Time marches on.

September 1st and I still haven't figured out how to put pictures up on this blog. Nor have I had very much of interest to write about. The only truly exciting news is that we on the Gold Coast finally had a good shower of rain. Enough to put off No. 6. water restrictions for another month. Of all the states in Australia, Queensland is faring the worst. Still, despite all the dire predictions and comments about climate change this isn't the worst drought Australia has ever had. Back in the beginning of the last century, the country experienced one which was far, far worse. Amazing how folk forget the past and only focus on the here and now, or at the most, the recent past. However, there's no denying that all of us have to become much more water conscious and stop pouring it on the garden and, literally, down the drain.

At the moment I've switched from reading popular crime novels to something more cerebral. Yesterday I finished THE DISNEY WARS, which I thoroughly enjoyed, as well as THE RESTLESS SLEEP -- an inside look at the workings of the detectives in New York Cold Case division of the police force -- a book I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in crime fiction. Now I've gone back to reading Bettany Hughes historical narrative HELEN OF TROY.

In between reading, I've almost finished the prayer shawl which was featured in Debbie Macomber's BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET. It probably sounds like tooting my own horn but I think it's coming along nicely despite one or two glitches which I've had to go back and correct. Once this is off my plate and on its way to the recipient I plan to start on another one of my famous/infamous(?) ponchos. as well as a hot pink furry bolero for my granddaughter in Denver so exercising my fingers is going along nicely despite one or two patches when I've had to put the knitting aside.

Talking of exercising. The hydro-therapy classes I started on are going well and I'm reaping the rewards. My arthritic joints are now much more flexible so I'll definitely keep up the good work although I find taking an hour out of my day three times a week definitely cuts down on my productiveness. Still, I manage to keep the house reasonably clean, the fridge and pantry filled and the laundry up to date although the ironing regularly falls behind. Must do something about that in the not too distant.

The other day when I was speaking to my wonderful daughter-in-law in Denver I remarked how tedious I was finding putting my collection of recipes in some sort of order so that I could find what I want without too much hassle, and she suggested that I put them into my blog so that's what I plan to do. So, if anyone ever reads this thing and wants to try them out, be assured that these will be recipes that I've used time and time again over the last 45 years. Some of them will be old ones which almost every cook uses but, hopefully, some will something new, different and exciting; as will the kitchen tips which I'll post from time to time.

In the meantime, here's my favourite recipe for Madeleines. Ever since I came across Proust's reminiscences about Madeleines I've been determined to bake the perfect Madeleine and this recipe is the best I've managed to come up with and has stood the test of time. I great little something to finish off a family meal when one hasn't had time to make a proper dessert.

LEMON MADELEINES

1 egg
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 cup plain flour
2 oz butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to hot. Grease and flour a 12-hole madeleine pan or tart tray.

Add essence to melted butter and mix well.

Beat egg and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until thick and creamy. Add rind; fold in sifted four, the butter/essence mix.

Drop about 1 tablespoon of mixture into the prepared pan and bake until lightly browned ( about 8 minutes). Stand for 3 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

Serve with sifted icing sugar over the top or, if desired, make up a glace icing -

1 cup sifted icing sugar mix
1 teaspoon soft butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Place ingredients into a small heat proof bowl and stand bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir until icing is of a pouring consistency.

Place a biscuit sheet under the wire rack and brush the icing over the top of the madeleines. Allow the icing to set.

And as they say, Bon appetit!