Monkey Scare Tactics – part one

Making use of all that we have around us we started on the first of our “scare monkey tactics”. So far so good but its when we are not at home that they come out in full force. So let’s see how this week fares shall we?

In other gardening news we got our basil, egg plant and lettuce seeds planted into pots, for now, while we sort through our scare monkey tactics and clear another bed for them. The weather was absolutely beautiful the whole weekend so we could focus on all things outdoors, absolute bliss I tell you. I cant wait to get more seeds in for the new season.

How are your gardens faring this time of the season? Do you have critters that you have to scare off from ruining your growings and harvests too?

the Boy, his Cake and the Recipe.

Today we had our school cake sale and who would have thought it would have resulted in all this excitement.

This year he we decided to go with a beer box cake instead of the usual 40 plus brightly green and blue iced cupcakes or as Garren used to name them “pup cakes”. I certainly will be adding this recipe to the bake again recipe list.

Not only did it come out just right but it really was a one box everything. There really wasn’t much cleaning up once baked as the cake was baked in the foil lined beer box and then iced with chocolate butter frosting and dotted with smarties minus one that somehow ended up in my tummy (for the baby… no, really! – well, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it).

I do have the same dilemma every time I choose to do chocolate icing though. It doesn’t matter how much cocoa powder I add – I just can’t seem to get icing to look darkly decadent, you know, like the deliciously gorgeous ones you see on those beautiful photographed foodie blogs.… Do you know how I can do this? Or at least attempt it?

Garren didn’t complain at all, quite frankly he was quite smugly smitten with the whole cake.

Have you noticed that the smarties have become quite dull in colour over the years? I’m sure they used to be bright and more on the psychedelic rainbow side?







Mega Beer Box Cake Recipe  

(this recipe was sent out on the back of the cake sale reminder letter from Garren’s school)

Boil, cool & strain 500ml water, 150ml oil and 150ml cocoa and add once cooled 2 teaspoons vanilla essence.

Beat 6 extra large eggs and 3 cups of castor sugar until creamy.

Sift together 3 1/2 cups flour, 6 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt and fold it into the egg mixture.

Add the boiled mixture by folding it in and not over mixing.

Line a beer box cake (shiny side out) with heavy duty tin foil and pour the mixture in,

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool and ice.

a little of This and a little of That.

Rob and Garren have been busying themselves with getting the tree house up. I took a meander out while they were digging and cementing in poles awhile back and, well, I'm still not crazy happy with the height that these two think is acceptable for a tree house.

Why is it that mum’s have to be the drags and point out that there are safety issues in all of the adventures that all these boys (including Rob) decided to venture into to.

I can hear Garren mutter that he cant wait for this baby to arrive so that I will be more “focused on that than these kind of very important things that boys do”… 

(i guess we will have to see about that!)



We have also got our ad into the free paper that circulates our town. Although Rob does air-conditioning by “trade” he spends a lot of his free time on refrigeration. And, it helps our home financially in a big way. When Garren was a baby this is how we bought in good money so, after long adult like discussions we decided that it would add to the household income with the seasond veggies that will be sold and the goodies I sell on the sideline too. So, if you know of anyone who has a fridge or freezer that is just lying collecting dust and would like to have Rob come on over and have a peek and give it a quote let us know.



Saturday blessed us with rain….! I dont think you can understand how happy that makes me. We are still in drought and in such need of as much earth quenching water we can possible take. The boys, on the other-hand, dont seem to agree with me. When it rains it hinders any of their outside adventures.

I got to finish an order of Goats Milk and Lavender Soap that needs to be delivered this week. I am so blessed with the orders for my handmade homemade goodies. I really dont think that I thank you all enough.

There are plans in the pipeline to try out different and new combinations – what are you favourite aromas for soap?

This past week has also found not a lot of cellphone time. I am slowly weaning myself and the social online (facebook) world from each other. I did mention this a while ago when we first found out that we were pregnant. This social app does seem to consume so much from me and I know that in the coming months not only will I not have the time to chat and connect there but also there will not be the money for that either. There have been sporadic moments while I was setting up my online shop were facebook seem to monoplise my time. But, that has been all set up and now, I'm ready to just calmly wait on our little gift to arrive. My shares will be from here and occasionally on instagram (of course).

I am looking forward to getting back to the basics again *wink*…  a blessed new week ahead to you and yours!