Holidays, Travel, and Family Expectations

Holidays can be tricky for anyone, in any family situation. Married couples without kids, however, face a special conundrum: with whom to spend the day(s)? Again, this can be tough for anyone, but childless marrieds face a particular pressure: you don’t have kids, so it falls to you to drive sometimes long distances to attend the family get-together. Of course that returns us to the initial question: with whose family do we spend the holidays? We pick one side of the family for Thanksgiving and the other for Easter, because Jon’s parents and my parents live far enough away from … Continue reading

Easter Sunday Fun

I come from a large family. On special occasions my family gathers together to celebrate. Since we moved to Texas, I have missed out on these family events. I am so happy, then, that my friends down the street have adopted us into their family. Last year on Easter Sunday Chris and I joined our neighbors at her parents’ house for Easter dinner, egg hunt, and a general good time. We had Jessie and our initial placement had returned, so we had two two-year-olds. I was hoping for an invitation to this year’s Easter festivities and I was not disappointed. … Continue reading

A Strange Easter

What a strange Easter this has been. Not going to church Good Friday and again today for Easter Day, as it is already here in Australia, has been very odd. It makes it not feel like Easter at all, because to me Easter has less to do with chocolate, eggs and bunnies and more to do with the most amazing event in history, the resurrection of Jesus. To be here and see my husband go off on his own to church again this morning is hard. We’re so used to going to church together and sharing these special occasions together. … Continue reading

Mood Swings and Perimenopause

Mood swings in women have mostly been attributed to PMS. Sometimes we will hear comments like, “She must be PMSing.” Although mood swings can be a result of PMS there is a time in a woman’s life when it’s actually related to perimenopause. As women approach age 40 they may begin to experience intense mood swings not realizing they are due to perimenopause. Our family has been going through a difficult time with a failing marriage. When we got together for Easter we were without one particular family member and were discussing the marriage problems. It was brought up how … Continue reading

Easter Hats, Easter Eggs and Bunnies

One of the things I used to hate about Easter when the children were at school was the Easter hat parades. Being a non crafty person the mere mention of hat parade or fancy dress was enough to send me into despair. Easter eggs always took a secondary role in Easter celebrations. Easter Eggs or bunnies never appear till Easter Sunday morning. Having two children who were allergic to chocolate when young always put a damper on it. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we never went overboard about Easter eggs. Yes, I tried carob and candy eggs but it’s … Continue reading

Easter Traditions and Marriage

It is a tradition of our marriage not to eat meat on Good Friday. We traditionally have salmon patties for lunch or dinner on Good Friday. So does our daughter and her husband. At our current church we have hot cross buns after the service. The same thing used to happen in another church we belonged to in Sydney. I don’t, since I’m gluten free. No-one seems to have a produced gluten free hot cross buns. I can’t be bothered making them just for me. One year Mick and I attended a church in the rural area where we lived. … Continue reading

Easter and Marriage

Easter means different things to different people. As I’ve read a couple of other blogs I see some of those different traditions in families come out. To some people it means Easter bunnies and Easter egg hunts. To others it means church. Sometimes there is a combining of the two. In our marriage and those of our son and daughter and their spouses, it means church,remembering the first Easter and what Easter is all about – the death and resurrection of Jesus. One couple I know who are still on their L plates in their marriage has started a tradition … Continue reading

Two Quick Tips and an Apology

I owe everyone here on the food blog a huge apology. Not long after I started on the food blog, I posted my recipe for Middle Eastern Chicken Aussie Style. This weekend as I went to make it, when we were having guests for dinner, I found out there is a critical ingredient missing in the recipe I gave you. Fortunately I noticed that as I went to make it rather than afterwards Rather than hunt through all the myriad and books and files in which recipes are written I thought I’d just take it off my blog. That’s when … Continue reading

Food and Marriage

Have you ever thought about the importance of food and your marriage? After all, it’s something we need to have every day to survive. That means time spent preparing it and eating it and hopefully ensuring that you eat together as a family. Sharing a meal together can be an important time of catching up on what everyone’s been doing during the day, at work, at home and at school. Food brings people together. Food is an icebreaker for conversations. One of the best thing s we can do is invite others into our homes to share a meal. To … Continue reading

Save Time and Money with a Crock Pot

The second appliance I consider essential in the kitchen, and nowhere near as expense as an upright freezer, is the crock pot. It is a useful way of using cheaper cuts of meat and making it mouth wateringly tender. It also saves money. When you’ve been out at work all day, or even if you’re a stay at home Mom running around after a young family, the last thing you need when you’re tired is to think about preparing a meal. Rather than opting for take out, you can have a healthy meal cooking during the day. It means a … Continue reading