Chicken and Cashew Nut.

Husband E and I have this every Friday night from our local Thai restaurant, on the couch, watching some lovely TV shows from the U.K.

Well, now I can make it.

Chicken and Cashew Nut -from a Thai cooking course I did for a day.

1 double breast chicken cut into bite sized pieces

1T fresh red chilli

2 T chopped garlic

3T chilli paste in soya bean oil (available from Asian grocers)

1/4 cup sliced carrot

12 green beans (topped, tailed and halved)

1 onion cut into eighths

1/2 green and 1/2 red capsicum

1 cup roasted cashew nuts

2 t fish sauce

2 t soy sauce (not Japanese, Chinese or Thai OK)

2 t palm sugar (or 1 t white sugar) Mix fish sauce,soy and palm sugar altogether till well blended.

1/2 cup shallots, cut into 5cm pieces

2 T oil

-Heat oil in pan

-Fry garlic and chilli until garlic golden and fragrant

-Add chicken, chilli paste, onion. Cook till chicken cooked

-Add carrot, beans, capsicum and half cashew nuts.

-Add fish sauce, soy and palm sugar.

-Add shallots

Pour chicken onto rice with extra (left over) cashew nuts.

New Shelf Life.

There once was a shelf attached to the top of a desk.

In our neighbour's house.

It was passed on and

dear husband E has cut it perfectly to size,

to fit under the bench.

It is my favourite colour; green.

Vacuuming.

Whenever I vacuum, I move furniture about. It makes a chore become a hobby.

The two little girls now have a 'new room' to sleep in.

Preparing.

Preparing for the morning.......

Preparing for dinner......

Nundle.

A lovely 'General Store' in Nundle. No photo's from inside as the owner did not want photographs taken (!).

This was the playground at Nundle. It was next to the wool mill, hence the knitting needle swings and woollen wrapped tree to hug.

Tamworth Part Two.

Our accommodation, next to a river.

Tamworth Part One.

We have had a long weekend in Tamworth visiting friends. Here are some photo's:

We went to the Equine Centre, where an auction was being held to sell calves and horses.

Sock Sorting....

Days of socks, piled into a basket .... for later. The older two sorted them into pairs for me this afternoon.

A Card.

A good friend is on holiday at the moment. You can imagine my delight when a card, in an envelope came in the post. A few lines, telling me of the holiday that they are experiencing. It was a lovely respite....Holidays are wonderful.

Super Sushi Making.

I was given a great sushi making gadget for Christmas. I was able to experiment with it for the first time this week, being holidays.

It made the neatest sushi. Next time I should be a little more efficient at using it, but it really helped produce great results. The secret was in using short grain rice and rice vinegar; the rice had to be moist and sticky.

The result was a lot neater than last time's efforts.....

Colourful Warmth.

Mum knit this poncho for me. I love the colours.

It's Cold Outside.

The Three LIttle Pigs.

This was a version of the "The Three Little Pigs" which I read as a child. Our now four year old daughter took it into preschool for news. The teacher read it out. The children were astonished. "Does the fox die? Did the other pigs die?" Yes the teacher said. Apparently the version that children read today has pigs that escape and foxes or wolves that run away. No death!

Bloemen

...for my birthday. They smell wonderful, from a lovely friend down the road married to a Dutchman.

Venetian.

8 year old daughter wanted to buy this mask with her pocket money. It really is quite lovely.

Dragonfly.

A beautiful gift from Fiona. I love how it all matches, such thought. Isn't the dragonfly dainty?

Citron.

When some school mums and I went to the mountains in May, one dear friend, Aunty L, had such lovely hand cream. It was so refreshing and the scent lasted all day.

I decided to treat myself and find that the scent of things can really make me feel alive. I bought one and then yesterday, Aunty L gave me one as well. Just as well as my first hand cream will be finished soon.