I am getting excited. I am not sure how much time I will get off work, but I won’t be working full time do not worry! It will be a good chance to catch up on some things, knock some jobs off my list and hopefully start the new year afresh! Assuming “the boss” (my hubbie!) doesn’t come up with any brain waves! I’ll have to keep him liquored up and hopefully the cricket will keep him occupied! I am also looking forward to a few quiet days. I have been trying to catch up with as many friends as possible before Christmas, among other work/home/cake duties, so it will be good to have a few days home without any dates/appointments!

I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to this month, unfortunately I had a cold last week (I dislike colds during summer very much!), had a couple of skin allergies earlier in the month (little blisters on your fingers makes it hard to write and impossible to do cake things!!). But I believe I have almost finished my Christmas shopping – just two more small things! And I have made 4 cakes and have another 5 in the making! So I do not think I am doing too bad

I have still been sharing something Christmasy every day on Facebook and am up to 22 out of 25! I thought I would blog about them now in case I go into a chocolate coma on Christmas Day and cannot finish my 25 days of Christmas!

As you know I love all things fantasy and I have added a couple of Christmas related creatures to my collection the past couple of years. Last year I was admiring lots of mermaids made by Mermaids Dreaming by Kotton Valley Dolls on Facebook. I happened to be online one day when they showed these amazing Rudolphs that were going to be available for sale very soon. I loved them, especially the one I was so very lucky to buy! He reminds me of Mr Tumnus, the faun from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe portrayed by James McAvoy. He fits in the palm of my hand and did I say that I loved him very much? He’s adorable!

I’m not sure if I have spoken about Supernatural that much, except maybe in my Scruffy vs Clean Cut blog post. When I first heard of Supernatural I had either just finished, or was just finishing watching all the Charmed episodes. When my sister mentioned this new show I was like “that sounds like a boy version of Charmed” and wasn’t interested. I even saw Dean as a guest on an evening talk show (might have been Good News Week) and thought he looked too cute to fight supernatural beings. I can’t remember how I actually started watching Supernatural, I think my sister had to tell me about it again and I listened to her this time and then I was hooked! And as much as I love Charmed, Sam and Dean are so much better! Makes Charmed look like child’s play! So I love Supernatural, just in case I wasn’t clear.

Now I do not think I have spoken too much about my love of puppets, Jim Henson and Brian Froud yet. I grew up watching Sesame Street and the The Muppet Show, and loved Fraggle Rock when it was on. And of course there were amazing puppets used in The Labyrinth. So I love puppets and consider them pretty much fantasy creatures, but I never considered owning one until a friend bought a puppet at FAO Schwarz – must-see toy store in New York! He owned a puppet! And I wanted one (being the big kid I am!). Unfortunately you can’t order the puppets on-line so that was out of the question, and then I couldn’t even decide what puppet I wanted. Did I want Kermit the Frog, or a Fraggle or something else? My interest in puppets grew again when I saw Avenue Q –  puppets definitely could be for adults! hehe Then when we went to DragonCon in Atlanta I saw a lady with a self-made Fraggle. Boy I really wanted a puppet!!

Last year at Supanova I was walking around all the stores with my sister, niece and nephew. We saw a store called Cursed Creations that had puppets! My eyes must have lit up because the lovely lady behind the desk asked if I was into puppets, I said no but I was interested in them. My sister and I had a look at the puppets and I saw Dean from Supernatural and thought he was cool, but Sam has always been my favourite. I also thought Edward and Bella from Twilight were pretty cool (top right in the photo), but I definitely didn’t like Twilight as much as Supernatural. While I was walking around Supanova later on I went onto Facebook and liked Cursed Creations Facebook page and looked through their photos. It was then that I noticed there had been a Sam puppet too but he had already sold by the time I found the store! It was then I decided I “needed” those two puppets – a Sam and a Dean! They were the perfect puppets for me. Unfortunately Dean had sold by the time I had made up my mind, but after a quick Facebook message I was told they were definitely make a Sam and Dean for me! (Puppets from Supanova 2014 photo sourced from https://www.facebook.com/CursedCreations).

So guess who I got for Christmas? Sam and Dean puppets! Here is my first photo of them! I am still waiting for a good hair day before I take any selfies with them! I have also been a little too busy this December and haven’t put our Christmas tree up, so I made one with GIMP! I love my Sam and Dean very much – they are perfect!

Before I show another fantasy purchase, here are a few more photos of my Christmas so far this year including a photo of an Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda)and an Australian Christmas Spider (Austracantha minax). I wanted to share these for my non-Australia readers and they are both such unique species! Whenever I see a Christmas Tree I smile knowing Christmas is near! I haven’t seen a Christmas Spider for about 14 years, but definitely love seeing them when I do. They always have different colours on them and they are definitely not a spider you squish! They are too pretty and they never seem to get in your way.

My other purchase last year was from the talented Natasha Morgan. I also follow Natasha on Facebook and also enjoy reading her blog. Last year she made lots of peg dolls, which are about 12cm tall and the dolls are made on wooden pegs, and when I saw Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts from A Christmas Carol I just had to have them. I must admit that the Ghost of Christmas Present isn’t what Natasha intended her to be, but Natasha’s version had already been purchased and I wanted a complete set and the red and white doll just reminded me of Christmas. I think Natasha did an amazing job and the Ghost of Christmas Past is beautiful – I cannot believe how detailed she is considering how small she is. I take my hat off to people who can sew! I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol on the weekend and their Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come was also a grim reaper.

I thought this might be a shorter post, but I guess I got excited talking about Christmas, fauns, and puppets! I hope you have enjoyed the next 10 days of Michelle’s Labyrinth Christmas. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year (although I might write a post before then!). Please be safe and don’t drink and drive!

 Merry Christmas!

 On the Thirteenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a some home-made fruit cakes.

On the Fourteenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a trip to an Aussie beach. 

On the Fifteenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a cupcake stack with a reindeer.  [Made in 2013 in cake decorating class.]

 On the Sixteenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a sleeping Rudolph faun.  [Made by Mermaids Dreaming by Kotton Valley Dolls.]

On the Seventeenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Sam and Dean puppets.  [Made by Cursed Creations]

On the Eighteenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a lots of wrapping paper.  [And the wrapping paper tube was enjoyed by Hamlet and Macbeth!]

On the Nineteenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Secret Santa gift at work.

On the Twentieth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me an Australian Christmas Tree and Australia Christmas Spider.

On the Twenty-first day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Christmas cakes in the making. [Work-in-progress cakes!]

On the Twenty-second day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Scrooge and the ghosts from A Christmas Carol. [Made by Natasha Morgan]

]]> http://michelleslabyrinth.com.au/wordpress/christmas-2014-part-2/feed/ 0 http://michelleslabyrinth.com.au/wordpress/christmas-2014-part-1/ http://michelleslabyrinth.com.au/wordpress/christmas-2014-part-1/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2014 15:53:45 +0000 http://michelleslabyrinth.com.au/wordpress/?p=2246 Continue reading →]]> Christmas to me is all about family and friends and spending time together. I love the happy excited kids looking forward to the arrival of Santa Claus. I love the music, food, decorations and general merriment around this time of year. I know there is also a bit of stress this time of year as we’re all busy wrapping up (not just presents) things at work before the public holidays and maybe even some extra time off! The shops are busy (crazy!), but there is always this great vibe! Some magic in the air!

This year to get me into the spirit sooner I decided to post a photo on Facebook about what Christmas means to me from the 1st December until the 25th. Most of the photos so far have been about something Christmasy that happened that day, or something I saw (or a cake I’ve made!). To describe the photos I started making my descriptions sound like the Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas – one of my favourite childhood Christmas carols. (Whenever I think of “Five Golden Rings” I hear Goofy’s voice from our A Disney Christmas LP! And then I have a giggle when I recall Donald Duck stealing Goofy’s line later in the song. I do have a feeling my Dad started to groan a little bit when we wanted that LP played… again! Thankfully I now have it on CD and can listen to it as much as my heart desires!!)

When I was younger I did question if the Twelve Days of Christmas started on Christmas Day or ended on Christmas Day. I think I hoped they ended on Christmas Day, because that meant your true love gave you presents earlier! The other day I learnt that the Twelve Days of Christmas actually starts on Christmas Day and ends on a Christian feast day called Epiphany (January 6th) or Twelfth Night (which is not just a Shakespearean play!) on the evening of January the 5th marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.

I also learnt what ‘Advent’ means – have you ever wondered what Advent Calendar means? I have never thought to query that word, when I was younger it was more about the pictures and the chocolates! So I looked it up and advent means “a coming into place, view, or being; arrival” and Advent (with a Capital A) means “the coming of Christ into the world.” Apparently I am incorrect to say my Christmas photos are the 1 to 25 days of Christmas, they are the 1 to 25 days of Advent.

I have mentioned before I am not a religious person and I respect people who are. I also respect that Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, however people have been celebrating Christmas in various ways since the Middle Ages. I read on Wikipedia that in 1843 when “Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol it helped revive the “spirit” of Christmas and seasonal merriment. It played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion… Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, in contrast to the community-based and church-centered observations.” And this is what Christmas means to me!

So my 25 days of Christmas (not Advent because I am not waiting for anything to arrive because I am celebrating Christmas now) is about what Christmas means to me, to revive my Christmas spirit and to hopefully increase the excitement and merriment to those around me! I am enjoying the Christmas season so far and have caught up with some old friends already, been to a couple of Christmas parties, given some Christmas presents, and sung (poorly) some Christmas carols! So I hope I do not offend anyone but here are the first 12 days of my 25 day Christmas this year.

On the First day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Couple of Penguins Sledding. [2012 Christmas Cake]

On the Second day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Gingerbread Man. [2013 Christmas Cake]

On the Third day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Cake Push Pops. [Made in 2013 in cake decorating class.]

On the Fourth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Santa Penguin. [Hamlet’s favourite Christmas toy!]

On the Fifth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Two Rudolph Reindeer. [That were eaten by Hamlet and Macbeth last year – without permission!]

On the Sixth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Lovely Catch-ups with Friends. [Picture shows place mat at Miss Mauds.]

On the Seventh day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Handmade Christmas Card.

On the Eighth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Mixed Fruit in Brandy. [Watch this space to see what I make this year!]

On the Ninth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me Santa Bandanas! [Pups’ bandanas were made by DeeziBeez]

On the Tenth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Burswood Christmas Tree! [Hubbie and I celebrated our 17th anniversary on the 10th December!]

On the Eleventh day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Fondant Christmas Tree! [2013 Christmas Cake]

On the Twelfth day of Christmas Michelle’s Labyrinth sent to me a Rudolph Christmas Cake! [A cake I made for a friend for his Christmas pressie].

I hope you are enjoying your Christmas / Advent / December so far! And remember… You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town! 

Whenever I hear the Tears for Fears song Mad World, for some reason I swap the word ‘mad’ with ‘cruel’. It is definitely a mad world that is for sure, and if you want to see one of the best 20 minutes to depict this, watch the beginning of The Gods Must Be Crazy again. However I think it is a cruel world too, well at least some people in it are cruel.

About a year ago I tried to stop caring what people think because I have realised people are cruel, or just do not care enough to ask appropriate questions before they judge. I know we are told not to worry about others, but sometimes you just do, especially if you are a caring person. Lately I have heard way too many cruel things that I have given up caring so much. Although I really wish people wouldn’t be so cruel. Why can’t people mind their Ps and Qs, be on your best behaviour and worry about their own lives?!

Some examples that have got under my skin have been:

• A friend posts a few photos of her kids on Facebook and someone criticized her for posting so many. I think this is totally unfounded. This friend is on the other side of the country and I do not get to see her kids, so I love seeing the photos. Why would posting photos of your children affect anyone in a bad way? It is not hard to scroll over them if you are not interested in them. I think a true friend would be happy to see photos of their friend’s kids and if you do not have the time, keep scrolling!

• I have heard complaints about people who post pictures of food on Facebook. According to one person we do not care what other people are having for dinner and that way back when (ie when we used film in cameras) we didn’t take photos of our dinner and show them to our friends when they visited. In my opinion this is an irrelevant comparison. Film and processing cost money, and it was expensive to take photos of your children growing up and photos while you were on holidays. I wish I had taken more photos while we were in Paris, but I just couldn’t afford to. I wish I had more photos of Makita when she was a puppy, but I couldn’t afford it. Times have changed. Access to photos, especially in the digital age, is so much cheaper and easier. Also society has changed, there is more interest in cooking, which has been made even more popular with reality shows. I for one do not mind seeing what people are having for dinner every now and then. It gives me ideas! If you are not interested in seeing pictures of food, respect the other persons interests, say nothing and keep scrolling.

• A friend was going on a holiday and her so-called friend said she is lucky to have a sugar-daddy! Who says things like that? My friend has worked so hard over the years. Her husband has worked hard too. If they can afford a holiday, why should they be made to feel guilty? A true friend would be happy (even excited) for the other person and would want to hear all about the trip. If you can’t be happy for your friend don’t put your issues onto her! Man, don’t we all wish for that Powerball, or a sugar-daddy! But someone who has worked hard and that has a hardworking partner does not equate to a sugar-daddy!

• On the topic of travel I have also given up wanting to tell people tales about my holidays. If they don’t ask I don’t bring it up. Maybe I just read some people wrong, but the majority of the time people don’t ask, or even worse they don’t ask about my holiday and then ask the question “So where are you going on your next holiday?”! I absolutely loath that question, especially if I have just got home! After holidays you are usually back at work with more work that you can handle, so you are usually trying to get back on top of things while not losing wonderful memories you just created and also not wasting any of the rest and relaxation you had. The furthermost thought from my mind is where I would love to travel to next. Maybe its just me, but when we get back from a holiday we have usually spent more than we should have so aren’t really thinking of the next holiday. But don’t let this worry you if you want to hear about my travels as I will tell you and I will write about them when I can. I really want to write things down so I don’t forget myself! My hubbie’s memory is terrible and can’t remember anything, so I must write some tales down soon.

• I have had numerous people ask me “when” am I going to look for a job. How about asking if I am working, or if I am going to look for a job, or even start with “what have you been doing lately”. I hate “when” questions… for example “When are you going to have children?” They are very presumptuous questions. Like what if I am not ready to have a full-time job, or what if I can’t have children. Anyway, I used to get complaints that I spoke too much about work and posted on Facebook too much about work. I am sorry I used to work hard and that was all I had time for, hence that was all I could talk about. It was all I did! And now I am working part-time, I get the impression I am not working enough. Is my working or not working affecting anyone (besides maybe my husband)?… No. In my opinion a true friend would listen to hear about your successes or complaints about work, and a true friend would be interested enough in your life to ask how things are going first, before jumping into asking what could be an inappropriate question!

• There are weekly if not daily reminders that people have invisible disabilities or illnesses, but some people don’t seem to get it. What is there to get? Some people are hurting, although they are not bleeding. It is a fact, so just get it. I have heard one friend say it is just too hard to explain her illness and get people to understand, which is so sad when they are on an array of medications and cannot do certain things and are given grief by cruel people. I have also heard that someone said so-and-so wasn’t that sick, but people put on a brave face. Or another comment was said to a friend that so-and-so did this when his back was bad and why are you not doing everything you can to get better; when there are different injuries and if your doctor told you to keep your back immobilised then I think that is what you should be doing! When my wrist was bad a couple of months ago it was some swelling pressing on the nerve so I had to keep it immobilised and ice it when I could to reduce the swelling. By looking at my wrist it looked fine, but not all injuries, disabilities and diseases are visible. Why are some people so cruel? Why can’t everyone just be nice to one another? [I am sorry but not everyone is going to get this, but when I say “Why can’t everyone just be nice to one another?” all I can think of next is “Even Oedipus had a mother!” – lyrics from the song Friends by the Doug Anthony Allstars – My terrible sense of humour!].

• This was something I found really sad. I know a friend who didn’t invite to people to their child’s Christening because didn’t want to deal with people’s opinions on religion. I am not a religious person but I respect people have different beliefs and interests. I would have loved to attend and been part of a special event for my friend and her immediate family. It’s sad that opinionated people have some much control. Maybe I am being opinionated by writing this post, but I believe these opinions aren’t hurting anyone and surely I am just making you think about people’s actions, words and wouldn’t it be a better place if people just got along.

The world is cruel enough without snide comments, jealousy or people just being plain rude. There was a trigger that made me start writing this post and it is also the reason why it has taken me so long to finish it. It was proof about how cruel this world is. On 21 September 2013 unidentified gunmen attacked the upmarket Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya…

The Westgate Nairobi attack really freaked me out because I have been in that mall. I actually thought that was the safest mall I had been in because as we drove into the mall we had to go through security gates and they checked the car, the boot and even put mirrors under the car for guns and explosives etc. I know this isn’t the first terrorist attack and that September 11 attacks and the Bali bombing were horrific, and the Bali bombings affected many Western Australians. But I had never been personally affected before.

Then I heard the worst thing of all. I had met, talked to, attended a wedding with one of the victims. A beautiful woman named Ruhila Adatia-Sood. She was beautiful (she had this biggest smile), vibrant, passionate and just lovely! I was distraught. Then I read she was 6 months pregnant with their first-born. Could this be any worse? I am not going to write anymore as I believe I have made my point. If you want to read more go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24195845

I just cannot fathom why there are such bad people in this world. And I definitely do not understand why seemingly normal people can be so cruel, especially when there is such horror in this world as it is.

I am not sure how I came across these lyrics from Matilda: The Musical but I thought them extremely fitting. 

Naughty Lyrics
Just because you find that life’s not fair, it
Doesn’t mean that you just have to grin and bear it.
If you always take it on the chin and wear it,
Nothing will change.
Even if you’re little you can do a lot, you
Mustn’t let a little thing like ‘little’ stop you.
If you sit around and let them get on top, you
Might as well be saying you think that it’s OK,
And that’s not right

I am sorry about my rant! But I do not think it is right that some people are not nice. I do not think being a ‘Troll’ every now and then is fun. We need to not waste time with negativity – I really need to keep remembering this. As I have said I have had this in draft for a long time and I kept thinking about it every time I hear the song Mad World – so Yay, I have finally finished this post and got it off my chest! And I’ll just end with the old saying that I always live by “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all”. How wise was Thumper from Bambi!?!

I hope you liked the irony of a couple of the memes! Sources of Memes:

Kids Photos – https://www.jeremymorgan.com/funny/funny-memes/122-funny-memes-for-may-21st/attachment/5-21-funny-memes-pictures-108/
Holidays – http://cf.chucklesnetwork.com/items/5/1/7/7/3/original/oh-so-youre-on-vacation-your-last-500-posts-told-me-nothing-abou.jpg
Credit Card Bill – http://m.memegen.com/p961ze.jpg
Invisible Disability – http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/8110/gg51.jpg
Medical Bills – http://www.lastkisscomics.com/blog/comics/2010-06-22-sticks-and-stones.gif
Trolling – http://wac.7725.edgecastcdn.net/807725/website/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/jzlzgn5.jpg

People die. Famous people die. Some people just have this profound effect on you that is almost indescribable – they’re the musician that writes songs that just touch you – get you; the princess with the storybook wedding that turned into a modern day heroine; the animal adventurer with a huge heart and a massive love for life; the sports-star who is a genuine role model and all round Australia larrikin that people look up to; or the comedian that you grew up with that always makes you laugh whether it’s a topic you should be laughing about or not! These people seem bullet-proof and you consider them part of you life – part of the furniture. The effect on you when they die is almost inconceivable.

The first thing I read yesterday morning was that Robin Williams had died. Throughout the day people paid tribute to Robin Williams on all sorts of media. We were shocked. Some of us shed a tear or two. We recounted our favourite Robin Williams moments. We thought about depression and suicide and how it can affect anyone – no matter what social status, how much money we have, whether we are a genius or not, or whether we are outwardly funny or not. It took me most of the day to process that Robin Williams had died by apparent suicide and that an hour before he was pronounced dead I had actually been thinking of hanging and that just creeped me out a little too much.

Now I am not suicidal. Although I have had suicidal thoughts before and I am currently tired beyond words all of the time and my body aches are killing me after a long weekend, I do not feel I am currently depressed. However I was reading the last quarter of Mockingjay (third book of The Hunger Games trilogy) and suicide is discussed and hanging is discussed – there is even a song called “The Hanging Tree”.

Are you, Are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be,
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

So I am sure it is a coincidence and bad timing on my behalf to be thinking of such a topic – but it took me a while to get my head around it.

To get my head around Robin Williams’ death I read a few newspaper articles and read up a bit of his history again. This was something I needed to do. I actually needed to do this for my sanity, to try to get into Robin Williams head and accept what he decided to do. I recounted some of his life events today to a few people and when they seemed impressed I knew so much I admitted I had read up on him a bit today. Now the response I got was “you must have had some free time today” to which I was a bit annoyed. No I didn’t have free time today. I have a million things to do. I do not have time to write this blog post (I should be sleeping!)… but sometimes things are important for you to do or work out, that you need to spend time doing it. I am a huge admirer of Robin Williams and I cannot believe he is dead and dead by apparent suicide so I needed to digest it.

So this year I have shed a tear for two comedians – Rik Mayall and now Robin Williams. I find it hard comprehend how much comedic genius the world has lost this year. And I have had some jealous thoughts too – I am not going to see any new shows/movies from these geniuses! And I was also sort of hoping that Robin Williams would have to do a “pension tour” and I would one day get to see him live on day!

One of my friends said the perfect status today and I am going to quote it “With the effect on regular people, I can’t imagine how sad the people are that were close to Robin Williams. Give them strength.” This sums up how I feel and how what is really inconceivable is what Robin’s family and friends must be going through.

So now I would like to pay tribute to one of my most favourite actors and an actor I have totally adored from a young age when my favourite TV show was Mork & Mindy; to re-watching the childhood classic Mrs Doubtfire time and time again; to partaking in my favourite Disney cartoon Aladdin (and I still believe it is better than The Lion King!); to admiring the teacher in the teenage thought-provoker Dead Poets Society; to being the grumpy adult worker who forgot he was the child that never grew up in Hook; and then to some of this more sinister roles – for example One Hour Photo, Insomnia and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

My tribute (and I bet you start hearing his voice!):

Shazbot! – Mork & Mindy

Goooooooood morning Vietnam! It’s 0600 hours. What does the “O” stand for? O my God, it’s early! Speaking of early… – Good Morning Vietman 1987

What is a demilitarized zone? Sounds like something out of The Wizard of Oz, Oh, no, don’t go in there. Oh-we-oh Ho Chi’Minh Oh, look, you’ve landed in Saigon. You’re among the little people now. We represent the ARVN Army The ARVN Army Oh, no! Follow the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Follow the Ho Chi Minh Trail. “Oh, I’ll get you, my pretty!” Oh, my God. It’s the wicked witch of the north. It’s Hanoi Hanna! “Now, little GI, you and your little ‘tune-ooh’ too!” “Oh, Adrian. Adrian. What are you doing, Adrian?” – Good Morning Vietman 1987

I was the intellectual equivalent of a 98-pound weakling! I would go to the beach and people would kick copies of Byron in my face!  – Dead Poets Society 1989

But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – – Carpe – – hear it? – – Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary. – Dead Poets Society 1989

O Captain, my Captain. Who knows where that comes from? Anybody? Not a clue? It’s from a poem by Walt Whitman about Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Now in this class you can either call me Mr. Keating, or if you’re slightly more daring, O Captain my Captain. – Dead Poets Society 1989

I’m a knight on a special quest. – The Fisher King 1991

Rufio, if I’m a maggot burger why don’t you eat me! You two-toned zebra-headed, slime-coated, pimple-farmin’ paramecium brain, munchin’ on your own mucus, suffering from Peter Pan envy! – Hook 1991

But oh, to be free. Not to have to go “Poof! What do you need, “Poof! What do you need, Poof! What do you need?”. To be my own master. Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world. But what am I talking about? Let’s get real here, that’s never gonna happen. Genie, wake up and smell the hummus. – Aladdin 1992

Sink the sub. Hide the weasel. Park the porpoise. A bit of the old Humpty Dumpty, Little Jack Horny, the Horizontal Mambo, hmm? The Bone Dancer, Rumpleforeskin, Baloney Bop, a bit of the old Cunning Linguistics? – Mrs Doubtfire 1993

You do an eclectic celebration of the dance! You do Fosse, Fosse, Fosse! You do Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham! Or Twyla, Twyla, Twyla! Or Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd! Or Madonna, Madonna, Madonna!… but you keep it all inside. – Birdcage 1996

See you Monday. We’ll be talking about Freud and why he did enough cocaine to kill a small horse. – Good Will Hunting 1997

I’m made of wax, Larry. What are you made of? – Night at the Museum 2006

Then you, Elliot Stabler, are a human being. Congratulations. You are not a sheep like I was. You’re a man. Thank you. – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 9, Episode 17 Authority (29 Apr. 2008)

You have no idea what I’ve suffered! – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 9, Episode 17 Authority (29 Apr. 2008)

I hope these quotes brought back memories and made you giggle! And it is also a timely reminder that if you are depressed, anxious, upset, scared or need someone to talk to, I am always here for you. You are not alone, no matter how overshadowing that black dog is right at that moment.

Nanu-Nanu Robin Williams. Thank you for sharing your genius with the world and I hope you have found eternal peace.

All photos and quotes were sourced from http://www.imdb.com/

I have actually said no to a couple of cakes recently and also had to make the decision not to enter anything into the Wanneroo Show this year, even though there was a new category for cake decorating students & novices. I am so disappointed I can’t enter a cake in the show, but I am slowly learning to say no to things. I do have a couple of cakes coming up (yes two birthdays for two special kids that I do not want to disappoint, and I love the themes they have chosen!) and also I am in the middle of a felting project that an Aunty asked me to make.

So since the Wanneroo Show is in 8 days time, I thought I would share the last of the entries I put in last year. I have previously written about the Special Occasion Cake, Christmas Cake and the flower photographs. I also entered two cakes for tasting! I made the Rich Fruit cake per their recipe – OMG it was so annoying chopping all the fruit and nuts per the recipe – “To ensure uniformity and depending upon the size it is suggested the raisins be snipped into two or three pieces; Cherries into four to six pieces and Almonds crosswise into three to four pieces.” I also made my first boiled fruit cake, that turned out pretty good, but probably had a little too much ginger in it for my liking. I also prefer my recipe for fruit cake, than theirs! hehe As you can tell I didn’t win for those entries.

I also entered a piece in the sugar art category. As I may have said in my previous blogs, I was mislead about the quality of art entered into the show. I also over-committed myself and didn’t leave enough time for my sugar art piece. My piece is an elf, but I just wanted to do so much more. I entered it anyway and worked out pretty quickly that I was way out of my league when the lady ticking off the entries asked if it was a child’s entry. The same lady also let out a deep sigh when I came in the third time with the last of my entries and said “you have more” – gee I am sorry for supporting the community show! I can’t find the note the judge wrote about my piece, but she was nice and brief and said something along of the lines of “Thank you, a fun entry”. Not much more needed to be said after seeing the other pieces!

So here is some of the sugar art I was up against. I particularly like Narnia scene. The pieces that won first and second were AMAZING!

I also entered some photography in the Animals – Domestic and also Animals – Non-Domestic. The domestic photos were of my Mum’s Westie Daisy, and also the photo of Makita’s paws. I liked the photo that came second of the cat lying on its back. The lightning is great as it just has feeling of farm colours, and the photo is sharp. But the shot of the dog’s head apparently won first prize. I am sorry, it is a nice dog and all, but I do not know how it is a great photo? I have included a snapshot of all of the entries for you to make own decision. I think quite a few others are much better, I guess I just do not know what they were looking for.

My non-domestic animals were of my five drinking zebras and the colourful lizard. Both of which I took in Tanzania and I am super happy with the zebras shot. I was whispering to the zebras from about 500m telling them to put all their heads down at once! It worked! I love the shot of the frog that won first prize.

I also wanted to share one more photo from the humorous category. I saw it when I was delivering my photos and thought it was fantastic. I am so glad it won its category!

I hope this years Wanneroo Show is a huge success, especially since my friend works very hard on her areas.

Oh, and this is how Hamlet interjected himself between my legs on the end of the recliner while I wrote this blog!

Here is the link to Part 2 if you missed it: http://michelleslabyrinth.com.au/wordpress/wanneroo-show-part-2-butterflies-and-flowers/
(There won’t be a Part 4 as I crammed the rest into this one   )

I do not consider my dog a pet. My dog is family.

On the 6th January 2003 we packed up the car and left just enough room for Makita in the back seat – she had just over a seat to herself! We were heading to Kalgoorlie! I still feel bad to this day about how little room she had for the next 6.5 hours, but she curled up after a while and slept most of the way.

Makita settled in straight away in her new house and new town. We rented for six months and once I had a job and we knew that we’d be in Kalgoorlie for a few years then we moved into our own place.

I have been trying to work out how to describe Makita’s life while we were in Kalgoorlie. Both hubbie and I worked pretty hard. I worked a lot of weekends and hubbie even umpired AFL (footy) or played cricket, depending on the season, on the weekends. So Makita’s life was trying to keep cool in the house during the day, us home for dinner and then “walkies” around the dimly lit streets of Kalgoorlie at night. Below on the left is Makita working with me and on the right is Makita watching the footy with hubbie – hubbie even taught her how to “high-five” when our team got a goal! Just imagine an excited higher version of “paw”!

We often took trips back to Perth, but it was too far away to take Makita, so she often had puppy-sitters. One of the reasons why we needed puppy-sitters and couldn’t put her in a kennel was because she thought she was a human – well at least she didn’t like other dogs, kids nor strange big men! I often said I must have taught her well! hehe But she may also have been a bit of a devil – check her eyes out!

Luckily there were lots of available puppy-sitters in Kalgoorlie as people often went away for weekends and I used to return the favour and look after their pets (Monty & Zephyr the cats and hermit crabs were my favourite!!   ).

Makita’s first puppy-sitters were Pam and Tracey. Pam was probably her last puppy-sitter too. I remember that one quite well because Pam was doing shift work driving a truck and Makita got used to going “toilet” and having breakfast at 4am! Thankfully she only tried a few days to get me up at that hour

Sam (and yes the same one that puppy-sat Makita in Rockingham) moved to Kalgoorlie. She happened to move to Kalgoorlie a few days before we went on holidays! So Sam got to puppy-sit once more. Unfortunately there was a thunderstorm one night and Makita didn’t let Sam sleep on iota! Makita did not like thunderstorms at all and she didn’t until her last days. We are not sure if she was scared, or if she just wanted to grab the thunder and lightning and shake them until they went limp! Once during a thunderstorm in Kalgoorlie we were out in the front garden and Makita charged at the lightning – hence our assumption that she wanted to “get” it!

We took a trip to New Zealand and wanted someone to house-sit because we didn’t want to leave Makita alone for too long. I think we left her alone for 5 days once (with visitors of course), but at the end of 5 days she nipped me when we got home! She had never done that before, but I knew it meant she wasn’t happy being left alone that long. The poor thing

Our friends Brad and Sam (a different Sam!) house-sat for us. Now Brad isn’t much of a dog person and Sam is pretty small and Makita was pretty big. So they didn’t interact with Makita much and Makita decided she wouldn’t eat! We had a couple of texts from them and then another friend Ruth, who had puppy-sat Makita a few times too, went over and told Makita it was okay. Ruth had to stand with Makita while she ate, and she did and all was okay after that! Once again, the poor thing!

I also feel terrible that we didn’t spend 5 Christmas Days with Makita But we left presents for her puppy-sitters to give her. For the first year we caved and gave her a rope toy while I was finishing wrapping the Christmas presents – she loved it! She loved all her toys, even though all of them ended up being destroyed!

Toys weren’t the only thing Makita destroyed, she also liked to scratch and dig on her canvas bed. I swear for 5 birthdays in a row her present was a new canvas cover! And I am so thankful that we got a photo of her “in” her bed!   

Now time for some more shaming. For those of you that may not know where Kalgoorlie is, well it is 600km inland in Western Australia. Being so far inland means the soil is red. So here a couple of shots when Makita turned red! And also a shot of her in the hole for our new pool – a much bigger hole than those Makita-Bin-Laden ones from Rockingham days!

Early 2008 hubbie and I left Kalgoorlie, but not without having one last party! We had accumulated a lot of alcohol over the years and wanted everyone to try to help us drink it so we didn’t have to cart it back to Perth! Here is hubbie and Makita the day after the party!

And I cannot end Makita’s Kalgoorlie story without mentioning a new friend called Jannine. Jannine was our saviour during our last weeks of living in Kalgoorlie. Our Kalgoorlie house settled on 30th January 2008, but our new house in Perth wasn’t finished yet! Hubbie spent a few weeks in Perth hurrying up the builders and Jannine was just wonderful and let Makita and I (and hubbie) crash at her house. Jannine also looked after Makita for a night when I had to go to Perth for a funeral. They were a few crazy weeks, but Jannine saved the day! Makita left a good impression on Jannine and Scoobs was welcomed into Jannine’s life not long after!!

Here I will leave you with a smiling Makita and you’ll have to wait a little while for the last chapter of Makita’s life (and be warned I got my SLR during this chapter and Makita was my model!). Don’t you just love happy puppies?

Primarch Stacey Poetic “Makita” (10 June 1999 – 16 November 2012) was our Rottweiler whom we called puppy for nearly 13 and a half years. She was born to Portlouis Anastania CD ADX “Stacey” and AUST CH Blackcombe Ruger, who came from an agility line of Rottweilers. Makita was our housewarming present from my Mum and Dad. I had lived on a farm for over 22 years and had never been without pets, so my parents ensured I had a baby of my own when I moved out. Our lives changed forever when this little black fur-ball zoomed into our lives.

My youngest sister spent the day with us when we brought Makita home to our place in Rockingham. Makita was introduced to this lovely big grassed back garden and we spent the afternoon rolling over the grass together. Of course we didn’t have a digital camera back then, so the number of shots over the first year are few and far between by today’s standards, but we have a few precious moments including my hair being fed to Makita and our first family photo.

Makita ranged between the two extremes of being a bundle of energy to sleeping very well – with her belly up a lot of the time. To say Makita didn’t terrorise us would be a lie. She ruled the roost from day one and took over our house. My parents had a Rottweiler called Sheba, so I knew how big Makita would get. For the first few months Makita looked dwarfed by her bed and bowls. But it wasn’t long before she had detroyed most of her toys and became famous for her maddies around the house. Empty 1.25L coke bottles became her new toys and a baby’s play pen was purchased from a second hand store to give us time to do some chores and have time-outs!

I have a clear memory of our housewarming party. Makita was so adorable, enjoying all these new play mates of the human kind. However we had a couple of naughty friends called Tim and Andrew. We lived on a corner block on the edge of a suburb. The side of our house backed onto bushland and the back of the house was where the main road to Bunbury was. Tim and Andrew had to climb our fence to see what was on the other side and then jump back over of course. Makita thought this was a great game and promptly told them off. I have this clear image of Tim running hard down the side of our house, with cream cargos on and Makita close behind! Guess who won? Makita gained victory by claiming a bit of those cargos! And I love that Tim still remembers Makita for that!

I was studying my Chartered Accountancy at this stage and Makita became my study partner. It is a little hard to believe that she used to sleep under my white desk, the one I had had since I was around 10, and being able to fit in an approximately 50cm x 50cm space with my legs. I always had my little grey heater burring away, so she sought out the warmth and the company. She was pretty good with my study books, as I always had a few on the floor, but she did munch on two of my favourite books, The Dragon Hoard by Tanith Lee and The Tao of Pooh & The Te of Piglet by Benjam….. Benjamim Hoff – sorry I had to turn over a few pages to find that out! Hubbie’s main losses were numerous socks and a wallet. Makita did a good job on his drivers licence too and hubbie often got a few looks from bouncers and police men (he has bit of a history with traffic police!).

Hubbie was working at his parent’s Dominos Pizza store in Bunbury, which is about 1.5 hours (depending on how fast you drive!) away from Rockingham. So Makita became my companion when hubbie had to close the store and didn’t get home until well after midnight. As I said I grew up with lots of animals, but most of them were outside pets until Sheba came along. Although Sheba was an inside dog she never slept on our beds and she was very well behaved. That didn’t happen in our house. As hubbie worked late lots the house seemed bare, so Makita took to sleeping on hubbie’s side of the bed until he came home. This all worked well until she was about 6 months old and then I was regularly awoken at 2am when there was a disagreement between Makita and hubbie about whether hubbie was allowed to sleep on his bed. I often had to intervene and Makita knew who “Mum” was! Now I mentioned maddies and that is exactly what she did. There would be bouts of zooming around the house, jumping onto the futon, over the arms of that to “her” couch (donated by her Aunty Jenny), then over the other arms of that to zoom around the kitchen table, then behind us and the repeat. It was hilarious to watch. She would also do maddies in the back garden on a very specific route. The grass on this route died pretty quickly and we had to put up a temporary fence to block her long run so the grass had a chance to grow! And finally there were the lying down maddies – where she would be on her side and with all four legs run/scratch the carpet with such ferocity you couldn’t help but laugh!

In mid 2001 I finished my Chartered Accountancy, so hubbie and I went on our first big overseas trip! We were lucky and our friend Arthur and his girlfriend Sam were able to puppy-sit. Up until the end, Makita loved Arthur and Sam, so they must have done a good job! But there was one funny incident during that trip and that was we received an email from Arthur, to my Uncle in Jersey, that had an attachment. All the email said was “Makita-Bin-Laden” and the photo was of our Princess Makita, chest deep in some trenches she had dug in our lawn!

As I said, Makita destroyed her toys and we just couldn’t afford to keep buying more. One night on his way back from Bunbury, hubbie acquisitioned a witches hat/ traffic cone. This was the best thing ever according to Makita! She could charge it, knock it over carry it around, shake it and throw it and it lasted quite a while! We were so pleased that this was being chewed as opposed to furniture! Of course it didn’t last forever and one evening on the way home from work, myself and my fellow accomplice and Rottweiler lover – Lisa, acquisitioned another witches hat! Just picture this pretty young blonde accountant in a sharp suit, jump out of a passenger door and grab a witches hat! The memory will be with me forever! And Makita loved her new present!!

Another favourite memory of Makita was about a little black male toy poodle that lived next door. He used to come around to our carport and tease Makita through the wire fence we had on the side of the carport. This went on for years! We even had to fix the fence once or twice, where Makita’s weight and force got the better of the fence. We often had to shoo him away when he hang around too much. Surely she was a bit big and boisterous for such a small male! hehe Well one day, and I think it was around the time we were packing up to move, we had the carport roller door up. The poodle pranced around to tease Makita, only to find her loose! Next thing we know a poodle is charging down our driveway with Makita close behind. They get to the middle of the road (thankfully we were in a quiet spot) and the poodle tried to change directions. Now my memory of this section is almost comical, it was like the poodle was running his heart out on the spot like in a cartoon and Makita reaches him, but cannot change directions easily, and bowls right over him! The poodle rolls a couple of times under Makita and then the chase pursues towards his home.

Around this time hubbie has given chase and me a little way behind him. The poodle charges down the side of his house, with Makita close behind. Hubbie gets to the side of the house, stops and looks at me to see whether he should go and I shrug my shoulders. I stop of the neighbours lawn waiting for my hubbie and baby. Apparently hubbie gets to the end of the paving at the side of the house and there is basically a BBQ or party happening and hubbie had to say “Sorry, just grabbing my dog!”. I think as Makita had rounded the corner of the house, she had stopped when she saw all the people, so that was one saving grace! Sorry, but I still crack up every time I remember that little black poodle roll under Makita and think of how she followed him into his back garden!

Not long after that we embarked on a new adventure and headed to Kalgoorlie. So until next time I blog…. have fun

I just wanted to thank Lisa, the same Lisa from 1999, for spending the day with me yesterday at the Perth Royal Show. We were lucky and went on the day the Rottweilers were showing, so we were able to sit and watch them get judged. Lisa has two Rottweilers – Cleo and Monkey – and her daughter lit up when she saw the rotties! Lisa has taught her well Hence the reason for my post now… so long after I had drafted it, but hadn’t made time to scan all the old photos in! Better late than never  

Not that I wasn’t “the good wife” while I was working, I just didn’t have time for all of the housework. Most nights I didn’t even have the energy to cook dinner. When you are working a 12 hour day 6 days a week, and trying to get enough sleep; trying to spend time with your husband; even trying to have a social life; and god forbid find time to do things you like e.g. cake decorating, something has to give. So it was housework and exercise that was sacrificed.

I envisioned cooking three meals a day and catching up on all the cleaning (the bathroom had gotten pretty bad), as well as ticking off the 30+ items on my to-do list! We started the Dukan Diet and did really well on it. However I was still having issues with my stomach, so needed to try something else. Some friends my recall the naturopath put me on a low allergy diet, which pretty much meant I was allowed to eat rice and veggies, and fish or chicken twice a week! Now I was trying to be “the good wife”, and anyone that knows my hubbie, knows that he needs meat! So that didn’t last very long. However I have worked out I am seafood and lactose intolerant, which sucks because seafood is yummy! And milk coffees are even yummier!!!

I also started finding that I just didn’t have as much time to do my crafty things, nor cross things off my list as I wanted to. It didn’t help that we had a lot of visitors for those first few months of my sabbatical – I got extremely sick of washing linen! So it didn’t take me long to stop cooking three meals a day and trying to keep all the washing, ironing and cleaning up to date because it was just taking up too much of my time. Which I do feel a little guilty about. Saying that though, since I stopped working hubbie has seemed to stop doing all the little jobs he used to! He’ll still cook dinner a couple of times a week (when he realises I am not and he’s hungry) and do the dishwasher on occasion (because he has no room to cook dinner!). So I pretty much said “stuff this” and stopped making cleaning etc a priority!

I found out a couple of months ago that my husband (yes not hubbie right now!) tried to order a book for me at the beginning of my sabbatical… called something along the lines of “Good Wife’s Guide”. I hadn’t shared my aim about being “the good wife” with him and if he had given me this book I think it may have been rammed somewhere a book doesn’t belong! But it is a little funny that we had thought similar things

So I wanted to say a few things. I think husbands should be a little more grateful for the housekeeping etc that their wives do. I am not saying that all men fall in this category, but I am sure there are some out there that do think that their wives have time to sit in front of the TV and/or craft all day. I also know that there are a lot of males out there that do “boy cleaning”… which means that the wife just has to re-do it… I don’t understand why men don’t put their muscles to work when cleaning. I asked my hubbie this once and he truthfully said “because I don’t want to do it”… Well you know what? Neither do I!!!

Next thing, I would like to take my hat off to mothers, whether single or partnered. I have one hubbie and two dogs and I can’t keep up. So mothers are A M A Z I N G !!!! I hope you know that. And I hope your children do too!!!

And for all those people that thought I would be bored not working, well I have actually found that I am not sure how I previously had time to work! A couple of my aunties and uncles have retired recently and think the same! So they know where I am coming from. One even told my Dad that he’s too busy to find time to read my blog! He’s retired! What is he doing with his time? LOL! He is living!

So I am still going to be “the good wife”, but I think I will do this by cooking most of hubbie’s meals, ensuring he has clean clothes and a bag for the ironing lady every second week! And making sure I spend time with him, whether it’s watching The Newsroom or The West Wing for the 86th time, having a spa with him, or going for our evening walks with the pups! And of course love him and live life to the fullest with him! What else should a wifey really do to be “the good wife”?

Hubbie has been in Berkeley for 6 weeks now, setting up an administration office for his business. So he had scoped out lots of good eating places. About a month ago he sent through a picture of his breakfast – bacon and pancakes! That is one American Food Oddity (e.g. peanut butter and jelly or potato crisps with every lunch order (even cafes)) that we like! So off we went to ‘La Note’ in Berkeley – and we even had to wait 15 minutes for a table!

I had scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and crème fraîche pancakes! Hubbie had the same but with raspberry pancakes. They were amazing!

As you know I am a little obsessed with pie! So I googled the best pie places in San Francisco and dragged hubbie along for lunch. The pie place was not exactly close to our hotel, so after a downhill walk, a trolley ride and the a horrendous uphill walk we made it to ‘Mission Pie’. I’d already scanned the menu and knew I was going to order Banana Cream Pie if it was available. Hubbie had Chicken Pot Pie… All I can say is YUM!!!

Then tonight we went to the baseball! Our first game – San Francisco Giants vs Oakland Athletics. We had awesome seats and the Giants won! YAY! I was going to get a hot dog, but when it came to order I decided to brave a Spicy Chili Dog – OMG it was amazing! The sausage was to die for, the chili [American English] was okay, not as good as my chilli [British English] con carne, but still good. But it was terribly messy! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Trying to control the mess –>

Hubbie got a Angus Beef Burger, which was okay… Messy too from the look of his shorts – that yellow mustard went everywhere!!  

So that was our naughty food day – thankfully San Francisco is hilly to help burn it off! More pie tomorrow I think

The next pie I made was for my hubbie on Valentine’s Day. I asked him what sort of pie he would like and the response was “I like Lamingtons”… Helpful… I could have bopped him, but instead I just accepted it and said I would see what I can do. Over the next couple of days I let my mind absorb the request and figured I could make a vanilla cheesecake and add Lamingtons to it. So that is exactly what I did.

I created my own Lamington Cheesecake Pie! I made a biscuit case and covered it with Lamingtons (mainly the chocolate and coconut; my puppies and I ate the sponge). Then I mixed some Lamington chocolate part into the cheese mixture. Then covered the Lamington base and let it set. Easy!

I thought the Lamington Cheesecake Pie turned out pretty good. Hubbie departed to the U.S.A. a day later, so I took the rest of the pie to a card party and they really seemed to enjoy it.

One of my lovely friends who reads this blog asked for “Pie, Me oh My!” So we set a lunch date… which her Dad ruined! I had my heart set on making her Peach Cobbler, and since I was in the zone of making it, I did so even though our lunch date was cancelled! I took it to Wednesday cards instead and it went down very well.

I had Peach Cobbler in Atlanta last year and I wasn’t all that impressed. Peaches are the official state fruit of Georgia (where Atlanta resides), so I was expecting big things. One thing I remember was that the peaches seemed to be canned peaches…  When I think of peaches I always start singing Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America…

“Peaches come in a can, they were put there by a man, in a factory down town. If I had my way, I would eat peaches every day….
Moving to the country, going to eat a lot of peaches!
Moving to the country, going to eat a lot of peaches!”

I used the recipe for Peach Cobbler from my Pushing Daisies booklet. The recipe used canned peaches! Maybe that is how they do come! And I must say that my Peach Cobbler tasted better than the one I had in Atlanta! In the picture above with the pie in the oven you can see the edge of a blue dish. I made a mini Peach Cobbler for hubbie and myself. It was probably 11pm when it came out of the oven and hubbie said he would have a taste, since it was too late to eat. Next thing we know we have devoured the mini-pie and are considering tucking into the pie that was for the card party – if I hadn’t told the lady that runs cards I was bringing Peach Cobbler, I think we could have damaged it – it was mouthwatering right out of the oven!

The next pie I made was a Blackberry and Custard pie. I had blackberries in the cupboard, so googled blackberry pies. I was also curious how the custard would turn out, as I thought you made custard with powder – shows you how often I have made custard! Custard was made of was eggs, sour cream, flour and  sugar – easy! Hence why I chose this pie.

I served the pie right out of the oven for my friend (the one that missed the Peach Cobbler) and it was pretty yummy! But I had it cold after dinner that night and YUM-MO!!! The best cold pie I have ever had So I don’t think anyone else got to taste that pie – I kept the rest all for myself! Hope my friend was happy with her “Pie, Me oh My!”

I googled the quote “easy as pie”, just to make sure I had the expression right, and Wikipedia said that the “idiom does not refer to the making of a pie, but rather to the act of consuming a pie (“as easy as eating a pie”)”, but from my experience so far, making pie is easy! They never take too long to prepare (as long as you have the ingredients, but surely that goes without saying), and then you pop them in the oven and they are done. You don’t even have to make your own pastry if you are strapped for time, just buy some frozen short-crust pastry and that will do the trick. I think we need to make/eat more pie and stop making life so difficult!

I am sure my hubbie will be happy to hear I said making pie was easy! Check out my tumblr page for the recipes of the pies above! http://michelleslabyrinth.tumblr.com/

Stay tuned for another blog on the rest of my pies!