Time for a round up

Well, what has been happening in the last few weeks? Not a lot really (apart from Christmas of course) and I have to admit I am enjoying just relaxing before the year gets back into full swing.

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Christmas Day found us over at number one son's home with all the family. The only one missing was eldest grand daughter who was on holiday with her fiancee ... but we'll let them off this year :)

After we had eaten the main course we exchanged the presents.

This is always a fun time and usually the youngest child gives 

them out. This year though he thought he was far too old for 

that, being the grand old age of 11, so number one son did the honours.

  After this we had our desserts - the mains had had plenty of time to settle. Below are DIL and eldest grandson rolling the ice cream.

They are the family foodies :)

Yes, he has a cigarette in his mouth. No it is not lit.

 DIL had been worried there wouldn't be enough food, she had never done what I suppose is a 'pot luck' Christmas dinner before but this is our normal. All in all we had a lovely Christmas with everyone. And there was more than enough food!

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New Year's eve was spent at home and we were in bed before midnight but listening to the countdown on the radio. 

I have started going out for walks again, and no this is not a New Year's resolution. I was relaxing in the bath one evening between Christmas and New Year and thought to myself that I would start going out walking 'next week sometime'. But I decided to start straight away, the excess weight convinced me :(  So I am pleased to say I have been out walking every evening since and so far am enjoying it. 

Eldest daughter gave us some freshly picked peas and

 broad beans a couple of days ago so I spent a very pleasant hour sitting under the sun umbrella in the back yard yesterday 

morning shelling and podding them before the day got too hot.

And yes, there are enough left for the pot :)

And of course we had a super moon a night or two back and it was quite spectacular. Not long after my GKB took this the sky clouded over, which often seems to happen with these super moons in our neck of the woods. This is the best one we have seen.

Anyway, that's my round up for now, 

I'll see you all again next time.

Diana

joining Debbie for 

Friday Foto Friends

Happy New Year

Wishing you all a happy, 

prosperous and blessed 2018.

Photo courtesy of Otago Daily Times

Christmas greetings

Christmas Day has arrived in New Zealand

 and so...

From our home to yours,

 we wish you all a very happy 

and blessed Christmas.

Two birthday girls

We've had two birthdays in the last couple of weeks.

We celebrated eldest daughter's 50th birthday on Saturday 

with a Mad Hatters tea party. Lots of fun.

Today it is my little mother' 88th birthday, a couple of her 

younger grandsons are taking a fish n' chips tea around for her. 

She loves getting fish n chips as a treat so they'll have a good evening together.

The birthday girls.

Jacqui with her offspring, Caitlin, Monica and Andrew.

The cake, made and decorated by Andrew.

The roses are fresh from the garden.

Roses and owls are two of his mother's favourite things.

Stained glass cake

or as it is also known...
Cathedral Cake

I found this recipe while looking for my Christmas cake recipe so I decided to try it. It is delicious and was a hit with everyone who tried it. It's also a great alternative to the traditional Christmas cake and a lot easier to make :) 

I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we do.

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 Cathedral Cake

200 grams dates    

150 grams mixed peel

100 grams green cherries

100 grams raisins

200 grams walnut halves

250 grams brazil nuts

100 grams flour

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

170 grams sugar

3 eggs

Line a 6 cup loaf tin with 3 layers of paper 5cm higher than the tin.

Combine fruit and nuts in a a large bowl. 

Sift flour and baking powder and add sugar - mix with fruit.

Beat eggs until thick and creamy and pour onto fruit etc - combine thoroughly.

Spoon into tin and spread evenly. 

Bake at 150 degs C for about 2 hours.

Leave to stand for 10 minutes then turn onto cake rack.

Wrap in foil when cold and store in refrigerator. 

Cut into fingers or thin slices to serve.

Happy Christmassing

Diana

Summer, but not quite Christmassing.

 Hello there. I would like to say I am back to regular blogging but to be honest I don't know. After the past year with little mother being so ill and having to travel from one end of the country to the other with her for her treatment, (more than once) I found at the end of it all I was quite emotionally and mentally exhausted. I don't think I'm quite back to normal yet, but getting there. So...working on it and will post when I can. I have been visiting but just haven't had the energy to comment.

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So...Summer came in beautifully at the beginning of the month and so far it has been very hot for our part of the world. Temps in the mid to high 20's and nights in the mid  teens - too hot for comfort and not a lot of sleep happening. But the upside of that is that I have managed to get most of my spare blankets washed and back inside and put away. You can see that the grass is already burning off and I believe we are in for more of the same.

Number one son came and removed all of his gear at the weekend. They have just moved house again as where they had gone to was only a temporary house sit. They hadn't realised it would be quite so temporary or they may not have taken it. But this has proved a blessing in disguise because the new house is closer to the family, only a block away from his younger sister and her family. And it is in a bush setting while still being part of the city.

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I haven't really got much Christmas stuff done yet but have made a start. Below is my Advent calendar, a New Zealand holiday scene. As you open each door it tells a little of the Nativity story with photos of children playing the parts. Iconic and cute.

I also manage to play some Christmas music occasionally - when my GKB isn't watching darts...or cricket or snooker. So not very often at present :)

And I have managed to get my overseas Christmas cards written and posted away. Now to get started on the local ones.

Then it is a Christmas cake or two, but I'm not stressing about that. If they have to be store bought this year they have to be store bought.

Happy Advent.

Diana

November scavenger hunt...

Hello folks :) It's that time of the month when we join Hawthorn and friends over at I live, I love, I craft, I am me... for the monthly scavenger hunt. I hope you enjoy my offerings.

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Blue

The evening before the full moon this month my GKB 

snapped this. A lovely royal blue sky don't you think?

Me

Aged about three. This is me sitting on a little wooden rocking chair. Every December one of the department stores in town ordered in dozens of these little chairs and just before Christmas my grandfather would go down and get enough for the small grandchildren and paint them a lovely shiny red. We loved them. 

 

Starts with a ...W 

A warning -  sign seen at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch when we visited last month. I found it rather amusing as the animals mentioned include big cats.

Rainbow

A large group of people with flags in Aotea square, Auckland.

The flags were very bright and colourful, a rainbow of colours.

Arch

On the outskirts of Alexandra in Central Otago, the arches

 from the original bridge crossing the Clutha River. 

Part of the modern arch of the new bridge is to the right. 

Toy

Do you see the fishing rod in here. To my GKB it is the ultimate toy. In fact he loves this one so much that he has more in the garage cluttering the place up waiting in case he fancies a change. Why he would need more than one is beyond me as he can only use one at a time or take the risk of having everything confiscated (including the very expensive license) if he is caught with more than one in use. This was after a day at the river.

Swirl

Brought out to celebrate their 80th birthday. 

Tip Top Ice Cream's new flavour - Birthday Cake Swirl.

Very nice too, but not my favourite :)

Brush

I hope you can see this brush. It is very pale pink and sitting on the white background it has tended to fade away. I was going through the stuff in my old glory box (hope chest) when I found this little china pram with the brush sitting in it. The brush was a baby gift on the birth of my eldest daughter, who is about to turn 50 in a few days, and the pram was part of a flower arrangement sent into the nursing home while we were in there.

Nail

 The same daughter's wedding nails 
nearly forty years later. Very elegant.

My choice

I like this neon sign. It used to be on the top of a butchery in the city, which has been demolished. The pig is now housed in Toitu Settlers Museum. He's rather colourful and I tossed up between him and the flags for the rainbow prompt.

If you want to see how others handled the prompts 

head over to I live, I love, I craft, I am me... and take a look :)

Diana