Warning: The following culinary descriptions are hazardous to your health.
Christmas will soon be here and now there's the fun of planning and preparing for the time ahead. Some of my preparations are done like Christmas cake, pudding, mince pie filling and the boiling of many cans of condensed milk. I was interested to read about (and added to my stumbleupon) condensed milk or "sguchyonka" in the old Soviet Union where it was considered a luxurious necessity that was readily available. It was a treat for my mother to as she grew up (in Queensland, AU) and certainly for myself and I know my daughter also. Hmmm, a maternal tradition in our family..

What will I do with all those cans of condensed milk, collected over time and then one day  immersed in a pot on the stove in boiling water, regularly topped up for 4 hours??

There are various things ..one is a wonderful Caramel Tart which my mother devised many years ago and I have wholeheartedly continued the tradition. (My father loved this.)

It has a crunchy base with no added sugar that complements the sweet filling which is decorated with cream and chocolate. That needs a picture when I make it I think and the following delight which is known to some as chocolate caramel slice or "Millionaires Shortbread" (because it is so rich) in the UK where it is made with a shortbread base.

I have a great shortbread recipe that is delicious by itself but I use that to make the base. After the base is cooked and cooled you spread on the caramel filling and I think the filling should be quite deep, certainly thicker then the base for aesthetic considerations alone but also for the wonderful party that will happen in your mouth. Then to finish chocolate melted and mixed with some cream or butter must be poured over the top and allowed to set. I believe the chocolate topping should not be as thick as the base but still substantial enough to provide the right proportion of chocolate to caramel and with the base all three components make the perfect bite. How do you eat it ? Savour each bite by smelling, crunch down, chew and let it melt in your mouth. I have to say that tea or coffee goes well with this but you know at the time what you need. (coffee is a great complement to the flavours)

I have this at home to share with family and as a little gift for friends at Christmas time when it is always a thrill to involve each sense in the whole experience.

YESSSSSSSSSSS! It must have happened only small hours before or maybe minutes but Sweety has given birth!!!! From first examination of the appropriate area it seems there are two girls and two boys..the girls are (I think) the two with more white colouring, like their mother. Vinny is the taupe coloured one and he seems quite exploratory already! No other names picked out so far though.

I borrowed them for a few minutes to take these special photos and now they are all happily together again. The four of them fit into both my hands.

UPDATE: A Terrible Confession

When I put them back in under the tin house I am not sure how it happened but  one of them must have been right on the edge and after I put the rock on top I came back at 10. 30 to find one squashed !!!!!!!!!! ))))))))))))))) but amazingly still alive. I hated what I had done and feel responsible for it but the good news is that after gentle finger stroking there was a good response  because she was still slightly moving. Soon her breathing was better and I asked God to please have mercy upon this little one because He cares  for sparrows, I know he cares for cavies to and He heard my prayer and mercifully for me also answered. Praise  Yahweh! Now she is looking completely unsquashed and both eyes open and very lively. It was a little girl -  the one on the end. Last check she is right in the middle of all the other babies and Mum nearby and all looking happy. Just in case I have a dropper and we are buying some @Pentavite vitamin drops ..two drops to 50 mls of low fat milk .This probably will not be needed but it may come in handy another time or for other babies, who knows?

Strange Thing...A number of blogs back..last week sometime ..I had a dream about a dead cavy..that incidentally looked squashed! Dreams and the reason for them are an occult thing. I think to me this shows more then anything another reason to call upon the Lord. He wants us to acknowledge Him and ask Him for what we need.

Good Morning! I am drinking a coffee to get ready for exercises which I will do very soon before it gets too warm. In the meantime I have a mixed bag of things to show you.

Sweety from behind looks like she has swallowed a super sized jellybean! My husband noticed her rocking on her back a little and I sympathize with her!! Likewise will all ladies out there who have carried babies to full term. Near the end there is a strong feeling of needing to release your 'burden' and be able to see the fruits of the womb because by then the womb is getting tired.  Little ..? Sweety has more then one baby in there. I was not able to get a good shot from behind however it could be any  time now.

Here she is just near the opening of one of their dwellings.  Bruce is standing

 near by but further in tho he is dark so you may not see him in the shadow. 

Just before last night's baking and afterwards - this is a sourdough

whole wheat with lots of ground wheat sprouts mixed through and some whole

and as you can see, lots of  pumpkin and sesame seeds on top.

(I like using those seeds on top and sometimes all through the bread..yummy!)

The liquid I used was kefir tho I realize it is best reserved to use without heating

 which would destroy the beneficial bacteria however I think it adds a nuance

 to the flavour of the bread.

And here are fresh blooms from the tyre planter!

Here I have just downloaded a prg that converts pdf files at the click of a button . The site is http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ and this particular prg is there to download free for the next 12 hours? after which it is available at normal price again of $49.95.

" PDF to Image is an easy-to-use software for converting a PDF document into TIFF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP and EMF files. The software supports all Adobe PDF modifications. The PDF to Image converter retains the layout, images, text and formatting of the original PDF file. PDF to Image is a highly efficient standalone software which doesn't require Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.

The program is available for $49.95, but is free for the visitors of Google today."

The sister site  http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/ gives away free games over a 24 hour period so both sites support serious  independent publishers by offering this prg free to us, the public, for a limited time.

I regularly visit both sites and recommend a visit to all who are interested in free games and /or free utilities.