The little things in life............

Yesterday Linda and I had a very pleasant day out.

In the morning we went to a regional quilters' gathering in Rotorua followed by lunch and a browse in some shops in the downtown area.

One of the shops just happened to be an op shop (thrift store) where I spied these lovely little doilies featuring crinoline ladies.

Not that we really need to add to our doily collection but these were far too nice to leave behind. The ribbon bows have been done in the tiniest satin stitch and the crocheted border is in pristine condition.

Just a little thing in life but something just a bit special to have at our place.

Something a bit different in our lives

In January of this year Linda and I made a decision to change the way we eat.

Encouraged by our brother we read It Starts With Food and decided to follow their concepts, based on the Paleo lifestyle, for 30 days.

The main changes for us was giving up sugar and all wheat products.

We haven't looked back.  We feel heaps better, sleep better, more alert and, as a bonus, we have both lost weight.

The only wheat based food we have now is a home made pizza once a month that Linda makes for us.
I was most surprised that the transition has gone so well.  Always been a bread lover but was aware it was causing digestive issues which have now disappeared completely.

Recently I found a recipe for bread that is wheat free and works for me.  If you would like to try a break from wheat but still want a 'bread' in you life you may like to give this a go:-

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius.

Grease or line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Place the following dry ingredients in a mixing bowl:-

75gm psyllium husks
40gm flax seed
75gm rice flour
2tspn baking powder
1tspn baking soda
1tspn salt

In another mixing bowl add:-

75gm melted butter
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs

Mix wet ingredients and add to the dry, mix well and place in baking tin.

You may like to sprinkle on top of the loaf a mix of 20gm sunflower seeds and 20gm pumpkin seeds.

Bake in preheated oven for 55mins.

Cool and enjoy eating.

Bread stores well in pantry for at least 5 days.

NB.  You can mix the sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds into the batter if you prefer but the baking soda may turn the seeds green (as I found) so I now put them on top instead.

Time for an inspection

Sometimes when our friend, Debbie, comes to visit she brings her grandson, Rex.

If they come in the morning, egg inspection is required.  He loves to collect the eggs for us, and if there is a surplus, sometimes he gets to take home a few eggs for his dinner.

On this occasion it was the afternoon.

No eggs to be collected but the hens needed to be let out for their afternoon run.

Rex was happy to let them loose. He also inspected for eggs, just in case, and then decided the coop was worthy of closer inspection.

I was advised it was a bit 'smelly'

Inspection over and time for contemplation - maybe a chicken keeper in the making at some future date...........

Is it just cat scanning or a love affair with new quilts?

Linda wrote recently about the very special quilt her internet friends were kind enough to make as a surprise gift.

Linda laid it out on the floor for us to have a good look at it and it was not long before CiCi was found having a lovely time introducing herself to the latest acquisition.

I am tempted to say she is 'cat scanning' but our Sweet Pea, friend Rochelle shared the following story about 'cat scanning' so now I am wondering whether cats and quilts are really just 'miniature' love affairs:-

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As 
she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his 
stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. 

After a moment or two, the vet 
shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles,
has passed away."

The distressed woman wailed,
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied
the vet..

"How can you be so sure?" she
protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or
something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned
around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later
with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on
in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his
front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from
top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and
shook his head.

The vet patted the dog on the
head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he
returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also
delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat
back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and
strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the
woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most
definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and
produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..

The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she
cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it,
the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the
Cat Scan, it's now $150."

http://FowlFanatics.com/

Worth closer inspection

Thank you to everyone who left lovely comments about this quilt top and its location.

I thought the pot in the foreground was worth closer inspection.

These polyanthus have done extremely well during the winter months by fronting up to all sorts of weather conditions.

Linda has been faithfully tending to them and they have responded well to her care.