Busy doing I don't know what....

but that's how it is sometimes, and that's when you get more photos than text.

Biryani doing her Matilda impression at the local library, which we frequented more than often this past holiday as we had no internet!


and finally DH came home, after lots of delays due to the snow, so we made some 'Welcome home' decorations.

I'm still baking bread, these looking a bit too rustic but tasted quite nice all the same

S and M started their papier mache, destined inshaAllah to become a money box, well sometime this year I hope...

M, H and Biryani play schools, with of course M as the teacher.


The recent weather has been very cold, often minus 6 or even less, but from these pictures you can probably get the gist of how things are getting ready in the morning, or getting out the car to go home from the childminders. I just do not try to think about onlookers silently 'tsking' or that she'll catch a cold. In fact, like M who rarely gets ill and who also had a thing for going out in the snow with little more than boots on, she has not had one day off sick from the childminder's since she started.


It is COLD! You can almost see the trees shivering..

My Mum's card webshop

My Mum has always enjoyed art and has now got some of her designs available as cards, including Eid and ones left blank for your own message. I have a promo code for the first 5 people who order!:

Get your first card for FREE by using this promo code during checkout: MARY150209

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/judyscardstore

Keep in mind that this offer expires on February 02, 2010 (in 15 days).

Here is her website too, and also her blog which has some useful art tips

we have transport, we have internet..

of a sort. The poor old computer has a suspected virus as well as too much dust in its fans so is not working too well. So I write this in the hope that the virus does not suddenly become deadly.
Here is the recipe for the cocosbullar, the measurements are in volume rather than weight for the most part which could be confusing, but is actually easier once you get used to it:

100g butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 1/2 dl (150 ml) of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar (a few drops of vanilla flavouring I would expect be OK and if you miss it out altogether I expect they would still taste nice)
3 desertspoons of cocoa (maybe a little more,test the mixture is chocolatey enough once all ingredients are mixed)
5 dl (500ml) porridge oats
2-3 desertspoons of cold black coffee
Dessicated coconut for coating.

Mix all the ingredients except the coconut. Form into balls (as in pic here , scroll down a bit) about the size of a large grape or however large you like really.
Then roll them in dessicated cocunut.
Put them in the fridge until needed (usually not for very long, half an hour would be just about manageable before they have to be devoured)

Will this still be Hz's main occuaption in 2010?

I'm talking about his lightning ability to get his hands in everything, mashAllah! I still have the heart-rate raising experience on a daily basis of him about to grab something dangerous and while I´m sorting that out he's already moved on to another item doomed for destruction.
I have purchased a baby gate accompanied by those dubious words 'easy assembly'.
OK could be easy if a) all the parts were included, b)I did not have 2 young ones very curious about this new piece of apparatus, and c) (controversial but true), I was male.

So the kitchen is still accessible, and awaiting a male who can trudge back to the Baby shop to get a gate that functions, and then put the thing up while I escort small children away from the construction zone. I am along way away from Swedish nationality staus, I hate anything involving spanners/ hammers.




The snow has melted, but now it's minus 6, in the daytime. We just popped out to the corner shop for some Jummah goodies and a quick walk, and my hands hurt when I came back.


So also having both cars out of action, and being home a lot, have been doing a bit of baking. First pretzels, which S had read about and wanted to try..

In the bicarb solution which apparently gives them the distinctive taste, well I'm not sure it's my favourite, but maybe it's an aquired taste.

As you can see the we all made their own interpretations of a pretzel shape!

'Shall I help with the baking?'

I've always had an admiration for those who bake bread on a regular basis. It is an aspiration of mine too, but somehow the ensuing mess, and general scarcity of time, outweigh the benefits. However as I was perusing DH's Union magazine (I try to keep up with some Swedish) there was an article about not wasting food, and generally reducing food bills. It said you could save about £800 a year if you made your own bread, £800??? well it could be possible as decent bread is about £2 a loaf and lasts about a day or maybe 2 if they're at school. Now maybe I can keep the baking up I could afford a lap top, and then maybe blog more than twice a month (as seems to be happening nowadays). We'll see...

'Well, I will help, whether you like it or not!'

Well, it turned out pretty bread-like but yet to taste it.