Things Here Lately

 

Auckland is currently in a one week lockdown, so that means we're back to online classes for Miss B and Mr J, and work zoom meetings for me. 

I figured that meant it's a good time to have a little round up of what has been keeping me busy in my spare time over the past month.

• Hearts and more hearts, I've made 28 blocks in total now,  so I'm over half way.  I'm trying to add some new colours to the background and have some more similarly toned heart halves rather than being totally contrasting. 

• I sewed another Cuff Top - this time in a bright cobalt Frida Kahlo inspired printed viscose.  I used the round neckline hack from The Assembly Line tutorials and hacks page.  While lowering the neckline,  it seems to have made it a little wider on my shoulders, so not sure how it's going to feel when being worn all day.  I adore the colour of this fabric though.

• Books - I have been reading a few books lately - Maralinga by Judy Nunn was one I enjoyed a lot. Set in Australia in the 1950's it is about the atomic tests conducted by the British in the outback.  She researches and writes very well, often about controversial aspects of Australian history.

• Miss B has been semi vegetarian now for over a year, and I suspect when she eventually moves out of home, she will turn totally vegetarian.  I try to serve meat free meals a couple of times a week and one night made a beautiful chickpea curry for the main and a chocolate mousse using the liquid from the can of chickpeas.  Called aquafaba this stuff whipped up like egg whites - quite amazing.  General verdict was that the mousse tasted ok, it had a slightly grainy texture, but that could have been from overheating the chocolate and it was very rich.  Mousse recipe can be found here.

Fingers crossed that the community cases are contained and we are back to normal life soon.

Stay safe, stay home, scan the codes when out, wear a mask.  Kia Kaha

Staying Home - Week 6

Mangatawhiri Dam and the low water level.

New Zealand's silver fern

The concrete walls are usually covered by water

Today we find out if we are moving to Level 2 later this week.  This will mean that schools, workplaces, shops and cafes, maybe hairdressers will open. New social distancing rules will apply , so life will be very different from how we lived pre lockdown. I have to admit, I feel slightly apprehensive about going out into the wider community with lots of people around after being in lockdown,  Later this week, I should find out whether I am returning to work.

The past week I will say was a bit of a meh week.  I seem to have lost enthusiasm for a lot of things including my sewing.

I did try some new red kiwi fruit - the overall verdict from the family was that they look pretty but don't have a lot of flavour.

I baked a salted caramel oaty slice - nice recipe - not quite enough caramel to base ratio.

I made a hearty warming Roasted Kumara and Pumpkin soup - recipe here.

My dahlias have all been pulled out and stored ready for planting next spring, hopefully garden centres will open this weekend and I can get some seedlings for winter colour.

The Scout and I went hiking in the Hunua Ranges on Saturday.  Lots of old fence posts and fungi caught my eye.  It's quite heartbreaking how low our dams are in Auckland - next week water restrictions will start applying to all residents.  Much as I love warm sunny days, we desperately need a long sustained period of rain to fill them up for us.

Hoping that everyone is well and stays well, where ever you are.

Kia Kaha

Staying at Home - Week 4

As at 11.59 pm Monday 27 April, New Zealand will be moving from Level 4 lockdown to Level 3.

It means we can travel regionally, do online shopping,  get takeaways via drive through , click and collect, or delivery.  We still need to socially distance but at only one metre instead of two, and perhaps extend our bubble to include another family member. Still no front facing shops (apart from essential services) or restaurants/cafes, or public places like libraries, churches or museums will be open.  Basically we've been told if you can work or learn from home - please continue to do so.  In reality there won't be a lot of change for most of us for another couple of weeks.  However, the end is in sight.

So what have I been up to over the past week.

• I made my sister's Carey shirt.  Pattern from here.  I made a size 6, so I am hoping it fits her well.  She is a little more endowed in the bust than me, but not as tall as I am, so I'm hoping the length is good on her.  The fabric is a rayon she bought wheil shopping with me prior to Christmas, and the contrast strip is actually a scrap of shot cotton from Spotlight which co-ordinated beautifully with the blue in the flowers.  Probably the faffiest thing is making the drawstrings - or sewing spaghetti as I call it.

• I saved a frog.  Mr J was just about to mow an area of lawn when he saw something move, luckily he had the blades up high.  This is a green or golden bell frog.  Suffice to say it was safely relocated.

• I made gnocchi with help from Mr J and Miss B.  Recipe from here.  It was tasty, easier than I thought it would be, probably the most time consuming aspect is pushing the potato through a sieve.  Should I make it again, I may experiment with herbs, or a little pesto mixed into the potato dough for extra flavour. 

• The last of my dahlias have been picked, and enjoyed in a vase inside.  My garden is looking rather boring now. I really would like to visit a garden centre soon to get some potted colour.

Tomorrow morning at 6am, there will be many New Zealanders standing at their letterboxes to commemorate ANZAC Day.  It will be a very different service this year for our country with no dawn services or parades.

Stay home, stay safe, be kind.

Kia Kaha

Weekending

In the garden

• loving seeing honey bees again, these ones especially, were enjoying my lemon blossoms
• new season vegetable seedlings have been planted - a grafted cherry tomato, which should give me yellow and red tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, capsicum and parsley so far.

Sewing

• sewing up those AMH squares

Cooking

• preparing lemons for a batch of lemon and beetroot chutney, I also made some lemon curd.   I still have a lot of lemons to use up.

In my Home

• Bird Dance is finally hanging on the wall. looking right at home with my  bright cushions and crochet throw.

Reading

• fiction and non fiction.  I'm thinking that cookbook may need to be added to my collection, some beautiful middle eastern inspired salads in it.

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead.

**PS:  if you think I'm super productive in the weekends, I'm not really, once a fortnight I have a 4 day weekend, Thursday-Sunday, so I get a lot more done on those days.**

Scenes from my Week

I'm still adjusting to my new work timetable, so while I may not be as frequent at posting blogs, I am not planning on disappearing, just getting the work/home/me time balance sorted.  So here's a little bit of what's been happening the past few days

• Miniature cyclamen still flowering in my garden, they are nice and sheltered, so flower from early autumn on.

• Flowers from The Scout, given to me after a bit of a down week at work. Every time I walk into my dining room, they make me smile

• Meat free Monday is definitely happening in my home and without to much grumbling from the family either.  This week it was Moroccan Red Lentil and Chick Pea burgers - recipe from here.  Also I have decided to stop my Cook the Books posts, I'll still link to recipes and show photos of some of my baking or more interesting meals, just not in a separate post.

• More ice cream soda blocks - little bits get done during lunch breaks, or while waiting in the car during Miss B's archery sessions.

• My current reading pile - lots of different genres and themes, some for the book club I am co-hosting at work, so I really need to crack into them.

Hope you are all having a fabulous week.

Here & Now

Loving // this beautiful pink Rhododendron flowering in a neighbour's garden (I wasn't the only one either)

Eating // Warm and nourishing home made soups - this one is Lentil, Cumin and Silverbeet - recipe here

Drinking // Tea - Earl Grey, Dilmah's Rose and French Vanilla, Peppermint

Feeling // inspired by this blog post a friend sent me to read, and thinking I might try it for some of my EPP blocks.

Making // a longer arrow block for Miss B's quilt (a little wonky I know, and goodness knows how since it was paper pieced, but I'm going to try and embrace the imperfections, and I really can't be bothered unpicking it all).  Another Ice cream soda block, this time with a repurposed vintage embroidered tray cloth and Liberty, check out those tiny bullion knots that make the flowers.

Thinking // about making 'meat free Mondays'  a regular occurrence in my home

Dreaming // of summer fruits (my sister is gloating about how cheap strawberries are in Brisbane at present).


Linking to Here & Now at Say Little Hen

Cook the Books - July

 

July has been marginally better than June for cooking/baking new recipes. I seem to have lost motivation for trying new recipes, I still enjoyed looking at lots of lovely cookbooks and ideas, but then revert to the quick and easy family favourites.

Week One:
Seeing as I had a s surplus of lemons I made these Lemon Snowflake Cookies, from a recipe I pinned a while ago to my Delicious Board on Pinterest.  They suggest using a small ice cream scoop of dough per cookie, I used a  heaped soup spoon.

Verdict:  Mine didn't seem to spread as much as the ones pictured in the recipe, but they were delicious, tangy and chewy and very edible.

Week Two:
 Leanne (QuiltmeKiwi) was coming to visit me, and deliver my sister's Bird Dance Quilt.  As a long time reader and commenter on my baking related posts, I thought I had better try a new recipe out on her.  I made Danish Dream Cake from Phillipa's Home Baking,  a new book I got out of the library. This is a light sponge type cake with a caramel coconut topping, relatively easy to make with ingredients I had in the pantry.

Verdict: We all enjoyed this, Miss B couldn't get over how light the cake was.

Week Three:  Nothing new was cooked

Week Four:  A beautifully fine but cold weekend, makes you want to snuggle up by the fire with a yummy dessert.  With the rhubarb in my garden still growing well, these delicious looking
 Sugar-crusted rhubarb and apple pies were calling my name.

Verdict:  Absolutely scrumptious, they weren't too fiddly to make, and will definitely become a favourite rhubarb recipe in my collection.

Here's to August, the last month of winter for us, hopefully I will be more inspired to cook and bake.