:: 20 questions...

Hooray! A new game over at Pip's place.  I should be hanging the washing out but, here is a welcome distraction.  Why don't you head over there and play along too?

1. Sweet or Savoury? Both! I like savoury in the morning and sweet in the afternoon.
2. Dresses or Jeans? Skirts actually.
3. House or Apartment? Oh a house please. Although an apartment in Paris would be nice!
4. Shop Online or Offline? I do a lot of shopping online, books, clothes, music and a weekly organic grocery shop that gets home delivered.
5. DVDs or Downloads? DVDs, haven't worked out how to download yet.
6. Cocktails or Juice? Juice, fresh orange is my favourite.
7. Chocolate or Strawberry? Probably chocolate
8. Laptop or PC? Laptop - I love my MacBook.
9. Magazines or Newspapers? Terrible magazine junkie, ever since I was teenager reading Smash Hits and No 1.  These days I love Inside Out, Gourmet Traveller and Organic Gardener. 
10. Facebook or Twitter? I use both, too much really.
11. CDs or MP3s? MP3s I love being able to buy an album immediately, don't know if my credit card does though!
12. Kids or Pets? I have both and wouldn't be without either.
13. Macaron or Cupcakes? I can't say no to a cupcake.
14. Walk or Run? Walking nowadays, I used to run a lot before children though.
15. Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out? Breakfast out, I don't have enough pillows to prop myself up to eat breakfast in bed.
16. Market or Supermarket? I try never to go the supermarket, I like markets and little grocery stores.
17. Sourdough or Grainy? Bread is my favourite food and I'll take either as long it's well made. 
18. Heels or Flats? I'll  be in flats until Blundstone start making heels. 
19. Late nights or Not? I would like to get to bed earlier than I do, but see number 10
20. Coffee or Tea? Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.

Right, that laundry's not going to dry itself. Back to work. 

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My place & yours::my secret weapon

My secret weapon. I can't tell you how many times I've used it. I take it with me everywhere, able to be used at moments notice in all manner of situations:: whenever I'm feeling nervous, anxious or sad. It can be used when dealing with a fractious toddler, meeting new people, awkward encounters with customer service people. It is an instant pick me up, a wonderful anit-ageing strategy, totally free, incredibly contagious and an all round feel good weapon. It is a smile. Cheesey I know, but try it sometime, it really does work!

This photo is a vintage one, (sadly, try as I might I cannot get it to rotate). It was taken some twenty years ago, I pulled it out recently for a friend's fortieth birthday party, the theme of which was "act half your age", and all guests were required to bring a photo of themselves half the age they are now. Great fun! It's me and an old friend Helen, using our secret weapons, behind the undercover veil of the Remo photo booth.

Head over to Pips to see more secret weapons, brought to you this week by mybricole. Thank you ladies!

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Yours and mine :: bedside

I'm playing along with Pip's Yours and Mine meme, and this week's theme of Bedside is by Pottymouthmama.

So here is mine, a rustic bedside table made from an old kerosene crate and tin, one of a pair picked up from an antique store in Robe, where we had a beautiful holiday years ago before children.

There's a stack of books, currently The 100-Mile Diet and the gorgeous Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater, which I bought brand new off ebay for $US 3.00! There's some treasures left by little people, stones, a piece of shell and most importantly, lego instructions, a special treasure, which I must not lose!

Stop by Pip's place if you'd like to see more.

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Day eighteen :: My place and yours

Still eating our way through the jam supply, that's moved to a new old cupboard. Mostly damson jam and tomato relish left now, and a new batch of marmalade.

There's also a few bottled peaches and cherries left.

Looking at this photo I suppose I should recover those old contact shelves. They look a bit shabby really. One day...

Playing a new photo game at Pips :: This week's theme is On the Shelf.

Are you playing?

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Eye Spy - green

There I was today, snapping away in the garden at the green for today's Eye Spy theme.  But I noticed something red. Raspberries?  On the canes?  I thought they had well and truly finished and had even taken the netting off. Seems the birds have all flown away for the winter because the canes were dripping with fruit.  Gosh I was excited::what a bonus!

Anyway, I realise they are red not green, but there is green grass, I'm wearing a green cardi, and obviously I am green (in the novice sense not the in the thumb way) when it comes to gardening. Plenty of green in that.

Thanks to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and Trashalou for this weeks great green theme, without I wouldn't have found this lovely surprise!

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Eye Spy - a new favourite blog

I've known of Molly's blog for sometime, but lets face it, there's simply not enough hours in the day to read every gorgeous blog you stumble across, so I hadn't really visited much.  But I've just finished reading A Homemade Life, and well now I'm going to make time for Molly.  I love her blog.  I love her writing and I love her recipes.  Her writing is so warm and honest, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, always captivating. You know when you finish reading a book that you've really enjoyed, that feeling of sadness you have that it's over :: you want more but there isn't any?  I'm so glad that's not the case here and I can keep reading Orangette.  I can find out what Molly and Brandon are up to, or more importantly, what they are cooking whilst admiring the lovely photos Molly takes using polaroids. And she does love to talk about cake.  Which is just as well, because I love to read about cake.  And eat it.  It's perfect.

And if you can get your hands on a copy of the book do, it's well worth suffering the miserable exchange rate for.  This cake was a recipe from the book I had to try, super easy and super delicious a French Style Yoghurt Cake, we ate it for breakfast on the weekend. Delicious.

Check out some more new bloggy discoveries over at Cindy's and thanks to Jhoanna for this week's great theme.

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words and pictures - catching up

Officially the end of summer today. Seven degrees outside:: snow on the mountain. Cold. Blustery. Rainy. Perfect weather for curling up on the sofa with my delicious new book. Maybe later. I've got work to do today. It's crunch time for the tomatoes.

"Pull 'em out. t. o. d. a. y. Every last one. Frosts are coming tonight."

That was the word in the school car park this morning, as photocopies of CWA green tomato recipes were passed around. After school drop, it was back home to face the inevitable, I rugged up, braced the cold and went outside.

I pulled out all the tomato plants, all thirty of them, to reveal long lost scribbled labels, that had been pushed into the soil next to tiny seedlings all those months ago. Brandywine, Amish Paste, Napoli, Roma, Black Russian.

Snip, Snip, Snip. I cut the green tomatoes off the vines and they fall into the basket. Plop, Plop, Plop. My hands are freezing. It's raining. The wind lashes my face. It's muddy. It's cold. I wish I could do it later. But it's now or never. By tomorrow, the predicted frost will turn them into black mush.

So many green tomatoes. Admittedly, I was a bit late getting them in this year. And as a result of my lazy gardening, they spent autumn catching up with a long finished summer. And today's cold snap means that they never will. That, coupled with mild weather and this mostly verdant crop is the best I could hope for. No ripe, luscious, sun kissed tomatoes for us this year. But I did learn a few lessons about growing tomatoes; Don't over crowd the plants, they need lots of space for light and growth. Get them started early or better yet start them off in a greenhouse. And you have to actually tie the tomato plant to the stakes, not just stab it into the ground next to the plant and hope they'll somehow, miraculously attach themselves. ahem.

Now these green guys, all 10 kilos of them, will sit on the kitchen floor, alongside boxes of patiently waiting quinces, hopefully some ripening, and if I can ever catch up, some cooked into chutney. Or perhaps, some dumped on the compost heap. To eventually be dug back into the ground to nourish a new crop, at the official start of next summer...

More catching up over here.

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Eye Spy - a work in progress

Despite being my choice of theme for this week's Eye Spy meme it was difficult to chose what Work in Progress to post.  My house? Seen it already.  My knitting project? Gawd no! .... I guess it has to be my garden.  

It's certainly a work in progress. And a slow one at that.  I sometimes get so impatient at how long things take.  Not in so much as how long the trees take to grow, but waiting for things to take shape.  Waiting for the time and money for landscaping, stump grinding, laying paving, building retaining walls and raised beds.  I have a vision and it's frustrating when it's not realised straight away. 

But this week, I was so inspired by the ABC series Around the Word in 80 Gardens.  Have you seen it?  It's been so lovely to see my garden idol Monty Don on the telly.  Do you know him? You should.  He's just as gorgeous on screen as he is in print.  These two books of his are my gardening bibles.  So inspiring with beautiful prose and pics of Monty striding around his gorgeous garden, in all his hand knitted sweater and gumboot glory, brandishing armfuls of rhubarb...sigh.

But I digress dear reader, the point of mentioning Monty was that this week he visited Dame Elisabeth Murdoch's garden at Cruden Farm. An incredible garden which has taken some 70 odd years to create.

That's when my gardening epiphany struck.  Creating a garden, not matter how small, is a lifetime's work.  And then some.  It will never be finished. The joy is in the actual doing. A garden is a living, breathing, changing beast and will by it's very nature, forever be a work in progress.   And therein dear reader, lies its appeal. 

Thanks to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and for asking me to pick this weeks theme.

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Eye Spy - a magic elixir

I'm playing along with Cindy's Eye Spy game, now with new improved Mr Linky,  and this week's theme from Amy Badskirt is a good one. 

Here is a favourite magic elixir in our house :: garden soup. Here's the recipe:

From your garden, pick the finest selection of dirt, sticks, grass and flowers to taste.

Add water and stir.

Taste for seasoning and serve! Hours of messy good fun. 

Thanks to Amy for this week's theme and to Cindy for hosting. 

 See who else is playing this week over here.

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Eye Spy - a new development

A big new development. My little lion cub getting his own big bed and moving out of his baby one. He's so proud and sleeping all through the night at last.  My little lion cub will be three this month, sniff. Lots of new developments to come...

Part of my reluctance to take this leap earlier is because I love this cot. It's a simple vintage piece that has watched over the sweet dreams of many little ones in our extended family. As Hugo was the last in the line, I'm not sure what to do with it now....

Thanks to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to A little bird told me for this week's theme.

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Words and pictures - a long drive

You make a few sacrifices when you move from the big smoke to a little one. And yeah, sure, you're prepared to make those when you consider what you'll gain.   The green, the fresh air, the space. But I do miss the culture of big city life.  The galleries, the restaurants, the festivals, heck even a night out at the flicks would be an absolute treat for me these days. But then, as parent of small children, you kinda forgo most of these things anyway, no matter where you live, at least for a little while. 

We're just under an hour from Hobart, which doesn't sound very far, but at night it's a drive fraught with bad roads, bad drivers and potentially bad road kill.  And while yes, Hobart does pack a vibrant artistic punch for what really is a very small city, it's still a big effort for us to organize to see anything in town.  It requires either an overnight stay or a sober late night drive home, a Nonna sleep over to watch the children, well, it's all a bit of a palaver really.

So excitement was high on Monday night when we bundled up the smalls, grabbed a rug and a thermos of hot chocolate and headed down to the nearby river bank, just ten minutes before kick off. A five minute drive, we parked right alongside the designated "best vantage point" signage. The river was still and smooth with the quiet town lights reflected in the water, while the night air was unseasonably warm, with nary a breath of wind.  We sat and waited with great anticipation.   Slowly but surely, a glowing 1959 Chinese Junk, named Suzy Wong, drifted by with set-sails filled with moving images of film, maps, portraits and text woven together by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.  It was so enchanting to watch.  The children were totally mesmerized. As was I.  I wish Suzy Wong was floating on the Huon River all the time.  It was spellbinding. We watched for about an hour before the yawns and eye rubbing of the smalls were our cues to get home pronto.  Which we did. Within minutes.  I guess when a contemporary performance does make a rare appearance in a small rural town, it has its advantages over the big city shows.  It was pretty cool to see such an outstanding spectacle without a long drive home.

Thanks to Pip for her weekly assignment of words and pictures.

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Eye spy - something beautiful in my garden

What a great theme for Cindy's game this week from Beyond Pink and Blue.  There are so many lovely things in the garden right now, but I can't go past my girls. I think chooks really make any garden beautiful.  Remember Jasmine and Mary Jane? Haven't they grown into gorgeous hens?  

And speaking of growing up, here are the other babes, who make their second appearance in Eye Spy.  Poulette and Polly.  Ten week old frizzles, aren't they darling?  

Oh dear, you will let me know if  I'm turning into a crazy old chook lady won't you?

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words and pictures - cosy

cosy autumn morn

warm in the soft golden light

a moment to dream

more cosy goodness here

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Eye Spy - my favourite colour

I love all colours, especially red, grey, blue and green.  And yellow.  But my best friend is white. White makes every other colour look great.  It's clean it's fresh, it's soothing, it's peaceful and friendly too.  And here is our hallway, finally finished this week in all its glorious white.

When we first saw our place, the agent delighted in telling us about how the previous owner had meticulously sanded back the doors and all the architraves in the hallway by hand.  Then stained the woodwork, in a very formal local court kind a way, mahogany. Such a selling point in his eyes, but I remember thinking, I'll have this hallway painted faster than you can say Antique White USA.  Well, not quite.  It took two years.   Then the walls were painted, ahem, Minced Onion.  I found the paint tin in the shed. Hmmmmm. Minced Onion. It is not my favourite colour.

Now it's finished I love walking through and breathing in the pure, fresh, shiny white.  A clean palette. I think about all the decorating possibilities.  A still life here, a vignette there.  But I'll take my time before adding anything just yet and enjoy the white clutter free ambiance, which is nowhere else in the house. 

And for now it makes a fantastic wheelybug raceway.

Thank you to Superwoman Cindy for hosting Eye Spy, and thanks to Amity ville Boronia for this week's theme.   

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Words and Pictures - school lunches

Who threw out their milk? Not me, second row, second from left.

There's a new game at Pip's with a theme each week to write or post a picture about.  I've been loving reading all the players tales about this week's theme of School Lunches.  Here's mine:

I don't remember too much about my school lunches. I was a two Sao biscuits sandwiched together with butter and vegemite kinda gal.  Wrapped in greaseproof paper.  No mess, no mush. Quickly and easily gobbled up on the go so as not to take up too much playtime. 

My strongest memory, well nightmare more like it, is actually a recces thing.  I started school in 1973, a time when some well meaning bureaucrat thought all children should have a big drink of sun warmed milk for morning tea.  I went to a tiny catholic school in a South Australian country town with only two class rooms. Single desks in neat rows all facing the blackboard at which stood the scary Sister Rose.  Who must have been at least 100 years old.   She wielded a wooden ruler and would smack you without hesitation for the slightest misdemeanor.   

After a pleasant morning of reciting our times tables, we'd march out to the bitumen and pick up our warm milk served in a cardboard pyramid.  Kinda like a Sunnyboy without the orange flavoured fun.  Sister Rose would briskly snip off the corner and you had to suck the milk through the soggy cardboard.  Oh boy, makes me cringe to think about it.

But if that wasn't bad enough, one day Sister Rose found two full triangles of milk sitting upright at the bottom of the bin.  "Right" she said glaring at Kathleen O'Reilly and me, "you will do!"  And she grabbed us by the scruff of the neck and hauled us over to the bin.  "Drink it!" she demanded.  Let me tell you right now Sister Rose was pretty scary to a five year old,  actually she'd scare me now if I saw her on the street, and not only for the fact that she'd be 140 years old.  Our meek protests of innocence fell on deaf ears, "I don't care, drink it!" was her response.  So Kathleen and I picked up those now close to putrid,  full pyramids of milk out of the bin and sculled them down. Gagging all the way. 

Thankfully, the Room Temperature Milk For Schoolchildren program was phased out not long after.  I managed to survive it with some shred of dignity intact.  And it's no surprise I can't remember too much about school lunches,  I've blocked it all out,  save the comforting nostalgia of a Sao biscuit. 

 

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Eye spy something that makes me happy...

It sure is hard to narrow down one thing for this week's eye spy game. I could be hours uploading photos. There are so many things in this world that make me happy, cake, my garden, chooks, my piano, my camera. But nothing beats my family. They make me truly happy. Especially on Sundays. When we can lie on the bed and wrestle or read books.

Today an old favourite Tin Tin and a cook book. To decide what to have for dinner. Together. We only get to do that on Sundays. Makes me very happy.

Thank you to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to Iris and Lily for a great theme.

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Eye spy a small object....

This week's Eye Spy theme from the Crafty Librarian is a small object - but mine isn't really an object, it's a small thing. Peeps. We're chick sitting for friends and they are rather adorable. They do have small accessories though, tiny water container, small dish full of budgie bird seed to eat. And 1/2 a weetbix and milk for breakfast and dinner. They are so cute. Not sure if we'll be able give them back! Peep Peep!

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Eye Spy something beginning with J...

This week's fantastic theme from Lauren is easy peasy, because we've been busy with Jars and Jam. Here is my Jam Empire. Nine jars of blackcurrant from the garden, four big jars of apricot and several jars of raspberry jam. I've also been collected preserving Jars, and we picked up this Jazzy orange preserving pan this week for $10! I hope to get cracking on the peaches this week. Thank you Cindy for hosting such a fun game and thanks to Lauren for the old school theme.

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Eye Spy a bit of bling

Sunday means it's time to play Cindy's fun Eye Spy game with a great theme from Hoppo Bumpo - a bit of bling. I had to scour, believe you me. I don't have much bling. And my husband vacuums up any kiddie bling the minute he sees it. In fact I only have my wedding bling which was made by this clever lady. But my photos really wouldn't do it justice.

But there is a lovely Christmas tree in the corner, with a spot or two of bling. Lot's of red shiny baubles. But I actually took the photo of this treasured heirloom decoration instead, one of a handful we inheritated from my mother in law. Their sequins are slightly faded now, but they are so sweet, they're still bling in my eyes.

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Eye Spy what I want for Christmas

A great new meme from Cindy at bug and pop called Eye Spy. This week's theme is What I want for Christmas. I know I should say a happy family, goodwill to all, and of course peace on earth. But today, I'm tired of the sibling squabbles, the house is a mess, the laundry out of control, I have to cook dinner and get ready for the Monday rush. Indulge me won't you, while I take a minute to dream about gifts for me. Mmmm off the top of my head:

Hunter boots, jeans and frock from here

a red holga camera

And from the "not in my lifetime category", a snowy white AGA...

Thank you for your time, and thank you Cindy for hosting a great new game.
Now back to reality.....

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