Singer Sewing Machine 502 Manual.

I searched the house, but could not find my Singer Sewing Machine Manual so that I could do some sewing - take up my son's new jeans!  No luck however, and after extensive searches online, could not find it.  So I decided to take my 3 sewing boxes, with various bits in them and put them into one, there it was at the bottom of the large box!  So in the interest of other who are probably searching for the same thing - here it is:

 

If this has been of help, please leave a comment below.  I would love to know.

 

 

Who (or whom) are you?

I just received a Christmas card from....well, that's the problem, I can't read the writing!  The address is neatly written on the back, as coming from Shoal Bay, but I cannot for the life of me remember knowing anyone from that area!  I googled the address, no avail.

This has started a process of elimination, not one of the cousins, the name has 3 "i"'s in it, who can it be?  It brings back to memory a previous occasion when I received a lovely printed wedding invitation, a very swish one I might add, that would mean us travelling about 300 kms. to the wedding, staying overnight, and of course the wedding present (present list & accommodation options kindly included).  I rang my husband, no knowledge, I rang my dad, was it a long lost cousin I had forgotten about? No luck there either.  Finally my husband realised it was a person he spoke to occasionally across the lines at work (he works in radio), whom he had never actually met.  As it was going to be quite an expense, and we did not even know the bride in any way, we declined.  At least we finally figured out who it was though.

I am trying to find names with 3 i's in them, and worked out it is Virginia.  Of course!  This is also a colleague of my husbands.  I don't know how I can keep up with them!

Let the last word on this subject go to Sherlock Holmes:

"My dear fellow," said Sherlock Holmes as we sat on either side of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable"

Tiss the season of goodwill

Its nearly Christmas - so why am I going through my wardrobe?

Its about time to chuck out the old work clothes and remember that I am now officially (gulp) retired.  So here I am going through the whole of my wardrobe, I realise I have lots of long sleeved tops.  After wondering why I realised that at work I 1. wanted to cover up the bat wings! and 2. was cool in the airconditioning.  Hence all the long sleeved stuff.  I also have numerous work logo tops, a few of these I will keep, as they will be useful to wear on our next overseas trip, and not bring back.  The rest are going out.

When I say out, I really mean to St Vincents DePaul Society, (think goodwill, 2nd hand clothing store).  But I only put in things that can be worn again.  Anything else is used for rags on the car etc.  But I always get at least a 2nd life out of things I buy, not because I am short of cash, but because I hate to see waste of resources.  A couple of things are over 10 years old, but still in perfect nic, these are mostly loved heavy jumpers and coats, that did not get used that much as we have such a short winter.  I can see these being snapped up at Vinnies.

So far there is one big garbage bag full, and I have not yet finished.

This brings me to how I organise the wardrobe.  It used to be non work and work clothes, that does not work anymore.  Now I have going by pants vs. tops, then by winter vs. summer, then by colour.
So organised, it is wonderful.  I realise I dont have that many summer tops though!  (see the bit before about long sleeves). 

Put the lime in the coconut.

OH MY GOD! I made the most amazing pancakes ever. I was watching a Gordon Ramsey cooking show and he made pancakes with coconut, coconut milk, and then made a lime syrup. Serve with mango for an even bigger summer hit, or just squeeze some lime over the pancakes.

Well, I just made the usual pancakes (mixture from pancakes on the rocks) and added some coconut to the mixture. I made a syrup out of sugar, water, juice and rind of one lime.

Fantastic. Just out of this world. I think pancakes will forever be made with coconut in our house.
For a fun song : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LxC3M-Yngs

Of course, would have tasted even better if I could have brought back some of that fantastic coconut syrup from Hawaii!
Aloha!

Thanks Mum, the whole family will be having this on xmas day.

A perfect Christmas cake - and easy too!

I just finished making my mother's recipe for a boiled Xmas cake.  It turned out perfect, so I thought I would share the recipe, here it is.  I recon anyone can make this cake.

THE DAY BEFORE:  put 500g (1lb) of mixed dried fruit into a bowl and pour on 1/4 cup (I usually use more!! because I slurp it in!) and soak fruit in your favourite brandy, rum or liqueur.  Add almonds or pecans if you like nuts in your cake, I find other types of nuts are a bit bitter for this, and I always add a bit of grated orange peel, just because I like it.

ON THE DAY OF BAKING:
FIRST:  put the oven on at a temperature of 160 degrees C, or  320 F.  you need to have an even temp when you are making a cake like this.

SECOND:  Get your tin ready, by cutting about 6 layers of newspaper to fit in the bottom, this creates an insulation layer that keeps the bottom from burning.  Then line the tin with baking paper.  This recipe is quite versatile, I have made it in lots of different sizes of tin, my favourite is this one, which is a high sided 6 inch round tin.

NOW MAKE THE CAKE:

1. In a large saucepan, boil the fruit, 1/2 cup water, 125g butter, 1 tablespoon golden syrup, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 1 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon bi-carb soda.  It will foam up at the sides when it boils, keep stirring it for a few minutes (about 3-5), to make sure the sugar is quite dissolved and everything is incorporated together.
2. Let the mixture cool!  (for at least 15 mins) in a separate mixing bowl.
3. Add 2 beaten eggs.
4. Add 1 cup self raising flour , 1 cup plain flour.
5. Mix well, pop into tin and bake for 45 mins,  at this stage test to see if it is ready by using a skewer, if it comes out clean turn off the oven.  If it does not, just cook a bit longer,  I usually test it by smell and look, if it smells cooked and has come away from the sides of the tin slightly, and is springy when touched.  The time to bake depends upon your oven and the size of your tin.
6. Leave in the oven for about 1/2 hour, then take it out and cool on a wire rack.

Note: if you think the top is baking too quickly, which it can in some ovens, just put a bit of baking paper over it for a while, but take it off at least 10 minutes before you turn the oven off.

    7.  In the Australian heat and humidity, best to store this in the fridge, so I cover with baking          paper and then with foil.  Oh, and I dribble some brandy onto it as well!   Just to add to the flavour.

Enjoy!

My first day at home, retired.

Retired, or should I say unemployed?  Feels a bit weird, more like a weekend and I have to go back to work tomorrow, just that I don't.