What are the chances....two broken bones in two days!

Today I thought that I was going to be telling you about heading to the beach for a few days of rest and relaxation with my family!

I had planned to share some older pictures of our favorite beach at Mooloolaba as a picture mosaic.

Instead I am sharing some pictures of a very sad metamorphosis that has occurred in my household.

Before:

Here is a picture that I posted last week on my other blog about all of us heading to the beach for our 

Easter vacation....doesn't it look relaxing!

After:

 Instead of going to the beach we are staying home because of this.....

Not one but TWO very sad people with broken bones!!!!!!

What are the chances of this occurring????

Can you believe that Master A fractured 2 bones including his Ulna on Friday night at Rugby practise and then Mr Attorney decided to re-live his childhood with a game of cricket and fell over and fractured his elbow....

  the very next day!

Look at my poor sad boys!

Dear little Master A has gone from this....

 to this....

Did I mention that he is on school holidays....for TWO WEEKS 

and

he cannot play football, play Mario-Cart on wii, or go swimming....for SIX WEEKS!!!

Oh well, at least my boys will have lots of spare time to help me do the Easter shopping and decorating....won't they love that!!

I sure do hope that the Easter bunny knows that we will be home this weekend and that he doesn't go to the beach to find us....I couldn't cope with even more sadness!

 

Image from here

Best wishes for a wonderful Easter week,

Natasha In Oz 

#TuesdayTune ~ Sissel Kyrkjebo

Welcome friends to Natasha In Oz and welcome to this week's #TuesdayTune post!

Have you heard Sissel Kyrkjebo sing?

From Bergen on Norway’s west coast, she is truly one of the most beautiful sopranos I think I have ever heard.

She is best known for singing the Olympic Hymn at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway and for duets with Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Josh Groban, Diana Krall amongst others, and for her participation on the Titanic film soundtrack.

She received her first U.S. Grammy nomination in 2007 for a collaboration with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Spirit of the Season, a collection of songs from the choir’s 2006 Christmas concert.

Please sit back, relax and enjoy the angelic and unbelievable voice of Sissel....



For more Tuesday Tunes or if you would like to join in with this week's party please just click the button below!

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Best wishes,
Natasha In Oz 

A family afternoon and Bill Granger's Apple Fruit Cake Recipe

A couple of weekends ago my parents came over for afternoon tea. Whenever they come over these days hubby and the kids always end up challenging my dad to a game of golf on the wii.  Mum and I always end up being left on the sidelines to cheer BUT this time I asked my mum to help me set a table with some of my prettiest things for a special afternoon tea. 

We used some of my vintage cups and saucers and a tablecloth that used to belong to my Dad's mother.

We found a lovely centrepiece-thank you sweet Hubby!

I used my Bohemia crystal sugar and creamer set. I love this set and use it quite regularly.

I served some cupcakes and sprinkled them with green sugar since St Patrick's day was approaching.

I also made Bill Granger's Apple Fruit Cake...another great recipe from my favourite cook book!

If you would like to try it you need 3 apples,peeled cored and diced.

85 grams of walnuts (I used pecans)

and you need

75g raisins
3 tablespoons of warm tea (or water)
250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
180g brown sugar
60g caster sugar
250g butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

After pre-heating the oven to about 180C, soak the raisins until plump.
Butter or line a tin. Bill Granger uses a bundt tin but I just used a round cake tin. A bundt tin would have been better but alas I don't have one...

Sift the flour, baking powder and spices and add to a large mixing bowl.  Add the sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla and mix everything until pale and smooth. Spoon this mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake this for about 1 hour or until the cake shrinks from the side of the tin and your trusty skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.

Because I used a cake tin I had to cover the top with foil for a while as it was browning too quickly and not cooking properly in the centre.

The end result....pure deliciousness!!!

It was crispy on the outside and moist and rich on the inside.

It was perfect on its own but it would be extra indulgent if served with a big dollop of cream!

It also provided enough energy for 4 hungry golfers and 2 tablescapers!

It was a successful afternoon for all I would say!

Many thanks to Susan from Between Naps on the Porch, Michael Lee from Designs by Gollum and Cindy from My Romantic Home for hosting these lovely linky parties that I am joining today:

Thank you friends for visiting me in my little corner of the world Down Under today. I am so grateful to be able to share some of my favourite photographs and memories of a special afternoon that I had with my family with my sweet bloggy friends!

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend,

Natasha In Oz 

Happy Table-Top-Teatime-Tuesday!

Welcome to Natasha in Oz sweet friends. Thanks so much for dropping by and visiting me in my little corner of the world Down Under!

Tuesday has become one of my favourite blogging days as it has become THE day to celebrate two things that I love-decorating and drinking tea! 

Why don't you grab a cuppa and relax for a while I show you my newly decorated hall table!

 

It is only a simple display but I am really happy with it.

 My darling hubby bought me some beautiful roses the other day to replace some that were looking a bit sad. I didn't want to throw the other ones away though, so I cut off the stems and placed them in a crystal bowl.

 You can see that they are a little brown around the edges but they look so pretty floating in the bowl instead of drooping in a vase.

 Another close up (still loving my new camera!)

I thought that this beautiful Wedgwood trinket box would look pretty on the table to carry the pink theme I  have created.

One more picture then it's time for a snack and a cup of tea!

I think I have time for a quick cuppa though, and then I have to finish writing this post and get some housework done before the kids get home from school! 

Earl Grey might be nice today.

I will let the tea bag steep for five minutes and by the time I add some milk it will be just right to drink!

Mmmmm....I love the smell of Earl Grey tea. The bergamot used to flavour it comes from a tree that is grown in Southern Italy. It is a citrus fruit, a bit like lemon, orange and grapefruit mixed together and the scent is often likened to orange blossom. 

Bergamot is often used in aromatherapy to treat depression, and also has anti-microbial effects that can strengthen the resistance of the body to colds and illnesses. It is a wonder brew for sure!

Right...Time to get to get back to work and get this posted!

 I think I have made it just in time! 

 Now to the housework....

Time to do the dishes.

Thank you so very much for taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me-your visits mean so much to me!

Thank you also to Marty, Lady Katherine, Wanda Lee  and Rhondi for kindly hosting today's parties.

Best wishes,

Natasha In Oz 

Tea is instant wisdom - just add water!  Astrid Alauda

A relaxing weekend Down Under!

Welcome dear friends to Natasha in Oz. Thank you so much for stopping by and saying G'day!

After a nice and relaxing weekend I am ready for a fabulous new week. Isn't it amazing what a little rest can do to lift one's spirit!

My relaxing weekend started on Friday night. The kids were so happy because they didn't have to do any homework, Hubby was happy because the football season has finally started and I was happy because, well, I was just happy!

I had such a lovely evening sipping wine, talking to my family and relaxing by candlelight.

While the kids and hubby were watching their favourite shows on TV, I spent some time reading a coffee-table book that I made on snapfish.com. It was so nice to look at pictures of our family vacation in Europe.

I also read some magazines! I LOVE reading magazines, especially house and garden magazines.

I also love making picture collages of some of the blue things in my home so that I can join in with Mary's Mosaic Monday, Smiling  Sally's Blue Monday and Cielo's Show off your Cottage Monday!

After such a lovely weekend I am ready to face the week with a smile on my face! Yay for Mondays!

Happy Monday!

Thanks for visiting today and for spending time with me in my little corner of the world Down Under. I love it when my beautiful blogging friends stop by-your visits make my day!


Best wishes for a beautiful week,

Natasha In Oz 

#TuesdayTune ~ Lisa Gerrard

Welcome friends to this week's #TuesdayTune.

Have you heard the beautiful Lisa Gerrard sing? I bet you have but you might not have actually known it!

She is an Irish-Australian musician, singer and composer.Gerrard received a Golden Globe Award for the music score for the film Gladiator, on which she collaborated with Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt. Her voice is haunting and has been described as "distinctive, floating effortlessly between sepulchral and heavenly, and often featuring the yangqin (Chinese dulcimer)....electronica with a Middle-Eastern spice, laced with an octave-defying, operatic voice." Image and Bio from The Melbourne Age.

Please enjoy listening to Now We Are Free - The Theme from Gladiator.

I always get goose-bumps when I hear that song! I hope you enjoyed it too.

Best wishes for a beautiful week,

Natasha In Oz 

Pink Roses and the weekend!

I am so happy that today is Saturday! I have had such a busy week as I did four days of substitute teaching this week. This time of year is always terribly stressful for teachers as there is so much marking and drafting to be done, reports to be written and end of term functions, concerts and sport's finals to attend. If you are also a parent, then it's double the stress!

This week has reminded me why I quit full-time teaching.

This week has also reminded me why I love my husband so much. He knew that I was tired after my busy week so, while I was enjoying a sleep-in this morning, he went to the markets and bought all our fresh produce for the week and he also bought me these...

What a wonderful man you are dear sweet hubby!

Thank you!

I will be sending special thoughts and prayers to all teachers this weekend....The holidays are just around the corner!

Best wishes,

Natasha In Oz 

After the Rain ~ Mosaic Monday

Welcome friends! Thank you so much for visiting Natasha in Oz, my little bloggy home in my little corner of the world Down Under!

Today is Mosaic Monday which is hosted by Mary from the Little Red House and it is Show off your Cottage Monday at The House in the Roses. Thank you so much to Mary and Cielo for hosting these lovely Monday Memes each week.

After several weeks of constant rain it was so nice on Sunday morning to wake up to a glorious sunny Autumn day.

I spent a lovely morning in the garden and I took lots of photos with my new camera.

I love the way the water glistens on the leaves.

After the rain, everything looks so fresh and alive!

I don't have any pictures from inside my home to share today but that is because it was so nice to enjoy the sunshine that Australia is normally so famous for!  

I am so happy that you came to visit today-I loved seeing you, even if it was for only 5 minutes.

Best wishes for a beautiful week,

Natasha In Oz