Another Year to Live!

When you live with a 4 year old,

having a hot spicy meal is a rare special treat.
And so TM's birthday dinner

the other day ended up featuring 

an array of steaming, spicy Indian dishes,

due to my lack of imagination

and love of curry and rotti.

(I was seriously ridiculed by TM when all I

ate in Singapore was Indian curry!)

I have to admit the usually reserved TM  loosens up

considerably when it's party time!

My attempt at a Japanese strawberry shortcake

(sponge cake with cream and strawberries)

was a success. But putting it in the fridge was

not a success as it was a little hard when we

ate it later that night.

I also realized I needed to soak the sponge in more

syrup (which prevents it from drying out).

Happy Birthday for 2012 TM.

May all your wishes for this year come true.

xo

REFRESHING SHOPPING EXPERIENCE AT LA MANNA DIRECT





La Manna Direct.
Photo: From La Manna Website

http://www.lamannadirect.com.au/index.php



On Saturday morning as TM slept like a baby,
Elise and I tip-toed out of the house on a girl's
mission to investigate a recently opened new-
concept supermarket near the airport. It's
called LA MANNA Direct and its located
in Essendon Fields,which was quite a trip for
us, but actually well worth the experience.

It was a massive supermarket but nothing like
the standard supermarkets. I liked the black
and green colour scheme straight away and the
groovy green trolleys. It was more like a market
that an a supermarket. As you enter the store,
it stretches for miles ahead of you, a bit like the
American Cosco chain, but much more
aesthetically pleasing and interesting.

(The only reason I joined Cosco was to get my

hands on the massive King Crab legs they sell there.)

Large signs adorning the walls divide the store
into large sections including a massive area for
cheeses, small goods, fish and meat, veggies,
pastries and cakes, bread and then standard
supermarket items. It was all the fresh produce
that was of most interest to me though, so after
sharing a croissant and having a coffee in their
cafe, Elise and I hit the aisles.

All of the fresh produce is grown and purchased
locally orfrom within Australia, so prices were
noticably cheaper for all these items. There was
also a really amazing selection of different meats
and poultry including rabbits and quail.

I found some chicken hearts that I knew TM would

love, so they made their way into our trolley too!
If we lived closer I would definately be a regular,
but we still invested in quite a bit of meat, poultry
and fish which we have frozen and can use as we need.

I stumbled across some black truffle oil, which
automatically fell into my hands.We splashed
some of it over our homemade pizzas that night.

As you may have gathered by now, I am in
love with citrus.So I was also happy to stumble
across this Dilmah blend of tea infused with
mandarin.

Given the distance, this new shopping phenomenon

won't be on my weekly list of things to do,

but it will definately stay there for the occassion trip

when I want to get away for a weekend morning.

La Manna Direct

10 English Street
Essendon Fields Vic 3041

http://www.lamannadirect.com.au

Out of the Sewing Box

First let it be known that I am very much
a beginner sewer.

I took my first sewing course 2 years ago

where we learnt the basics for making

a pair of pyjamas
(which by the way TM never wore!)

I guess the experience taught me the basics.

Although it should also be known

I have very little patience for the kind

of sometimes mind-numbing
attention required of sewing.

I am a quick results girl when it comes

to things like this.

Today I dragged the old sewing machine

out of its hiding place in my wardrobe

and made Elise a set of

miniature rice bags for throwing around.

I can't quite remember how I used

to play with them when I was

little, but I have a feeling

it was a little like 'knuckles'.

Our new family addition, Forest (a black labrador),

seems to have grown at an amazing rate since

last year, so my next project was to make a larger

and fluffier comfy cushion

for her bed.
Some old tracksuit pant material and

filling and a few dangerous-looking

seams later, I had proudly created what I

had started out to create.

(Something of a triumph given that

I broke a machine needle and had to

re-thread about 20 times in all).

After getting into the swing of things,

I thought it was about time

I bought back the old

lavender bag, and with that final creation,

my old sewing box resumed its place

in my wardrobe.

Until next time!

Cultivating Happiness - Sundays in the Garden

Sundays are a day for rest and quiet

(to the extent that a 4 year will allow..)

and aimless pottering around in the garden.

Today we planted mini eggplant, more cucumber

and Russian tomatoes.

But Elise and Forest were oblivious to these 

goings-on ...

Oh to be that small again!

Treasured Christmas Gifts

I am a big fan of all beautiful smelling products.

My favorite aromatherapy oil would have to be 'YUZU'.

Yuzu is a kind of Japanese citrus - a cross between a

lemon, lime and orange.

This Christmas, I was overwhelmed to discover

that TM had actually gone to the trouble of

walking into an airport shop to buy my xmas gift,

rather than doing his usual 'in-flight shopping' thing.

He really did well this year and his little gifts

are just the kind of thing I would have bought
for myself.

A trio of beautiful Jurlique handcreams.

(Lavendar, citrus and rose).

I am saving my favorite - citrus - for last.

Rose is divine. So subtle and gentle -

like rubbing rose petals into my hands.

The trio of hand creams have joined

my birthday gift received from a friend

last year - the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Gel.

I apply this in the mornings, before I settle

down to work.

The other gift was a pack of 4 Japanese soaps,

with lovely aromas, including

honey, aloe vera,
my beloved Yuzu and rice bran.

Here's to a sweet smelling year..!

Rice Power Extract!

A little while ago, I did a translation
piece for a company with a
skin care brand called Rice Force.

The products they create sounded so

interesting, I found myself looking at their

online shop as I translated!

They were originally a sake brewing company.

They discovered that the factory workers

had beautiful hands from all the hands-on

contact with rice.

I couldn't help myself, and ordered a sample pack.

The product is lovely to apply and it feels like

it is doing some good! Time will tell.

http://en.riceforce.com/about/ricepower/index.html

First Hot Cross Bun of the Season!

I have really outdone myself this year.

I am proud to announce that I have had my first
hot cross bun of the season,

just 17 days after Christmas!!

That will be hard to better next year and I
am now in for a long season of HCB consumption.

Camping at Bright

It has become one of our traditions

to go on an annual camping trip.

This year we decided to head to Bright,

known famously for its Autumn trees,

but it was just a lovely in Summer.

We spent the nights lighting sparklers for Elise.

The days were hot, so we chose a spot

under a tree along the Owens River,

which had beautiful clear water.
TM decided there might be gold in the river

and sat there for hours panning with his hands!

Elise and TM get into some serious
watermelon eating!

A rare photo opp!

Happy New Year! 新年明けましておめでとうございます！

The New Year is probably the most important

event in the Japanese calendar (on par with

Christmas in Australia) and it is a time when

the whole family get together.

TM obviously misses this very much, so we have

made our own tradition.
We have the customary soba noodles on New Year's Eve
(although chilled because it's too hot to have them warm).

This year we had NHK Tv, so TM was able to

watch the endless music program that everyone

typically watches in Japan on NY eve.
I have to admit, I have never been a fan of it,

but I actually got into it this year.
Elise kept up a dancing ritual in front of the TV.

TM managed to stay up till 2am (as Japan is 2 hrs behind

Oz), but I turned in after 12pm,
seeing as I am usually

the one on Elise and dog duty when they
wake up at random hours!

TM set up this little shrine on our dining room buffet

and has been presenting 'god' with little offerings

of sake and rice.

May it be an excellent year for everyone.

The White Christmas

As everyone will have noticed, Christmas Day this year

put on a strange weather display... hot one minute...

Snowing hail-stones the next!...

But the main thing for Elise was that Santa came!

Elise Turns 4 Years Old... Oh How Quickly the Years Pass

Elise turned 4 in early December.

I decided to keep it simple, and so

asked 4 of her friends from her

swimming class, to attend a little

garden party outside the pool

after their lesson.

Only two kids showed up,

but it was enough for elise.

The girls have some lunch while

Forest who we had to smuggle into the pool

park, naps.

Elise loved the cake in a shape of

a little puppy.

I got the cake from Bread Top,

which have shops around Melbourne, including

Richmond and Doncaster.

Very yummy cakes.

A little dinner party with the grandparents and uncle

followed the lunch party.

Poor elise had a terrible cold and didn't feel

well, but she thoroughly loved the day

and especially everyone singing happy birthday

to her. What an angel. xo 

PUPPY FEVER!!!!

We have been wanting a dog
for some time now. It would have been

impossible when we had the restaurant

because we were only ever home

from around 12 midnight to 9am the next

day which would have created one very

lonely little doggie.

I had been on at TM to let me get some

kind of pet. Some of my requests that had

met with an immediate no, included

a goat (for goat's milk and to make cheese),

chickens (for eggs), a mini cow (for milk),
a rabbit (just for something

furry to love), and although I am not a great

cat lover, at my wits ends, I had even asked

if we could get a cat.

Then low and behold, we spotted the most

beautiful, gentle-natured black labrador

the other day. After watching her for

some time we took the plunge and decided to take

her home with us.

Apart from the toilet training issue,
we havn't looked back.

She is one of the most sweet-natured dogs I have

ever met. It was hard for me initially, because

I never quite got over the death of my childhood

family dog (Rocky) who passed away 4 years ago.

I still have his ashes in our living room, which

I just can't bring myself to part with.

There is something about the relationship

between man and dog.

But our new little puppy who we have called

'FOREST', has opened a new chapter in

my heart.

More of the Kinder Years - the End of Year Concert

Elise LOVES kinder, like you wouldn't believe.

It wasn't always like this, mind you.
We have had our fair share of guilt

as we dropped off a very upset Elise.

But that was all generally before we found

GUMNUT child care in Alphington.

I had been looking for a friendly

family-oriented kinder for Elise that

also offered day care, and third time

we were lucky.
Elise started here when she was 2

and has now just finished 3 year old kinder

(last day today).

They had their annual concert of chaotic

singing and dancing the other night,

and I had a front seat, so I got it all on

camera while Takamitsu puppy-sat at home

(see next blog!)

Here is a photo with two of her best friends,

Nicholas and Ruby (on either side of her).

Our Cherry Harvest

Having a cherry blossom tree in the garden at home

has become a very valued and almost necessary

pre-requisite for where we live.

Cherry blossom trees hold great sentimental
value and significance in the
Japanese culture. When the cherry trees bloom
they produce dainty little pink and white flowers,
which are very short-lived.

The flowers only survive a couple of
weeks at the most, before they flitter to the
ground like gentle snow-flakes.

The Japanese love this dramatic notion of a short-lived life

that can only be cherished for an instant.

After the flowers have died and left the cherry tree,

the trees start to produce fruit. We call them cherries

but they are probably more like miniature plums.

Elise loves picking and eating these and its TM's job

each year to help her harvest them.

Here are the photos!

Takamitsu the Ladder

Elise with her humble harvest.

P.S. you have to be quick and beat the

birds to the cherries.

PADDY'S PICS - BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS BY PATRICK MOHR

Okay so I'm almost a month behind in my
entries - sorry! End of year - you know
what it's like. On Sat 3rd I visited the Warrandyte
Art & Craft Market. It's held on the first Saturday
every month (not sure about Jan).

It would have to be one of my favourite
markets, mainly due to the sheer size of the
market itself, which is set up in a gorgeous

setting along the Yarra River, which looks
so much nicer in that part of the world.
Be warned don't get their too late
as it is hard to park!

I have a number of favorite exhibiting
stall-holders, but today I would like to introduce one

who really stands out.

PADDY'S PICS by Patrick Mohr

Patrick sells his beautiful photos in
the form of postcards and also larger versions
attached to mounts. He mainly seems to specialize in
images from the Warrandyte region, but I also noticed a
lot of non-Warrandyte images on this visit,

with images of other areas of Melbourne
such as the city, Collingwood,

Fitzroy and whereever else the
camera takes him. I have been buying his postcard
size photos and mounting them

in my own frames but I think my
next purchase will be a larger size photo.

You will have to forgive me, as my photos
of his photos do not do them

justice, but these should give you an idea
of the beautiful angles
he captures these natural images on.

This cherry blossom tree in front of the vinyard

is beautiful, as are his black and white images.

More beautiful images.

I love the one of the Yarra River.

I think that is enough of my poor photos
of Patrick's images.

But I'm sure you get the jist.

Patrick's photos are also available
for purchase online:

website:   paddspics.com

Thoughtful Gifts

You will have to excuse the lack of photos in the entry.

TM has taken the camera with him to Japan.

On the weekend, I caught up with a friend

at the lovely Warrandyte Art & Craft Market

(first Saturday every month).

She had mentioned she had a little present for

Elise's coming birthday and Elise was highly excited

when she opened it. Inside the beautifully wrapped parcel

was the cutest necklace and

2 gorgeous t-shirts.
 One of the t-shirts had a brooch-like flower attached to it in pink.
A pink rose for Elise Rose, was the

explanation. What a lovely feeling it is, to receive such

thoughtful gifts from people who care.

It made my day.

Photos to come.

Our Marshmallow Stand at the Kinder Trash & Treasure Fair

Yesterday - despite the pouring rain,

Elise's kindergarten had a Trash & Treasure Fair.

I had put my hand up to hold a stall,

so spent all of Friday cooking up endless batches of

marshmallow with toasted cocount and

gingerbread biscuits.

P.S. Why do I always blink at the wrong moment?
... not the best photo of me.

Unfortunately, less people came that we had hoped

for, so we had a bit of stock left over,

which I distributed to our neighbours,

and have a big bag to give to dad who loves

marshmallow.
Elise had such fun she didnt want to leave.

The Years to Remember... 3 Year Old Kinder 2011

Seeing as the year is nearing its end,

I thought it appropriate to take a

few snaps of elise on a kinder morning
to look back on.

Elise loves 3 yr old kinder, and it is never

difficult to get her to leave the house.
Here she is with her backpack

and for some unknown reason

a bunny rug from when she was a baby that she

had decided to take.


My request, that Elise "Pose!" was met with

this model agency submission-worthy

photo (in my humble opinion)!
Elise graduates to 4 year old kinder next year.

Welcome to Australia - a Blue Tongue Lizard on our Doorstep!

The other day as TM and I were diligently

working while Elise was at kinder,

TM stopped working and asked in a strangely repressed

excited voice, 'what's that?!'
A look out the window revealed non other than

a blue tongued lizard!
Not sure where it went, but am assuming it

is in residence somewhere in the vicinty of home!

Elise's First Attendance at a Friend's Birthday Party

Elise has two main friend's at her Kindergarden:

Ruby (picture below) and Nicholas.

She talks non-stop about Ruby & Nicholas.

So when we received an invite to Nichola's
4th birthday party,
Elise was highly excited to say the

least.

It was held at a big play center with lots
of play equipment.
Probably age appropriate, but very noisy!

Most of the kids spent the entire 2 hours

playing.

The good old mini pies and sausage roles,
very colorful cordial and chips and chocolate

cake were served. Needless to say there was

an element of hyperactivity by the end of it all.

All in all though, a successful first birthday party

attendance!