10 things I have smelt, heard, tasted and touched in the last week:

1 the feel of thawed flaky pastry as I placed it in a baking tin at the weekend! The photo is for an upcoming recipe in the Blind Foundation’s Outlook magazine! Look out for it real soon!

2 the sound of my sister’s old friends getting together on Saturday night for a drink.

3 the taste of the lasagne my cousin made for my mother that we all enjoyed on Monday night for tea!

4 the smell of winter on Sunday night when I went out to bring the washing in! In the dark! Ha ha ha! It was such a wonderful smoky smell – if the truth be known, probably the smell of open fires!

5 the taste of a peanut butter bar I made on Saturday for our weekend treat. (recipe below)

6 the sound of the audience laughing today as I spoke at an Employment hui! It was fun!

7 the smell of baking coming from Number 7 Balmac as we walked past it in the morning!

8 the feel of the snood I knitted for around my neck! It keeps me warm! I love snoods!

9 the sound of the X Factor contestants in the final on Monday night! I liked it but I’m glad it’s over! IS this what having an addiction is like? That compelling feeling that you have to do it but not being that satisfied when you do! Crikey!

10 the sound of Bryan Crump on Radio NZ National interviewing me last night! What a fun interview – especially when he said it was a cute photo of me with two ladies on Lake Titikaka in Peru! “Bryan – that’s no lady – that’s my husband!”