Take A Picture

I see from a quick look at other people's blogs this evening, that there's a bit of summing up of Awesome Craft Behaviour from 2010. I'm not doing that. It'd be showing the same knitting pattern made repeatedly, sometimes not even in different wool, and even I, with my high threshold for boredom, recognise that that's not so interesting. And I just can't quite get the hang of how to make my photos into a nifty mosaic yet.
But that's another story ...

Sweeney and I celebrated last day of hols by going up to Waikanae Beach and hanging out with the neighbours for the afternoon. Our little boys helped some bigger boys to build a dam, then we mucked around in the waves. That was splendid, but Sweeney was a little iffy on it. So we headed to the park, and the boys swung on a big rope swing.

I didn't take any photos.

Then delicious nachos in the sun, and off home to tell each other what our favourite bits of the day were. Sweeney's were the ice cream sandwich and the dam. Mine were the ice cream sandwich and when it turned out that he didn't actually have bluebottle stings on his legs.

Well, we were back at school and work this morning. A little bit shellshocked (me), a little bit overwhelmed (Sweeney). And a little bit SWIPED (Sweeney's scooter, left at preschool from Christmas Eve, and now disparu ...). That was disappointing.

I was disappointed in myself to find that I don't have any photos of Sweeney on his scooter. He's had a lot of good scootering on that scooter, even if he never really believed in the power of its brake. So, here's a picture of me when I was two (I think), with my favourite toy at the time. I think that was the last time I really rocked an above-the-knee hemline. I still love a good maryjane shoe, though.

Aww, bless.

But I digress from what I actually set out to blog about. I meant to trumpet to the world how much I'm loving my Kitchen book. I've made something from it most days since Christmas, with the following highlights:

- chocolate banana muffins to take out to Auntie Thelma with the boys and their Nana;

- ham and broad bean salad, using Kimberley's Christmas ham and broad beans grown at our house, and Craig and Dorothy's down the road;

- blondies - a white version of the brownie, to take to Waikanae Beach. Seventeen forms of sugar can't be wrong ...;

- ham and leek pie - leeks cooked off in cider, then added to a white sauce with ham, mushrooms and more cider in it. Best accompanied by cider, and some amazing little purple potatoes from Craig and Dorothy's garden down the road. Then, when you're doing the washing up, have another cider; and

- toad in the hole. Yes. Toad. In. The. Hole. Actually, this really came into its own when the leftovers were fried off in bacon fat when we were camping. Haaaaaaapppy New Year, indeed ...

No, I don't have any photos of those, either. My challenge for myself is to find my camera, and empty the fridge and cupboards using this book. The mantra for 2011 is "no food left behind!!" ... or maybe something equally Lawrence of Arabia-ish, but less crazy-sounding.