Recipe and a free 'lemony' pattern...

At some stage in their growing up years each of my children have been treated to a sweet feast of  butterfly fairy cakes, and whether that be at family celebrations, in a picnic basket or at afternoon tea, these small handfuls of yumminess never failed to bring squeals of joy and wide smiles.

Last weekend when we celebrated Cully May's 2nd birthday these delicious cakes made their appearance for the next generation to enjoy, and indeed she did! I had considered baking a 'normal' sized birthday cake and decorating it in lots of pink (or maybe give a Thomas the Tank face a go), but then I thought about those precious little 2 yo hands and what they can hold all by themselves.

One entire cake, in pretty pink gingham paper wrapping, butterfly fairy wings high on top, and a sweep of white fairy dust scattered all over...yes, that's what Cully May's little fingers needed to curl themselves around. 

It's a different mindset to bring your plans in line with the age, ability or needs of another, but so worth it. To see Cully devour an entire 'birfday cake' with sheer delight and total abandonment, the lip licking, laughing chomps and satisfied mmmm when the final mouthful was taken...well, it made this Nana heart glow.

I was surprised to receive a number of requests for this recipe but am very happy to share it.

DOWNLOAD the recipe here

I was also asked 'how' to make the butterfly fairy wings, so here are the simple steps. Bake the cakes according to the recipe I've shared and then...

1. Cut a circle from the top of the cake. Not very deep, maybe 1/2 inch...

2. Cut the circle in half to make your wings. Fill the top of the cake with lemon curd, jam or cream.

3.  Place the wings on top of the cake and gently press them into the filling.

4. Sift icing sugar (powdered sugar) over the top.

I've shown how to do this with one cake but when you have baked the entire batch (my recipe will make 18 cakes) place the cakes on a wire rack and sift the icing sugar over all of them at once before placing the finished cakes on display.

For Cully May's birthday I placed a few cotton laces doilies on a large glass cake plate and displayed the lemon curd fairy cakes around two un-decorated cakes which each had a pink candle. 

She was very excited and though this may seem very simple to grown ups, those little dimples and wide brown toddler eyes told me it was just perfect for her.

After I typed up this recipe last night I went back through my old patterns and found one I'd forgotten about. 

The Lemon Rose Pillow...

It has a pretty line of lemon roses embroidered down one side and features a length of elegant lace on front and mother of pearl buttons for the side fastening.

This design did not feature my usual soft pinks, blues and greens - in fact you rarely see me focusing on yellow or lemon when I create, but I really loved making this pillow and the lemon just worked.

Hubby and I are just about to gather our water bottles, a few snacks, and head off to look through some open houses. We held hands as the sun rose this morning and prayed the most simple prayer from our weary house-hunting hearts -

"Father God, please be merciful and lead us to the right house today."

Never underestimate a simple prayer that is prayed from the heart. 

Because it's not the words you use which matter most to God, it's the heart intent, the need, the humility, and the love for Him.

Bless you today, and tomorrow and always,

hugs

Lessons...

I think one of the events we shall enjoy not repeating when we buy a home of our own will be quarterly house inspections by the estate agents who manage this property.

Though I do believe it's an important service on behalf of the owners to check and see that their investment house is being looked after and maintained, it sorely wears on me to have people coming through taking photos four times a year. Perhaps it's the introvert in me, my need for privacy and a sense of security within these walls? Whatever, I shall be gleeful when we turn the key in our very own front door and know that none shall pass it's threshold without an invitation to do so. 

This morning's rental inspection was a bit harder than usual due to these past three weeks of ill health and the subsequent housework, which is normally up to date, lagging behind. Still, between us, Mr E and I were able to catch up yesterday afternoon and it was a nice feeling to have things put away,  garden tended, floors sparkling and life back 'as it should be'.

It's his final week of a fortnight's school holiday break so we're taking life slow before term 3 begins and the work pace picks up again. One of the things we had both noticed recently was the dwindling grocery bill, and not just because we had barely an appetite during the flu and pneumonia weeks.

Even when our hunger returned it was for very simple fare and not a lot of it. Soup and toasted sandwiches have hit the number one spot as my husband's nightly dinner request, and a hearty beef stew I made in the slow cooker last week has been served twice with mashed potato and greens, and will become meat pies further into this week. With all the bits and pieces that stew has cost a grand total of $5 per double serve. No wonder the grocery bill is reducing. 

Scones make an appearance some days for lunch and then carry over the next day as breakfast. Normally I make them with buttermilk but having not been to the supermarket lately I soured the last of the milk with lemon juice instead and the scones tasted just as good.

Knowing the lease shall be up at this house in about ten weeks and we will need to leave, a slow progression through the pantry and freezer to use what we have is underway.  I don't like taking a lot of food with us when moving house so those last weeks always require a bit of extra creativity to pair ingredients which had previously not had the pleasure of an introduction, and of course there's quite a bit of baking happening to empty the flour barrels.

Blossom will be moving in four or five weeks too and I think her plan is the same as mine. 

Actually, I think a good pantry, fridge and freezer empty-out every so often is good sense as not many foodstuffs have an indefinite shelf or freezer life and it's very easy to forget what you have when your pantry cupboard is deep and dark (like mine). 

Bob and Sophie spend much of the day lazing in the sun by the dining room window, or out on the deck in their beds lazing in the sun, or snuggled close to Mr E and I during a late afternoon nap.

I've been re-reading A Year of Slow Food (now out of print) each night before bed. It's broken up into a year of week by week chapters written in conversational manner about daily life growing food, tending to animals, and cooking your own produce on a small farmlet. It's been years since I first read it and remember at the time I could not put the book down. 

This time however, I'm savouring the journey, researching further about beekeeping, honey, greenhouses, crop rotations, cheese making, cows and chickens. I sincerely doubt we shall ever take on the kind of commitment the authors did, but it's in our mind to become partially self sufficient should we find a home with enough garden space for raised vegetable beds, fruit trees and chickens. 

One house in particular tugged on our heartstrings the other day when we attended the open viewing.

It's old, loads of character, a wonderful cook's kitchen and pantry, plenty of shade and garden, in a quiet leafy green area...but it has an asbestos roof. This is a big red flag for my husband and would require removal by certified professionals at some stage and a new roof installed, probably costing around twenty thousand dollars which we'd need to save for.

I doubt we'll follow through with this one, but my oh my, we certainly do know what we want now. 

The rain a week ago has given the bottle brush down by the side of my sewing room a rare burst of winter colour, but it wasn't enough to stir the frangipani into bloom.

Still, the bottle brush has attracted birds and as I potter in my sewing room around dawn each morning, sipping a fresh cup of coffee, their song is joyful and welcoming.  

Welcoming.

One of my new designs was created with welcome in mind. 

A welcome for a new home actually.

As I do not know the colour scheme our new house will have, stitching with a fairly neutral palette seemed wise and I'm so glad I chose these colours because they really have a soothing, calming appearance...just what is needed when you enter a home for the first time, yes?

The cream frame has a lovely weathered appearance and the variegated green spot fabric was perfect to border the design without closing it in. No idea why I stitched 476 as the house number but I'm sure it has no relevance whatsoever to the number we shall have eventually. Perhaps I will scour the Bible and see if there is a good 4:76 or 47:6 verse to compliment my 'welcome' embroidery.

Did you notice the key? More importantly did you notice the key fob? It may look like just a piece of lace to you but to me it is a treasure from the past. When Blossom was just 12 years old she learned to do bobbin lace and this was the first practice piece she made. Now you know why I hold it dear to my heart and why it shall hang with a key over the framed design.

This slow time, this season of recuperation, is still teaching me, drawing my thoughts deeper so that I find myself examining experiences, motivations, purposes and the things that need to go.

One such change this past week has been acquainting myself with the 'unsubscribe' button found at the very bottom of numerous emails and newsletters I have subscribed to over the years.

Have you found yourself offering your email address in order to obtain a free recipe book, free patterns, preview viewings of documentaries, special offers from shops and businesses. etc etc? 

Me too.

In fact I realised after being off the computer for a few days during the worst of the pneumonia that my inbox flooded over with emails which I subsequently deleted one by one as I had no interest in what they were selling or offering. 

Emails flowing over can be wearying enough to clear when they are valid and pertaining to my own family, business, blog and friendships, but add to them even more which have no bearing at all on life or distract me with purchase temptations and there's an extra  mental weight bearing down that should not be there. 

Every morning these past eight or nine days I go through each email not associated with family, friends, blog or work, block the few obvious spam emails which always trickle through, and unsubscribe from everything else. Now I no longer groan when opening Outlook on my laptop and after initially unsubscribing from about 15-20 per day, this morning there was only one. 

Aah, the satisfaction, and the removal of temptations (craft shops, book shops...)

You know, there is a deep knowing in my heart that God has been using this time of rest and recovery to address many hidden issues in my life, to draw my eyes upon them and consider each one carefully. Some have surprised me, causing me to declare out loud "How did I not see that before?", and yet others, which I'd previously chosen to ignore and sweep under the carpet for another time, were like neon lights that would not quit until they were dealt with. 

Attitudes and habits have risen up to greet me head on, a tsunami of emotions following closely behind, and to be honest if I'd been given the choice I'd not have opened the door to them, but God knew what was needed, He allowed me to be laid low in order to raise me out of the pit I'd dug for myself. Such love. Such deep abiding love. Exactly what I'd wanted to do as a parent for the betterment of my own children, yet was often too fearful to follow through with. 

I feel quite blessed today, lightened of many loads and with fresh clarity of purpose and hope, and so very grateful for the faithful prayers of daughter Blossom, my beloved husband, and dear friends like Allie, Annabel and Margaret. Never underestimate prayers.

May your week be rich in kindness, slow in pace, overflowing with goodness and generous in love.

hugs

Gratitude in the moments...

Truly, I'll be so pleased when our house hunting days are over and life can step back into a gentler routine, a routine I thrive in and which fills my homemaker heart with pure satisfaction and delight.

There have been four very different homes which 'almost' prompted us to sign on the dotted line, but sleepless nights followed the viewing of each of them and we both agreed they just weren't right for our needs now and in the future.

That's the thing. 

We're buying our first home but it will also be our last, so it needs to serve us this year and also in twenty years from now. This means that even though there are certain styles of home we really love, those same homes will become a burden sooner rather than later and that's just not wise at this time of life. With the end of lease on our rental home looming closer it's easy to feel anxious and consider certain houses just because we want the search to end and decisions to be finalised...but then we pray and listen for that still small voice. God soothes our anxieties and suddenly we feel brave again, and even a tad more patient.

Though our winter is still quite warm with 28 C (82 F) days the mornings are brisk and refreshing so I've begun sitting out on the patio for my bible study and second cuppa after Mr E leaves for work. 

It's very relaxing out there with different birds singing a tune every now and then, reminding me that they too prefer these pleasanter winter days.

On Tuesday morning Rosie dropped by for a visit and rather than sit inside as we normally do we made coffee, filled a plate with Matrimony Slice, and took our sewing out on the patio. I do hope our new home will have a similar place to sit, pray, read and enjoy time with friends.   

I've been working on a birth notice for Rafaella...

...which is the same design as I did for Cully May's birth notice but in different colours. 

I'll have this pattern ready in July for Stitchery Club members as it's such a joyful one to stitch and looks lovely in a child's room. 

Blossom came by for the day yesterday with her little sweethearts and what a wonderful time we had! As soon as Cully May arrives she heads to the spare bedroom calling "Thomas!" and seconds later scoots passed us on her Thomas the Tank Engine ride-on. After that she found her tea set and was intent on pouring pretend cups of tea for mummy and I before settling next to me on the couch with a handful of books for story time. 

We enjoyed breakfast, morning tea and lunch together, Blossom and I chatting about homemaking, prayer, cooking, moving house and the 1950s. She'd asked to see photos of me as a baby and we imagined what life was like for my mum growing up in the 40's and 50's. I have a few black and white photos of mum (she died aged 21) taken in the late fifties and very early sixties so we spent a good hour holding photos up against Rafaella and Cully May to see the family resemblances.

Afterwards we settled down with a cuppa to watch the first episode of "Back in Time for Dinner" which was about life for a housewife and her family in the fifties. This led to much discussion about making do, gratitude, simpler meals, less ingredients, raising a family, fashion, opportunity, modesty and how it all compared with life in 2018.

I've now caught up and watched the episodes which covered the 60's and 70's, but I'm looking forward to the 1980's because that was my heyday as a young wife and mother so I have clearer memories of that era than the previous ones.

Sweet Rafaella loves my Shabby Roses quilt so I have told Bloss it is to be hers when Jesus takes me home one day...

Cully May is a girl of many expressions, all of them fun and beautiful...

Today I wrote patterns and took photos of next month's designs, but in between I took a couple of hours to enjoy some baking.

Because our weekends are taken up with house hunting and the workaday week has so much which must be crammed in to run a business, design, sew, spend time with family and keep house, there hasn't been much time in the kitchen apart from the needful simple breakfasts and dinners.

As much as my body prefers a grain free menu, it is just too time consuming right now so I decided to put up with achy joints a few months longer and return to cooking simpler (cheaper) meals with a few treats we've been missing.

We've been in need of a treat lately and unfortunately chose to buy a few bags of lollies, though we both agreed that much sugar wasn't the best idea.  So today I baked an old favourite, Blackberry Swirls, for dessert tonight, and also a Pineapple Fruit Cake to have with cuppas over the weekend and in to next week. 

Served with custard these swirls are delicious...

...and will last us four nights. Much nicer than lollies and a lot less sugar too.

You'll find the recipe here in my shop with a free stitchery inside.

Don't think I've ever shared the recipe for Pineapple Fruit Cake but its an Australian favourite and there are many recipes online. THIS is the same as the one I grew up with and the only difference for me is that I bake it in a large loaf tin for easy slicing.

I hope your weekend is not as full as mine, but if it is be sure to stop every so often and just breathe - long deep breaths of life giving air that will gently slow you down and clear your mind.

It's too easy to get on that treadmill of busyness and keep running without any thought of what this is doing to your health, your life and your relationships. I'm becoming more conscious than ever that I must make time to potter around, listen to some music, take deep breaths, sit out on the back step and watch the birds flitting back and forth...even for five minutes. 

Those small breaks from work, homemaking or scrolling through houses online, ground me in the moment. They draw my thoughts back from a tendency to run forward, and let them settle in the now, the very present and precious moment I am in. 

Every day is a gift, you know.

Receive each new morning, give thanks, and make time to really appreciate the day you have been given as it will never come again.

Love and hugs

Learning new things...

I was watering our potted herbs out by the washing line yesterday and this little green tree frog popped up from under the parsley fronds. Now that the weather has finally begun to settle into a cooler almost-winter pattern the herbs are flourishing and these cute frogs can come out to play.

Our tropical winters are like spring and it's evident in the flourishing of both flora and fauna around our area.

I'm considering a trip to Bunnings tomorrow to buy some more herbs and then we can refill our empty pots with a variety of flavour-full culinary greens. I'd love to plant them directly into the garden but as we'll be moving on in about four months it's best to keep them in pots for now.

We spent another exhausting weekend walking through open houses and driving around various neighbourhoods to look at other homes for sale which weren't open. 

I honestly did not think this endeavour would be so stressful. The weighing up of building our own place and carrying a big mortgage well into our 70's, as opposed to buying a small established home on a decent size block for around 40% less mortgage may seem a no-brainer, but with the royal commission into banks at the moment (here in Australia) it's actually easier to get finance to build than it is to purchase established if you're a first home buyer like us. 

But, we're fairly determined to go the established route and not be saddled with a mortgage that will see us do nothing more than pay it off for the next 25 years. We just have the find the right house within our budget so if you pray, please offer a little prayer for us about this. xx

Blossom loved the embroidered cardigan I made for her birthday!

Ross was away with work so Mr E and I took fresh baked lemon and raspberry muffins along with our gift to her house early Saturday and spent the morning chatting, playing with Cully May, cuddling little Rafaella who is goo-ing and gaa-ing all the time now, and checking out her new slow cooker/pressure cooker. 

All of us were so relaxed that the hours passed quicker than we'd planned and as we hugged goodbye near morning's end dear Blossom declared it one of her favourite birthdays ever. 

Driving away to begin our new list of homes to view hubby and I thanked God for the gift of our youngest child and the love, respect and honour she shows us every day. We are indeed blessed to be her mum and dad.

A surprise parcel of the new Tilda range 'Sunkiss' arrived in the post last week from Fiona at Tilda Australia. At first I felt a bit overwhelmed designing with the fabrics because free time right now to 'play' with quilting or machine sewing is rare (I have a few tunics still waiting to be hemmed after many weeks) but my husband reminded me that in the midst of all this time consuming house hunting, the embroidery design business, family responsibilities and home making, I needed to make time to have fun...and sewing is fun for me, so I am working on a new embroidery design for July which will feature some of the Sunkiss prints.

I'm also working on a project for later in the year and found I could use Sunkiss in that as well which fortunately mixes business with pleasure. Yay! Win win.

Healthwise we've continued following a grain and dairy free menu, although I did have bread at the weekend to 'test' my body's response and there definitely was one.  On Sunday morning (after two pieces of bread the previous day) my joints were aching again and my feet were so painful that walking was not fun at all, especially when we had seven open houses to view that day. 

Back to grain free for me. With all that's going on right now it's best that I stay as pain free as possible.

Not sure if I've mentioned it before but hubby and I have been using mega-vitamin therapy for almost a year now and it has honestly kept us going when nothing in the past had worked. We have seven specific supplements each day which includes 3000 mg of vitamin C, 2000 mg of magnesium and 750 mg of niacin among others. The thing we've noticed most is recovery time from illness or wounds is very fast, especially head colds which we bounce back from within 24 hours. 

Balancing our year long mega-vitamin intake with this recent grain/dairy/sugar free diet has given us the added physical benefits of reduced join pain, better sleep, dramatically reduced incidence of migraine and increased clarity of thinking. 

If we were doing this house-hunting/business/teaching/family/homemaking life without those health changes we'd be flat on the floor - just like we were for many years. Obviously not all health issues are eliminated but by not having as many to deal with I'm able to function better with the ones I still have.

In the kitchen recently I've made the most delicious raw cherry ripe slice (here's the last piece!)...

...and cherry, almond and amaranth rock cakes.

Being time poor I haven't been able to write up any new grain, dairy or sugar free recipes yet, and as I'm still experimenting that's a good thing because I'd like to refine them first, but the rock cakes (above) are a tried and true recipe I've shared in the past.

The only difference with these ones is that I used dried sour cherries last week instead of my usual dried cranberries, but you could use whatever you like. They also have a small amount of coconut palm sugar which is way healthier than refined sugar.

You can download the recipe HERE or scroll through my old food blog for more ideas over here.

I've made a good supply of beef bone broth and divided it into a few 500 ml containers for the freezer as this makes a nutritious base to soups, stews and casseroles.

Hubby loved this spicy Beef and Chorizo soup I made in the slow cooker. It was loaded with fresh veggies, crushed garlic, grated ginger and grated turmeric, chilli and herbs. A powerhouse of nutrition...

Most days for breakfast now we make a bowl of fresh berries with a big dollop of coconut milk yoghurt and 1/2 a grain/sugar/dairy free cacao flax muffin (which I make in a coffee mug in the microwave and takes just 1 minute). It's delicious, filling and healthy. Can't ask for more than that!

Mr E 'loves' kombucha tea and whenever we're out and about he buys a bottle, but they're not cheap. I don't mind him getting them because it's gut-healthy and a far better option than bottled soda, but I thought there's a better, more budget friendly way to do this so...

...I went to our local health food store and purchased a kombucha scoby and have my first 2 litre jar of kombucha tea brewing away. Once I get this under my belt I can have 2 or 3 jars brewing at a time so my beloved can drink kombucha as often as he likes. 

You know, there's a lot of things I'd like to learn, techniques I want to hone or improve upon, but basically I've been lazy in pursuing them.  

Whilst watching Masterchef Australia the other night something a contestant, Hoda, said really resonated with me about learning to do things ourselves. It was in regards to a particular ingredient (kataifi) which she had always purchased premade. She said one day as she was using this ingredient to make Kanafeh (a middle eastern dish) she thought to herself  'it can't be that hard to make' so she watched how it was done on YouTube and ever since has made her own! Even the judges who came by her bench as she made the kataifi were impressed.

I couldn't stop thinking about the simplicity of learning things these days through thousands upon thousands of varied blog or YouTube tutorials which cover everything from crochet to bonsai to watercolours to making kataifi...and that's when I decided to make my own kombucha.

Some of my friends use YouTube for tutorials all the time, in fact my dear friend Fee has even started sharing tutorials on her YouTube channel. My husband uses YouTube tutorials at school and for those many Jeep repairs, and I'd even uploaded a few stitchery tutes in the past when I was hosting a Christmas sew-a-long.

However, it's a new thing for me to actually watch things there apart from the odd music clip but I'll slowly begin to explore once I've compiled a list of the skills that interest me.

What about you? Where do you go online to learn new skills or to improve on the ones you have already?

I've always liked the quote "God is nearer one's heart in the garden than anywhere else on earth". 

It's from a poem by Dorothy Frances Gurney and inspired my new set of designs for the next issue of The Stitchery Club.

We'll be stitching a beautiful garden sampler along with four other designs.

Touches of applique appear here and there, even a heart of lace, and a few golden seed beads bring summer sparkle to a wheelbarrow of blooms.

Which is your favourite?

Last year I designed a garden themed issue as well and it was very popular so I've decided all new members who join The Stitchery Club before the 16th June will receive this March 2017 issue as a free gift, emailed to them within 24 hours of joining.

They can be stitching garden delights while they wait for the new June garden issue to arrive!

Would you like to know more?

Go HERE to the Club page.

Each issue is a PDF file emailed to your inbox on the 17th of each month. 

You can join and leave whenever you like - stay a month, a year...that decision is yours and there are no penalties.

I'd best be away now. 

The washing is ready to be hung on the line, my floors are in need of a thorough vacuum, the back patio needs some attention and I have a chicken to thaw before roasting it for dinner tonight.

And after that there's some stitching waiting and part three of a new Agatha Christie mini series to watch while I embroider. A jolly productive day I'd say.

I hope yours is too.

hugs

PS: Blogger are not forwarding comments via email at the moment so I haven't been able to reply to comments from the last blog post. Decided that's just not on, so I've added the 'reply' option below and I'll respond there until this glitch is resolved. xx