Latest cooking adventures

I made these crackers on Thursday night (why isn't it called Thurnight? hmm.... DH and I were pondering this the other day; Wednight, Monnight, Sunnight....hmmm) it was lots of fun and rewarding. The crackers are called Graham Crackers (randomly - I wonder who Graham is) and are something my Mum made when I was a child. I loved them then and still do. So many lovely memories. I particularly love eating the dough, it tastes so nice.
Here is the recipe:

Graham Crackers

2 cups of rolled oats
1 cup of whole wheat
1 cup of white flour
½ cup oil
just less than a cup of hot hot water
a good heaped teaspoon of salt

Method
1. Set the oven for 200°C - 220°C
2. Mix all dry ingredients into a bowl
3. Add hot water and oil and mix
4. Sit pastry for 10 min
5. Roll out pastry and cut out crackers
6. Oil a tray and put crackers on the tray
7. Put in oven and cook until lightly brown

Makes about 45 crackers.

Giant Mug...

A cute photo of Tiger I shot today. The boots make the photo look interesting - adds a leading line to Tiger. I do love our cat, he's so lovable, and cuddly.

This is my new Mug, its massive, at least 25cm tall. I got it from the cheap shop down the road in town. Plenty of leisurely hot drinks to be had from this Mug - especially on cold days and nights. That cookie is homemade, very scrumptious and full of choc chips. Its best melted in the microwave for a few seconds or dipped into a hot choc drink. Arghh...must not bang teeth on Mug when drinking. I got one for my DH too, which he is rather delighted about. Together we can sip hot drinks on cold days and forget about the cold for a bit. Ah great dreams and times. It would be great for soup too. Hmm....must make soup. It's now the perfect temperature for soup. Pumpkin soup, vegetable soup, lentil/kumara soup....any other soup ideas?

Street art on Hosier Lane

These pics are from Hosier Lane in Melbourne. There is lots of interesting street art around Melbourne and its always changing. It is a very fertile art form. For my prac on February I taught a unit of work to the year 10s on Street art and they really enjoyed it. They worked on creating a stencil and then the art teacher and I bought two big boards and painted them pale blue. We chose three colours to work with in spray paint and the students sprayed their work onto the board. It looked fantastic. Should upload some pics of the boards. The boards are going to be put up as a mural.
That was just a little side note to my street art post. We (myself, my husband and my brother in law A) went to the city for the afternoon. It was crappy, rainy, cold weather but we went anyway. I am glad we did, because I finally got to see Hosier Lane, have been wanting to see it for ages.
I really like street art, its so different to any other art form, so free, fertile and interesting. It can be rather confronting also.

We also went to two vintage clothes shops in Melbourne, expensive but had some interesting clothes. There was a lovely dress there for $50, but I was like, nah! Op-shopping is way better and more fun, even though it takes longer to find vintage stuff.

Of late the weather here has been super cold and horrible. Not worth going outside really...hardly any sun either. I don't really like it, but can't do much about it. It has been snowing though, from what I've heard. I haven't physically been to the snow yet.

Missed Opportunity

I'm feeling rather crestfallen after what has happened this week. Its probably not major compared to some things, but it did impact me alot.
I have been a volunteer at the local op-shop for a few weeks now, this was partly because of the Manager L inviting me to help out with window displays. I instantly liked her and she me. She was around my age, probably a bit older. Anyway we instantly clicked and got on really well. I went in a few times and did window displays and had lots of fun - chatting to L and also being creative with the window displays. This week I find out from one of the other volunteers whom I randomly saw in the supermarket that L had left the op-shop for good on Monday. This was rather odd, surprising and shocking as I had only seen L in the shop quite happy and chirpy on Sunday. We'd had a good chat too and wanted to invite each other around to our houses so we could chat and get to know each other. My husband M also liked L as a friend of course. L had a bf, (I think he was her bf, but not entirely sure) whom we also liked and got on well with. Anyway upon hearing this rather shocking news I was very downcast and crestfallen as I now knew I had no way of contacting L. Rather foolish of me to not ask for her number, I had been meaning to, just hadn't. The thing about L is that she is rather intense as a person so I always forgot to ask her because she talked about so many different things. She distracted me. I do tend to get distracted very easily though.
I was due to go into the shop today (Friday 24/04) and didn't really feel like going, partly because I knew L wouldn't be there and also because I wasn't sure if I was still needed. The only reason I agreed to become a volunteer was because L wanted me to do the window displays. Now that L isn't there anymore I wasn't sure how it would work and what would happen.

Upon arrival of the op-shop I was greeted with deathly silence and a rather sparse, drab looking shop. Everything had been changed around, it looked terrible, almost like a graveyard. I immediately knew I did not want to stay there, especially today. There was no music playing, no people in the shop at all. Everything was changed and the shop no longer looked fun, funky and happening, it looked dead.

I have no idea what happened and why L left, seeing as she had only been there 4-5 months. I have a feeling that it might have been to do with how she ran the shop and the head people have a certain way that all op-shops of this title/company are set up. They probably didn't like the way she did things. I think she did a great job, the shop looked great, it was fun, happening, funky. Now it looks dead, and boring. There are hardly any funky clothes now too...that may change. But still...what a shock! I hope where ever L is that she is happy and glad that she chose to leave. I would have loved to get to know her better, but I am so glad that I met her and had a little bit of her sunshine in my life. She was a sunshine!

Dancing housemate

A few years ago when I was sharing a house with people whilst still studying. I had a hilarious thing happen to me. I was really good friends with the guy who own the house J and we got on really well. J had his own business which he ran from home so he was often home too. Anyway this particular afternoon I was in my room minding my own business, studying and listening to music. In walks J and starts full on dancing, I'm like, "what the....?" and start laughing. I think I had some dancy music on. J's like, come on Kez, dance! I couldn't dance because I was laughing so hard. He looked sooooo ridiculous and funny. I snapped some photos of him dancing, I intentionally blurred them to show the crazy movements he was doing. He has this interesting and funny way of dancing. Its not bad, it was just a funny situation.

Tiger - the cuddly giant

I like this photo - the "Wild Love" soft toy and Tiger next to it - hmm....
Tiger thought he would help me study - he didn't get very far, but at least he is cute and cuddly.

5 am cleaning...

About a month ago I honestly woke up at 5am on a Friday morning (which is the only week day my husband is home and we usually sleep in somewhat) and cleaned the house. I went through a stage of waking up super early and feeling energetic and ready to go. This particular morning I was lying in bed awake from about 4:30am and just could not sleep so I decided to get up and clean the house. I had most of the cleaning done by about 9:30am which is when my husband woke up. Just a random fact about my life. I go through sleepless, energetic stages and just want to get out of bed early. Its fun but somewhat annoying when I am super tired.

Fire fry pan

Last night whilst preparing for cooking tea our fry pan caught alight with massive amounts of flame. I had the fry pan on fairly hot as I wanted to cook it hot like the Asian style cooking - hot and fast (so wrong sounding!). Anyway I had the heat on high and put a bit of oil into the fry pan and was just about to put the onions in to fry when it suddenly caught alight. Arrrghhh! I was holding the fry pan at this stage and you can imagine my response - a big scream and then I threw it on the floor. Thankfully the fry pan landed face down and the flames were smothered out. My husband stood on the fry pan to make sure it was out. We both got quite a fright and were shaken. We were both so grateful that it didn't turn into a fire or anything frightful like that - particularly after what has recently happened with Black Saturday and all. I found it a bit amusing afterwards though, just the craziness of it all. I have never had that happen to me before and now that it has happened I can understand how easy it is to start a fire in a house. Beware fires are everywhere - just waiting to happen.

Wedding

I went to a friend's wedding about a month ago, she had a beautiful wedding. This photo is my favourite photo out of all the ones I took. It was also a good time to catch up with friends from college who I don't get to see much. We had a great time and took some fun photos. I also gave my friend marriage advice, he he, she asked me. It was fun to give advice particularly on a certain topic. She wanted to know a few things so I told her.

Black Saturday

These are some photos that I took on Black Saturday around our house. It was pretty crazy, looking back, we were a bit silly to be there then. We had no idea about fires and how bad it was, it was a big wake up call. I am so glad that nothing happened to us in our naivety. We are so grateful and lucky. We have learnt so much about fires now and how to prepare for them, when to leave or whether to stay or go. Its been a big learning curve, but so glad we are ok. Unfortunately so many people lost their lives and weren't the lucky ones. It was a very sad, traumatic time for Australia, particularly Victoria. Let's hope more preparation is done in the future, more fire breaks, more cutting down of trees around houses, etc.
I couldn't believe it when it first happened, it was crazy. A moment's silence for the victims and their families........................................................................................................................................

Washing Line fun

These photos were taken about 2 months ago, just before the fires. It was a hot afternoon and we were bored. I was in a creative mood and this is the result. There is a little bit of leg where I'm hanging on the line, but it was such a fun photo to shoot! I love photo shoots, I don't get enough of them.

About time...

It has been a long time since I last blogged anything. So much has happened too. It's been crazy. I can't even remember last time I blogged, around our one year anniversary I think. Thats over 6 months ago now. Wow! Between now and then, I have visited family in QLD over Christmas, had our families come to visit us, been through the Black Saturday fires and had to evacuate, had prac teaching during the fires and evacuation, been camping together first time since we got married, got back into the study, become a St Vinnies volunteer and lots more. Its been busy. I haven't really felt like writing or thought I had much to write about, but I guess I do.

I just got back from Brisbane after visiting my family, my Dad has just turned 50 and I flew up there to celebrate. I had a great time seeing family again. My parents are staying in this tiny cottage that has only got solar power and a generator. It does not have a flushing toilet but a compost hole toilet. Its not that backward though, the inside of the place is very nice and homey. It was an interesting time though as they didnt have curtains and there is only one room. So my sister and I slept in the lounge/kitchen/dining part of the cottage. My Dad snores, so this was rather frustrating trying to sleep. It didnt matter too much about no curtains because the place is out in the country with no houses nearby, although it was hard to sleep in as it gets so bright early. Lucky I brought my ear plugs and eye cover thing, it helped.
We had a party for my Dad's 50th on Sat night which was alot of fun. We got people who were there to share stories about my Dad. My sis and I shared some funny stories about him. There were some people who were from my Dad's first ever church from Wellington NZ (they live in Brisbane now). Anyway one of the girls told a story about my Dad from when she was little. My Dad used to come around to their place to give Bible studies (her and some other kids), this particular afternoon they didn't want to have Bible study, so they blocked the door with chairs and hid. Well my Dad arrives unsuspectingly and tries to get inside, knocks on the door, but can't get in. The girls are all hiding and giggling. My dad keeps knocking and trying to get in, but to no avail. There is a piece of the window broken near the door handle, so my Dad puts his hand through the hole to open the door. One of the girls seeing this, crawls over and bites (yes bites) my Dad's hand. My Dad is like, what is going on? She keeps biting and I think he eventually goes away. I had never heard this story and neither had the parents of these girls. When everyone heard this story, they all just burst out laughing for ages and ages. I couldn't believe it! It was so random and funny! They said that my Dad was just like another youth and that they had been taught to respect the pastor, but my Dad broke all the rules. It was so refreshing and funny to hear.

I also got to catch up with one of my high school friends G, whom I hadn't seen in like 3 years or so. G's Mum and my Mum are really good friends and we were next door neighbours when we lived in NZ. It was really good to catch up with him. We had a really good catch up, talking about high school days and such. He is also good friends with one of my ex's D (as am I) and we talked a bit about D. He didnt even know the latest news about D, it was funny. I had chatted to my ex D more than G had. Even though D is my ex, we are still really good friends and have a deep soul connection.

Evacuating

My husband and I and our cat evacuated 3 times during the month of Feb after Black Saturday. It was a crazy, stressful time and took me a long time to get over. In fact I still feel like I am month behind in everything and cannot believe that April is nearly over, the year feels like it has just started in some ways. We stayed with church members for the last 2 times and got to know some really nice people and their kids. One couple had a really flash house, well it was more like a mansion. It was huge! We slept in a little separate part to the house, that had our own bathroom, bedroom etc. It was like staying in a hotel, it was great. The house had 5 bedrooms, 3 living areas and I think 4 bathrooms. It was massive. They had it set up really nice too, with bits of modern and antique stuff throughout. The yard was huge too, kinda like a country setting but in the suburbs, with trees, and lots of privacy. Even though the places we stayed at were great, it was still a strain on us to have nowhere to really go and not knowing if our house was going to be there when we got back. We also got quite a few phone calls from people around Australia that we knew asking to see if we were ok. It was nice to know that people were thinking of us and worried about us.

By the end of it all I was completely and utterly over it all and just wanted to go home and stay there. During all this upheaval I was also prac teaching at school and had barely any time to prepare lessons, and get into the mind frame. I felt like a zombie for most of my prac, just doing the bare minimum to get it done. I still got a good mark, but felt like I had barely done anything at all. I was so glad when it was all over, it took me about a month to feel settled again and to get into my study. I am rather behind now, but glad that its over.

Op-Shopping

Recently I have been doing lots of op-shopping, mainly to increase my winter wardrobe as I did not have enough last winter to survive the cold weather. I have found so many wonderful bargains, it has been so much fun! I have been thinking about photographing some of my finds and blogging about them, but there are now so many it would take so long so I may just put a few up from now on.

Some recent finds though are:
black leather knee high boots in my size for $5
a black bag with floral imprints $5
woollen lined coat $6
2 pairs of really nice curtains $8 pair
a table with 5 chairs $50
argh its hard to explain it.

I find it alot of fun to go op-shopping because I never know what I am going to find and I can buy lots of stuff for hardly anything at all and still look good. Its great. I have decided that I am going to buy most of the clothes I need/want from op-shops unless it is impractical or hard to find in a op-shop such as underwear (gross!) or socks or singlets. Those kinda things are hard to find and a bit gross to buy second hand. Mind you I have found some bras that fit me from the op-shop but always washed them before wearing with canesten wash.
I am now also a volunteer at the local op-shop, doing window displays, its alot of fun. I haven't done much lately as I have been away this last weekend, and the weekend before it was Easter so was closed for some days. This Friday I will be getting into it though and having lots of fun doing up a display. Its kinda hard volunteering there now because I pretty much always find something when I go in to do work, its good though because I get to see stuff as it comes in.

That about sums up parts of what has happened lately. My husband and I are happier together too, not that we weren't happy before we have just improved a few things and feel more happy together, its great. He's a sweety.