"Life is too short to stuff a mushroom"

Whoever wrote that should try these:

Ingredients:

4 to 5 Portobello Mushrooms, peeled and the stems trimmed.

1/4 cup each of chopped bacon, spring onions, red capsicum.

2 tbls chopped fresh herbs, I used parsley, garlic chives and thyme.

2 cups fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs.

1 beaten egg.

Olive oil

Sauté the bacon, spring onions and capsicum, add herbs and cool. Mix in breadcrumbs and beaten egg and fill the mushrooms. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for about 15 to 20 mins in a moderate oven.

If you left out the bacon and used cheese or cooked lentils this would make a great main course for a vegetarian

 

Posted with Blogsy

Rockstar Moment on a Big Day Out.

 

We have just had our annual trip to the Craft and Quilt Fair in Melbourne. We made a few purchases and had a great day. I avoided all the fabric stalls because I have enough to keep me busy for several lifetimes, but I did buy a new die for my cutting machine, some Bloc Loc rulers and a great little portable LED light.

We saw Loani Prior's whimsical, wonderful Tea Cosies. My daughter has her book, but it is always better to see such creations in real life. A highlight for me was meeting Jodie of Vintage RicRac Blog. It was great to see her work "for real" and have a quick chat with her.

It was a big day, and we were all rather weary that evening. I did enjoy the Craft Fair but I'm not sure that I am interested in going again because I am not looking for anything new to take up and have plenty of supplies. We live in a rural area and Internet shopping means I can have what I need very quickly. Reading Blogs gives me lots of inspiration and the writers are very generous about sharing ideas and providing tutorials. I suppose that is a part of how the Internet is changing the world in so many ways.

 

Posted with Blogsy

July Finish

 

This quilt was started some time ago with the purchase of a fat quarter at a Craft Fair. It took me quite a while to find something to go with it and I was trying to match the blue, but finally used a wine colour. Nothing more was done until I found the same fabric at the Craft Depot in Sydney.

I was thinking of abandoning this project but I really liked the fabric design even though it looks quite dated. Now that it is finished it looks very nice in our spare room.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

A Polite Beggar and a Scruffy Man

Liberty Print Fabric, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

The Cailleach will be girning!
Cailleach- Old woman, Girning- Complaining

We had a short interlude in the City of Melbourne last week, going to see King Kong and having a meal out.

King Kong was very enjoyable and afterwards we walked up Collins St to have a late lunch. Now, call me old fashioned but whatever happened to keeping to the left on the footpath? That was drummed into us as children especially on busy streets. People just wander about all over the place, stopping suddenly to look at their phones or go into a huddle about where to have their coffee! We had a beggar propping in front of us and he stopped the traffic going both ways. But he was very polite and asked nicely for money.

After our lunch we battled our way back down to Swanston St so I could visit a fabric and notions store I have wanted to see since it opened. We found the building and I went in the lift and my husband went to have a coffee. A very scruffy man who had been loitering in the corridor doubled back and dodged into the lift behind me. Some instinct kicked in and I hit the door open button and told my husband, who had only gone a few paces, I was taking the stairs.

I hope I am not doing the scruffy man an injustice, but he didn't visit the fabric store or the bead shop. I wonder if I did avoid an incident?

L'uccello is full of beautiful things and I bought some Liberty Print fabric I have been admiring for some time.

Vintage Paper Dolls

Vintage Paper Dolls, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

I spoke too soon on Sunday when I said I was feeling better. My flu developed into an ear and throat infection needing antibiotics and then another visit to the Doctor with the worst Migraine I have ever had. These days Migraines are treated with a nose spray which was luckily very successful, avoiding a trip to ED.

Tonsillitis was quite a problem for me when I was a child and they were taken out at 4 years old and again when I was 11. Entertainment for the invalid were books, drawing and occasionally I had paper dolls to play with. We were never given colouring books. Being talented at painting and drawing, my mother didn't believe in them.

I loved Betsy McCall and also remember we had some of George and Martha Washington. There are plenty of sheets of paper dolls available from the Internet and I have printed a couple to cut for découpage. It is comforting when you are unwell to revisit a simple childhood pleasure.