This working from home stuff...

...is working. Much to my surprise. Maybe I will drag my life back to being my own.

To fetch her poor dog a bone

When she got there,
the cupboard was bare,
and so the poor dog had none.

Sweets:  lemon butter
1/2 a can of beetroot, 1 serve of cornflakes
Powdered:  formula, farax, 1 yogurt mix, bread flour, Indian corn flour, and semolina.
Beverages: tea, milo.
Dried: fruit, azuki beans, mung beans, mushrooms, bull kelp, seaweed sheets, slipmouth fish & squid
Stock: fish & veg, mizo
Spices: still too many (figured out how to use powdered okra!)
Pickles: cucumber, ginger
Sauces: soy, BBQ, tomato, mirin, chili, Tabasco, wasabi, okonomi, kewpie mayonnaise, tom yum.
Baking: bicarb, gelatin, agar, vinegar, Parisian essence, peppermint essence, almond essence, food colourings, honey
Dairy: butter, milk
Meat: 1/2 rump & a little bacon

OK - this experiment has officially ended because it's too difficult to cook from this pantry and work at school.  I restocked today on a few basics and now will work depleting the spices.

"Win Me an iPad2"

...demanded Michelle. The Kleenex website is looking for people to blog about parenting and they will reward chosen bloggers with an electronic device which doesn't even have a decent keyboard. I suppose it builds client base loyalty or perhaps their Kleenex Mum's Club promoters have run out of ideas.

Wee weee weee!

Michelle gave me a box of avocadoes yesterday (approximately 20?) and I asked her why she was giving to me and she replied, "Well, you know you can only east so many avocadoes." I beg to differ. We've eaten 10 already and tomorrow I'll make guacamole - AGAIN!

Went to the cupboard

A little out of the ordinary... I blended popping corn into polenta. Made pupusas from the masa lista. Made dipping crackers from the flour & 3 dips (yogurt & beetroot, guacamole, adzuki bean dip). Roseallas were cheap ($1 per kg) so I cooked them with honey & accompanied them with custard (AKA budgie heads and pus)

Shopping this week: milk, bread, meat, fruit & veg.

Remaining in cupboard (I forgot a few ingredients last week):
Sweets:  lemon butter
1/2 a can of beetroot, 1/4 box of cornflakes
Powdered:  formula, farax, 1 yogurt mix, bread flour, Indian corn flour, and semolina.
Beverages: sugar, coffee, teas, milo.
Dried: fruit, nuts, azuki beans, mung beans, mushrooms, bull kelp, seaweed sheets, slipmouth fish & squid, corn
Stock: fish & veg, mizo
Spices: still too many (figured out how to use powdered okra!)
Pickles: cucumber, ginger
Sauces: soy, BBQ, tomato, mirin, chili, Tabasco, wasabi, okonomi, kewpie mayonnaise, tom yum.
Baking: bicarb, gelatin, agar, vinegar, Parisian essence, peppermint essence, almond essence, food colourings, honey
Dairy: cheese, butter, milk
Meat: bacon, rump, chicken, kidneys

Mmm...baby formula....I wonder....

New Bed?

There isn't a lot of space in the bedroom to play in but there's plenty of bed to play on. Skye now has a climbing frame and Kirk likes being closer to us at night.  "OI!!!!!" Sean has just kidnapped Skye. "MY BED WARMER!"

A Solution!

I was racking my brains to keep Skye off the top bunk. I thought of planking the bottom rungs so she can't climb them, but she would just squeeze through from the bed side and get up. I thought of removing the ladder completely but if Kirk is sick he won't have the ability to climb over the top and god knows where he would vomit. I thought of hobbling her ankles but Dept of Child Safety would have something to say about that. Then Michelle suggested I separate the bunks until she is older...why didn't I think if that?! DUR!

Banana Icecream

My friend from Simple Life DIY recommended it:
Ingredients: Bananas
Method: Blend & freeze as you would sorbet.
YUMMMM :-)

Old Mother Hubbard

Three weeks ago I started a pantry clean out. This is where I buy nothing but milk, fruit & veg until the cupboards are empty of food. Occasionally, depending on time, I buy bread.  Last week we spiked due to a BBQ but I still managed to keep the shopping to basics. This week the cupboard STILL contains:

Sweets: 1/4 c sprinkles, jelly crystals, lemon butter, and some very old jam
Cans: 1 each of beetroot & coconut milk
Cereals: 1/2 box each of cornflakes & wheatbix
Powdered: milk, formula, farax, yogurt mix, a little self raising flour & bread flour, tapioca, custard, Indian corn flour, and...something I can't identify...maybe some sort of wheat cereal?
Beverages: sugar, coffee, teas, milo.
Dried: fruit, nuts, azuki beans, mung beans, mushrooms, bull kelp, seaweed sheets, slipmouth fish & squid, corn
Stock: fish & veg, mizo
Spices: still too many
Pickles: cucumber, ginger
Sauces: soy, BBQ, tomato, mirin, chili, Tabasco, wasabi, okonomi
Baking: bicarb, gelatin, agar, royal icing, vinegar, Parisian essence, peppermint essence, almond essence, food colourings, honey, ready icing mix...
Dairy: cheese, butter, milk,
Meat: bacon, smoked venison, 1/2 kg BBQ steak

+ miscellaneous  fruit & veg

Still HEAPS of food, so I will really have to get creative this month.

I Scream

You Scream
We All Scream
At Sky's Scream

She is so delighted with herself - she can climb to the top bunk. But I'm not delighted because she hasn't the sense to hold on once she is up there.

Correspondence

A friend, who is loaning me a series of books, asked me that today, "Has it stopped raining in Qld yet?"

I replied, "We have had 2 sunny days in a row - let's see if we can have a 3rd tomorrow.  We have become so accustomed to the rain we almost regard it as normal and blink like blind Gollum when the sun shines. Just when we think we might see a week of clear weather to let things dry and stop the mold growing we are rapidly disappointed. I swear I have lichen growing on my undies.

So in a word: NO.

Looking forward to the books - need something that doesn't have to be renewed every week. I really regret giving the library by email address because I get two "friendly reminders" every week.