Back in the Kitchen.

I always love cooking for the grandies and I'm sure they love it too. I don't always cook sweet things but alternate with savoury goodies.

Choc-chip and Macadamia Cookies

Pumpkin Fruit Cake.

Of course I'm using my new measuring set. Got this for my birthday, and just love it!

Cheesy bacon and Zucchini Muffins.

I could go a muffin right now, but there's none left so I guess I'll have to head into the kitchen and make another batch.

What I Did Last Night!

Wendy again hosted the  Friday Night Sew In and I stitched along with 25 other lovely people from all around the place. Of course not having to work Friday I did start a little early and did some extra stitching on my Gentle Domesticity Blocks.

Block 7 was finished and Block 8 just needed a few little finishing touches only.

And earlier in the day I got this one ready to finish, but didn't get around to taking one stitch on it. It's a free pattern from Jennifer of Elefantz and gets made into a lovely cushion. You can get this here!

Now as you can see below I have quite a mess on the craft table and I think it's time to tidy up.

Why not pop on over to Wendy's Blog Sugarlane Designs and see what others have been up to!

New Kid on the Block.

A couple of weeks ago we went for a drive to Ravenswood to meet up with friends, who also happen to be the breeders of our beautiful guardian dog "Ghost".

It's about an hour and 50 minutes drive from home with not a lot to see until you arrive at this small old mining town. Once there, the history of the place becomes more evident with  rusty remnants of the past to be found everywhere around the town.

There are many reminders of the booming mining place it once was. You can read about it here.

Very friendly locals and beautiful old buildings with a great museum.

But most importantly we came home with this little cutie! He started off with us naming him Lucky, but his name has since changed to "Rocky".

Here are his hard working Maremma relatives, which includes his mum and dad.

Hope you enjoyed this short trip to the south west of our region.

Getting Another UFO Finished.

Lately I have made an effort to finish a few projects and this is the latest. A quilt top I completed who knows when as it's been in my " to finish " box for..... forever.

I will be using this on the table when friends come over for coffee and cake.

Of course the dog, being a Maremma has to inspect everything and this was no exception. 

As I needed something for the backing I went to Spotlight for a pale check gingham or something similar but fell in love with this and used it for the binding as well.

With the weather being so nice here (for hot tropical North Queensland) the flowers are loving the mild weather and frequent showers.

Not to be outdone the orchids are blooming away with wonderful large sprays.

Of course with the damp comes the fungus, but aren't they gorgeous?

Recycling Old Candles.

Sea breeze, Frangipani, Vanilla, Mulled Wine, Gingerbread, One rainy wish...... I could go on and on  with the names of the lovely scented candles that abound in the shops these days and although I didn't like them for years and years,  I do now ( who would know why ) and have them burning every day that I am home.

I don't know why, but I keep the old butts or candle bums as I call them. They still smell sweet and it seems like a shame to waste these bits and pieces.

So.....what to do with them?  Recycle of course!

Get the containers ready by cleaning and fitting new wicks.

Melting the left-overs using a little gas cooker and my hubby's nifty pot. See the great pouring spout he fitted? It looks dirty but is just stained.

Pour into glasses (these were ones that came with candles in them) and leave to set.

I left a bit of old wick in the yellow one but I'm not too worried about that. They solidified with a little dent near the middle, I just need to melt some extra and fill in the little divots, but I have run out of gas! Note to self: - get some after work today and finish these little gems off.

Next I need to trim the wicks and they are ready for use.

I am pretty pleased with these and can't wait to light one to see how it burns and smells. I can always try again and do things differently next time if I'm not happy.