Photoaday...June 4

Today's word is 'Close-up'

It's the beginning of Winter here in Australia, so our fire has been going non stop for a few weeks. I love the even warmth the fire gives to our home.

"Hot coffee and cold winter mornings are two of the best
soul mates who ever did find each other."  ~Terri Guillemets

 

Photoaday...June 3

 

On Your Plate

 

 

I had a few bananas in the fruit bowl that were going brown, so made a banana cake yesterday.

Photo a Day and Home made Pasties

In the June Photo a Day challenge the word is 'Empty'.

It was quite simple for me to think of a photo for that subject as I unpacked an electrical item yesterday which of course left an 'empty' box.

The electrical item was this

As I have never had a coffee machine before I didn't want to get an expensive one and then find that I didn't use it. So I read a lot of reviews on line for different types of machines and the Sunbeam Piccolo Espresso had lots of good feedback, so it got delivered yesterday.

It is quite easy to use and clean but will take a bit of practice to get it tasting just right. I purchased a tin of the Amanti brand of ground coffee which our Bakery uses. So as you can imagine there is a bit of coffee drinking (and throwing out!!) happening at the moment.

Home made Pasties

During winter I usually make quite a few batches of pasty slice that I put away in the freezer. Growing up in my family Mum would regularly make 'soup and pasties' during winter on Saturdays. It was lovely nutritious food that was enjoyed on a Saturday night after our various sports that was played during the day. We would quite often eat tea in front of the TV, watching footy on a Saturday night which was a treat as meals were usually eaten at the table.

 Above: In a big container I mix up about a kilo of premium mince, approx 3 each of shredded carrots and potatos, a couple of cups of shredded pumpkin and 1 onion and then add a good dash of worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce along with 2 eggs so that it mixes to a nice moist consistency.

Above: I use a packet of Puff pastry and spread the mix out as above onto one sheet, the roll over. Once rolled, pinch the ends together to seal it, then repeat with the other sheets.

Above: Place the slices onto baking trays and brush with a little milk.
Pop into a moderate over until golden brown.

Above: I sometimes sprinkle them with toasted sesame seeds.

Well, in keeping my family tradition alive, I've made soup today and might just pull out a couple of pasty slices as the footy will be on over tea time tonight!

I have also made a banana cake, so tea will be followed by that and no doubt a coffee!

Hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

Tomorrow's photo subject is 'On your plate'...see you then.

Photo a Day - June 1

So the answer is 'yes'!!  I have decided to join in the June Challenge and post a photo a day from Fatmumslim's list.

It should be a bit of fun but who knows if I will be successful in not missing a day!

Here is the list for the month.

 

So here is my first photo....Morning

 

Bathrooom progress and a bit of this and that!

Most days for the last few weeks, I've thought "I must do a post!", well here I am finally!

A few weeks back hubby and I spent the weekend with friends at McLaren Vale. Us girls (Joanne and I), took off on Saturday morning and spent the day visiting a few garage sales, shops, having lunch at Bracegirdles and tasting some wine at a winery. It was a very pleasant day which was topped off with having some other friends over for meal at night.

I didn't get many photos but here are a few to sum up our day.

 

Above: Bought these old blue plates and bowls and the
glass lid off of a Sunbeam Frying Pan which I have used
many times as a casserole dish!

Above: This isn't my photo..I took it from the Bracegirdles website
but it summed up the lovely cruisy lunch we had.

Above: We visited this 'The Battle of Bosworth' Cellar Door nestled in McLaren Vale, where they produce organic certified wines. They also make a range called the 'Spring Seed Wine Co' where the artwork on the labels are made from original old flower seed packets.

Above: After our lovely day out it was time to head back to Joanne's and see
what the boys had been up to and have a cuppa!

 

Above: Then just before dinner we decided to go down to The Artel Lounge Bar to have a cocktail. The Artel is the newest place to dine and enjoy a drink or High Tea in McLaren Vale. It is 1930's themed and has a very nice atmosphere.

Bathroom Update

Our bathroom makeover has been a bit drawn out, while waiting on a few things to be done...but it has been very useable. Last week the mirror and shelf went up, so now we can start to paint the walls and then I will be able to do the whole reveal!

 Above: This is the bathroom cabinet before the reno.

Above: A sneak peak at how it is looking now.

Last weekend we travelled down to Adelaide for lunch to be with hubby's family for Mother's Day lunch. Our boys and their partners had organised to bring tea around to us that night se we got back in time for that which was lovely.
Note to self....take more photos!!  Sorry I didn't get any of that day or the day the weekend prior when we went to Victor Harbor and caught up with my parents and a few sisters. Must have been too busy having a nice time!!

Another little project we've had on the go is replacing our 5 passage doors. I forgot to get 'before' photos, but the doors were just plain old solid ones and were a cream colour. We have replaced them with new pannelled doors and painted them white. The door frames then also needed painting from the cream to white. We've just completed that project.

Above: Just remembered in the nick of time to get a photo of the 'before' colour
on the frames. The cream colour was also the colour of the old doors, which I didn't get a photo of!

Above: The other 2 doors in the passage all finished. The colour on the walls is similar to what I'll we'll be painting the bathroom walls.

That's about it for now. Hope you enjoy your weekend.

The Humble Omlette

There are times in life when you've either run out of inspiration for what to make for the evening meal or it's been a busy day and the event of cooking up a storm just isn't going to happen...that is when I find that the humble omlette makes it's way onto our dinner plates.

After one of those days recently, I made the omlettes and truly wondered why I don't make them more often. They are so quick, easy and delicious and you can us whatever you have on hand for the filling.

I'm glad I took the photos as I do think they warrant a blog post about them!

My method...I fried some bacon, mushrooms and tomato...whisked the eggs with parsley, s&p.
Cooked one side of the egg mixture in the frying pan, flipped it and then added the fried mix to one side of the omlette and flipped the other side over and slid it onto a plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crotcheting bug has got me and as the cooler days are approaching I'm enjoying making a plain coloured scarfe. I haven't got too far to go, probably the next footy game I watch on tv will have it completed.

 

The latest addition to my Pinterest board is a lace patterend book cover.

 

You use the lace as the pattern and spray paint over it, to get the imprint onto the cover. It's a really nice effect. You can read the tutorial here.

PINTEREST...I have been on Pinterest for a couple of months now and have found it so useful. I have added so many ideas, recipes, decorating tips etc to my boards and I will always know where to find them. If you find a good idea while searching around the internet you simple just use the installed pin, to 'pin it' into one of your chosen board categories. You will then always have the photo in that board and the link to where you got the photo from. Great for tutorials and recipe ideas. If you would like to give Pinterest a try I am happy to send you an invite from my account...you receive the invite instantly and can then start on your way. If you just go to Pinterest and request an invite it will take up to a week before you receive the response back from them.  

Here is a recipe I pinned onto my recipe board this week...Cinnamon glazed popcorn. I haven't made it yet, but plan to soon!  The recipe can be found here

 Hope you enjoy your weekend whatever it is that you are up to.

 

This and that

We stayed home this Easter as we were looking after both our boys dogs as they and their partners were away. They are 2 labradors, Cooper is chocolate brown and Marshall is black.
Here they are with my hubby having a play and enjoying their outing at a local oval.

 

The weather over the Easter long weekend was beautiful. They days were sunny and clear skies with the evenings a bit chilly. Our town is located along the Murray River system. There has been lots of water coming down due to floods in the eastern states. I took a few shots of the swollen river.

 

 

Those trees are not usually in the water. There is usually quite an expanse of land in front where people park their cars and setup camp on the river, hence there was no camping by the river this Easter.

Our town puts on a free breakfast every Easter Saturday. It certainly attracts a crowd of visitors and locals who have the choice of hot cross buns, fruit, sausages, hamburgers, eggs, orange juice, tea, coffee and milo. Easter bunny makes an appearance with free chocolate eggs for the children. I help out every year and enjoy chatting to those who come out early to soak up the atmosphere. It's great for the traders as people usually stay around and visit the shops.

My favourite find on Pinterest this week was this quilt which I think I might give a try sometime soon!

You can find the pattern and instructions for the rag quilt here