When my father passed me some zucchini seedlings in early October, I was a bit skeptical. Now, I'm convinced as we have a steady flow of one ready every few days. Then there are those we miss and they go to Zucchini Heaven.

Zucchinis always seamed to be something that was ready around late January. This year we've beaten the target with some early planting bloody minded good luck with the frosts.

The first one was ready just before we went on holiday. I had planned some noble feast for it, but as there was only on we had it in Peruvian Stew from on of the Moosewood cookbooks. Those flowers are great too. I have no idea when I'm supposed to pick them without destroying the fruit but I'm open to advice.

While we were away I had organised my mother to stop by occasionally and water the garden (turn the dial on the timer anyway). I forgot to let her know that she could and really should pick the vegetables if they were ready. I had been looking forward to getting out the Moosewood again – Ok we have four of the books, my husband gets a kick out of trying new vegetarian meals. However, the recipe for marinated zucchini specifically asked for SMALL zucchinis and it looked like we had a marrow on our hands.

The oversized zucchini, not quite a marrow, was consequently sent to Zucchini Heaven. There is such a place. Stuffed zucchini is a thing of the past. I'm converted to Zucchini Chocolate Cake. If my child didn't already eat her greens, I would say she is now converted too.

At the moment it is all quite novel. I hadn't thought I would be eating the garden quite so early. I may be over it all after 2 months of zucchinis, but for now I'm making the most of it.

As I promised before, here are the quilts from the Bend the Rules Sewing Quilt Swap. The title's a bit of a mouthful, but you get the idea.


The first one was made by Zoe. Little e has already adopted it as her newest bottle venue, pulling the quilt and a cushion onto the floor when she deems it to be bottle time.


The second one winged its way to Australia and is now sitting pretty at Zoe's place.

e have just returned home from a family trip to Auckland and further afield. We drove 780 km and made it home in time for tea. The trip was helped by a unexpectedly early start on the road and my mother's offer to cook us dinner when we got home.

We caught up with lots of friends, though not those with babies, due to us all getting colds. I think that's a holiday thing.

I managed to get to the Calico Christmas Quilt Show and was very restrained in my shopping. I'll post more on that when I get he photos sorted.

My Father-In-Law was married in Whangarei on Saturday (the reason for the trip). It was a nice relaxed event celebrated with friends and family. Little e had a great time and it was very hard to drag her away at her bedtime.

The trip home was an event in itself. We had packed the car the night before. When Little E woke, inconsolable at 12 am there were no bottles or cups handy in the hotel room and she just wanted to go out the door. She got louder and louder, and we already knew that walls were thin. There was nothing for it, really, and so after an hour of tears we hit the road just after 1am to drive home. I wouldn't recommend that trip unplanned but we did get a headstart on the road before she woke again.

After finding the selection of “girls” t-shirts a disappointing, I have taken matters in to my own hands. Sure pink, lavender and white are nice now and then, but sometimes a girl needs more choice.

I proudly present little e's dollied up T-shirts. Hopefully they will end off the inevitable “What a lovely young man” comments you get when not wearing pink.

The T-shirts are from the “boys” rack in the store. I have used steam a seam and straight stitch to applique the picture. After half a dozen washes the applique is still wearing well. I'm currently plotting floral matroushkas and woodgrain bunnies and maybe squirrels.

I will be posting this wonderful quilt to Zoe tomorrow. I signed up to the Bend-the-Rules – Sewing Swap sometime in September.

Zoe's fabric turned up and I was ready to get stuck into it. She sent a few Jitterbug prints and co-ordinating plains. I will show you the whole thing when it has arrived, but for now here's just a glimpse.

At the time I signed up I had every intention of getting the quilt finished quickly and posted shortly after, then the morning sickness started. I'm beginning to feel a lot better. I managed to get the quilt finished only 2 weeks late. My quilt from Zoe turned up last week so I had better get a wriggle on and get hers in the mail.

I can now confirm that it is possible to burn microwave popcorn. My husband likened it to burning water – verging on impossible. But it is possible. I have seen it with my own eyes and unfortunately tasted it too.

Fortunately, I haven't completely lost my touch and managed to make some carrot and orange cupcakes. I used some of the many many cupcake cases that Aussie Rose sent me some time back. They taste good too, much better than the popcorn.