And then there were seven.

Meet Molly.
She arrived at our house on Sunday. She is an 11 week old Boxer and just gorgeous.

Pram rug and thrifted shirt shorts.

My wonderful mother arrived this week to help out while Dave is in Japan.
She brought Ben this gorgeous pram rug that she knitted. I love the colours, and it is so well made and finished. Thanks Mum.
Ben is wondering why we have covered him up with a rug when the weather is hot and sticky????
At Monday Craft this week I made Ben a pair of shorts from a thrifted shirt. I traced around a pair he already had instead of using a pattern, and use the side seams that are already on the shirt as the side seams for the shorts.
This is such a cheap and esay way to get a funky pair of shorts.
$3.00 for the material, and $0.00 for a pattern.

Cookbook of the Month

In an attempt to actually use some of the many wonderful cookbooks I own, I have decided to choose one every month and make a few recipes from it. I realise that I may only manage 2 or 3 recipes per month, but that is fine.

February is Maggie's Kitchen by Magge Beer.

Last night I made 'Chicken braised with Figs, Honey and Vinegar'. Figs are really cheap at the moment, 8 for $2.99 at our local fruit and veg shop.

It didn't look quite like the picture, mainly because I made it in the slow cooker (I knew I would only have an hour between swimming and youth group last night, so the slow cooker made my life a bit easier). The flavour however, was delicious, very moist and sweet. I will definitely make it again.

Friendship

This week I have spent more time chatting with groups of women than I have in a long time. Playgroup, Bible Study, Monday Craft and Mother's Group have all started back up again after the holidays (How, you may well ask, do I have time to attend all these groups and still look after a household?? Good question, perhaps come and check out my house for the answer, or don't actually).

Anyway, back to the point. Spending time with women is something I love, love, love! I love the laughter, the nattering, the sharing of wisdom, and realising that I am not the only one who is a work in progress as a Christian, as a wife and as a mother.

(Me and 3 of my wonderful "sisters". Hope you don't mind appearing on this blog girls).

It's also a good time of year to remind myself how to be a good friend and sister in Christ.

Both gossip and flattery, are a temptation for me. Barbara Hughes in 'Disciplines of a Godly Woman' defines them as:

"Gossip is saying behind a person's back what you would never say to her face. Flattery is saying to a person's face what you would never say behind her back".

Note to self, watch your tongue Jo.

Note to God, please help.

Dairy free.

The day we found out there was a good reason why our baby woke every 45 mins in the night, cat-napped through the day, and spent way more time crying and vommiting than 'normal', was a joyous day! A CMP (cow's milk protein) intolerance was the cause, and the poor little man had been in real pain.

The downside to this was that I had to cut all dairy out of my diet. No more cheese, chocolate, and flat whites. No more cream, butter, and margarine. And no more smoked salmon pasta, the house speciality from my kitchen. It has been tough.

These two products have helped get me through the past 7 months.
Rice milk is actually quite nice, and I have it in my coffee, tea and cereal. It is a lot blander than Soy (which tastes awful to me), and has been fine to use in cake and pikelet making too.
This OXFAM dark chocolate spread is also dairy free, and delicious. You could spread it on bread, but I just eat it on a spoon out of the jar.

Our basil plants in the garden are HUGE, just begging for some pesto to be made. I am wondering how it will taste without the parmesan cheese??

Monday Craft is back!

and now I actually have some craft to blog about!

This week I made a bag with some IKEA fabric I bought a while ago. Yes, I know I make these Tiny Happy shoulder bags all the time, but they are so easy. I did however shorten the handle so it is more like a handbag.
And I also made a cosy for the coffee plunger. It works a treat!