The crap summer is behind us and autumn thus far, has been quite delightful. Granted, there have been a few chilly nights and rainy days but there have been lots of magnificent sunny days to make up for it. We’ve had a few weekend visitors of late and they too have enjoyed the pleasures of a southern Tassie autumn.
Autumn has also brought with it our fair share of wildlife encounters. There are fewer rabbits in our yard but enough to keep Floyd entertained – he’ll never catch one…or will he. He surprised us recently by catching and terminating a bandicoot with incredible efficiency. Since that day, he has become quite obsessed with the mice that infiltrate our house (and everyone else’s) at this time of year – he’ll never catch one…or will he? Not long after the bandicoot incident, we continued our walk and came across an abandoned joey. Don’t know about you but I thought it would be a fairly simple task to find a compassionate soul to take on said joey. It took about 30 calls and at one point I was asked to identify whether it was a pademelon, potaroo or some other critter. Ended up having to SMS a photo – not easy to manage when holding the little riggler in one hand while taking several mug shots with the other – we required a front on and profile shot whilst keeping it warm and calm (bit like rubbing your tum & patting your head at the same time!). The afternoon evaporated but help was finally found in Huonville when I dropped the tiny pademelon off to a carer. If it were a potaroo, it would have needed a different carer and a special enclosure, as they apparently climb trees! You learn something every day.
A few weeks on and not far from home, a little dog ran in front of my car in the 100 zone. I’m glad I had the road to myself, swerving to miss it and pulling over in a driveway to pick it up. What a tiny Jack Russell type – puppy, we thought. A trip to a vet, a call to the council, she was identified as an escapee from a nearby property called Brightside. They are a charitable organisation that re-houses abandoned & neglected animals. The “puppy” is estimated to be a 5 – 7 year old bitch that was on death row in Mildura. She was flown to Tasmania for rescue & proved to be quite the Houdini – weighing not more than a kilo or two, she could squeeze through the smallest gaps (that surely won’t last, at our place!). She returned to Brightside for de-sexing, teeth extraction (5 teeth – she must have been neglected), vaccinating and micro-chipping. She is now home with us and named Matilda but we call her Tilly. Hubby has long been keen to have a companion for our very precious Floyd, whilst I’ve been reluctant to invade his space. To keep him quiet I suggested if the right dog came along, I would consider it…Well talk about the right dog coming along and colliding head on with my heart strings…..It’s hard to say yet if it will work out – Floyd really doesn’t appear overly impressed (nor does he look like a lean machine next to little Tilly) but in my absence this weekend, I have been reliably informed that they have been seen snuggling up together and ganging up a few times a day demanding walkies. T’was a damn sight easier to ignore one than two and since Tilly still needs to be watched, she sports a really annoying cat bell on her collar. Up and down the hall constantly….please, please, please…walkies, please, please, please. They are adorable – really they are.
An ex-colleague from Sydney rang this week to say he had a dream I came back and begged to get my old job back. What a distant memory that life now is and how wrong could his dream have been? Life’s terrific, home’s terrific, work’s just fine and all is well. We really love our new life. I told our most recent guests – I am excited by simplicity. In this modern life, simplicity is not as simple to achieve as we might imagine and something I now strive for. I’m de-cluttering my head…then I’ll start on the house…(will I ever be that brave? Don’t know, really don’t know). I’ll keep trying.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The first 12 months - February 2011
From Sydney to Cygnet, from unemployment to part-time to full-time work, what a jam packed year it has been. I apologise to anyone who may have been hanging out for the latest installment of our sea/tree change – but you know how it is, life has a way of taking over and sweeping you away with it.
‘Tis the time of year that our fruit (should be) ripe or ripening. It has been a mixed bag , as the summer has been dismal and my vision of becoming the supplier of intensely hot, beautifully formed, ripe red chillies to Southern Tasmania, soon came to naught – naught is the nice round number of chillies I have managed to produce! Our cherries, though netted (but not pegged) were completely wiped out by blackbirds and to add insult to injury, they followed that performance with delightful displays of pink shit on my car for several days. Talk about full circle…
The cherry plums have been abundant, and the nectarines and pears are coming along well. As for hubby’s plantings, though summer is almost finished, the tomatoes are still green. The strawberries have regularly been devoured by something before they ripened, all other berries have failed (- luckily the McArthurs have supplied us a staggering amount of strawberries & raspberries from their endeavours) and SOMEONE left a fantastic crop of lettuces in the ground to turn to slush after a few days of rain.
It has been great fun scooping up lots of cold dirt and unearthing fresh Dutch Cream potatoes, ranging from cherry tomato in size to about 6 inches long and they have been delish. As have the local Pink Eyes, a spud for which the region is rightly proud. I’m sure there’s little money to be saved but there is something so satisfying about harvesting your own crops.
And of course, there are no excuses now for a second rate dinner - with such wonderful produce and a new Ilve oven and cooktop…… The old oven was on its last legs so I finally relented and opted for the very best I could buy (pay off on the credit card). It’s the first new oven I’ve ever had and it’s so much more efficient, it’s almost like learning to cook all over again! The first attempt – roast chicken with roast root veggies was ready half an hour early…totally unheard of on a weeknight at our place.
Now I’m nicely settled in my full time job, I promise to update more frequently, so until next time……au revoir!
‘Tis the time of year that our fruit (should be) ripe or ripening. It has been a mixed bag , as the summer has been dismal and my vision of becoming the supplier of intensely hot, beautifully formed, ripe red chillies to Southern Tasmania, soon came to naught – naught is the nice round number of chillies I have managed to produce! Our cherries, though netted (but not pegged) were completely wiped out by blackbirds and to add insult to injury, they followed that performance with delightful displays of pink shit on my car for several days. Talk about full circle…
The cherry plums have been abundant, and the nectarines and pears are coming along well. As for hubby’s plantings, though summer is almost finished, the tomatoes are still green. The strawberries have regularly been devoured by something before they ripened, all other berries have failed (- luckily the McArthurs have supplied us a staggering amount of strawberries & raspberries from their endeavours) and SOMEONE left a fantastic crop of lettuces in the ground to turn to slush after a few days of rain.
It has been great fun scooping up lots of cold dirt and unearthing fresh Dutch Cream potatoes, ranging from cherry tomato in size to about 6 inches long and they have been delish. As have the local Pink Eyes, a spud for which the region is rightly proud. I’m sure there’s little money to be saved but there is something so satisfying about harvesting your own crops.
And of course, there are no excuses now for a second rate dinner - with such wonderful produce and a new Ilve oven and cooktop…… The old oven was on its last legs so I finally relented and opted for the very best I could buy (pay off on the credit card). It’s the first new oven I’ve ever had and it’s so much more efficient, it’s almost like learning to cook all over again! The first attempt – roast chicken with roast root veggies was ready half an hour early…totally unheard of on a weeknight at our place.
Now I’m nicely settled in my full time job, I promise to update more frequently, so until next time……au revoir!
Friday, August 13, 2010
The first 6 months, 14th August
We've reached the six month mark and it feels like we've been here forever....but in a good way. Gone are many of those big city stresses and we are settling into some sort of rhythm. The antenna guys came yesterday to attempt to fix our ongoing problem with Austar, the McArthurs are due today to help lay out our new veggie gardens, the craftsman is here on Monday to fit our second wardrobe, as is the power company to replace a pole just outside our gate, and the much-awaited bathroom reno starts in 9 days. Not like I'm excited or anything...Winsor is off to Canada for 3 weeks and I get to stay here with a gutted bathroom and all the joys of a 3 week building project, but IT WILL BE WORTH EVERY MINUTE. We are so grateful the winter has been mild, as the bathroom is a hideously cold and dank room and at 11 cubic metres, a large, cold and dank room with no storage cupboard. All the linen and towels are stacked on metal garage style shelving, a superb decorative feature.... The genuinely most attractive component, is the beautiful claw foot bath. Unfortunately, it has to go as it is too large to fit once the shower is installed - it might be a large room but it is narrow. Mind you, after 6 months of the complete impracticality of showering in a claw foot bath, with all the flooding, the myriad of experiments to find a way to have soap and shampoo nearby, the glorious sensation of the shower curtains sucking around and into my body, gotta say, I'll even be happy to part with that and hopefully get a bit of money towards the floor tiles, I that are waaaayyyyyyyyyyyy over budget!
Once the bathroom is complete, there's a wardrobe and bookshelf to come in the guest bedroom, which may be partly made with Baltic pine from the bathroom walls and then we'll be done. Yipee! Probably need to get a full-time job to pay for it all now though...thought there was something we forgot..
Spring is in the air, the forecast is for 17 degrees today. The yard has blossoms bursting out all over the place and bulbs have sprouted in every corner. It is a joy to wander out to see what has developed today and also a joy to see my fierce hacking away at the rose bushes a few months ago, did not kill them. In fact, I haven't managed to kill any established plant (or weed for that matter!). It has been unseasonably dry except for one day this week when parts of the north of Tassie flooded (the street where we almost bought a house in in Evandale has been closed due to flooding)and we got 2.5 inches in 24 hours here. We needed it but I'm also happy it stopped.
All the critters are doing well. The Spice Girls, our Sussex style bantams, have started to lay small, cute white eggs. We've had a nice, steady stream of egg production when many around here have had almost no eggs during the winter - trust our lot to be contrary! We took Floyd for an adventure into the bike park yesterday where he loves to hunt for rabbits. Apparently, he high tailed after one recently but not surprisingly, the bunny left him for dead! I do worry about him poking his nose into the brush and blackberry bushes in the vain hope of catching a rabbit, as in no time the snakes will be waking from their slumber and he may get more than he bargained for. I have heard that every snake in Tassie is deadly. Don't know if that is true or not, but I'm not keen to test the theory out either! Yesterday, we, but especially he, were bombarded by Plovers. Clearly, they have a nest or chicks nearby. Floyd thought this was the best game and it was most amusing watching him trying to bite a bird that was in turn, trying to peck him. He never seemed that brave and tough when the Indian Miners terrorised him in Sydney parks. There seems to be something intrinsically moronic about the Plovers while Indian Miners, seem evil and cunning to me - that's how I see them, whether that's right or not, I don't know.
Tried the new menu at the RVL (Red Velvet Lounge) last night and it was stunningly good - scallops with leeks and truffles followed by slow-cooked duck with lentils, mash and spinach. I just love this place! Now I'm off to walk the dog and to buy a 2 KG+ bag of fresh Pink Lady apples for $2. We also have new season spuds appearing all over the place - King Edwards, Kennebecs, Dutch Creams - $1 a kilo. If only they knew what Sydneysiders pay for this sort of, nowhere near as fresh produce... Cheers!
Once the bathroom is complete, there's a wardrobe and bookshelf to come in the guest bedroom, which may be partly made with Baltic pine from the bathroom walls and then we'll be done. Yipee! Probably need to get a full-time job to pay for it all now though...thought there was something we forgot..
Spring is in the air, the forecast is for 17 degrees today. The yard has blossoms bursting out all over the place and bulbs have sprouted in every corner. It is a joy to wander out to see what has developed today and also a joy to see my fierce hacking away at the rose bushes a few months ago, did not kill them. In fact, I haven't managed to kill any established plant (or weed for that matter!). It has been unseasonably dry except for one day this week when parts of the north of Tassie flooded (the street where we almost bought a house in in Evandale has been closed due to flooding)and we got 2.5 inches in 24 hours here. We needed it but I'm also happy it stopped.
All the critters are doing well. The Spice Girls, our Sussex style bantams, have started to lay small, cute white eggs. We've had a nice, steady stream of egg production when many around here have had almost no eggs during the winter - trust our lot to be contrary! We took Floyd for an adventure into the bike park yesterday where he loves to hunt for rabbits. Apparently, he high tailed after one recently but not surprisingly, the bunny left him for dead! I do worry about him poking his nose into the brush and blackberry bushes in the vain hope of catching a rabbit, as in no time the snakes will be waking from their slumber and he may get more than he bargained for. I have heard that every snake in Tassie is deadly. Don't know if that is true or not, but I'm not keen to test the theory out either! Yesterday, we, but especially he, were bombarded by Plovers. Clearly, they have a nest or chicks nearby. Floyd thought this was the best game and it was most amusing watching him trying to bite a bird that was in turn, trying to peck him. He never seemed that brave and tough when the Indian Miners terrorised him in Sydney parks. There seems to be something intrinsically moronic about the Plovers while Indian Miners, seem evil and cunning to me - that's how I see them, whether that's right or not, I don't know.
Tried the new menu at the RVL (Red Velvet Lounge) last night and it was stunningly good - scallops with leeks and truffles followed by slow-cooked duck with lentils, mash and spinach. I just love this place! Now I'm off to walk the dog and to buy a 2 KG+ bag of fresh Pink Lady apples for $2. We also have new season spuds appearing all over the place - King Edwards, Kennebecs, Dutch Creams - $1 a kilo. If only they knew what Sydneysiders pay for this sort of, nowhere near as fresh produce... Cheers!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Days have got away from me - 17th July
Chilly today...but the winter, so far, has not lived up to the hype - thank goodness! I had visions of hibernation, though that would hardly be possible in this house, with the bathroom from hell! Still waiting for a final quote from the builder that visited on 17th April. If he wants the job, he has a funny way of showing it, so a second opinion has been sought and builder number 2 is visiting this afternoon.
Been a few weeks since my last update. I've been pleased to have avoided any of the usual winter ailments but I have had a really bad period with tendinitis in the elbows and back spasms 3 of the past 4 weekends. Bloody frustrating - there's still much to do around the house but my body (and husband) just won't let me...
In spite of the body protests, we had a gourmet weekend in the Tamar region a few weeks ago. It included meals in 2 of Launceston's best restaurants - Black cow & Stillwater, lunch at Daniels Alps at Strathlynn (soon to change its name to Strathlynn, as Daniel has moved on), visits to the ginseng/salmon farm - 41 degrees South and several wineries. The highlight for me, was the truffle farm. It was absolutely fascinating. I even got to dig up a truffle - back spasm or not, I just couldn't resist! On one hand, it is unfortunate that there isn't a "finders keepers" rule. On the other hand, and just my luck, the truffle I dug up was rotten! We bought a small truffle which we kept in a jar with 2 eggs that I used in omeletes. Talk about a decadent dish...Winsor scored the first omelete 10 out of 10. The amazing fresh ingredients in this state continue to impress.
Finally had one couple around for dinner the following weekend. We have been slow to reciprocate after several meals at various people's houses but it's not through lack of motivation, just timing, with Winsor away various weekends and a myriad of other excuses. The meal I prepared was to showcase some of the fabulous local ingredients, the majority from our immediate area. Smoked trout(with salmon from the north), wild rabbit (with local Pink Eye potatoes and Huon valley mushrooms) and Cygnet Pink Lady apples in the dessert. (I think they liked it.) We have really landed in the best spot for people who love food and cold climate wines! Rumour has it, that scallops and abalone may soon land on our back doorstep - can't wait, scallops are my absolute favourite. And tonight, I am attempting venison satay - strange but true.
I have been working extra hours lately as my boss was overseas for a flying visit. That was another thing that was painted as horrendous, the daily drive to Kingston or Hobart. The road is windy and can be covered in frost or black ice or rain or fog or such bright sunshine, you can't see - but I have thoroughly enjoyed the drive (so far). No 2 days are the same and it's fascinating to watch the thermometer on the dash fluctuate, as you drive from the flat, up a rise, down into a valley.... It's 35km by this route and 45 via Huonville (which is a good alternative in dire conditions) and it's normally at least 6 degrees warmer at work than home. I guess I'm lucky, starting at 9.30 I travel after peak hour and most days, don't see another car going my direction until the end of the 20 km windy road. You really know you're alive in these conditions and there's little chance of dying from boredom!
Time for a doggy walk and to let the chooks out to ruin my garden. Until next time...
Been a few weeks since my last update. I've been pleased to have avoided any of the usual winter ailments but I have had a really bad period with tendinitis in the elbows and back spasms 3 of the past 4 weekends. Bloody frustrating - there's still much to do around the house but my body (and husband) just won't let me...
In spite of the body protests, we had a gourmet weekend in the Tamar region a few weeks ago. It included meals in 2 of Launceston's best restaurants - Black cow & Stillwater, lunch at Daniels Alps at Strathlynn (soon to change its name to Strathlynn, as Daniel has moved on), visits to the ginseng/salmon farm - 41 degrees South and several wineries. The highlight for me, was the truffle farm. It was absolutely fascinating. I even got to dig up a truffle - back spasm or not, I just couldn't resist! On one hand, it is unfortunate that there isn't a "finders keepers" rule. On the other hand, and just my luck, the truffle I dug up was rotten! We bought a small truffle which we kept in a jar with 2 eggs that I used in omeletes. Talk about a decadent dish...Winsor scored the first omelete 10 out of 10. The amazing fresh ingredients in this state continue to impress.
Finally had one couple around for dinner the following weekend. We have been slow to reciprocate after several meals at various people's houses but it's not through lack of motivation, just timing, with Winsor away various weekends and a myriad of other excuses. The meal I prepared was to showcase some of the fabulous local ingredients, the majority from our immediate area. Smoked trout(with salmon from the north), wild rabbit (with local Pink Eye potatoes and Huon valley mushrooms) and Cygnet Pink Lady apples in the dessert. (I think they liked it.) We have really landed in the best spot for people who love food and cold climate wines! Rumour has it, that scallops and abalone may soon land on our back doorstep - can't wait, scallops are my absolute favourite. And tonight, I am attempting venison satay - strange but true.
I have been working extra hours lately as my boss was overseas for a flying visit. That was another thing that was painted as horrendous, the daily drive to Kingston or Hobart. The road is windy and can be covered in frost or black ice or rain or fog or such bright sunshine, you can't see - but I have thoroughly enjoyed the drive (so far). No 2 days are the same and it's fascinating to watch the thermometer on the dash fluctuate, as you drive from the flat, up a rise, down into a valley.... It's 35km by this route and 45 via Huonville (which is a good alternative in dire conditions) and it's normally at least 6 degrees warmer at work than home. I guess I'm lucky, starting at 9.30 I travel after peak hour and most days, don't see another car going my direction until the end of the 20 km windy road. You really know you're alive in these conditions and there's little chance of dying from boredom!
Time for a doggy walk and to let the chooks out to ruin my garden. Until next time...
Monday, June 7, 2010
Day 100 and something, 8th June 2010
Whoohoo! Drum roll...It may have been a frosty 1 degree when hubby ventured into Poultry Palace this morning, but there before him, in the purpose designed laying box(not really, just an old box...)was our first, perfectly formed, lightly speckled, brown egg. Can't actually believe (after ensuring WD wasn't pulling a prank) how chuffed I was. Amazing how the smallest things are so interesting nowadays, give me an egg over an Ipod any day. Perhaps I'm demented or maybe just a simpleton but this is such fun!
The Rabbitoh visited again a few days ago, though not with bunnies this time but with bits of Bambi. Having never roasted venison before, I was a little intimidated. It was a small piece of leg and turned out pretty well for a first attempt. I marinated it in a combo of red wine, garlic, juniper berries, dried herbs and pickled cherries. Think the cherries gave the meat a bit of a tapernade taste. Not bad and the leftovers made pretty decent sandwiches. Needs practise though - still have a small piece of leg and some small steaks - it will be interesting to see what I can do with those.
The local bakery has reopened and is selling delightful fare such as sauceage rolls -wonder if they are anything like sausage rolls or a completely different delight. Hard to tell really, as the 3 visits we have made, they were caught short and looked a bit like they'd been raided with almost nothing left for sale. Mind you, everything we've been able to buy has been great, which bodes well for a future time when they are more organised. They also managed to advertise their opening days incorrectly. Just hope they get it together before they turn off the whole populace and go broke.
Perhaps, along with makeup, I have to drop my habit of being a bit of a pedant...it clearly doesn't work in this environment. People seem to accept that it takes an age to get anything done or buy something they need. They also seem content that what they see in print is not necessarily (Tony Abbott-like) truth. So just turn up to the bakery and if they're open they're open and if they're not they're not!
Having said all that, a near-perfect evening was spent recently during the Savour Tasmania festival at Me Wah Chinese Restaurant in Hobart. Me Wah is renowned as one of Hobart's finest restaurants and they hosted visiting chef, Alvin Leung from Hong Kong. Weird name, pretty weird dude too...Chinese Canadian, I think I recall and quite the comedian. He put on a show suggesting he was just muddling along but what came out on the plates was a genuine first-class dining experience. It clearly was all an act, nothing was left to chance and an insider mentioned that there was endless experimentation and tweaking to achieve the end result. An 8 course degustation with 9 wines, bubbly to start, plus wines to match each course - truly memorable and absolutely stunning. The service was impressive too.
It's officially winter - June and cold and time to test the mettle. The newsagent has forecast snow for tomorrow. I'm hoping he's wrong. Arthur, our mid-week handyman is busy trying to patch all the holes in this house - it's like Swiss cheese! We also just got our first power bill which was about 50% higher than anticipated. The next one could be really scary.
Today is my 5th day off -just enough time to get over horrible, painful tendinitis in both elbows and back to work tomorrow for 3 days, then 4 days off. Isn't that what we all wish for - 3 days on, 4 days off? Suits me just fine but maybe not the electricity bill....
The Rabbitoh visited again a few days ago, though not with bunnies this time but with bits of Bambi. Having never roasted venison before, I was a little intimidated. It was a small piece of leg and turned out pretty well for a first attempt. I marinated it in a combo of red wine, garlic, juniper berries, dried herbs and pickled cherries. Think the cherries gave the meat a bit of a tapernade taste. Not bad and the leftovers made pretty decent sandwiches. Needs practise though - still have a small piece of leg and some small steaks - it will be interesting to see what I can do with those.
The local bakery has reopened and is selling delightful fare such as sauceage rolls -wonder if they are anything like sausage rolls or a completely different delight. Hard to tell really, as the 3 visits we have made, they were caught short and looked a bit like they'd been raided with almost nothing left for sale. Mind you, everything we've been able to buy has been great, which bodes well for a future time when they are more organised. They also managed to advertise their opening days incorrectly. Just hope they get it together before they turn off the whole populace and go broke.
Perhaps, along with makeup, I have to drop my habit of being a bit of a pedant...it clearly doesn't work in this environment. People seem to accept that it takes an age to get anything done or buy something they need. They also seem content that what they see in print is not necessarily (Tony Abbott-like) truth. So just turn up to the bakery and if they're open they're open and if they're not they're not!
Having said all that, a near-perfect evening was spent recently during the Savour Tasmania festival at Me Wah Chinese Restaurant in Hobart. Me Wah is renowned as one of Hobart's finest restaurants and they hosted visiting chef, Alvin Leung from Hong Kong. Weird name, pretty weird dude too...Chinese Canadian, I think I recall and quite the comedian. He put on a show suggesting he was just muddling along but what came out on the plates was a genuine first-class dining experience. It clearly was all an act, nothing was left to chance and an insider mentioned that there was endless experimentation and tweaking to achieve the end result. An 8 course degustation with 9 wines, bubbly to start, plus wines to match each course - truly memorable and absolutely stunning. The service was impressive too.
It's officially winter - June and cold and time to test the mettle. The newsagent has forecast snow for tomorrow. I'm hoping he's wrong. Arthur, our mid-week handyman is busy trying to patch all the holes in this house - it's like Swiss cheese! We also just got our first power bill which was about 50% higher than anticipated. The next one could be really scary.
Today is my 5th day off -just enough time to get over horrible, painful tendinitis in both elbows and back to work tomorrow for 3 days, then 4 days off. Isn't that what we all wish for - 3 days on, 4 days off? Suits me just fine but maybe not the electricity bill....
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The first 100 days - 22nd May
The first 100 days. What can I say? I just hope the rest of you are having as much fun.
Sadly, I'm back at work. At least it is 3 days on and 4 days off but work is work. Back to the drudgery of routine. Routine? Rut? Is there a difference? It's not that bad (really) and the drive is nothing like routine, rain one day, fog the next, 50 km an hr one day, 100 km the next.... It was a stunning 3 degrees when I got home last night and there was a cute quoll in the drive to greet me. It's yet another glorious sunny day today - but don't think the temperature cracked double figures. Maybe winter has started now, maybe not. Finally got into the garden with the camera today. Let's see if I can rise to the challenge of uploading any of them. Learn something new every day. (Showing my age now!)
Heating being installed on Monday. Can't wait!
Sadly, I'm back at work. At least it is 3 days on and 4 days off but work is work. Back to the drudgery of routine. Routine? Rut? Is there a difference? It's not that bad (really) and the drive is nothing like routine, rain one day, fog the next, 50 km an hr one day, 100 km the next.... It was a stunning 3 degrees when I got home last night and there was a cute quoll in the drive to greet me. It's yet another glorious sunny day today - but don't think the temperature cracked double figures. Maybe winter has started now, maybe not. Finally got into the garden with the camera today. Let's see if I can rise to the challenge of uploading any of them. Learn something new every day. (Showing my age now!)
Heating being installed on Monday. Can't wait!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Day 95 - Monday May 17th
Some sort of aircraft just flew overhead and Floyd barked like a maniac...short memory I must say. If he did that when we lived in Leichhardt, he'd have worn out his vocal chords by now! Took him for a walk to the bird reserve at Port Cygnet yesterday morning. The town was bathed in glorious autumn sunshine and he was at his mischievous best until the walk home, when once more he proved his eyes are bigger than his little legs and he ran out of puff on the slight incline back to the house.
It was too lovely a day and the curry at the Lotus Eaters, too much of a temptation to do the usual baked beans on toast at home yesterday so we took our place in the courtyard and had a huge, warming Thai organic beef curry with a copious amount of veg and crunchy macadamia halves on top - superb. We had a view of Mal's Pumping Services' truck with it's cheery slogans - "Your business is our business" and "Yesterday's meals on wheels" emblazoned on the sides - it conjured up truly tasteful images over lunch.
There is less sun in the Lotus Eaters' courtyard at lunchtime now. A few weeks ago, we'd be bathed in sunlight, now it is in shadow and winter is creeping in. Some locals are finding this unusually pleasant autumn weather disconcerting. No prizes for guessing how we feel about it.... The town was absolutely abuzz with locals and tourists visiting the restaurants and market. The Red Velvet Lounge was fully booked out after Steve's recent award and the Lotus Eaters was flat out but the bakery was conspicuous in its absence. Don't know the reason, but it has been closed since mid-week with no explanation. We also heard the Bits and Pizzas pizza shop has finally sold so perhaps we will see some changes there too.
Being a local in Cygnet yesterday afternoon made me feel positively glad to be alive - and in this place at this time. It just doesn't get much better than this.
On Friday, we drove to Cradle Mountain Lodge for a wine dinner. Geena, "perform a u turn when possible" GPS, sent us down country lanes lined with beautiful autumnal trees, through Coal River wine country and along about 30 kms of gravel roads through the Highland Lakes. We'd probably still be trying to find the place if we left her to it! Once we got to the destination, she was still screaming for us to "perform a u turn when possible" and declared we still had 177 kms to go. Who knows what she was thinking! However, the landscape was breathtaking in places - with the lakes the most memorable - the grass fluorescent green, the water a brilliant blue and the banks a rosy pink.
We stopped in Deloraine for petrol and asked for further directions - all we needed was a fourth opinion in the car! He warned me that as dark was not far away, the critters would soon be out to play fish with the traffic so we should take the more main road route. That was all I needed, the thought of roadkill added to an already much longer than anticipated drive up a windy mountain road in possible icy conditions. Luckily, all went well and the temperature was a temperate 3 degrees when we finally arrived at our destination.
It was a fabulous dinner of Barringwood Park wines skillfully matched with four plates of food. We walked back to our room after dinner, well plied with alcohol under the most amazing canopy of stars and what seemed like an endless Milky Way - perhaps I was just seeing double (and feeling no pain, as 3 degrees didn't feel that cold). We stayed in an enormous stunning suite. When Winsor and I stayed there before, about 20 year ago, I seem to remember a rudimentary sort of bunk room. There is quite a range of different rooms and this was true luxury at the top end. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then gave Geena the day off and took a more direct route home with a few shopping stops on the way.
We came home to find team McArthur had reconstructed our collapsing woodshed, chopped down some tree limbs and had a bonfire on the go. These guys are amazing! They also supplied the mushrooms for a big pot of really good soup. Only problem is, they had to move out some of the firewood and as I now have a nasty case of tennis elbow, have little inclination to put them back. Must be getting old, the fingers don't work really well without pain in the mornings now either....
Found out later, that our friend from the B&B saw the smoke emitting from our yard and came to make sure all was well. It is reassuring and pleasing to know there are such lovely people looking out for our welfare and Floyd's wellbeing.
After Seeking on the internet and trawling the newspapers for months, I have finally started a part-time job after asking the people who cleaned our chimney flue if they needed staff for their new heating shop. In spite of my jibes about Kingston (Hobart light), I now have a job there, Tuesday to Thursday. It's a way to go but so far so good and with Friday and Monday off, the hours are pretty ideal as far as I am concerned.
The local grapevine has been working overtime lately and resulted in a knock at the door recently. There was a man with a bag of freshly skinned bunnies. Surprise, surprise - he shot 8 of them but doesn't actually eat them....We now have 2 in the freezer and 2 went into the pot for a delicious stew and dumplings. It was a completely different animal to the farmed version I cooked for Winsor's birthday (that cost a small fortune). We've now had the Veggo, the Fisho and the Rabbitoh. I really love the way the new world meets the old world in this town. Can only be a good thing for those of us who love to hunt and those who love to gather! Wonder what other surprises are in store for the doorstep in the future....Maybe a chook that actually lays eggs!
It was too lovely a day and the curry at the Lotus Eaters, too much of a temptation to do the usual baked beans on toast at home yesterday so we took our place in the courtyard and had a huge, warming Thai organic beef curry with a copious amount of veg and crunchy macadamia halves on top - superb. We had a view of Mal's Pumping Services' truck with it's cheery slogans - "Your business is our business" and "Yesterday's meals on wheels" emblazoned on the sides - it conjured up truly tasteful images over lunch.
There is less sun in the Lotus Eaters' courtyard at lunchtime now. A few weeks ago, we'd be bathed in sunlight, now it is in shadow and winter is creeping in. Some locals are finding this unusually pleasant autumn weather disconcerting. No prizes for guessing how we feel about it.... The town was absolutely abuzz with locals and tourists visiting the restaurants and market. The Red Velvet Lounge was fully booked out after Steve's recent award and the Lotus Eaters was flat out but the bakery was conspicuous in its absence. Don't know the reason, but it has been closed since mid-week with no explanation. We also heard the Bits and Pizzas pizza shop has finally sold so perhaps we will see some changes there too.
Being a local in Cygnet yesterday afternoon made me feel positively glad to be alive - and in this place at this time. It just doesn't get much better than this.
On Friday, we drove to Cradle Mountain Lodge for a wine dinner. Geena, "perform a u turn when possible" GPS, sent us down country lanes lined with beautiful autumnal trees, through Coal River wine country and along about 30 kms of gravel roads through the Highland Lakes. We'd probably still be trying to find the place if we left her to it! Once we got to the destination, she was still screaming for us to "perform a u turn when possible" and declared we still had 177 kms to go. Who knows what she was thinking! However, the landscape was breathtaking in places - with the lakes the most memorable - the grass fluorescent green, the water a brilliant blue and the banks a rosy pink.
We stopped in Deloraine for petrol and asked for further directions - all we needed was a fourth opinion in the car! He warned me that as dark was not far away, the critters would soon be out to play fish with the traffic so we should take the more main road route. That was all I needed, the thought of roadkill added to an already much longer than anticipated drive up a windy mountain road in possible icy conditions. Luckily, all went well and the temperature was a temperate 3 degrees when we finally arrived at our destination.
It was a fabulous dinner of Barringwood Park wines skillfully matched with four plates of food. We walked back to our room after dinner, well plied with alcohol under the most amazing canopy of stars and what seemed like an endless Milky Way - perhaps I was just seeing double (and feeling no pain, as 3 degrees didn't feel that cold). We stayed in an enormous stunning suite. When Winsor and I stayed there before, about 20 year ago, I seem to remember a rudimentary sort of bunk room. There is quite a range of different rooms and this was true luxury at the top end. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then gave Geena the day off and took a more direct route home with a few shopping stops on the way.
We came home to find team McArthur had reconstructed our collapsing woodshed, chopped down some tree limbs and had a bonfire on the go. These guys are amazing! They also supplied the mushrooms for a big pot of really good soup. Only problem is, they had to move out some of the firewood and as I now have a nasty case of tennis elbow, have little inclination to put them back. Must be getting old, the fingers don't work really well without pain in the mornings now either....
Found out later, that our friend from the B&B saw the smoke emitting from our yard and came to make sure all was well. It is reassuring and pleasing to know there are such lovely people looking out for our welfare and Floyd's wellbeing.
After Seeking on the internet and trawling the newspapers for months, I have finally started a part-time job after asking the people who cleaned our chimney flue if they needed staff for their new heating shop. In spite of my jibes about Kingston (Hobart light), I now have a job there, Tuesday to Thursday. It's a way to go but so far so good and with Friday and Monday off, the hours are pretty ideal as far as I am concerned.
The local grapevine has been working overtime lately and resulted in a knock at the door recently. There was a man with a bag of freshly skinned bunnies. Surprise, surprise - he shot 8 of them but doesn't actually eat them....We now have 2 in the freezer and 2 went into the pot for a delicious stew and dumplings. It was a completely different animal to the farmed version I cooked for Winsor's birthday (that cost a small fortune). We've now had the Veggo, the Fisho and the Rabbitoh. I really love the way the new world meets the old world in this town. Can only be a good thing for those of us who love to hunt and those who love to gather! Wonder what other surprises are in store for the doorstep in the future....Maybe a chook that actually lays eggs!
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