WOOF!

Last week, my mum and I attended the Million Paws Walk at Albert Park. We got ourselves all rugged up because it was completely FREEZING, bundled our two dogs into the van and chugged on into the city.
It was absolutely packed! I got far too overly excited because of the massive number of dogs and started babbling away like a fool and MAY of stalked all the pugs in my immediate area. Because pugs are awesome.

The walk was 5kms, with an extra one to the car and i was really proud of mum because she managed 3kms (as did Wes). We met up accidentally with my cousin Rebecca, her fiance Craig and their two Dascshunds Jaffa and Peanut so we all walked through the finish line together. It was such a nice day and i'd been looking forward to it forever.

Me and My baby, Max.

Mumsy and Mr Pompous, Wesley.

Max models his spiffy new scarf.

Masses of people. Masses of dogs.

Mr Grumpy the pug that Max eventually attacked because i was paying him too much attention. Oops.

My cousin Rebecca and one of her Dachshunds, Jaffa.

One happy dog.

After the walk, Mum and I went to one of our favorite places along Maling Road, Cafe Eden for a quick, delicious breakfast, we both had some of their gorgeous eggs on toast and a nice big mug of coffee. It was so busy, being a Sunday but the staff there are always wonderful and they went out of their way to make sure we were looked after, they even gave us free coffee because we had to move tables a few times. Soon we were stuffed full of food we decided to walk it off and inevitably ended up at the Maling Road Antique Market where Mum bought me a beautiful, old Tea Canister set for my new house! It is possibly the cutest thing i have ever seen and will have pride of place in my new kitchen, unless Diana comes over and then i will have to hide it away safely so she does not steal it. I love my mum.
I flew to Brisbane for a quickie holiday for a few days, but i am le tired. So more on that later.

LOVE.

I'm sitting in bed eating a quince from work. I miss my friends and have officially begun a countdown to when i'll be moving back. I haven't told many people (mainly anyone from work) but they don't read the internets, so it will remain hush hush for now.

Three Things.

Just a brief one as I've just returned from a whirlwind three-and-a-half day trip to Brisbane to visit my darling friends. I usually need a few things to occupy myself with when i return as it stops me from getting too upset about the fact that i live far away from them.





Playing.



The beautiful, wonderful Steve lent me Zelda for my little DS, i started playing it many moons ago when it first came out and adored it, so i can't wait to get stuck in again.




Reading.


This is the book for my current book club too, i started it on the plane and really liked it. Which is a relief because I've struggled to enjoy the last four books for the club as much as usual, i found most of them tedius and boring and ended us being terrible and cheating by flicking and speed reading after about halfway. Water For Elephants is about a journey of a boy who leaves veterinary school and joins a travelling circus, it's set in the 1930's when the circus was a giant affair with animals and freaks and all of that wonderful stuff that is not around anymore. It's lovely and descriptive and very easy to read as you get lost in each of the characters and their own little side stories. I don't really want to put it down because I've become really eager to know what happens next and I'm at the stage where i don't want it to end because I'm getting attached to everyone in the story.

Ross lent me A Short History of the World, so that is my next book.





Watching.

I've decided to start Glee because I've just finished the adorable Pushing Daisies and i need another series to get into, i know was supposed to wait for Amy, but i don't think she will mind, I'm watching this because i miss her.

I'll post pictures and stories of my wonderful friends later.


Bed and book for me now.

Three cheers for the elderly.

I made a firm, new friend at work today.
Her name is Astrid.
She looks like a cross between this lady.

and this kitten.

(mainly just the eyes)

I adore her.
She visits me every second day and after several months of her coming in and completely distracting me from my work, today was the cherry on the top of the double chocolate and cream fudge cake that cemented out friendship forever.
Astrid lives around the corner from my work on her own, she is a utter lady of leisure, no children, partner, nothing but spare time and what i assume is a bucket of money.
She's also at least 70. She is feisty, loud and finds everything glorious. She will drink coffee in the morning ("very strong, very hot darling. I can't afford to waste my time on the weak") and a few slices of sourdough fruit toast layered with honey and ricotta. If she pops in during the afternoon it's a chamomile tea and a shortbread biscuit ("proper ladies drink tea in the afternoon"). She's always ready with a wonderful story, she holds your hand or playfully slaps you when she talks and she has the most wicked sense of humour. I'm forever getting in trouble for chatting with her for too long and ignoring the rest of the cafe, i have to fight the urge to sit at the other end of her table lunch with her for hours. She also always wears pearls.

Today she was sitting sipping her coffee and chatting away when a HORRID family came in. The usual Malvern type. Rich, rude, general I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-you-just-serve-me-slave attitude that i despise but can handle very well. They plonked themselves down in the middle of the cafe and ordered two coffees, one piece of cake and one scone. They then proceeded to eat in a manner that would make a pack of starving monkeys look like fine diners. The parents sat there and chatted while the children (fucking gremlins) put bits of scone and cake in every conceivable surface in the cafe, stuffed bits of cake in the vases with flowers, poured water all over the floor and tipped out our sugar holders and drew pictures with the sugar all over the table (they also put buttery hand prints all over the window and ran screaming about the cafe). Then, without uttering a word of apology about the disgusting mess, they left. Leaving us, in the middle of a morning rush with a natural disaster style clean up. This is a common affair for a lot of the parents that come into my work. The 'stay at home' mothers sit there sipping their eighth strength skinny lattes in between hair appointments and shopping trips while the terrors run amok and destroy the place. They don't care, it's free child care. (if it was my business, I'd probably enforce a no-child policy, but it's Malvern, all these people do is breed to fill their mansions).

A small idea of the mess.


I'm getting distracted by ranting about my pet hate.
Astrid came over as i was on my hands and knees picking cake out of the joins in the table and started clearing up with me. In between picking up the plates and helping my wipe down the table and salvage the flowers we bonded. She let me rant (which i never do to any customer, no matter how well i know them) and then she ranted back about how disgusting people were becoming today and how the more money some people seem to have, the more general politeness and manners seem to disappear. In all my time in hospitality, no one has ever done that - helped me clear up for no reason other than to lend a hand. She wasn't waiting for that table, she didn't make that mess herself.
After finishing her coffee, she gave me a hug, told me that i was probably her favorite person in the world at this time in her life and left.

She's wonderful.

I wish i could keep her.


There was also another lady that came into work today, i'm pretty sure she is my mother in about forty years. She was wearing bright pink knee high suede boots and leopard print tights. She had blue hair and gold eyeshadow. She sat with a group of about nine ladies-who-lunch and ordered glass after glass of wine (calling it her 'medicine'), she called Kevin (my boss) a handsome, strapping boy and ate a GIANT slice of double chocolate cake at the end of her meal because "i'm ninety, i'll eat what i want and drink as much as i want, i made it this far and i'll be damned if i'm going to waste the rest!"
She was so cool.


Anyway. Just thought I'd share.

I'm visiting my darling friends in Brisbane in a few days and wanted to make them a few home-made treats because i love them so.

Today was a day of Fudge. My previous attempt at Chocolate Peppermint Fudge was a delicious success so i decided to experiment with a few different flavours and methods of cooking.



The first one was Creamy Caramel Fudge. Literally the EASIEST fudge on the planet to make. You heat it in the microwave! It was just the usual butter, syrups, sugar, chocolate etc. After i poured it into the pan i sprinkled some white chocolate shavings over the top because it looked a bit boring.

Caramel fudge, sitting patiently before its trip to the fridge.

Number two was a Crunchy Chocolate Ginger Fudge, I completely changed this recipe because i had no candy ginger (nor could i be bothered wandering around the shops looking for it), and i wanted more fresh ginger in the fudge than recommended. I adore ginger, its so wonderful and i eat it all the time in all its glorious forms, i even put it in my tea after food. It smells so delicious and wonderful. Swoon. So, this recipe just called for your usual 'melt items in a saucepan over low heat and stiiiiiir' which was also very simple. It came out lovely and dark and with the glaceed ginger sprinkled over the top it looks very pretty.

My ginger love.

Ginger and Dark Chocolate Fudge.


Fudge number three was a request from the brilliant Amy.
She is a mad fan of the chili and asked for chili chocolate fudge to be created. I found a fudge called Dangerously Spicy Chocolate Chili Fudge which looked perfect for this next experiment. The recipe calls for only half a teaspoon of ground cayenne powder or more if you are bolder. Amy is a lover of all things spicy so i heaped in a nice, full teaspoon for her. This recipe was a 'melt in a glass bowl over a saucepan of hot water' deal, also incredibly simple. Some of that glorious bright red cayenne powder sprinkled on top and it was finished!

Amy's Chili Fudge.

Today i also knocked up a couple of jars of Chunky Apple Sauce from my preserve book, also adding a few blackberries and raspberries in it too. Tomorrow night I'm making a batch of chocolate chip cookies for Steve and then i think I'll be done! I'm just adding the finishing touches to the packaging and i can start to worry about packing and all the other things that i stress about when travelling.

My little kitchen helper, he knows he is not allowed any closer than those tiles.

Sunday night my beautiful Mum made the family an incredible roast dinner for Mothers Day. There was lamb, beef, crunchy potato's, carrot and swede, leek, broccoli (my fave), bread with chunks of butter, so much gravy and a heavenly crumble of apple and berries with custard and ice cream. She tried to pull out the cheese platter after but we were just too full. Once again proving that my mother is the greatest maker of the roast dinner in the universe.

This is my brother and his gorgeous girlfriend Edwina, i took this on the sneaky, man they are cute.

(forgive the dodgy photo, i was posing for my mother)

And lastly i bought this dress many months ago and shoved it in my closet out of sight because when i got it back on at home i immediately hated it. I pulled it out last week and popped it on and fell back in love. It's a vintage cotton summer dress from some tiny little dress shop on Brunswick street and it makes me feel like a 1950's housewife in it. It's nice and light and flowy, the little belt is slightly worn, but it's not that noticeable. I now wear it all the time, especially to the market, goes great with a big hat or a basket so i can prance around like an idiot and pretend i'm in a musical. Love.