It has been rainy here today so was a good excuse to do some inside jobs.
The curtains in the family room are now properly hung. It took a bit of tweaking of both the rod and the curtains as well as pressing with a steam iron.
It is an improvement on when I first put them up.
Every small step makes it feel more like home.
Yesterday we picked up a couple more secondhand finds. A pair of bedside tables to complete the guest room from one seller and lamps from another.
I am convinced that there is plenty of suitable pre-loved furniture and home decor available if you are prepared to look around.
In fact, the other success actually came from within our own home. When we moved here there was cube shelving along one side of the walk-in wardrobe which was not terribly useful in my opinion. So, yesterday we moved it out of that location and into what is going to be my sewing room. Now I just need to unpack all of the boxes of fabric.
It is a very good replacement for the storage we left behind in Queensland.
I finally have the kitchen pretty much the way I want it so now I can show you a few more photos.
It is a fairly simple layout with the stove and refrigerator along the back wall and plenty of bench space on either side of the stove. There are good-sized drawers for storage.
The island bench includes a large sink. There are also cupboards and drawers below the bench.
The bench has an overhang suitable for a breakfast bar, however, I am yet to decide whether to utilise this feature as the dining table is a mere couple of steps away. At the moment I have some of the bulk buckets stored under here whilst I work out the best spot for them.
The butlers pantry is adjacent to the kitchen and includes a sink and dishwasher as well as the microwave, open shelving, bench space and cupboards.
We have future plans to extend the size of the pantry but that is a story for another day.
Since my last post we have continued to make progress in setting up our new home. A huge achievement has been to pass all of the unpacked boxes and packing materials to other people for reuse.
Meanwhile, I have continued to successfully trawl Facebook Marketplace to source items I need.
Today we picked up this dining table and chairs. We plan to sand, paint and update them at some stage but at the moment we don’t have any workspace in the shed – and it is too cold to consider working out there. I think that will be a project for the warmer weather.
Hanging the artwork above the table was another achievement for today.
The curtains were a new buy as I decided that the semi-sheer ones that were already hung were not really suitable as we approach winter. The creases have not really dropped out yet but once they do we will adjust the position of the curtain rail to suit the length of the curtains.
A couple of days ago we picked up this desk to use in my sewing room.
I am working on finding homes for everything in the kitchen and the office and will share a bit more about those spaces in upcoming posts.
We have now been in our new home for 6 days. I had delusions that I would share the unpacking journey with my readers, however, the reality has been a bit different. I have been either flat out unpacking boxes, too exhausted to think straight or actually out and about shopping or a brief stint of frivolous entertainment.
All of this brings me to the point where we are now. Most of the boxes are unpacked. The exceptions are boxes of books, wine and sewing supplies. None of these are critical for the immediate functioning of the household.
I listed the packing materials on Marketplace and most of them were collected yesterday. We will drop off the remainder tomorrow.
We have bought and had our new washing machine delivered. Our other purchases were 2 side tables and lamps for our bedroom. These were sourced from Marketplace – different sellers. The side tables will be restored and refinished eventually.
Our bedroom is now essentially complete.
The guest bedroom is also ready for use.
The flip side is the completely disorganised large lounge room. This room won’t really be in use for about 3 months – until the new lounge suite arrives.
I have yet to start on the room which is earmarked to be the sewing room.
The butlers pantry is a work in progress. The main part of the kitchen is not fit to be photographed yet.
Now that you have a bit of an overview, I will get back to regular posts with updates on the progress. Stick with me and follow the story as it unfolds.
I cannot believe that despite writing this blog for over 12 years, growing pumpkins and there being several references to making pumpkin soup that I have never actually written an entire post about making it. Nor have I added a recipe to the index.
Well, I am about to remedy that oversight.
We are still living in temporary accommodation but that has not stopped me preparing meals. The weather is cold and a bowl of piping hot soup is a welcome addition to the menu. I made cauliflower soup a few days ago and now it is time for some pumpkin soup. I bought a whole pumpkin from a nearby roadside stall for $7.
Whilst this may sound expensive it works out to less than 50c for a generous serve and is one of the best flavoured pumpkins I have had in a long time.
There is only one saucepan in our current accommodation so I only used half of the pumpkin.
The following recipe and method are my preference, however, you can adjust and modify according to your own tastes and circumstances.
The quantities are what I used but they are quite variable according to taste.
PUMPKIN SOUP
Ingredients
Half a large pumpkin
2 teaspoons oil
2 teaspoons balsamic syrup
2 medium onions, finely diced
Salt
Pepper
3 teaspoons vegetable stock powder
1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika
750ml water
Peel pumpkin, remove seeds and cut into large wedges. Place pumpkin in a large bowl. Combine a couple of teaspoons of oil and balsamic syrup and pour over the pumpkin. Toss until it is all coated with the mixture. There shouldn’t really be any excess – just enough to coat the pumpkin.
Place the pumpkin wedges in a single layer in the air-fryer and cook for 30 minutes at 190C. You may need to do several batches depending on the size of the air-fryer.
Finely dice 2 medium onions. Add a small amount of oil to a large saucepan or stockpot and saute the onions until soft. Add the pre-cooked pumpkin, water and seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes then puree and adjust seasoning/liquid as required.
I use a stick blender to puree the soup, however, you could use a blender or food processor.
**WARNING** Whatever method you use to blend the soup you need to be very careful to avoids burns or scalding.
NOTE: The recipe for balsamic syrup is here.
Some weeks ago I discovered that the Bendigo Writers’ Festival was on this weekend over 3 days. We perused the interesting line-up of speakers and found it difficult to choose from the wide-ranging and extensive offerings. There were single and 3 day passes also available but in the end we settled on going to 3 sessions – 2 today and another tomorrow afternoon.
Today we attended 2 sessions. The first one was a lively discussion between the three panellists and moderator on the topic, ‘The Culture of Politics’. After a quick bite to eat we moved on to a nearby venue where another panel discussed the role of the independents in contemporary Australian democracy.
The final session we have chosen is titled ‘Heart to Heart’ with Tom Keneally and Barry Jones. These men are aged 87 and 90 respectively. While tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us, they are certainly not going to be around forever so I felt this opportunity was too good to pass up.
I feel really fortunate that the timing of our relocation afforded us the opportunity to attend the Festival and we are definitely considering a multi-day pass next year.
This time next week we should have the keys to our new home.
In preparation for the much cooler nights I bought some new bedding the other day. The most important item was a new feather doona which is predominantly goose down but very lightweight. I added a new doona cover which is a heavy textured cotton on one side and regular poly cotton on the other. It is navy which will co-ordinate nicely with the patchwork quilt. There are also 2 new pillows which I knew I needed but it seemed silly to buy them earlier and then have to pack them.
This close-up shows the textured pattern on the doona cover although the previous photo is a more accurate reflection of the colour.
Well, I have finally made it back and such a lot has changed since my last post 9 days ago.
We said our goodbyes to family and friends and on the morning of Anzac Day (25th April) we left Brisbane with 2 fully laden vehicles and our small dog.
Since we are both driving a vehicle and we have no relief driver we planned the trip so that we are only driving about 350km each day. Goondiwindi was our first overnight stop. After four days of travel and overnight stops, we have made it to Jerilderie in southern New South Wales were we are staying for 2 nights. I finally have time and internet access to write this update.
The travel has been relatively easy and pleasant as the weather has been a comfortable 23 – 28C during the day. This is in stark contrast to the last 2 times we have driven this route. In December 2022 much of the area was reeling from the worst flooding in history with roads that were more potholes than road. There is still evidence of road damage in places but credit must go to the authorities for the monumental repair tasks that have been undertaken. Conversely, in December 2019 we drove this way in the grip of drought with not a drop of water seen in any of the smaller creeks and paddocks everywhere were completely destocked. The worst bushfires ever were about to destroy much of south-eastern Australia. Climate change?
It is a perfect time to catch some of the autumn foliage along the way. This was at Coonabarabran.
Tomorrow we will continue southwards and cross the mighty Murray River which is the border between New South Wales and our new home state of Victoria. It will be another 10 days before the settlement of our new home so we will be staying in an Air BnB accommodation in the meantime.
We will not be idle during that time as we have several appointments and activities planned but more about that in coming days.
Today is my birthday. In the midst of the preparations for our relocation to Victoria, we made time to celebrate with a lunch date.
GMan had a final eye specialist appointment so we chose a venue nearby. The Green Zebra was our choice and it did not disappoint.
I did not have cake but I did enjoy this spectacular dessert.
organised castle 