Links to Fallen Soldiers in Our Family

Just posting these links here before I forget where they are,

my mother's late uncle on her mother's side

https://www.loyalregiment.com/14173-pte-t-nelson-l-n-lan-r/

my mother's late uncle on her father's side

https://www.loyalregiment.com/10818-pte-g-kelsall-l-n-lan-r/#comment-217733

This site is so rich in detail and information I'm sure I'll be back!

Some of Joe's Holiday Photos

Obviously Joe took pics of things I missed or didn't particularly see the beauty of so here are some of his photos taken with his mobile phone...the beach at Nice

statue in Nice

a water playground of fountains, very popular on the hot days in Nice...

our bedroom...

bounty from the market...

a window dating back hundreds of years...

 Carpaccio for lunch in St Remy...

very worn steps near the Roman Amphitheater... 

a lovely entrance to a home...

pretty blue shutters and ivy enhance this home...I think this is a holiday let btw

now doesn't this look mysterious...how long has that curtain been hanging in that window?

 this fish shop only opens on Thursday mornings, perhaps just to supply fish for Christians on Friday?

and last but not least, this battered door could tell some tales if it could talk...

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of Provence

Love Sue xx

Cauliflower and Feta Bake and Other Tales

I really enjoy the recipes from this blog, Ozlem's Turkish Table ~ the Mediterranean countries have a climate much like Perth's and the food available there such as  capsicums, eggplants, garlic, zucchini and tomatoes are abundant here too.

Ozlem explains that instead of making fritters with this mix she bakes it for a lighter meal. The one thing you must do though is chop the cauliflower into small pieces as they are not pre-cooked. Heather, you can leave out the chilli altogether my dear, the cheese and onions shine through for a beautiful flavour.

You'll need
around 800gms chopped cauliflower, add the stalk but chop it finely
1/2 a finely chopped red onion
3 finely sliced spring onions
2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and dill or a heaped teaspoon each of dried herbs (ETA I think this is too much dill as it has a rather unusual taste, perhaps a sprinkle and lots of parsley would be better)
pinch of chilli flakes(optional)
4 T plain flour(I use wholemeal)
pepper to taste
180gm crumbled feta cheese
2 T olive oil
5 eggs beaten together with a big dollop of plain yogurt

Just mix it all together really well and bake at 180C for around 30-40 minutes.

I'd bought some chicken sticks on special so I baked them at the same time to enjoy with the cauliflower bake...

We had an amazing sunset on Saturday night, local friends posted their photos on Facebook...these are mine

I love the bare branches of our frangipani tree at the front door...

In Arles tiled numbers at the front of the house are very popular so I bought the 3 tiles to make our number 5 for around $4, the lavender is such an evocative symbol of the region and grows well in our gardens...I bought some tile cement which worked really well...

and while I had the cement at hand I glued my sea-horse to the wall too...in for a penny in for a pound...do you like our new ceramic pots?

The passion fruit vine opened it's first flower this morning...here the delicate tendrils cling to the fence, it's wet and windy again today but the vine will withstand the pressure...

  and finally the Papa Meilland rose I bought in memory of dear Mum flowered this morning on my brother's birthday...Happy Birthday Ian xxx

Bye bye for now, have a wonderful week
xxx

Not Ordinary Knitting

Had a little walk in Old Rockingham this morning...it's not so 'old' any more with lots of new cafes and a lively art centre and a busy market going on...love that bicycle...

Outside the Art Centre 3 trees have been very tastefully 'yarn-bombed' , they each have a patch incorporated spelling out 'A', 'R' and 'T'...

The Red Hat Ladies have decorated a bench seat nearby in their favourite colours of red and purple...

It doesn't say who created this marvellous metal eagle ... isn't it amazing?

and my own modest knitting, a cardigan un-finished from several years ago, I couldn't find the pattern but worked out the neck and front bands and added some pretty buttons...

I took this 'yarn cake' to France and worked on it this at times, 30 sts wide on 6mm needles using the whole cake and simple seed stitch which I like because it lies flat instead of curling up ... a pretty scarf to gift to some-one special...

We had a nice quiet weekend, it was cold so we stayed indoors and 'pottered' and had a lovely roast chicken for dinner last night so we have lots of left-overs for the next couple of days...I do love left-overs and inventing a new meal from them!

Have a wonderful week every-one,
Love from Sue
xx

Our Kitschy Courtyard

I've been painting this week! Four spray cans of British Paint's Baby Blue and I've covered most of the ugly shed wall for around $24. One pleasant surprise has been how the blue reflects around the courtyard giving the feeling that a swimming pool is nearby! 

The Sweet Peas are beginning to flower in the hanging basket on the left and there are lettuces in the basket below them...

The frangipani trees are starting to leaf up again and they'll hide the back fence, can you see the blue lamps hanging from them? They are solar powered and light up just as darkness falls, it's so pretty...

Look at Bunny practicing for the nest Test Match...

A climbing rose on the side fence and the passion-fruit vine is starting to flower now...

and a cheesie, spinach quiche for tea...I froze a bit of left-over pastry from last week, baked it blind and then filled it with a mixture of chopped, cooked spinach, 5 eggs, 1/2 cup milk and 2T sour cream, 1/2 cup feta cheese and the special part is a big pinch of nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill. Topped with grated cheddar cheese it served us 4 meals for very little cost...

and lastly I was delighted by this clever wall decor in St Remy on our August holiday...isn't it fab?

Have a great weekend every-one
xx

In Vincent's Footsteps

One of the most remarkable things about being in Arles was the Van Gogh Trail and while we didn't follow the trail we came across many of the sights of our own walks...it was here that he painted 'Starry Night Over The Rhone'

The hospital garden where he was taken after slicing off his ear...

the trees along the avenue at Alyscamps...

the Summer Park...

The Yellow Cafe at night, now known as the Van Gogh Cafe...we had a Sunday lunch in their seating area in the Place du Forum and it was lovely...Kylie mentioned she has a copy of the painting in her home...I think Van Gogh's work reaches far and wide...most of the original paintings are in a Dutch Art Gallery...

Rue Mireille at the Old Mill...

This one is a bit sad because that yellow house where he boarded was destroyed by 'friendly fire' during WW2...

and home again, home again, jiggety jog!

Yesterday I came across this wonderful short film of all the places we visited, a lot of it taken by a drone which also shows the magnificence of the Abbeye de Montmajour which our photos from the ground can never re-capture...
The colours of Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent's room at the asylum in St Remy de Provence...Joe's photo

Bye bye for now x