Some Autumn Photos

We really just glide and slide gently from season to season in this area. The days grow longer as Autumn begins and eventually the temperature drops to the most enjoyable low 20s. Yesterday was very windy and we had a few showers but today is sunny and calm. Here are my photos from yesterday...

my hibiscus has twins!!!... there are lots of buds to open too

you can see the lovely new fence in the background...

                                                                         say cheese

see how the wind was blowing the Cape Lilacs?

the passionfruit vine that grows over the fence from our neighbour's garden is 'dripping' with fruit now, they'll turn yellow when ripe and I have counted over 30 fruit for us to enjoy...

The dill went to seed in it's pot in early summer and seedlings are coming up all over...yum!

Joe went to meet his friend to play chess yesterday afternoon and had a great time.

With Twitch's new and improved diet he is having a lot more fresh greens and fewer pellets but he doesn't eat all of the stalks so I was left with a big bag of choy sum and silverbeet stalks. Google came to the rescue and showed me a very simple braise to make with them, I added a pinch of fresh chilli and it is delicious and frugal too. Lovely!

I hope you enjoy your weekend, the children go back to school next week so please take care on the roads.
Sue
xx

On Being a Grandparent

Rhonda has written an especially meaningful blog post today on her pleasure of being Grandma to Jamie and Alex, you can read it here


As you know our 13th grandchild is on his way and sadly for us 6 of them are in Canada and many miles away so we're looking forward to finally meeting Phoenix, Megan, Austin and Liam later this year.

Yesterday and today I am caring for Jess(10) and Livvie(8)and yesterday we visited my parents...Dad took the girls out in the golf cart to the nearby golf club for an hour or so. Then we did my grocery shopping with the girls fetching almost everything I needed and listening to me talk about the importance of free-range eggs and not using plastic bags! Jess read poetry to me while I prepared dinner and then they both went outside to climb trees and the brick letterbox!

They took lots of photos with their i-pod thingies so I will have to add some of them at a later date. Today we're going to visit Mandy and Jordan and that will be lovely, it's the second week of school holidays here.

Elizabeth's Caleb and David have been unwell with coughs and colds but David doesn't have the hooping cough that Eliz had recently but Caleb has tonsillitis and anti-biotics and finally a doctor who wants him back in a week to establish whether he will need to have his tonsils removed as it is a frequent illness for him.

Priscilla is now 23 weeks along and looking very well as you can see below...she's taking a self-portrait photo every Sunday so that we have a nice record for Liam one day...

I feel very blessed.

I'll be making lentil soup this morning and chicken and salad sandwiches for lunch so I'd better get a wriggle on!
Love to you all,
Sue
xxx

Curing Olives

I bottled the olives we picked at Gaynor's house almost 2 weeks ago yesterday...I followed these traditional instructions from the Hunter Olive Association and was pleased to find it a very, very easy process. We washed and then stabbed each olive 3 times with fork, I think this looks a little messy so I made a slit in Mandy's olives with a sharp knife. Then we placed them in a clean plastic bucket and covered them with a brine solution of 1 part cooking salt and 20 parts water. We changed the brine every day and I started tasting the olives after a week...keep a bin handy as the olives are horribly bitter at this stage. Eventually, when they become quite OK and taste like olives ought, it is time to bottle them...we only picked black ones but some lost their colour as they soaked...

Thoroughly wash and dry the jars and place them in a warm oven for 10 minutes or so, let them cool while you make a fresh brine of 1 part salt and 10 parts water...

Pack the olives into the jars, try not to squash them but you want to make sure there are no wasted spaces too...

Cover them with the stronger brine and a tablespoon of olive oil and leave for 5 weeks in a cool, dark place

After 5 weeks they should be ready to eat, you can drain them and place them in a mix of olive oil and herbs etc to marinate them or use them as they are in soups/stews/pasta sauces.
Cost to make all these? About $1 for the natural lake salt and olive oil! Helps to have generous friends too!

Did I show Eliz's beautiful kangaroo painting? She has just finished one of a racing motorcycle which I'll show you soon...it's amazing to think she's self-taught and so very good...

Hope you have a great week,
Love from Sue
xxx

What a Day!

Yesterday started early and noisily with our side fence being replaced. Three blokes used power tools and saws to dismantle the old warped wooden fence and the shrubs that were draping themselves over it. Poor Twitch was frightened by the noise and thumped his hind legs to warn us there was trouble brewin'!!
Then I burned my toast!

Mandy and Paul picked us up around 10.30am and we drove up to Gnor and Bill's lovely home north of Perth where we were warmly welcomed and met BJ and Derek. After a chat and a cuppa lunch was served at the huge square table. Gnor placed 4 bowls of hot water on the table and stacks of rice papers. Then she brought out dish upon dish of salad ingredients, cooked rice noodles, tuna, chopped omelette, 2 different chicken dishes and satay pork. We took a rice paper wrapper and dipped it in the hot water briefly then lay it on our plates. Then the real fun began...we placed noodles, a variety of vegies and meats and sauce/pickles then rolled it up with varying degrees of success lol It was such good  and sociable fun and so very, very tasty.
Cold Vietnamese rolls

After eating far too many we wandered outside to see the gardens. Gnor and her family have 6 rescued battery hens who were happy to see what she'd brought them to eat, there were mandarins and lemons growing, ripe olives galore and a great variety of herbs. Armed with pillowcases we 'girls' picked around 6-7 kilos of black olives for Mandy and I to bring home and Gnor gave me a large bag full of fresh, organic basil too.
Next on the agenda was soap-making and Bill lit the BBQ so that we could work outdoors as the caustic soda and water gives off very strong fumes. Gnor had gathered everything together and read and re-read the instructions so I just talked her through the process described by Rhonda here.

Have you ever heard of LARP, Live Action Role Playing? Well Bill and Gnor and their teenage sons are heavily involved in this and make all their own costumes too. In fact Bill has built a forge in the shed and makes their own armour, chain mail, swords, helmets etc with great skill and attention to detail, it was really fascinating to find Saxon, Roman and 17thC (replica)helmets in a Perth garage. In another twist of fate we met Gnor through our friend, Lara, but Gnor and Bill already knew Paul's son as he is also in their LARP group!
Joe and Paul thoroughly enjoyed Bill's company as they discussed chemistry and had a demo of flash powder burning!

We didn't get home until after 5pm but I quickly made some pesto(basil paste) while the basil was still very fresh and then it was time to tackle the olives. I used this traditional method and Joe and I stood stabbing olives with a fork before dropping them into the brine...they made our hands very black. Gnor had preserved lots by simply mixing them with salt, the ones we had were 3 yrs old and sooo tasty but probably too salty for good health. That method is the Greek dried black olive described in the link.

I didn't take a single photo all day as I was too busy really enjoying myself!

This morning my world is covered in fog and hopefully the contractors will be back to finish the fence, they had to wait for the cement to set overnight. I just burned my toast again ;)

Thirty years ago my beautiful daughter, Elizabeth was born and although her family don't celebrate birthdays we are sending them much love. Our grandson, Cody, becomes a teenager today too...13 trips around the planet as they describe it!

So bye bye for now
Love from Sue

Not sure where this sweet photo was taken, I found it facebook and I can't leave without adding a pic to this post lol xxx

A Few Photos

Had a rather quiet week and today has been overcast and drizzly which is such a relief after highs in the mid-30s!
I noticed the neighbours passionfruit vine has lots of flowers on it now and then better still I saw the first fruit...our neighbours have told us to help ourselves to any fruit that grows on our side of the fence...

The parcel delivery van came this afternoon the yarn that Wendy had offered me last week, I knew it was coming but didn't realise how much there would be...I see numerous baby blankets in my future and am very grateful to her...

 Cousin Bob and his three teenage 'children' have been in the Lake District this week, I loved this photo of Rebecca and Alex, they were within 300ft of the summit of Coniston Old Man but ice and the lack of crampons meant they had to come down again...

Christina, the youngest, was also there, here she is representing Great Britain at judo...

I have to write up another low cholesterol cake recipe next and I made some sourdough muffins two days ago. My presentation is as bad as ever but they did taste very good lol I used this recipe...my starter is still not really ready to make a loaf of bread but I am much inspired by Sandra's photos on Facebook

Talk about warts and all lol!

Bye bye for now,
I hope that Elizabeth and Kath's family get well very soon, they're all suffering from severe colds at opposite sides of the world!
Love, Sue
xx

Bit of a Break

Just having a bit of a break from blogging as the weather is cooler and I can get out into the garden at last.

Joe lost another brother this week, RIP Denis.

Our best news though is that Priscilla's baby is a little boy and will be named Liam. Please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers. Priss is feeling quite well right now and very excited to be having a son at last to complete her family.

16 weeks and kicking now

We're still eating very frugal meals packed with vegies but we nearly had a blow-out 2 nights ago when I made my best shepherd's pie ever and we could have eaten the whole thing in one sitting lol! I have been able to put a little bit into our savings account as we HAVE to get to Canada next year I hope!

Speaking of money...Mandy's group raised over $30,000 for cancer research by shaving their heads on Sunday and being sponsored....here she is on the right...champagne was mentioned too lol

Well done ladies and gents!

I took Cody, Caleb and David to Chipmunks on Saturday and we had a ball. Elizabeth reported this conversation with David a few days later...

"When we were filling the bath up tonight David was talking about Nana...it may or may not have something to do with going to Chipmunks again. He sez "I like Nana," and after a thoughtful pause he tilts his head like a puppy. "You like Nana?" 

"I DO like Nana.....you know she's my Mummy, right?" 
"Ye-eah!" lots of nodding "She's my mummy too." 

Mummy's are awesome. 
And then they threw their clothes everywhere and flooded the bathroom floor and we sang "How much is that PIGGY in the window." 

So that's all for now,

Love from Sue

xxx

This is an interesting link, it explains why ants are so valuable to us but also how to control them 'safely' if they're invading walls etc.

Camila and her Tibetan Singing Bowls

We had a very enjoyable visit yesterday. Our friend, Camila, is off to India next week for several months to join a yoga and meditation retreat so she came to say goodbye and also to show us these amazing singing bowls. Camila is learning how to use the vibrations from the bowls as a massage technique, their sound is so hauntingly beautiful and I'm sure a massage would be an incredibly relaxing experience.
After 7 years of study, interrupted often by overseas travel, Camila has gained her degree in psychology and continues to seek and question much of Life. She and Joe played a game of chess after we'd enjoyed tea and cake and a demonstration of of her wonderful Tibetan singing bowls and a sweet little South African thumb piano.

I took a few photos...

Joe feeling the vibrations through his hand...

Camila placed the kalimba or thumb piano on her closed up wooden chess board to get a better sound...

As well as bringing her own interesting experiences to share with us Camila was keen to know how we spend our days as retirees. When I explained how involved I am with the DTW forums and simple living she was very interested and will come and learn to make soap and do some simple sewing with me when she comes back next year. Rhonda's whole orange cake was much enjoyed too ;)

So with a hug (and some soap and a knitted washcloth to enjoy) she was gone. We'll follow her travels through facebook and wish her every joy in India.

Do you have plans for the weekend? We've had 3 days of storms which is so unseasonal but they seem to clearing now so a little gardening is on my agenda.
Bye bye for now,
Love from Sue
xxx

A Lovely Weekend

Yes indeed! Lots of pottering, ie slowly and mindfully doing household duties and then watching "Murder on the Orient Express" while knitting on Saturday afternoon. I also bought a second-hand jigsaw for $2, it's 1,000 pieces and the picture is of the Arc de Triomphe at night. Joe has been on the top of the Arc but I was deterred by the many flights of stairs!

Here is the first square of the diagonal blanket I mentioned on Friday, I am really pleased with the beautiful wool and the soft pastel shades...my stripes are random in colour and width so it really is an easy knit...

Yesterday was a welcome home morning tea at Deb's house...catered by her for a dozen friends and 2 extra dogs(dogs are always welcome to come to Deb's house). She'd made Anzac biscuits, florentines, ginger snaps and choc chip cookies as well as a huge carrot cake and a coconut cake. There were also savoury nuts from the Royal Melbourne Show and gluten free rum balls for a lovely friend with tummy troubles. Several types of tea as well as coffee were on offer and we sat for several hours, nibbling and chatting...it was lovely. I didn't take any pics of the group but here is what tired beagles do when tea parties are over...sweet dreams Melody and Thomas...

Thomas said, "Go away, Auntie Sue!"

Melody couldn't care less!

In the garden our bottlebrush tree has suddenly blossomed, I think it looks like a decorated Christmas Tree...

Proteas are a South African shrub that have become very popular here in Western Australia, these were grown by a friend of Mum's, don't they look like fireworks?

I haven't mentioned Priscilla for several weeks. That's because all this month she's been waiting to be called in for scans to see what the tumour is doing at the moment. It's been a rough month with herself and the children being sick and the tension must be unbearable at times but she plods on enjoying life as best she can.

It's raining today and we have nowhere we have to be so a nice day at home is on the cards. Creamy fish pie for dinner,
Hope you have a trouble free and happy week,
Love from Sue
xx

Mandy Makes Soap

After much procrastinating I finally nipped down to Secret Harbour to Mandy and Paul's lovely home to show Mandy just how easy it easy to make soap at home. We used Rhonda's up-dated recipe of

1000gms olive oil
250 gm block of Copha
178gms caustic soda and 450 mls of water that Mandy had boiled and set aside to cool down.

Once the oils were warmed to 50C and the caustic water had cooled down to 50C Mandy mixed them together and began beating them...they soon came to 'trace' ie looking like a thick custard so she poured them into one of Deb's molds that we'd lined with baking paper...

Mandy couldn't believe how very easy it is!

The following day she sliced up the block and set it aside to cure for the next 6 weeks....she is already planning her next batch!

The pleasure of this morning's work gave me the impetus to organise to travel up to Bassendean tomorrow to show 2 more friends how to make soap....Mandy is coming too, Lara and Gaynor will be our hosts and have promised a wonderful lunch and lots of tea and chat.......will let you know how we get on.

Gaynor is also opening up her home in July for a Perth Get-together of Down to Earth members which will be wonderful, details are at the forum if you are interested,

Hoorooo
Love from Sue
xx

My Bokashi Bin

As often happens when Deb says, "shall we just drive to so and so and straight back?" we ended going on a lovely jaunt. Firstly we collected Deb's car from Nedlands where it had had a full service. Deb drove slowly through the surrounding streets so that we could admire the beautiful old houses and gardens in the area, I saw rainbow lorikeets in a tall palm tree and such huge bougainvillea plants that they seemed like solid walls of colour.

Then Deb says "shall we drive home through Fremantle?" and it's "oh yes please" from me! As we got to Cottesloe I ask if she's been to the Boatshed Markets which is my idea of paradise in a shop. We entered through the adjoining fish mongers where a nice young Scotsman was frying snapper fillets in coconut breadcrumbs for shoppers to sample. "They'll be ready in 5minutes" he assured us so we admired the huge range of fish, shellfish and condiments and then went downstairs to the French Bakery. They had at least 30 different types of bread, unctuous cakes/gateaux, pies and genuine macaroons. Next we drifted past the deli counter and admired such works of art as a Moroccan Chickpea Salad and 4inch high slabs of lasagne. On to the cheeses next $100 a kilo for imported cheese was a bit much so we walked around the beautiful fresh fruit and vegies section....the variety here is remarkable and it's all so very fresh. So we went back to the fishmonger's to see if the snapper was ready and it had all been eaten already lol We waited patiently for the next batch and dunked our generous serves into a pot of delicious aioli, it was perfect.

Back in the car Deb says, "shall we see if the Planet Ark store is open this time?" So she drives into Freo and we park right at the door and wander in...I was looking for a safe paint or varnish for Twitch's cabin in January but the owners were away in India at a retreat. Now that Twitch lives indoors I don't need the paint but it was very interesting to look around the shop and chat to David, the owner. Deb was especially looking for a filter to put on the outside of house to filter all the water coming in. Then she spotted the great lighting systems and LED globes and spent the next 30 minutes asking questions about them!!

In the meantime I'd been looking at the Bokashi composting units for indoors and I still had some money from 2 Christmases ago so I bought one. Narelle has blogged about how to make one from two plastic bins and a tap etc but it was really beyond me so I am happy to have bitten the bullet and bought one at last. Narelle also shows how to make the material that breaks everything down. The beauty of this system is that it takes all kitchen scraps, even meat/citrus etc that you wouldn't add to a compost pile and you get the rich "tea" or liquid compost on tap with very little fuss. Each evening I press the waste down firmly, it's sitting on a colander type basket, and apply 1/3 of a cup of the bokashi powder. The lid is very firm so there is no smell and cockroaches etc can't get into it~~teabags, coffee grinds, banana peels and strawberry hulls are visible in this pic..

The unit hold 20 litres of waste and the juice comes from the tap you can see here

It takes a week for there to be enough 'tea' ready and you dilute it 1-1 with water and apply to plants.

I'm excited!
Love from Sue
xx

Horses and Carriage, Like Love and Marriage

On our way home from Mandurah yesterday, Deb and I stopped at the Boat Ramp Cafe opposite the new ramp on the Safety Bay Foreshore. As I sipped my orange juice I realised I could see a white horse through the trees across the road.  We walked over and there were 2 beauties and a replica carriage being readied for a local wedding. Also admiring them were Deb, Chloe and Chelsea....Chelsea was in Deb's class the year I was her asst(10yrs ago) and Chloe had been in Kerry  and Jane's class with me about 14yrs ago! Eeek. Anyway here are some of my photos.

Deb had to kiss them much to Chelsea's delight!

They were both males and around 16yrs of age

The driver's hat

The beautiful replica carriage, a phaeton perhaps from the early 1800s?

I took lots of photos at Dolphin Quay in Mandurah and will share them this week.

Our little family has 3 birthdays today, all in England. Auntie Jessie, cousin Dave and second cousin Rebecca...hope you have a lovely day xoxo

It's a public holiday here tomorrow for Labour Day and the forecast is for 35C!
Happy Long Weekend fellow Westies,
Love from Sue
xx

An Uplifting Gift...

...from the lovely Sherri....she of the "step out of your comfort zone"...and I've certainly done that this week...very reluctantly though! Our niece, Jennyfer, tells us it is minus 49C in Alberta where both she and Sherri live...it certainly hasn't cooled Sherri's beautiful heart at all!

A beautiful card of a Mother and Daughter....by Mary Cassatt

Sherri's encouraging words and explanation of the star, I knew she was making them for Priscilla and her girls so yesterday's post had me in tears before I even opened the large envelope! Priss cried too when she opened hers.

The star on our kitchen window where we can see it most often,

It's 36C out there, Sherri...what a difference from your current weather!

So dearest Sherri, Priscilla and I and our families thank you from the bottom of hearts for your wonderful gift, these words are not enough but we know these stars and your friendship will sustain us all through the coming year.

xxxx

A Busy Day!

Oh yes...so busy...it's our tenth wedding anniversary, that's tin, as well as my birthday so we've had lots of lovely cards and blessings sent to us. It's also payday and shopping day so these littler things still have to be done. I've just heard from Claire at the forum that she and her DH also wed on her birthday...so many coincidences there!

Joe and I married at the Perth Registry Office with my parents as witnesses and we had a lovely party here in the garden afterwards...it was a week day so most of our work-mates were working and came over afterwards.

Carol and Lynda look happy too!

Not sure why this large crowd is gathered in the laundry lol Joe, Lynda, Mum, Gillian(who came from Morecambe for the week!) and myself.

Deb, Fiona, Debbie and Auntie Martha. (Mum's old curtains made cheerful tablecloths lol)

Joe's shirt came from an Indian clothing shop in Perth, he wore his favoutite white Levis and my dress was $8 at the Salvation Army Store in Rockingham. Our guests all brought a dish so the catering was very budget friendly too. Our friend, Fiona, took photos and videos and we didn't even have wedding rings until the following year!

Welcome Justine to my blog..I look forward to reading more about you later today
xx

Mum and Dad are coming over for a cuppa and cakes any minute now so I'd get a wriggle on so to speak. I wish for you and yours a happy week, free from stress and fear.
Love from Sue
xx