Keeping it real!

Friday night I had a friend visit. Admittedly before that I had been sitting in my room knitting socks and were "ignoring" the boys. We were sitting in the lounge and she said " is that weetbix upside down on the table?". I looked; sigh - "yes".
I can never keep this house clean and do swear I can live with some lazy little piglets at times! Nobody owned up to whose bowl it was! Later on I opened the fridge ( which needs a clean! ) to find an empty plastic bag in there.
Crikey! Every week I get through the week and it's activities and then do a big clean on Saturday!

What is it like in your house?


Yesterday was a bit different due to soccer prizegiving and then the official opening of new school buildings which took parents 12 years to fund- raise the
money for! (one draw back of the way Catholic schools are funded in this country! Parents pay for new classrooms!!!)

Boys did very well at soccer - Ryan received the most improved player cup - true to form 4 of the team turned up for prize giving!! - then his team got a massive cup ( one of 2 big cups) for getting through trials and tribulations/ battling on! I must really find out what the cup is called!
And then Kieran's team won the team of the year ! The cheers and excitement from the 11 year old's was fantastic! They are such a great bunch of kids and best of mates too! Have been playing together for many years!!

Today I will develop a ton of photos and visit an aunt. I might even sort out the attic a bit better! Still looking for an old music stand!

The vest is finished!

Finished last Friday! I knitted it 2 - not 1 - but 2 needle sizes smaller than the pattern said! I am such a loose knitter. This is the best fitted item I have ever knitted for myself. I hate doing tension squares, but really , they are important!
I have learnt that!
I am very pleased with the end result and it is gorgeously warm and can be worn with so much!
I am now finishing knitting the 2nd sock to go with the other one - I started this one last October in The Netherlands! I have so much sock wool - I need to get a crack on and knit more pairs! I also need to finish a wee jersey for a baby.
I love knitting in winter and have found this winter to be a very productive one!

Today

Here's a few photos of how our house looks today - 5 months from moving into the extension. I have another beautiful garden box built by the husband and only planted last weekend. He has also put up some trellis to give an end to the deck by the driveway. Hides the neighbour's hideous roof too.
We gave had a warm wet winter , so the grass has grown well. It us all looking great! Best vege gardens we have ever had!

Favourite book - "Down to Earth" by Rhonda Hetzel

I finally managed to find a copy of the book "Down to Earth" written by Rhonda Hetzel. I used Mighty Ape for the first time and was really pleased with the service and speed that the book arrived in! No other bookshop seemed to know what I was talking about here in New Zealand!

What a gem! This is so me! A guide to simple living. From how to make your own earth friendly cleaning products, starting a vege garden , knitting/ crocheting dish clothes, organizing the house, good healthy food, slowing down , spring cleaning, repurposing, housework etc! A book that I can dip in and out of every single day with just a little spare time.

My favourite quotes from it:
"crafts are a part of your housework" and "housework never ends, so don't try to finish it."

I showed the husband these! :)

Published by Viking Australia , 2011.

Rhonda also has a blog -
Down---to---earth.blogspot.com

Book household

I am on crutches! Strained a calf muscle this afternoon walking or jumping - somehow! - down the balcony deck stairs. Painful to walk/ put my footboy the ground!

We are a big book household! Not surprising being a school librarian. I have the best job - spending a lot of money - A LOT of money especially when I get grants worth thousands and thousands of dollars - on books for 500 students a year!
We spend a lot of our own money on books for home too. More than most people i think and a LOT more since I have discovered The Book Depository!
( I still do frequent local bookshops too!).
www.thebookdepository. co. uk

Don't blame me if your wallet is lighter!

My favourite author ever is Michael Morpurgo. He is British and writes the best story. He wrote "War Horse" which was a made into a movie last year - food movie but the book is even better.
I also enjoy Deborah Ellis,Sally Grindley, EB White, Michael Bond, Sharon Creech, Kyle Mewburn, Margaret Mahy (RIP) and Joy Cowley.

The boys read lots - favorites being Lemony Snickett, Diary of a Wimpy Kid
And Ryan has discovered the National Geographic range of kids books which are stunning.

We have kept lots over the years - there are childhood favorites boxed up in the attic.
I collect Margaret Mahy, Michael Morpurgo, Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop. Have a massive picture book collection - I think these are one if the most under- rated genres and even teenagers should be reading them! I know so many kids who have missed vital, vital books!

Anyone have any favorites? Children's/ young adults and adult reads to recommend?

Lamingtons

I made lamingtons for the first time last weekend to take to a soccer BBQ.
They were good but I did take them out of the oven earlier than the recipe said and think it could have been earlier still as they were slightly chewey. They did seem popular though!

The recipe is from Tana Ramsay's "Real Family Food" cookbook.

For the sponge:
3 eggs
75g caster sugar
125g self raising flour
25 g cornflour
3 tbsp hot water
25g butter softened

For the chocolate icing:
500g icing sugar
75g cocoa
15g butter, softened
125ml milk
450g coconut ( I didn't weigh mine)

Oven on at 180C/ 350F
Grease cake tin (18x28cm it says but I used a different size)
Beat eggs until thick and creamy
Beat sugar into eggs
Sieve in flour and cornflour
Gradually add water and butter, stirring until smooth
Pour into greased and lined tin
Cook for 30 minutes
Remove from tin and cool right down

Icing:
Sieve together icing sugar and cocoa
Mix in butter and milk
Whisk until smooth
Put bowl over a pan of hot water and stir until glossy
If chocolate icing too stiff, add another splash of milk

Cut sponge into pieces until completely and dip into chocolate and then roll in the coconut!

Yum!

Extracurricular activities

I forgot to write about the Market Fair at school. Particular children were fighting and I had to go and referee! Over what?! The usual i would say in most houses - computers!!!
Every 2 years they go to school camp. Fees this year are $190 and so he school holds a market fair to try and get the cost down. All the students get into small groups and have to organize a food item that they will make and sell at the fair.
They need to work out volume of ingredients used , how much everything will cost and then go back to school with a budget for quantities and money needed. The school buys the ingredients and the students then have to make their items for sale.
Our team this year made donuts - a huge hit! The school opens for 1.5 hours and all the families come along and have dinner - it is such a fun event and keeps the cost of camp down for parents.

For a few years I did very few after school activities - I feel too many kids do too much and with my work at a school it was exhausting driving around after school! We have always done soccer and cubs/scouts. The
Middle kid is into everything! The elder kid does zilch and has done for years and the younger one just got into soccer this year, he did start drums but dropped out much to my disgust ( in so want a drummer kid!!!) - oh he also dropped out of cubs too but wants to do scouts???!! Go figure.
Anyway Kieran and Ryan both play soccer ; kieran Futsal ( 2 games a week). It isn't too bad. Soccer season has just officially finished - Kieran's team came 2nd on the table and Ryan's team came 3rd. Huge effort for both - especially Ryan's team - quite a few part - timers in there. I really hate parents who sign up for these things but do not turn up..... We had our back saved by draughting in good 7 year old's to play in the 9th grade team!
Kieran's team are really really good - mostly been together since they were 4-5 years!!! Most most off to high school ( well intermediate) next year and we are really hoping the team sticks together!
Now I am off work today - off to watch Kieran's team play in the inter school competition - lots of the kid's parents will be there! They have a really good chance if winning the central Auckland schools competition I think!