… the mums reaction to the juice was interesting.  One asked how much sugar I added

I made toffee apples & lolly kebabs …

.. the kebabs disappeared VERY quickly but the toffee apples were all left behind with little nibbles out of them.. not so cool for modern children apparently.

We attempted to play cricket.. that lasted about 10 minutes.. the concept of running after a ball seemed to be unappealing.  The egg & spoon race was enjoyed by most but the highlight of the day, I suspect, was a large puddle they threw things into & made mud with.

I found a fabulous looking Popcorn Cake on this site.  It was so easy to make, although I wish I’d had someone to take a picture of the sticky mess I got myself into with the melted marshmellow.  I think most kids enjoyed the kinda sweet & sour taste.  Well, anything with lollies goes down well doesnt it?

Cake in the Making

Not sure if the party was a great success but it was a lot of work.  I felt the need to recuperate the following day with some ‘me’ time reading through my stack of magazines. My tower is getting out of hand so I’m ruthlessly ripping out the pages I want & recycling the rest.  Now my pile of pages waiting to find their way into a scrapbook is starting to get out of hand!!

It occurred to me that the home & garden magazines had some lovely full page photographs of flowers, interiors & enticing cakes, & so I have saved them to use as wrapping paper.. how is that for thrifty?

Newborns with Mum

Lindy Lu - 4 hrs old

Luwis - 4 hrs old

Lulu is very generous.. allowing us all to have lots of cuddles of her soft wee babies. They both have toggles like mum. Sadly tho, Luwis will be needing a new home soon.. no room for boy goats even if they are too sweet.  Anybody out there want a baby to love??

Here’s the links to previous posts on this topic with pics of mum & dad

I showed you Lulu & her man visitor back in August.  I am delighted to say we are fairly convinced that she is not just fat this year & that we are expecting kids in January.  I couldn’t actually capture her size in the pictures but she is quite big for a first time mum with 6 weeks still to go.  Her udder is really expanding too.. poor thing is obviously feeling quite uncomfortable.

Lulu.. lady in waiting

And here are some more adorable chickies.  I dont think there is anything cuter than a baby Pekin.  This breed has so much personality which adds to their appeal.

Pekin Bantam Chicks

They actually have a couple of Orpington sisters/brothers which are huge beside them.  Can you believe those little blue chicks actually come from this mum…

Pekin Hen ~ Pickle

Will be interesting to see how they change as they grow. Pickle lays her eggs in this old metal bucket in the garden. I have lots & lots of Pekin eggs at the moment. Please contact me if you’d like to buy some to hatch your own little chicks.

Yesterday I gave in to our determined Silver Laced Wyandotte & let her have a few Orpington eggs to sit on.

Broody Silver Laced Wyandotte

I was told recently that if you spread native leaves in the nests the bugs dont like it, so hubby has shredded some punga for this girl. All my broodies also get a couple of drops of Ivomec on their skin to ensure the mites won’t suck them while they sit.

Of all that we got 13 firsts & only 3 items didn’t place.  Not bad considering I had little idea what makes a good ‘show’ flower… just entered things that looked pretty really (& hadn’t been tormented by my chooks).

You can click on the pictures above if you want to see them larger .. things are looking a little droopy after 3 days on show.

I was blown away that my Dahlia ‘Pooh’ won the Premier Prize for Best Amateur Dahlia in show.  I had the idea that dahlias had to be huge to be good & Pooh is relatively small & simple.. but, as I stood back & admired it on the prize bench, I could see it really was quite outstanding.  The colours are so vibrant.  I love it in the garden and all visitors comment on its beauty.

Pooh is a collarette dahlia & I’ve decided they will be my ‘thing’ .. so I spent most of yesterday morning scouring the internet for more beauties of this type.  I have found 2 that I must have… Fuzzy Wuzzy & Bumble Rumble.  I’m also going to order a packet of dahlia seeds & see what lovelies pop up out of it.

I got this recipe from the local Playcentre & it’s better than any others I’ve tried:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

2 cups water

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

4 tsp. cream of tartar

food colouring (will turn out brighter than it looks in the pot)

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan

Cook on low, stirring constantly, until the dough thickens to playdough consistency. Cool then knead a little before using.

I often halve the recipe & make two separate colours.  Keeps for ages in a sealed container in the fridge .. if it doesnt get squished into toys or spread around the floor first! I also read somewhere than you can add vanilla to make it smell nice but my boys tend to eat playdough so I dont want to encourage that.