Filming In Our Street, Polarised

Earlier in the week we had a short note in our letter-box warning us in advance that Wire Horse Films would be filming in our street and that "If you see some strange vehicles and suspicious looking cameramen, don't worry, it's just us!"

It's short film set in this area of a 13yr old girl who "learns many lessons about growing up while holidaying at her grandmother's house with her younger brother, Michael." Beth is played by Olivia De Jonge who has been nominated for Best Young Actor at next years's Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards. She has also  come to the attention of director, Sophie Coppola, in the US. Her younger brother is played by a young Inglewood lad called Caderyn who is brimming with self confidence and offered Joe a nectarine when he went out to talk to them! I'll never forget his strident voice performing the only spoken line of the day, "Walk the plank you scurvy dogs. I'll have no insubordination on my ship!"

http://www.davidspring.com/2010/09/olivia-de-jonge-tells-us-story-from-set.html

 I'll let Joe's photos do the talking now.

Setting up...they couldn't close the road like they do in Hollywood so the man at the far end of the street(and the one at this end) called "CAR" when one approached and the children were quickly moved off the road.

Emma powders Olivia's nose while Caderyn waits his turn...he wanted her to do his Mum's nose too but she preferred shiny...he then noticed how shiny Joe's bald head is and thought that was wonderful!

Producer/Director, Steve Fleming, goes through the scene one last time before calling, "Silence on set!"

The lovely Emma Vickery directs with one of those nectarines in hand!

Steve holds on to his hat

Scene shot, Cadem heads back to his Mum, she told Joe that they'd been working since 6am!

It's a wrap....or whatever they say...thanks for the interesting afternoon team! The film will be shown at Film Festivals in Fremantle and Melbourne at this point and then possibly New York.

I do hope you are enjoying your weekend, my grandchildren are playing T-ball this morning but we don't have any plans at all....well I have knitty and garden plans :)

Love from Sue
xx

Friday On My Mind...

.....and today I'm thinking about these three ...my wicked step-children and the tough times ahead for them all in the near future...wishing you much strength, happiness and most of all my love.

Priscilla, Gerry and Phoebe, mid 2004

Priss, on the left will have her, biopsy and an MRI scan before Christmas and she says her specialist is lovely and plans to push the treatment through quickly as Priscilla is so young. xx
What's on your mind today?

Love from Sue
xxx

Special Choc Chip Cookies

I've been busy baking yesterday and today, getting ready for Christmas. I made and froze about 3 dozen Fruit Mince Pies and I always use Robertson's Fruit Mince....I scrape one jar into a bowl, add a grated apple and a tablespoon of sherry and that was enough for the 36 small pies I made. The icing sugar sprinkled on top is another traditional our family has always followed and I used Auntie Jessie's rolling pin, cookie cutters and my nana's spoon to help me along. Did you know it's customary to make a wish when you have your first bite of mince pie for the season?

Today I thought I'd make a batch of very special cookies, soft and chewy and delicious..so delicious that Joe said if he eats them all this week I'd have plenty of time to make some more! This recipe is very versatile and I love the 2 cups of rolled oats in them too.

you'll need...

250gms butter, softened
1 packed cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup ordinary sugar(raw for us)

Cream these together until fluffy and then beat in 2 eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla essence...here I used almond extract that Deb brought back from England for me...1 teaspoon was enough for a lovely subtle almond flavour.

Mix in thoroughly the following in this order

1 1/2 cups plain/all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups of rolled oats.

Now comes the fun part...this batter will take 1 and 3/4 cups of treats such as choc chips, dried fruits, chopped nuts, chopped chocolate bars, coconut etc so mix them in...the dough will be quite stiff.

I used 50ms dried cranberries, 3 chopped apricots, currants and a chopped Cherry Ripe bar which made up the 3/4 cup and one full cup of dark choc chips.

Place dessert-spoonfuls of dough on a greased tray or baking paper and bake at 160C for about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and then place them on a wire rack. Today I baked 35 and froze enough dough for another 8 I guess. We ate 3...no prizes sadly for guessing who ate two LOL and it wasn't me!

We both heard from Joe's wonderful specialist today...I am deficient in Vit D too so have to start taking 4 tablets a day...Joe has read it is becoming an epidemic here Down Under as we shy away from the sun for fear of developing skin cancer. Canada adds Vit D to it's milk and butter as they have so much less sunlight...seems we can't win at times!
Joe's news was far more serious as the CT scans reveal that he has much degeneration in most of his cervical joints and bones :( No wonder he has been in such pain.
One day at a time for now...and that's all we ever have really isn't it?

Hooroo
Love from Sue
xxx

Perth's Urban Garden

The last time we went to Perth we came across the most remarkable Urban Garden in the precinct where the State Art Gallery, Library and Perth Museum are...adjacent to the Perth Railway Station and close to our favourite place, Northbridge. We were walking back to the train when I realized that the lovely new garden contained fruit and vegetables and not the usual native flora that we generally see, although there were flowering plants and herbs whose role is to attract bees etc......just have a look at this...

the Art Gallery makes a dramatic back-drop

A variety of lettuces

a peach tree with young fruits

artichoke plant in with some herbs

Mixed perennials to attract the bees

I think this is an orange tree

Look at these healthy strawberry plants

an olive tree, it's fruit will be ready in early Autumn

These glorious kangaroo paws are a variation of our state's floral emblem

This is the link to the group responsible for this wonderful project, Josh Byrne from Burke's Backyard and the gang from City Farm are involved as well as many other enthusiastic volunteers.....the plants are organically grown, the planters made from recycled materials and the garden is on an ugly car-park roof.


http://www.perthculturalcentre.com.au/What's-Growing/About-Urban-Orchard/



I hope you are as inspired as I am by this brilliant idea...Joe was a bit sceptical that the plants would be stolen in such a public area...the chives had been carefully snipped and I hope it was some-one from one of the near-by cafes :)

 Hooroo for now,
Love from Sue
xx

My China Cabinet

...dates back over 100years I do believe...it has the original paper lining, Art Nouveau lead doors and a lovely smell. It hold my treasures.....all have sentimental value and we use a lot of them on our Christmas Dinner table.
I have an odd assortment of Blue Willow pattern plates that we also use on the big day as well as quite a few pieces of my Nana Gardner's, even her grannie's salt dish and teaspoon...

A Royal Doulton Dicken's teapot given to Auntie Jessie many years by an elderly neighbour

A Sadler Blue Willow teapot bought new in 1986 in Myers, Perth

My first Sadler Blue Willow teapot bought in Lancaster, 1978. I think it's over 100yrs old

sweet little egg-cups from Southampton, 1978

$10 Sadler Classic Stories teapot from the Red Cross Shop, 2009

I must take more pics...it will be nice for my children and their children to see where these bits and pieces came from when Nana's memory is too dodgy to be relied upon.

We've had a funny old day here. After two very hot and humid days we've had thunder and lightening and very heavy rain all day...almost like a monsoon as it has not been at all cold.

Joe saw his specialist regarding his neck/shoulder today and we were once again impressed by this doctor's plans for Joe's long term health as well as discovering the source of the pain. Joe has osteoporosis and Vit D and B12 deficiencies....his thoughtful Dr sent me for a blood test too for helicobacter pylori and these Vitamin deficiencies that he is treating Joe for.

Priscilla finally has an appt with her specialist....only 2 WEEKS after being told it was urgent...sorry but I'm still fuming about this..will hopefully have some news on Friday our time.

So this has been a rather rushed post and I apologise for that...lovely Claire awarded me a Liebster Award yesterday but I simply haven't had a chance to join in with that fun yet. xxx

With love,
Sue
xx

Carol's Arancini plus Cheese n Crisps Biscuits Recipes

Two recipes today, Rose asked for Carol's recipe and method for making arancini and Tania expressed interest in the cheese and crisps/chips biscuits I made last week. The arancini have become a tradition when we Old Girls do lunch together!

internet pic as we ate Carol's too fast to photograph! Carol's have a pale pink tinge too due to the addition of tomato.

• • Recipe for Arancini
    
    Ing: chopped onions x 2, oil, aborio rice about a cup, chicken stock,2T grated parmeson cheese, butter salt and pepper
    
    slowly cook onions in olive oil until clear and soft, add rice and coat with the oil. gradually add the stock, as if you are making risotto. when rich is thick and cooked, not too soft, add cheese and a small nob of butter, mix well.
    
    In another pot cook some chopped onion and a couple of tomatoes, when soft and thick add to risotto at the end. cool the rice mixture in the fridge over night.
    
    The next day make small balls of rice and coat with breadcrumbs, fry in olive oil until brown both sides. If the mixture is too loose, add some flour to thicken it up. you can put a cube of cheese in the middle of the the rice ball but I like it just with the tomato and onion.
    It can be tricky but you will get there with a bit of patience.
    
    makes quite a lot and can be frozen.

Do make sure you use arborio or risotto rice for this dish, you can also use left-over risotto to make the arancini.

Cheese and Crisps Biscuits

This is another recipe based on one from "Best Recipes From The Weekly" where I also found our Christmas cake recipe, these also freeze well so would be good to have on hand for the Christmas season. It only made 15 biscuits so I would double the recipe next time.

60 butter
90 grated cheese
1 cup of crushed potato chips/crisps
1/2 cup plain wholemeal flour
pinch of dry mustard or 2!
white pepper

Melt the butter gently in a small saucepan and then add all the other ingredients.
Mix very thoroughly and then roll heaped teaspoon into balls and flatten them slightly on the tray.
(I ended up pressing a heaped teaspoon onto the baking papered tray and shaping it there as they kept breaking up)
Bake at 180-190C for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.

Hope you enjoy trying these easy recipes, the arancini are especially thrifty and can be served hot( with a pasta sauce) or cold as part of a buffet or salad.

It was very hot here yesterday and the cricket finished early so I was busy elfing at my sewing machine!

Have a Marvellous Monday,
stay cool or warm if you're in the northern hemisphere,
Love from Sue
xxx

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Friends, Old and New

Yesterday I told you that I was going out for lunch to meet up with Carol and Sue who I first played soccer with 40 years ago, and to meet a new forum friend, Mandy. We met at Carol's sister's house, Julia and their lovely Mum, Ann, were there to greet us. We had cold chicken, 3 different salads, Carol's arancini(rice balls), cheese and onion flan, soft bread rolls, guacamole and corn chips and Carol had baked mince pies and genuine parkin, we all really enjoyed it and giggled at Julia's dog, Mickey, who was snoring loudly under the table!

Here are Carol, Sue and I nearly 40yrs ago, we didn't just play soccer together but went every-where together too...Sue, myself and Carol...off to Perth every Saturday morning!

Carol and Sue are second and third from the right and I am in the middle...and here are Mandy and I yesterday, Carol took a lovely photo...

We have another hot day in store, 36C, I can see a lot of knitting and cricket watching in my day!

Hope you have a really lovely weekend,
Love from Sue
xx

Friday On My Mind...

...a new to us coffee plunger/press. It never fails to amaze me that when I need something like this (after breaking the old one) I can walk into an Op-shop and see a very good one for next to nothing, in this case $3! I rarely drink coffee btw but Joe can't live without it!

Today I'm meeting some old friends and one new forum friend for lunch at Julia's house, we'll all bring a dish to share and have a cold lunch and enjoy ourselves very much. Hi Mandy! The weather forecast is for 35C!

What plans do you have today? Whatever they are I wish you a Fabulous Friday!
Love from Sue
xx

A Patchwork Baby Cover

I suppose this is not a true quilt as it has no batting in the middle layer, this was because the cost of freight to Canada is so high. I've backed it with soft baby blue flannelette and used some embroidery thread to tie the quilt in the middle of each patch. This patchwork technique is called crumbing and is very economical as it uses up all your scraps. The red border was made from a 75cent pillowcase from the Red Cross Shop.

Austin is due in a few short weeks and is will be made a most welcome part of our family, very sadly his older brother Dominic died last year from SIDS; Austin will sleep on a monitor that will sound an alarm if he stops breathing.

I had quite a productive day in all yesterday...as well as the quilt and Christmas Cake I baked bread and some tasty little biscuits involving parmesan cheese and Smith's Crisps! I mowed the lawn in the back garden and finished my library book with a little knitting thrown in for good measure. As well as all the usual suspects like general cleaning and cooking.

Still nothing from Priscilla.

Have a Tremendous Thursday
Sue
xx

It's Starting to Smell a Lot Like Christmas

Yesterday I started making our Christmas Cake...I had intended to follow Rose's bake-along at the forum but Life got in the way as it does at times ;)

The one I'm making is from the Women's Weekly "best recipes from The Weekly" which contains their most requested and best recipes. It's the Melt and Mix Fruit Cake on P72 and is delicious.

I've altered it slightly so here's my version

1 1/2 kilos mixed dried fruit 1/2 cup Cointreau* soaked together overnight.

This morning I added

1T Golden Syrup
1 grated apple
1 firmly packed cup of brown sugar
2 organic duck eggs and 2 organic chicken eggs

I melted 250 gms unsalted butter and added that once it had cooled a little

1/2 cups of wholemeal self-raising flour
2 cups of wholemeal plain flour
1t mixed spice and
1/2 cup of milk were mixed in very thoroughly and I pressed a few pecans nuts into the top once the batter was in the tin and smoothed flat.

Mum brought the Cointreau back from the UK in 2008...Uncle Kenneth had bought years ago as you can see from the old label on the bottle...it has a beautiful orange flavour. My camera batteries died at this stage but hopefully I can add a pic of the cooked cake later today.

I lined my large square tin with 3 layers of baking paper to prevent the cake from burning and it will cook for about 3 1/2 hours, near the bottom of a slow oven ie 150C Then I will brush it with another 2T of  Cointreau let it cool completely and then wrap it firmly in cling film and aluminium foil to keep in the fridge until Christmas.

The cake is taking forever to cool down but here it still in the tin...it weighs well over 2kgs which is maximum my scales go up to and would have cost about $15 to make as I already had the Cointreau and the eggs were free...

I also have a 2Kg turkey breast in the freezer and will buy a ham nearer the time as I have less fridge space than usual.

Priscilla has still not been called to the specialist's rooms...I find this quite outrageous...everything we ever hear about cancer is get it seen to quickly. She will phone her GP again tomorrow.

Bye bye for now,
Love from Sue

*you could use sherry, brandy, rum or whisky 

Jennet Cragg, A Distant Great Grandmother

Firstly thank you all for the messages and words of support for Priscilla...I will keep you informed regarding her treatment and condition.

Jennet Cragg, a distant great-grandmother, that's an understatement really. her life dates back to the mid 1600s and she was my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great-grandmother. Her story has survived because it was so outstanding and courageous and was also printed and sold, even in France!

Jennet Townson was born in 1633 and married Thomas Cragg of Chapel House in 1657, they had four children before Thomas died in 1667. Their youngest, a daughter named Elizabeth was born in 1660 and it was she that married into the Kelsall line on September 2nd, 1682. Elizabeth married a young widower named John Kelsall, a tailor originally from near Delamere in Cheshire who had moved to London with his first wife. It is unsure how they actually met being so far apart, perhaps it was Quaker Friends that introduced them.

Instead of me recounting this tale and perhaps missing something I will post the following words by George Adamson, a cousin of my Kelsall mother and fellow descendant from Jennet. You will have to click on the pages to bring them to readable size.

This photograph was taken near Littledale in the Forest of Bowland, about 8miles from Lancaster and about 15miles from Over Wyresdale where Joseph Kelsall farmed and raised his family....you can see the Lakeland Fells in the background...

John and Elizabeth Kelsall were the parents of the two orphans rescued by Jennet, I am descended from the younger son, Joseph(b 1684) who farmed near Wyresdale, not far from Lancaster. The elder brother, John(b 1683) became a teacher and was appointed school-master at the Quaker School in mid-Wales, Dolobran when it opened in the early years of the 18thC. This is John's account of his early life, including his Grandmother Jennet's adventure to London! Once again it will be legible once you have clicked on the photo/scan.

Once on-line I found the report that a Kelsall ancestor had been in prison with John Bunyon but I cannot find that now...will keep looking and add it when I find it.

Today's post is mainly for my family, this blog is my way of bringing together as much information as I can find about our ancestors before it becomes lost to us all....however I think many others will find it interesting and perhaps will begin at their own family tree.

Bye bye for now,
Love from Sue
xx

PS have recently been shown theses links

http://www.garstangcourier.co.uk/news/local/how-the-quakers-came-to-garstang-1-1852110

https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/21169874

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jennett-Cragg-Quakeress-Story-Plague/dp/1120354315