Holding it all together ...

I am holding it all together, just.  With a lot of help from my all-time favourite Cadbury's peppermint chocolate.  In the family block size.  One good thing about being married to a diabetic is that my chocolate is totally safe....

You want to know my favourite sound these days?  The soft, gentle, even sound of our boy breathing easily, in his sleep.  I still love the sound of the 2 kids running around and playing, but that reassuring sleepy breathing is music to my ears.

The rest of my family is in bed.  Ryan sleeping peacefully, Daddy and Naomi snuggled up together in her bed - they both fell asleep during bedtime story.  I have a few minutes to reflect, sip a cup of tea, and gather my crazy thoughts.

I am so grateful to customers of Tags and Labels, who have been so understanding about the crazy long delays in my label-making process, over the past 2 weeks.  It shouldn't surprise me - mothers across the world all feel the same, when our little ones are sick.

I have been flicking through a crochet pattern book that has been on my craft shelf for about 6 months now - Cool Crochet by Melissa Leapman. 

I am planning a crocheted jumper for myself, for winter, but am having a bit of deciding on a suitable replacement yarn, because the weights and brands listed are all American.  Can anyone recommend a chunky, soft 'bulky weight' yarn?  The pattern is in a nylon yarn, but I would prefer something natural...  Ironically, I own a shop that sells yarn. 

But I think I need something in about a 10-ply?

I have recently joined Ravelry, but am yet to come to grips with the amazing store of information and inspiration there.

Chocolate pudding that any mug can make!

Here it is, the recipe for chocolate pudding, also known in this house as 'the best ever use for spare mugs'....

Ingredients -

125g melted butter
125g melted chocolate (I used the cooking choc chips and melted in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water).
3 eggs
3 tablespoons plain flour
3/4 cup sugar
mixed berries and cream to serve

Preheat oven to 190 deg C (375F).  Mix the melted butter and chocolate together.  Add the flour, sugar and eggs to the mixture, stirring thoroughly.  Pour the mixture into 4 x 1 cup capacity ramekins (or spare mugs), that have been lightly greased.  Bake for 25 mins, or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Dust with icing sugar and serve with berries and cream (optional).

These are divine when eaten warm, from the oven.  They also kept well in the fridge overnight, and were just as yummy when eaten at room temperature, or heated in the microwave, the next day!

I wish I had a lovely artsy photo of these beautiful puddings to add in here... but I don't.  My kitchen is dark, poky, and impossible to get a good photo in... and the puddings never last long enough to take outside for a decent shot!

I can't take credit for the recipe - it comes from a shopping centre calendar that my dear mother-in-law gave me for Christmas... thanks Southgate Shopping Centre!