The Baynhams

Our Primary School had it's Spring Fair this month. It had a great selection of stalls particularly of things made by teachers and parents within our school community. This is something Rhiannon just couldn't resist. It is two encyclopaedias that have been bound together with an old belt and then a small succulent has been "planted" in it! 

My friend Cathy bought me a book on making " Cake Pops" a few years back but it too until this week for me to dust it off and have a go. It is a time-consuming few hours in the kitchen but the result is fun. 

These were for Gareths cake stall fundraiser in school and he said they didn't last long!

Byron's work had a morning tea fundraiser and they were asked to wear pink. Byron went through everyones wardrobe and gathered as much pink as he could to look the part. The nail varnish was provided by the girls and finished off the outfit a treat!

I do a weekly walk with a friend while the kids do sports after dinner. We walk through some beautiful back roads and hidden oasis of calm in our local town. This week she insisted I be in the photo, I couldn't persuade her to join me for a "selfie" Maybe next week!

I had a great catch up with Anne today. Her birthday present to me was for us to have breakfast together at a local cafe. It took many, many attempts to set a date that we were both free but today the planets aligned and we had a wonderful few hours together. 

As a bonus for consistent good effort one of the high school teachers is know to hand out some financial rewards every now and again. Sian was the lucky student this week. She was given fifty trillion dollars...

Yes, FIFTY TRILLION DOLLARS!

I know who I will be looking for a loan from next time the moths are flying out of my wallet!

Stopping for a quick drink on our evening walk!

Gareth loves his time with Murphy when he gets in from primary school. Murphy is always delighted to see a new playmate after the quiet of the day. There is still an hour before the girls get home from high school. An hour of undivided attention! 

Make the most of it boys as we are counting down the weeks in this final term of 2014. Next year will bring big change. So for now we are treasuring each and every day...

Don't get excited. 

It's only one strawberry! 

Not enough to make a pot of jam. 

Not enough to make dessert for a family of five. 

Nope. 

Just enough for me to eat quietly here on my own while everyone is in school or work! 

Sssshhhh....!!!!

I'm more comfortable taking the photos in our family than being the subject of them. My husband Byron surprised me when he emailed this shot to me. He had taken it on his phone as I walked ahead of him on an evening walk with Murphy. He said I don't feature enough in the photos on this blog so I'm sharing this one with you! 

A friend celebrated a special birthday this weekend. There is a monthly girls night out tonight and we plan on celebrating her birthday at it. We know she says she doesn't want any fuss but secretly we think she does and so we are going to make a fuss whether she wants it or not! 

I've made a whole orange cake which involves throwing an orange in the food processor along with sugar, eggs, melted butter and flour. Easy and yum!

I can't wait to see her face tonight. Lets just hope she actually turns up or we will be sending her photos of us all having a wonderful time celebrating her by proxy!!!

Today's photo is the finished result of Rhiannon's gift to her friend Natalie who is celebrating her 15th Birthday today. 

She stretched watercolour paper and when it dried she painted Natalie's name in script with a paintbrush and liquid latex masking fluid. Next she wet the paper and then gently splashed different shades of blue watercolour paint that she had watered down. The droplets merged together and covered the paper and the latex. When the entire page was completely dry the latex was carefully peeled away painstakingly slowly. This revealed the original white paper. Once framed this looked so beautiful and so unique. 

I am constantly blown away by my amazing 14 year old and the ideas that she dreams in her head and then manages to create in reality. She really is so talented and artistic. 

And so today we wish Natalie a wonderful 15th Birthday. We hope you have a great day (even though you will be in school for a big chunk of it!) We hope you like your gift that is as unique and special as you!

Rhiannon had blue paint out today as she made a gift for a friend who's 15th birthday is tomorrow. With some watercolour paints and paper, some liquid latex art masking fluid and a great idea in her head she set out to create a very unique gift. I can't wait for it to dry so I can take a photo and show you!

On todays walk Murphy met his mirror image. This dog was almost exactly the same size as him and had a similar length of coat. They were fascinated by each other and just stood nose to nose for ages looking into one anothers eyes! I would have loved to have been able to read their minds for that moment in time!

Fasting on a work day is usually easy. The busy pace of the hospital keeps me focused on my patient care and doesn't allow much time for focusing on my rumbling belly. The one time that temptation calls is when the kitchen ladies do their morning tea round. They push their trolleys around the ward giving the patients a hot drink and whatever home-made treat has been rustled up in the kitchen during the morning. Occasionally there are some extras that are left in the staff room to be shared and enjoyed. Sods law is that 9 times out of 10 this happens on a fast day. 

When yesterdays morning tea was homemade scones with sugar sprinkled on top and a generous dollop of jam my mouth was watering. I so nearly gave in and broke my fast. Instead I decided to be strong and wrapped one of the scones in a paper towel and put it in my locker. Today was a non-fast day and I enjoyed every single crumb of my scone with my morning cup of tea. It tasted twice as nice as it would if I had eaten it yesterday because there was no guilt attached! Well worth waiting for!