Anzac Day

Its a small thing, but every ANZAC Day I try to make these - Anzac bikkies from the Edmonds cookbook. Most kiwis would know what I am on about, but the aussies are going to be lost!

The Edmonds cookbook is a must have in any kiwi kitchen. I think its been published since the 50s and it has evolved with NZ. I love it - specially since it has all the handy conversions in the front. So whenever I am cooking USA recipes, I have to pull this out to convert ;)



This batch were interesting! Everytime I make them they are a little bit different, sometimes they are stodgy, other times chewy. I admit I like the chewy ones best - I think its a function of the butter!

So I think the origins of Anzac bikkies were that they were the ingredients readily available during WWI, (but I can't see butter being available.....) and I think they were baked and sent over to the troops. The other great thing about them is they are great for kids to make as they dont have any egg, so the mix can be eaten raw, which obviously is great when you have little hands with you. Jenna loves cvooking with me :)

Its my first Anzac Day back in NZ for a number of years, and it was nice to see the NZ spin on the day. I have missed the kiwi feel to the "celebrations". Anzac Day always makes me feel very sad - I could never let my children go to fight in a war, and I dont know how parents do it - even now. I hate the waste of life, what a horrendous waste, and while I know those poor boys and men did it for the good of the country, sometimes I wonder. Specially with the political nature of the wars of today. Surely there were ways to avoid Gallipoli and the whole bloody war??

Finally finished it!

Sheep washcloth (http://www.knittingknonsense.com/bobbles_sheep.html) - what a nightmare!!
I have never done bobbles before, so this was a very sharp learning curve. SOOOOO many of them!! About 45.



Still, its finished, I'm having a month where I am trying to get as many things off the needles as poss, and this was eating away at me.

Its now successfully being used in the kitchen. Actually Shane is reacing for the home made clothes more and more, they really get the crap off the table and the bench, so thats pretty cool :)

An even bigger girl!!

So wow - Jenna first term at kindy is over, and it seems like she is still so little to be going, but she loves it.

Today was the end of term, and there was a concert in the next door baptist church, and here is a photo of all the kids. OMG I could probably be sued if they knew I posted their kids on the net, but they are just so cute :)



So I just threw Jenna up on the stage cause we got there late (we had been planting the new gardens!!!) and I didn't even pay attention to te fact that she was ripping it up, but it was only afterwards, when a couple of the parents commented to me that she was totally into it, I really realised she was! Specially when I playback the video of my camera and I see all the other kids her age just standing there with their arms by their sides, liek little stunned rabbits!!
So here is a special photo to show my little girl getting into it, and even better, half the songs were Maori, which I love even more since its a private Montisorri kinder, in a very "white" town, and they are totally going against what I thought :) Love, love, love it!!!!!!!




Oh - by the way, mine is the little one with the red top and the denim shorts :)

My little girl turns 3

Well,

Big week here. Jenna turned 3!!!! Seems amazing that it was only 3 years ago that I felt more pain than I have ever felt in my life :)

So we got up first thing and did the present thing in bed, and she ran into the kitchen (at about 6am.....) to find her butterflies. She loved them. Made cupcakes for kinder. Note in the picture our crappy kitchen, our cat on the window sill, the butterflies hanging from the roof, her new tinkerbell jammies, Shane cooking, wow - very layered photo!!!!



OK - so apparently at kinder you have to provide "something" for 25 kids and 5 teachers every birthday. Well you dont have to, but its pretty bad form if you dont. We decided that little mini cupcakes would be the way to go, had a couple of practise runs, and here is the final result.



I feel completely terrible, as its the first kids birthday that I haven't done the whole womans weekly b-day cake with butter icing and all, specially since she wanted a "strawberry chocolate butterfly cake please mummy". Pressure......

Keep in mind that I had 3 major assignments due on her birthday - give me some slack! Oh - even worse, I have lectures all day Thurs - I get home at about 9:30pm.

But she had a great day, and apparently the cakes went down very well, specially since they didn't have papers around them, so the teachers were happy ;)

Bag swap finished!

In the nick of time......

This is my contribution for the Australian Bag lady swap from Ravelry. I'm sure my swapper doesn't read my blog, so I'm not worried about posting it.




Its knitted from Possum/Merino wool, and its really lovely I think!

A jumper lot!!!!

At my first market, only a month ago, I was asked to do a custom dye job of enough for a 7yo boys jumper.
EEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!


I really wasn't sure I could get it to be consistent enough, so I said yes (silly me...) and then found some wool, and then I did a trial run, got the OK from the customer, and went ahead and dyed it!

So here it is.



I'm very happy with it, it was a bit of fiddling around, but I reckon it will look really good knitted up. All up about 600g, which I am really proud of.

The markets are going OK. I have a big one this weekend - she was very very happy to fit me in, and this market often has a waiting list, so from the feedback I have been getting, all will be well!

I dyed up about 500g of rainbow as well today - this is by far my best seller, it just disappears as quick as its available!

If anyone is after any custom dyes - please let me know, I am happy to oblige :)

By the way, the spunky bag that the wool is in - its actually the package from the sheets I bought last week. Doesn't it look fantastic for 12 balls of wool????




OK - its not coming up on blogger, sometimes this program bloody hates me!!
I'll try and add them later.

First Day at Kindy

My little girl is getting big :)

After much screaming, a terrible nights sleep and lots of protesting, we finally got a relatively happy photo for her first day at the local Montessori kindergarten.

She is doing 3 mornings a week, which is their minimum, so only 9hrs, from 8:30-11:30 Wed, Thurs, Friday.

I wont say I'm happy about it, cause I didn't really want her out of the family home so early, but if I didn't get her in now, they wouldn't have taken her once she turns 3, and apparently the local kinders are backed up too. And they are 4 afternoons a week.

So its the lesser of all evils. And besides - it gives Shane some one on one time with Hamish once I'm back at uni which I think they will both enjoy. He could probably take Hamish to the local music programme by himself, and there would be much enjoyment for both.

So I think she had an OK time. It was tricky with the cast, specially since the toilet paper was on the wrong side for her, and when she got home she had some cut paper in her bag and her name on some paper, and she said - mummy next time you can stay with me please. Awwwwww.

I hope she makes some new friends, cause she really misses all her friends from Oz.