Staying in the cool...and getting squidgy!

We had a hot one yesterday so I just shut all the curtains and stayed in, pottering.

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After resolving my internet woes in Friday (that is another blog post entirely) I battled with slow internet speed all day. That was meant to be reinstated on Friday - man, was I fuming! I have gone through $20 worth of pre-paid iPad credit since last Saturday 1/2/15 - one week!

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Anyhow, moving on ...

I made this date loaf - I have frozen it to take to my girls when we go next weekend.

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Then I got thinking about a yummy cake I'd seen. A Squidgy Lemon Cake! Marie is a fantastic cook! 

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http://theenglishkitchen.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/squidgy-lemon-cake.html

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This cake required Lemon butter (or curd) and I knew where to find a quick, simple recipe for that so ...

away I went!

Wendy at My Abundant Life told me that Cath had a recipe so I found that here - 

http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/09/step-by-step-lemon-butter.html?m=1

Don't ya just love bloggers - always passing on tips and recipes etc.

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It was very quick and easy doing it in the microwave. So here it is - a full jar and in the little bowl, enough for the Squidgy cake.

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Here is the cake batter with the lemon butter on top. It calls for orange zest to be added. The oranges I used were Valencia and the skins were quite green (this is normal and means they have seen plenty of sunshine). So the butter looks kind of green!

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All swirled into the batter - yum!

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The cake ready for frosting...

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Tah dah! Frosted and ready to go! 

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Oh, so goood!

 Give this one a try, you won't be disappointed!

Cheers - Joolz xx

Red rabbits & Wagyu...

We call these 'red rabbits' - destined for a beach picnic...
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Mayura Station Wagyu steak... destined for the barbecue tonight...
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See the marbling through the meat. It just melts away when cooked.
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At our favourite spot again - all set up for lunch...
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We pre-ordered the sunshine and blue sky after a week of humid, weird weather... just perfect!
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I spied a large yacht way, way, way out to sea...
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Lunch - crayfish, chicken and 3 salads...
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I hand picked all the crayfish
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Oh, my!
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This is a sea anemone. It reminds me of a joke in 'Finding Nemo'. The punch-line goes "with fronds like these, who needs anemones!" (with friends like these, who need enemies).
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We found some more star fish.
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Clowning around...
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Late afternoon
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Then the kiddies decided to play in the water. Give them two drink cups and this is what you get... water art!
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Trying to make a love heart...
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Time for petanque...
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Pack up time...
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We showed our visitors the wind farm at Lake Bonney
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Dinner = Wagyu steaks...
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Delicious...
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Our visitors hadn't been over to see us and to No. 2 Rocks since New Years day 1997 so we had a fair bit of catching up to do. Lovely people all of them. It was a big, long day and I am very tired today as I did most of the catering. In appreciation of our efforts, they declared it an annual event so next mid-February they will return!
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Will potter and put away bits of yesterday then home to watch Eat Pray Love this afternoon and maybe cross stitch a bit.
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Cheers - Joolz

To the beach...

Yesterday promised temperatures up to 40C so after a morning spent in the cool at home, we headed for the beach.
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The beach was like a highway~
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Ruby...
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We set up our shade along the main beach. There weren't a huge number of people along here, just the 4WD going by. Angus & I had our first swim for the summer - the water was, shall we say, very refreshing! Our Southern Ocean is not known for it's warmth! But once we got in, we stayed in for about half an hour and it was lovely. Sorry no gratuitous bikini shots... (lol!)
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Bri and her friend had a swim while we watched from the shade. We saw lots of people just sitting out in the sun, I don't know how they do it?! They must frizzle!
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(all pics out of my E71 Nokia phone - I keep forgetting my camera!)
We stayed until 7pm then headed for home. Bri got to try her 4WDing skills through the dunes again. We had a barbecue dinner then I settled in to watch Hawaii Five-O (I'm a bit partial to Alex O'Loughlin - seeing he's Australian and all!).
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Back to the grind today then we are off to Melbourne tomorrow for a vehicle launch and dinner.
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Cheers - Joolz