Monday, March 14, 2011

Monday, Monday...............

Now don't be fooled by his sweet demeanour.
You know the old saying:-

It's not the size of the dog in the fight ,
It's the size of the fight in the dog.

Wee Jock may be a cutie but he's a canny wee Scot (Westie actually!)

He's been inspired by Pene over at Scrap my Midlife Crises. She has some cute little Westies made using a die cutter and I couldn't resist making some using the tartan sent to me by Anne at Nana Go Go

Apart from 'playing' there's also been some time out with hubby and No.1 son.
It doesn't happen very often these days as they are often away on weekends travelling to music gigs.
So when it does happen, it's very special and time to be relished.
I decided we should head up the Kiewa Valley and have lunch at Ceccanti Winery.

Off the beaten track Ceccanti is a small family run winery.
They serve Tuscan food and we sat at an outside table enjoying the balmy weather and lovely breeze.
Above is the view from where we were sitting.

Peaceful and relaxing.

Time to be savoured.



Cheers, pure rain water...........

We're teatotallers.


But we enjoy good food and this antipasti platter was as delicious as it looked.

Made for two but shared by three it didn't leave quite enough room for the next course...........


Ok, so now you can put a face to the writer of these ramblings.

It's me on the right .........


Spaghetti Carbonara, like no other.
No 1 and I couldn't resist a bowl of pasta while hubby had a warm chicken salad.

The pasta was unbelievably delicious.
Not at all creamy as I would have expected and not sure what the meat was, prosciutto or parma ham!
It was the best Carbonara I have ever had.
Unfortunately, it was just a little on the large size.
No 1 just managed to finish his and then promptly announced he was sinking into a "Carbonara Coma"
You know that feeling you get just after you have lunch and all you want to do is have a siesta......
Hubby finished off the last few mouthfuls of my meal.

Sadly, the dessert menu which we always read before the mains, (don't you?) wasn't needed.
After looking at the photo of hubby and myself perhaps it's just as well........

Although after lunch we headed up the valley to Mt. Beauty where we had a lovely coffee at the bakery and couldn't resist sharing a Vanilla Slice.
The perfect sweet treat to finish off a lovely outing.

Well, it's back to the usual routine tomorrow with work.

I'm not going to complain at having to be up at 5.15am
I'm going to be thankful and count my many blessings.

Life goes on despite the devastation taking place across the other side of the world.
It's hard to comprehend and take it all in.

Thankyou for taking time to stop and read my ramblings and for leaving a comment.

Till next time, take care of yourselves and those you love,

Claire X









21 comments:

  1. Your weather looks glorious up there and it sounds like you had the perfect day. The westie is too cute for words.
    Anne xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like the perfect day out to me!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's lovely to put a face to the name, you are braver than me, I'm still hiding behind Sweetie! Looks like you had a great time, and love the pup!! Yollie:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Little Jock looks sweet! You're really good at that machine embroidery, I should definitely try it some day! A beautiful day out as well, my mum and I always check the sweet menu first to decide whetehr we should have a starter or sweet! :) Have a great Monday! :) x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wee Jock is a little cutie and the tartan goes so well with the blue background.
    It's so nice to see what you look like.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Why Claire...you're beautiful!!!!!!

    So happy to now have a lovely face to go with the comments.

    Looks like the three of you had a wonderful and relaxing time. The food looks enticing and the scenery awesome.

    Love the cute Scotty dog!

    Have a great week

    janet xox

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Claire , great to put a face to the name :0)You look like a lovely couple.
    5.15 is very early , yikes , I thought 6.30 was bad enough.
    Looks like a relaxing trip and all that yummy food is making me hungry.
    Jacquie x

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's YOU!! And aren't you lovely? The answer is yes. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow Claire! I can`t believe how clever you`re being with the tartan - I LOVE Wee Jock and his coat`s adorable! I love the egg cosies too on your last post. I`d never have thought of doing anything like your fabulous creations with the tartan and it`s funny to see it sitting in your house now, when just the other week, it was sitting in mine!
    Fab pics of you and yours - what a lovely couple you make and of course the boy`s handsomeness speaks for itself - you must have the girls lining up at the door for him!
    Take care, Claire.
    Much Love xxx

    ReplyDelete
  10. I expected you to be wearing a Wonder woman outfit! as you seem to get so much done!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Claire, looks like you had a lovely lunch, and nice to put a face to the name, seems like you are lucky up there with all the great little foodie haunts tucked all over the place, I'd like to spend a weekend doing a bit of a food trail through the valley, I'm sure it would be great!!
    PS. Wee Jock is very cute, and you are so clever with your sewing!! Julie :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thankyou everyone for your lovely comments, It is nice to be able to put a face to a name...............
    So who's going to take up the challenge and step in front of your camera?
    Gigibird I can't fit into the Wonder Woman outfit too much pasta............

    More 'playing' with tartan taking place this week, I'm having alot of fun with it.

    Claire :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am so very glad that you found me in blog land - we have so much in common too.

    My husband and I have travelled a lot in Oz - sadly our long distance travelling is now at an end but what fantastic places and experiences we had - so many wonderful memories.

    I just love your blog and will be an avid follower - and lots of catching up to do. I did click your website page in your profile to yoour chicken blog but it didn't work

    Off to bed now - will be back soon

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely pic of you and hubby!! And let's see, I LOVE the Scottie, the food looks fantastic (I had spaghetti carbonara last night!) and your son is a cutie. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Those are lovely photos of your family day out Claire. The meal looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  16. ...oooh my mouth is watering I love pasta...lovely to see your smiling face I often wonder what people look like...I put my pic on my recent post too...but hid behind some dark specs...

    ReplyDelete
  17. i love the westie you captured their sprit :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Claire, I'm working on it still don't have enough courage. I just had my passport photo redone, that would be a nice one to post NOT!!!!!!!! -It's worse that the drivers licence one if that could even be possible!:( Amazing what 10 years does to you (when the last photo taken). I wonder if the people who take these shots are trained to get the worse angle???? Have a great week! Yollie

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hmmm...my tummy's rumbling, that food looks lovely. The perfect day!

    ReplyDelete
  20. A picture of Claire!! Your'e just as pretty as I imagined you would be.

    Your dinner looks scrumptious!

    ReplyDelete

Life's busy isn't it?......thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I love hearing from you and will reply via email unless you are set up as a
'no reply blog'
in which case I will reply here on the comments page...♥

Thankyou xx