Christmas Madness.

I was part of twenty cent mixture's handmade christmas ornament swap this year. And this is what I made. I have to say that after doing enough finger knitting to cover 5 polystyrene balls, I was waaaaaay too over it to make one for myself!



Here is my tree with my received ornaments on display.
...and here are the blog links of the lovely members of my swap group!
http://unplain-Jane.blogspot.com
www.citrusdaisy.blogspot.com
www.stitchbirdfabrics.co.nz
http://normatikadesigns.blogspot.com
(There were six of us, by not all have blogs)


In the recent madness at work of trying get the place looking decent for a particular event, I ended up making some curtains for the back of the stage out of some red velvet that used to hang around the top of the bar. This inspired a bout of home curtain-making when I realised how easy it is. Black calico, you are my friend! I would never have been able to afford that floor to ceiling business otherwise. And I really needed to cover the top stained glass window because it lets the street-light in, and this room will probably become my bedroom in the coming months.

Sewing machine centre stage!


And finally, a potato update! I have dug up the last of my early potatoes, the Ilam Hardy, and here are the results. They are, of course, larger than the others, having been in the ground longer.



Well, that's me all updated! I suspect in the new year there may be some "zen furniture arrangement" on the cards, and possibly even a paint make-over for the old bedroom, which has been the same shade of patchy maroon for at least 12 years (I couldn't afford enough paint for the second coat!)Very excited by the possibilities!

Tatties, matos and pumerkins.

Random fit of gardening.
I went against the advice in my pamphlet on growing potatoes. I didn't wait for the plants to flower. They weren't going to. Something GOT THEM. Despite coffee & eggshells, and then resorting to slug slam, something still ate them. I never found anything on the plants themselves. very sneaky. Anyway. The Swift's suffered the worst. I think it was more the wind that got the Cliff's Kidney's. They might have survived and proliferated, but once I'd dug up the swift's I just couldn't stop.

I don't think I'll grow Swift's again!
I haven't dug up the Ilam Hardy's yet. The plants still look pretty healthy. With the other 2 it seems I need not have added the extra tyre to the stack, all the potatoes were down in the first tyre and below. But I'll wait until I dig up the Ilam Hardy's to make a final judgement.

The soil in the tyres was so lovely, I decided to plant my little tomatoes from Bron in there! Beam's Yellow Pear and Riesdfjoeuru (no that's not how it's spelt, it's German and I can't remember).

On the right is the Ilam Hardy's, still in action. I saw no reason to go 2 tyres high for tomatoes.

In previous years I have had no luck growing pumpkins on purpose. I can grow them by accident just fine! Or rather, the compost bin can. But this time I planted the seeds in little seed trays (I know you are supposed to plant them in the ground) and they ACTUALLY sprouted! Not only that, I have transfered 6 plants to 3 mounds down the back, (near the compost bins). I'm watching them like an eagle, an EAGLE. They are Butternuts though, which might be trickier than our compost pumpkins.


In other news, I've entered a handmade Christmas Ornament Swap! I have no actual plans for what I will make as yet. Paper Mache??? Hmmm... at least I will soon have something crafty to blog about!

Halloween & paper mache

Halloween is THE season of paper mach I reckon. I think I'll plan to make something each year from now on!
Skully was my first attempt at paper mache in about 25 years. I always thought I wouldn't have the patience for it. But it turns out that glue is addictive. And a skull is a relatively easy shape. I am half was through making a pinata, which I think is going to be a duck, eventually.




I also tried to make a haunted house for halloween, out of the box my laptop came in. More like a slightly haunted facade. But it was a fun way to while away an afternoon! Reminds me more of the NZ movie "The Locals" than any real classic horrors. It's lit with christmas lights. Why is it that I always need Christmas lights in the middle of the year when they are either awefully expensive or nowhere to be found?


I wish I'd had the time to make lots of little skulls to form a necklace for my voodoo priest outfit, but I had to make do with bird bones tied to my hat, and a voodoo stick made out of a plastic bone. I'd forgotten how much fun face painting could be!

Spring cleaning

I haven't posted a blog in 4 months. Opps. You know what I've been doing? Reading Jane Austen. LAME. And watching the movies. Sheesh. Oh, and helping to clean out nana's house. Nana shuffled off her mortal coil some months back, not unexpectedly at all. I had kind of been looking forward to helping clean out her house. Of course I thought it would be full of wonderful crafty treasures. How deluded of me. Most of her delightful 70's polyester clothing was gone. :-( I suppose she must of had a clean-out back when she first found out she was sick, thinking she would save us all some trouble.
So although it is taking endless sundays to get through all the stuff and all the cleaning, I'm not digging up much crafty stuff. Just boxes of nice mementos of grandma. ~ An Oroton coin purse, a wind-up bedside clock, the "good" cutlery (actually that plasticy handled stuff), a large paua shell ring, a book of 365 Puddings, The Singer Illustrated Dressmaking Guide, etc.

Tomorrow I'm thinking about being a grown-up, and doing something quite grown up. That is, going to look at a 1/2 acre of land that I might actually be able to afford. The drawback, of course, is that it's down near Huntly,(What's wrong with Huntly?), and some of the section is pretty steep looking. But the up side is that the Waingaro hot springs are nearby, it's cheap, elevated, and faces north. ;-) Of course, there is no house on the section (yet), but there was one there, because there is a water tank and power lines.
I'm not sure if I'm ready to be a grown-up.

mmrrreow?

This is the smallest member of my family. Possibly also the noisiest.

She was born somewhere in our backyard to a local stray, and we took her and her brothers in (now gone) when her mother abandoned them to have another litter.

Jojo is the scardiest scaredy-cat I've ever known, but she is also the most communicative cat we've ever had. She somehow manages to tell you exactly what she wants. Not just "food", "let me in" and "let me out". She also tells you

"you are not sitting in mummy's chair. I want you to sit in mummy's chair so I can sit on your lap",

"I want some vegemite on toast please",

"I want Jimbo's pet food please",

"I want cat biscuits please",

"It's time for you to lie down with me for a nap",

"it's time for tummy rubs",

"please get the flea comb".

There are also odd ones like "There is a stranger at the door", or "It's the middle of the night and I've just discovered the back door is wide open and it shouldn't be". She also comes to check on me when I am sick. :-)

If she thinks something is out of place and she wants you to move it, she will stare at you until she catches your eye, then give a big sigh and look very pointedly at the object she want you to move. You also get a lot of big sighs if you don't get up and do what she requires. If you still don't get up, you get tapped around the legs. If you STILL don't get up, you get clawed around the legs.

She has also been known to climb up and put her paw over mum's mouth when she thinks mum is snoring too loud.

She is also the only one who can wake up my dad when he's had a few. We can shake him and he won't wake up, but she only has to meow at him once or twice and his eyes pop open. She's trained him better than we have!

I've noticed she is being a lot more demanding lately. I'm guessing it's because of the cold weather, and she is getting on a bit. There is a lot more "Put the heater or the electric blanket on please" .

The last creative thing I did, was make a Kimono. It's still not finished, there is quite a bit of hand sewing involved, and at first I couldn't decide whether to line it or not. In the end I decided I might ruin it if I tried. So right now it is awaiting it's final hemming and pressing.

Oh yeah, and I made plum jam. Although I had to cook it twice to get it to set. But it got my mum going and now she's been making guava jelly. :-) We had difficulty finding somewhere to hang the bag overnight to drip through, but in the end I came up with the brilliant idea of tying it to the collapsable clothes airer in the wash-house.

I'm sure it's what McGuyver would do.

Decisions Decisions.

July is some way off yet. But that's when I am planning to take my annual holidays. No matter that there is no one to do my job while I am gone! By then it will be 19 months since my last holidays, and it's likely I will be about ready to crack. Unless I actually make plans and book tickets, no one will EVER be trained to cover for me, leaving me trapped forever in a downward spiral of never-ending responsibilities. I'm slowly learning that one must not do their job TOO well, as this only leads to more work with no pay rise in sight. In fact a slight aura of irresponsibility seems to be the best way to avoid being crushed by mounting responsibilities. I think I may need to call in sick sometime in the coming weeks to re-enforce this fact. I am in fact about due for the first cold of the season, so I think when it hits, I will actually take a sick day or two. I usually just keep working and suffer through, but to hell with it, why be a martyr?

So, July. At first I was thinking a little mid-winter sunshine would be the go. New Caledonia? Hawaii even? Asia somewhere? But then I got all fired up about trains again. Auckland to Wellington, catch the ferry, Picton to Christchurch, Christchurch to Greytown and back again. Then probably fly back to Auckland. I have, infact, never been to the South Island. Shameful. But what about the sunshine? I'll need a dose to calm the old S.A.D.
Shame those holiday deals always seem to be twin share. Anyone keen to escape with me?

Maybe I could do both? After all, now I have 4 weeks to fill instead of 3!

O.M.G (skite skite skite)

Sometimes, something happens, and I think, "I must be doing something right" Today, this was it.

Le Creuset wok. Red. Salvation Army. $40. Excellent condition. Best I can figure, these don't seem to be available in NZ anymore (and after 2005 they started making then with a glass lid), but the large frypans retail at $250 - $500. :) EXTREME EXCITEMENT.

Lovely Max wrap dress. Salvation Army. $6. I'm wearing it out to dinner tonight to celebrate Mexican Flag day! Weeeeeeee!

I made Vegan Chilli Chocolate cupcakes to take with me.

What I did for my holidays

Well, actually, I didn't really have holidays. But I did go down to Rotorua for Raggamuffin, and let me tell you, I can't wait for the next one! Breakfast at Zippy's, a night at the Thermal Holiday Park, and a day barfoot on the grass drinking beer and listening to reggae.

Here is a very small portion of my tomato crop. Low acid Roma tomato's in the front there, and a selection from a mixed 6 pack of seedlings at the back. I grew them in big white buckets against the north side of the house (which is the sunniest spot on our section, but is also our concrete driveway :( ) Applications of fish fertilizer and constant watering resulted in a bumper crop. They are finishing up just as my dad's fancy heirloom tomatos are ripening. How convenient! Sadly, my eggplants are not doing so well. Some mysterous pest has laid eggs in every one of the fruit and they are all infested with the hatchling grubs. :'(

In other news, next saturday I'm off on the "Waves and Wheels to Opua" train trip. Yippee!!!! Auckland to Whangarei by train on the north-western line, Whangerei to Opua by coach, And then Opua to Auckland by boat going around all the little inlets. Can't wait.

http://www.railfan.org.nz/

Vegan Piefest

I managed to snap this photo just before the worst of the carnage! My pie was a big hit. Other favourites were Vegan Steak pie with peas and potato (everyone had doubts about the veganness of this pie, but it was made by the host, so it must be true!), Tofu, Spinach and Artichoke pie, Chocolate Pumpkin pie (I am not a fan of pumkin, but even I liked it!), and Conrad's Plum, Pear, Nectarine and Apple pies (that's his 2 in the front there). :)
I ate so much I had to go home for a lie down.

PiePiePiePiePie

I've made a mean vegan pie for vegan pie-fest tomorrow. One of my favourite pies is a creamy chicken and mushroom pie, so I was trying to figure out something in a similar vein.
Mushroom and Onion Miso Pie.

INGREDIENTS:
-Vegan Flakey Pastry (New Way or whatever)

-Mushrooms

-Onions

-Olivani (or other vegan margarine)

-Miso paste

-flour (about 2 tablespoons)

-Black Pepper

-boiling water
(no quantities because it depends how big your pie dish is)

Slice up your onions and mushrooms. I used 4 smallish onions and about 18 medium-large white button mushrooms because they were on special. Melt some olivani and fry them up in it. Just until the onion is starting to go golden brown. Then strain out the liquid if there is a lot. Maybe keep it for stock if you like. Line your pie dish with pastry, poke it lots with a fork, and bung it in a 180C oven until it's starting to colour. (this is to stop the bottom from getting soggy). It will puff up, but you can press it down again. If you're fancy you can use pie weights to hold it down.

I use quite a shallow dish and make a thin pie. Now for the creamy sauce!

Make up about a cup of miso, maybe a cup and a half, using about a tablespoon of miso paste and boiling water. (depends how strongly flavoured you want your sauce)

Now we're going to make a kind of a vegan white sauce.

In a saucepan melt some olivani, about 2 heaped tablespoons I guess. Once it's well melted, chuck in a heaped tablespoon of flour and stir vigourously with a wooden spoon until smooth (it might go quite solid but don't worry). Add a little miso to thin it down and keep stirring until smooth. Add another tablespoon of flour and stir until smooth. (Basicly you are cooking off the flour as you go). Then add a little more miso, stir until smooth, keep adding the miso bit by bit until you have a sauce that is like a slightly thick pale gravy. Now add black pepper to taste. Mix the sauce into the mushrooms and onions. Fill the pie shell. (if the mix looks too runny, use a slotted spoon so you leave some of the sauce behind). Cut some pastry into strips and lay a criss-cross pattern on top of the pie. Brush the top with some oil, or the mushroom stock that's left over from cooking. Bung it in the oven on 180C until the top is golden. Let it cool a bit before cutting it.

It is delicious cold. Mmmmmm..... picinic!

It's too darn hot to sit in front of a computer.

DO WANT

I'd like to be sitting inside one of these just now.

I've been having a lucky couple of weeks. Money and free stuff keeps falling in my lap. I bought a Big Wednesday ticket, but I guess it's not that kind of luck. :( Can't win them all I guess!
The monkeys are somewhat heat affected, they are so hot they can hardly move. Poor monkeys.
I went to Wellington for one night to see Throwing Muses play. It was awesomewicked. I also spent the next day shopping before my flight out, ended up having to buy another bag for my lovely second-hand purchases, 2 of which were Kimonos. They are from a place called Asia Gallery in Kilbirnie (look it up!) They import second hand stuff from japan. The kimonos are mostly only $25 each, although there was a big pile of $5 kimonos in the middle of the floor also. I wanted to buy some just for the fabrics, but didn't have the room! :( Maybe next time.

Eating pizza and drinking beer at Fidel's on Cuba St is also highly recommended. Best vegetarian pizza. Yum.