Month: November 2006

it was hot today.
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You know how when you get your first real camera and start to fancy yourself as quite the photographer? Not the time when you’re about 9, but more the time like first year uni and you get a real camera. These days with all the hi-tech gadgets it’s also about fancing yourself as quite the film producer. The next stage is playing around with different lenses, sepia and the classic black and white.

But in the ultimate lesson that black and white does not equal class, behold this pearl, this gem, indeed this whole new world.
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In an indication Tuesday school scripture clearly has an affect:
Oscar brought home two little gingerbread cut-outs stuck to paddlepop sticks, which he proceeded to use for a delightful range of puppet shows.

Felix then had his turn:
Green gingerbread man: “Hello”
Brown gingerbread man woman: “ohhhh, hello”
Passionate embrace
Green gingerbread man: “Oh no, I’m going to die like Jesus Christ”
Cue impressive fall from top of chair to the floor.
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Further to my quest to ensure my brain dies an early unstimulated death, has anyone else caught wind of this Stupid Stupid Man series? Very funny. It’s even got Moon Face Jnr on it, and he’s quite good.

It was sort of hot, overcast and just weird today. Then this afternoon the wind picked up and there was a chill in the air. Tomorrow is meant to be 39C. Whatever.
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Today was admission at the hospital.
We arrived at 4pm, we were getting in the car to leave at 7.15. EUGH.
My GOD so much waiting around, SO BORED.
Then we had the dating scan, and saw a little heart beating on a peanut.
And Chef and I felt really quite ill. (I was excited as well, kind of … I’m nervous about the CVS and just generally anxious.)
Then more waiting around, SO BORED.
Then we had our meeting with the midwife. Where I had to detail three pregnancies, and realised there were things I was forgetting or attributing to one then realising, oh no, that was the next one. And so on and so forth.
By then Chef and I had a collective headache, tension through our shoulders and a sense of “oh my GOD” that neither of us have shaken even now.
CVS is booked in for 13 December. My only issue with this is that the full results take a minimum of 10 working days and well – HELLO CHRISTMAS – so we won ‘t have the results until the New Year. SIGH SIGH SIGH.
Anyway, the peanut has a hearbeat, there’s only one of them (woohoo!) and I’m bang on 10 weeks.
Oh and it seems to have a penchant for standing on its head.
And quite frankly, who can blame it.

Can anyone else believe tic-tac teeth won?
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Custard tart

Shortcrust pastry
4 cups plain flour
360g butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup cream
– process flour, sugar and butter
– add enough cream to make the dough come together
– flatten into a disc and refridgerate.
(I’m known to roll out at this stage, line the pie dish and then pop in the freezer for 30 minutes. I pull it out just before I need it, bring it slightly to room temperature then blind bake for 15minutes)
– this is enough for 2-3 tarts, or one pie.

Custard
1 tbsp cornflour
265g caster sugar
600ml cream
6 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
grated nutmeg
– mix cornflour and sugar together, add cream
– in a seperate bowl mix the eggs then add to the cream mixture with the vanilla

– Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced oven
– Line pastry in a 30cm pie dish
– blind bake for 15-20 minutes
– pour filling into shell, sprinkle wiht nutmeg and bake for 40-50 minutes or until set.

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Pecan Pie
Use the shortcrust pastry detailed above and follow through to the blind baking stage

Pie filling
1/2 stick of butter (2oz)
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
6oz pecans, chopped
– melt the butter
– stir in the sugar then beat in the eggs
– mix in the maple syrup then stir over a double boiler until the mixture is nice and glossy
– stir in the pecans
– pour into the pie shell and bake at 160C until just firm in the centre.
(Credits: Joke for pie filling)
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Photos will follow, when I get my camera back from leaving it at the Doodles.
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Unconscious Mutterings

1. Rhyme ::and reason
2. Substantial ::doubt
3. Instant ::gratification
4. Greed ::is good
5. Brad ::is gorgeous
6. Season ::of sillyness
7. Accomplished ::performer
8. Invite ::reject
9. Sparkle ::in the eye
10. Rainbow ::warrior

You can play too

also known as YOU’RE DREAMIN’ SON

F: Well Santa’s going to bring me an Xbox 360 and a brand new television.
Me: OH REALLY? I thought you wanted a make-your-own-lightsaber set and a full-size skateboard?
F: No, he’s bringing me an Xbox 360 and a big screen tele.

Me: Oscar, what would you like to ask Santa for this year?
Oscar: (signs with sound effects) guns, swords and lightsabers
Chef: Yeah, because you can never have too many of those.

It’s probably around 25 today, kind of overcast – but more in that hazy way than big burly grey clouds way, with a lovely onshore cooling breeze. Delightful.

After the energy and activity of yesterday, we’re just chilling out at home today – gosh it’s nice. The cricket is on- is England really this bad??? or are we really the legends we think we are?

I’m doing about 50 loads of washing, have cleaned out the cupboard under the laundry sink that has been shitting me for oh, about 18 months, and Mum just came downstairs and said, “I’m here to help” and basically cleaned up the back room.

I’ve developed conjuncitivis over night – thanks Jasper – and the drops? No wonder Jasper screams, they sting and then the chemical taste that feeds down the back of your nose and throat has explained why he’s been so raspy and off his food since Friday (although he just ate a piece of pumpkin pie). You see I just thought it made your eyes goopy and itchy, but it actually makes you feel pretty rotten. Nice.

I’ve just eaten a slice of pumpkin pie and custard tart for lunch, after an appetizer of about a dozen Sicilian green olives. Green olives were my pregnancy alarm bell this time around, as I was sick with pharangytis and thinking the antibiotics were making me crook. Until I was standing in the kitchen contemplating how I felt sick but hungry at the same time, so was not sure what to eat, until I thought, “Mmm green olives.” The clanging of those alarm bells were the final prompter for buying the pregnancy test.

Now, Jonathan is doing it and it seemed like fun:
Inviting questions.
Send me a max of four questions in comments and a I’ll answer the first 20. (maybe this is a way to end the silence that seems to have descended over here – unless you all dropped in a faint of shock at our news)
There are no rules as to what you ask.
Go on. Dare ya.