Here we go again.

Well the title says it all when it comes to making ginger beer. Nearly blew the doors off the pantry just before Christmas. We heard a terrible muffled explosion from the depths and one of the pantry doors flew open.

Jordan flung the other door open to see what the heck had happened in there. OH WOW! What a mess! Ginger beer over everything and dripping all over the floor! Blew the side clean out of the bottle as you can see from the photo. (Taken outside after the "incident")

It took ages to clean up but I have to say it took so much longer than it should have because none of us could stop laughing! I had one more bottle in the fridge which I VERY carefully took outside, I expected it to go berserk at any minute. I made it outside safely but when I loosened the lid it went up like Mt. Vesuvius! 

The commentary when we were cleaning up kept us in fits; Jordan reckons Monsanto had planted a bomb because I'm always bagging them out. (Google them if you don't know about these very nasty people) and Kim says I'm hopeless at making ginger beer but I'm brilliant at making explosives. lol. Needless to say I'm banned from fermenting anything again.

I must say everyone has been telling me their brewing stories and I'm convinced there's a book in this. From nearly killing the cat with a cork from exploding elderflower wine, to a lass' dad thinking he was under fire again in the war when her wine blew up in the spare wardrobe at 3am; we've been kept in stitches.  

..............................I'm pretty sure Mark isn't going to let me get that still that I wanted.

Merry Christmas

Doesn't the tree look empty with no presents left under it? Oh hang on there's a couple we haven't passed along yet. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas day; we certainly did. We did receive lovely presents and ate lots of food but the best part as always was just being with the family.

We're looking forward to the new year. I don't usually bother with resolutions because like most people I'm a bit slack about keeping them but this year will be different!

These aren't in any particular order and it's not a complete list but it's a start.

1) Get the garden producing even more and put in more fruit trees and some nut trees.

2) Apart from my "treats" minimal  non-essentials buying for a year. (not as hard as it sounds for me - I hate shopping, don't need to buy things to make me feel good about myself and can't stand clutter.lol ) And in case you're wondering, my "treats" vary. I absolutely believe in treating yourself to a great book, a lunch with a friend, time out for a walk, or whatever is a treat to you. It's a mistake to think that treats have to even cost.

3) Learn to make more things from scratch. (finally doing my making sourdough bread course in the new year woo hoo)

4) Make the most of the time I have with my friends and be firm about not allowing not-nice people into my space.(wasn't I polite there - "not-nice people" lol). I want to spend more time with people who are positive about life in general rather than the negative types.

5) look seriously into aquaculture.

I'm sure you have you're own resolutions that you're thinking about. Go for it! Do a course, join a club, take a walk and smell the roses, learn or teach a new skill. Life is far too short to waste.

Viva La Soapnuts.

I'm a huge fan of soap nuts! I became a convert when we first moved to the country and for the first time was restricted in what I could use in the washing machine because of the septic system. Little nuts that grow wild in India, they contain saponin a natural washing ingredient. When the nut shells come into contact with water they release the saponin and viola - suds! They're eco friendly, economical and compostable. I also love that the ones I buy are sourced from a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation. I don't use anything else now.

I ordered mine through www.newint.com.au. For $17.95 I got 500grams of soap nut shells and 3 cotton washing bags. That size bag does around 200 washes!

I only use cold water so I just pop 6 or so in one of the little washing bags, dunk it in some hot water for a minute and throw it in the wash.

 I use the little bag full for about 4 or 5 washes then toss the nuts into the garden. The water can be re-used as grey water as it only contains natural ingredients. I've also used them to clean my gold jewellery ( just let the jewellery soak in a container of water and a few nuts) and as a pet wash. They're said to be fabulous for people with sensitive skin - none of us have that but they have been spot on with all their claims so I have no reason to doubt it.
It's a win win really - fair trade, a product that works and no nasty chemicals - which is a welcome change from the chemical cocktails we all come into contact with every day.
Viva la soapnuts!

Simple Saturday.

A mistake is simply another way of doing things.                  

                

Katherine Graham.

Count to 10 and eat a pikelet!

What a week-end. Phew I'm glad it's over quite frankly! As the saying goes " The best laid plans.........." Don't you find there are just some days you would really hope never became the subject for the Ground Hog Day movie!!

Mark and I spent the morning in the garden; putting in some more tomatoes, capsicum, onions,and carrots; seasol-ling everything in sight and generally tidying up around the fruit trees and some other trees we planted further down the back. The heat will be upon us soon (I have it on good authority that summer will get here.) and so we fed, watered and mulched to keep them nice and healthy to withstand the crazy temperatures we get here. We companion plant  and were having a bit of a laugh as I tried to work out where to put some of the new veges. Good grief some of them are almost as prickly as human beings when it comes to who they can live happily near! I plonked some marigolds about all the gardens to ward off a few pests - hardworking little treasures that they are - and picked a big bunch of agapanthus for the family room.

The fig tree that delivered one solitary little fruit last year now has about a dozen of various sizes, some quite large, and more coming on.

The blueberry is still delivering but honestly few make it through the door. lol. I do love standing by the tree and eating a hand-full of fresh little berries; smirking at the birds. Haha - not a one for those thieving creatures this year!

The grape vines have gone mad but are a little too young to get any good fruit yet; maybe next time.

I finished up in the garden and came inside to cook whilst Mark did a few last bits and pieces. After a difficult week-end it was lovely to potter about the garden and then the kitchen. I could feel the tension ease as I got out the mixing bowls.

It's easy to get caught up in things and throw away your peace. For me just getting my hands dirty and looking with satisfaction at a job well done puts things back into perspective. Working about the kitchen makes everything a lot rosier. It's important to get your equilibrium back by doing something you enjoy.

I made some things for Mark to take to work and then just popped on some pikelets for afternoon tea. A tray  with a nice hot cuppa, some pikelets and jam (lemon juice and a dash of sugar for me - yum) and a relaxing chat on the deck.

Deep breath - ahhhhhhh - life really is O.K.

Simple Saturday.

           It's not what happens to you, but how you react that matters.   
                                            * Epictetus *


                      

Monday.

My brother is very ill in hospital; there'll be no posts for the moment. Please keep him in your prayers.

Simple Saturday.

A photo, a quote maybe. The KISS principle is alive and well on Saturdays.

Looking Back.

So here we are 12 months on. On reflection it's been the busiest, most fun, most frustrating year of our lives.  It's been such a time of learning; a time of establishing even more firmly in our lives the belief that life can be simple and abundant.

We've had successes and some failures - though the "failures" are just an integral part of the learning curve. We began this venture with a vision to be as self-sufficient as is possible for us.(self-sufficient.......ish)
 I guess it's not what everyone would choose though more and more are. We, like so many people all over the world, have turned our back on the "gotta have it" mentality (I don't know that we ever really bought into that rubbish anyway). There is so much more to life (and to us) than owning "stuff". To be present  - I mean REALLY present in the moment is an art well-learned, and one I'm still to master completely. :)

So what are some of the things we've learnt??? For me - I've been able to grow so many  more veges and fruit; quite a few additions to my vocabulary (bumble foot springs to mind), cured a chooks foot with natural remedies (this is where bumble foot comes in)  learned how to make things I never knew one could make at home, coaxed the girls through the moulting period with barely a drop in production (eggs I'm talking about) found out I need to duck when walking under the tree where the bird-feeder hangs, been glad I decided to stockpile essentials so I didn't have to go to the shops for bits and pieces; and learned that its O.K............no .......essential to relax after a big day with a cold drink and feet up watching the birds and wildlife. A surprising lesson was that it's further for people to drive 20 mins in the country than it is to drive 20 mins in the city. :) There is so much more that we've done, achieved and learnt, for just one year it seems the list is huge.

We love our new life and the people who've come across our path because of it; interesting, clever people who have something to share and teach us. I've always appreciated the fact that I have a clever husband who is able to do most things but he has really come into his own out here. I come up with these ideas - not always practical and just a little crazy at times - but Mark finds a way to sort it out. Very handy man to have around. I think I'll keep him. :)

This is the crop of garlic drying a few weeks back. I had bought the cloves at Gloucester Organic Market ages ago. Garlic does feel like it takes forever to harvest (about 8 months for these) but its worth waiting for. I use to grow them in suburbia but only a few because of space. I think I got over 100 if I remember correctly. Given the amount of rain we've had here I was very surprised to get such a good crop.

I attempted to braid them (attempted but didn't do it very well) and hung them off my undercover clothes-line until we got some dampish weather so now they are strung up in the laundry cupboard. I never could braid Kim's hair when she was little - time hasn't improved my technique. :) The smaller ones I'll use and mince some of them, the others will last quite a few months.




I ran out of liquid soap in the laundry and kitchen a couple of days ago so thought I'd try to make my own. After consulting various recipes it seemed the easiest was just a cake of pure sunlight soap, grated and mixed with hot water. I did one cake to 4 litres of water, glycerine and lavender oil. I just winged it with the glycerine and lavender. It looked a bit like, well never mind, but the consistency wasn't pretty. lol. I scooped some into a pump bottle, about half filled it, topped it with hot water and gave it a shake. Viola! One less thing I have to think about.

                                       The beginning on the left and the lovely goop on the right.
                                                                                              

The end product. We'll see how it keeps. It's in the blue bucket with a lid on and the date that it was made. I know there are other ways to make it and I will experiment when I have more time but for the moment it will do just fine. :)




It's a new year for us and a new day tomorrow. See you then. :)

Spring time is busy time.

Sorting out the garden and keeping up with the mowing - just two things to keep us busy at this time of year. Planning ahead in the vegie garden has been a big learning curve. I think for some it will be either a feast or famine. At least I'll have a better idea next year.

It's such a pretty time of year. We've got a few grevillias about the place; lovely bright red and a gorgeous magenta one.

The dog fence is going up at the moment so Bonnie has her own little place to run about.

I'm looking at overhauling the blog. I started it as a personal record as well as a "drop-in" place for my os cousins and relatives to catch up with what we are up to. Whilst it's served its purpose in that respect I've been thinking about how I want to use it from here on. It will still be our record of our journey but I want to expand it. Recipes, how to's - all sorts of stuff.  Yes there is probably a plethora of blogs and info on anything you can think of but not from my perspective. lol. 

I'm looking forward to updating and expanding; I hope you'll hang around. Stay tuned. :) 

Sunday.

Excuse me ..........who stole spring????? I have the fire going and it's pouring outside. Ah well, it's Sunday of a long week-end, and all is quiet here. Am about to watch a movie, what a great way to spend the day.
Kim and some friends had a spa party last night and it was 2 o'clock into bed so about the only energetic things I'll do today is retrieve the eggs, grab some potatoes and make stir-fry for dinner tonight. It was scream watching the girls in the spa; it was so cold and they had the spa so hot the steam was rising. They looked like those Japanese monkeys who sit in the hot springs - except these ones had a wine glass in hand. lol.

    

We're all going to lunch tomorrow in a little town not far from here; there's a nice little quirky restaurant there and all the family will be together. Nice!

The rain halts things a bit around the place but it doesn't matter; the sun will be back again soon enough.

Spring

One of the things I've found about growing your own veges is that even when there's not much ready to be picked , it's usually enough. It's a gift to be able to walk outside to the garden and pick fresh just what I want to use tonight. We"ll be having the peas and potatoes with dinner, and the eggs for breakfast.I used the last of my basil to make some pesto today as well as cooked a couple of cakes for the freezer and made some Vegemite and cheese scrolls. It was so good to get back into the kitchen and garden. An assignment I've had to do has consumed me  - thank goodness its all wrapped up and finished. There's not enough hours in the day sometimes.

        

  I've just started getting organised with planting seeds. Thank heavens the little greenhouse has magical powers, lol,  as everything grows at a crazy rate in there, so it won't be long before the summer veges are up and running.

Spring has arrived here in the valley; lovely temperatures in the high teens/low 20's last week and mid to high 20's in the week coming up. Woo hoo! The blueberry tree has to be netted this week as the berries will begin to turn soon and I'd rather WE enjoy the fruit than that awful bird that stripped the tree bare in the first two days when we moved here. I think I only got half a dozen blueberries last year!

The fruit trees were fed today and the gardens fertilized and watered well. The garlic has gone mad; I didn't lose a plant so I'll probably have more than enough for us and some to give away.I really want to ramp up the amount of herbs I have in; I love cooking with them but have stopped buying them from supermarkets. I think I've mentioned before the farm-gate shop about 15 minutes from here. You can buy fresh seasonal veges, fruit, milk, butter, cream and yummy preserves and you can go into their herb garden and just pick what you want.
That's the thing though, if you want fresh and best buy seasonal. I still get annoyed when I see cherries in the middle of the year and refuse to buy them. We can think we're lucky and spoiled for choice because we can buy anything at any time of the year but the price we pay is its usually sub-standard produce with very little taste; not to mention the flow on effect it has on our own farmers when the fruit/ veges are imported.

I'm trying to get us to a place where anything we have to buy is fresh and local. For instance, I love strawberries but there is a guy who grows them en masse here and he lets you pick your own. To me that's ideal - its lovely fruit, I don't have to do the work with them and so can put something else in that garden and I'm supporting a local industry. It's a win win!!!!!

Happy Birthday to me ......and everyone

What a busy time it is at the moment. My birthday just gone, my youngest sons next weekend, Fathers day the following Sunday, the next day is my daughters birthday and the day after hers is my eldest sons partners birthday!!!! Oh and in case we get a little complacent - Christmas is just around the corner lol.

A few weeks ago Kim and I went to lunch in a little village not far from here. It has a lot of yummy eateries and trendy little boutique shops; just right for a weekend browse. We wandered up a tucked away alley and I saw the most beautiful set of wrought iron gates. About 2 metres at their highest point, they just looked like they should be opened to lead to some place very special. I told Kim we need to build a secret garden in the back corner where the folly is and these gates could be at the beginning of the path.

We've decided to run with the secret garden idea; enclosing it about with a bird-friendly hedge. The path will be extended so it goes to different areas in the garden with plantings so that it disappears and reappears making a few small "rooms". I thought we could cover the path in glass bits; I don't know what its called; but it's smashed up glass that's been tumbled so there are no sharp edges. It looks really pretty in the sunlight and will add just the right look in the "secret garden" :) Amazing just how an idea can grow! Unbeknownst to me, when I had gone into town to have lunch with a couple of friends for my birthday, Kim had woken up Mark who was on night-shift and they hooked on the trailer and went into the village to buy me the gates!!!! Evidently they had it all planned and were waiting for me to leave. Not the first time they have done some sneaky planning! I had asked for a pink wheelbarrow for my birthday (the one we have is huge and I have trouble pushing it when its full) so got the shock of my life to find the gates leaning against the shed when they led me outside on my birthday! Bless their little cotton socks - they carried the gates down to the folly and stood them in place so I could see how they looked in situ. :)  I was very spoilt by family and friends but the best bit was hanging out with everyone.

 Tonight we'll be making our choices from the Geenpatch catalogue for our spring plantings. Time to get moving. I can't wait to get the seeds in and get sorted for the summer. Here's hoping it won't be as wet as our winter!

       

A Magic Moment.

This morning as I walked onto the deck on my way to the clothes line (yes the sun was shining.....woo hoo) a rainbow lorikeet landed not 6 feet away. I stopped in my tracks so as to not scare it and it gave a little tweet and waddled toward me, chattering away, seemingly unafraid. Sadly the dog spotted it through the window, barked and scared it off. But that brief moment was such an unexpected gift. 
     

How many wonderful things there are to be grateful for in this world?! How many unexpected gifts however brief?!

Today I'm glad about : lunch with my dear friend Heather. She's funny and caring, honest and wise and my life is better for knowing her.

                                 : the sun shining so I got all my washing dry. (gotta lurve that sun!!!!!!!!)

                                 : talking to my husband and each of my 3 children. There are not enough words to say how much I love and admire them.

                                 

                                 : flannelette sheets. :)

Actually the list is pretty well endless, now I think about it. An attitude of gratitude is a handy thing to have.

And an occasional magic moment with a rainbow lorikeet helps too. 

And Again.

And still it rains; with an occasional little peep through by the sun (VERY occasional!) I have to go into town today for a hair appointment and am not looking forward to it at all. The council has been doing road works all over the place and with the torrential rain there are holes everywhere!

A little taste of sunshine this morning.

So pottering about in the kitchen and checking the girls haven't drowned in the coop; that's about the sum total of my days at the moment. Feet up in front of a fire of a night. Very quiet here in Eden. :)

 PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES.

90 g butter

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 eggs

2 cups S.R. flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

Grease a muffin tray and set oven at 190c. Beat butter and peanut butter together, then gradually add sugar and beat until light. Stir in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour with the salt and add alternately with the milk. Spoon into the tins, filling half full, and bake for 20minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Makes about 24.

WET, WET,WET.

Oh well ,what the heck, lets have some more rain. We've had enough of the mild, warm winter days. NOT!!!!

Standard uniform on the east coast.

Its a horrible night; cold, windy and wet but we're tucked up inside with the fire going. I was complaining about how it seems to be getting colder instead of warming up. Mark says his dad always use to say "When the days lengthen, the cold strengthens."  I've never heard that saying but it certainly seems to be true at the moment.

The next day.

Well was going to play hell with a stick this weekend, but i'm flat on my back with a bulging disc so that puts paid to all my plans! This will be ,by necessity, a very short post; I'm typing 1 fingered, right handed and laying down. lol - not the easiest thing to do!

I'd like to say I will use this time for deep thinking and musings........perhaps I will. At the moment I'm just tired, sore and bored out of my brain! :)

Thursday.

Had a wonderful few days away in Mudgee seeing where Jordan lives now. What a beautiful place! Quite cold in the morning - brrrrr - ; Jord must be becoming acclimatized though because it doesn't bother him too much and he's always been a cold frog. We're looking forward to going back again, its a very historic area as well as having some very fine vineyards. :)
                                     
Well the rain has stopped for a while. The ground is starting to dry out a little though there are places around that are still quite soggy underfoot. There's not much one can do outside when its pouring but we aim to take advantage of the sunny days we're having at the moment. I can hear a ride-on somewhere close by so someone else is getting to work as well.

I picked the first few sugar-peas a couple of days ago  - and ate them immediately lol. Is there anything better than picking something and eating it there and then? The first lot of potatoes are up and the rest of the veges are struggling on with wet feet. :) The gardens have been pretty water-logged but being raised beds they don't stay too soggy.We were flooded in for a day or two last week; Kim wasn't able to get to work. It went down fairly quickly but the roads are a mess with pot-holes everywhere.

                                     The first wattle in flower on the property.

                                      Bon's favourite place on cold days.
                         The rug in family room is a nice place to catch the sun.

I'm off to bring up some wood for the fire tonight. We're expecting a lot more rain next week so it will pay to get a fair bit up close to the house and under cover. A bit of grocery shopping at some stage, housework and a recipe for ciabatta bread (which I love!) that's been waiting to be tested. I'll give it a go to have with dinner tonight.

I'm really looking forward to the week-end. Kim and I are whipping out to the vineyards to pick up a special present; Jordan will be home; Scott and Rae will be dropping in as well. Sadly Mark will be at work through the day but gets home around 8pm so we'll see him at least. I'm going to do a bit of painting over the week-end too. Lol - no not walls; watercolour. I haven't picked up a brush since we moved here and I miss it so much - so this week-end I've given myself permission to do what I want - painting it is!!!!

Baby it's cold outside.

What a cold and rainy day it is here.The east coast is certainly copping a lashing yet again.

As horrid as it is there's always things to do; though not a lot outside. I love being busy in the house on a nasty day. The chooks have had their warm mash but are still looking decidedly miserable. It's really cold today, poor things. Jordan will be home late Thursday night so I'll go shortly and put flannelette sheets and a good thick blanket on his bed. Kim has a head cold and is feeling miserable so I'll put her new sheets and a warmer blanket on as well. There's a single arum lily in flower from some plants my dad gave me about 15 years ago. I potted half a dozen before we moved and though I nearly lost them in the heat-wave earlier this year, they struggled on and I can see one brave little lily waving about in the wind. Might go and grab it now before it gets blown away. The lily and some lavender in a little vase on Kim's bed-side table might cheer the poor thing up a bit.



Dads Lily.

Whoa........ it is soooooo cold out there.

I've been wanting to use up some things in the freezer; individual containers of things; so today seems a good day to make use of the yummy hot dishes tucked away. There's meatballs in sauce so I'll cook up  some spaghetti for Mark's dinner, ham hock soup for me and I'll pop down some vege soup for Kim to warm her up when she gets in. I'm looking forward to doing a whole lot of cooking this weekend to fill up the freezer again; can't wait to try out the new stove in earnest. One of my favourite things is the freezer, gotta love that freezer! I like cooking ahead and it's great having something on hand if I'm busy (or just feeling lazy!)

I was looking at a few blogs recently and they were talking about menu planning. If you don't do it already give it a try; you'd be amazed at the time and money savings. As I think I've mentioned before ( and the girls and I were talking about it at lunch the other day) I originally started because it stopped the usual "what's for dinner" question from being asked and it saved time. I'd do a menu, stick it on the fridge, shop around it; defrost the meat the day before or prepare ahead of time, and there you go. I also found, like most  people, I threw out a LOT of left-overs and that sort of waste doesn't sit well with me at all. Menu planning can cut that right down. That's another little job for today, doing a couple of weeks menus. I'm not pedantic about it but it does simplify life and I'm all about keeping life simple. :)
Can I say though, don't be a food cop about it.Sometimes no-one really feels like a hot dinner or pasta or whatever, go with the flow. It stops being fun when it becomes a stress.

The Girls.

I know I have waxed lyrical about my 4 chickens on a few occasions but I am quite besotted with them. I'm still getting around 2 doz eggs a week even though they should really be going a bit off the lay by now. (so I'm told) I make a special mash for them which they love, so maybe that's encouraging them. They only get the mash every second day, they have feed in the chook-yard and get scraps as well as free-ranging. Don't want them too plump.

HENNY & PENNY.

Cackles had a foot problem but it's healed completely now and she's gone from a rather introverted girl to quite a happy little thing. She'll take food from my hand these days so that's a big difference from when we first inherited her and La-La. She's also become quite social with Henny and Penny too which is lovely; she was terrified of them when they first arrived.
They're quite fascinating to watch; quite the little social group. Bonnie still hates them and its the only time I dislike having floor to ceiling windows everywhere - the girls peck the window and the dog goes berserk. You'd really think she would have figured it out by now - they're stirring Bon; they're stirring!!

Catch-Up.

** You know I find it difficult sometimes to give a name to my jottings as they always seem so random; just bits and pieces of our life. Doesn't matter; perhaps I'll be inspired as I write. :) or not.

As usual I have some catching up to do to keep you up to date with whats going on here.

Mark and I have done as much as we can to the folly area, cutting down non-natives trees (a couple have survived the cull - not sure yet if we want to keep them) and clearing the path to and the area around the actual folly. Interestingly a neighbour informed us the original owner fancied herself a witch and built the area for - well I'm not sure what. As much as I love dry-stone walls its being removed and we will use some of the really large stones on the property to form a ringed seating area. We disturbed a red-belly in the wall the other day; Mark and the dog had been sitting exactly over where the snake later emerged. He was a bit slow and sleepy and cranky at being woken up I'd say. And that was just Mark. hahahaha.

We hired a landscaping person to clear most of the rocks from various areas; the folly, out on the front fence-line; and another ring around some trees and down the back. He was only here for an hour and his bob-cat had an electrical fault and that was that. The auto-electrician was here that afternoon but has had to send for a part so the bob-cat is languishing under some trees! Hopefully it will be fixed in the next day or two and then he'll  move the rocks we've marked and place them in position. Some of them are quite large but no-one seemed very keen on my idea of an Aussie Stonehenge; so ringed seating area it is.



Dead Bob-Cat.

A few of the girls came out for lunch last week and it was just lovely. The weather was perfect and  after lunch we sat on the deck and just enjoyed one the few remaining warm sunny days left before winter hits. Was able to send them home with little packs of lavender biscuits I'd made. I don't know what the girls thought (I think they're too polite to comment lol) but I didn't like them. I followed the recipe but it seemed too much lavender to me, they tasted a bit bitter, so I'll give them another go......oh yes in my new stove!!!! Yes got a new stove. YAY. Back to the weather report......... The nights have been a little cool but we haven't had the fire or air-con on for a few days now. For my o.s. friends and family the days are still around 20-23c; practically a heat-wave Valdine! lol.

Next Saturday we're off to Purple Pear Organic Farm again. This is the last of the day classes we signed up for though I saw a leaflet for a class for making sour-dough bread. I luuurrrrve sour-dough bread so that might be another thing to try.

Jordan's barrumundi was brilliant. He seasoned it with the Cajun spice and white wine and I'm not sure what else; whatever it was it was so good.

Happy Birthday to my sister, her husband and my nephew - all in May. :) :) :)

Mark has started painting the house. We FINALLY picked a colour. Its a pale grey. I love pale colours so I can go mad with accent colours. I'm off to sit in the sun and read. lol - yes that does sound terribly slack. I have to read a book and write a review ( Single and Free - Female Migration to Australia 1833-1837) for the course I'm doing and besides Mark doesn't like me helping him paint. :( He says I'm the only person he knows who can walk past a closed paint tin and still get covered in it. Humph - slight exaggeration Markie boy! :)

Family and friends.

Today Mark and I popped in on some friends who have just retired and are leaving the area to begin their tree-change about 5.5 hours from here. Where they've bought their property is only a couple of hours from where Jordan has moved so we'll do a round trip and pop in on them when we go to visit Jord in Mudgee. We've known this couple for years and they are good, good people. We wish them all the best as they begin their new lives.

Their moving got me thinking about friends and family and how easy it is to take them for granted. Its human nature to glide through life, subconsciously believing everyone will always be around. Of course we know that's not true but we often act as if it is. Today is a good day to tell people how you feel about them; to let them know you care.

Through the week I had lunch with 3 girl-friends and had such a great time. We meet once a month and go to a different place every time; nattering away for a few hours and enjoying the break, the food and company. (and wicked desserts Shelly!) We're going a bit crazy and having lunch again on Wednesday but here at my place; so looking forward to it.

Tomorrow our son is cooking lunch for us before he drives back home. He's doing barramundi with Cajun seasoning, white wine and cous cous. I can't wait to try it, especially seeing I don't have to do anything but eat it when its cooked. :) Well maybe I'll volunteer for the dishes. Maybe.........

Tomorrow night our other son and his girlfriend are coming for a visit and dinner. A nice roast I think will be the order of the day. Its chilly of an evening now so a nice baked dinner will be yummy.

What a gift to be able to spend time with all of them.You know this home, this lifestyle, is a dream come true for Mark and I; but it wouldn't mean much at all if we didn't have anyone to share it with.

Mothers Day.

Happy Mothers Day to all Aussie mums for Sunday.

 Even though my 3 kids are in there 20's there's been much huddled and hushed conversations going on for the last few weeks. Celebrations are always a big deal around here. My daughter keeps smiling telling me she can't wait until Sunday; that I'm going to love it. 

I still have a memory box full of pasta necklaces (that I wore shopping) hand-made cards and pottery........ things. :)  The kids think its funny that I still have them but I tell them a pasta necklace is as precious as a diamond ring to a mother.

 Some people talk about the commercialism of such days but its what you make it. Buying into the hype is a choice; so is just having fun with those you love.

 I'm so looking forward to spending time with my three tomorrow. One of my sons lives about 4 hours away now but he came home for the weekend and my other son, though working, is coming here after work. Its breakfast out with hubby, son and daughter  - then seeing the eldest in the afternoon. Its not the gifts -  the best present ever is being able to see all three. But who knows - I might even get lucky and get a new pasta necklace. :)

Random Bits..

Another beautiful morning here in Gods own country!
When I took the dog for her "wee" walk this morning I was struck by how many tiny flowers and interesting things there are in the grass. Yes a little random I guess but I'm in the habit of watching the grass when I walk .(though the "Joe Blakes" should be slowing down and curling up somewhere for the winter)




These are tiny toadstools. Aren't they the cutest things! I couldn't get any closer to see but I wouldn't mind betting there's a fairy or two hidden under one of them. lol.

I'm told these are magic mushrooms. Wouldn't have a clue, they are pretty though. Sadly we have no edible mushrooms on the property thus far, just lots of odd coloured and shaped things.

                                



      

     These are like tiny orchids.

I'm pretty sure all the photos are of weedy type things that may grow everywhere for all I know but I think they're beautiful. I don't believe in ordinary, not for people, nor for plants or anything really. When I look at these I see something so
beautifully made, so perfectly formed  - how could anyone possibly say they are ordinary!

Mark stacked some wood up on a stand on the back deck this morning. We haven't had the combustion fire on yet -with the back of the house being completely glass it warms the rooms up beautifully so of a night its still quite comfortable.
Its just a case of being ready; the weather is so unpredictable. The sun is shining and its quite warm today. The wind has a little bite to it already though. Might be a cold night.

The rain has made it a pain to get anything dry. I have 2 fold out clothes-lines on the side of the house but I'd prefer a rotary line in the back-yard, so Mark is going to utilise one of the fold-ups and have it on some sort of pulley system under the deck roof so I can lower it down to hang clothes on in the wet weather. We're trying to get organised before the very cold weather comes.
I'm quite looking forward to seeing a winter here  - I have no doubt it will be cold - we're surrounded by mountains!

The garlic has all sprouted well; every one of them came up! I have to learn how to plait them so I can store them when they are ready to pull up. (not until around Christmas) I have visions of the funny little garlic sellers on an old English comedy called 'Allo 'Allo! The fig tree is doing well and has a few on it now. The blueberry is starting to get buds; peas are growing nicely as is everything else at the moment. I've got some ginger and potatoes to go in in the next few days. There's not much happening in the garden at the moment - I left my run a bit late this year. Never mind. We've achieved a lot in the 6 months we have been here.

Soup is on the stove for tonight. Yummy ham hock and vege. A nice damper with it......all's well with the world. :)

Autumn Morning.

What a lovely autumn morning. This is the view from the deck at about 7.30 this morning. Its not cold though ; I'm still in short sleeves.

The weather has been great for the Easter break. It was a sunny 27c here yesterday. A good break from the rain although we're looking down the barrel of heavy showers all next week. :(  The continuous rain has played havoc with the veges, a lot have just split and had to be pulled out.

We've just got a quiet day planned for today.
A couple of fruit trees to plant (orange, lemon and blueberry), some dirt to move, and some mint and lavender to pop into pots. I bought a small hot-house a few weeks ago; just a little cheap thing; and planted some beetroot and snow pea seeds to see how they would go. I also had some garlic cloves left over (I planted approx. 50 in one of the raised beds a few days ago) so I popped them in too. The beetroot and garlic were up in a matter of 2 days  - amazing. They were thriving. Then we got a huge wind on Saturday night and sent the whole thing flying - seedlings and hot-house. I was able to save the garlic but the rest were either crushed or missing. Oh well - we live and learn. It now has 2 besser blocks sitting on one of the shelves to hold it down.

My eldest sons birthday is tomorrow - Anzac Day. He and his partner are coming up and we'll go out to lunch to celebrate. Every year I find it hard to believe how old my kids are. Not because I have a problem with getting older; it just doesn't bother me; but it doesn't seem that long ago they were babies. I guess every parent thinks that. :) My other son has moved for work; about 4 hours away; but he's home for the weekend. Its been lovely so far with visitors and a lot of coming and going. We're even having an Easter egg hunt tomorrow - and no we don't have any small children coming lol. The guys suggested we could trade found eggs for bourbon - now there's a twist. Hmmmm - I can see a lot of frantic activity about the place tomorrow. Lol.

Basil Pesto.

Just wandered out (or should I say waded out) to the garden to pick some fresh basil. We don't have much in the garden at the moment to pick but the basil is doing well. We're having veal wrapped in prosciutto for dinner and I needed some basil pesto to go with it. It takes all of about about 5 minutes to pick it, whizz it about, add the other fresh ingredients and stick it in the fridge!

Basil Pesto. 
      4 cups fresh basil
      4 cloves of garlic
      1/3 cup of olive oil
     salt and pepper to taste

     *** I also add pine nuts and fresh Parmesan which is I guess, the usual way to make it but its not necessary if you're not keen. I do find the pesto a little bland without them though. You can really use most nuts - roasted first for a really nice taste.
Anyway a minute or so of whizzing about, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, bit more of a whizz and there you go!

I like to freeze it so I've always got some handy - just pop some in ice cube trays. Once it's frozen you can pop the cubes into a baggie and just use as needed. I use it in pasta dishes, salad dressing with mayo, mix with cream cheese for a stuffing for chicken breasts (then crumb in corn flake crumbs YUM!), or a favourite -  mixed in with mashed potato. There's a thousand ways you can use it.

First Fig.

The weather has been quite damp the last few days so that put paid to a lot of yard work. The lawn needs mowing but its wet enough for the ride-on to get bogged so that's best left until another day.

We had some more dirt delivered so rain, hail or shine that will be moved and used at the weekend - otherwise the grass will be covering at the mad rate that its growing and we'll have a lovely little hill in front of the water tank.

I was thrilled to discover the first wee fig on my tree this afternoon.

Isn't it lovely?! It has a way to go yet of course but its a reminder that we can have all the best food in the world in our own back yard, fresh and tasting like fruit and veges use to taste before they were popped into a cool room for 6 months.

We're off to a sustainability fair in Gloucester in the Hunter Valley on Saturday. Really looking forward to that. I'm hoping to buy some heirloom seeds there as well as some plants and goodies. Its such a beautiful area; I'll be sure to take some photos.

I've been in and out of the office all day checking the computer to see if the 1911 Scottish Census has been released. Its to be released today but of course the U.K is about 9 hours behind us, so it will be around 6pm tonight here before I think I'll even get a look in. I think that's right. :)) I'm hopeless when it comes to working out time differences! Genealogy is a passion ......ahem........obsession of mine and I've been waiting 3 years for some info I hope will be on this census. My dear daughter is cooking dinner, a lovely creamy pasta thing that she does so well. I must post the recipe (rich but oh so yummy) so I think for me its a nice hot shower, check the chookies are safe and warm, then curl up with the laptop and see if great grandfather Thomas is going to make his long-awaited appearance from 1911 Glasgow!

Resources

A friend asked me the other day what books I would recommend as a good resource as she and her husband are looking at moving to a small holding as well. I have collected some good books over the years but I'm sure others could add to the list. The net, of course, is invaluable and there are innumerable sites covering every topic she could hope to research.
Other peoples blogs are brilliant; I like reading about the day to day journey as well as getting tips on all sorts of things.

So here is the list from my bookshelf;

The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency. by John Seymour. (Known as the father of modern self-sufficiency. an English book but translates well to Australian living)

Living the Good Life by Linda Cockburn. (Aussie book, full of how-to's, great ideas, recipes)

Backyard Self-Sufficiency and Chook Book both  by Jackie French. (Aussie of course)

A slice of Organic Life. Editor -in -Chief  Sheherazade Goldsmith (all sorts of wonderful topics covered)

Choosing Eden by Adrienne Langman. (More of just an interesting read about the move into self - suff by a couple of city exects. From Sydney to Nana Glen)

Grow your own Drugs and A year with James Wong. both by.....you guessed it ...James Wong. (great books on growing your own plants for simple remedies. Fascinating books)

This is a good short list of what I've used and enjoyed. I've got many more on gardening, herbal remedies, cooking, chemical free living  etc. but these ones are sort of good -all-rounders. As much as I love the net I really like having a book on the shelf so I can grab it on the way past just to check something. And there's nothing like taking a bit of time out of a busy day and curling up with a good book. Bliss!


             

Back on track.

It was a lovely cool morning here today - a promise of things to come. I couldn't see the hills behind us at all as the fog hung so heavily over the tree line. A little breeze got up and the fog moved through the trees just down the back and up close to the house. It was so quiet and misty - beautiful. It doesn't fill me with dismay, this cooler weather, I'm a huge fan of autumn after the usual stifling heat of February.

Now the house is empty of tradesmen (AT LAST!!!) I can get more organised in the yard. The gardens, although an absolute priority when we first moved here have sadly taken a back seat to getting other things organised. There are only so many hours in a day and I often felt I'd run out. At least we sleep well. :) It will be great to sit down and look at our plans and ideas again and see what needs tweaking. I'm looking at putting in an experimental garden in using the wicking technique; I think its worth looking at.

The idea has never been to be fully self-sufficient  - killing a chicken or anything else just isn't going to happen here. Instead I prefer the term "self-sufficient-ish". To that end I make most things from scratch and try to find ways to make our footprint as light as possible. Solar is the next thing we'll look at. We have a long way to go but we're learning all the time.
There are so many books, blogs, courses etc that can give us the tools to do what we've chosen to do. You don't need an acreage to grow veges or fruit trees - its just a matter of doing what you can where you are. Its interesting just how many people are fed up with mindless consumerism and are opting for a simpler life - to our grandparents it was just everyday living. (whats that song - Everything old is new again.) Its not easy and don't think its not time - consuming or hard work. It definitely can be both but at the end of the day there is, for us, a sense of "rightness". That's a nice feeling. 

 ***  I named this blog - back on track. I don't know that we were ever off track but I find when my house is in an uproar and every day seems to be a frustrating chase after tradies my sense of peace slips a little. (that could just be a massive understatement!)  It is a means to an end and I want my home to be warm and inviting for Mark and I, family and friends so "ya gotta do what ya gotta do!" lol.

Quiet Weekend.

Am so looking forward to a couple of quiet days! It would be even better if Mark were on days off but he's only off on Sunday (I think)

My eldest and his partner are coming over on Sunday afternoon, hopefully for dinner, so we'll probably fire up the barbeque. I got some premium mince yesterday so I'm about to go make some herb hamburgers for the barbie, and the left-over mince I'll use to make meatballs ahead of time so we can have spag and meatballs through the week sometime. I got some gorgeous tomatoes at a great price so I'll make a nice Italian sauce to go with them, (with some yummy fresh basil from the garden) Pop in the freezer then away you go for a quick scrummy meal next week.

Cooking day tomorrow to fill the freezer - it doesn't stay full very often around here! As usual we have an abundance of eggs so I'll be able to use a heap up and send the kids home with some.

I've been concerned about the amount of food wastage that has happened here lately. I don't know why it's suddenly happening- perhaps everyone is going through a "not-hungry" phase. Anyway I'm making a concentrated effort to make sure  left-overs are used up so today we had wraps for lunch. Rye wraps with cos lettuce, grated carrot and cheese, sliced mushrooms, avacado, tomato, dressing and the marinaded chicken (sliced thinly - yum) we had yesterday for dinner. Normally I'd leave the chicken in the fridge in case anyone wanted a bit later on and then it would be forgotten.
I know eveyone has "lurkers" in their fridge, lol, but I'm really trying to cut down on that. I really hate seeing good food thrown out.

Off to make the burgers and meatballs. As well as a delizioso sauce to go with the meatballs!

Ciao. :)

Hellooooooo!

After way too long I'm back to blogging.

There's been so much going on here there just doesn't seem enough hours in the day.

It's been a mad-house with tradesmen coming and going. I can't say I've been impressed with some of the service; communication doesn't seem high on the priority list of some businesses. The carpet went down three weeks ago but the door cover strips - I don't know if that's what you call them - were the wrong colour. After numerous calls and promised visits, as well as two actual visits with the wrong strips, we have finally got the right colour coming hopefully this week.

The wardrobe people changed the install day twice but they will be here this Wednesday. The ducted air-con is being installed tomorrow; though I'm not sure if that will take just the one day or two. The blind man came last week and put in one of the blinds but had to re-order the other one as it had arrived damaged from the carrier! He ended up putting the second one up but just to cover the window - it actually looks fine - but is damaged so he'll bring the new one out this week. Arrrrggggghhhhhhh!!! By the way these were not back -yard johnnies but reputable well advertised companies.

The garden has been a bit sad; I think the heat has wrought a terrible toll! I pulled the peanuts yesterday so they have to dry now for a couple of weeks and then we can have a little snack - hopefully. I saw the plant at the nursery and, as usual, thought I'd give them a go. :) I don't think I'll be making batches of peanut butter any time soon ( I think theres about 25 peanuts lol) but it will be interesting to see what they taste like in a couple of weeks.

We had a sad time this last week. Aunty Joyce was my Mum's sister and has been quite ill in the last month or so. She had Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and sadly developed pneumonia. I was able to see her a few times and say some goodbyes. Mum and Aunty Joyce were both very special people, as different as chalk and cheese but very close despite their different personalities. Its comforting and lovely to think that  now they're reunited. My brother came from Perth and my sister and brother-in-law from Nambucca Heads and as sad as the circumstances it was lovely to see them all. We don't see each other very often and rarely the four of us together so we really enjoyed the short visit. A.J. would have been thrilled (but surprised I think) to see how many family and friends there were at her funeral which really was just a lovely celebration of her life.

When he was here  my brother-in-law informed me he follows my blog and it was about time I did an update! Here you are Bazz. :)

I'm about to go through the freezer and pantry to update what I have there and then I'll get onto the menus for the next fortnight.

First though I'll go sit down with a cold drink and watch a genealogy program. :) Gotta feed the obsession.