Thursday 17 December 2009

JYC catch up & what I've been doing

I'm going to post my layouts first and get them out of the way. I know the photos make them look like they aren't straight but, believe me, in real life - they are! I didn't get a chance to do yesterday's layout but caught up today.
Yesterday's layout
Today's layout
It's good to be caught up again.
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Now, for those of you wondering what happened with the pavlova, I thought I'd fill you in on the story. The first one looked wonderful but seemed awfully sticky - there was sticky stuff oozing out of the bottom. I transferred it onto a plate but when I tried to see if I would be able to lift it when dishing up, the knife came out wet. Probably not a good idea to serve it to people I didn't really know ;o), so I made apple crumble instead.
The following night Claire made carbonara and there were 3 egg whites left over. My friend, Sarah had given me a recipe to try so at 10 o'clock at night I decided to make the meringue. That way I'd be able to leave it in the oven overnight to dry out. I stayed up until the cooking period finished so that I could turn the oven off. Next morning, I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out.
Doesn't look too bad, does it! The only thing I wasn't so sure about was that it looked a golden colour. I thought that was maybe because I'd added a tiny bit of vanilla extract. I didn't worry about it and last night I asked the girls if they would like to try it. Their verdict? It tasted like toast! I tried some and could see it did taste slightly different but I wouldn't say "like toast". I think maybe I should give up on pavlova's for a while. I'll think of something else to make (or buy) for pudding on Christmas day instead.
And talking of Christmas - one week tomorrow!!! To make me feel a bit more festive - a photo looking in at our tree from outside ;o)
And one take tonight of the tree lit up for the evening. Do I have the Christmas spirit?? I'm getting there. Looking forward to doing some wrapping soon and getting quilts finished - then I'll be a bit happier. Also looking forward to school breaking up tomorrow so Emily and I don't have to get up at 6am!
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Snow is predicted for tonight through to Sunday! Could be interesting!! Planning a day at home tomorrow to get the binding on the quilts - looks like I may have chosen a good day for it.
xx