This blog is all about me......I come here for respite in between caring for JoJo (our Daughter who has Special Needs)......I am addicted to starting new projects......I am becoming a fabric-a-holic... I love to try out recipes... take a beach walk and breathe in that salty blue air......love to have coffee...sip a glass of champagne......read a book......I am Queen of the Armchair and am inspired by all the wonderful blogs out there!!!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

~17th November 1973.....A Very Special Anniversary~


Well who can believe this
today is our 40th Wedding Anniversary
Holey Dooley where did the time go!!!!!!!!


Me and Hubby after the ceremony


My Step-Grandfather and my Grandmother


Doing the circle saying 'bye to everyone on the night I met up with Hubby
My Godmother is on the left


My Godfather Robert who took the pics on the night sadly passed away not too long ago
Here he is with me


My Mother is to my left
I think we're looking a bit worried here LOL!!!


Our wedding invitations using a traditional Latvian sign 
I am now using my Latvian name and Ingrid is my middle name


And sadly my Dad passed away before I was married


Our first place we lived in in Wollstonecraft, Sydney


We built our first home in the Blue Mountains in Blackheath and stayed 10 years


Ten years later we went to further inland to a little place called Peel outside Bathurst
No street lights......no garbage service and no town water
But I loved it all......some of my best years would have to have been spent there
Above is a painting of the house by Lindsay


We then moved down to Bungendore outside of Canberra
and lasted 4 years before we made a Sea Change


That was the name of the house but since moving here Hubby has take down the sign as he thought it looked poxy!!!




Our first baby James
pic taken on our 2nd wedding anniversary at Port Stephens


James Christening Day


James with his baby Sister Jacqueline


and here's little JoJo


One of my favourite pics of all time taken at Peel


Jacqueline at 4
I recently gave her this little coat for  her daughter


Jacqueline's Wedding Day


And her first baby Ryan........our first Grandbaby


with Ryan

A couple of years later we all welcomed Ryan's Sister Lidija


from the country to the sea
above is a pic of our small flock of sheep next to the old dunny which had newspaper pinned on to the back of the door from the 1800's





JoJo and James


Today we headed down to Bermagui and stopped at Blue Earth Cafe


Boats at Bermagui


And just to compare 1973


and 2013


We bought ourselves a little setting for our top balcony.......the turquoise one
My friend Geo (no blog) said it should be a ruby one LOL!!!


My gift from Mr Armchair!!!
Happy Happy Anniversary to us!!!


I thought I would dedicate this post to my Beloved Dad.......Mans Mils Papins

Love Dzintra xo

Monday, November 11, 2013

~Cook Up with donna hay and Irina..Peppered Snapper with White Bean Puree and Caramelized Fennel



Black Cherries in Pomegranate Molasses, Vinegar, Rapadura Sugar and Cinnamon ready to go onto the stove......part of my latest Cook Up with donna hay magazine

The Menu was:

Black Cherry Compote with Brie
Peppered Snapper with White Bean Puree and Caramelized Fennel
Glazed Chocolate Bundt Cake


All from this gorgeous issue of donna hay magazine Issue 70 August/Sep 2013
Oh how I loved this issue.......some issues are just like that and I have to go through them a few times before deciding!!!


The Compote ready for the Brie
We had South Cape Brie an Australian Cheese and Whitestone Blue from New Zealand


How delicious was this with the Cheese!!!



Fennel sliced and in Vinegar ready to cook

The recipe called for Malt Vinegar which I didn't use as it isn't gluten free so I looked up 
Cooks Thesauras which is an invaluable resource when you want to substitute an ingredient for another due to dietary requirements or simply if you don't have it at home and wonder what else you can use......In this case White Wine Vinegar or Cider Vinegar was a good replacement so I went with the White Wine one as that was the one I had......


All ready now with the Snapper sitting atop the White Bean Puree
This was delicious and more so since I had never made it before and a nice change from potatoes/rice/pasta


And the Bundt cake made with organic 70% chocolate bought in chunks from Rustic Pantry




Absolutely divine!!!

Irina has joined me in doing these cook ups from Donna's magazine
All you have to do is make something from the current issue and blog it......easy peasy!!!
If you would like to join us just drop me a line.......
The lovely Irina has a cook up from the same magazine at the moment if you want to pop over and have a look at what she has made.........

Bon Appetit.......Dzintra 


Sunday, November 3, 2013

OPAM......October 2013


4 Small Items this month for OPAM (One Project A Month)
2 little pin cushions and 2 scissor fobs
Fabric and Pattern by Hatched and Patched
One for me and one for a gift...

Thank you Peg and Kris for running OPAM again this year......

I haven't been around the blogs as much these days commenting as normal
been a bit busy here with one thing and another and hoping to catch up soon

Have a great week everyone......Dzintra xo


Welcome To My World

Hello, my name is Dzintra Ingrid ... have been known as Ingrid and since our Sea Change I have started to use Dzintra ... pronounced without the D ... (but still known as Ingrid, I know, it's confusing ...)

Welcome to my world ... a journal of our Sea Change ... Mum to three wonderful children ... bringing up a daughter with a disability and seeing life through her eyes ... being a new Nanna ... photos ... inspiring quotes ... taking on a cookery course ... the odd recipe ... and trying to get some stitching done amongst all this ...