How to feel sexy with no-one else knowing

Have gorgeous matching underwear. Why wouldn’t you?



We have just been shopping for some new items for Katrina, my youngest, who will list underwear shopping as one of her favourite pass times. Mind you, she struggles a bit when some women have brought in their husbands/partners but it doesn’t take long for the men to get bored and leave.

There is something about wearing a new set of bra and matching briefs and the prettier the better. Just like my Christian faith - it has to start with a solid foundation - so the way you dress needs to start with a good “foundation” of fitting comfortable underwear. Don’t be embarrassed if it seems too lacy or even see-threw, because it is only you (and your husband) who is going to see it. But you are going to know and this is what makes you feel sexy and able to “charm the pants off ‘em” if you will pardon the expression.

We are lucky here in Tirau as there is a Bendon outlet and every now and again they have special’s like all bras under $20 and brief’s under $10. Although you may not be able to always get your size there is plenty to choose from and they will organise getting an item in if it can be sourced at another outlet.

I love to wear lacy comfortable bras that are underwired and padded. My briefs are boy leg style if I can get them as there is no uncomfortable ride up at the back and they fit over my tummy.

Always – every time – get yourself fitted for the bra you want. Your body shape changes all the time, as do bra styles and makes. What fitted you two years ago may well not now and a style/size in one brand maybe different in another.

At the Bendon shop and most places that sell large quantities of bras there will be someone trained to measure you as discretely as possible. They will also check the bra once it is on and maybe recommend a different style for you shape.

The bra size in numbers is the measurement around your chest just under your breasts. The letter is the cup size. Sometimes a 36C may well be a better fit than a 34D but the “fitter” will be able to tell you that.

When putting on a bra lean into it or as Trinny and Susannah say “Droop and scoop”. And don’t forget to ‘arrange’ yourself in it once it is done up. Always buy it with the hooks at the largest setting so that as it stretches slightly you can tighten it.

And so why not add a couple of matching briefs. Some bras will often have two different styles of matching brief if you (like me) don’t like a G-string. Make sure you get the right size in these too. You know you may not be a size small anymore and you will be pleasantly surprised when the medium doesn’t show the fat rolls around the waist band through you trousers. And who is going to know what size they are, unless they do your washing!

So go on… go out and treat yourself.

Mumsey’s Autumn Chutney

I went to make some green tomato chutney, but when I had gathered the tomatoes from the end of the season there wasn’t really enough. So I read a few other recipes and gathered a few other end of season crops from the garden and produced the following recipe.
With all chutneys, pickles and relishes it is best to wait at least a month for the flavours to mature before using them.
This recipe left a slightly warm feeling but was very nice even if I do say so myself.
I tried it first on crackers.
If you don’t have these ingredients available you could substitute with something similar keeping quantities/weights the same.

300gr Cucumber (deseeded)
150gr Green tomatoes
150gr Green pepper
200gr Red onion
200gr Apples
1 clove garlic
1 tsp chopped red chilli (deseeded and deveined)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp whole all spice
Good pinch mustard seed
Good pinch celery seed
150mls cider vinegar
200gr sugar

Chop up the first five ingredients to 1 cm size pieces (approximately).
Finely chop the garlic and chilli and put all these ingredients into a large pot with the salt.
Tie the spice and seeds in muslin (cheesecloth) or the toe part of pantyhose.
I tie the piece of string to the handle of the pot and allow it to dangle into the mixture.
Add half the vinegar and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour or until the chutney is reduced and thick, stirring frequently.
Put the sugar and the remaining vinegar in a pan and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved then add to the chutney.
Simmer for another 1 ½ hours until the chutney is thick, stirring it occasionally.

Remove the muslin bag (with the spices and seeds in) from the chutney, then spoon the hot chutney into warmed sterilized jars. (I put these through the dish washer and place them in the oven at about 140°C.)
Cover and seal immediately.
Make sure you push the chutney down a bit to remove air bubbles.
Wipe the rims of the jars immediately.

This quantity made two 375g jars fill.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man

While we were growing up my mother always seemed to have a song for something we did or saw while out.
She would sing or say the rhyme either the first line of a whole verse. As we got older I would cringe when she started it while out in public.

But I have found I am just like her and often think of a song or rhyme when I see something and hum or say it to myself as I know how embarrassing it is out loud.

Yesterday Katrina did some baking and on her facebook page she posted something about it and I said I felt a rhyme coming on.

 
Cupcakes for the new BNZ Cambridge branches opening day, Katrina and I were given.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man.

Bake me a cake as fast as you can;

Pat it and prick it and mark it with B,

Put it in the oven for baby and me.

The origins of Pat a cake are unknown.

If told by a parent to a youngster, the "B" and "baby" in the preceding two lines ( in the picture above) are at times replaced by the child's initial or first name. The tradition of decorating cakes with the name or initial of a child is still adhered to today.

The song Pat a cake is one of the oldest and most widely recognized nursery rhymes. The first recorded version of the rhyme is from 1698, with it not appearing again in print until 1765.
The rhyme was incorporated into a clapping game, - much loved by children everywhere.

The actions which accompany Pat a cake were probably simply used as a hand warming game for very young children and also thought of an account for the ritual of passing this particular song from one generation to the next.

Another interesting fact I found on one site...


Historical Note:
The Bakers of London. The Great Fire of London of 1666 was started in a Baker's shop, in Pudding Lane and ravaged the City. Bakeries were always viewed as Fire Risks and the premises of the baker to King Charles I was also situated in Pudding Lane. It is thought this maybe one of the origins of the poem.

Skin Cancer

Today I watched a video clip titled Dear 16-year-old Me.

I so wish you all, to watch it and share it with others.

 

My dear Father in Law had a skin cancer cut out of his back.

He worked outside as a railway ganger inspecting bridges etc and he often in the summer went shirtless, only to pay the price later.

He died of cancer from it getting into his back bone and raiding the rest of his internal organs.

 

My dear Harry has just been through having a large lesion removed from his back that proved to be a superficial basal cell carcinoma. This is a slow growing skin cancer. It is not melanomas. We have been told it was completely removed and healed well.

Before surgery

After removal

Dressing change after a week

18 stitches to be removed

Strips to support after removal of stitches

Healing after a month

Please get your moles checked.