Suspect mole...

When I had my health check recently, I showed my doctor this mole I have on my arm. She suggested I attend a skin clinic with another doctor at the practice. He went over me with a special light or lens (not sure which), checking my moles. He advised me to have a shave biopsy on this one. I fronted up on Tuesday and had the thing shaved off and the specimen was sent off to pathology.
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I went back on Thursday to have it re-dressed and the results were back. Although he had told me it did not look like a suspect melanoma (he had some other looong name for it), the results came back to say it was pre-melanoma and should be taken off by elliptical excision (the mole and surrounding and underlying skin are taken in the shape of an oval or ellipse).
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As a result, I have a 5cm long, 5mm deep incision, lots of very neat internal stitches and about 8 external stitches. Scarring should be minimal. It is right on the bend of my elbow and holy crap it smarts when I bend it!
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So peoples, do youself a favour - get a loved one to check you over for irregular shaped, coloured, flat moles - especially under bra straps when you can't see them. Get a doctor to check the moles, take photos for size/growth comparison and get them removed. Better a small scar than a large chunk of flesh having to be cut out. I'm glad I went along - I have another few that will be monitored over time.
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Cheers - Joolz

Toblerone & Raspberry Choc Brownies...

(Joolz pic)
...and it's even a 'healthy' recipe, too!
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(Joolz pic)
TOBLERONE & RASPBERRY CHOC BROWNIES
3 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar
200gm tub low-fat vanilla yoghurt
1.5 tblspns vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups SR flour, sifted with
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
50gms Toblerone chocolate bar, each individual piece (triangles) halved - (um, I used 100gms!)
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Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C. grease and line a 30cm x 20cm lamington/slice tin with baking paper.
Combine egg yolks, sugar, yoghurt and oil in a bowl. Stir in flour and cocoa.
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Step 2 - In a small separate bowl, use electric beaters to whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into cocoa mixture gently then when combined, add raspberries and stir through. Spread mixture in the tin. Scatter Toblerone pieces over the mixture.
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Step 3 - Bake for 20-22 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool completely in tin before slicing into 24 pieces. Enjoy in moderation!
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LOW kJ ~ LOW FAT ~ LOW SODIUM
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Per serve - 445kJ/107cal Sugars 11g
Protein 2.8g Fibre 0.7g
Total Fat 3g Sodium 76mg
Sat Fat 1g Iron 0.7mg
Carbs 17g Calcium 34mg
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Kirby is still not well with her wisdom teeth - I have spoken with her Dr. and have changed the dosage of the pain medication as I think we were overdosing and causing her to feel more unwell.
(we were told she could have a mixture of 3 meds) Hopefully she will improve as the day goes on.
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Cheers - Joolz

Pain relief...

Kirby had her four wisdom teeth extracted under general anaesthetic on Monday. She had day surgery at our local hospital and came out of the operation beautifully. She has been taking it easy on the couch and keeping warm. Tuesday she was feeling quite good but this morning the pain has become more intense and she didn't sleep much at all last night, even with the pain medication prescribed by the anaesthetist. I hope things start to improve later today - I hate seeing her in pain.
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Thank you all for your comments on our kitchen renovations - it is at the unit where Kirby lives - not our house. We have bought the property as an investment and for somewhere for both girls to live while at university. When they have finished with is, hopefully the market will be kind to us and we can sell it for a tidy profit. If not, we will hang on to it and rent it out again.
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The flooring is now in but we haven't seen it yet. Heading there this weekend so all will be revealed then.
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Cheers - Joolz

Easter renovations...

This is how we spent Easter - painting, sanding etc.
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Brianna transformed the lounge room pelmets from 'mission brown' to 'new antique off-white' with great results.
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We painted a feature wall in the lounge room - Dulux 'Spiced Nutmeg'
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This is how Angus felt after the painting was finally all finished on Monday night - absolutely knackered!
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This room will look really spiffy when the new oak flooring goes down (was supposed to go in Tuesday but the stupid contractor double booked himself! Grrr!)
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Kirby chose a decorative metal motif to set the wall off.
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Finally - the old grotty kitchen and.... (drum roll if you please.....)
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Ta Da! The finished kitchen, just waiting for the new floor boards. We are extremely happy with the way it all turned out. It was not a cheap fix but the investment will pay off when we sell the unit in years to come.
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And now, the food! Good Friday night entree - Angus made Zesty, Garlic Prawn skewers. Recipe to follow.
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Kirby made a nice big salad.
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I made potato, carrot and sweet potato oven baked chips - healthy and yummy!
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Good Friday dinner - Angus cooked King George Whiting fillets on the barbecue.
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On Saturday, Angus found an organic butcher shop nearby so we had T-bones and rump steak and a big tossed salad and baked potatoes.
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On Sunday, we treated ourselves to lunch out at Jolleys Boat House, on the River Torrens. This was my main - caramelised pork belly, watermelon, green mango and peanut salad with red chilli nam jim. Very rich and oh, so delicious!
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Desserts ... Passionfruit Pavlova for Brianna ...
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...Caramel semi-freddo, double choc icecream and butterscotch peanut brittle for Kirby...
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...and Gus and I shared the Jolly's Menage a Trois! A passionfruit creme brulee', a pineapple vanilla semi-freddo and a molten chocolate pudding with fresh cream. Heaven on a lovely long plate!
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The young 'uns
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and a couple of old crocs! Truly a great reward for the hard work we put in.
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So that was our Easter weekend, full of lots of hard work but some good times and delicious food too.
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Cheers - Joolz

Happy Easter...

I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter weekend. It's a lovely time to catch up with family and friends and to enjoy this lovely autumn weather we are having. I have enjoyed one of the nice hot cross buns which I bought freshly baked by our local baker. The girls have been sharing their choccy eggs so all is right with the world!

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We have been busy painting (and spackling, mending, sanding, washing down and repairing) our unit where Kirby lives. We have had a new kitchen installed and new flooring goes down on Tuesday. We are very pleased with the job - it looks fantastic so far! We are all quite stiff and sore from all the reaching, sanding, wall washing and painting so we are going out to lunch to celebrate our achievements so far. I'll put up some pics later of our progress.

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Cheers - Joolz

Thai Chicken Burgers and some webs and roses...

THAI CHICKEN BURGERS - SUNDAY NIGHT DINNER
500gm chicken mince
1-2 tblspn Thai red curry paste
1 small onion, chopped
2 tblspns coriander
olive oil for brushing
4 buns/turkish bread
salad leaves
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Blitz first 4 ingredients in a food processor to blend until smooth. Chill mixture for 30 minutes then form into 8 even sized patties.
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SATAY SAUCE
6 tblspns coconut cream
3 tblspns smooth peanut butter
juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tspns fish sauce
2 tspns sweet chilli sauce
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Place all ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until combined.
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Either barbecue patties on the grill or lightly fry in a pan until golden and cooked through. Assemble burgers in bread rolls or toasted turkish bread, add salad and drizzle with sauce.
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Oh, yeah!
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This cobweb nearly trapped me this morning. It was anchored between the ground and our basketball ring. Erk! I did walk through one the other day - what I sight I would have made! I was taking a bucket of dirty water to throw over our fence when it happened, dressed in my nightie and brunch coat! The web went all over my face so I knocked my glasses flying and was trying to get it out of my face. Then I had the horrible thought that a spider might be on my back so I stripped off the brunch coat - mid back lawn - and continued to brush my self off all over! Neighbours would have thought I was having a fit! Lol!
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Quite a work of art. I do know that the artist if a fat bodied spider who will not take no for an answer. Knock the web down and it is rebuilt and good as new by morning.
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These are webs all over our lawn - icky to think of all the spiders that made them!
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My Bonica standard roses are still putting on a show. They were covered in dew so I took some shots.
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Cheers - Joolz

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers and Oaty Cookies

I think it was one night last week that I made these chicken skewers. Very easy and tasty. I made a dish of baked rice to go with it.
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CHICKEN TERIYAKI SKEWERS
First, soak some bamboo skewers in water (to prevent burning if you are BBQing)
2 tblspn rice wine
4 tblspn soy sauce
2 tblspn mirin
1 tblspn caster sugar
1 tspn minced ginger
500gms chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of fat and 2cm cubed
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Thread chicken onto skewers and place in a lidded container suitable for marinading. Mix all other ingredients and pour over chicken. Let marinade for about half an hour. Either grill or fry in a lightly greased frypan.
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BAKED RICE
1 cup white/brown rice
1/2 capsicum, finely diced
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup zucchini, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cups of salt reduced chicken stock
1 tspn curry powder
pepper to taste
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Place all ingredients in a small baking dish, sprayed with cooking oil. Stir to combine all ingredients then cover with foil. Bake for approx. 30 minutes until stock has been absorbed and vegetables and rice is tender. Serve with Teriyaki Chicken Skewers.
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I made a batch of these Oaty Cookies this morning. Lucy at Attic24 makes these cookies nearly every day for snacks for her family - there is a printable recipe here. I used dried cranberries (Craisins) but you could use raisins, mixed fruit, dates or dried apricots.
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It's Friday in my part of the world. Tonight Angus and I are off to a Photographic Art Show so I am sure I will come away inspired to get out there and take some great photos. I might even enter next year, who knows?
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Cheers - Joolz