manningroad

Birthday Cake

This is not just a birthday cake but an amazing red velvet checkerboard birthday cake with luscious cream cheese frosting. It was made by my nephew  for A's 21st birthday dinner. He is not a chef but a paramedic student - maybe he is in the wrong profession !!

Birthday Shoes

These are the party shoes my daughter is wearing to her 21st dinner tomorrow.  Not for the likes of her very middle aged mother but if you are a beautiful young thing, then why not ??

A Fine Old Gentleman

My lovely old Pepper, aged 17, has gone to heaven. He lived with me for 15 years and then his holiday dogsitter adopted him . I received the very sad news from her today. He was part standard poodle and part border collie , was as stubborn as a mule and really had it in for cats , possums and postmen. But he loved a pat and would back onto the couch beside you and perch there in a perfect patting position. RIP Peppy, we all loved you so much and you have given us so many funny memories and "remember when" moments.

Why Did I Bother ??

I replace my dog beds every year or so and as dog bed buyers know, they can be very, very expensive items especially if you go in for the very plush varieties. I shop around online trawling for plush dog bedding at a reasonable price. I found two wonderful ones, new on Ebay, located in New Zealand. They are fabulous and were incredibly cheap even considering the airmail postage rate. But then when I repeatedly see two dogs snuggled in one bed I do wonder why I just did not buy  the one, just a single would suffice it seems !! Or I could get a third dog !!!

The OXFAM WALK

My daughter set off yesterday very early along with dozens of others/ Their aim is to walk 100 kms in 24 hours. She set out after an endless amount of training walks and preparation. She also set out carrying an injury, a stress fracture in her foot. She called me at 5.30 this morning and after walking all day and all night, after covering 75 kms , she had to retire due to this injury. What a mammoth effort on her part !! Needless to say she is exhausted and every bit of her body hurts but she walked a mighty long way under duress and she and her team raised $5,000 for people in need.

Easter Eating

Easter celebrations differ from family to family and community to community but ours here is about eating. We all show total disregard for any diets we may have been following and rejoice in our Easter eating. We start early on Good Friday with hot cross buns, warm and buttered with butter, yes the real deal.

Ratatouille on polenta is a warming meal as our autumnal chill sets in and is so easy to prepare that is it perfection as a holiday meal.

And Easter eggs abound - not huge ones but lots of the little versions - they make you feel less guilty.

Happy Birthday Sally

We had a birthday dinner last night with 11 guests . The birthday girl chose the menu. We had dumplings from "Aunties", our favourite Asian takeaway. This was followed by 2 varieties of self saucing pudding made by moi, choclate and banana butterscotch. The night consisted of much chit chat, a dog walk and a bit of tv watching. The Block final was on in one room and MKR in another. Perfect family celebration.

Smash & Grab

 

 

Good reason to miss the gym this morning !! I found my window smashed in and gym bag stolen !!

Sidewalk Stall

We were all visiting Grandma today and decided to walk the Cocopop round the block in the sun when we came upon a very sweet little scene.  A group of little girls had a stall selling sweets, brownies and cookies on the footpath in front of their mum's dress shop. There was a big array to choose from - labrador heaven !! We bought a yummy brownie for $1.00 and won a prize - a cup of mixed sweets and chokkies !! I hope they had a successful day of sales !

 

 

Puppy Love

Hardly a puppy - Lucy is 12 but we all adore her. Even though it was in the mid 30's today J still snuggled up with her !! She is hard to resist !!