School holiday - Week 1

We didn't really have any plans for the first week of the school holidays this September.  Well Miss R had one special day planned but the rest of the time we intended to go with the flow and meander along. 

 We've really enjoyed mixing in a few outings with plenty of at home time.  There has been sleepovers at Grandparents places as well and it's just been a lovely balance of things.

  As I type I'm looking out the window to the lovely dark, drizzly, rainy Sunday morning and listening to the thunder rumbling around.  I love days that start like this, especially when I can potter about at home and don't need to be anywhere.  It's the perfect ending to our week.

The first weekend of the holidays saw us go on an expedition to various seafood markets around the Sunshine Coast as hubby was on a mission to buy a decent quantity of mullet so he and his cousin could go fishing.  That meant a stop off at a playground and lunch for us at one of the fish markets in Mooloolaba.

Hubby and his cousin did head out for a fish and brought back some lovely parrot fish (don't know it's true name).  They went about 20 miles off shore from Mooloolaba in his cousin's boat as our little tinny is made more for the rivers and estuaries.

The fish was delicious by the way.

We also went visiting while the boys sorted boat fishing things out.  The kids had fun with their cousins (2nd or 3rd cousins, I can never remember how to work it out - easier to just say cousins).

The pool was the most fun part though.  I still think it's a bit to cool to go for a swim at this time of year but the kids don't seem to worry about that.

I did mention that Miss R had a special day planned.  Well she went off to the Zoo for one of their Zookeeper for a Day programs.  She joined in one of the Zookeeper Extreme programs (for 11-15 year olds) nearly 2 years ago and loved it.  She really wanted to do the Extreme Reptile program and  got the opportunity to join in these holidays.

They only do two of the Reptile experiences a year.  One in the Easter school holidays and one in the September school holidays because that's the best weather around here for the reptiles.  There are only 10 places in each group so if you want to experience the Reptile program you need to book in quick because there are only 20 places each year.

I've been doing some crochet too of course.  I'm working on a shoulder bag which I've been itching to start for awhile but had decided that it would be a school holiday project so I was very good and waited until this week to begin.  I'm really loving how it's coming together.

There has also been a little cooking.  Not as much as some school holidays as I've been very lethargic in my kitchen duties lately.

Miss R loves lemon butter and wanted to make some.  Luckily we have a microwave lemon butter recipe that is really quick and easy and makes one jar full so she made that.  It's a great project for her.

I don't know where I got the recipe for this from originally as it was scribbled on a bit of paper so I'm sorry if I've stepped on any toes publishing this but here goes:

Microwave Lemon Butter

Zest and juice of one lemon

1/2 cup of caster sugar

75 grams butter

2 eggs

Place juice, zest and sugar in a microwave safe jug (1 litre) or bowl.  Whisk in the eggs then add the butter (I like to cube the butter).  Cover with a lid or cling wrap and microwave on High (800w) for 3 minutes, giving it a good whisk after each minute. (Best to do it in one minute bursts)  Cool slightly and pour into a jar.  Enjoy!

We didn't have a fresh lemon handy so we used bottled lemon juice which works well although I think that you can taste the difference between fresh and bottled.  Miss R and hubby can't seem to tell though.  If using bottled you can use 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup.  We used 1/4 and it's quite thick but still very lemony.  We also have a 1100w microwave so we cooked it on Medium/High.

Oh and make sure you give it a good whisk each time otherwise you get egg white chunks through it.

I hope you have all been having a wonderful week.  We're heading a little further south to northern New South Wales this coming week and intend to enjoy a bit of a rare family trip away.  

xx Susan