April filmed this as  Mary’s present just after Christmas, my apologies I have taken some time to process the video and get this published, but here we are April’s Thai culinary extravaganza.

What’s on the menu?

In this film April explains what she will be cooking this evening.

done

Preparing the Pad Thai

April will now take us through preparing Pad Thai, you can download the recipe for Pad Thai here.

Pad Thai

done

Tom Yam Soup

Next April prepares the Tom Yam Soup, April’s recipe for Tom Yam Soup can be downloaded here

Tom Yam Soup

done

Thai Red Curry

Once the soup is prepared April then moves on to making a Thai Red Curry, you can find the recipe here

Thai Red Curry

done

Jasmine Rice

April now starts to cook the Jasmine Rice, and we discover that Rick only cleaned half the kitchen!

The recipe for Jasmine Rice is available here

Jasmine Rice

done

Beef with Spring Onions and Ginger

While the rice is cooking April prepares beef with spring onions and ginger, you can get the recipe here

Beef with spring onions and ginger

done

Now lets check on the Rice

Having prepared the beef and spring onions April now checks to see how the rice has cooked

done

Cooking the Pad Thai

April now cooks the Pad Thai from the ingredients that she prepare earlier

done

Serving the finished meal

April now shows us the finished meal and I demonstrate why I can’t speak Thai

done

Well Mary I hoped you enjoy this, we did it was delicious!

Steve sent me this picture, he is out in Singapore at the moment on business, pah! I am going to Cardiff next week!

Steve says
‘Here I am hard at work in Singapore. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Singapore Sling in Raffles achieved.Another ambition ticked off
Steve’.

Steve in Raffles in Singapore

Hello all

Cath has posted some new pictures on the At Home in Kent page, there is a cute one of Cath and Fynn and a bizarre one of Cath as a Snowman.

Tim says

Lachlan arrived yesterday night just as we were about to settle down to watch
Kung Fu Panda!  We got to the hospital at about 10.45pm and he was born 32
minutes later. I think he was in a hurry to enjoy some seasonal cheer or
desperate to avoid the movie!

We are all well although strangely quite
tired.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Karen, Indira, Lachlan
& Tim (or KILT for short).

Karen and Lachlan

Lachlan Cian Wood

Tim and Lachlan

Lachlan, Indi and Heloise

Congratulations from all of us

Here is our Christmas greeting from deepest Wales

done

In Bedford Uncle Alan visited Mum, Steve and Mary last night

Uncle Alan and Mum

He offered us this Christmas message

Steve also recorded this Christmas message

Chris has also sent us a Christmas Eve poem

Christmas Eve Wishes
To be sung rigorously to the tune of “Deck the Halls”

XFD has done its magic
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
No-one need be sad or tragic
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
As we find the Christmas Stocking
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Thanks to Rick for all his blogging
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la

Colm and April have their “shiny”
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Karen something for her “tiny”
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Magic swapped for DNA
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
As for me I’ve YES to play
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la

On the beach or in the drizzle
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
XFD won’t fade or fizzle
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Rick you really are a star
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
With Rene then, HALLELUJAH!

And it’s STILL beginning to look a lot like Fishmen…

Today on BBC Radio Wales Lili was singing as part of the National School Choir of Wales in the Carols for Christmas Concert.

Here is the Choir singing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

Tell us about your Christmas wishes either for the family, yourselves or the world?

Hello All

Tim has sent these pictures of Indi, Karen and Tim as they prepare for Thursday

Also here is my favourite view of our house at Christmas,

Arriving at Tollgate at Christmas

Our Christmas Tree nearly finished

Our Welsh tree nearly decorated

Hello all

For the 22nd Cath offers this virtual tree (I phoned her to get a picture of hers and hers like mine, and Steve’s is still in the bag in the garden – thank god for that, I thought we were the only ones).

Click on the link and follow the intructions

Cath's Virtual Tree

Cath’s virtual card

The 2 dogs are the spitting image of Cath’s dogs Fynn and Daisy, although in reality Daisy is not made of Snow, and Chudliegh is called Fynn, it is his stage name.

Hello all

It is apt that for the Solstice we should feature Chris’s tree and just for good measure a bit of Jethro Tull (steady Tim)

Chris's Tree

Also Chris offers this extra, this blast from the past is Chris as an Angel in a Westbourne nativity play.

Chris is an Angel - type cast obviously

When  Chris and Mum spent the weekend together at the beginning of December they sung a Carol together and Chris video’d it

done

Over the next couple of days I would really like to post pictures of our trees or decorations this year, so send me pictures of your 2008 trees or other decorative stuff.

Hello all

Great Uncle Ken sent me this picture of Jessie the Christmas cat today featured at Cat of the Day.

Jessie from Cat of the Day

Thanks to Great Uncle Ken for today’s offering, under a week to go until Christmas and if you are like us you are running around like crazy people. The kids are desperate to finish school, Philippa is riffling through her lists and muttering under her breath, and I am only sustained by the thought that in 6 days I will be dozing in front of the Doctor Who Christmas special.