There it was Gone.

The Ice is Gone, Spring is finally here. Well Maybe!!! For today anyway.
The Croci are blooming and it is finally warm and sunny. 15 oC warm. My seedlings are growing in the greenhouse in the porch. It just feels like spring today. There are a lot of things changing in my life. I have a new job working as a Public Health Nurse. I look after new Mum's and Babe's. Seeing new families, new life makes you feel great. I am also A School Nurse so I get to go in and be the proverbial Nit Nurse, along with other things! My Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law are moving back home to the UK at the end of the week to start the next phase of their life. I will Miss them terribly. Although I do not see them as often as I could. (Life gets Busy sometimes!) It is nice to know that there is some family, some piece of home nearby. All these changes make me thing of Spring. Springtime is after all a time of growth, renewal, new life (both plant and animal) being born, and of the cycle of life once again starting. It is widely accepted as the start of better times. And that is what I wish for My Brother-in-Law and My Sister-in-Law.

The Ice is In

It has been very foggy and cold the last few days. We have had little sun. This morning we had a freezing rain warning and the car and trees were completely covered with frozen rain drops. This is a spectacular sight to be seen but nothing compares to the sight at the beach this evening. Before Tom left to go to Raglan we went to Middle Cove beach. There was a little bit of ice floating in the sea. It was large chunks of really magnificent blue ice. On the way home from taking Lewie to karate this evening I noticed how white the sea was in Torbay. We took a little side trip on the way home to Torbay Beach. The Ice in the Sea is really amazing to see. It is white all the way out to the horizon. The air is really chilly as it is coming off the sea. The Ice has the blue tint to it and is completely packed into the bay. I am no great photographer so these pictures do not do justice to the image but hopefully you can see all the Ice. A truly spectacular sight, especially as the Sun came out after being absent all week.

Puri

Ingredients:
2 cups of Wheat Flour.
1/2 cup of Cream of Wheat.
1/2 Tsp of Salt.
3/4 -1 cup of Warm Water.
2 Tbsp of Oil.
Oil for Deep Frying.

How to:
Mix Flour with Cream of Wheat, Salt and 2 Tbsp of Oil and rub into crumbs.
Make dough by adding warm water gradually until it is smooth but not sticky.
Knead well for a couple of minutes.
Leave dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave for ~15 minutes.
Divide the dough into 12 portions. Shape them into balls.
We usually squash the balls with a hot panni grill, but you can roll the balls flat on a lightly oiled or floured surface.
Heat the Oil and Deep fry when oil very hot.
Press down on the puri while in the oil and they will expand and puff up.
Turn over when lightly browned.
Remove from oil when golden brown and place on paper to absorb the excess oil.

Alternatively if you make too many puri's you can freeze them when they are flat between pieces of greased proof paper. Remove and Deep fry as before.

Final Project

This is the Final Project Completed. Lewie had the Heritage Fair on Friday at his School. They were open for the general public to come in and look at all of the projects from all of the kids from grade 4-6. They had a team of assessors who went to every kid and asked them some questions. They were assessed on their knowledge of the subject, public speaking and presentation. Lewie was a little disappointed that he didn't win this year. I think he did a Fantastic Job. It was a lot of work and he was really interested in the topic. He won last year when he did this Heritage Fair in grade 4. In total I think it has been a really great experience for him. All the kids put in so much effort and the projects were amazing. I think not winning has it's own lessons.