Life

The farmer and I

The farmer and I are enjoying life albeit with him sneezing and sniffing this past week. The children are all growing older and hopefully wiser. Life together is lovely and he is easy to love.

back again...

Wow I fell off the blogging world for almost a year, I really can't explain except life really did get in the way. I last posted about heading off to far north Queensland. that was fun but only  adistant memory. This year has flown by with the start of the year seeing me with broken ribs from the lovely brown horse throwing me very high into the air...ouch

Our house is still a work in progress and my art studio is well under way and I see my pizza oven being complete by spring time...fingers crossed.

Recently I decided to go cold turkey off sugar. Yep, not a smidge, and yes I can still bake for the family and believe it or not I havent even been tempted to succumb to cookie dough or licking the spoon of gooey chocolate sugary cake mix. It is quite liberating really. I can so feel the benefits that it is a magnet to continue on with my plan. Firstly to give up sugar completely for 8 weeks including fruit and honey,  dried fruits, juices and any product with hidden sugar. I have learnt to decipher food labels and and discovered some new products to help me on my merry way.

I speak of benefits, and so far these include bringing full fat diary products back into my diet which taste so much better. Real butter.. mmmm and to learn that all the time that I thought I was making good choices. I was so totally being railroaded by companies and do gooders who don't seem to have it right at all.

My protein shake I made religiously for breakfast daily thinking I was doing the healthy thing now reveals to me I was filling up on sugar right from waking up. Fruit juice is horendous with a glass of fresh juiced apples containing the same amount of sugar as a full strength coke. I would then have a low fat fruit yoghurt for morning or afternoon tea and that in itself contains 6 teaspoons of sugar...OMG I was consuming more than my fill of hidden sugar and that was before I  reached for that chocolate or delicious cupcake.

I have been eating more carbohydrates than I have for years and this along with the full fat dairy and hello... I'm 5 kilograms down. Major companies are really doing us harm with hidden sugars making their low fat so called healthy choices with copious amounts of hidden sugars. Yes it is a matter of thinking about what I'm putting in my mouth but really thats about as hard as it gets I'm making positive choices and reaping the benefits of clear skin, clear mind and sleeping less but much better less fatigued and less bloated. It really is sweet poison...killing us silently yet smiling so sweetly at us.

counting the sleeps

we are counting the sleeps until the farmer and I leave the cold of Victoria and place ourselves in Port douglas with friends for about nine days. I have eagerly watched the weather and it has been at 25 and sunny for the past week. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I long to soak up the warm sun...I really am a snake who likes to warm her blood on a hot rock! I love plane trips with the farmer.

apple pie weather

 and it's always good weather for brownies served with berries

brownies

soften 250 g butter and cream with 300g castor sugar

add 3 eggs to butter mixture- beating between each

melt 250g dark cooking chocolate(2 minutes in microwave) add to butter egg mixture along with

 1 cup natural yoghurt

sift 60g self raising flour with 60g cocoa

2 tblspns vanilla essence

at this point you can leave as is, or fold in macadamias or frozen raspberries or whit chocolate chunks or what ever takes your fancy

spread into brownie tray lined with baking paper and bake 30 mins at 175 degrees

Best to not overcook so check after 20 minutes leave til just set in middle

this keeps well for up to one week if you can keep it with out eating it all at once...nom nom

painting again

What with all the renovations and everything packed away for so long around here, it came time to paint again. I thought about it for a long time before I actually physically got an act and sorted out what I needed. What was  needed was for me  to do some landscapes for an upcoming exhibition in Port fairy most likely in late July  or August at Wishart Gallery. So there I was organised , with a purpose, and the mindset was working and all  ready to go, I had it all mapped out and so there were no excuses left. I start.

 Lo and behold I love it all over again and as per usual I wonder why I took so long procrastinating! It comes so natural after all theses years. I don't ever remember not drawing or painting it's just always been there along with that joy of clean fresh paper or canvas and the first touch of ink, pencil crayon or paint upon it.I have vivid memories of a fresh book a new crayon in hand and that first fresh page...it's never waned the sheer joy of it all.

around the house

loving.....

new prints I brought on Etsy from Black Baroque