A quick quiz...

Let's see how smart my bloggy friends are...

Can you figure out what these words have in common?
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banana
dresser
grammar
potato
revive
uneven
assess
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I'll be back with the answer tomorrow.
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Cheers - Joolz

Unit update...

We visited Kirby again over the Mother's day weekend. This is a view of the completed kitchen area...
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Outside, under the carport/pergola area - so much tidier than we we first bought the place.
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A $25 glass notice board from Ikea and $12.50 worth of fabric to cover a pin-up board complete the kitchen.
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This black/brown timber unit was $69.00
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I think we just need a floor rug perhaps to finish this room off plus some of Kirby's pictures for the walls.
Angus stained all the quad around the floor, assembled the TV table, the black side unit, put up the notice board and fabric board and a wall mirror in Kirby's room, fitted a door stop, fixed 2 sliding windows that were not sliding and ended up with very sore knees for his trouble. But I think we are there! It's comfy and very liveable.
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Cheers - Joolz

Mothers Day...

I got one of these for Mother's Day...
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... and this delicious book...
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(Joolzpic)
... I had this for dessert - double choc icecream with a Mint Slice biscuit and hot fudge smooshed together...
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(sunrise over Corio Bay, Geelong, Victoria - Joolz pic)
Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I've been busy with a trip to Melbourne (last Monday), via Geelong, delivering cars with my hubby and working, eating late and falling into bed shattered. Then off to Adelaide this past weekend for Mother's Day with my two girls. Angus did more at the unit - pics to come.
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On my to do list - the picture challenge set by Tatersmama
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Cheers - Joolz

Sweet Soy Chicken & Rocky Road...

Took this pic when I came back from my walk on Tuesday morning. Rain coming....unfortunately not a lot!
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Someone had a bad start to their Saturday morning. Let's just say, I don't think they "Kept Left"!This happened at about 8.30am because our power flickered off and on again. Angus drove past going to work 15 minutes later and no-one was there so we assume the driver just drove away - don't know how! The emergency services arrived not long after - it took several hours to clear the road and erect another 'stobie' pole.
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This is my desk - I spent all Saturday there, catching up for the week ahead. We are off to Victoria on Monday and Tuesday to deliver a couple of cars so I had to get some work done in advance.
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Angus was in charge of dinner on Saturday night...
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SWEET SOY CHICKEN WITH NOODLES
500 gms Hokkien noodles
1 tblspn peanut oil
750 gms chicken thigh fillets, sliced thickly
8 spring onions, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2cm piece fresh ginger, sliced thinly
230 gm can water chestnuts, drained
300 gm choy sum or bok choy etc, chopped coarsley
2 tblspn fresh coriander
2 tblspn kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1/4 cup chicken stock
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Rinse noodles in strainer under hot water. Separate noodles with fork, drain.
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Heat oil in wok; stir fry chicken, in batches, until browned all over and cooked through. Return all chicken to wok with onion, garlic, ginger and water chestnuts. Stir fry until fragrant. Add choy sum, kecap manis and stock. Stir fry until choy sum wilts.
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Place noodles in serving bowl, top with chicken and serve.
(from Women's Weekly Great Fast Recipes)
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ROCKY ROAD
350 gms Plaistowe cooking chocolate (milk or dark...or both!)
big handful of raspberry jube lollies, cut in halves
bag of mini marshmallows
handful of peanuts, roughly chopped
big tablespoon of shredded coconut
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Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl - in burst of 30 seconds on medium heat - until melted. Add in all other ingredients and stir. Turn out into a paper-lined slice tin and smooth out. Refrigerate until you can't wait any more then cut it into chunks and enjoy in moderation.
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Not much happening today except laundry and ironing. MasterChef is on again tonight so that will nearly see me out.
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Cheers - Joolz

ANZACS and Zucchini Pickles...

I made a batch of Anzac biscuits yesterday (this is an old pic) and they are so yummy with a cuppa.
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I found a recipe for Zucchini Pickles on Indira Naidoo's Saucy Onion blog here so I thought I'd give it a whirl... She has a lovely blog about her Edible Balcony.
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Zucchini, capsicum and onion soaking in salt for 3 hours...

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...all ingredients combined and heating...
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...my lovely Big Dutch Blue (on her maiden voyage - I got her for Christmas and this is the first time I've used her - I'm doing Lamb Shanks later this week for sure!) ...
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... ready for bottling...
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The finished article - lovely colour and consistency but I must confess I think I stuffed up with the salt in this recipe - somehow along the way I put it in twice so it's salty. I'll let it sit for a day or two then try some. If it is still really salty I'll ditch it and try again because the recipe is a "good 'un" otherwise. Silly me!
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Kirby is fully recovered from the wisdon tooth episode. She was still having some jaw pain late last week(aching up near her ears) so I booked her in for some Bowen Therapy where the lady gently massaged the muscles in her jaw which creates a release. She is finally off all pain relief so that's a blessing. My advice to anyone having wisdom teeth out - be aware of your pain medication - just because it is prescribed to you doesn't mean you have to take it. It may not suit you and may be worse than the pain iteself. If it doesn't feel like it's doing the job, either ask your doctor or a pharmacist for advice on alternative medication. Kirby was prescribed a strong pain medication, Endone, but I really think it did more harm than good. I think she could have got by with something like Panadeine/Panadol and Ibuprofen (Nurofen) with better results. Anyhoo, it's all over now and she's back ready to hit the books again for another term.
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Thank you all so much for your well wishes and prayers for her speedy recovery. It was truly appreciated.
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Joolz

MasterChef...

We watch MasterChef every night and tonight a young bloke from Adelaide got into the Top 24 - Callum Hann (#41/50)

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I hope he has a real crack at it and has fun along the way. It is such a good show - you just sit and relax and watch a good hour of entertaining television. Go Callum!
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Joolz

Anzac Day ...

Today we pay tribute to our soldiers past and present - we are proud of you and we salute you!
Lest we forget.
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Here are a few more spider webs that I have snapped. Our mornings are very dewy and when I get home from my walk, all the webs are glistening in the sun.
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Joolz