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Dinner with an Easter touch

Olá! Apesar de estar de férias, não tenho conseguido dar a devida atenção ao blog, pois tenho tido trabalho e não consegui conciliar as duas coisas... Já deixei algumas fotos na página do Facebook, mas partilho aqui convosco a decoração da mesa de jantar que fiz em minha casa, para um grupo de amigas de longa data. É um encontro rotativo, em casa de cada uma (somos 7) e, de dois em dois meses, estamos juntas e pomos a conversa em dia. Adoro-as!

Não gosto de encher a mesa de adereços e decorações, daí só ter dado um ar de Páscoa em alguns pormenores - nas amêndoas nas jarras, nas flores de Primavera, nos cupcakes decorados e nos pássaros e ninhos, cujos ovos são tão próprios da época. Mantive as cores da minha sala (os verdes, branco e azuis), para enquadrar com os tons circundantes e optei por toalha e guardanapos de linho (adoro!).

As fotos foram tiradas ao final do dia e chovia... é pena, pois podiam ser mais luminosas. Ora vejam, e digam de vossa justiça:








Hi everyone! Although I'm on vacations, I still had to work, so I didn't make the time to come here and "talk" to you. I already shared some of these photos on the Facebook's page, but now I'm showing them here as well. I did a dinner at home with a group of old friends - it's a rotative meeting, we gather in each other houses every 2 months (we're 7) and catch up with the news. I love them!

As I don't particularly like very fully decorated tables, I opted for little Easter details, such as the almonds inside the jar, the Spring flowers, the eggs and bird's nest, as well as the decorated cupcakes. Everything in soft tones and in the colors of my dining room - mint green, blues and white. I chose a linen tablecloth and napkins, I really like them!

The photos were taken when the table was set, close to dinner time, so there wasn't much light and it was raining... Take a look and tell me what you think. :)


 
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No Water (and Preparing for a Natural Disaster)


This morning I woke up, went to the bathroom, turned the tap on, and no water came out.

I went to the kitchen, but no water came out of that tap either.

I went to the fridge to see if the water jug we keep in the door had anything in it, but the jug wasn't in there.  The kettle was empty too.

I discovered that the only water in the house was in the fish tank (yuck) and in the toilet cisterns (double yuck).

A quick walk out to the street showed that there was a burst water main a few houses away.  A call to SA Water indicated that it might be two hours before the water supply would come back on.

Fortunately there was milk in the house, or everyone would have been very thirsty indeed!

The earthquakes in Christchurch and Japan and the Queensland floods have made me aware that I should keep a supply of bottled water in the house.  I have mentioned this to several people.  Yet I have done nothing about it.  Part of me can't bear to spend money buying water when it's so easily accessible from the tap -- usually.


However, this event, while trivial overall, has reminded me that I should do more about disaster preparedness.  A search of the internet revealed numerous websites that can help us to prepare an emergency plan, some of which I've listed below.  If you google 'emergency preparation' or '72 hour kit' you will find more; the general consensus is that each household should have a 72-hour store of water and non-perishable foodstuffs, along with items such as candles and a first-aid kit.

Have you done anything to prepare in case of a natural disaster or disruption of services?  What have you done?

Can you recommend any other websites on disaster preparedness?





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Palm Sunday


Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 

Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.

Mark 11: 7-11 (Revised Standard Version)

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Easter is coming!

Olá, queridos amigos! Aqui estou eu, de volta para vos contar mais umas histórias... Na próxima semana estou de férias e espero poder estar aqui mais vezes. Na Quarta vou dar um jantar para um grupo de amigas e estava a pensar em decorar a mesa com elementos alusivos à Páscoa - já tenho alguns, que vos vou mostrar. Estes passarinhos das fotos farão provavelmente parte da decoração dos guardanapos, mas ainda não decidi.

Ainda estou indecisa nas sobremesas, não sei bem o que hei-de fazer... Queria algo com uma decoração relacionada com a época, mas ando com tanto trabalho que a minha cabeça não consegue deitar cá para fora ideias! Ajudem-me, por favor!




Hello, my dear friends! Here I am, back with some stories to tell you. I'll be on vacations next week, so hopefully I'll be here more often. I'm also having a dinner at my home with a group of old friends. As we are on Easter time, I thought about decorating the table with a few items related to it. These litlle cute birds that you see on the photos might be a part of the napkins decorations.

I also want do have something special for dessert, decorated accordingly, but I have been so busy at work lately that I can hardly think of something else and my head feels empty... Please, help me! I need inspiration!...

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Books I am Reading: a Look at WWII Thriftiness

 Do you ever read books on a particular theme together?

Lately I have been reading a great deal about World War II and the lives of families on the homefront, especially in England.  I feel that I have a great deal to learn from the thriftiness, resourcefulness and self-sufficiency of those who survived the Great Depression and the Second World War.

Probably my favourite recent book on this subject is Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall's
The Ministry of Food: Thrifty Wartime Ways to Feed Your Family.  As the author points out, issues such as reducing waste, growing our own food and eating seasonally are now issues all over again, if for different reasons than during the War:
Today, instead of fighting Hitler, we are combating economic recession.  But unlike our forebears, we are fighting on several fronts – against waste, junk food and the depletion of fossil fuels.  In hard times the battle for survival can be exhilarating, and it does bring rewards: the satisfaction that comes from self-sufficiency; pride in seeing children grow up strong and healthy; and the friendships that develop through co-operation with neighbours. (p.13)
Written as part of a 2010 exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London, The Ministry of Food is a wonderful combination of social history, cookery book and gardening guide. It is filled with fascinating anecdotes, recipes and posters from the period.  Highly recommended.

Also of interest to those wanting to learn from wartime thriftiness are two smaller books;
and Eating for Victory: Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations.  These books are fairly basic compilations of official Second World War Instruction leaflets.  I have only read Make Do and Mend so far, and while I found its tips and hints fascinating (I didn't know there were so many ways to darn a garment!), I felt it could have benefited from an index.

The next book on my reading list is Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife 49'.  As stated on the back cover, "In September 1939, housewife and mother Nella Last began a diary whose entries, in their regularity, length and quality, have created a record of the Second World War which is powerful, fascinating and unique."  While this Mrs Last's wartime diaries were first published in 1981, I have only learnt about them recently and can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy.

What are you reading at the moment?



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Homegrown Ginger in a Pot - in Adelaide

Have you ever grown anything that isn't supposed to grow in your area?

I have always thought of ginger as a tropical plant and had never considered growing it until last spring.  I planted a woody bit of bought ginger in a terracotta pot and, to my surprise, a few weeks later it was sprouting shoots.

Throughout summer I watered the ginger plant with diluted worm juice and today I dug part of the plant up to see if any ginger roots had developed.

To my surprise there are quite a few fat roots in the pot.


The roots are quite different from commercial ginger as they don't have that brown skin and don't appear to need peeling.  Instead, the outside of the homegrown ginger varies from soft yellow to a delicate pink.

I used a knob of fresh ginger in a marinade tonight and it was delicious!

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Weekend blogger

Estou a tornar-me uma blogger de fim-de-semana. Não consigo ter tempo à semana, e acabo por apenas conseguir postar algumas fotos na página do Facebook, para mostrar ao Mundo as coisas de que gosto. Desculpem, mas não tenho mesmo conseguido...

Aqui vão algumas ideias que tenho tido e que gostava de vos mostrar. Espero que gostem.

Uns pormenores na decoração da prateleira que separa os hall dos quartos da sala
Decoration details on the shelf that separates the bedroom's hall from the living room



Esta fitinha azul vai ser trocada por outra, em verde esmeralda
This blue ribbon is goingo to be changed by an emerald green one


As almofadinhas das meninas: a Carlota é o Bambi e a Conchinha a gatinha
The vintage pillow that I gave my daughters: Carlota has the one with the Bambi and Conchinha has the kitten one


Uns bolinhos de chocolate e açúcar mascavado - deliciosos!
Chocolate cakes with brown sugar - super yummy!




I'm becoming a weekend blogger. I just don't have the time during the week, so I end up posting a few photos on the Facebook page, to share the things that I like with the rest of the world... I'm sorry, but I 've been really busy lately...

Here are some ideas that I've been having and that I would like to share with you. I hope you like them.


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