S'mores for Stevie

Well, I finally managed to upload the photos from Colin's camera (I lie - I begged him to do it) and sort out the S'mores from the parties and the presentation ceremonies and the goats and all the other stuff that was there.

So, with another huge "thank you" to our generous benefactor Stevie of the Travelling Teacup (http://travellingteacup.blogspot.com/), here at last is documentary evidence that we too have known the wonderful cross-cultural delights of S'mores.

We did ours indoors, setting a fire in the front room. (In the fireplace, obviously.)

Note state of said room. More books than bookshelves, strange collection of wooden shoe trees on window ledge, photos on mantelpiece which have not felt the caress of a duster for many months. Emma on the left, Sophie at right, piggy in the middle. I appear to have lost the lower half of my legs.

What can I say? They are the sweetest, most indulgent thing ever. Mads (taking the photos) only managed three, but the rest of us were made of sterner stuff. We had to try all the permutations - Stevie had supplied dark, milk and caramel-filled chocolate along with some beautiful fudge and other goodies which managed to survive the attentions of our over-zealous customs inspectors. I'm drooling on the keyboard just thinking about it. (Customs inspectors do that to me.)

So here's to Canada - home of maple syrup, moose, ice hockey and S'mores. And good friends.

For want of a real post ...

I just spent ten minutes composing replies to the lovely comments on my last post, and while I was doing it I was wondering what to post next. I've long owed Stevie a S'mores post, and Dale an Autumn photo, but my lack of pictorial downloading nouse is getting in the way, so I've decided to cheat and post the replies as a new post. It looks nicely random and disjointed out of context, but a little surrealism is good for the soul. So "control c" and ...

Back again at last! More catching up to do and so little time to do it. Here we go:

Stevie, what can I say? S'mores are amazing, wonderful, decadent and delicious. Thank you SO much! It took us a while to get around to doing them, (because we were so rarely home all together and the occasion demanded a full house), but oh my goodness WOW! I PROMISE my next post will provide documentary evidence. And drool. I will downoad the pics this weekend, honest. (Preview: They are impossibly rich, your marshmallows are nothing like the ones we get here, nor do we have anything that tastes like Graham crackers, and the Aero milk ones were the favourite with everyone except me, who wavered between the Caramilk and the dark Aero. I am such a sophisticate! (Or maybe just a piggy.)

Grace, it is weird to read of the different seasons my bloggy friends are experiencing, but nice. I hope you have a lovely summer. At the moment I am cosying up in front of an open fire. Global village, eh?

Vally my lovely, you understand. Always. I will kick through the next pile of leaves I see just for you.

Mads - you are, as ever, a cheeky brat. (For the benefit of others, the morning my eldest ratbag posted this, I had hidden from some Jehovah's Witnesses who rang the doorbell - three times. I was still in my jim-jams, was enjoying my solitude, and I really didn't want to be bothered - and I saw them coming. Does that make me a bad person? If so, I can live with it.)

Dan, you are a GOOD person. You wouldn't have hidden. I did read the Watchtower brochure they left though. It was rubbish I'm afraid. You are not.

Dale - I wish you were sitting beside me too! you are one of those special souls I would just love to meet "for real". Any time. I will try to find you some nice pics of our Autumn / Fall. I think the loveliest bits have passed, but I might get lucky. Oh, and your explanation of "Boinging" made my day. Brilliant!

Gypsy - who are you calling topsy turvey? it all depends on your perspective. But if I'm upside down, it may explain the constant rush of blood to the head. And the fact that my knickers never ride up.

Cheryl Ann - you're back! I must visit you. I must visit everyone. I must find time to do what I want to do. And yes, it was more than a moment. I stretched it to a morning. Naughty but nice.

Koos, thank you for your very kind words. And don't think I've forgotten your vague plans to travel down our way at some point. When you get sick of Poland. Now about your private situation ...

Lannio, I haven't visited you for so long! My loss. If you do find yourself in Melbourne sometime next year, or any time, PLEASE get in touch. Canada treated my Em really well, and I'd love to have a chance to repay the hospitality with you.


So that's it. Time to rake out the fire and head for bed. I just might do a bit of blog-surfing first though ....

A kind of contentment.

It's a good day. No office work, a week of frenetic and creative activity behind us (school musical production), a great weekend music festival behind that, a lunch date with a good friend, the final disappearance of a stubborn head cold and a few precious minutes to spend saying hello here.

Now that Winter has officially just begun, Autumn is in its dying stages, with the brilliant reds and yellows of the leaves having turned to brown before taking their lemming-like plunges to the ground. Huge drifts of damp but still crunchy foliage sit beside the roads waiting to be swept up. Sometimes a delighted child discovers a particularly large mound before it disappears into bin bags or the cavernous tanks of the street sweeper. Piles of leaves are made for kicking through, and anyone who thinks otherwise has forgotten what it is to be very young.

One cup of coffee down, the silence of the house is beautiful. Shower and breakfast can wait.