Thursday craft, another UFO becomes an FO, and we got a qualified builder in the family.

Firstly I have to congratulate our son Michael for becoming a fully qualified builder, he's now signed off and just awaiting the official paperwork. But that's it, all done! Hoorah! He's had some up's and down's along the way but he persevered and got it done. Well done boy, proud of ya.......xx Where's me job list..............!!
elebrations to come but not before the rugby game on Saturday for the Waikato under 85 kgs. Do your best, I know you will.

In the last post I promised photos of a finished bedroom, well I couldn't fulfil that promise because it didn't get finished. Last Saturday we went to pick up the low boy 6 drawer chest of drawers and 2 bedside tables. The tables were there but the salesperson put the wrong item in for the drawers and a tall boy chest of drawers was there instead! Bloody marvellous, it's not a short trip into town, so when you go in you want to get all you need and get the hell out! So the darned thing was reordered and because we had been inconvenienced they said they would deliver, at no cost (saving of $60 and why we went to pick up in the first place!) either Wednesday or Thursday. I was heading out to craft this morning and I thought bloody hell I've still not heard anything, so I called them. Long story short it go delivered this afternoon by one of their workers in his own car, he even brought his wee dog Cilla, very cute. So now we have it and it is currently sitting in the garage where it will stay until the weekend, then you will get the photos. Just once it would be nice for things to go to plan, does that ever happen these days? Who knows, they got it right in the end so all good.
To compensate for the lack of room photos I have food photos. How to appease people, appeal to their stomachs..........

Spiced up Pumpkin soup 

A hint of chilli, along with various spices, turns this pumpkin soup into a particularly warming brew.
Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS

SOUP
75g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1kg peeled, seeded pumpkin, cut into 2cm cubes
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 potato, peeled and sliced
2 red chillis, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 thumb ginger, peeled and finely chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
TOPPING
1 dry chorizo sausage (about 100g), thinly sliced, fried until crisp
3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted
METHOD
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, pumpkin, carrot, potato, chillis and ginger. Cook 7 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add stock, cumin, cardamom, tomato paste, sweet chilli sauce and brown sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season to taste. Purée soup until smooth.
3. Serve soup piping hot, garnished with slices of crisp chorizo and toasted pumpkin seeds. 

To go with it I made some cheese and herb scones and as I decided to split the mixture I made some fruit scones too.

I just grated some parmesan cheese on top

 

 On Sunday Joe cooked us both a fry up

We ain't ever gonna be skinny are we! 

Thursday Craft

I got a quilt finished today, I wasn't leaving Jan's until I'd finished that binding. I'm a bit single minded, or call it OCD if ya like, if I have a goal in mind I have to finish that goal. Sometimes it's as little as finishing a row, or finishing a chapter, I hate having to stop halfway down a page, I have to finish on a page with a full stop too, no carrying on to the next page.

Jeeze I'm a bloody weirdo! haha

The quilt, one more ticked off the list.

Ngarie, who I took a photo of last week was working on a quilt on the machine in that photo.

The top is finished and now needs backing. I love the colours in this.

One of our lovely craft ladies Margaret who moved away from Karakariki a couple of years ago was back in town for a few days and came and joined us today. It was so lovely to see her. She is an absolute quilting queen and this is the quilt she brought along today.

It's stunning, I love it and really need to make one too.

Poor Jan doesn't seem to get a look in on Thursdays, we turn up, take over and then bugger off! Next week the plan is to try and catch up with the blocks we've missed for the calendar quilt.

Off the mandarin tree this week

And finally now for something cute.

Right that'll do tonight, see ya next time