A Guyra Girl

On A Grey Day

2012-01-29T10:32:00.000+11:00

Wonderful people filled with love, laughter and grace can make even the darkest days beautiful.

Thank you.

Yarn Along

2012-01-26T08:20:00.000+11:00

Some of my favourite or most peaceful moments in life have involved a good book or some knitting, when feeling particularly brave they are often combined! It is no wonder, then, that I am thoroughly enjoying joining Ginny in her Yarn Along. For more posts or to add your own head on over to her blog, Small Things.

This week I have delved into one of my favourite authors, Miles Franklin, indulging in "Back To Bool Bool". It is part of the series that she wrote under the pseudonym of Brent of Bin Bin. I prefer the earlier books because they contain the character of Bert Poole - oh how I adored that man in my youth. You know the type, tall, handsome, good with horses, sadly fictional. He rates right up there with the other first fictional crushes of Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre and Gilbert Blythe from the Anne books. The second book is "Spinning Wool Beyond the Basics" by Anne Field, a wonderful book that I am enjoying. I must subconsciously pick some things up from these books, because I seem to do okay on the spinning front.

The knitting project is a pair of socks for me. YAY! The wool is Waikiwi 4ply and is 55% NZ Merino, 20% Nylon, 15% Alpaca and 10% Possum. I love the idea of having a pair of socks with possum in them. I have to say the yarn is wonderfully soft and is knitting up well. Hopefully I will have them finished tonight.

I hope everyone has a lovely Australia Day and that all those souls in Southern Queensland and Northern NSW remain safe in the downpours!

What Always Happens Once A Dog Is Dry From Their Bath...

2012-01-22T11:25:00.000+11:00

Can it be that I have stumbled across...

Duck Poo?

Oh...

yes...

YES!

It's only ten minutes later, when she decides to roll the other way that she realises...

Oh crap, busted!

Beasts

2012-01-21T12:36:00.000+11:00

The Big Black Cat loves me no matter what.

The chooks now look at me with slightly wary and mildly pissed expressions. They found it rather rude of me to put them through the indignity of washing their rear ends yesterday. But I am certain they feel better today.

The dog is still obsessed with the chooks and they just tend to stare her down.

The wild birds are upset with me because I refuse to share the blackberries with them.

Still, at least the miniature Sunflowers are bright and blooming!

Yarn Along

2012-01-19T18:28:00.001+11:00

I am slow in getting this week's Yarn Along done!

There is nothing spectacular being worked on this week, just the joy of knitting a pair of socks for a friend out of yarn I dyed myself. The pattern is Summer Lovin by Knitting Nonstop. The books are One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, a beautifully touching book that I am thoroughly in awe of and grateful for, and Wongwibinda by Owen Wright, which is the history of a local farming property found to the east of Guyra that was established in 1842.

And yes, the ginger in the background is The Queen of the House - she refused to move!

For more wonderful Yarn Alongs and to link your own, head on over to Ginny's fabulous blog.

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

2012-01-14T11:24:00.000+11:00

You go away for a few days and all of a sudden there are ownership issues...

Of course they only see the humans of the house as their slaves and hot water bottles anyway, so why should the beds be off limits.

Kicking Back

2012-01-09T09:16:00.000+11:00

At Alstonville. These pictures don't do it justice, but are the views from our bedroom. The first looks down over Ballina, the second is over Byron Bay. Of an evening you can see the light from Byron Bay Lighthouse.

So far we've had a great time window shopping at antiques stores, dining out (the absolute favourite being a wonderful Indian Restaurant by the name of Mumtaj) and simply spending time with each other and family.

On the way down we stopped at a friend's place at Tabulam and spent entirely too much time with our shoes off to cool our feet off in the magnificent Clarence River. It is these simple pleasures that I adore and I am hoping to do the same when we head back home again.

Yarn Along

2012-01-05T08:30:00.001+11:00

I have greatly admired and been a follower of these posts for ages and so thought I would finally join in with my own. The idea is to share a photo of your current knitting projects and the book(s) you are reading. I think it's a brilliant idea and to find more of these posts or to even do your own post head on over to Small Things.

Yep, cleaning books! I am trying to motivate myself into a late "Spring Clean" of the house, I kind of stalled after the monster task of my bedroom. I am rather ashamed to admit that these books are only a small number of the endless cleaning manuals that seem to be handed to me - I think most of them have come as not so subtle hints from Mad Aunts. My favourites are the Shannon Lush books for best tips and methods and the Mary Murray books for the beauty and sheer frugality of a bygone era.

Sadly NONE of these books have the secret to a perfectly clean house, not matter what you do you have to spend time cleaning and repetitively so! I guess the only way around it would be to employ a housekeeper.

My knitting projects are pretty simple - a fistful of cotton facecloths being made for a friend, all quite basic but with a few patterns and stitches thrown in to keep them interesting, my little shawl and a pair of socks for my sister with the wool she sent me for Christmas.

So, what is everyone else up to?

The New Year

2012-01-01T18:30:00.000+11:00

Do you start off the New Year with a list of resolutions that generally don't last the day? I usually do, but this year I decided to start the year by doing things I want to continue with.

I took my dog for a walk, I baked, I rode my bike, I finished a sock for my sister and cast on for the second one, I chatted on Skype with friends (although only briefly), I sent emails to loved ones, I pottered in my garden, I played with my pets, I enjoyed conversations with Mad Relatives (not just Aunts!) and I sewed.

This is just one of the sewing projects I finished - a little quilt for my dog. It was practically done and only needed the binding. I am terrible at not finishing things, which is why being able to show this completed is such a joy to me.

And it seemed to be appreciated by my dog too.

Tomorrow is more sewing, more pottering in the garden, more walking the dog and riding my bike and just generally getting things done.

I have a feeling that 2012 will be the year of opportunity and wonderful new beginnings!

Happy New Year to one and all!

What has happened to Summer?

2011-12-10T10:54:00.001+11:00

It seems that we have gone back to Winter, and yet we are well into the first month of Summer. None of the beasts are happy, especially The BBC and The Queen of the House.

It is wet, miserable and cold so I think I will give in and just light the fire. Only when The BBC sticks his feet out from under the blanket will I know that the house is warm enough for them. Do you ever suspect that I pander entirely too much to my cats? I deny that, of course, I just use them as an excuse!

We did have a lovely day yesterday, which allowed for much needed clothes washing and the lawn to be mowed. The best part of yesterday, though, was our local Stitch & Bitch where we exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Mine was from the wonderful Yarnosophy and contained a hand-made apron, hand-dyed Merino/Nylon Sock yarn, hand-made stitch markers and a copy of "Eliza's Gift" by Rachael Herron (which is the Australian publication of her wonderful story "How To Knit A Love Song" - of which I am a HUGE fan; who couldn't love a book that has a cowboy, a border collie and knitting in it? Seriously, who?!).

I just hope that my Secret Santa isn't too disappointed with her present.

Anyway, I think I will go and bake a loaf of bread just so I can wear my new apron!

Frustration

2011-11-27T09:46:00.002+11:00

Is getting to the foot of your second sock and realising that you won't have enough wool.

It would have not been a problem had the wool been store brought - but no, it was hand dyed and no notes taken of the amount of dye used or anything.

Ugh.

On the rainfall front we have had a 185mm in the last few days. Thank goodness the sun is now out and about.

Rainfall for last 24 hours

2011-11-24T08:36:00.000+11:00

We've had 100mm in the last 24 hours and it is still falling steadily. If this keeps up I may have to wrap the chickens in floaties.

The stray goose that I keep feeding isn't happy either, she is protesting loudly at Mother Nature for the downpour.

In moments like these there is only one thing to do - make some choc-chip & banana muffins, settle down in front of the television for a Lord of the Rings marathon and ignore the fact that the water is now just pooling in great big sheets all around the house.

Hope everyone is safe and secure!

Fantastic Finds and Signs to Fear

2011-11-04T08:48:00.000+11:00

It is amazing what you stumble across in your pre-Spring Clean clean.

Then there are somethings that you wouldn't want to stumble across, especially if like me you suffer from a fear of heights! This charming signpost is situated at Wollomombi Falls.

Guyra Hospital Auxiliary Craft Fair

2011-10-23T09:35:00.000+11:00

Following a request (or should that be order?) from one of my favourite Mad Aunts, yesterday was spent at the Craft Fair. My Mum and I went up with our wheels, fibre, yarns and assortment of tools so that we could demonstrate spinning to anyone who was interested - which turned out to be quite a few. As you will see from the pictures below, we were a bit of an oddity at the Fair, but we had fun and the money raised went to a good cause.

One thing that I didn't grab a shot of was the beautiful smocked and lace items made by Nola Hill - they were just stunning!

Amongst all the people who came to watch us spin and ask a million questions, my favourite was an elderly gentleman who sat for quite some time to tell me all about how his mother would spin wool with a very high twist and make all the family's socks with it. When I asked if she spent a lot of time darning them as well, he laughed and said no and leaned in to let me in on his mother's secret - she use to soak the wool used for heels in tea so that the tannin would 'harden' the yarn and make them wear longer!

Spring Days

2011-10-16T15:47:00.000+11:00

Are wonderful for the soul and today was just absolute bliss!

There is a riot of Wisteria blooms twisted over the arches that separate the house backyard from what should be the kitchen garden.

While my beloved cornflowers, poppies and irises are just starting to come out.

Bees are busy doing what they do best amongst some of my bulbs.

And while I have no idea what the heck these things are, they seem to be enjoying the 'mood' of spring too.

The only downside of today was that I realised I have been awfully slack in getting seeds into the ground or pots for vegetables. However that was pretty easy to rectify and I am happy to report that I have sown my carrots, onions, beetroot and spinach directly into the garden beds whilst tomatoes, lettuce, sweet corn, peas, beans, sunflowers and strawberries have been sown into seedling beds in the mini greenhouse.

I also tackled my strawberry/herb patch - which will now be dedicated to strawberries only. It was cleared of Cat Mint and Oregano. The Mad Kelpie appreciated it and rolled for hours in the discarded herbs, she smells quite sweet!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Oh, the horror!

2011-10-09T08:47:00.000+11:00

I have mice in the chookhouse. They insist on breeding. They will have to go.

Damnit!

Smokey Days

2011-09-20T14:48:00.000+10:00

Everyone is doing Hazard Reduction, but there are also some actual fires out and about which is quite scary. You can check it out at the RFS website.

Looks like it will be a bad season for bushfires.

Pre Spinning Camp Excitement

2011-09-09T06:33:00.001+10:00

It is here FINALLY!!!! Today I head off down the hill to Spinning Camp! YAY!! Last night was preparation - looking at lists, packing, looking at weather reports, repacking, looking at bag and repacking yet again. I have bedding, I have clean underwear, I have a spinning wheel, fibre and knitting...I think I am right to go! WOO HOO!!!

I also have nibbles...

Misty Morning

2011-09-04T07:25:00.000+10:00

It's All Mine!

2011-08-23T14:03:00.003+10:00

Snow Flurries

2011-08-09T08:13:00.001+10:00

We had a flurry of snow last night at about 10pm, by this morning there wasn't much left.

But as usual it had the same result - a telephone call from a great mate to let me know we had started lambing and when did I want to do my time out in the shed.

Ah Mother Nature, how I love your sense of humour.

Guilty Secret

2011-07-23T14:06:00.000+10:00

I have one, it isn't so secret to a few, and I'm about to go public in an effort to simply get off my procrastinating rear and do something about it.

Okay. So here we go. Please, don't think any less of me...

My raspberries! They are neglected and unloved even though they produced 20 jars of jam, two bottles of cordial, a dessert sauce and endless berries eaten straight from the cane.

I am a bad and neglectful gardener, even worse I am a bad friend as I should be dividing them as necessary to pass on to another gardener.

So what have I been doing so far this weekend to avoid these poor neglected darlings?

Dyeing homespun fleece so that we can knit beanies for staff up at the Guyra MPS. Don't you just love the colour? It is Greener Shades' Ruby Red and I can't wait to get my hands on some more.

Chatting with the chooks and cleaning out their run.

Getting in wood and kindling.

Finishing off the back of a cardigan for a certain young lady of my acquaintance.

This afternoon will be spent out in the wilds chasing mad sheep about, so the raspberries will remain neglected. But there is always tomorrow.

Hope everyone else's Saturday is more productive!

Favourite Comfy Socks

2011-07-09T16:42:00.000+10:00

There is nothing quite as sad as a favourite pair of socks with massive holes where the heel should be...

Still, I have the yarn, the tools and the time.

Is there any better way to spend half an hour on a bitterly cold day?

A Practically Perfect Weekend

2011-06-05T15:09:00.000+10:00

It started early on the Friday. The morning passed with cooking while the afternoon/evening was filled with laughter, conversation and wonderful companions for Knit Night. The Lovely Ladies of our little group are truly awe inspiring and beautiful in every way. Although it has to be said, I didn't actually get any knitting done!

Saturday was mostly a day of chores. Like everyone in the district I took advantage of a beautiful winter's day to restock the wood pile, clean out the chook pen and ignore the fact that my chooks are dirtier now than when they only had their little chook tractor to run in. They love the freedom of the run as well as the mud when the days turn wet, so who am I to spoil their fun?

I also took an opportunity to photograph the old Backwater Post Office while out visiting and helping out an old friend. It is a curious little building and something that should be treasured.

Today has been quieter, a bit of a stray day really where there has been nothing that "must be done", and so I have revelled in it by watching a favourite old movie, The Man From Snowy River, and starting on a cardigan for a certain young lady of my acquaintance. I am using the original pattern she picked with a few little changes. Since pooling is a concern I am going to knit it in one piece rather than pieced sections, which is proving to be fun.

The only other thing of note that I have accomplished this weekend is hacking off all my hair. But I decline to share a photograph of that. Ah, the joys of winter.

Weekend Wanderings

2011-05-15T10:16:00.001+10:00

As many of my close friends know, last weekend I was meant to be going to the Pilliga with a wonderful group of people to camp out and do various wonderful things. Alas it was all brought to a grinding halt when a member of the would-be party broke a leg. So the plans were cancelled and all of a sudden I had a whole 4 days with nothing planned. So I improvised...

I finally got around to building my chooks a little run so they can forage and stretch their legs:

It is a little bit "Dad and Dave" in structure, lots of utilising scraps of bits and pieces and no real tension in the wire. But as you can see, it is not only the chooks who love the extra room!

I had a go at a batch of Duck Fat Soap. Once they are cured it will be interesting to see how they go.

I found some time to ply the three bobbins of Wool Pig's "Wild Berries" together. This is a lovely mix of Wool, Cashmere and a smidgen of nylon.

Being in the spinning mood, I spun up some beautiful silk-wool roving from the wonderful Thylacine and then plyed them too.

I also spent hours making chutney, sauce and preserves with the last of the tomatoes and apples from the garden.

On Saturday afternoon I headed out to a friend's property to help with some burning of old fallen trees. We made a night of it and camped out, dining in style on a roasted wild duck, field mushrooms, roasted potatoes, roasted tomatoes and damper. My lovely friend also provided fodder for my latest interest. I think the picture of the present says it all...

This weekend has not been so busy.

The only thing I have really managed to do is finish off my red silk-wool socks - I have looked forward to having these socks for a very long time and I am certain they will quickly become my favourite pair. I used Greener Shades "Ruby Red" to colour the yarn and then knitted it in a very basic "Madder Rib" pattern, finishing up with shaped toes.

Now I have to work out what to start on next!

So, what has everyone else been up to over the weekend?

Golden Syrup Dumplings

2011-05-14T06:42:00.000+10:00

Last night was such a blast of winter for my City Cousins that dessert had to be something hearty and warming, so out came an old favourite in our family - Golden Syrup Dumplings!

Dumplings
1 1/2 Cups of Self Raising Flour
60g of butter
1 egg
1/4 cups of milk

Rub butter into flour until a mixture of fine crumbs is formed. Add egg and milk and mix into a firm dough. Roll dough into size of golf balls and leave to sit while preparing the syrup.

Syrup
2 cups of water

3/4 cups raw or castor sugar

3 heaped tablespoons of golden syrup or honey

30g of butter

Mix all ingredient over a low heat until blended (don't panic if the butter keeps rising to the top in its melted form, it'll all get there in the end). Allow to boil and then turn heat back to a simmer. Add dumplings and seal with a lid. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

You can really use any syrup you want from honey through to maple. For example, with mine I used half golden and half maple. With the lighter coloured syrups though, you may want to use some brown sugar in the mixture to give it that darker golden colour and if you do, melt the butter and then mix in the sugar so that you almost form a caramel before adding your water and syrups so that the colour will be more intense.

Best way to serve these is with lovely fresh custard!

Be warned, these are VERY sweet and so you really only need one or two to have your fill.

The Ghosts of a Dairy

2011-03-16T05:25:00.002+11:00

It is currently 5.15am; I've been awake since 4am. Why? The eerie baying of cattle drifting across the quiet streets of this little town. It sounds like they are down by the Mother of Ducks lagoon, which is where the Dairy was located.

Phantom dairy cows waiting to be milked, bellowing for their previous owners to rise from the grave and attend to their needs?

Yep, I haven't had enough sleep.

Simple and Easy Cheesecake

2011-02-12T14:27:00.000+11:00

Just because I am currently making one and I am not my Aunts, here it is...

Utensils I Use
Springform Cake Tin
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Scales
Ancient Mix Master
Blender
Refrigerator

Base

125g Nice biscuits crushed/crumbled/destroyed in blender
90g butter melted

Mix these together and press over the base. Put into fridge while making filling. Also, clean up after yourself before you start on the filling. It gets part of the cleaning out of the way and also lets the base cool down.

Filling
250g Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 cup condensed milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
140ml cream

Whip the cream into stiff peaks, put aside. With room temperature cream cheese add condensed milk and lemon juice and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Pour over base and put back in the fridge overnight to set.

Whatever you do, don’t forget the lemon juice as it ‘sets’ the ingredients

Topping

Strawberries or Raspberries or really whatever floats your boat

An appropriate jelly for your berries or fruit, mixed and cooled but not yet set
Cream

Whip the cream to stiff peaks and pipe onto edge of cake. If you don’t have a pipe bag, just use a normal sandwich bag and cut the tip of one corner off, it works just as well. Decorate top of cake with said berries then spoon over the cooled jelly mixture. Put back into the fridge until ready to be served so that the jelly sets. You don't have to use all of the jelly either, just enough to cover the berries. I'll update with another photograph this afternoon after I have dressed my cake - at the moment, it is setting in the fridge!

When ready to serve, run a knife around the cake tin, release the catch and there you go, ready to be cut and plated.

If you only have frozen berries available, that is fine but defrost them fully before you put them on the cake otherwise the moisture will leech into the cake and make it sloppy. Also, be quite selective about the cream you use - if you can get fresh raw cream DO IT. I have a mate with a Jersey cow running about the place and it is the best possible cream I have ever used. However if you have to do with Supermarket cream make sure you get the freshest possible, look to the back of the cabinet.

If you want to do a gluten free cake, use gluten free biscuits and also be very selective about the other products, check the labels.

Enjoy!

Visitors

2011-02-05T18:38:00.008+11:00

When a mate calls and ask you to cook breakfast for his weekend visitors, you rock up expecting to see one or two extra motor vehicles parked about the place.

Sometimes you get more than you expected.

Going for a bit of a wander

2011-02-02T06:07:00.002+11:00

As of last Friday my little bantams started laying! Harriet, the hen, has been giving me an egg a day and Esme laid her fist egg on Saturday.

Esme's egg is the smallest, then you have two of Harriet's and just for comparison I have added an Isa Brown egg. It sounds silly, but there is nothing quite as exciting as going out to the chookies and discovering an egg in the nesting boxes!

I also wrapped up my January "To Do" list on Sunday morning by making soap! Scary and exciting all at the same time.

I used the recipe provided here on the Down To Earth blog with a few changes. I used my own rose-lavender water and substituted some Rose Hip Oil for part of the Olive Oil in the receipe. It made just over 17 bars of soap and as you can see from above, they are now curing. I can't wait to use them. I still have my Duck Fat soap to make, but I am hoping to do that with a few friends - these adventures always seem more enjoyable with good company!

In a small country town you often see a lot of weird things in your street, for instance we've had kangaroos hopping down the street on a foggy morning and not so long ago we even had an emu going for a little bit of a wander, and of course no one is likely to forget the chook tractor perched on the back of the ute a few weeks back! But Monday evening these rocked up:

They were pulled along by utilities and only stayed for 24 hours, but what a sight they were. It is small things like this that make me love this town.

Is it already Sunday?

2011-01-23T19:24:00.004+11:00

Here we are at the close of yet another weekend – why oh why do they disappear so quickly? I shouldn’t complain as I got a lot done.

I have finally finished all the socks for the Antarctica Adventurers and will drop them off on Monday. There are ten pairs in all, four of them in a gorgeous silk/wool mix which made me drool. I ended up dyeing wool for three pairs and I am pretty happy with the result.

As you can see, the little Orpington Bantams have arrived! I have three – a 12 month old hen who has been named Harriet, a four month old pullet called Esme and a two month old pullet called Little Milly. They are settling in well and seem quite content with their little run. Once the pullets are older I will see how viable it is to let them free range in the paddock during the day.

Although given the amount of interest my dog shows in them, it might not be such a great idea! Looks like I might have to build them a run.

Of course the best way to wrap up an afternoon is with a cup of rose grey tea and some of Aunty Doreen’s famous Chocolate Cake.

It is quick and relatively easy to make:

½ cup melted margarine or butter

1 cup milk

1 ¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons of good quality cocoa

1 ¾ cup self raising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

Mix all the ingredients together, except the eggs, and beat until well combined. Add the eggs and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into large lined cake tin and bake at 160⁰C until cooked. You guys know the test, stick in a bamboo skewer and if it comes out clean then it is done. It generally takes 30-45 minutes.

I like to make the cake with raw sugar and I also include 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Top it with chocolate icing and it is lovely, but serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it is even better!

Small Things During The Month

2011-01-20T06:43:00.003+11:00

I mostly feel overwhelmed at the start of a New Year. Why? Because there are just so many things I want to do, I end up sounding like a small child who just keeps adding things to a list with "and then". This year I am looking at each month and making small notes about what I would like to achieve or rather try for that month and keeping it pretty simple so that it isn't overwhelming. So far it is has been pretty successful -

Build or purchase a chook tractor for two chooks or three bantams.

A lovely woman that I feel honoured to call a friend gave me her old one last weekend! It was a family effort as her mother and lovely step father drove it up the hill on the back of a utility, which made quite a sight as it came up our street. I love them all for the amount of effort they put in and even though I don't have the words, I hope they all know how much it meant to me. The only 'building' required was to replace the snake and rodent wire on the bottom, which was finished last night. I'll let you all in on a secret - I can't build a thing, I don't even own a power drill! So here it is:

With three nesting boxes and a decent sized enclosed run, it is just perfect for my needs. Which brings me to...

Obtain hens or bantam hens.

That is being done tonight when I collect three Orpington Bantam hens from a lovely breeder down in Armidale. Everything is ready for them, the nesting boxes are lined with soft hay mulch, I have feed and all the other bits and pieces required. Names will have to wait until their personalities reveal them.

Finish socks for M & W (the lovely couple who carried up the chook tractor!).

This should be done this weekend. I am nearly finished the first sock in the last pair for Ms M, made from the self striping experiment no. 2 which is coming together quite well. Then all I have to do is finish the ends of W's socks and it is done. Woo hoo!

Make Down To Earth Soap.

Since I read on her blog about her revised soap recipe which makes a "Castile" style soap, I've been very curious to try it out. Maybe I'll give it a go on Australia Day. I also really want to try making Duck fat soap. Oh the possibilities!

So, am I the only one who is doing simple monthly objectives, or do you guys have some too?

A Lovely Saturday

2011-01-15T16:12:00.001+11:00

Spent mostly knitting, but I did get to do another experiment in a self-striping dye job. Behold the skein of Cyclamen and Wild Raspberry drying on the line.

There was time to wander about the garden too. It looks like we'll have quite a good harvest of apples and nectarines, not to mention the blackberries. Two bushes and both full of berries - just the thing for eating, jam making and lovely pies.

Sadly my raspberries are all but done with only a few jars of jam made, the rest were eaten straight off the vine.

For those who have recently asked, here is Little Black Cat. He has a new alias at home now, The BBC - The Big Black Cat. As you can see, he is fully recovered with only a small scar on his nose as a reminder of that horrible event.

The Queen still doesn't understand what all the fuss is about him.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T20:37:00.001+11:00

After an incredibly hectic day full of good company, lots of laughs and a little too much fun in the sun in the afternoon, it is lovely to come home and spend a quiet ten mintues enjoying the view from my little enclosed verandah room as I knit.

Ten minutes peace during a wonderful day - I am looking forward to this year being filled with wonderful days and those precious ten minutes.

I was thankful to say goodbye to 2010 as it was a very difficult year for my family with a beloved member spending most of it fighting long and hard against an extremely aggressive metastatic breast cancer. Sadly she lost her battle only a few weeks ago. The world certainly seems much bleaker at times without this beautiful and graceful soul in my life. She personified warmth and love, always worried more about others than herself, even in the last few days all she wanted was reassurances that those left behind would be well cared for. It was an easy promise to make to her and one I will always keep.

But this is a new year, full of so many possibilities and I am very keen to embrace it.

I hope everyone enjoys a happy new year full of love, laughter and happiness!

Rocky Road Just For Emily

2010-12-23T19:46:00.001+11:00

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without home made treats! The last few nights I have been making nothing but batches of Rocky Road.

And just for Emily, the ingredients are:

250g bag of marshmallows chopped in half (hint, if your knife gets too sticky, dip it in icing sugar)
½ cup of raspberry lollies cut in half
125g Macadamia nuts chopped roughly

350g of chocolate – a lot of recipes will tell you to use cooking chocolate, but I have found that the best tasting rocky Road is always made with real chocolate from the lolly section of the supermarket. Luckily for me and all would be Rocky Road makers out there you can buy a 350g slab of Cadbury chocolate.

Now for the method:

Line a lamington tin with grease proof paper and put it aside.

Put the marshmallows, raspberry lollies and nuts together in a bowl and mix roughly. Don’t worry about the nuts dropping down to the bottom, we’ll get round that soon.

Break up your chocolate into a Pyrex bowl or jug and zap it for 2 minutes on high in the microwave. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this hasn’t melted the chocolate if it is still holding its shape – use a spatula to mix it all together and you will see how deceptive those ‘solid’ pieces are! If you do still have semi solid pieces even after a good stir, zap it for another 30 seconds on high and stir again, repeat until you are happy with the consistency.

At this stage I like to pour the chocolate over the dry ingredients and mix together, you get a small amount of melting with the marshmallows which gives a lovely texture to the finished Rocky Road. Some people, however, like to allow the chocolate to cool a little so that you don’t get that texture. You’ll fiddle and experiment and you’ll find you like the best.

Remember the nuts falling to the bottom? Make sure during the mixing with the chocolate that you use a spatula to get right down to the bottom of the bowl and bring them through the mixture.

When you are happy with the mix, spoon it out into the tray. I say “spoon”, generally I just turn the bowl out into the tray and use the spatula to spread it out. Put it in the fridge to set, I tend to leave mine overnight, then it is as simple as cutting it up into rough bit size pieces.

Everyone in our family loves it.

Tonight is Rocky Road free, tonight I am baking a Chocolate Cheesecake instead.

The Road Less Travelled

2010-12-14T09:24:00.001+11:00

Often has the best views...

Even on overcast spring days.

And on brighter days the trees are glorious.

Home Grown

2010-11-14T11:35:00.001+11:00

Flowers from my garden.

And So It Begins

2010-11-04T17:22:00.000+11:00

Multiple batches of Choc-Chip cookies, Melting Moments, Jam Drops, Venetian Shortbreads and Butterscotch all completed today with any amount of cursing during the dipping of the Venetian Shortbreads into dark chocolate. Tomorrow morning will be patty cakes, dozens upon dozens all iced and dipped into choc sprinkles or hundreds and thousands.

Best of all tomorrow will see the creation of a Raspberry Cheesecake for the Stitch and Bitch.

Something you don't see everyday

2010-11-02T17:21:00.000+11:00

Especially on a very cool spring day in Guyra. But here they are...

Some Peace Of Mind

2010-10-17T17:40:00.002+11:00

There is a happy little hen house somewhere in Guyra that is rather old fashioned. The wire runs deep in the ground and while the gates are rather uninspiring they keep the chooks in and the nasty things out. Nesting boxes are protected from the elements and during the spring the wisteria blooms, during summer the dense foliage keeps the run and house cool, yet come autumn the leaves turn and drop so that during the winter the chooks have the joy of the sun.

During these longer, sunny days they get to wander about the paddocks, picking away at grass, hay and bugs to their hearts content. Then, just as the sun starts to lower, they come running to the call of "Chookie, Chookie, Chook Chook" to a huge feed of vegetable scraps, crusts of bread and their grain mix. On really cold mornings they are treated to warm porridge...not that I want you to think they are being spoilt in anyway! Do they look spoilt to you, or just well loved little ones?

I have a problem

2010-10-10T09:32:00.000+11:00

Mama Cat and Kitten Cat

Having done a good and proper job of being the nagging niece, my favourite Mad Aunt agreed to let me get her cats desexed. For being semi-feral cats they were easy enough to catch and secure in their cages they were taken to the local vet for the operation. It was pretty uneventful, except for Mama Cat literally climbing the walls of the surgery, and the vet was understanding enough to put in internal stitches so they don't have to return.

For the last few days they have been "recovering" on my little enclosed veranda and bedroom. They have adapted well, as you can see from the photograph above where they are curled up in the cat igloo.

I don't think I want to give them back.

Queen of the Spinning Wheels

2010-05-25T14:11:00.001+10:00

The Joy of Country Living

2010-05-06T15:57:00.000+10:00

You get to see the creative side of people in the most mundane items...

A Suitable Poem

2010-05-01T05:35:00.000+10:00

As I stood at the gate this morning, waving farewell and watching as the lights of the departing vehicle were consumed by darkness, I couldn't help thinking of Christina Hindhaugh's poem:

The love of city polish,
Of manners most urbane,
Of clean, pink hands and faces,
Is running in some veins,
Strong love of suit and waistcoats,
White shirts and soft silk ties,
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise...

I love a sunburnt torso,
A chest of sweeping planes!
A man with rugged features,
And the country in his veins!
I love his skin-barked knuckles,
I love his knobbly knees;
His beauty and his terror -
It's a wide, brown man for me!

Core of my heart, my farmer!
With mud stains on his socks,
Sump oil on his moleskins,
Grass seeds in his jocks.
His pockets stuffed with hayband,
His boots caked in manure;
His constant smell of woolshed
For me holds great allure.

A tender-hearted tyrant!
A wilful, stubborn man!
All you who have not loved one-
You will not understand.
Though Earth holds many splendors,
Wherever I may lie,
I know to what brown torso
My homing thoughts will fly!

With abject apologies to Dorothea Mackellar.

A Long Weekend

2010-04-26T10:39:00.001+10:00

What a rollercoaster weekend it has been!

Friday was the highlight of the whole kit and caboodle – a much needed day off work with no pressing engagements or harrowing appointments. Instead Friday brought the joy of FINALLY finding a bed that I like and purchasing it and a new mattress while saving $500 in the process (yes, I like bargains!). Not only that, but I was given the wonderful opportunity of viewing “Balala”, a property situated near Uralla. Anyone who knows me will understand why this brought me so much pleasure just from the photographs below, which are from the Landmark website for the property:

The history of this property is incredible, first being taken up as a grazing lease in 1840 and then purchase in 1880 by Richard Hudson and held in the family until its sale now. The man in my life will go on about the opportunities afforded by the land – the mix of native and naturalised pastures, arable creek flats, gently sloping grasslands, low hills and most importantly four reliable creeks which intersect the property. His gaze rested on the grand expanse of paddocks and he whispered to me, “Just over three thousand acres...six thousand DSE...imagine that!”

I, however, was far more interested in the homestead, woolshed, granary and other numerous outbuildings on the property. “If only” ran through my mind a million times as I walked amongst the slab timber structures, stood in the middle of the central courtyard of the old homestead and looked beyond the rather sad exterior of the rambling old place. I could see the place lovingly restored, not just the buildings but the gardens and orchards as well. To me there was nothing but wealth in the buildings, beauty and history wrapped up in slab, stone and iron. But there was more than that, there was something magical about the place, almost as if time had shifted and you were able to glimpse the past, these buildings were hosts to the ghosts of pioneers long gone.

The property is up for auction on April 30 and I hope that the new owner will see the merit in restoring it to its former glory.

Saturday was also spent viewing a few more properties in the district, mainly around Guyra. After “Balala” none of them stood out, although our vision was clouded by the horrible creeping of a fever fuelled virus which struck with a vengeance that afternoon. This pretty much wrote off the rest of the weekend until today. Why is it that nasty bugs and viruses ALWAYS strike on a long weekend and why is it that EVERYONE is the house gets sick at exactly the same time?

Today will be a quiet day, a lamb roast is slowing cooking away at the moment and I fully intend to spend the rest of the morning doing some spinning, working on a pair of socks for myself and chatting to my darling about dreams. I also want to go through all my scrap material to start on a "Bachelor Puzzle" quilt in honor of the new bed, hopefully I will finish it before the bed is delivered! It may be dull to some, but I think it is a lovely way to spend some time!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as I did.

A Sad Occurence

2010-03-31T08:24:00.003+11:00

My Little Black Cat has always had favourite places to be, most of all he enjoys snuggling in his little bed...

I like to think of myself as a responsible pet owner. My animals are well cared for, collared, micro-chipped and kept inside overnight, with them being brought in a few hours prior to Sunset and allowed out again once the sun has risen. Being a cat owner, I also know that they have a tendency to wander - but Little Black Cat and his housemate are never far from home and will return on hearing their names called.

Which makes the events of Tuesday, 23 March 2010, even more disturbing.

My Little Black Cat was shot with a .22 calibre rifle. The bullet entered through the bridge of his nose, ripped through his soft pallet, through the back of his tongue and along the oesophagus to lodge in the poor mite's chest. Thanks to Leisa Brown of Guyra District Veterinary Services and Martin Pearson of South Tamworth Animal Hospital, Little Black Cat survived. A few of you may find the following images disturbing.

This is Little Black Cat's first day home, four days after the shooting.

And looking a little better on his second day...

The incident has been reported to the Guyra Police and I would like to urge anyone who may have heard a rifle being fired on Tuesday, 23 March 2010, or have any information relating to the incident to contact the station.

But after all of this has happened to the little boy, it is nice to see that somethings don't change...

Just for Lisa...

2010-03-16T08:19:00.000+11:00

A while back I received some beautiful wool roving from Lisa, which she hand dyed with the colours of neapolitan icecream. I only started spinning it up this weekend and I am so in love with how the colours are coming through that I can't wait to have it all spun up! Anyway, here are some rather dark photographs taken this morning of the first bobbin:

And just for the gardening enthusiasts amongst us, a pretty Autumn Rose...

And Then There Were Three...

2010-02-22T08:24:00.000+11:00

A little while ago my new wheel arrived, a very beautiful Ashford Elizabeth II wheel. Only it came like this:

I won't tell you how long it took for me to put it together. It wasn't terribly difficult, but the instructions were rather ambiguous and quite frustrating at times. Probably my biggest hurdle was having had no previous experience with a double drive setup. All I can say is thank goodness for the internet, Google and Ravelry! The wheel came together, the double drive was set up and worked, and I have to say it was utter bliss! I love this wheel, I love the fact that it barely makes a sound and most of all I love the resulting yarn. So far I have only completed one bobbin, but it was just so effortless.

So now I have three wheels...

...and I wouldn't swap any of them for all the money in the world!

A Wonderful September Day

2009-09-20T10:58:00.002+10:00

Full of Spring Cleaning - at least for the fish pond!

While the fish chilled out in the pink bucket...

Everyone enjoyed the morning, with Little Black Cat in his favourite spot...
And Mad Dog enjoying the sunshine with the humans being out and aboutAnd then they discovered the fish!