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