Friday, 16 January 2015

Sorting with love

Today I decided I should spend some time sorting through more of my dear ex-hubby's personal items.
He was blessed with a lot of creative talent and his hands were always busy creating some new art piece.  Being an avid photographer and artist, there were several beautiful photos and paintings, but today was the day to sort through his many wooden carvings.
While cleaning and sorting the carvings, it was immediately obvious how much love and thought he had put into each one.
To be honest, I remember him spending his free time carving large pieces of various wood and listening to music.  When his old workplace was expanding and adding additional rooms, many of the old mahogany trees on the property were felled, and he was privy to choose whatever trees he wanted before they were carted away.
He had invested in several human anatomy books which he referred to periodically, but mostly he could be found just carving away at some piece of wood with what I imagine was a "photo" in his head.
Most of the time I had no idea what it would be until it was finished, and to say he had a vivid imagination would be putting it lightly.
There were over thirty wood carvings to be sorted and I have highlighted a few of them here.

An Adonis figure.....

....with a snake crawling up his back.

This one I dubbed "The Madonna with the Big Boobies"
...and no, she wasn't modeled after me.

I am an "Allo! Allo!" fan, and I thought the name was appropriate....


This beautiful piece is actually a table base, it carries a round glass top above.
This one reminded me of "The Crucifixion"

Reading two books at a time....a "Double Wealth of Knowledge" gained.
I will spend another day cleaning and polishing them properly and bringing them back to a lovely lustre, then and only then will I invite other family members to come over and choose a memento to cherish.
It will all take time....time that will be filled with precious memories.....memories that I hope will make me smile like today.


In case anyone is wondering about the rock wall in the background, I created the rock facade with a few rock moulds I purchased on EBay years ago. They were made using white cement, sand and fibre mesh....it was a fun project.

Monday, 12 January 2015

Happy Birthday Daughter Dear!!!



 Happy Happy Birthday Daughter Dear!!!

WOW!!!   Thirty five years ago......seems like a long time.....but as we age we apparently get sweeter like grapes and wine.
You are the BEST daughter in the world....because you are MY daughter and I LOVE YOU!!!
Wishing you a whole heap more of birthdays with God's blessings.
Did I already say I LOVE YOU????   Well I do!!!

Sunday, 11 January 2015

A simple request

Tomorrow is a special day for my daughter.
I had already done some shopping with the expectation that she would request some fancy dessert to celebrate her day....but noooo.
"What would you like for your birthday dessert?"  I asked her this morning.
"One of your peach cobblers Mum," she replied.
Taken aback by surprise, I made sure by asking, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," she simply said.
After lunch I got to work.  My cobbler recipe is an easy recipe which I found online many years ago. I  have shared it below.
First I gathered all my ingredients, nothing exotic, all things you may already have in your pantry.
 
I decided to make two fruit cobblers.....one peach and one apple.


Peel and core and slice the apples.

Melt the butter.
I use the microwave for my melted butter.  Cover the dish with a paper napkin and melt the butter for about 40-45 seconds.
Pour the melted butter in the baking pan/dish making sure to cover the sides well.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl: Flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Add the milk and mix until just blended.  Do not over mix.

Pour the batter in the pan on top of the melted butter.
Do NOT combine.
Arrange the sliced fruit on top.

Sprinkle with Cinnamon Sugar. 
Thank goodness I had purchased a new bottle because my other bottle only had about one or two shakes left inside.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-minutes to an hour until the top is golden brown.

Look who was "sleeping" but timing the oven in his "sleep".


Apple Cobbler
 
Peach Cobbler

Here is the recipe:
MY EASY PEACH COBBLER
Some call this Miracle Pie because the batter bubbles through the peaches as it bakes, creating a crusty topping.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup of sugar (I use granulated sugar)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Sliced tinned peaches or other fruit.

Method
Pour the melted butter into a rectangular baking dish (3 quart).
Brush sides of the dish with the butter.  I just roll the melted butter all around the dish until fully covered.
Set dish aside.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, mix well.
Stir in the milk, mixing by hand till just combined.
Pour batter over the butter, but do not stir them together,
Spread the sliced peaches over the batter, but do not stir them together.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Serve warm or cool with whipped cream or ice cream.



A simple request taken care of.


Friday, 9 January 2015

Our canine friends

I had a blog post all planned for today, but when I saw the video below, I just had to share it here.

http://mashable.com/2015/01/08/dogs-ball-boys-venus-williams/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link

How cute is that?
My favourite sport and my favourite animal friends together...it doesn't get any better than that.
Enjoy.

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

Another Christmas gone

This Christmas season went by quickly, and I couldn't believe that it was already time to take down the tree.
The stores in the malls and in the city were all beautifully decorated for the season, and it had been my intention to take lots of photos and write a post to highlight them all, but this just did not happen.
Now it was time for the decorations to be taken down.

All the painstaking work that had gone into creating the beautiful store displays would be no more.....until December rolled around again.
 Store displays were being dismantled.

This one caught my eye.
An old Christmas tree being used as a skirt for this store window display....very haute couture......very clever.
If I had my way I would leave this one up for a while longer.

However on Freecycle someone was making a request for all the used Christmas trees because they were having a bonfire...they were willing to pick up the old discarded trees.
The bonfire sounds like fun, and I can well imagine the scent of pine needles as they go up in flames filling the night air.

My tree came down today, the decorations sliding off far more easily than expected....as if excited to be going back into hibernation for another eleven months.
Before we know it, Christmas will be with us again.

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