I have a new challenge for you all :)

[Yvonne]

Gosh your zucchinis are doping well, KM, ours consist of about three or four leaves so far   but we do have strawberries daily now and the lettuce is pick enough to pick for lunch...potatoes are looking lovely and healthy so hope they stay that way..have had the odd year when they have been a complete disaster.
Your calves sound a cute bunch, will you keep all of them or just grow them big enough to sell on?  You can tell I know nothing about calves

[Kiwismum]

We actually only wanted one or two calves, so after we wean them we will sell the ones we don't want on. They were having a good run around the paddock tonight while I was fixing the water pump. It was certainly a pleasant sight.

I am just starting to crank up the garden for the summer, so there is still a lot to do. Time is sometimes an issue.

Not getting much exercise in at the moment so I hope that doesn't set me back at all. Anyway time to go and do the dishes.

[Yvonne]

I am sure all the work you are doing will compensate for exercise...I know I count my gardening, walking, general housework as exercise...
Must away and see if Coronation St has finished...just sort of breezing in and out to check the messages

[lynda]

I have returned.  Its a nuisance not having internet access at home and then I was out of the office most of MOnday so catching up yesterday. 
YOu girls are chatting and its just taken me about 15 minutes to catch up.

I enjoyed the triple coloured pasta that was in the weekly recipes a couple of weeks ago - it had mascapone in it and cut up ham but I used a tin of salmon.  My baby Dylan loved it - except for the orange bits of pasta.  Have him tonight, might make ti again actually - it was cooked in under 10 minutes.

Did you see  Jamie Oliver last nigth - I can't believe that people have never cooked anything!!!  My kids have been cooking in the kitchen since toddlers!!!  We always cooked together.  It was a pretty mind blowing concept that that little girl hadn't nad a home cooked meal her whole life.  Even my 21 year old was amazed by it.

Missed weigh in Monday.  Had a meeting in town which I caught the northern express bus in which is great and then when I got back to the bus just before 5 had lost my car keys.  This was exacerbated by the fact that I had left my mobile in my car so had trouble getting a family member to rescue me.  Then when son did arrive I could see him driving around, but he couldn't see me.  I'd run one way and he'd go the other.  Lots of exercise anyway!!!  I found it very funny!!  I had dropped the keys on the bus.  Fortunately I didn't muck around in the city as I would have been worried about where I'd dropped the keys - but I only had two options!!!  Got htem back yesterday.

Have to dash.  Chat again soon.
good work too ladies, all sound like you doing great.  We are putting our vege garden in on weekend. Husband who is the gardener, was impressed I wanted to.  Won't do heaps though.

[Yvonne]

Oh my Lynda you do have some experiences   Glad the keys where returned safe and sound.   Although I never saw Jamies programme I did see the advert for it where he comments a child has never had a home cooked meal..found that amazing! but after watching a programme called Secret Millionaire on UKTV and seeing where some people live in the UK without transport, perhaps not close to supermarkets and throw in low incomes its not always surprising they live on preprepared meals...what was the mothers reason for not preparing home cooked meals in the case last night?

Hope the garden grows well for you, good idea just to plant what you can handle, we have corn in again this year but it can be bought fresh roadside quite cheaply and frozen...I grew a strawberry plant in a hanging basket last year, hooked it to the clothesline and got weeks of lovely fruit from it.. was a plant husband was going to throw out..

Must go and hang out the washing...

[Pamela B]

Wow I am impressed with you harvesting crops out of your gardens already. Even with mine in the glasshouse it is a long way from producing yet. I have the first flowers on my strawberries, but they are outside, and my courgettes and cucumbers have about 5 leaves so a while for them yet. Tomatoes going well and beans up.
Had a day in town yesterday, well an afternoon, went to a meeting. I was sooooo good. The hostess is an extremely good cook, she does classes in her home, and she made afternoon tea  . All these scrummy little cakes and muffins. I had a cup of tea  . When the meeting finished I had my sultanas and seeds in the car, they were fine and I did feel good for not having been tempted. But my daughter wanted me to dye her hair so I had to wait until she finished work. By then I was really hungry but I remained good and didn't eat until I eventually got home at 8pm when I had 1/2 a bag of frozen veg (one of those bags with a strange variety of veg in them) and a leg of my rotissaried chicken that I had picked up at the supermarket on the way home. I stuck with the programme all day.... .
But the even better news is that I weighed in yesterday and I have lost 5kg since the 7th. Woohoo

[Kiwismum]

Oh well done Pamela, on both sticking to the plan and on the great lose. That will help keep you on track.

Parts of my garden are producing, and parts have not even been planted yet, but then I plan on having something ready in all year long so that is not odd really.

Lynda I was worried when you said you lost your keys, good to know that you got them back so quickly.

I have down well on my eating today so far - only had breakfast, so not hard  , however the plan for the day seems to have gone out the window as I got waylaid pulling some wirenetting out of some very long very stubborn long grass. I am about half way through and will be glad when it is done so that I can use the pen. The wire was put there because it was out of the way and no animals would get tangled in it, and I couldn't be bothered rolling it up, but now it is an even bigger job to get it out. Why do we do these things.

Might make the baked spaghetti thingy for tonight, it is quite nice and we haven't had pasta for a while. that will keep me on plan. That only leaves lunch to worry about.

Will check in later

[Yvonne]

Big pat on the back coming your way Pamela...you have done Great!!!

Isnt wire netting a pain when the grass grows through it and you have to get it untangled...I have resorted to using the clippers and cutting the grass at the roots then trying to pull it free...never mind, think of the exercise you are getting

Nice enough day here just about ready to go off for a walk....

[lynda]

Wow Pamela  - you champion!!!  that is awesome.  It must be great inspiration to carry on the good work.

I thought it was hilarious about my keys.  It was funny on thurs or friday someone asked me to move my car and my keys actually fell apart and I didn't realise till I got to the car and I had to go back and find the bit as it is a security key and the little light has to match the light on the dash (or some such nonsense).  It had fallen off in husbands office. So I had to tape the keys back together and had swapped the spare key so was really annoyed that I had lost the good key and not the bad one.  I was growled at by he who is never obeyed for letting dylan play with them.  He loves my keys!!!  Fortunately as we found the key on the weekend son new exactly where to go to get hte old grotty one again!  It was a bit of a laugh.  Couldn't see anypoint in getting stressed about it, which would have been easy to do.

Off to get my boy for the night.  H aven't seen him since I dropped him at kindy last Thursday - that is sooooo long. Has been at his dad whilst daughter packing to move to little cottage - did I tell you she had new neighbourse upstairs in her apartments that moved in with their drumset and electric guitar? and that they like to play between 11pm and 3am?? Idiots!!!  Thats life in the city apartment living.  Still only a few minutes from work and in our same street - but we live at opposite ends of it - but thats okay (too far to dash over when she locks her keys in the car though, would have to drive (all uphill!)

Catchya all soon and keep up great work. 

[Pamela B]

Lynda glad you found your keys and that you have a spare set if you have to have them. It is such an awful feeling when you discover that you don't have them isn't it. Then as you say it is only a small thing in life once you get over the shock of them not being there.
You enjoy having your boy. I hope your daughter move went well and she doesn't have any problems with her new neighbours.
Thanks all for the encouragement with the Kiss way of life. Couldn't do it without your support.

[Yvonne]

Morning all,
decided last night I was not meant to be a vege gardener.  Made the glazed marinated pork chops from the MASD book (nice recipe, one that gets repeated) and decided to steam some spinach to go with it....went down the row picking some nice young leaves and once washing them ready to cook realised they where beetroot leaves..oh well, had steamed beetroot leaves instead
Other two recipes from the same book this week have been chicken with many spices and mussell fritters (actually copied this one off the website)..tonight its chicken pineapple and cashew stir fry (last time forgot to put the cashews on) ..
Looks as though its going to be a nice day here so off to fill the hydrabath so I can bath Jack (canine)..will take a hour or so to blow dry him

[Pamela B]

Heehee I hope the beetroot leaves were nice. We can all make mistakes in the garden when they are all the same size they look very much alike. Hubby kindly put poles in on my courgettes instead of my cucumbers  . I have moved them to where they are supposed to be. But they do look exactly the same. We have had two days of rain here and today is a bit brighter but still no sun.
Yvonne what sort of dog is Jack that he takes at least an hour to blow dry?
Food going well here I am still working on my rotiss chicken. (hubby is eating a leg of sheep) So chicken and salad wraps for lunch and then cold chicken and heaps of veg for my evening meals. Should see the end of it tonight.

[Yvonne]

I find it really helps lunches having cold meat in the fridge..was chicken for us this week..now its gone will look at hard boiling a few eggs for sandwiches.
In the past I have collected beetroot leaves and put them through the processor and added them to the dogs food..few extra vitamins for them  

Jack like my other seven is a Tibetan Terrier.   As you can imagine if he lived in Tibet woiuld have to be well covered in hair to keep the cold at bay.   Hes bathed and dripping on a pile of towels so I had better go start drying him.... think its going to take longer than an hour so hope there is something good I can watch on TV while we blow, dry, brush, and blow, dry..............

[lynda]

Hi there.
Well haven't tried any new recipes this week.  Must remedy that.  Might have the pasta one tonight. I ended up not having dinner last night - it was schnitzel and sausages, bacon and home made chips.  By the time I was feeding dylan and organisign the boys I just gave up.  i ended up having a banana sandwich when Dylan went to bed. He slept all night too.  He had a huge dinner.  His nose and chest still not the best.  but he is happy.  Oh, he cried when I left him at day care.

Grey day here.  The move is starting tomorrow.
Shall go and do some work.

[Pamela B]

Ooh Tibetan terrieres are sooo cute. He would be well covered for living here. Gets really cold here. Never much exciting on the daytime tv is there. I havent looked at the recipes much either just over the past couple of days but when this chicken is gone I will go delving to see what else I can try. I am in town again tomorrow, lunch with friends, and am going to see if I can find a small casserole dish to make things for just one. My younger daughter is going over to Wellington for the weekend and the older one has asked me to find things to send over with her. She has also asked me to make her some baking  Just must remember not to sample it.