Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas Shortbread, the boy version

Our Day, Advent Activity #21
First, we made the shortbread early.  We used this recipe again, and I have to say the boys found it pretty tricky trying to cut shapes from the piping consistency dough, but if you can overlook the wonky edges, the end result was delicious!  As Cherub held his tray up for the photo, he said, proudly,  I'm a chef.

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Second: We went to a friend's great big Christmas party at her frankly magnificent house in Hawthorn. And when I say big party, I'm talking TWO bouncing castles, pony rides, face-painting and a magician kind of big.  My friend -an ex tap student- got us all to bring a present for the Salvos Giving Tree which I thought was a fantastic idea.  Two years ago her lovely oldest daughter learned tap with Climber's class, and she and Climber had this great spark together, so although they're a bit shy when they see each other again it's not long before they're showing off for each other.  Sadly, I had to drag the kids away from the ace party before they saw whether the bunny rabbit survived the box with the spikes and knives through it, and although they'd been a bit shy and dubious about the party to start with they were most reluctant to leave.

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Thirdly and finally, I hastily dropped the kids with Fixit so that I could scoot out to The Arts Centre to meet the lovely Fairlie for a Theatre Date.  We saw the MTC production of Songs For  Nobodies, by Joanna Murray-Smith. The play was specifically written to showcase the amazing singing talents of Bernadette Robinson.  The official blurb is:
In Joanna Murray-Smith’s Songs for Nobodies we meet five anonymous women whose brushes with fame had a profound effect on their lives, interleaved with the songs that gave them heart.
Bernadette Robinson's voice is extraordinary, her renditions of Garland, Cline, Piaf, Holiday and Callas are spookily good, and the play is excellently written to match the wonderful singing.  If you get the chance to see this play you really should, it was 90 minutes of magic. I think my favourite was the Edith Piaf story, but they were all great. 

6 comments:

  1. Shortbread day tomorrow at my place.

    That is quite a party! No wonder the boys wanted to stay. (HA! my word verification is horse - that's almost a pony...)

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  2. Love awesome parties - you should see what birthday parties are like in this section of the world - oVER THE TOP.

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  3. I think I might give that shortbread a try...because of course I don't have enough to do between now and Saturday...!!

    Got some fudge made last night on a whim, why not do shortbread too? :)

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  4. Saw Songs for Nobodies in Geelong earlier this year. Bernadette is fantastic and I first saw her about 15 years ago doing a Piaf show at a friend's 25th wedding anniversary party. Then saw her at a show "You Might As Well Live" in Melbourne. Glad you enjoyed it and the kids party sounded awesome too!

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  5. Those shortbread look divine!! Years (and years - like teen years) ago I made shortbread and my then 3 year old sister asked "what are you making*" I said "Shortbread!" - She thought for a little and looked up at me and said "How short will it be*"

    Sorry - my question mark key is not working!!!

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