cake update

The start of the covering over the cake with soft white icing.

Left overs...mmm.. what colour? purple I think!

3 drops of red and 1 of blue on a plate & mix it around.

Add it to the left over white, bit by bit and knead it in to make mauve!

Now mix up 2 eggwhites and gradually add 500g of icing sugar
(for royal icing to stick on the decorations)
with the old yellow sunbeam mixer - that belonged to my husband's grandma.
More installments on Saturday - the finished product!

Cakes, Curtains, Ducks crossing & Mist

Welcome to all you lovely ladies that have visited my blog. I am am so happy and honoured. I just love how visiting someone's blog can lift your heart at the end of a hard day and how wonderful it is to receive comments when you take the time to post yourself. Its also fun to take photos and begin to compose a blog in your head as you go through your day. Which is what I did today.
Well today started a little late, sleeping in after a late night, D.H. left early to go on a caving overnight trip. I had cakes to bake (for an engagement party) and was glad to have the house to myself to do it without distraction. I had to pop out and get some more sultanas in the late afternoon and took a few photos,

The duck crossing sign near the beginning of our road - and YES ducks do cross our street from one hanging swamp to another.

As I went down to the village to buy sultanas, the mist was rolling in, the weather had turned during the afternoon.
The mist, the road works (the highway widening) and railway in the background.
A close-up of one of the flowers on my 'vintage' bathroom curtains. I made them originally for the laundry door at our last house, from a vintage fabric find in an opportunity shop.
the pink roses on a pale blue background - they are finished with blue & white gingham at hem
Daylight is fading outside and you can see the shadows of the window frame behind
My pink mixing bowl - a reproduction of the sort my Mother has - I remember her mixing the Christmas cake in it.
The mixture before being spooned into the baking tins, lovely fruitcake
One of the cooked cakes. Icing & decorating comes tomorrow, Must get to bed, goodnight all!

The princess clown

Now about the "Princess Clown" drinking tea like Alice in Wonderland at 'The Mad Hatter's Teaparty'. I went to a big community festival, about 1/2 an hour away. The group I was with had been asked to do some community games on the oval as part of free family fun. I usually dress up as a clown for these occasions and last Saturday I decided to try something a bit different and went as 'A princess Clown'. I had a pretty yellow girls dress on (that was adult size - found at a charity shop) with stripey clown sox and a silver cardboard crown.
In the photo I am wearing an orange sparkly top hat that I had bought at a garage (yard) sale that morning. These photos were taken afterwards at a friends house where we stopped and had a cup of tea on the way home. Of course I was taking to my husband and taking the picture myself with the second camera on my mobile phone which is why it is such a shocker.
During the festival I occasionally stopped and 'had a cuppa' as part of my clowning around. [one time I actually had some real tea in it] I used this same demi cup and saucer to drink tea at my friends house.

Wow the world of blogging is big!

I have had a journey around the world and glimpsed into many women's lives today WOW
and now I share five snapshots from my home and some of my story. Many years ago a lady painted this tray and it was the prize for the Most appropriate title for a little in house newsletter among women at our church I entered with the title "Among Friends" and I won. This has ever since taken pride of place in my home - it was a sign that one day I would own my own cottage and now many years later we live in it and this tray hangs on the wall. I am crying as I write this because dreams do come true and My Heavenly Father gave this to me to help me hang onto that dream! I guess at times along the way their was HOPE, doubt, despair, RENEWED HOPE prayer and dreaming, window shopping, bargain hunting, waiting, crying, Believing. Happening!
This is a close up of the fabric of the kitchen curtains I made as another glimpse of HOPE! I had the roll of material for ages, finally had enough money to buy it, but then didn't have time to make it. I originally bought it to recover our lounge suite but wasn't brave enough to attempt it. But I did make a' mock up' cushion to visualise what it would look like. Next is a close up of the fabric that the lounge was finally covered in - better quality and done professionally about a month before we found our new home. It went so well!
Just one of my teddies, she was falling over. I found her at a garage sale and brought her home.
This is a picture of my first (I think) piece of patchwork with roses and teacups - I have liked them both for a long time.
Well later I must upload that funny picture of me as the "Princess Clown" drinking tea [I cut and paste text and some how its now a Link???] like Alice in Wonderland at 'The Mad Hatter's Teaparty" ANOTHER STORY - ANother DAY HEh heH - am I weird or what - yes! The photos are here as a reminder to me so I will keep you guessing!?! They are taken on the second camera on my mobile phone so in reverse.

Vintage china & Linen

Well they would have looked better if I had ironed them first,
I washed them and they were still sitting on my flat drying racks

Here are some of my pretty pink rose china.
Some of these first ones are for sale at the moment on ebay
copy and paste into your browser
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250307591422&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:AU:1123

The rest are part of my collection.
I just love pink roses on
Royal Albert American Beauty & Old English Rose
Queen Anne - Princess Rose & Lady Sylvia
and other darling ones!

Tea on the verandah & the garden

It rained again last night and the garden looked so fresh, I just had to sit and have a cup of tea [in my vintage American Beauty teacup] on the front verandah. Of course I couldn't resist getting out the mobile phone and taking some photos [I find it so easy to use and it automatically downloads when plugged into computer].

I started with the teaset on table, then the view of garden from where I was sitting, then I walked around the garden again 'snapping' roses and started pulling weeds out while the ground was soft from the rain.

new buds
new pelargonium cuttings planted in the old wheelbarrow
it used to have pansies each year
but now needs something that will survive on rainfall
and last from year to year

along the fence line




A close up of a double flowering geranium

some of those weeds...why do they grow so well?

The next 3 show the rose that climbs over the front gate



Have a beautiful day! See you again soon!

Lemon Meringue Pie

The last piece at a recent picnic
SO SORRY its sideways - I forgot to edit before upload!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Shortcrust Pastry [fits about a 20cm 8inch pie plate] My dish is in back of photo.
1 cup flour (plain or all purpose) [I use Orgran Gluten Free]
1-2 Tblspoons icing (powdered) sugar
60grams (2 oz) cold butter
5-6 Tblspoons chilled water or lemon juice [you may need more or less]

Filling
1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1x400g can (almost a pound?) Condensed Milk
4 egg yolks

Meringue
4 egg whites
pinch Cream of Tartar
1/2 cup fine sugar

Method
Process all Pastry ingredients in the food processor (or rub in traditional method)
***Put flour in first, then add cut up cold butter,
PROCESS 1-2 minutes then while machine is running
SLOWLY add water 1 tablespoon at a time, stop when it starts to clump together in a ball.
Turn out onto a piece of foil large enough for your pie plate, cover with a piece of cling-wrap and roll out.
Sit in fridge 1/2 hour
Then discard cling-wrap and gently lower foil (with pastry) into your pie dish.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes THIS IS FOR GLUTEN FREE not sure about other flour
Cool a little and then add Filling and top with Meringue.

Filling
Mix all ingredients with beaters. (Kenwood, Sunbeam etc)
Pour into partly cooked pie shell

Meringue
Beat egg whites [with clean beaters] until soft peaks form
add pinch of Cream of Tartar and gradually add sugar while still beating.
Scoop out of bowl and onto top of pie

Bake 15 minutes at 180c [375F]

ENJOY hot or cold! Meringue doesn't keep very well - best eaten 1-2 days
I think you could freeze the crust and filling separately & thaw and assemble then make meringue and put on top - I haven't tried this.