The Lie

Fifteen years
to know your own lie.
Walk a line,
a  path well trod.
Bind the lie with a band.
Together hold hands.
Didn't know when I lost your grip.
Unfurled loss ,a loss of my heart.
Where is he? people ask
I say it is his choice not to play
So alone I tread the path
and dance the dance
of mourned love lost
Widowed without a dream
Just a lie to test my weary head.

No need to say anymore, I think you get the picture. Welcome to my headspace and all the joy of struggling with yet another day. Prescribe some of those yippeee beans for me will you or present me with the divorce  papers, at least it wouldn't be so mind numbingly suffocating.

Good Friday Cooking

I have never really done any cooking especially for Easter before but this year with the encouragement of my daughter Jordana I have actually made hot cross buns. In the past I have tried to make yeast products but failed miserably, probably due to the yeast being too old. Anyway this year success!! I used 2 different recipes, one from a friend at work whom wrote the recipe from memory and the other from the women's  weekly cookbook.
Jill's recipe utilizes half wholemeal flour and half white flour - this appeals to the colorectal nurse in me: providing a little more fibre to the diet. The other recipe is a basic hot cross bun recipe that we added chocolate to, thus appealing to the appetites of my children. Anyway Yummm... love the smell of yeast buns cooking in the oven and devouring a bun with homemade blackberry jam and cream, the best.
(Recipe at the end of text)

Jordy glazing the hot cross buns

Choc hip on the left and wholemeal to the right

 Also another first, home-made toffees as found on the Quince Tree which found it on http:www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/toffees.pdf. For the recipe follow this link:  they were really easy. (I wrote the full address because I don't know if I have enclosed the link properly)
 I didn't have any golden syrup and substituted honey in the same quantity and it worked out fine. Next time I'll try to find a smaller mould to shape them in just to make them a more manageable size to eat. Each batch made 12 in a small muffin tin shape.

Homemade toffees

Shades of Easter colours in baby blanket no.2, Ripple Blanket in bright colours.

Wholemeal Hot Cross Buns

Quantity made 16-18

2 cups plain flour
2 cups wholemeal flour
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon salt
75 grams butter melted
250ml warm milk
2 1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 tablespoon brown sugar

Mix milk, 1 tsp sugar and yeast. Sit for 5 minutes to activate yeast
mix dry and wet ingredients together allow to rise to double size in warm place.
(The front seat of the car is a good place just ensure you protect your seat covers and cover bowl with clean cloth to maintain moisture)

After proving dough add 1 cup of sultanas/ currants if desired (I add 3/4 cup chocolate)
Knead dough
Roll out to rectangle
Cut hot cross buns and allow to rise again for 15 minutes

Cross the Bun
1/2 cup plain and 1/2 cup water mixed to thin paste
use cake decorating tool to drizzle cross over bun

Bake in hot oven 190 degree C for 15 minutes

Glaze bun with
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
1 teaspoon gelatine

mix together and brush over bun

Enjoy!!
And Happy Easter

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a happy and safe Easter.

pattern and doodling

Following my little foray with pomegranates and acrylic paint I decided  to continue the pen and ink exercise. I probably sat up too late again last night, but once I start I just cant stop. Anyway its a good way of falling asleep exhausted , although I think I was that before I started.
Anyway here is what I was up too. One complete and the other just started. The second will take a bit longer to complete because I took my lovely pen to work today and promptly lost it. Silly me.

Close up of center pattern

 Pattern complete

 Beginnings

Painted Beginnings

I decided to have a quick dash with the acrylic paints and start the pomegranates in colour.
This is what I have so far. I have to wait to layer the paint to build up some depth especially to the leaves.

Pomegranates

The completion of daylight savings hours has caused some disruption to my sleeping clock, as it does for many other people I imagine.

Last night I came home from work and really didn't want to settle down to bed straight away despite it being an  hour later than usual. So in old time it was already 11.20 pm and I'd only just gotten home from a shift of nursing. I scrubbed up and then settled into bed with cup of tea, thinking what can I do?

I pulled out my "new" book of Glorious Inspiration by Kaffe Fassett and decided to sketch the pomegranates that had caught my eye the day before. It was just a quick line sketch, mainly cross hatching, but effective in its own right.

I think I might try a wash of something similar and maybe make a series in differing techniques... maybe.

The original design is by Luca della Robbia (circa 1482)s. Trinitia, Florence.

and my quick sketch

Endings to the day.

Over the last couple of weeks I have spent the evenings walking with my sister along the beach, trying to make sense of her life and trying to help her cope with the grief of losing her husband to cancer. Really there is not a lot I can do but offer support and to not tell her what to do. She is feeling so pressured by those that mean well, whom offer their opinion and advice without solicitation. Nothing I can do can change her situation and it is not fair to compare what events happen to her as opposed what happens to others, She only needs to know she is loved and that I miss Jack too.

I didn't really start out wanting to write about this but got side tracked in my thoughts. What I wanted to say was that the beach has been beautiful and relaxing. Offering something different each time we visit, from the gusty and blustery to the calm and temperate, sultry evenings of the last couple of days.. bliss.

We sat on the sand mound well into dusk and listened to the waves lap up onto the beach with hardly a soul around despite being on a suburban beach. Absolutely gorgeous.

I love the effect of the rays of light struggling to peep through the clouds.

A hotter night, perfect for perching on a mound of sand and talking.

Sending out our love..

Sadly I missed the best and most colourful part of this sunset whilst driving down to the beach.. it was the most magnificent array of colours.... reds and purples.

And now I just have to let you know that I have finally finished the chevron crochet blanket. I have done really little else over the last couple of week but sit on my bed and crotchet in my spare time. Now I can start baby blanket number 2 with a clear conscience of not having yet another UFO sitting waiting to be finished.
I'm so happy to be finished.

And lastly, my daughter Jordana convinced me to go op shopping with her and her friend in tow yesterday so that they could try on clothes and photograph them. They had such fun laughing and giggling at the different outfits they tried on and posing for photographs all over the shop. Only one customer got annoyed with them for hogging the change rooms but otherwise everybody giggled with them.
And I found some lovely Kaffe Fassett books for $2 each, so excited and thrilled to find such a bargain and pages of inspiration. Now I have to spend less time playing on the computer and more time on creating.

Speak to you all soon, take care and keep smiling.