Post-Christmas post

After a huge pre-Christmas rush, we sold out of chocolates and honeycomb and Nikki and I were pooped. All was wonderful, until Cygnet lost a great artist in horrible circumstances and our little community is still hurting. But a week later, happiness was to be found around the tree on Christmas morning and at the dinner table on Christmas night.

Cygneture is on a little break from chocolate making. Nikki is interstate and it is just me again. "Nikki come back! Come BACK!!!!" I wonder if she can hear me?

We expect to be back in production next week and hope to be back at the markets on the 8th.

I wonder what 2011 will bring...

Oh yeah! My camera's back...

Well, what a great way to start the Ashes, Kerry's on the radio, Hilfenhaus gets the first wicket and Doherty gets the last two.

Catch up from the last few weeks:

Most importantly, you might remember Stephen-of-the-lemon-creams, who will now be known as Andrew (since that's his name), gave his verdict on the lemon creams, and the long and short of it was, they need work. He is getting back to me with a sample of what he is after and I will dutifully oblige, especially if they're good.

Excitement on the home front, 6.5, who is now 6.75, finally lost his first tooth this week. It was becoming a bit of a problem for him as he was the only 6-year-old in class who hadn't lost a tooth. Well no more! He's back in the cool gang (kinda nice when entry is based on how many teeth you don't have)

Next week we are off to The Pretenders & Blondie, we are making a weekend of it and heading to Perth for Utsi Cafe, back to Seven Sheds for pink beer and collecting a couple of Sydney-siders along the way. A car full of fun.

Upcoming chocolates: Lymington Nunnery Chai Truffles, Christmas glitter will be featuring traditional colours of red, gold and green, red, gold and greeeeen, every day is like survival-survival, you're my lover not my rival....

Goodness, where did that come from?

Might be time to sign off now. Franklin Market in the morning.

The Milkman of Human Kindness

This is one for the wine deliveries which mysteriously arrive on my doorstep, eventhough no one is ever seen arriving or leaving.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWRE-1K84o8&feature=related

Now that I'm on a roll

I forgot to mention the exciting things coming up for this season at Cygneture. I am expecting supplies and equipment deliveries from Canada, UK and the US in the next week, so keep an eye out for more colour for summer, gold & bronze lustre (thanks to Alastair Wise for that one) and butterflies.

Lemon creams and the occasional table

And oh what a beautiful day it is today, tomorrow looks set to be even warmer and sunnier. Summer is afoot.

Nikki has returned at last and to celebrate her first day helping in the kitchen I planned to take some photos of her. Get to the kitchen, I was sure I put the camera in the car, but perhaps I didn't. So the day went into honeycomb, mint discs and going vegan with fruit & nut cluster, dark chocolate discs, animals and jungle pops. Forgot to bring storage boxes so a quick trip home was required. Happy-happy. Sunny drive. Through my front gate. Oh-no. No. Surely that's not my camera... Yup, right in the middle of the driveway with a whopping muddy tyre mark squashed into the middle of it.

Hence no photos in this edition.

Wednesday improves. Another sunny day and a date with friends. Drop 6.5 to school, pop into post office. Yippee, parcel to pick up. Yahoo, Amazon delivers. I loooove Amazon, it comes right to your doorstep, or it would if I had postal service to my door.

Chocolate books, bread books, medicine books, food DVDs.

Joy.

Set off to visit friends, lovely morning, arrive home to find that the pixies have been to my door and left me bottles of wine. Oh can the day get any better than this?? Kiddies tired, both in bed asleep by 7:30. Mmmm.... time to enjoy a glass.

So, we have this lovely occasional-table that we set beside the couch for nights like this and it works a treat when you remember to put it there. It doesn't work quite as well when you think it's there, but really it's folded neatly against the wall. Plonk (I wonder if that is how the phrase was coined in relation to wine?) There was no occasional-table, just my carpet. Plonk.

So now we have lemon creams (keeping with the vegan theme too). I was asked to make fruit creams, 'the old fashioned ones you used to be able to buy, but can't find anywhere anymore'. So for Stephen at Salamanca, this one's for you!!

All going well, 48 lemon creams, using Glendevie lemons, time for dipping, a bit sticky...mmm... take care...not going well, noooooo. It was like a horror movie about a deep sea monster or an alien in a building. 48 went in, but only 15 came out. Stephen better like them. Stephen better turn up for them!

The way to spend a Sunday in Tasmania

Three friends, lots of kids, bottles of wine, almond bicuits and bread from Cygnet Market, smoked trout and a bit of fun. That's a fine and dandy Sunday.

Dad put 6.5 to bed tonight:
"Ed and Jeanette weren't there today" (at Cygnet Market)
"No they weren't"
"I'm going to dream of eccles cakes"
"O.k. you do that"

Bless him, they are good eccles cakes.

Swing in to Spring

Spring at our house

And what a beautiful time of year it is. The days are getting longer and the nights shorter, the evenings are warmer and there is a distinctive buzz in the air. Yes the damn flies are back and every year I forget how enormous they are. They should be in the Amazon, not in my house.

And now that the weather is warming up I can start making moulded chocolates again. I miss them. They are so satisfyingly pretty when they work out.

We're back to Salamanca and Cygnet markets next week and will be increasing our whereabouts in the coming months so stay posted!

Saras saves her choc-pop from extinction

Chocolate selections