More Fah la la la la....la la la la.....!!

Bec's Hand-crafted Christmas Wreath!

The house looks lovely all lit up - I just followed Bec's orders and hammered nails in where she decided they needed to go.... she's turning into a regular little bossy britches!!

Excuse the crap photo's - too many folks borrowing my camera me thinks...

We have a stocking each..

I love our little collection of Christmas books; 'An Aussie Night Before Christmas' is my favourite.

And of course...we each have our Christmas hats - 2 elf one's for the boys, a crown - of course, for me, Bec has a santa hat with 'I believe in Santa Clause' embroidered on it, and Gavin has this hilarious santa hat about 4 foot long that doesn't quite fit cause his head's too big.

White Ribbon Day

30th November is a day to take a stand against domestic violence. It's sad to think that Christmas is the busiest time for women's refuges around Australia, not to mention the many other women and children who suffer in silence. This is a poem I once wrote at a particularly low point in my life - I share it because it's often hard for people to understand the sense of isolation and despair that results from abuse, and the repercussions that can last a life-time.


The Day After

You'll forget how painful it is.
How cruel those words can be.
A few days later you'll hardly believe -
That it really did happen 'to me'.
I survived - didn't I?
Lived to fight another day.
Don't kid yourself this time -
Its not worth the price
That you'll have to pay.
They're bullies, they're liars
They're cheats & low lifes -
Picking on the vulnerable,
Their kids and their wives.
Things go smoothly
For most of the day.
So what triggered it this time?
You'll hear yourself say.
There's no rhyme or reason -
You did nothing wrong.
They're insecure little boys,
Who'll steal your sweet song.
Depressed and alone
Embattled and torn,
This wasn't what God intended
The day you were born.
What happened to us?
That we expect so much less -
How did I get here?
You begin to confess.
Then the kids
And the fear
And finances entwine,
Leaving no voice
For yourself to pine.
We pick up the pieces,
We force ourselves on -
It's no way to live though,
Life's one big con.
But if you can take it...
One day at a time,
Trust in a greater force
Just one small sign
You can learn to be free -
Gain peace of mind.
Move through the fog
And one day find -
That there is a safe place
Where the sun does still shine,
And you reach the conclusion
That life is devine.

(Original poem by Lisa S - please acknowledge if reproducing, thanks).


... And to all the guys that treasure they're families above all else and treat others' with the respect they deserve (even when things get tough) - good on ya!!

Pressies

Just had to include this pic of my beautifully wrapped birthday pressies that just arrived from mum & dad in NZ. I'm really enjoying just looking at them sitting on the dresser; makes me realise how important it is to take time to just appreciate things, whether it be a meal, a thoughtful gift or something picked from the garden.

Rustic Pizza's

I'd read about these ceramic 'pizza stones' so finally got around to buying a couple of them. They came with a metal tray-thing with handles that you can put them on as well as pizza wheels for serving. They really do make an amazing difference - you heat them up in the oven, prepare your pizza's, then slide them onto the hot stones and cook as normal in a hot oven. The bases came out really crispy. As we're trying to eat more vegetarian dishes this is one that I wanted to get right - when you spend time making lovely home-made sauces for the top from home-grown produce, it's just as important to get the base right too. I can't begin to describe the delicious aroma that comes out of the oven while its cooking!

I had to hunt around a bit for them - but any good kitchen shop should have them. I think the name of the shop where I got these from was 'House of Knives'. Expect to pay around $15 each; for the price of one bought pizza you get to make brilliant home-made ones....forever!

I used organic bread flour for the base and packet yeast. I made these in my bread maker; just as quick to make by hand though following any simple bread recipe. For the toppings - I had some pesto left over from a pasta dish the previous day which I spread on the base first, and then made up a tomato sauce as follows;- put a couple of tbsn's of good olive oil in a heavy-based pan and throw in some chopped garlic. Add a chopped spanish onion and lots of vine-ripened, garden fresh tomatoes cut into chunks, and here you can add any other vegies you might have in the fridge or garden like capsicum, zucchini etc. Also add plenty of basil & oregano, a bit of sugar & seasoning and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simer and stir occasionally until most of liquid cooks out and you're left with a nice thick sauce. Spread over pesto on pizza base and add any other toppings like parmesan/mozzarella cheese, olives and chopped sundried tomatoes. The base is also really nice if you throw a bit of polenta onto the pizza stone before sliding pizza onto it. Bake 230 degrees celsius for about 15-20 mins.

Learning New Stuff

Had a burst of inspiration recently (!) Doesn't happen too often now so thought I'd make the most of it. Decided to learn 2 new things - one is crochet. Got this great discounted book when I was at the bookshop the other day. I've seen these natural cotton dishclothes & faceclothes around, and thought they'd be great to make for the home and to give as gifts with home-made soap. It's very relaxing to sit and do - I learnt the basics in one evening; this is 'seed stitch' but they're all just variations of the basic stitches. Really wished I'd paid attention now when Auntie Brenda was trying to teach me crochet many years ago....
The other thing I'm going to try and learn next year is to play the guitar. (Great relief from my family - the violin episode was very painful for them apparently!)

Deck the Halls...

Gotta love this time of year. Just when I thought I was gonna have a quiet, relaxing weekend, Bec talked me into putting up the Christmas deco's - inside and out!! Here's some that I've made & bought over the year's; now I try to add one new thing a year. Once they were all home-made - the kids would love learning new crafts. One year we made a whole nativity set out of salt-dough, which we varnished & painted. Each year we've gradually lost a few of them - just Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the Manger left - see if you can spot them.

Just got to pick up the REAL Christmas tree now - the artificial one finally got thrown out this year - so it'll be a real treat.