susie

Another birthday to celebrate on Saturday - on Waiheke Island. And it rained nearly all day. I was hoping for walks on the beach and photos of the sea and distant islands. Instead we mostly stayed indoors in front of the fire. But it was a wonderful day - food, wine, friends. How lucky I am to know Susie.

Reading: Out of winter by Carol Lee

cake and sand

On the weekend my family celebrated a 61st birthday with carrot cake - decorated with lime icing, jaffas and gold dust - and washed down with champagne.

And last weekend we improvised a sandpit for our granddaughter. Digging and running seem to be very important things to do. I remember how I used to love making mud pies when I was about six or seven years old. I used to decorate them with flowers and then sprinkle sand on the top to look like icing sugar. I can't wait to get into that again.

Reading: Smoke gets in your eyes & other lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
Watching: The Sopranos season five

hip hip hooray

My granddaughter is one year old today.

Take five eggs

Today was my brother's birthday and I was charged with making the cake. I used a new favourite recipe, chocolate almond cake, from a New Zealand cookbook - 'A year's worth : Dunsandel Store' by Sam Mannering, Annabel Graham and Rebecca Law. It's an easy recipe that's gluten-free and delicious. What more could you ask for in a cake? I decided to go a bit mad with the decorations getting as many lollies as possible on the top. And sides.

The quilt is progressing. I've now completed 30 out of 40 rows of hand quilting. That's 75% done! This obsessive counting and calculating makes the project sound tedious but I actually enjoy hand stitching. It's quite soothing - sitting and sewing and listening to the radio. Time just flies by. But it's also satisfying to track my progress.

Photo a day for a week: Day 7

This birthday cake (for my mother - not a five year old as the candles suggest) is the final photo of my week of photos. Good to end with a celebration. I don't know how people have managed a photo a day for a year or more!