In a yellow wood goes commercial! :)

A shameless advertisement today! I have finally managed to get my online shop opened at Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/Inayellowood. There has been much procrastination but it went live yesterday. If you are interested in vintage knick-knacks and clothes (the latter will be uploaded shortly), please drop by and have a look. Its very much in its beginning stages at present, with not many items listed, but this will grow given the frequency with which I visit thrift stores!

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Our crazy weather continues on today with winds of up to 60 km/h predicted by lunchtime. Spring, where are you?

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The election campaign which has been dominating the news here in Australia for weeks (it feels like years) will finally be over this Saturday. And I still haven't decided who to vote for! I have considered doing a 'donkey vote', so non-plussed am I by all of the parties, but then my conscience nags at me about what a privilege it is to be able to vote and how many people in other countries don't have the vote etc., etc. So I still have no idea what I will do once I am in that little booth.

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With the grim, wintery weather continuing on, our front porch is increasingly resembling a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. I dropped some seed near the path yesterday and ever since, as the wind has blown the seed towards the house, the birds have moved further and further towards us, realising too I assume that there's shelter to be had if they get a bit closer.

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And of course the cold means baking. Well, it does to me anyway. I have converted my basic cake recipe into a basic muffin recipe and have now added either mixed dried fruit or orange zest with marmalade centres. Absurdly easy. And even easier to eat. Harder to avoid...

I posted this a few weeks ago, but just in case you want to try it...

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

Pinch salt

1 cup sugar

Few drops vanilla essence

2 unbeaten eggs

4 ozs. butter (melted)

1/2 cup milk

Combine. Bake at 180 degrees celsius. Depending on your filling, muffins can take up to half an hour. Just keep an eye on them.