What is your life expectancy?

I am reading a book called The Island of the Ancients, The Secrets of Sardinia's Centenarians.  It is a wonderfully interesting read.  What makes us age?  Is it genetics or lifestyle that keep us living a long life?  I personally think lifestyle has more to do with it than genetics.  Sure a whole family might have all been killed by cancer but if they grew up together with the same diet, habits and lifestyle than who is to say it was genetics that gave them cancer?  This is the story in Sardinia.  Some researchers are studying their DNA but others are studying their extraordinary lifestyles.  Hard working physical people, natural chemical free diets of homemade breads, cheeses, meats and homegrown vegetables and don't forget the wine!  I don't know what the conclusion will be at the end of the book but it certainly made me think about what sort of life expectancy I might have taking into consideration stress levels, diet, exercise, etc.  The Sardinian's live a simple life but they are hard workers.  There is little pollution and low levels of stress.  Is that the answer?  Is our modern world killing us?
To find out your life expectancy go to this website.
With any luck the 101 that it calculated for me will be correct!!

Belated Valentine

Valentines Day isn't celebrated that much in New Zealand but we did make a slight effort to acknowledge it.  I wanted to make a really nice meal for us so I asked Peter for a special request.  I was thinking something special with maybe a fancy chocolate dessert to finish with.  Hamburgers.  Yes, that is what he requested.  If your wife is a chef and asks you what you want for dinner, would you really say hamburgers?  Anyway, hamburgers it was and I baked an apricot frangipane tart to satisfy my desire to cook something special.  Dinner ended up being horrendous.  The children were demanding and whingy and all the typical things they do at that hour.  We tried to keep things calm and sip on a glass on nice red wine but there was no changing the atmosphere from the complete chaos that it was.  I haven't mentioned the sweltering heat of the evening that topped it all off nicely like the cherry on top of a mud cake.  But the day wasn't without romantic gestures.  Peter told me to remember to pick up the mail because he was expecting something for work in the post.  It didn't really occur to me that he never receives work mail at home but I did think it was a bit of a strange request because he never cares much about the mail.  I picked it up and low and behold he had written me a very nice Valentine letter!  Extremely thoughtful gesture that made my day.
So, yesterday I fulfilled my craving to cook something a bit more refined and/or romantic.  I made a vegetable, pesto and cheese strudel in my heart shaped le creuset pan and we had a deliciously fresh garden salad.  We ate on the deck so we weren't melting in the heat and even enjoyed another glass of the yummy shiraz from the day before.
Perfection and relaxation and a belated Valentines Day meal.

Before and After

I love good before and after photos.  I have quite a few before and after projects nearly ready to go but for today I can proudly show your our new and improved dining room!  One week after putting my foot down and suggesting we rip the carpet out of the dining room, voila...c'est fini!  That's quick work, isn't it?  We had to get it done while the in-laws were away on their boat so we could crash at their place during the project instead of trying to live amongst the chaos.  It also happened to be the hottest days of the summer which meant Peter was inside sanding with all the doors and windows shut so as to not blow the dust everywhere.  Poor guy nearly died of heat exhaustion!  But I must say I am so impressed with his work.  I just love the floors in all their whiteness.  So far it hasn't been a problem keeping them clean and most importantly they are extremely wipe-able as opposed to the food encrusted carpet that lay there previously.  The guy in the paint shop thought we were crazy to sand particle board and paint it white but I think it looks amazing.  Much better than the lino he was trying to talk me into.

Painting the interior white before we had actually moved in.  Notice the grey carpet throughout.

New clean white floors!

Received

Now that my friends have received their gifts in the post, I can finally give everyone a peep at the projects that had me occupied for a few weeks. 
I found a quick and easy crochet pattern for a baby granny square throw.  It looked so soft and cuddly that I had to give it a go.  The first one turned out soft and girly, perfect for my friend Estelle at Under A Pink Moon and her daughter Emerson.  Funnily enough I finished the blanket on the same day that I received a package of hand me down clothes from Estelle and Emerson for my dear little Gigi.  A perfect thank you gift to send to them.

My next throw was crocheted with autumn hued colors in a much more masculine scheme.  This one seemed perfect for my dear friend Tiffany and her household of boys.  Having limited amounts of each color of yarn, I had to guess if I'd make it all the way around with a certain color or not.  This combined with my 2 girls running around me while I crocheted, picking up balls of yarn and unravelling things meant that I kept making mistakes and had to pull out row after row to re-do the blanket.  I must have gone back about 5 times before I realized that I should only crochet once the children have gone to bed.  Lesson learned. 

And hopefully 2 happy friends in far away places are taking comfort in my little projects!





The Big 3 0

Today I hit the milestone of 30 weeks.  Finally.  At least I'm not still stuck somewhere in the middle of the pregnancy.  I feel as if I am over the hill and on the downside ready to slide into home base. 
As much as I hate posting photos of myself....here it is.  I looked for a comparison photo from one of the other pregnancies but all I came across was a photo of me at 30 weeks sanding the bathroom walls with a sanding machine and mask.  Not exactly what you should be doing at 30 weeks.  Funny though because yesterday I spent the morning ripping linoleum out of the kitchen.  It must be something about that 30 week itch that makes me want to completely renovate our home! 
Coming soon, photos of the kitchen and dining room makeover.  New floors for both rooms.  It has to be done before the new baby arrives....right?
Poor Peter