Holiday fun

December 28, 2018

It has been scorching today despite cloud cover.  I took a thermometer outside and it shot up to 39C.  At this point I decided the thermometer and I were both better back in the cool of the house!   Tonight, it is slightly cooler, and I have been able to spend some time trying to tidy up the garden. I harvested the garlic today and have it drying in our entrance hall where it creates an interesting smell.

Yesterday was Edd’s birthday so we drove down to Phillip Island and spent a relaxing day in the surf and eating sea food.  The waves were really full of energy, so we did not actually swim.  It was good to see that there was no pollution on the beaches or in the water.  It is nowhere near as warm as the Mediterranean, but it is one hundred times cleaner.  The beaches were very cosmopolitan, but we could not help feeling sorry for women in full modesty clothing, it seemed a shame that only their men folk could get full benefit from the day.

We spent Xmas day up in the forest with Bo, Simon and Silky.  It was a perfect temperature where we set up camp by the river.  I got there as early as possible so that we could have a good spot, but it was a wasted effort because no-one else came at all!   The river was a delight and we spent ages sat on rocks just relaxing.  We did miss Josh who came with us last year and Bo’s boys all felt they had more important teen age things to do.

All ready for our solstice feast

December 20 2018

Having Granddaughters is great.  Today Indi helped me prepare the food for tomorrows feast.  She tackled a huge pumpkin that she complained gave her a harder work out than the polardes class she had just come back from!    We both now have loads of zucchinis and discussed how we could use them. Indi said she had baked one into a chocolate cake and  I stuffed one of the turkeys with a zucchini mixed with falafel.  Perhaps we will be able to sell more at the market , but I suspect that everyone has them now. I will definitely use several in a vegetarian /vegan dish for tomorrow.

I have put away the three D puzzle that I brought at the charity shop.  I have seen these puzzles in magazines and often wondered whether to try one, but they are usually expensive enough to make them resistible. A chance to try for $3 was altogether another matter. The puzzle was do-able, but it took a lot of patience to avoid knocking more buts off than those I put on. The odd thing was that when I finally got the thing built I had a small piece left over and a larger piece missing! No way could I sort the thing out, but I have decided that the temptation period is over.

My sun room jungle is now looking very clean and sorted.  A lot of my plants have been relocated outdoors where they can enjoy a summer of fresh air and natural rain.  It helps with pest control too.  The turmeric has sprouted well, and the ginger is growing fast.  I just cut bits off when I need some for cooking.  I have strung a long rope of led lights all around the windows, so the area looks magical at night.  I have two very young grandchildren and I want them to experience the wonder of a traditional Xmas.

All this has taken a lot of work.  Edd and I thought about it today and remembered that before the fires we had Wwoofers, overseas travellers, who helped us with lots of the work plus we had a man to help once a week with the heavy work and my friend helped me clean up every Friday before our paying guests arrived.  For the last ten years it has mostly been just Edd and I doing everything.  No wonder we feel a bit over worked. Perhaps we should plan differently for next year.

Despite this I have fitted in two massive shopping trips and I have all the gifts wrapped and labelled under the tree.  No big or expensive gifts , just tokens for grownups and toys for the very young. The teenagers get money and a gift I hope will make them laugh.  I also found a proper cricket set so that games can be played on the flat grass Edd has just mowed if anyone has the energy.  I know I haven’t.

I do feel a bit old for cooking for thirty plus people but if I didn’t Bo would, and she cooks like this every day at her restaurant and as a result is closer to collapse than I am. My big wish for the new year is that none of us needs to work quite so hard.

Full steam ahead

December 13 2018

I am so behind with this blog.  We are into our really busy season and spare time is rare.  The goats are now at peak milk production and I make cheese most days. The hard cheeses are turning out to keep well and be reliably edible now that we vac Pac them. It is worth the effort to make them.

The male goat kids have been sold and Barak and his mate now have a small paddock to jump around in. The leg Barak broke looks crocked but does not hold him up much.  He leapt up and down the bank with obvious enjoyment.  This is a big relief for us. There is massive growth this spring and we are strip grazing the goats trying to stop them getting too much at once. They are accepting this form of control well, but they are still coming in each night looking very bloated.

The vegetables are also in full growth mode, too.  The zucchini glut is on and we cart boxes to the restaurant and still have some left for market. The beans have just started too.  I have defrosted and cleaned the freezer just in time to put in the new seasons crops. This year we have raspberries for breakfast every morning along with strawberries.  I have not had any left over to freeze yet.

The young chooks out grew the small cage and are now in the new chook shed on the old drive.  Edd’s is struggling to get the fence fixed because they will soon be big enough too free range.  The Easter egg glut has slowed down, but we still get plenty to eat and plenty to sell.  The sheep are now in the old hay paddock to the west. The grass is growing so fast that they are not making much of an impression yet.  We have had to mow the grass on the house roof because it was not eaten down enough.  The other fire precaution measures were done by the last camp.  They moved all the burnable waste in the garden and cleaned gutters.

I am preparing for our family celebration on the solstice.  I have started by working through the sun room jungle, repotting plants, washing and polishing the floor and throwing out dead leaves.  Most of  the plants needed repotting and many of the bromeliads had pups to split off.  The snake vines are so big that I am waiting until Edd is around to help me deal with them!  Meanwhile I have put up our long suffering, Xmas tree.  It is one that survived the fires because it was stored in the cellar, so I greet it each year as an old friend.  I have so many memories of Xmas’s past that it brings back. A kind of sweet and sad feeling.

December 7 2018

Summer has arrived with a blast of hot air.  Indi appeared out of the forest and sought refuge in the house from unbearable heat. Bo and I went to see the Patricia Piccinini exhibition at Tarrawarra.  I found the sculptures amazing, the odd blend of human and animal forms should look ugly but instead they were adorable, and it was hard not to touch them. They were so lifelike I would not have been surprised if they felt warm.  They showed so much emotion and each one had a feeling of movement and also seemed to tell a story.  Mostly it was about love , so very positive.