A giveaway to end Blogtoberfest

Well as you would have all noticed I have managed to fail Blogtoberfest this year in a big way.  What can I say,  School holidays and two weeks away did not help me in this cause.

Better luck next year.

As a thank you to those that visited and those of you that did such a great job in following along, joining in and the like I am celebrating for all of you with a little giveaway.

Just leave a comment before next Monday (November 7th) and I will draw it randomly (with the help of the little people in the house.

The prize, now that would be handy to know.  If you are a knitter (or crocheter) than I will send you 1 ball of Mini Mochi Intense Rainbow Yarn and some super cute buttons.

If you aren't of the yarny crafts then I will knit it into a Rainbow scarf for you (and the buttons).  Let me know in your comments what you would prefer.

A Slice of Paradise

A slice of Paradise, on our back door...

A slice of Paradise, that we took two years to find...

A slice of Paradise, that has made us fall back in love with Queensland a little bit more

and wishing that we weren't leaving so soon.

 
Heading back to paradise next weekend to see the whales and ticking off some more of that bucket list.

A Silky Worm

We have eight little friends living happily at our house at the moment. 

They eat and eat and eat and have started to spin the yellowest of yellow thread.

The kids are amazed and I can not stop checking on them everytime I walk past.

I hope you have all had an enjoyable weekend.

On the Shelf...

It appears that I have fallen off Blogtoberfest with a thud.

Life here has managed to get crazy busy again here (sorry if I am meant to have sent you back an email - I am hoping to get to it tonight)  I have managed to catch up with a few friends this week and am attempting to get organised to go on a little family holiday, all I have packed so far is my knitting and crochet, that is acceptable behaviour for us crafty folk isn't it?

I have been stir, stir, stirring a great big pot and turned 11kg of tomatoes into Special Sauce*.  Another crazy thing to do just before moving.  Never mind, there is always ways around moving things (trust me, after 8 moves in 9 years I know ALL the tricks)

Special Tomato Sauce

11 kg of tomatoes
1.5kg sliced brown onions
2kg granny smith apples, sliced
100g garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2kg sugar
500g salt
40g all spice
40g whole ginger, sliced
10g Cayenne
40 g cloves
5 cups of brown vinegar

Boil unpeeled tomatoes, onions, apples and garlic slowly for 3 hours (depends on how thick you like your sauce)  Remove skins that are floating on the surface.
With a bar mix or blender (I used the thermomix) Puree, blend in sugar and salt
Place spices, ginger, cayenne and cloves into a muslin bag and secure.Place in the pot of sauce mix and stir in vinegar.
Boil gently for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and be careful not to catch the bottom (burnt sauce isn't good)
Remove spice bag. Pour into sterilised bottles and seal firmly.

We now have a nice little stock pile of 18 bottles of sauce sitting on the shelf.  This will last us a year and is used in everything from pasta, spaghetti and shepherds pie and of course on top of steak and pies.
* Baden calls this his special sauce as it is the only sauce that isn't naughty and cause a rash on his face.

Joining in with Vic's Meme this week.  She has it back in her hot little hands and is a little excited to say the least.  Why don't you pop by and say hi.

Sunday Snippets {Blogtoberfest Day 9}

Joining in with Tinniegirl's Sunday Snippets this Sunday.

A quick photo at a playcentre during a birthday celebration

 A painting on a wall at the local cafe. 

 Face painted after a trip to Bunnings

Riding the bike without training wheels (and racing Dad to the finish line)

Hope that you have all had a lovely, relaxing weekend and ready for another week.

Going Short...

My hair needs a good cut every few years.  So what else does one do when she has finally found an awesome hairdresser and is about to move???

Get it all lopped off of course. 

It will possibly take me the next two years to find another great hairdresser.  I wonder if a flight from Melbourne to Brisbane is budgetable for haircuts?  Don't like my chances.

 A week into Blogtoberfest and still going strong - yay.

Happiness...{this moment}

 is a girl with cupcakes.

I fail with this no word, one photo thing.
The girl took in cupcakes this week to share with her friends at school.
I also nailed the icing - thanks heaps Lesley for your help and recipe.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.-soulemama

{Creative Space} Going round n round...

Onto the next colour.

Looking forward to seeing this grow into a blanket for the newest member of our extended family.

For more creative spaces pop in and visit some of the growing list at Our Creative Spaces.  And if you have a spare four days up your sleeve pop around some of the Blogtoberfest Bloggers.

Don't...

...stand still around here at the moment.  You may be put into a bag, thrown out, rehomed or popped in the Charity bin.

With every move comes the clean up.  I am being ruthless this time.  On the hit list this week is the acrylic wool and the linen cupboard.

I did not take a before photo but I am very happy with my after result.

I have a cupboard like this one here.  Infact, it could easily be mine.  More on that later.  It only felt like yesterday that we were packing up and moving to Brisbane, that is until you come across how much the little people have grown in the time we have been here.

Joining in with the fun over at Tinniegirl and failing to visiting all that is on the list.  How is everyone else going?

A friend in the Kitchen...

Meet my new friend in the kitchen.

She has been part of the family for a few months now and to she is here to stay.

The Thermomix.  A food processor that also minces, blends, beats, whips, grinds, kneads and COOKS.  It has taken me a while to come out in blogland as I didn't want you all to think that I was made of money.

I have dreamt of owning one of these since I saw it at a friends demo in December last year.  I came home announcing that I would love one to my husband and he announced that I could have it the next day if it cooked toast and replaced the oven* (the two things that it can not achieve)

After finally killing  the food processor in May, I ordered one and have not looked back.

Just look at their faces.  This was the first time they used it and they were not impressed.

It took a little convincing the kids that this new machine was a good thing.  We had tears from both of them as helping Mum in the kitchen meant licking the beaters and I was not about to take out the blade for them.  They have come around now and love helping to make everything from cakes and playdough to micing tge garlic and watching steak turn into mince

I am enjoying how quickly it makes everything and Tim fears that if it ever breaks I will not know how to use a knife and with Baden with his reactions to food preservatives I have cut down my preparation in the kitchen by approx 2 hours a day.

Parmesan Cheese in seconds

This is not going to become a food/thermomix blog.  But if you would like to see it in action and live in Brisbane I have signed up as a consultant and would love to come and cook you and a few friends lunch or dinner so you can see its magic. There is no pushy sales pitch. I promise.

 * Little did I know that he had been on to Google and checked out what it could do.

By the Sea...

One of many things we are going to miss about Brisbane is the closeness to the sea.  (especially the male of the house)  Saturdays are on the water day around here.

We joined him on the weekend for a picnic and a chance for the kids to go for a paddle with him.

Amelia also had her first fishing lesson off of her Pa.  It didn't take long before she was over the little crabs eating it and we went past the fishing trawlers on the way home and bought some fish.

Tim then took over holding it for a while - what do you think?  Does the colour suit him?  Apparently it is Hot Salmon.

Joining in with Blogtoberfest.  Day three and keeping up.

A sad goodbye

There have been tears here today.

We said goodbye to our Eme dog.  Her ears have been clipped and she has gone to stay on the farm. To enjoy the open paddock and run, run and run some more until we move south and pick her up.

I found a little girl sobbing at the back door this afternoon.  She misses her already.

These will be the first of many tears shed I feel.  The next 10 weeks are going to fly by, and withit will come lots of goodbyes.

The Party {And then she was SIX}

I thought I would start the first day of October off with a bang and a party and share with you a little party.

We had a little tea party with a few friends in celebration of Amelia turning six on Thursday.

The kids usually get something handmade as part of their birthday presents.  But due to lack of time and the late night knitting that occured here I just plain ran out of time.

Instead, every part of Amelia's little tea party was baked and prepared by me.  All on Thursday monring.  Thank heavens for my new machine in the kitchen (more on that later) or there would have been tears.

Decorations were in the form of chinese lantans made by the birthday girl and a few ballons.

Tea cups from the opshops were filled with a few lollies and taken home by the guests. The girls decorated their own cup cakes and a game of musical chairs, pass the parcel and dancing filled in the time.

Joining in with the month worth of celebrations and fun that is Blogtoberfest over at Tinniegirl.