Penniedarling

Grandchildren of course!!

Labels: 7/19, Grandchildren

I am the oldest of all my nine first cousins!

Labels: 7/19, Pennie

Milly!!

Labels: 7/19, Milly

Winter! with these beautiful cool crisp sunny days and enjoying the warmth beside our Godin combustion stove in the evenings.

Labels: 7/19, Home

 My Wedding Dress!  Made it myself I did and it was very comfortable and I was able to wear it several times until it was stolen in Milan back in 1970!!!!!

Labels: 7/19, David and Pennie

Pork Knuckle.

Labels: 8/19, Food

Mmmmm.... my first and hope only blood transfusion!

Labels: 7/19, Pennie

 Row by Row down they come.

Dresser all cleared and cleaned!

 Babushkas all placed very carefully in the rows they were on the dresser.

With string between the rows just in case one of those naughty Babushkas get out of line.

The First and Biggest Babushka is back where it belongs.

First Row ready to move back a step or two.

All done, cleaned and back in place, a beautiful job Abigail, thank you very much!

Labels: Abigail, Babushka

#1 - Wool
#2 - Knitting Needles
#3 - Pattern

Labels: 7/19, Knitting

George and James signing their names and some drawings on our Signature Wall!

Labels: 7/19, George, James

 Knitting up these little dolls from all the scraps of wool I have left over from other projects is very rewarding, recently I was able to give about a dozen dolls to James who chose a couple for himself then donated the rest to the Children's Ward at Hornsby Hospital... see photo of them on the empty beds awaiting the next child. (courtesy of Briony)

Labels: 7/19, Knitting

Labels: 7/19, Flowers

 I taught Tilly and Abi to make my Vegemite Cheese Crisps!

Labels: 7/19, Abigail, Food, Tilly

 David bought me some Oysters which are my very favourite and I could eat these for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner every day... he also made me some Pancakes for the very first time and they were absolutely delicious!  Well done David!

Then Lunch at one of our local Cafe's which is called 'Twenty 74', it's our postcode (2074)!  It's also my 74th Birthday!!!  Yay!

Labels: Birthdays, Pennie

  
Do you know the Peanut Butter Cookie story?  Many of my followers may but for those who don't here we go.

Way back in about 1964/5 I met this really cool American dude at 'Wollogorang', he was blond, he wore a denim jacket and denim jeans as well... but not only that he drove a white American Jeep, nothing could be cooler on a sheep station where most of the fellows wore overalls or moleskin pants.

When Gene discovered that I could cook he asked if I would make him his Grandmothers Peanut Butter Cookies which he loved and was missing, of course I agreed, who wouldn't eh!   So Gene wrote a letter to his Grandmother in America requesting her recipe then a few weeks later the recipe arrived and I started baking and I've been baking ever since...  gosh they're delicious.

A couple of years ago George, our grandson in Macau, broke his leg and when iChatting with him I asked if there was anything I could send him to make him feel better... without hesitation he said, 'Peanut Butter Cookies please Penniedarling'.  So of course I made a batch and posted them over.

Now this made me think of Eugene Bevens that cool American dude the one who gave me the recipe 50 plus years ago... but where the heck was he now! The last time we'd seen him was way back in 1970 when David and I first arrived back in Australia after three years overseas.  I searched online and found a few things but nothing helpful so I started asking friends who I knew from back in those old 'Wollogorang' days... but no success.

Now my cousin Sue, the daughter of my Great Aunt Cranky and Great Uncle John from 'Wollogorang' is suffering from Alzheimer's but before she lost it completely she asked me if I would keep her best friend Anthea in touch with what was happening with her, Anthea lives in California.    In one of my emails to Anthea I mentioned that I was looking for a really cool American dude who used to work at 'Wollogorang' and in the blink of eye Gene Bevens  was in touch with me!  Wow!  Andrea and Gene were in High School together and that's how Gene met Aunty Cranky on one of her visits to the US and how he came to be working with sheep in Australia.

We Skyped several times which was great fun, all those years we had to catch up with then in late 2017 Gene came to Australia to have a catch up with his Aussie family and we met up which was just lovely.

Now... the other day I saw a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies on a blog I follow called Fat Mum Slim, this is where I get my ideas for the 'Photo a Day Challenge'...   This recipe was slightly different so I immediately decided I had to do another of those 'Taste' tests, like the one I did with Chocolate Brownies several years ago.

We started on Saturday evening and I have several tests to be completed before I can reveal which 'Peanut Butter Cookie' is voted the BEST... so stay tuned.
 1966 - Gene the cool dude saying farewell to me at Central Station as I head off on my first adventure to Perth.
 Gene's white Jeep above.

2017 - Below Gene and I meet again.

 The much loved Granma Chambers and below her Recipe.
When Gene tasted these PB Cookies of 'Mine' he told me I had two things wrong... #1 - I use Crunchy Peanut Butter (only Dick Smiths)  and #2 - I double cross my PB Cookies... but hey- 'Frankly my dear I don't give a damn'  we all like the crunch and double cross and as one Grandchild pointed out... looks just like the trim of the floor of a Double Decker bus.

Labels: Peanut Butter Cookie Taste Test

Fourteen years I've been enjoying writing up all sorts of stories on several different Blogs!  This Penniedarling Blog is the third of my personal Blogs, I have three other Blogs archived in the National Library of Australia

This was my first Blog - https://penniedavid.blogspot.com/

These three below are archived in Trove.

Europe by London Taxi - https://europebylondontaxi.blogspot.com/

Postcards from Aunty Cranky - https://postcardsfromauntycranky.blogspot.com/

WOLLOGORANG - News and Views - https://wollogorangnewsviews.blogspot.com/

Labels: Blogging Birthday

David and I don't really remember the moon landing which was weird but when I dug deep into where we were and what we were doing at this time 50 years ago,  I discovered that we were camping in our London Taxi in Scotland!  No radio or TV.

But in 1985 while camping with our children and three extra kids during the May School Holidays we were lucky enough to be able to call into the Parkes Radio Telescope to visit friends of ours who lived near us and were stationed here for a while.   Colin and Sandy Jacka!
And... yes we were all able to climb up into the 'Dish', how lucky were we eh!

Labels: Griffiths Family, The Dish

 Charlie very cleverly took a photo of the original photo so they could work out where each person was in the puzzle.
 The view from my relaxing chair.

Labels: Grandchildren, Griffiths Family, Puzzle

Labels: 8/19, Food

 For breakfast yesterday we enjoyed Pancake Berry Bake.
 It was delicious and very filling so we will enjoy the left overs this morning.
 Then it was a game of cards with the cards I had made of them all on the front.
 By special request... learning how to make Great Aunt Carol's Fudge.  Abi was very clever sharing the stirring time which is a very long 20 minutes... so it was 5 minutes each.
 And it was so delicious, unfortunately Charlie had to go home before the fudge had cooled enough to cut into tasty pieces... but don't worry Charlie we didn't eat it all.
I have been making this fudge for more than 60 years, here is the recipe in my old school cook book! 

Labels: Food, Griffiths Family

Labels: 7/19, Griffiths Family

 The view from my very Palatial room, had my own very large bathroom as well.
 I did enjoy this breakfast of Oats with Skimmed Milk, Pancake with Maple Syrup, Yoghurt and a Banana both of which I enjoyed for morning tea.
 For Lunch I just chose a Ham Sandwich, half of which I shared with David because he bought me some Sashimi!!!!

Then for dinner there was Shepherds Pie which was a bit too heavy for me and Jackson enjoyed the Juice and Custard.

Labels: Hospital, Pennie

Sydney Harbour...sailing in after a few years of living overseas is seriously heart warming.

Labels: 7/19, Sydney Harbour

... Well some of them, I do love writing my own books.

Labels: 7/19, Books

Sweet Peas.

Labels: 7/19, Flowers

Having married the right bloke all those years ago and what we have managed to achieve with family, travel, our home and so on...

Labels: 7/19, David and Pennie