Birthday project

This was my project for my nephew's 5th birthday (1st June). It is a book bag. Just the right size for all those precious books that he loves to bring home from the library. There is a funny back story to this comment, to be told another time, suffice to say he is now banned from his school library!!

At my sisters house, each of her kids has a colour assigned to them for towels, cups, plates, etc. Very "Yours, Mine & Ours".` I am of course referring to the original movie with Lucille Ball - now that's a comedy. Anyway, I wonder if you can guess which colour is Coby's?

I would like to thank my mum for her help in getting the bag done, and looking so well finished. I don't think my own efforts would have resulted in such a lovely finished product.

The rut of stuckiness ...

All I can say for now is that I am feeling washed out, braindead and incompetent. I hope things improve soon. Too much to do to be stuck in this rut.

New look

Yay! I finally got around to it ...

New curtains for Presley




New curtains for the study




New curtains for our room

Camping & Rejuvenation

Over the Labor Day weekend we went camping up at Noosa North Shore as part of MCC's annual family fishing and camping weekend. It is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with people outside of church and it just gets better with each passing year. This year there were about 90 of us. I love it because it is right on the beach and has great facilities. With us were our lovely friends Steve and Sara and their scrumptious little man, Graeme. It was so delightful to go to sleep to the sound of the crashing surf and to wake up to the sound of lorikeets and kookaburras. But the most magical sight were the kangaroos grazing in the early morning light.





One of the things I love about camping is that you are not a slave to the clock. You get up when you wake up, you eat when you're hungry, you play when you want, you read, you lounge around, you swim, you chat, and you go to bed just becuase you're tired. I love it. Time is what you make it. I wish every day could be that way, *sigh*. Oh well, back to reality. Clothes to wash and fold, dishes to do, child to feed and a sick husband to look after. Truly, I wouldn't want it any other way.

A little ray of sunshine

My precious daughter, Presley, lights up my life. She is so much fun and brings me so much joy. Being a mother is such a wonderful privilege. May I never lose sight of that.

Catching up with friends

Today I had the privilege of catching up with one of my dear friends, Rachel. We had a lovely lunch down at Suttons Beach, with chip and chicken sandwiches the order of the day (mmmm ... love Aussie Rooster). After lunch, Presley and Henry (Rachel's son) played in the sand, and Henry attempted his first sand castle. Although not terribly successful (Rachel was very quick to point out that understanding the engineering of sand castles was not her strong point), he has a fantastic time at the beach. Once Presley and Henry were quite finished with the sand, we went for a lovely stroll along the waterfront all the way over to Margate. On the way back we stopped at Zorba's and had gelati. Yummo.

It was so nice because neither of us had to rush off for any reason and we could just enjoy our time together. What makes this get together so special is that Rachel lives in England (she is an Aussie married to an Englishman) and so she only comes over every 2-3yrs. I met Rachel when I was teaching in England in 2004/2005. God obviously knew I needed a friend that not only was familiar with England but also understood being Australian, Rachel was that friend. What makes this an extra special provision is that I was so pleased to discover that although she grew up in Melbourne, her parents actually live at Arana Hills (about a 40mins drive from where we live) which means that her visits to Australia bring her right to my doorstep!

It was just what I needed after the happenings of the last few weeks. Thank you Lord for friends and family.

A delicious treat

A truly delicious and decadent treat, Red Velvet Cake. I first made this for my younger sister's birthday in January. I have made it a couple of times since and it has been a big hit. It is dead easy and I promise you will enjoy it.

Red Velvet Cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2Tsp cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
50g red food colouring (you can add as little or as much as you like, or not at all!)
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1tsp baking soda sprinkled over 1Tsp vinegar

Cream Cheese frosting

8oz cream cheese - softened to room temperature
3cups icing sugar
1tsp pure vanilla extract

For the cake:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Sift flour, slat and cocoa together. Add alternately with buttermilk. Beat after each addition until combined. Stir in baking soda nnd vinegar mixture, with red colouring. Pour into 2 x 20cm well greased and lined cake tins.

Bake 30mins in a moderate oven. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting

For the cream cheese frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy (about 2mins). Add vanilla and icing sugar. Beat, on low, to combine. If too soft chill until slightly stiff (about 10mins).

Do a crumb layer (this is an initial layer to seal in any crumbs), fridge for about 15mins until set, then continue to frost the entire cake