Thank you ...........

THANK YOU

I went to sleep Friday night wrapped in the love of the blogging community overwhelmed and sobbing and woke up, saw my gift and sobbed again. Over a very difficult weekend of 1st's my quilt has given me strength, comforted me and reminded me of all my special friends who care. I feel like you are all beside me hugging me. It is not taking pride of place, it is not on show but is being used and snuggled in instead and looking after me. 

THANK YOU

Bake me happy!

I ran into a friend in the supermarket this morning and she suggested I go home and bake myself happy! I decided I had nothing to lose! Worst case scenario I would be organised for the week ahead. A batch of Cornie biscuits with cranberries and dark choc chips instead of sultanas, a sultana cake and a chocolate brownie later I was feeling good, not quite happy but organised!

Look at this!

Can you believe this? Look what I got in the mail today ! 

Happy Birthday lunch!

A trip down to Geelong today to have a family lunch to celebrate my niece Sarah's 20th birthday! Was lovely to see everyone .

Wish I could sing!

Last night I went to the school performance of Les Miserables. Wow! Some serious talent. You forgot you were watching an amateur production. I came away wishing I could sing!

Reading......

An oldie but a goodie, a nostalgic favourite ' Seven Little Australians' by Ethel Turner. I remember loving the tv series on the ABC in the 70's and being given a copy of the book by Aunty Tanya. We farewelled her in a funeral service only a fortnight after Greg. She had fought more than one battle against cancer and went peacefully. I saw this edition of the book the following week and just had to have it. It is just as enjoyable to read now all these years later.

Remembering.....

This is how special friends in Broome, Western Australia honoured Greg on the afternoon of his funeral........

I 💜 my sister xx

Not only did the ' horsey' one come home but my sister arrived from the UK on the Friday before Greg passed away. She hadn't been back to Australia or I hadn't seen her for almost 9 years. It was amazing to have her here and without her and Mum I am not sure how we would of managed. As well as being a school nurse Kirsten works in a hospice a night a week and once she arrived took over all the medication etc. Her being here allowed Greg to stay at home, something I am not sure we would of managed otherwise. Along with Greg we had lots of laughs, in fact he referred to us as the ' double cacklers' as we spent a lot of time cackling!! We sat up one night to watch our wedding DVD , what entertainment that was , full of the 80's fashion and people not seen for years! We didn't finish it  but what we saw was lovely. I will never be able to thank her enough for her support or love.

Guess where??

After being at home for 6 weeks the 'horsey' one returned to the UK to finish what she started. It broke my heart (and her brothers ) seeing her go but she had to. We raise our children to explore the world and make the most of each and every opportunity but most importantly to fulfill your obligations. She was happy to return (too happy !) and even happier to be immediately on summer holidays until the end of August. She met up with another girl doing a similar thing from home and they had a whirlwind fortnight visiting the Greek Islands, Venice and Paris, loving each place more than the one before! She is now staying with my sister and her family which is good for her. Off to Euro Disney for a few days next week with a group of girls then back to York for day trips and to prepare for the new school term. Oh to be young...... I am counting down to Christmas and her return home !

One day at a time.....

Well here I am, back again, taking it slowly, one day at a time, sometimes only an hour at a time, each day I seem to manage something else from 'before', something else that adds to the new normal, the new routine. All the while the physical ache increases and the reality hits hard, this really has happened, I can't pretend it hasn't , I just have to manage and survive. I haven't picked up any stitching or quilting yet, my mind is not quite clear enough yet. The support, love and prayers have given us such comfort and reminded us that we are not alone.

So brave, so courageous, so loved

Gregory James Lowe

20/12/1964 - 27/5/2013

Loved husband of the Chocolate Cat, father of Handsome Son and the Horsey one

Our hearts are broken but we would not of wanted him to continue suffering

So brave, so courageous, so loved

Look who is home!

Love this girl xx

A worry of a child!

The 'horsey' one spent this last weekend with my sister in the UK . She lives not far out of London. The 'horsey' one was so proud of herself when she messaged me Saturday morning to say she was at the station on time for her early morning start, just as well as the train left early. Alarm bells began ringing, when has a train ever left early?? She phoned us an hour later, as the train pulled into Newcastle station she realised she was on a train to Edinburgh in Scotland rather than a train to London, the complete wrong direction! Shame the conductor didnt pick it up when he 'checked' her ticket! Off this train , onto another going the right direction and she arrived just two hours late!!! Heaven help her, she is off to Portugal and Spain on Sunday for the Easter break!

I do love an Easter treat :)

Watching.....

Is anyone else watching the new series of 'The Biggest Loser'? Have to admit it is a favorite of mine. Did use a few tissues during weigh in tonight although not as many as during Downton Abbey last week when Sybil died! Lots of drama last week in Survivor! But missed Amazing Race last night :(  We have just signed up for Foxtel, we will be all ready for the beginning of the football season, never had it before but the menfolk are looking forward to the sport and history / documentary channels!

Birthday celebrations...

Today I headed off to Ballarat to meet 3 very special friends to celebrate Sue's 50th Birthday. We have been friends for a lot of years and although we may only all get together a few times a year we always just catch up where we left off. We went to Craig's royal hotel in Ballarat for High Tea. Craig's has been restored to its former glory and is beautiful. The service, food and coffee was great. It was quite funny when at the end of the afternoon we looked around to find the room empty except for us!!! The staff were happy to take photos . It was a great afternoon.

She did it!

Miss Claire from work reached her target of $2000 and followed through with shaving her hair for a cure! Part way through and she had an amazing mullet! The end result looks great, we told her it looks as though she shaved it for fashion! Wonder how she goes washing it for the first time!!

I was very spoilt and received some flowers today , I will really enjoy them.

So tired....

So tired I could sleep for a week! Even turning my alarms off for the morning. Please note cats that means you too! 4.40am is not acceptable!

Purrfect Pete xx

Shave for a cure!

One of our gorgeous dietitians at work Claire is shaving her hair for a cure on Saturday. It is a fundraiser for the Leaukemia foundation. This is a charity that has been a huge support to our family over the last 10 months so I have been more than happy to be Claire's 'project manager'! We held a morning tea at work this morning to raise some extra $ to help her reach her goal which is $2000. I am not sure how much she made but think she may of got there when added to what she already had in sponsorship. I made chocolate brownie, caramel tartlets and cupcakes.

Luckily I think Claire will look ok bald!!

Busy hands...

When I saw Mum yesterday she handed over 2 quilts she has recently finished. The top one is from a pattern and fabric she bought on our trp to America. It is going to a special friend who has been very helpful with the 'horsey' one and her horse over the years. The second one is a pattern that I think Mum found in a magazine. It has a LOT of work in it! It is being gifted to a special house guest we have arriving in April. She still has more quilts on the go so there will be more to show soon! She has learnt how to do her own machine quilting which she is enjoying. 

Holiday Monday...

Today is a public holiday here in Victoria , for Labor Day, and it has been a beautiful warm weekend.  Today we travelled to Mum's and took her out for lunch. Had a beautiful roast vegetable pie followed by a lovely pistachio macaron and a coffee. It was so nice to catch up in person ( we speak every night on the phone) , dont think we stopped talking! Grabbed a photo before we left, unusual as Mum hates having her photo taken! Didnt think it was too bad! Brought 2 quilts home from Mums, will share them tomorrow!

Special gardens.

In the middle of our town the round-a-bouts are planted out with herbs and vegetables instead of flowers. The produce are then used by a soup kitchen and community kitchen run by local churches. What a great idea. They make me smile each time I drive past. Not great photos, there were so many people around and I am obviously not a professional blogger as I didnt stop the traffic to get out of the car!! Just some of the things at the moment - silver beet and chilli plants.

Blue lake and Baseball!

As I wasn't needed to work at the boarding house today I was able to join SH and HS for their first final for baseball, a do or die game! We travelled over to Mt Gambier and while they were warming up I took a quick detour to have a look at the Blue Lake. I had never been there at the right time of year before to see it blue. The 'horsey one' had asked for a photo so as a good mother I obliged. It was spectacular. The boys lost their game so their season has ended but it was a close competitive game, the best way to go out. This was HS after the game, not a great photo but I don't get many to share!

Ssssh....

Last Mars bar ice cream in the freezer, I have snuck it into the bedroom and having it watching American Idol! I feel very wicked but it is SO good :)

I miss this girl

Even her funny faces! Think about now she will be regretting leaving so many 'selfies' with special effects on our I Pad!

Yum!

Now that it is March I have given myself permission to indulge in the occasional hot cross bun! Choc chip is my choice and the Bakers Delight ones are so good!

Struggle street...

I have been so good posting every day for the last weeks, it hasn't been easy, there have been many days with no inspiration. Today I have hit rock bottom! I have nothing say! A big day at work, to get through I self medicated with caramel Easter eggs so this poster seemed apt! Enjoy!

A good pie!

Another new recipe from the school cookbook , yummy chicken pie, chicken, leek, bacon, cream! And a layer of spinach on the top. Even better makes a huge pie. I will be making this again...

The Language of Love

SH made these creme brûlées and picked these roses out of our garden for me :)

Spot the cat!

Does this tell you what kind of week I have had?

An Irish adventure!

The 'horsey' one spent last week doing a paddy wagon tour of Ireland with another 299 gap students! Her bus travelled from North to South. She discovered a lot about the political history in Belfast and enjoyed the beauty of the country as they travelled down South. They visited the Guiness factory on the last day and apparently she earned a certificate! It wasn't all smooth sailing, when they arrived at Dublin airport to book in for their return flight they discovered she had booked it for 23 March instead of 23 Feb! Of their group of 12 she was the only that had done this! It meant an extra night in Dublin and purchasing another airfare. It also meant she was late back to work, lucky they were understanding. It didnt seem to stress her, she just problem solved, I am proud of her but hopefully she won't make the same mistake again!
I have had a huge week at work, lots of extra hours. Off to Geelong tomorrow for check up appointments, I am looking forward to the weekend!

Another cake!

Another afternoon tea at work, this time to celebrate an engagement which means another cake! This time a chocolate mud cake with a peppermint cream filling and a chocolate ganache icing, another Yum! I forgot to take a photo this morning, luckily there was some to bring home! I may just have a slice for supper tonight!

TV Tuesday!

I haven't spoken for a while about my trashy (sometimes, not always) tv viewing! After a slow start to the year I have a few shows I am loving at the moment and hate missing! I start the week on Sunday ( the new TV guide so a new tv week) with Modern Family which I love! For someone without a sense of humor normally I get this show! This went a little pear shaped this  week when we discovered a new series of Amazing Race starting at the same time and for once a watchable time, not at 11 pm at night! Amazing Race won out and I am so happy we chose that. Luckily there always seems to be repeats of Modern Family so we will catch up on that. Too many teams to love and one to dislike! Yay! I then watch Masterchef professional, enjoy this but not enough to watch it the rest of the week! Of course the highlight of Sunday is Downton Abbey, series 3. So sad for Edith last week but loving every twist and turn! Their clothes are beautiful and the flowers.... Monday is My Kitchen Rules, I tried to give it up when the intruders came in but it has sucked me in again. Another show that is fun to have some villains ! Tuesday and Wednesday just have more of My Kitchen Rules but now Thursday, that is full to overflowing with entertainment! Starts with Survivor, then the 2nd half of American Idol then Meet the Midwives, high quality viewing and for this reason I watch it in the bedroom, banned from forcing the menfolk to watch! Friday more American Idol and it all starts all over again. No time for anymore at the moment. Loving it:)
Anyone else have some favourite shows happening??

Everything together Orange Cake!

After blogging that we had made this cake last week an Peppermint Aero loving friend from across the seas asked for the recipe! We have made it a few times, lots of flavour, not many dishes and delicious, ticks all the boxes!

1 whole orange ( sticker removed )
1 cup white sugar
175g butter, melted
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
Cut up whole orange into chunks. Throw into food processor and pulp roughly. Add sugar, melted butter and eggs. Stir in self raising flour. Pour into a greased 18cm round cake tin.
Bake for approx 30 mins or until cooked.
Sprinkle icing sugar over the top, doesn't need icing!

Thank goodness for google if anyone needs to convert measurements!

Washing weather.....

A huge benefit to the warm (hot) weather we are having at the moment is that it is easy to keep the washing up to date.  Not happy to just be up to date I go searching for more to wash, quilts, cushion covers, nothing is safe! Today was Willow's toys turn. They were looking very grubby and not smelling great. They looked so cute pegged on the line.

Miss Willow was very happy with her clean wombat this afternoon :)