Making Pancakes

Last week I wanted to make pancakes but I couldn't remember how. So I looked for a recipe in the Edmonds Cookbook, a book written in 1955 by the Edmonds flour company to tell you how to cook all the basics. Every kiwi household has one. Over the years it has sold 1 million copies which is a lot in a country with only 4 million people.

So I was quite surprised to see what the current recipe for pancakes is. The ingredients needed were 1 packet of Edmonds pancake mix. The instructions were: "make pancake mix according to packet directions".

It's nothing short of a scandal!

Pictures from Pranburi

Here are some pictures from our trip to Thailand on the way home from England.

Toby and myself in the hotel pool. Toby wasn't a big fan of swimming but he was quite keen on standing in the shallow water at the top of the stairs and holding onto the rails.

On the boat on the way to monkeys island, so called because it is an island infested with monkeys.
Riding elephants at Hua Hin.

Lily and myself took a motorbike up and down the seafront. The Thais can fit a family of 4 onto a scooter like this one.

3 on a Bike

We bought another bike helmet yesterday so I can now get both children on my bike. They are pretty heavy between the two of them but I enjoy cycling round the town with my more exotic than average transport. Children point and say "wow". I feel like the bees knees.

Fireworks

Yesterday was the Rolleston Firework Party. It was unexpectedly amazing! There were thousands of people there. There was a bouncy castle in the shape of the titanic sinking into the sea, merry go rounds and an amazing thing where people got into inflatable spheres and tried to walk on water like a hamster in a ball. The army band from up the road played as well. It was good and the park was packed. It was a bit too crowded for my liking actually. I am not used to go to things and there being other people around. It was quite claustrophobic. I felt a bit panicky. Lily loved the fireworks.

The X Factor

One of the things we most liked about going back to England was, as you would expect, watching the X Factor. There is nothing quite like it here. The over the top performances. The way the whole country talks about it incessantly. Cheryl Cole and her precarious mental state. Simon Cowell. Wagner.

They do have the X Factor Australia. Its a lower key version of the UK one with Natelie Imbruglia instead of Danii Minogue. Not quite the same though.

So we have spent this evening catchig up with the last two weeks performances via You Tube. It's a new dimension in home entertainment!

Kiwi AA

I had a puncture at the weekend so I called the AA. I couldn't get the nuts undone.

They didn't have a van. A man turned up in a pick up truck. Very quickly (within 10 minutes). But he didn't exactly fix it for me.

"I'll just crack the nuts for you" he said. "I've got my tea on. You look like you could finish it off."

And two minutes later he was gone, leaving me to fit the wheel. Which I did.

Jake: Holiday Camp or Prison Camp?

WIth my departure imminent, the question is, shall I send Jake to the luxury Kennels, the one that advertises itself as a holiday camp for dogs, or the more basic kennels, whish is a bit like a prison camp (but much cheaper).

Should Jake have an indoor heated kennel, a walk three times a day and access to a swimming pool? Or should he be kept in a cage and allowed out into a concrete yard for ten minutes a day?

Jake is quite unfriendly and happy to be left alone so I had thought I would save the money and send him to prison for a month. But I can't bring myself to do it and he is off to Bunny Lodge.

It has been pointed out that it would be cheaper to re-home him and get a new dog when we get home. I wonder what Jo would think of that...