29 November 2009

Quiches, cordial and choc chip cookies

We had a lovely weekend. I woke early on Saturday to bake pastry cases that I'd already prepared and had waiting in the fridge. It was our fundraising morning for the Centre and I was on a promise for more mini quiches. The ingredients cost $17 and we turned that into $72. Now that's value adding! So I crept around mixing eggs, cooking bacon, onion and garlic - there were two sleeping men in the house and I didn't want to wake them. Kerry came to visit on Friday and stayed the night and as he works so hard at his job I hate to ruin a sleep-in for him. So the cheese was grated and the minis baked while the house filled with the aroma of a French farmhouse. When Hanno woke, I had my shower, dressed then drove up the mountain with the still warm quiches.


The mini quiches. These are very popular on a fundraising stall because they seduce everyone who hasn't yet had their breakfast.

It does my heart good to see those volunteers at work. There were six of them there, organising, carrying, preening, helping and selling and all happy to do it. In the end, after four hours, they'd made just over $1000. All that money goes to the Centre to help with the work we do. We are an unfunded Centre so fundraising and donations make or break us.


Two bottles of lemon cordial, bread and butter cucumbers and some left over spiced vinegar.

Kerry left at lunchtime, I made a large jar of bread and butter cucumbers and some lemon cordial from the frozen lemon juice treasure I have hiding in the freezer, then went to my work room to sew. I few minor repairs were carried out, then I spent quite some time writing Christmas cards for the volunteers where I work. I've invited them all to afternoon tea next week where I will give each of them a small gift (I can't tell you what I bought because many of them read my blog), and my thanks for the important work they do.

The cards finished I started tidying up, putting away this and that, sorting through cottons and wool and while I worked, the rain started. We've had only one good shower of rain since the night before the wedding (in June) so I didn't get too excited. But soon the rain was horizontal, winds were roaring, leaves and small branches started falling and the front tank overflowed. Hanno and I stood on the veranda to watch the lightening fork downwards and a river of water flow down the driveway and snake its way to the side of the house. Alice and Koda stayed inside - Alice asleep with her deafness making her oblivious to the chaos outside and Koda curled up tight in the corner of my sewing room.


Alice and Koda.

Before too long, maybe an hour, the heavy rain stopped and gentle showers hung around for another hour. Our garden was well and truly soak, for the first time in many, months, and all three water tanks were overflowing. It's a good feeling going into Summer next week knowing that we have enough water to see us through it.


My sons know me well. Kerry gave me this vintage tea towel on the weekend. He found it in a sack of rags at the place he works at.

Sunday was a different story. I had expected to watch some of the cricket but the match finished early, on Saturday. :- ( Oh well. I baked biscuits instead. I already had the dough made up in the freezer so all I had to do was add dark choc chips, work them in, form the biscuits and put them in the fridge to harden up again before baking. Now we have a jar full of biscuits - with no preservatives - waiting to be eaten with tea and coffee. The rest of the day was taken up with writing my Burke's Backyard article and transferring hundreds of photos to a flash drive. I bought a little flash drive just for this purpose - it's 16 gigabytes and cost $50. The first of my many computers was bought in 1988, it was 20 Mb, RAM 64 kilobytes and it cost over $3000. How times have changed.

And now it's the beginning of a new week with all the possibilities and opportunities that holds. I hope your week will be a good one, you achieve all you hope to achieve and you move further along your simple life path. I wonder what new things you can tell me you did at the end of this week. : - )


SHARE:

26 comments

  1. What a beautiful, peaceful weekend. I had to laugh at the computer price, particularly the memory! I bought a memory card for a camera about 8 years ago, it was 128MB and I scored it for the bargain price of $99! I was chuffed:) My latest purchase was an 8GB (just over 8000MB!) and cost me under $50....back then it would have been about $8000 worth - I can't imagine what they'll have in 8 years from now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Enjoy your week. I am glad to read you had decent rain. I was sad that I could not watch the cricket and made my cards too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Rhonda Jean :) Having a good catch up with you here and enjoying every moment of it! I hope that you have a lovely new week, too. Love, Q

    ReplyDelete
  4. This weekend my 21 year old granddaughter and I are collaborating to make a crib quilt for the baby of one of her friends. My granddaughter chose the fabric among my stash, cut the pieces and arranged the pattern. I am sewing them up square by square, row by row. Then she will buy some soft flannel for backing.

    I love to read the glimpses into your life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello ladies!

    Jinger, what a lovely thing to do with your granddaughter. Spending quality time, modelling behaviours she will call on later in life and sharing your skills. And all for a beautiful quilt that will be treasured. I applaud you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lucky you Rhonda getting that lovely soaking rain. We had a short shower where we are on the Gold Coast which,after several very hot days,yesterday being 36 degrees in our back yard, barely moistened the ground. It is very dry and the garden is suffering.

    Patricia

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rhonda,
    I avidly follow all your blog posts - I have my pineapple vingear brewing on the kitchen counter as I write this! I am honoring you with the best blog award - I know you have probably got it already a million times, but just wanted to share your blog with all who read my blog. Dont ever stop writing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You're quiche look delicious! Would love a good recipe for both the quiche and the pastry if you would be willing to share?

    ReplyDelete
  9. What beautiful dogs you have! Praise God for the wonderful ground-drenching rain, too!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Rhonda, The Lovely Alice still likes having her photo taken doesn't she? Koda is a beautiful colour. Good news about your rain, we have full tanks too, it's a nice feeling.
    This morning I have been making some sweet rolls for breakfasts and morning teas, the recipe uses a basic bread dough and you just add brown sugar and dried fruit at the shaping stage.
    http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com/
    2006/07/sweet-rolls.html
    Please note I have inserted a hard return after "com/".

    ReplyDelete
  11. I forgot to say congrats on the fund raising, I know how much work and co-ordination it takes.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dear Rhonda Jean:
    I recently stumbled upon your blog and have been enjoying it ever since, sharing it with my "frugal friends" and trying some of your suggestions. I had already heard about the wonders of baking soda, but at your suggestion started washing my hair with it! Amazing!! No chemicals and pennies a wash with the result of nice, soft hair. I love it. Have also been using it to clean with. Thanks so much for all the useful information.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Rohnda, I have been following your blog for a few weeks now, and I love it. You present so many wonderful ideas, some that aren't really new to me, but just the way you write makes them so much more appealing. I feel much more motivated to clean, cook, make, plant, and to slow down to watch the chooks, relish playing with my 2 year old son and just be thankful for all we have.
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks Rhonda, what a lovely glimpse into your weekend!

    Glad you've had some rain before the summer - it's been raining pretty much solidly here for about a week now, everything is cold and damp and dark and soggy, and I'm rather jealously wishing we were just going into summer too!

    This will be a week of new beginnings for me too - my PhD viva is on Thursday, hopefully the end of a significant chapter of life... I also plan to get a few more Christmas presents made (I'm making ALL of my presents this year!), and then I'll be visiting my friend and goddaughter at the weekend.

    I've also got a sneaky plan to apply for a couple of cheery jobs this week too...

    I'll pop back at the end of the week and see how you got on with your week!

    Jenni
    x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Rhonda Jean,
    I too have just finished making choc chips cookies for my little boy to take to school tomorrow to share with his classmates for christmas.
    Thanks to you and the wonderful recipe you posted a few weeks back. I made a great big batch, they are so tasty, trouble is I have to stop eating them.LOL
    I am folowing many of your wonderful ideas, so thank you.
    Love lors

    ReplyDelete
  16. Enjoying your blog as always.
    Your "new" teatowel caught my eye.
    About 40 years ago my parents and I would stay at units at Redcliffe.
    The name Diamond Court rang a bell.
    Wondering if anyone knows if it was there in the 60s? I met a girl there from Kaimkillenbun near Dalby.
    Patricia in North Queensland

    ReplyDelete
  17. Having at least 1 Airedale, usually more, in our lives for the past 35 years...I can relate to the deafness and them being oblivious to the sounds of the storms or even someone knocking at the door.

    11 1/2 year old Reagan never liked the sound of the lightning and thunderstorms...these days she seems not to care. Sometimes there is a lining to even thunder clouds.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Those quiches look amazing. Did you make them in a muffin tin or do you have a special pan?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sounds like you had a lovely weekend! Alice is looking well.
    Mmm...I love quiche. My husband isn't too big on them but he doesn't mind if they have bacon (of course!).
    We've been getting nothing BUT rain in this part of Canada. I love rain, but I've been hoping for snow since Christmas is coming upon us. Still no snow yet! Last year it came in October.
    Times have changed...especially with technology. It's amazing, yet sometimes I feel a bit sad, seeing everyone messaging on their cell phones instead of talking to the person next to them, or listen to music on their ipods instead of learning to play it themselves. I guess it's just me.
    My weekend was relaxing as well. I love it when I get a lot done. Well, today is bread making day, so I better run! Hope you have wonderful week.
    The Girl in the Pink Dress

    ReplyDelete
  20. How sweet that your son would see that tea towel and think of you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Tropics, thank you!

    Shawna, look here: http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-make-pastry.html

    Emily, I did use muffin tins to make the mini quiches.

    Patricia, it looks like those units were built in the 60s.

    Jenni,good luck on Thursday. I'm sure it will all go well. Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi there! We would like to learn more about fellow Airedales Koda and Alice.
    Please come and visit our blog

    ReplyDelete
  23. At this time I am going to do my breakfast, afterward having my breakfast coming yet again to read additional news.


    Here is my web site - Juvesiio

    ReplyDelete
  24. This info is priceless. How can I find out more?



    http://fulllight.org/fantasy/fantasy.cgi

    my web-site :: Zinn collection review (www.feedage.com)

    ReplyDelete
  25. We're a gaggle of vоluntеeгs аnd opеnіng a neω schemе
    in our cοmmunity. Your webѕіtе
    prοvided us with hеlρful infο
    to ωork on. You've pеrfогmed a formidable aсtivity and our entire group wіll ρrobаbly be gгateful tto you.


    Feеl free to surf to my web blog; top secret green coffee bean extract

    ReplyDelete
  26. wonԁerful post, very informatіve. I pondег whу the
    other еxpertѕ of thіs seсtor ԁon't realіze
    this. Yοu should pгoceed your ωritіng.

    I аm ѕuгe, you havе a huge readers' bаse alгеady!


    Feel free tο ѕurf to mmy web blog; natural skin prоԁuctѕ
    ()

    ReplyDelete

Blogger Template by pipdig