Archives for September 2012

Gluten-Free Zucchini Cakes and ‘Will you miss me?’

You will all be pleased to know that Arabella is safely ensconced in study camp.  She left on Saturday and she’s gone for the whole week.  It’s a lovely Christian camp that’s in an isolated spot in Sydney and there’s nothing to do there except six hours of study per day, some daily devotions and […]

Best Breakfast Pies and…All is Well

As luck would have it, Alfie’s class is studying the life cycle of silkworms.  They have the silkworms in the classroom so this is a very ‘hands-on’ style of learning and the type that Alfie enjoys the most.  During the last week of the term, an email arrived from the teacher asking for responsible people […]

Fruit Muffins and The Specialty Generation

When I was growing up there was only one professional we were taken to and that was the local doctor.  He covered every complaint and condition and if it was beyond or outside his realm of expertise, you clearly had something that wasn’t worth mentioning. We didn’t have appointments with anyone else and we grew […]

The Garden

We’re not proud of this: But that’s a glimpse into our backyard. Tragic. And ugly. The only thing living (or nearly living) is what’s in that sad little pot and that’s some almost dead aloe vera. I’m so tired of paying ridiculous amounts for basic items like parsley and oregano.  A few weeks ago I […]

Rhubarb and Rosewater

I’ve had a lovely relaxing day as Alfie has been on a holiday program at Taronga Zoo and Arabella has been studying and Archie has been at Uni.  That means I’ve had the house all to myself and it’s been a cherished day of time to myself and meandering around without being interrupted. Strife did […]

Thelma and Louise

On Monday I was so exhausted from Arabella’s eventful week of events that I took advantage of the break in the scheduling and stayed in bed while the sunshine beamed down on me through the windows.  I lay in bed with two friends, laptop and i-phone.  A text came through from Celia and she was […]

Rainbow Cake for a Special Birthday

After the Valedictory Dinner and the graduation and finishing school and the formal for the Catholic girls, there was Arabella’s 18th birthday party.  I consider that Carl and I got off lightly in that instead of a massive party with a cast of thousands, she opted for a Champagne Breakfast with 25 of her BFFs.  […]

My Solemn Oath

My absolute solemn oath is that this is definitely my last post regarding formals. For a while at least. After the Valedictory Dinner where Arabella wore the vintage sparkly dress, and after the karaoke bus ride where Arabella wore the dress we originally bought for Val, and after the communal bathroom experience at the Kings […]

And the night goes on and on and on…

After the Valedictory Dinner everyone went home.  Well, not quite everyone.  Because you see, it was also Arabella’s coming of age and she and her friends were determined to not let that occasion slip without a celebration.  I thought ‘three cheers’ in the foyer of the venue would have been adequate but her social network […]

Spoiled for Choice

See that photo of me?  It’s me in the Kate Spade dress I was telling you about.  Here I am at the dressmaker’s having it altered so I can wear it to Arabella’s Valedictory Dinner.  After this fitting, I had it pressed and I bought a bracelet to wear with it. Here’s me heading off […]