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.