Barry, baking, botanic and builders on the block!

We get a free magazine thrown into the front garden once a week (something I'd only ever seen in the movies before).  In it are some interesting articles on local news, things going on in and around Adelaide and the Eastern suburbs.  Apparently there has been problem with bored youngsters gathering at the Norwood Oval, what caught my eye was the suggested way they were going to deter the gatherings... and this was the bit that made me laugh.... by playing Barry Manilow music!

I've been on a mission to create a tasty loaf of bread which doesn't have a negative impact on a dodgy digestive system.  So far so good... Rick has bravely been eating the little bricks which come out of the oven each getting lighter and smelling more like bread than its predecessor.  To help with the mixing we up-cycled a fairly ancient Kenwood Chef (fast becoming my new best friend in the kitchen)... it is a joy to see how easily and quickly it deals with dough.  Once I got used to some of its idiosyncrasies, a blind area in the mixing bowl and interesting noises as it works to name but two, I stopped watching over it whilst it worked.

I set it going in another new dough mix, it was merrily chugging away, when suddenly after a loud clunk a nut followed by the dough hook threw itself with gusto into the bread mix!  I found the nut and the dough hook was a bit obvious but we are assuming there wasn't a washer involved or we've eaten it in the loaf.  It's now been fixed up with a new washer and will hopefully never do that again!

Any bread recipes or suggestions would be very gratefully accepted, please?

While I'm on the subject of baking.... in an attempt to cut down on fat used in cake recipes I've tried using prune puree instead of fat.  I'd highly recommend it, the carrot cake I tried it on is still moist and delicious a week later. Happy to share the recipe if anyone is interested.

                                                       
The Botanic Gardens this week were, as always, beautiful, the deciduous trees were almost bare leaving a carpet of burnt gold leaves over the carefully tended lawns.  Walking under one of the huge Plane trees I heard a gentle quacking.  Right above me perched on a branch were this pair of cinnamon ducks, having a chat.  There was also a fantastic scent in the air, which turned out to be a bank of narcissus in full bloom, I'm still amazed at what blooms here in winter.

Local schools have taken part in making message sticks using waste materials which would quite often end up in landfill, the message was clear, stop abusing the environment.  These sticks were 'planted' and made a very colourful addition to the Mediterranean garden.

 

 

                                                             

And finally the builders.  We went back down to Naracoorte at the weekend and met with a local builder and his family, they have built many homes and have lived there for a good 25 years so know the area very well.  So now we have a draftsman and a builder on board who really do seem to understand what we want in our new home.  We have now marked out the house area, which you may not see very clearly from the photo below, little posts with their tops painted white.....

Its turned out to be quite a large area, 285 sq m, which includes verandas and carport but may need reducing.  The buildings in the distance are our barns and will be one of the views from the kitchen.  The levels of the proposed building site are being done and submitted to the draftsman this week.  The preliminary plans have now been submitted to the CFS (Country Fire Service) for approval and to get our fire rating.  We have to make sure the CFS have a designated water supply in case of fire and depending on the rating they give us depends on the size of the tank, 22,000 litres or 5,000 litres.  We also need to build a road tough enough to with stand the weight of a fire truck and an area they can turn around in.  All good fun...  suddenly it feels like we are moving forward at a great rate of knots.... 

Dora, Draftsman and Whales

Before I forget again I need to tell you that Swallows are still flying around, I'm expecting them to migrate somewhere because it's winter... isn't it?  It is getting much colder at night (dropping to 3c) and we are now putting more layers (of clothes) on during the day and the heating on in the evenings.  No central heating here which is wonderful.

I had to smile the other day when there was a fairly lengthy discussion on the radio about the length of time its been cold, getting down to a frost in some places.  Most times during the day we are spoilt with beautiful cloudless blue skies and the sun still has strength to its warmth.

We loaded up the car and trailer and set off at a leisurely pace to Naracoorte.  Going via Strathalbyn (a little off our normal path) to see their hot air balloon festival. After travelling most of the streets looking for any evidence there was any sort of festival taking place our need for sustenance grew greater than the need to see the balloons.  With noses pointed towards the nearest cafe, we finally spotted balloons... two of them.  Unfortunately they were neatly packed up on the back of trailers!  Hay ho perhaps next time....

We spent a blissful week in Naracoorte, it rained most of the time, which tested the roof repairs on the barn. Sadly there is a bit more to do to make it water tight.  As you may well know water finds the easiest path and where it gets in is not necessarily where the hole is, making it quite a challenge to find the leak.  We're getting there though having now moved from a fairly spectacular waterfall to a few steady drips... huge improvement.




I managed to take these during a sunny interval, this is the Naracoorte police station and court house, brilliant aren't they.  There are certainly a lot of creative people in this town.






The rain of course created perfect conditions for planting and the local nursery had a special offer on their fruit trees.  So with Debs help I selected a Washington Navel Orange, a Meyer Lemon and a Kaffir Lime tree.  Luckily the manager of the nursery is also a neighbour of ours and has a huge knowledge not only of plants but also the soil and water in our area. I am sure we will be learning a lot from him in the future.

Rick worked hard on sorting out Doras needs and she looked much happier for the attention and this weekend we're taking her out for a spin.  Dora by the way in case I've not mentioned it before is a Defender Landrover.

We also met with a couple of draftsmen to discuss our house plans, very interesting and now there is lots more research to be done.  We're looking at different concrete slabs, windows and the type of glazing, sewerage, insulation etc.,  luckily most things are starting to make sense... I'm delighted to announce that we've now employed a chap to do the drawings and advise us on what needs to be done and when.

The sun was shining for most of our journey home, I spotted a group of about 7 big red kangaroos sunning themselves.  About 5.30 pm we were treated to this beautiful sunset.... notice how empty the road is.  It's the main highway during rush hour..... deep joy....

Beautiful sunset taken on the Dukes Highway on the way home.                           

With the arrival of the weekend the sun started to shine again, so we took a trip down to Victor Harbour to see if we could spot a whale.  And we did... it was amazing.  The Southern Right whales can get to about 18m in length, they are brown or black and white and quite round in shape.  The first one we spotted from Basham Beach blew, rolled then breached.... so graceful for something so huge and so exciting to see, I've no idea how far away it was but the binoculars really helped.

View from the Bluff

We moved a little further along the coast to a high point called the Bluff, fantastic views over the coast line and Rick spotted another whale and then a little later a pod of dolphins.  Another highlight was seeing an Australian Kestrel perched on a rock preening itself, it sat there for ages and didn't seem to mind our interest in it.

Australian Kestrel

This was a tiny but beautiful settlers cottage we found on our way home from Victor Harbour, it was in desperate need of repair.

My other firsts this week were food related I've now tried my very first and very Aussie Lamington and a Rum ball, both GF and delicious.

And finally I learnt a new word.... have you heard of a Mollydooker before?  It is apparently a name for a left-handed person... of course.... every day is a school day.

Happy Solstice on the 21st ....... and Super moon spotting on the 23rd ......

The beauty of the Coorong and challenges of new technology…

Last week we came home from Naracoorte via the Coorong, it was a very beautiful journey home.  We were so lucky to see not just Pelicans flying in formation but also lots of birds of prey and many smaller birds. The Pelicans are huge and look almost prehistoric but fly so gracefully making a spectacular sight when there is a flock of them in the air. There were a couple of Wedge Tailed Eagles, Black Shouldered Kites (which to me to start with looked more like seagulls very skilled at hovering) and Kestrels.  The sky was beautiful, a watery sun getting ready to set, storm clouds gathering creating a very dramatic light over the land and the water.  Everything was calm and fairly still, a gentle breeze blowing, the delicious smell of the promise of rain hanging in the air, as the light was fading birds were calling to each other to roost… a magical moment.

 

Having taken a few photos with the new camera I thought perhaps it was a good idea to download the programmes that came with it.  They promised to not only enhance the whole experience of taking photos but help me understand all the new symbols which appeared at various times on the cameras touch screen.  (That in itself can cause issues if you inadvertently touch the screen after you've set up a shot !).  About ½ hour later everything which was offered on the disc was downloaded and I was rearing to go.

There is a programme for the photos, not just to file them in various orders (including date and time) but also to enhance them and make them look even more professional.  There is a programme for doing similar things to any videos and one for updating the GPS system on the camera.  

The clever little thing can pinpoint and name where each shot was taken and very neatly records the name on each photo.  It also has a compass in case you need to know which direction the camera is pointing.  And there are many more features which as yet are still a mystery. In fact I was surprised to find that it didn't make coffee, or perhaps it does I've just not found the right button yet.

And then I realised the new photo programme was very quickly uploading all the photos I had stored on the laptop, which, to my surprise amounted to some 7,000!  Don’t you hate it when programmes seem to just whizz off and do their own things?  So I stopped it in it’s tracks and deleted a few of the photos, checked the originals were where I expected to find them in their original folders, then carried on deleting the ‘old’ photos from the ‘new’ programme. 

Ready to start learning about the new technology I keenly revved up the laptop the next day ready to learn more about the amazing functions of the new camera only to discover I’d lost all the photo’s I’d ever uploaded.  I sat in stunned silence for a little while, and then finally realised that, thankfully, I also had most of them stored on a portable hard drive.  Phew what a relief.

I've now deleted the photo and video enhancing programmes and have put learning the new technology to one side for the moment.... there is always another day.....

Isn't technology wonderful when it works as you expect it too?  

Winter has officially started

Winter has officially started here but I can't quite get my head around the fact that is feels more like a beautiful dry Autumn still.  The temperatures have dropped to a very mild 14c going down to 8c at night which I know is nothing compared to what I am used to for winter temperatures but to me it feels cold!

Quite a few of the deciduous trees have still got their leaves though they are obligingly turning gorgeous Autumnal colours, I think a high wind is needed to bring them down, the leaves that is not the trees. Some of the Plane trees have dropped theirs and being as its still quite dry they have turned fantastically crunchy.  These very large leaves are laying in very inviting piles just asking to be crunched through and enjoyed.... it is very hard to resist them.

The whale watching season has officially started though the whales started arriving about a week ago.  There are daily sightings of these magnificent creatures and  a website recording all the sightings SA whale watching site ... if you're interested.  The closest Southern Right Whale was spotted swimming just 200m from the coast

Courtesy of google images this photo gives you some idea of the size of them!  

Hopefully we will get an opportunity to spend some time trying to get our own photos of them soon, though I'm sure we won't be diving with them.

We started the week with National Sorry Day (when I read that on the calender my curiosity was roused, this is what I found when I looked it up.)

On 26th May 1997 the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families was tabled in Federal Parliament. The 'Bringing them home' Report, revealed the extent of the forcible removal policies, which were passed and implemented for more than 150 years and into the 1970’s.

The Bringing them home Report represents the first of its kind – a complete analysis of the history of the forcible removal policies of successive Federal, State and Territory governments from the late 1800s up to the 1970s that resulted in the Stolen Generations. It also represents the first true and comprehensive documentation of first hand testimonies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults who, as children, were forcibly removed from their families, communities, cultures and land, and subjected to human rights violations that contravened several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families (the Inquiry) was formed in 1995 following several years of popular campaigning by Aboriginal organisations and community members for an inquiry into the truth behind the Stolen Generations, in order for the experiences of the Stolen Generations to finally be told.

It is heartening that wrongs are at last being put right, and it is acknowledge each year on 26 May.

The week sped past and finally Friday arrived (along with a new camera for me, more on that later) and we were at last off to the block, via the Stare Flora Nursery.

Rick for his 'special' birthday was given some vouchers to spend at the State Flora Nursery.  They specialise in native plants and have a mind boggling wealth of knowledge as to what will grow where in this State.  As you can imagine we could very easily spend hours there, however we were focused on getting a couple of River Red Gums, (Ricks favourite tree) and getting down to the block to plant them.  We also picked up a flowering gum (which should attract loads of lorikeets) and a Banksia called High Noon.

The first River Red Gum being planted.

This is the Banksia, High Noon, the label says it should grow to about 1.5m in height and be about 1m wide.  The best bit is it will bear huge candle like golden flowers, which many birds find attractive.  Once the flowers have died back a very beautiful seed pod is formed which can then be dried and used for decoration or there may be more creative things to do with them.

It was a perfect day for planting, when Rick started digging it was cool and dry.  By the time he finished it was pelting down with rain, you could almost hear the plants singing with joy.



It was so good to be there again, it really didn't matter what the weather was doing the block still has a very peaceful nurturing feeling to it.  Everything 'has greened up' and while we were there we heard the Kookaburras and the Laughing Magpies singing out, it really is a land of laughter.

Changing seasons and Doonas !

Winter is coming, in fact according to my diary it is officially due to start on 1st June!  To me being used to many soggy UK 'summers' it still feels like a beautiful summer here.  The wind has now got a bit of a bite to it and it has been raining but when the sun comes out it still has strength to it and there are still beautiful big blue skies.

With the changing of the seasons its time for the changing of the duvet... except they are rarely called duvets here.  After a few goes at explaining what I meant and with Ricks help and much laughter, duvet was translated into quilt or the more well known Doona!  I still have no idea where that word comes from... your guess is as good as mine.

Currently the sun rises at about 7.30 am and sets by 5.30 pm, so it's still dark when we get up in the mornings.  The other morning Rick and I ventured forth for our early morning walk and saw the most amazing moon, it was low in the sky, almost full and golden.... incredible.

Another early morning start we opened the front door and Rick heard a possum like scrabble, after a brief search we realised there it was... just in front of us.... funnily enough playing possum!  He didn't move.... not even a whisker for ages (I am referring to the Possum here not Rick).  We realised he hadn't taken too kindly to having his photo taken when he made a lurch towards us... that made my heart beat faster!  Poor Rick had to walk past him and 'Lurch' the possum went for him too.  They can be a tad grumpy and can give fairly nasty bites and scratches if they feel threatened so its best not to try and cuddle one.

'Lurch' the possum playing possum on our front path!

This poor little fellow was walking rather awkwardly and on having a closer look at the photo it looks like he has lost a toe or two.

Most of the leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees now and are fantastic to crunch through, I'd highly recommend it for any inner child.  Everything else is 'greening' up due to the very generous dollops of rain we've been having.  You can imagine the sighs of relief from the folk who rely on their supply of rain water for drinking, showering etc., at last their huge water tanks are filling up. The radio announced the other day that we've already received over half the rainfall of what was expected so far.

Even though the weather has been on the cooler side lately there are still loads of things coming into flower.    I'm amazed at how many UK summer plants are now putting in an appearance, Acanthus for instance are coming up, roses are still in bloom and more buds are forming.

Our citrus tree is covered in fruit, it is so good to pick a lemon you are just about to use.... delicious.  The rest of the neighborhood seem to be in agreement with us, quite a few people seem to be making special trips to help themselves, we even found a chap on the drive the other day picking fruit.  As Rick approached with a bag for him to use he made his escape on his push bike

Violets and Sour Sobs (a very pretty weed) are  in abundance, they seemed to have appeared almost over night.  As I'm sure some of you will know Sour Sobs are part of the Oxalis family and have tiny 'nodules' on their roots.  If you just pull them up then the nodules fall off and each one becomes a new plant.  So you can see why it's the bane of many gardeners...... very pretty though much like tiny daffodils.

Sour Sobs

The Digger club kindly sent me some free seeds when I joined them and I've finally got round to sowing them.  Inspired by our permaculture day at the Food Forest I picked up some polystyrene containers from a local supermarket.  Lined them with plastic, then about 6cm of tiny pebbles, a thick tube pushed down to the bottom of the container (for watering so none of the seedlings are disturbed) and then the compost.  I only started them a week ago and already the Savoy Cabbage and Broccoli are sprouting.  The Spinach hasn't put in an appearance yet but it is still early days.

 

Deep joy.......

Butterflies are still around and I caught sight of this gorgeous Monarch feeding from the Geisha Girl in the back yard.  

In the sunlight it looked like a beautiful very delicate stain-glass window.  This one was a little smaller then  the palm of of my hand.

Sunday was a beautiful Autumnal day, cool but sunny, so it was a great day to dust off the bikes and go for a bike ride.  We headed off taking the scenic route via the Parklands.

Some of the track in the park was sectioned off for this bike race.  It looked like lots of fun was being had by all

Back to our cycle ride.  For the first time in ages I didn't fall off of Betsy and at last my confidence is growing. We visited a friend for a much needed rest and a cuppa about halfway through the ride. It was the longest I've ever ridden and when we eventually got home we'd done 18km.... ok not far but a great achievement for me... and Rick was still talking to me by the end of it!  

Anzac Day

I've been meaning to tell you about Anzac Day which is on 25 April and declared a Public Holiday.  It is a day set aside to remember and reflect on the Aussie and New Zealand men and women who have given up their lives in battles since World War I.

They are nick-named Diggers, one possible reason is it was a slang term used for people who were prepared to dig in and complete a difficult job.  Though there are a few other theories too.....

The day started early, I woke up and in my foggy twilight state I realised I could hear singing.  Dawn was breaking and in the stillness of the morning one of the day's many services was being held.  At the same time all over the country similar services were being held and poppy wreaths laid to honour the many lives lost at war.  It was a very moving start to the day.

I learnt from the radio shows that day about the avenues of trees.  These were started after the first world war when ordinary folk needing a place to reflect planted a tree for their lost loved ones.  Now all over Australia there are beautiful  long avenues of trees planted in loving memory of a life lost at war.  These places have a sense of calm and grandeur, a lovely place to sit and reflect.

 

In 'town' by the Botanic Gardens there is even a memorial trough in commemoration of the War Horses.  It is sobering and very moving seeing how everyone is now honoured.

Anzac Day is the only day in Australia on which Two-up can legally be played.  Two-up is a traditional Australian gambling game, involving a designated 'Spinner' throwing two or three coins into the air. 

Players gamble on whether the coins will fall with both (obverse) heads up, both (reverse) tails up, or with one coin a head, and one a tail (known as 'Odds'). It is traditionally played on Anzac Day in pubs and clubs throughout Australia, in part to mark a shared experience with Diggers through the ages.

The game is traditionally played with pennies – their weight, size, and surface design make them ideal for the game. Weight and size make them stable on the 'kip' (board)and easy to spin in the air. Decimal coins are generally considered to be too small and light and they don't 'fly' so well.

I promise the next 'post' will be more light hearted.

Wedding, UK and the weather!

Apologies for the lack of blog over the last couple of weeks.

We have just returned from a flying visit to the UK to celebrate my lovely step-daughters wedding and meet all the gorgeous new additions to our ever growing family.

Also apologies to everyone we didn't get a chance to see this time, hopefully next time we will have longer and the trip will be planned way ahead of time.

Where to begin.....

Well it was the first time we have traveled via Dubai to the UK (and back)  and for some reason it seemed to confuse our body clocks more than 'normal'.  The longest leg of the journey is now Oz to Dubai at about 14 hours, a very quick stop at Dubai (45 mins going over) followed by a relatively short flight (6.45 to 7 hours) to Heathrow.

It's taking us some time to get back into sync with our sleeping and eating patterns.  At times it's a huge effort to keep the eyes open but as each day passes we get more 'with it'.  Some people think that jet lag is all in the mind and some cope with the time changes very well.  As we're all unique I guess we'll each experience 'it' differently.  Studies have shown it takes approx. one day per hours difference to get back on track with your Circadian Rhythm so some time next week our 'CR' should catch up with our bodies! This is my excuse if the blog is a little all over the place this time... more apologies....

We arrived in the UK at about 5.30 in the morning, picked up the hire car and set off towards Crawley.  What a beautiful morning we were greeted with.  It was a frosty start combined with a beautiful sun rise which meant the hedgerows and fences steamed as they slowly warmed up and the fields looked like they were cloaked with lazy clouds.

The countryside had put on it's Spring clothes, blackthorn bushes were in full flower, fantastic bright green leaves on the trees and bushes, new lambs bouncing around in the fields.  It seemed that every where was bursting with new life.... such a contrast to when we last left in January.  England at it's very best.

AND it was warm, we hadn't really brought enough warm weather clothes with us, convinced it would still be very chilly.  We even came home with a sun tan!!!

The first week flew past in a flurry of meetings and greetings, catching up on news, lots of eating and a few drinks and many, many miles covered.  Our Aussie Sat Nav 'Roger' complete with the newly uploaded Europe maps did a stirling job keeping us on the right track (well roads).

And then, all of a sudden, the big day arrived.  May the Fourth, as Jim being a Trekkie fan thought he'd more chance of remembering all the following anniversaries if Lou and he got married on that day..... (may the fourth be with you)

It was a beautiful day, a little chilly in the wind but the sun shone.  I think the Bride could have worn a sack cloth and still looked gorgeous.  Lou was glowing with happiness, totally stunning in her bridal attire.  Jim and the rest of the wedding party looked gorgeous too.  It was a lovely relaxed day, food was wonderful, cake amazing, speeches moving and funny, lots of fun had by all.  Everything went very well it was lovely to see all the families, friends and to be able to celebrate such a special day with them.

The only blot on the horizon was my camera expiring before the happy couple cut their amazing cake.... hay ho.

The brand new Mr and Mrs A.

The beautiful bride.

The amazing cake or rather cakes... delicious

Time passed all to quickly and in fact seemed to speed up!  Before we knew it we were on our way back to Heathrow and Oz.  It was good to see everyone we had been able to and a joy to meet and finally hug the new little 'un's.

Till next time.....