Saturday Ramblings . . .

I recently heard of a little boy, aged just three, who had met up with one of his elderly neighbours one morning. (along with his mum of course!) They got to chatting for a time, and then, just to show she was interested in the little one, the elderly neighbour asked him how old he was.

"Two." was his prompt answer.

She smiled at him and said. "Oh no, I think you are a bit older than that."

Without batting an eye, he replied, "Yes . . . but I can't say fwee!"

Don't you just love the honesty of children? I know I do!


I'm so excited to show you this morning one of my projects here at Oak Cottage. I've been working on this for a while, and just yesterday got it finished . . . well, pretty much finished at any rate.



Up over the kitchen, just at the top of the stairs, we have a room that is our living area, except we don't really use it as such because Jess can't go up the spiral staircase. We don't like to leave her down here all on her own so we basically live in the kitchen, but we still have the lounge up there and use it on rare and special occasions.



For a time I wanted to dedicate the wall up there totally to family. Because of the slanted ceilings in most of our rooms we don't have a lot of wall space for pictures. The lounge has high vaulted ceilings for the most part and beams that run across. Along the outside wall the ceiling is angled so there can be no pictures hung there, but the wall that runs through the centre of it is large and open and just perfect.



First I bought a special print about families that I liked, and had it framed to put in the centre of the space. Underneath that I hung a copy of our church's Proclamation on The Family.



Then I picked special pictures of my family and I placed them around it. But it still looked like it needed something. (These pictures are not quite finished yet though. I still have to buy matching frames for some of them and there are a few more to go up. I have to do it a little at a time because of the expense.)



Then I found this seller on Etsy, Single Stone Studios. They specialize in wall decals. When I was over in America last winter, I had really admired the wall decals I saw in people's homes. I knew when I found Single Stone Studios exactly what I needed to make my wall complete. I contacted them and asked them if they could do a custom order for me and they were very happy to oblidge.



It arrived yesterday and Todd and I couldn't wait to put it up. Doesn't it look lovely!!! Now all I have to do is to get the rest of my photos framed and up and it will be all done. I just couldn't wait to show you though, so you are getting the almost finished version!



While I was at it, I also got another wall decal for down here in the kitchen. It sits just above one of the side windows. I love it. It's a reminder to me daily of what life can and should be. Just one fantastic opportunity after another to grow and to develop my potential. It's all very exciting really!

Speaking of potential and families, I have a lovely dessert to share with you here this morning. This is sooooo easy even the kids can make it, with your supervision of course! It started off as squares, but I thought, why not bake them in a round pan and cut them into wedges like a pie to serve.



And then I thought, why not top them with some ice cream and chocolate sauce and turn them into Sundaes!!! This one's for all the families out there that are looking for something special to do this weekend, or for a special Family Home Evening treat!



*Chocolate Chunk Sundae Delight*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

A delicious chocolate chunk cookie wedge topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Moreishly delish!!

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
For the topping:
Icing Sugar
a good quality vanilla ice cream
a jar of chocolate spread
(I used Waitrose brand, it's nice and dark and fudgy)



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease and flour an 8 inch cake tin with a removable bottom. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat the vegetable oil and eggs together in a measuring jug and add all at once to the flour mixture. Beat until throughly combined. (The mixture will be very thick) Stir in the nuts and chocolate. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and smooth it out evenly with your fingertips.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Then remove the sides.

Warm the chocolate spread in the microwave until spoonable. Cut the chocolate chip cake mixture into wedges and place one wedge on each plate. Dust lightly with Icing Sugar if desired and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate sauce spooned over top.



If you'd like to see what we had for our tea yesterday, hop on over to The English Kitchen to check it out. Cheesy Mushroom Omelettes.