Ag May ...

I'm a real killjoy when it comes to the Royal Melbourne Show.  It's just not my cup of tea.  I'm thinking it's been a couple of decades (nothing makes you feel older than this word, eh?), yep DECADES I'm sure, since I've been to the show.  It's expensive and there's nowhere to sit in the shade and it's expensive and it smells and it's pretty expensive (have I already said that?) especially when the only thing I want to do there is ride on the dodgem cars.   So, I'm the last person you would want with you at the show.  I am an RMS scrooge. Well, this year Little Miss M is heading off to the show with her dad and her grandma.  "Would you like to go to the show this year, love?" asks Dear Husband as he is purchasing the tickets online. "No thanks" I reply without missing a beat.  And then I start muttering to myself about how expensive it is, and how I really don't like the show, and how they probably...

The crafting side is a bit slow-going at the moment.  I have a couple of Work-In-Progress (WIP) projects happening at the moment, but cooking and baking have been the main projects of late. So, here's a little snippet of what I'm working on on the crafting side... I took up crocheting.  I'm loving it, but my fingers are not too happy with the project I chose.  Using up some yarn and starting on the Christmas presents. And I'm working on a bit of organization in the kitchen.  Can you guess what this project might be? I hope you all have a lovely weekend!!

I think the best gift I have ever given to my sis is the scarf I knitted for her (at her request).   Why is this the best gift?  Two reasons... a.) It's a pretty awesome scarf (she says proudly as she pats herself on the back literally and figuratively).  And b.) My ever-so-talented sis took up knitting because of it (or so I would like to think.  She did start AFTER I gave her this). Anyways, I have already been the recipient of one of her gorgeous creations and now Little Miss M has an original Tita J creation as well.  Check out what my talented sis from across the oceans created with her magical knitting needles... Wait a minute - what's this? A little summtin' summtin' that took this beauty to extra special... Thanks Tita J!!! And, there was another little surprise in the parcel that my sis sent, made by a talented blogger that I "met" through blogland.  Hi Irina - Look what we've got!!!   ...

I remember Sara Lee Cheesecake from my childhood.   I remember climbing up onto a chair and taking the box of Sara Lee cheesecake out of the freezer.   On the outside edges of the top of the cheesecake were swirly little decorations (rosettes, maybe?) and I remember cutting only enough so that I would have one full swirly decoration on my slice.  I remember being in a bit of a quandry if a slice had been cut out and halved the swirly decoration - do I cut half of the next swirly decoration to make a full one in total, or do I cut one AND a half to bring it back to status quo?   I remember putting the rest of the Sara Lee cheesecake back into the box and climbing back up on the chair and, if I was the naughty one to have the first slice of the cheesecake, I remember spinning the box around so that on first glance it would look like the box had not yet been opened. I remember just looking at the cheesecake, poking it once in a while ...

When I was young and single, I liked to "tart" it up.  I would walk out of the house in clothing that was mainly lycra and spandex.  I had no concept of "too short", "too tight" or "too bare".  My style back then could be considered on this side of "trash" (and sometimes crossing into it) and would be held safe by a cute smile and a bubbly personality. These days, as a mother to two little girls, my dress code is pretty much comfort which, by default, is conservative and respectable.  With the youngest being just over three months old, my dress code is whatever is clean and I cycle through the same three outfits that I know hides any of the unexpected various explosions that comes out of a young baby. One thing for sure, younger or older, mother or single, I don't think I have ever been capable of pulling off "stylish". Anyways, once in a while these days, I rebel against the conservatism of my aging dress cod...

I was just monkeying around the kitchen... I had some dough leftover from baking dinner rolls and cinnamon buns (yeah - it was alot of dough!) and I had seen this idea from the Pioneer Woman previously.  Cinnamon, butter, sugar and a dash of sweetened condensed milk - yes please!!!  Ok, so maybe, just maybe, I accidentally on purpose put some dough aside just so I could indulge in this .... well, indulgence. And what an indulgence - worse still, an easy indulgence as I already had the dough.  Caramelised cinnamon sugar with a bit of bread covered with sweetened condensed milk.  I don't think I really need to say more. And, in honour of Father's Day, we had special "WE heart DADDY" pancakes... ok ok - I ran out of time, energy and ideas this year.  (Note to self - try harder next year!) Don't mock the banana - at $12.99/kg this is a real treat.  Unfortunately Daddy was too slow and Little Miss M took it and ate it.  It might be Fat...

Finished!  I finally finished Little Miss M's winter jumper!  And just one week short of the end of winter - hahaha!! This is a wonderful pattern .  Even though it took me just under 3 months to finish it, this is a very easy pattern (I think I would rate myself as an advanced beginner knitter).  It was my mistakes and lack of energy that made it a longer project than it needed to be.  I am so happy with the results - I love the look, the fit, the yarn, the colors.  I'll have to make sure that I do the Fair Isle a bit looser next time - it was the first time that I had tried knitting Fair Isle.  (Don't be scared - it's easy!) Would I recommend this pattern?  Definitely!    - For a beginner because it's such an easy pattern to knit up and   - for anyone else that likes the look of the jumper and  - for those of you who have a sweet little girl like mine who, upon seeing the completed jumper o...