The Baynhams

It was a friends birthday yesterday so I made a batch of Martha Stewart Earl Grey cookie dough, divided into two halves which I rolled and chilled waiting to slice into cookie disks. One half of it made a batch of cookies which turned out pretty nice. Not too far off the picture on the website! I put them with a little box of Twinnings Earl Grey tea bags and a card and dropped it to her door. 

The other half stayed in the fridge. When I was surprised today with a generous offer of tickets to an event by another friend I was so glad to have the second batch ready to bake and exchange for the tickets. It didn't go well. Everything looked fine but because I left the cookies cool on the tray they stuck. Solid. Like superglue. I tried every spatula and thin blade knife but only 6 of the two dozen came away whole. I was gutted. The kids weren't. They are all the broken bits. 

Back to the drawing board for a "Thank You" idea!!!

This fella looks like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth! Not sure if he was guarding my groceries as I unpacked. Or if he was waiting for his opportunity to chomp into the meat when my back was turned....!

Waiting...

For the news of a new baby arrival across the seas.

Waiting...

For photos of him when he finally arrives safe and sound, tiny and perfect.

Waiting...

For Gareth to get home from school so we can go post a special parcel to him!

I love our local library. I used it a lot when the kids were little and wanted constant new reading material. Then there was a lull where the kids grew a little and were busy with school work and trips to the library became relegated to school holidays. Since becoming a member of the Old Ducks book club I have started using it so much more. I often use their website to reserve books we plan on reading over future book-club meetings.

Even with the amazing information to be found using Google there are still times where a library cannot be beaten. One of the girls recently had an assignment on Nordic religion and found it hard to find the material on-line. We called in to the library where they gathered every book on the Vikings from their shelves and ordered her in other books from outlying libraries at no cost. The day the exam was finished she handed me an armful of books to return. They weighed a ton!

I really hope that in this day and age of e-books and on-line research that people still think to use their local libraries. Every so often there are rumours of budgets and closures but whenever I get a chance to give my local council feedback on which community services we value I make sure to say how valuable a service our library is.

Do you use your local library? Or do you think their usefulness is being replaced by ever improving access to technology? 

I'm getting used to having this puppy around!

A colleague in work was selling boxes of Cambodian Curry marketed by a company called Vissot which is overseen by a Columbian company called Jomin, a non-profit organisation which provides employment, education and a health centre to local people. 

The curry sachets were being sold today and tonight was our regular "Curry night"  at home so I gave it a try. I really like the concept of helping people help themselves. It was a good curry, on the milder side for our families taste buds but one we will spice-up next time.

I read the following quote on their website...

A colleague was returning to work today after her maternity leave. I baked some wholemeal chocolate star cakes to bring in and put on her desk. I remember how hard I found it returning to the busy pace of a hospital after time at home with Sian. I felt constantly pulled, wondering how she was and wishing I could win the lottery and stay home with her. 

Over the following year I became pregnant with Rhiannon and the cost of two places in childcare v's my nurses salary meant that I gave up work. The next few years I really appreciated being home with the girls and then Gareth too. 

I take my hat off to the many working mums I know. Although I am back working now it is not quite so hard knowing that they are at school while I am in the hospital. I really hope that my colleague settles back into a routine and that the coming weeks get a bit easier on her. 

It's a bit of a cliche saying that those years when the kids are small go so quickly, but they do and before long they are almost forgotten, until you see a young mum starting her own juggling act and memories rush back. 

"You will never have this day with your children again. Tomorrow they'll be a little older than they were today. This day is a gift. Just breathe, notice, study their faces and little feet. Pay attention. Relish the charms of the present"

A quiet wet afternoon. Kids in school, Byron in work, lots of time to sit and cuddle!

...you can buy your dog Crocodile bones at your local pet shop!

*Disclaimer* This post is NOT about Wilma the chicken....

I was completely incapable of cooking rice without burning it when I first met Byron. Over the last 20 years I have quickly realised that it is very easy to keep him madly in love with me. Have you heard the expression "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" ?  It was written about Byron. Most meals that are put in front of him are eaten with exclamations of appreciation. He really is very easily pleased. 

This week in particular I hit upon a magic combination. Spice, meat and beer. All it took was a pork leg rolled in brown sugar, mustard powder and paprika, a bottle of beer poured on top and 90 minutes in my trusty pressure cooker and he was in heaven. The pork was amazingly moist and tasty, served on crusty bread rolls and with a side salad of some random things in the fridge. Grated carrots and apples, cucumber, craisins and orange juice. Not only did he have seconds but thirds too. It's a good job we still do the 5:2 intermittent fasting or there would be twice as much of him to love!!!

While toilet training Murphy we have been leaving the back door open just a sliver. Enough for him to nudge it open and run out onto the grass. The upside is less puddles on the tiles, the downside is Wilma learning that she too can nudge the door open and come in! She has been in and out, in and out like a ....... headless chicken? 

Don't put ideas in my head Wilma!!!

Gareth was home sick yesterday with aches and pains and a general feeling of  "miserableness"

I was doing fine until after dinner and then, bang, it hit me like a freight train. Sore throat, burning hot and shivery cold. I just wanted to sleep. I left Byron watch tv with the kids and I tried to curl up and read in my red chair but ended up wrapped in my rainbow blanket shivering and wondering if it was bed time. Some cheeky, not to be named, child decided to take a photo of me and said it should be my "photo of the day" 

So here you are. A little reality thrown into a normally sunny blogspace! Give me 24 hours and I'll be back minus the wooly blanket and ready to take on the world again...

Alex is a local sportsman who broke his neck 4 months ago while playing for his team, the Newcastle Knights. He is currently wheelchair bound and many local businesses and schools are fundraising for his ongoing medical bills and rehabilitation. 

St Paul's and St Joseph's along with many other local schools are encouraging their pupils to wear a sports shirt to school today to show support for Alex.

It's like having a new baby in the house. I have to keep a close eye on Murphy to make sure we don't have any toileting accidents. He pines if I leave his sight. Today there was no choice but to sit down with a cup of tea and a new library book and puppy-sit for a few hours! If I knew dogs were this much fun I'd have given in long ago!