Crochet and cricket

The second cricket test is on right now (Australia vs South Africa).

 

As anyone who knows me knows just how much I LOVE my cricket then you will forgive me for not blogging much over the next few days.

 

 

There will however be a lot more of this done.......

 

 

 

Although there probably won't be as much of either watched or done as I would like as it seems Master M does need a bit more supervision.

 

During the first days play yesterday he was left on his own for a bit too long and proceeded to colour in the screen of our brand new tv in the lounge (2  weeks old) with a pair of scissors.

 

So our new tv is very scratched and I have one very sad little boy now.

 

xx Susan

 



A morning shopping

I took the plunge and bought a new pair of togs so there's no excuse not to go swimming with the kidlettes on those hot days now. 

 

 

I scouted the charity shops for a chest of drawers for the kidlettes as their other one had pretty well fallen to pieces. 

 

I was unbelievably happy with my bargain $85 dresser.  I only wanted drawers and nothing fit the bill until I found this......

 



 

 

The mirror was a bonus and now Mr M thinks it's wonderful to have a mirror in his room because he can pull lots and lots of cheeky faces.  Little Miss R just puts music on and watches herself dance.

 

By far my favourite purchase was this old sewing tin which was full of pins, screwdrivers and sewing machine feet.  I love, Love, LOVE this little tin and it is now sitting on my sewing table where  I can gaze on it lovingly when I'm at my machine.

 

 



 

 

 

It certainly is the little finds like this which can make us so happy.

 

 



 

 

It was so lovely having the morning out to myself while hubby and Master M did boy things.  I cherish those days.

 

 

Hope you are having a fantastic week.

 

xx Susan

Summer's on the way

Well it has been for a little while now as the heat and humidity have both been cranking up.

 

The one thing I love about summer is the storms.  Oh how I love them!  I get so excited with watching the clouds build up and then there's that wonderful earthy smell that gets so strong just before the storm seems to hit.

 

 

We had one band of storms come through about 8pm on Saturday evening and then the rain continued throughout the night.  I was woken by the sound of more thunder around 5am which was just lovely.

 

It continued to rain throughout Sunday morning and I was hoping it was going to set in for the day.  It wasn't to be and the sun came out for a little while before.......you guessed it.......another storm in the afternoon!



Such a lovely stormy weekend.

 

 



Rain also meant indoor activities so we made cubby houses with blankets, watched movies and did some cooking.

 

 



 

Hubby will be home later today so we're all excited about that, I just need to get the house in a bit of order as it's still very much looking like we've spent most of the weekend inside.  Such mess!  But fun mess it was.

 

Have a great week.

 

xx Susan

Afternoon fun

What do you do when it's really, really hot (about 35 celcius and very sticky and muggy) and school's finished for the day?

 

Make a big splash of course!

 

The last few days have been very hot here so on Friday afternoon my Uncle picked up Master M just before 3pm and took him to my sister's house to cool off in her pool.

 

 



I picked Little Miss R off from school and we headed straight for the pool too.  It looked lovely and inviting so it looks like I'll have to buy a pair of togs for myself this year.  I've put on so much weight that my old ones don't fit me so I either have to embark on an intensive weight loss programme to fit into my old ones or just  buy a new pair. 

 

 



 

 

At the moment I think buying a new pair is probably a little less stressful.

 

Hope you all have a great weekend.  (Hubby's gone for the full weekend here so it's just the kidlettes and myself.  Will I survive?)

 

xx Susan

Squares

Hubby has been home all weekend which has been lovely, especially as my energy levels have been a little low and I've not been 100%.

 

He's been spending some lovely time with the kidlettes and I've been lazing about on my bed, watching cricket, listening to the rain and the WIND (boy was it swirly).

 

......and of course adding to my pile of squares.

 

 

 

xx Susan



Happy sewing days

Last time hubby was home I got stuck into my sewing room and spent a couple of days making some Christmas presents.

 

I've made another swimming bag, this time for Nephew J.  I'll make 3 more of these and post to Cairns for my other niece and nephews. 

 

 

My sister-in-law was also looking through one of my sewing books and wanted a laundry bag each for her boys.  So out came the robot and rocket prints and the bags were made.

 

 



 

Well only one bag was made as I ran out of the colour thread I needed for the second bag when it was almost finished.

 

 

Hubby's home again tomorrow and the cricket starts (First test between Australia and South Africa), so I think I'll be spending a bit of time inside happily finishing off a few projects.

 

I also quickly made some accessories for an Action Hero last night.  Little Miss R has a disco at school this afternoon and the littlies have an Action Hero theme for it.

I had a pretty difficult time getting them off her so she could have a bath.  she LOVES the gauntlettes and the mask.

 

I've got a few other projects half made too so once I've finished some of them I'll take some photos and show you.

 

Hope you're all having a great week.

 

xx Susan

Osso Bucco

I decided to have another comfort food evening on Saturday.  It was hubby's last night home before going back to work for his next shift and I just wanted something I knew we would all really enjoy.  Osso Bucco was my choice this time and it was so unbelievably delicious.



My Osso Bucco recipe

 

                               *      about 6 Osso Bucco pieces

                               *     1/4 cup plain flour

                               *      2 tbsp olive oil

                               *      1 onion, diced

                               *      2 cloves garlic, crushed

                               *      2 celery stalks, diced finely

                               *      2 carrots, diced finely

                               *      1 zucchini (corguette), diced finely

                               *      1/2 cup dry white wine

                               *      1 can diced tomatoes

                               *      2 tbsp tomato paste

                               *      1 cup beef stock

                               *      1 bay leaf

                               *      pinch of dried thyme (or a handful of fresh if you

                                            are  lucky enough to have it)

                               *      salt and pepper

 

 

 

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil and cook the onion, garlic, celery, carrots and zucchini over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes (until vegetables are soft).  Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.

 

 

 

Coat the Osso Bucco pieces lightly with the flour.

 

 

Heat the remaining oil and brown the Osso Bucco pieces for about 2 minutes each side.



 

Now for one of the most important steps:

 

Pour the wine!

 



Add the wine to the meat, bring to the boil and cook for about 1 minute. 

 

When pouring the wine it is essential to pour a glass for the cook as well.

 

 



 

Add the vegetables back to the pan as well as the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf and stock.  If using the dried thyme then add this now too.  Season with salt and pepper and give a little stir.

 

 

Cover with foil, put the lid on, turn down to low and let cook for between 1 and 1 1/2 hours.  I usually do closer to 1 1/2 hours but only had 4 pieces of Osso Bucco this time so I cooked it for just over an hour.

 

If you're using fresh time, stir that through now before serving.

 





Serve with either Risotto Milanese, Creamy Polenta or Mashed Potato.

 

We had it with the polenta this time which was incredibly awesome.  Just click on the creamy polenta link above if you want to see how I make it.

As you can tell by the next photo, food presentation and portion controls are not obviously my thing.

 

 You'll be pleased to know that I didn't eat all of this as I was bursting at the seams after only about half.  Leftovers for Sunday lunch.....yum, yum!

Hope you're all having a great weekend.

xx Susan