New bread tin...

I think we are getting another couple of these. Russell found this one on special for $17 in Myers last week while browsing Brisbane kitchen shops for bread tins that had a lid on them. I was wanting to make bread from the dough that the Bimby would knead in 2 mins. Then leave to rise for 1/2hr. Put in cold oven for a second rise as it warms up to 200 degrees for 40 mins. Was beautiful, fluffy and baked to the top of the tin. Fantastic end result. I will be make two or three of these and freezing what I don't immediately need from now on.

The loaf that I do use I will be storing in a Tupperware container for bread. Very happy with the new bread. Very different to the bread maker that is for sure. Much more of a loaf size and easier to cut as well so no wastage or really thick pieces of bread as I used to make...

Cheers Damaris

Our new Bimby has arrived...

Have a look at that list, all for Breadcrumbs...

Our Bimby in action...

What we had made by 10am :)

That is what the Italians call the Thermomix. And that is what we have named ours... We got it yesterday and have not really stopped using it. Before 10am we had all that stuff done above, baking included. Then came the Pear sorbet which is delish and the breadcrumbs from homemade bread. Look at the label above, shop bought breadcrumbs has tuna amongst a million other additions as well. YUK. Am so not using that. The whole packet ended up being given to the chooks.

I must say that it has been so worth the money and will continue to be. I am fast getting used to the whole one bowl thing and love making so much stuff and not stuffing the sink full of dishes. I truly love it. :) Another huge bonus is that it only costs 17c to run per hour. How cool is that???

The boys are also super impressed with all that is coming out of the oven, one after the other. Funny to watch. When we put in Anzac Bikkies, they were not done and we had the short bread ready to go in and then another biscuit recipe in straight after that. We also made a bean dip to use instead of Tomato Sauce as that is not failsafe. We will see how that one goes. Tastes good also. The boys are doing well trying everything which I am very grateful for.

Tonight is Roast Chicken with Bimby Mashed Potato. Can't wait. Might make something delish for desert as well. :) So much to choose from. And we are also finding it allot easier then we thought to incorporate normal recipes with the Bimby. Great way to encourage failsafe eating...

Loving it all the way. :)

Cheers Damaris

Learning all about the Tractor...

Me, doing the mowing thing...

It has been put off for quite a while now... I had wanted to learn the tractor from the beginning but Russell insisted that I read the whole HUGE manual first. Well wasn't doing that so left him to it all by himself. Approached the subject again not long ago and he said: "Sure why not. :)"

And that lesson came the other day. He showed me what to do and stayed with me the whole time. Thank you Russell. I don't think I could have done it on my own... Will try and be adventuress and try to do it on my own when I am more familiar with the machine though. Will be good to be able to mow with it when he is not home during the week. There are 8 acres to do as we don't have Lavender and Lorray with their babies anymore.

Must take my iPhone with me next time though and put on some tunes... Engine is rather loud for me.

Another thing of my "To do list". Woohoo

Cheers Damaris

Reading time...

Timothy, reading...

Kids playing on Wednesday...

When we have No Technology Day, I must say I am always pleased when it also happens in the Holidays. This week has been no exception. On Monday as usual no technology was used so the boys had to amuse themselves another way.

We had allot of bike riding done that day. Three lots of trips into the village and one big lot of jumping their jump out the front of the house yard. Was good to see them also be aware that if they got on their bikes, helmets must be worn. I didn't even have to remind them. :)

Another thing that Timothy loves to do is read. He takes a book from our little library and takes off into my room, loves to sit on the big bed and cross-legged there he will sit for hours and read books from front to back. I love watching him and even take a little siesta next to him as I know he will not move. He does tell me sometimes what he is reading if he is really excited or shocked by the information but usually is really quiet. Last Monday was no exception.

Then last Wednesday we had some unexpected little friends over. This day is our Low Electricity Day which meant that they couldn't again have any electronic toys on at all. They didn't know what to do with themselves at first but with a little encouragement from Joshua they soon got the hang of it. :) They ended up playing a board game for about two hours as well as a whole heap of painting. Ended up being finger painting as well which ended up a huge mess but they had fun. As I say, Water will just about clean anything up, including paint or mud...

So a good couple of days was had by all. :)

Cheers Damaris

Time for the Beach and some investigating...

Perfect day, hardly anyone there...

Joshua the water boy...

Timothy burying himself...

My Darling Hubby, Russell...

This week Russell has been blessed enough to have some holidays. He is enjoying it immensely from what I can tell. :) On Tuesday we were originally to take advantage of Cheapy Tuesday at the Movies in town but they were not showing anything that the boys were really interested in so we decided that this was a great opportunity to get out and visit the beach instead.

We took the back way of getting there so it took us just over two hours. But what a ride. The trees, the houses dotted around the place. It was magical really. I loved it.

We got there and had had a forecast of rain but that stayed away while the boys and Russell took to the water. I walked around in the sand and water but didn't go in. I never do. I did once and still had my glasses on and ended up getting dumped by a wave and lost them. That sorted me out... I love the beach, don't get me wrong but don't go in. I took lots of photos with my new iPhone which was cool. I must say that it was cool to use. The clarity in the end results was great.

After the boys had their water fix and Joshua ended up with major boggy board rash, we went to Pacific Fair at Surfers Paradise. There we had our last McDonald's. Timothy had a failsafe McDonald's ice cream for dessert. Russell, Joshua and I had Baskin Robins for our last non failsafe treat. :)

I must say that it is good to be able to take the boys out and find that McDonald's has ice cream that is failsafe, not the cone mind you but the ice cream itself is... We spent quite a bit of time in various shops looking for Carob powder Carob buttons but came up with nothing. Apparently the Health food shop that used to be at Pacific Fair went out of business as there were too many Chemists around. Mind you they didn't have much of a range either...

We have certainly learnt allot over the last couple of weeks about what is failsafe and what is not. It is amazing how many chemicals that are in fruit and veggies alone... The toxic chemicals that they produce in order to protect themselves from bugs and insects. They are called salicylates and can have bad reactions in kids and adults alike.

I am counting down to us going totally failsafe. End of this week... My Thermomix (being called Bimby, as in Italy) is coming on Saturday and I can't wait for my demo at 2pm. It will be so wonderful to see it in action and to see how much it will help me make wholesome foods from scratch. One of our big aims with moving out here has always been that and it feels sooooo good to finally realise that. :)

The boys are amazing us as well. Melting moments and other snacks made failsafe have been an absolute hit. They are convincing friends how good it will be for them and when I offered Timothy Jelly Beans yesterday, he said to me: "No thanks Mum, they are not failsafe." Am so proud of him. Not that I was tricking him, I genuinely was offering to him but fantastic choice...

So we are progressing well towards our goal. Today we are off to Warwick to do some major failsafe shopping. More containers will have to be bought as well. All in preparation for Saturday. Will be a great day I think. :)

Cheers Damaris

New Toy...

My new toy... my iPhone

Well I have bitten the bullet and finally bought an iPhone... I am getting used to it but there is one thing that my old phone has that the new one doesn't... A flash with the camera. Did not even think to ask in the shop. Will get used to that I guess. The camera is slightly better than the old and I must say that it is soooo much easier to put information into the iPhone.

Here is hoping that it lasts as long as the old phone if not longer... :)

On another note, Happy Easter to everyone. I know we are having a very blessed weekend this end. Hope you are too. :)

Cheers Damaris

Steam Mop...

Mop 'sock'

I had never thought of getting one of these but when I was at Margaret's not long ago, I saw the end result of where she had used a friend of hers and the end result was amazing. I had wanted to get one since then if only to make cleaning the floors easier than using a mop.

Russell normally does the job of mopping but I wanted to be able to do it myself. He has been a fabulous help ever since my hand operation but felt the need to take that job back off him. As it is he is still ironing his own shirts. Now that I don't mind so much... hehe

So I ordered one online and had it delivered. I got it out and all the bits fitted. It did a great job hissing at me and then I started to use it. I must say that it is still very heavy for me and at the end of doing my whole house, I can say that I was exhausted. My hand was rather sore too... Must do it in two goes next time. I ended up using three of the cotton 'socks' as I call them for the base for cleaning. I only refilled it once so got the house done with 1.6l of water. It got some very old shoe marks off as well which I thought was wonderful. The tiles in the bathroom and toilet have not looked that good in a while either...

Probably not something that I would use every week though but good to have for those extra good cleans. :)

On another note today is my 200th post. Woohoo... Can't believe it that I am there already. :)

Cheers Damaris