When I was One,
I had just begun.

When I was Two,
I was nearly new.

When I was Three,
I was hardly Me.

When I was Four,
I was not much more.

When I was Five,
I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

A.A. Milne

If only...

Happy Birthday sweet Hugo

6 comments big, growing up, hugo

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Tomato talk

friends, good things, Kitchen, tasmania, You can take the girl out of Leichhardt

It's around this time of year, mid autumn, that the talk around town turns to tomatoes. How did your tomatoes go this year? Did you have enough to preserve away? Are you saving any seeds? Ketchup, kasundi and passata recipes are shared and jars and bottles of preserves exchanged.

While it seems hard to find the time, the effort of bottling the glut is certainly worth doing, with a pantry filled with a stash of sauce as your reward. Setting aside a day to spend with a lovely friend, tucked away in her gorgeous home in the hills, processing tomatoes, eating delicious food and sharing stories was the highlight of a busy week. We had to buy our tomatoes, but we both dream of a day when we can grow enough of our own to preserve. Without the tyranny of bad weather, possums and blight to stand in our way. Now that will be something to talk about.

PS Oh my, I am totally blown away by the wonderful comments and well wishes for the giveaway. Thank you so much for your lovely lovely words!

10 comments friends, good things, Kitchen, tasmania, You can take the girl out of Leichhardt

Wednesday, 18 April 2012

500 posts and a rather nice giveaway

Giveaway is now closed - we have a winner!

Wowee, this is my 500th post! Go me! To celebrate such an auspicious occasion, I thought it best to have a giveaway. Can you believe I have never done one before? About time I say.

Recently I had the pleasure of inviting some special people over to eat some toast, drink some tea and take some snaps. You can read their gorgeous words and see their beautiful pics here and here. On her visit, Luisa gave me a sweet gift of the latest issue of Kinfolk magazine, and I'd like to offer it to you. To celebrate 500 posts and say thank you for dropping in over the years.

So without further ado, let's get this giveaway started. Nothing tricky, just leave a comment and I'll draw the winner on Friday 27 April. Go to it!

Picture by Luisa

83 comments

Sunday, 8 April 2012

An Easter surprise...

chooks, cute, seasons

Look what we found in the garden this weekend, a surprise befitting the Easter Season indeed :: a very proud hen with fifteen little chicks. FIFTEEN! This sweet little black hen has fancied a large brood ever since she started laying, and twice before we've found her sitting on large clutches of eggs in well hidden parts of the garden. But never before have they hatched. This time she did it, cleverly laying her eggs in an unused compost bin, topped up with a few donated eggs from the other hens it seems. She looks so very proud of herself, and rightly so. Clever girl, but really, fifteen.