Learn to use fondant icing - at the Make Cafe

Kirsty pouring cold drinks 

Everyone arriving and exclaiming

The plain cupcakes to start with

More of what I finished

On Wednesday night I went to a fondant icing course - or cupcake icing course - at The Make Cafe. I had a lovely time along with 6 other women. I learnt alot. It was fun and look at how much we did in just the two hour session.

Not only did I learn a new thing but it was a real treat. Kirsty at The Make Cafe, puts incredible effort into her events with the aim to make you see it as a special time. All beautifully decorated and laid out but also lovely teas, coffee and something to nibble.

My boys were really impressed and took them to school in their lunch boxes.

the best ones

Two boy washing machine

feet doing the washing

great concentration

Well as you know our house is in a state of flux. We have no stove and no washing machine. So I told the boys that they had to learn how to do washing the back-packing way. If they are going to travel the world they at least need to be clean. They were a bit reluctant at first but then got into the fun of it. My Mother was really helpful and hung out the washing once they had washed it, Mother and I wrung it out and then she hung it on the line. I was sanding and puttying up holes in the walls ready to paint.

My mother was amazing and helped heaps

Wednesday night once we had emptied the house I had a big hissy and said I am NEVER doing this again and I am not moving (my excuse was I was sooo tired). Anyway I woke up on Thursday morning to realise that in about 6 months we would need to do it all again when we paint the walls. (Yes I did say 6 months- part of the hissy was I rang EQC to find out about our earthquake claim which I had been guaranteed would be paid by 31 Dec, to be told that they can't meet that deadline and it could be anything up to the middle of 2013!! To say I was unhappy is putting it very mildly).
Anyway - what I realised on Thursday was that if I painted behind everything - the oven, the fridge, the washingmachine, the computer desk, the china cabinet while they were out now then we would not need to move them again when we finally could paint the room as a whole. Inspite of this being an excellent plan I do feel rather overdone and that I have just added yet another thing in to the juggle going on. So I am working on the puttying holes, sanding etc and even though I am a bit stressed I know that it will relieve a lot of stress later.

The twins!!!

At the airport I parked beside another Will  VI

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The need to blog

I have the most amazing photos to show you of the internet station Aaron has set up for me while he goes for  a run. I have no floor, no table, no chair and almost no PC. (the motherboards BIOS chip is stuffed!!) Clever husband working on it like crazy.

But for some reason I cannot download my photos to show you the extreme lengths I go to for Blogging. Sigh. No craft has been done as the house has been moved out to do the floors. That along with a aunt's funeral on Friday and my Mother coming to stay, mix in a bit of work and it looks like as much as I may think about it a lot, blogging is on the back burner for a  couple of weeks.

Will update the pictures when I can as you have to see it to believe it!!

Hi Visibility Bridesmaid Dress

the gorgeous safety bridesmaid!!! (love the matching hat)

I contemplated calling this blog post the 22 minute bridesmaid dress. As - yes- all it took to make was 22 minutes. We had our work  Christmas Do today and as the H&S rep for the company I felt that this is a very appropriate outfit. T-Shirts were the old style and could no longer be made to wear, I decided to put them to good use.

Another title could be - make a bridesmaids dress from 2 T-shirts and a Hi Viz vest.

I overlocked most of the seams so it is really rough. All the neck and other edges were left raw as T-shirting does not really fray.

I turned up to the work do in the new Longsilver uniform and got a great reception. I told them all that it was a trial run for the wedding in two weeks time. (Anna and Mark run Longsilver Construction Ltd). Anna was not amused that I would wear it to the wedding - told me I would not be let out of the kitchen. But I AM going to wear it (well while we set up anyway).

Cutting it all up

The begining - two t-shirts and a Hi Viz vest

The two vests for my nephews

I join Amanda at Crazy Mum Quilts for finish it up friday - I had been working the last two weeks on more Silk waistcoats and bow ties for my two nephews Albie and Jack. I finished them this morning before I got stuck into my dress for the wedding.

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How to get a mess look nice

I am a bit slow blogging at the moment because our house is a big fat MESS. All the boys stuff is in the garage as we put new carpet in their rooms and I have to sort through their junk  precious things before bringing them back into the house into new bookcases. It is taking a while as I am painting some of the bookcases.

The lounge has no carpet (until 20th Dec), The dining area is being packed ready to get wood put on the floor - ditto the kitchen and laundry. I will have no stove for 8 days up to Xmas so no baking etc for camping and Christmas.

Last night I took photos to show the mess and why I am not blogging. Today I decided that we could make a mess look good. So it is in the small things that are lovely that I can take pleasure and just ignore the rest.

Aaron looked like this (just how I feel)

The dining room looks like this

The lounge looks like this

Our bedroom looks like this

The dog has had enough and looks like this

Jakobs room looks like this

The lounge can be made pretty with these

The bedroom smells gorgeous with these

The kitchen looks awesome with this just picke

Guerrilla knitting and some stitching

Trying to get it finished

The last couple of days we have been in Palmerston North celebrating Aaron's graduation. A double major degree in Information Systems and Computer Science.

While we watched kids in playing or while waiting in airports I almost finished the stitching I need to get done for Xmas. Linking to "finish it up friday" and others here.


We went to the NZ Rugby Museum and the statue was covered in Guerrilla knitting and crotchet. Took me a minute to realise what it was.

The boys having breakfast in bed in the motel

Yes that is some clothing on the statue

Sorbet - Annabel Langbein style

 Berry Sorbet and real fruit ice cream

Well I decided to try making Annabel Langbein's sorbet that was on her current TV programme "The Free Range Cook, Simple Pleasures". It is so much easier to make than normal sorbet where you have to make a sugar syrup. But it left it a lot grittier and the berries have little pip bits that gave it a sort of crunch. It is nice, it is super easy and also is egg, gluten, fat and dairy free. But the boys did not like it. So I also made some real fruit icecream for them. Putting them both together in the same dish worked well as the smooth icecream meant the crunchy sorbet was not overpowering.


Annabel Langbein Berry Sorbet
I did 1/2 recipe and that was a lot.
500g frozen berries into the food processor, add 1 cup castor (or superfine) sugar and 1 tablespoon of alcohol (I used creme de cassis from Barkers). Process till smooth (this took a wee while) Put in the freezer for at least two hours before serving.

My real fruit icecream
Put frozen berries into foodprocesser, add icing sugar to taste - blend. Then put in some vanilla icecream and  whizz until it is all well mixed. Yummy on the spot and refreezes well.

Frozen berries into food processor

Add icing sugar

Whizz

Whizz till smooth with icecream in it

Or just eat it as it is.

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Crisis Averted

My gorgeous husband has spent hours resolving the loss of this blog. He got it back!!! I had resigned myself to a new life without blogger. Think of all the housework I could do, think of all the gardening!! But no I am saved from a life of drudgery and can now be a internet freak again.

Isn't he gorgeous!!

To celebrate we had a yummy dessert (well that was my excuse, it was actually a failed lot of mini pavlova). I put layers of Chantilly cream, strawberries from the garden and disastrous pavlova into gorgeous glasses. A sort of Eton Mess.

An awesome baby shower

I have just come home from a fantastic baby shower for my cousin Alison. It was held at The Make Cafe in Riccarton, Christchurch. Wow did they pull out all the stops. Decorated beautifully with so many things I just cannot mention them all. Then as an activity we all made a bib. They supplied bibs and material and a cutter and we cut out various pattern, used vliesofix to iron them on and if you felt like it there was thread etc to stitch something.

Gorgeous china and three pots of different tea, coffee, slices........ What a great way to celebrate.

I scooter-ed 10km!!

We were in Dunedin for the weekend staying with my sister. The Dunedin City Council have slowly been making a bike, walk, run path around the harbour from the city out towards Port Chalmers. This path is at the bottom of the hill where my sister lives.

Eli and I on scooters at St Leonards.

The boys exploring

Aaron was going to run it, the boys had scooters to scoot along and so Warren (my brother in law) found an old scooter in their garage for me to use.

To start with Aaron's first comment was "you are not wearing that scooting are you?" Sorry what is the problem, I had a merino jersey over the top of a cotton shirt and 3/4 length jeans with sneakers. "It's gingham" - what? Then I asked what did he think I should wear, a skirt? "Shorts". What! in public! is he nuts?!

So off we go. Oh my goodness. Each way turned out to be 4km not 5km (whew). I had to keep changing legs as my gluteous maximus were getting very sore!! Aaron then started pushing me up the hills (what a gorgeous macho man). Then the scooter dropped something through its main section and that acted as a very sudden brake! Used some tape from another bit of the scooter to hold that up.

Our lovely 90 year old 

Whew rest time. The boys looked at the water - climbed up banks into hidey holes. It was great. I went to stand and my legs quivered!!!!! They felt like you do when you get off a trampoline that you have been on too long.

It was gorgeous, it was certainly fun, but my scooter slowly started the braking thing again. The boys saw me getting pushes so Eli said he would give me his better MGP to use if Dad would push him on my old crappy thing. They had great fun whizzing past me.

At the end we came across a man and woman who talked about scootering. The man had thought of buying one, so I got him to try mine. It then turned out that they were out for a walk on the same path and she was 90!!! (She was so gorgeous but said "I am not going to try that, I am 90 you know). I had to get a photo of him on the scooter (he was VERY wobbly)

Aaron and I resting while the boys explored

The hero pushing Jakob on the old scooter

In the end I only did 4km as Aaron ran back to get the car because my scooter just was falling apart. Great intentions, great fun.

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