Changing it up!

I love the idea of Kukas to cook from a different cookbook each month. Last month I was salivating over her chilli and then delicious deserts. So for February I'm adopting the same approach hoping that for me this should a) liven up the dinner table b) challenge me in the kitchen and c) make me actually get motivated and excited about cooking.

I picked up this cookbook from the oppy a while back for the whopping sum of $1.00 but mainly bought it for an interesting read rather than the actual recipes. Printed in 1976 it has some really concepts that are fairly foreign to me and I would think, most of my generation. One section, entitled 'to store foods' recommends to keep butter in earthenware dishes and stand these in another dish of cold water, cover with muslin and allow the ends to stand in the cold water. Yep - this book was written before refrigeration was common place. I need to do some converting as well as all the recipes are in pounds & ounces. Some of the recipes I would think are definitely out of cooking fashion - I can't imagine cooking calf's head brawn (where does one buy a calfs head these days?) or diving into a liver and onion ring or pigeon cutlets - but others are obviously the tried and tested type of meals that never seem to go out of favour such as egg & bacon pie and desserts like apple pies, bread and butter puddings and the like. Alas, it's not the book of the month - a bit too much offal for my liking!

This month I'll be scouring the pages of 'Cook' from Kate McGhie - I love a cook book that has that running commentry style with lots of personal stories and tales of how recipes came to be and this one certainly meets that criteria. I'm looking forward to trying home-made skinless sausages, lamb in wine, lemon and parsely sauce and lemon custard slice to name but a few!

To all the nay-sayers...

...bugger off!

Seriously, I'm so sick of people rolling their eyes, grunting, sighing and generally raining on my parade when it comes to work. People can't believe that I'm excited about starting work and when I say I am I'm so bloody sick of getting negative responses.

After eight years out of the paid workforce I am excited at the prospect of a pay slip, after three years of full time study I am thrilled at the opportunity to make a difference in patients lives, I'm happy to be given the opportunity to put my education into action.

In three days I will put on the uniform, pin on my watch & be excited, motivated, positive and enthusiastic about the challenges and triumps that lay ahead!

Camping at the Cotter

We made a last minute decision to take the kidlets camping this weekend and given our late start we thought a trip down to the Cotter might be nice as it's just 20 minutes from home. Camping rates are very reasonable at $7.50 for adults and kidlets under 10 free. The facilities are really good with washing up sinks, flushing toilets & hot showers. It's just up the road from Casuarina Sands swimming area so we spent lots of time swimming & hanging out to cool down in the river.

Sunday morning we took a walk up to the Cotter Caves which is a 1.6km return walk although parts of the walk are moderately steep both the kids managed up to the caves and back without too much drama. We had a really nice short break away and it was nice to get out of the routine and do something a bit different with the kidlets before the school/preschool/work stuff starts.

I have to say that it's also very very handy to pick an ex-scout bloke to bring along on a camping trip. There is nothing quite like a glass of wine, good conversation and toasted marshmallows to end an evening.

January round up

Quick round up of the January crafting projects. Totals...
- 2 tops
- 3 skirts
- 1 quilt top
It's nice to do some selfish crafting for a change and I think this months challenge was fate as I'm doing the whole wardrobe sewing thingie. Feeling very 'together' still and loving some new bling and other stuff thats very matchy-matchy.
This top is fast becoming a favourite pattern of mine. It's cool and comfy and super quick to sew. The fabric came from the remnants bin so not bad for $1.30!!

This skirt is made up on the spot as I found this piece of knit fabric in the stash. It goes with lots of the tops that I have so while I'm not in love with the fabric pattern it goes well in the wardrobe and is easy to mix and match with all my other stuff.

This is the first garment that I've ever made with pockets!! I'm in love with the pockets! Fabric is a grey suiting from Spotties and while I love the skirt and have already worn it out a few times I'd love to make another one with something that has a little more drape.

This skirt is based on the tutorial here - black poplin & a quilting fabric from Spotties. I like that I can tie it higher up on my waist if I want something 3/4 length and then can tie is lower down on my hips if I want something in a longer length. Again, fits the black/grey theme so is easily interchanged with all the tops in the cupboard.

So... onto February... something in a knit fabric. No ideas/plans as yet, I'm waiting for a hit of inspiration!