My Mother's Cooking

My mother was born into a society where women didn't work after they were married.  She was also born into a large family and lived through the depression and war years.

She had permission to stay at work until she had her first child and then became a stay at home Mom, or Mum, as I call her.  She had learned to cook from her mother and grandmother and is what you would call now a traditional cook.

My mother was a good cook though and as the family grew to 8 she was adept at making good nutritious  meals on a budget.  I learned  a lot about cooking from her and gained the love of it as well.  Cooking for my family is one of my favorite things especially in winter when the kitchen is warm and the aromas inviting and comforting.

My mother has just turned 86 years old this Boxing Day 2009 and she doesn't cook as much as she used to but she still cooks for herself.  She still has her original hand written cookbook from at least 40 years ago and still enjoys her own cooked meals.

This Christmas just gone, with a lot of  help from the family, she still made the traditional pudding which is wrapped in a muslin cloth, boiled and hung to dry.  It was excellent as usual and enjoyed by everyone.

Mum you are a legend!

My Christmas Tree

I love Christmas trees but I don't have a real one anymore for various reasons including the sadness I feel when it dies.  I could have one in a pot but I tried that and it didn't last from one Christmas to the next.

I now have a small artificial tree I call my travel tree.  I collect decorations from my travels and then when I decorate my tree all the memories of that trip comes back to me.  I love that feeling and I love the tree for that reason.

You can see the picture on this post to see my tree.  Why don't you start a travel tree too.  Start collecting on your next trip away.  I prefer collecting decorations for my tree than filling up my display cabinet with  shot glasses :) although I do that in the past.

Have you finished shopping for Christmas yet?  Check out these gifts ideas for the home.   Merry Christmas to everyone and stay safe and happy.

Some photos from my vacation to the Cook Islands

I am back from my vacation to the Cook Islands and had a wonderful time in Rarotonga. The days flew as they do when you are having a good time and I am now back to the reality of daily life again.

I could have stayed on that beach and swam and snorkeled for at least another month :) but alas work expects me to go back next week. I shouldn't complain as if I was not working I would never been able to afford to go there in the first place.

The Cook Islands are really beautiful and unspoiled and I look forward to going there again someday.

I have my wonderful memories to keep me going until the next time I get a lovely vacation like this one was. I also have to admit my stress levels are the lowest they have been in a long, long time. Kia Orana.

I work to travel

Image by Daniele Sartori via Flickr

I love traveling and I will continue to travel as long as I have the money so I keep working. I try and have a vacation at least once a year even if it is a few days away only. This year my partner and I have been to Townsville in northern Queensland for a weekend and three days to Merimbula which is on the south coast of NSW, Australia.

In November though we are going to the Cook Islands for over a week and I am getting very excited. We haven't been there before and I love warm climate holidays. We plan on doing a lot of snorkeling and swimming and generally relaxing on this vacation. The Cook Islands are Polynesian and it has to be the best kept secret of the South Pacific.

There are no high rise hotels, it's a real unspoilt group of islands, and we are staying in Rarotonga at the Muri Beach Club Hotel which is an adult only boutique hotel. This should be a real experience for us and no risk of being knocked down by kids at this resort.

Diving, snorkeling, swimming, fishing, kayaking and other water sports are the main activities to do there besides sightseeing. We are going to take advantage of this relaxing time to unwind and relax before the Christmas preparations get underway when we get home.

I am now counting down the time when I can sit by the pool or the ocean with a marguerita in my hand and my feet in the water.

Gallahs at the workplace

Hey, I'm not calling anyone a Galah, especially the people I work with, and in Australia that would mean I would be calling them a fool. I referring to the Australian parrots that are called Galahs.

I saw them around work eating the grass seed so I thought I would take some pics of them as I had my camera with me that day. They are lovely birds even if they do eat everything including any wood on your house and verandah. Not quite as special as a Kookaburra or a Rosella but they are nice looking birds all the same.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The focal point of your kitchen - the kitchen clock

The humble kitchen clock is often the focal point of your kitchen so it should be placed in a prominent position so it can be seen from any angle of the kitchen. You might not realize that you refer to the clock often during the day as we run our lives by what time we have to do everything we need to in our busy day.

You can buy some beautiful decorative clocks for your kitchen depending on your decor whether it be modern, antique or vintage clocks and you can even get colors now that will compliment your kitchen instead of having only the choices of wood and metal.

The first step is to decide what use this kitchen clock will fulfill. Is it just going to be a decorative clock only and is it going to be a pivotal part of the kitchen. What space do you have for it and will it be hung on the wall or sitting on the bench. Decide these things and you are ready to buy one. There are some great sites online so start there or check out KITCHEN-CLOCK.NET for some great deals with a eBay auction.

Don't worry if when you buy the clock you don't like it because you can always change it right away or in the future as most clocks these days won't break the bank. A new clock will make a big difference to the kitchen and with a little paint and some other minor changes you can have a completely new look.

See the difference a new kitchen clock will make to your kitchen and stay on time.

Crock Pot Lids and other Parts

I need a new crock pot lid and I have been searching online for one for my old crock pot slow cooker. It's not easy finding what you need and its time consuming.

I first did a Google search on 'crock pot lid' and really didn't get much except for a blog that has a targeted eBay auction for crock pots and parts. Mainly the others were for Rival and I didn't have that brand. The blog was CROCK POT MEALS and they had some good info on there about crock pots and recipes as well.

I like this site because it save me time and I have bookmarked it so I can go back and check it periodically. I know I might have to wait awhile to find the one I want but now I don't have to waste my time looking anymore.

Another place was Amazon that I looked and they have a good range of accessories for my crock pot slow cooker like cookbooks and utensils but no lids from old models. I was a bit disappointed but they did have a cookbook that I had been looking for so it wasn't a waste of time really.

I think I will stick to the CROCK POT MEALS auction site and hope that my crock pot lid comes up for auction soon. I would also be prepared to buy a whole one just to get the parts.

I will keep you posted about my progress. In the meantime I'll keep on cooking.