Christmas and New Year

G'Day Fans (ie Denise and Emma),



Thought I'd do another post and put up some pictures from the holiday season. We have a couple from Christmas Eve at Mum's where, as usual, the present-giving ceremony looks chaotic and in a shambles because of the crowd. This year Dad recorded all our old home videos onto DVDs and played them on the big screen.

Then we had Christmas Day with the Pruntys down in Canberra - here is a very composed Mother-Ann opening her present - a walking tour tasting the culinary delights of Italian cuisine.

And of course we must include Granny Ethel who was in her usual partying spirit:

After a relaxing rest in the ACT we shlepped up to the Hunter Valley and stayed in the most awesome house on The Vintage golf course. Here is the crew in the kitchen:

We went on a winery tour, which was so much fun and went around Pokolbin and Lovedale sampling wine, cheese, chocolate and olive oil. Oh - and for the foodies - this was the nicest pot pie ever:

New Year's Eve was a party at the house - get a second hand outfit, no more than $20 as glamorous as possible. Thanks Aunty D for the gold dress - I owe you $20 :)

Poor Prunty

My poor little man had his finger operated on last week. Chris now gets his food cut up for him into tiny pieces so he can pick them up with his left hand. It's quite difficult doing all this caring and I have been advised to apply for the Carer's Pension.



Since then, I arrived home last night to find his cast in two pieces sitting next to the bathroom sink. Chris was also making noises about removing the stitches himself but I'm trying to hold him down so I can get him to a doctor before he causes himself further damage.

House Proud

Our furniture FINALLY arrived on Saturday. Ignore the ironing board - Chris was ironing his work shirts. We are now ready to accept guests :) Hopefully the more frequently you come to visit, the less poofey our dining chairs will become.

The Pruntys eat their way through Cabramatta

Some of you may have seen the TV show on SBS called Food Safari, hosted by Maeve O'Meara. They also do walking tours around specific parts of Sydney known for various cuisines. Today we did a tour of Cabramatta to discover Vietnamese cooking, specialities and recipes.

*in front of some peking duck (northern Vietnam is influenced by the Chinese)

We began with tea and Vietnamese desserts - even though everything is somewhat psychidelic looking, there is no food colouring involved.

*Chris eating fresh tamarind (tastes like dates)

We began with a food lesson which covered desserts, learning to make dipping sauce, fresh herbs and pantry essentials. Emma: just as Cassia is an important ingredient in your home, it also is a staple in Vietnamese pantries. Cassia, aka Powdered Bark, comes from the cinnamon tree. I was fascinated to learn that my niece can be used in some marinades for roasted chicken, roasted duck or beef braises.

we were taken around Cabramatta and told where to source the best, freshest and cheapest ingredients.
* We were also given plenty of samples to try -this is the best pork bun I have ever tasted in my life - influenced by the French (it has a pate on it)

* Mmmmm pies...
Our guide - Peter. He was showing us the different herbs and explaining how to prepare them.

For those who don't know, Cabramatta is also where people go to buy material. Who needs to spend $5000 on a wedding dress when you can buy one for $20!? I'll remember this tip for my next marriage.

Here's a pic of the family all trying to get the yummy custard balls out of the container. As an aside - Yum in Vietnamese means 'horny'.

* Chris mooching through the streets of Cabramatta. We're not in Kansas anymore Toto...


* Dad very much enjoying his smoothie which had half an avocado in it - but tasted like passionfruit sorbet. Delicious. Really it was!

We finished the day with lunch at a recommended Vietnamese place - fresh rice paper rolls, BBQ beef salad and lotus flower salad. Yum! (pardon me).

We are so proud to announce our new family member

Couch Prunty was brought into the world on Saturday, 4th October at 12:48pm. The family are all healthy and doing well. The entrance didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped, and Floor Prunty has quite a few scars. However, Papa Prunty administered some lacquer to Floor and we keep reassuring our family that you can hardly even tell!

Couch's first present was a beautiful Mohair Throw. Chris gives our bundle of joy lots of daily cuddles. He is SO proud.

Nate comes for breakfast

We had Nate over for breakfast yesterday - I got to use my loose leaf tea pot and my Villeroy and Boch tea cups and saucers for the first time. We had bacon and eggs and chicken chipolatas on the BBQ, and sauteed mushrooms and roasted tomatoes. I also baked a raspberry and pear loaf - but we were so full we couldn't eat any, so lucky Chris and I get to eat it all week.





Our bedroom furniture arrived last weekend, so I can show you photos of our house as each room is completed (gradually) over the next 3 months.


Master bedroom:

Renovations at Chateau de Prunty

We were so lucky to have our parents come and help us set up our new pad. We painted the whole house on Saturday and cleaned the place on Sunday. Here is a video so you can see it!