it seems in a day the broccoli plant has formed what we know as broccoli and the zuchini has grown lots of little flowers.

I have high hopes for the watermelons, and hope in a couple of months I will be rocking in my hammock with a massive slice.

p.s photos all out of order but for some reason I cant cut and move them!!

Elderflowers

Where did that time go. I never intended to stay away for so long. Life has been fun, with work crafting, trips here and there and there is so much I have to share but lets just begin with today.

I am all excited about decorating for christmas, I have already got the christmas tree up (well sort of a tree, but I will share soon) and am holding out till December the 1st when I can start decorating. That is a self approved date I don't follow any set rules but feel December is the official christmassy month.

Also I found out that buying candy canes mid november is a serious lesson in self control and I seriously failed.

Today we have been walking in the sun, eating a delicious lunch of bread cheese, pesto washed down with pear cider. Swimming in the river and attempting to create elderflower cordial.

Ever since I had a year in England when I left school I have been in love with elderflower cordial. I thought I spotted some elder flowers the other day, I picked a whole lot and when I got home googled elder flowers and found that what I had picked was a common and most likely poisonous
weed.


Well yesterday while out booking the wedding venue I came across the real deal, (inner scream of delight). I so hope it works, one recipe said stay clear of any elderflowers smelling of cat pee. Sadly I am getting a whiff of what could be cat pee from the whole entire pot of soaking flowers.


Fingers crossed I am just being paranoid.

Cupcake day

Cupcake day was a success, sold all the cupcakes and also quite a few sausages.
Harper helped bring in the punters with his doggy cuteness. Was a nice sunny day and had lots of fun the day before baking cupcakes with some other volunteer friends.
We made about 100 cupcakes and iced them all with crazy coloured butter icing.

Ben hates any kind of adornments for dogs, bows, studded collars a
nd especially coats. I don't exactly like the idea of dressing up dogs but I couldnt resist putting harper in this coat just to enjoy Ben's reaction. As soon as he spied him through the glass of the door Ben's face dropped.
Ha Ha it was absolutely hilarious. That coat was taken off pretty quickly but not before I got some photos. I think Harper quite liked it.

Cat naps and puppy love

Another slow and sickly day. Was hoping I would be better by now but seems not. Have spent the majority of the day chasing the sun around the house then curling up and sleeping away the hours like a cat. Harper is not so keen to be my sick buddy anymore and even though he seems to be constantly sneezing (googled this and it seems no, dogs cant catch colds off humans!) he has escaped more than once out the front door. The first time he raced down to see his girlfriend down the road but was disappointed that there would be no playdate today. Izzy (girlfriend dog owned by my friends down the road) was very pleased to see him and they howled to each other as I pulled Harper home. Puppy love.

Harper being slammed by Izzy

The following escape was to the next door neighbours. I had to quickly hang the phone up on my sister as I spied him out the window squatting and ready in position to foul up there perfectly manicure lawn. I was amazed that the group of high school boys walking past only wanted to pat Harper and kindly re-framed from commenting on my crazy ruffled hair, bright green blue and brown pajama pants and red gumboots.


I have had some productivity, made a sock monkey for Ben to take to his little cousin in Australia, whitened some whites with a mix of lemon juice vinegar and baking soda. No good at removing stains but came out beautifully crisp and white and have started on a felt necklace that I will put up a photo of when I have finished. I am off to eat chocolate.

Castration and Donuts

We spent a rainy weekend inside, I have been sick and still am. I have an extreme case of cabin fever caused by the flu. I have watched every episode of Glee, and I was so desperate for entertainment this afternoon that I started watching the Bachelor on tv nz on demand. It drives me crazy and I ended up googling who won. Very disappointing. It would be horrendous to be one of twenty five women all vying for one males attention hoping to be his chosen bride. Of course the Bachelor thinks it is the most amazing time of his life, sure it is when you get to date and makeout with a different girl every day and then watch them squabble over you. Amazingly the bachelor/bachelorette (how do you spell that??) has had some success stories.
Other than watching a humongous amount of tv I have been eating and getting excited about trying out the recipes from the Australian master chef. We had a go at these donuts. They were so yum and me and Ben polished off about twenty of them in 24hours. Pretty impressive aye!

Harper has been my recuperation buddy. He has had a visit to the vet for the snip snip and also the snip of these funny claws on his back legs called dew claws which seem to be there for no other reason than getting caught on everything. He was understandably feeling sorry for himself on the first day buy in less than 12hours is back to his usual self.



Post castration the instructions are to not let your dog jump or run for at least three days. He was zooming up the the set of eight steps to the deck racing around the house up and down, escaping out the front door for a leisurely roam around the neighbourhood while I tried to track him down. He thought this was a game and would wait till I got within a foot of him then would take off. He managed to tear the cone off his head, but not before he had chewed both bandages from his feet (whilst the cone was still on) and then got his whole back leg in his mouth and had a good old chew on his stitches.

He has been sleeping inside since his surgery so we could better watch him and discourage him from ripping his sutures resulting in a expensive trip back to the vet. This morning he thought he would really try his luck and milk this whole sick deal and jump on the bed. He is so extremely cuddly like a big teddy bear so we let him snuggle in by our feet. For that kind gesture he thanked us by vomiting on my pillow two chunks of bone, a hunk of plastic off the scrubbing brush and a wad of dental floss the size of a golf ball.

He also stole a massive piece of steak from the bench, two donuts and a piece of wool. They say castration should calm them down, no sign of that yet.

Maybe it would help if I disciplined him instead of taking photos to show Ben.