An ‘Experience’ Gift

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Posted on January 8, 2013

I have started introducing my granddaughters to gifts of experiences rather than more and more stuff.

I bought tickets to shows for them both for Christmas and today was Miss O’s turn. We went to Sydney for the day to see the stage production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

First, there was a plane to catch.

We also managed a ferry ride on the harbour.

All that sightseeing works up an appetite.

Finally, it was time for the show.

It was a big day!!

A unique and unforgettable experience. Apart from the actual show we really enjoyed the quality one-on-one time.

Experience gifts can be as simple or extravagant as you choose.

The Week That Was

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Posted on November 30, 2012

I have been making good progress on several fronts here.

Yesterday I spent the day sewing so have something to show for it. I started by drafting a pattern using an existing purchased skirt. I had some fabric that had been given to me and this is what I created. I have yet to do the hem and the handstitching inside the waistband but you get the general idea. I am not entirely happy with the fit over the hips and also the side pockets are not sitting perfectly but that will improved on in the next attempt.

I will still be happy to wear this as the shirt I am going to make will cover the less than perfect area. This is going to be the top (also gifted fabric). The colour match of the yellow flowers with the top is much better than the photograph would lead you to believe.

The other project has been slowly but surely working through the various piles of ‘pending’ paperwork.

This is some that I had been carrying around in my bag for a couple of weeks. Today I actioned most of it – emails sent, phone calls made and most of it now shredded. There is still a little to go back in the filing cabinet.

This pile is on the small table in the guest room. It is mostly from our USA trip from over 2 months ago so my goal is to get it sorted out this weekend. I have finally culled and sorted they photographs from our trip which has been quite a big job.

Tomorrow we are having lunch with friends and are looking forward to sharing the photos from our trip with them.

Have a relaxing weekend wherever you are.

Budget Review

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Posted on September 25, 2012

Just when I thought I was back to blogging in earnest, life threw me one of those curved balls. There was not enough time or inclination in my days to include blogging but now I am truly back.

We carefully planned our budget for when we were on holidays and stuck to it. Since we have been back there have been several expenses, such as the doona covers, car service and lawn mower repairs as well as restocking food items after being away but now it is time to get serious again and get the debt reduction heading in the right direction.

We have discussed and set our financial goals for the remainder of the year. If you break things up into small chunks it usually is less daunting and debt is no exception. It is 14 weeks till the end of 2012 – that is 7 paydays for most of us. What can you achieve?

Garden Update

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Posted on August 15, 2012

Much of what goes in the the garden happens without a lot of input from us due to the fact that both The Duke and I work full-time.

Today I want to share some progress on a couple of different fronts.

On Monday we finally had the large poinciana tree near the driveway removed. This has been planned for over 12 months but when another large limb dropped a few weeks ago we were galvanised into action. The tree lopper came on Monday and by the time we arrived home there was no sign of it apart from a small pile of sawdust where the stump had been ground.

This is now the view from our front verandah. We will be replanting beside the driveway but have yet to decide exactly what we will do.

This is the remainder of another tree stump which we also had removed to make way for a revamp of the vegetable garden area.

The harvest from the vegetable gardens has not been as great as last year but today I was finally able to pick the broccoli.

2.1kg of broccoli from 6 plants is not a bad return and that is only the main heads. As usual, there will be more smaller secondary florets. We will use some of this before we go away and the rest will be blanched and frozen.

The cauliflower has been a disappointment compared to last year but at least I got some. There was also 1 other small head which I picked for dinner last week.

Like everything else, the snow peas have not been spectacularly prolific but here are enough for the stir-fry tonight and the salad for my lunch tomorrow.

Finally, this is 836g of ginger that we pulled up on the weekend. It grew from 1 small piece that we planted last year. There is still more in the ground but I saw no need to harvest any more! We will be dividing it up and planting lots of separate pieces. The plants look lovely and thrive with the other ornamental ginger, cordylines and heliconias that are growing in the shade of the the cedar tree.

Last but not least I wanted to let you know about my 2 new blogs.

Eating For Health is about my decision to try a grain-free, sugar-free diet. Click on the link and find out more.

Somewhere, Anywhere is my travel blog. This will be an online journal of our travels, beginning with our upcoming overseas trip. You will be able to follow our adventures as all of the updates will be posted on there.

Project 333 – Packing

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Posted on August 11, 2012

It is now 8 days until we leave home on our overseas adventure. The last 5 months of planning and preparation are now coming to fruition. In that time I have streamlined my wardrobe, looked critically at the pieces I own and considered how they fit with my lifestyle and activities. I have kept in mind what I expected to take on this trip and now it is all laid out on the spare bed and ready to go.

Trousers – 2 pairs of travel pants which have zip-off legs so I essentially have 2 pairs of shorts as well. They are lightweight, easy to wash and dry quickly.

Singlet tops – These can be worn as a layer of underwear or as a tank top on hot days.

Summer tops – 2 basic coloured tops for warm days. These will be useful for layering as well.

Short-sleeved tops – a couple of faithful items that have seen many years (and holidays) wear.

3/4 sleeve tops – Red striped top shown here and I will also take an identical black striped one. Great for slightly cooler days and fitted so they can easily be worn under another layer.

Rugby tops – These are both in excess of 12 years old but in good condition and perfect for at home and travelling.

Polar fleece jacket – I bought this especially for this trip. It will go over other layers and will be good if we encounter colder weather towards the end of the trip when we head further north.

Spray jacket – this will keep me dry in case of inclement weather but is also windproof and will be useful if worn over other layers.

Thermal tops – 2 synthetic thermal tops do not take up much space but will add warmth if needed.

Socks -2 pairs for my shoes and 1 for the boots.

Shoes – I am taking 3 pairs of footwear – walking sandals, hiking boots and general purpose shoes.

Hat – for hot, sunny days.

Winter accessories – scarf, beanie and gloves in case we encounter cold weather which is definitely possible, especially if we go into the mountain areas of New Hampshire.

I still need to add my underwear. I have kept everything to a minimum, made sure everything mixes and matches and chosen items which are easy to wash and dry.

We will be taking a pegless clothesline with us and will wash out things every day or two as required. My holiday mantra is, “No-one is every going to see us again so it simply does not matter whether I wear the same clothes every second day”. In fact my holiday photos for the last 10 years feature many of the same clothes as I am packing for this trip!

Show Stopper

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Posted on August 10, 2012

The wind blows
The show begins
Sneezes, sniffles and coughs abound

I dodge and weave
Sip more lemon
Hope to escape

Mid-August is eternally predictable – the Royal Show begins for 10 days where the country comes to the city and the seasonal cold/flu seems to catch up with everyone who has not succumbed so far. To fuel this we usually experience one last serious flurry of a sub-tropical winter. The westerly winds blow in with a vengeance and this year it has been right on cue.

Last night I pegged the sheets on the clothesline using 5 pegs on each sheet. The clothesline is under the verandah and just outside our bedroom and I was awakened several times by the flapping of the sheets as well the creaking of the fixtures on the line.

This year seems to have been a particularly bad one for some serious viral infections as well as more than the average number of cases of influenza. Doctors are snowed under by the workload as are hospital emergency departments. Several of my colleagues and extended family have fallen victim to the illness with some having up to 2 weeks sick leave.

It is now only 10 days until we leave on our holiday. I am doing everything I possibly can to avoid being ill on a long-haul flight at the beginning of our adventure. This time of year is generally a show-stopper but I am determined not to let it be a holiday stopper.

Falling Into Place

Freezer Finds

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Posted on July 30, 2012

My freezer is one of the most useful appliances I have. I am able to buy larger quantities of some items and avoid going to the shops as frequently as I would otherwise and of course it is wonderful to be able to store excess produce.

I have 2 freezers – one is the bottom 1/3 of my refrigerator in the kitchen. It has a narrow shelf at the top and 2 large pull-out baskets. The second freezer is the size of a bar fridge and lives in the study.

Since we are going on holidays in 3 weeks I have been trying to use up some of the food that is in the freezers with a view to being able to empty and turn off the stand-alone freezer. The first thing to do was to make an inventory of everything that is in them so here is the list.

Ground coffee
Pineapple (fresh, very ripe so will be juicing it)
Refried beans (homemade) 500g x 4 packs
Ice-cream – 3/4 of a 2 litre tub
Grated cheese – 4 large containers (I buy 2 kg block of cheese from a local factory and grate it)
Spreadable butter blend (homemade) 500g x 2
Grated zucchini – 400g packs x 2
Beef curry – 6 serves
Lasagne – 2 serves (lunch sized)
Chili con carne – 2 serves
Beef & vegie casserole – 6 serves
Tomato/pasta sauce (homemade) – 750ml x 2
Lasagna sheets (homemade) x 12
Fettucine (homemade) – 2 serves
Gravy beef – 500g x 2 packs
Chicken breast fillets x 4
Sausages x 2
Bacon (shortcut) x 7 slices
Sausage rolls (mini) x 5 – thawing for lunches today with salad
Sweet pastry (homemade) x 1 quantity
Savoury pastry (homemade) x 1 quantity
Baked sweet pastry (was tart shell which broke)
Sliced white bread (homemade) – 7 slices
Gluten free bread (1/2 loaf)
Breadcrumbs (soft and toasted)
French stick (sliced and in a bag)
Fruit muffins (crumbled in a small container)
Mashed pumpkin (to make pumpkin soup)
Lemon zest
Lemon juice (2 litres)
Lemon juice (ice cubes – about 4 dozen)
Lime juice (ice cubes – about 4 dozen)
Sliced limes – 2 containers
Orange juice – single serves x 3
Banana x 1
Passionfruit ice cubes x 15
Turkish bread rolls x 4

Bag of meat scraps

The freezers are a constant dynamic as shown by the following changes in the past 36 hours since I made that list.

Lasagne – ~~2 serves~~ (lunch sized) – now 1 serve
~~Fettucine (homemade) – 2 serves~~ – used
Chicken breast fillets x 4 – now x 3
~~Sausage rolls (mini) x 5 – thawing for lunches today with salad~~ – used
Lime juice (ice cubes – about ~~4 dozen~~) – now 3 dozen
Orange juice – single serves x 3 – now 8 serves – 2 used and 7 more added after juicing the remaining oranges from the tree

I have also added another 2.5 litres of lemon juice.

From my inventory I have made a menu plan and will be using more of the contents over the coming weeks.

I am confident that I will be able to empty the small freezer before we go away. I will post an update of the list in a week or so.

How do you manage the contents of your freezer? Do you keep a precise list or just a general idea with the occasional complete inventory? What do you mostly store – excess produce, bulk meat, prepared meals or baked goods? I would love to hear your story.

Cruel to be Kind

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Posted on July 28, 2012

I always feel cruel at this time of the year as I have to clip our Border Collie dog in preparation for the tick season which usually begins at the start of August. Sometimes I have left it too late with very serious consequences for both the dog and my wallet.

Today was the day and here is the ‘before’ photo.

It is not a particularly good photo as Psycho dog was determined not to co-operate. He co-operated even less once he saw the clippers, however, once I convince him that it has to be done he just stands still and quivers.

I used to pay to have him clipped but then eventually decided that I could do it myself. It has only taken 3 haircuts to recoup the cost of the clippers. While my efforts are not up to show standard I think he looks quite respectable.

Here is the end result.

Once it was all done I washed him with handmade neem soap and then dried him off with the hairdryer and he does look rather gorgeous. I think he will be wearing his Drizabone coat a fair bit for the next month while the weather is still quite cool – particularly at night.

It was imperative that I got this done before we go on holidays as the housesitter will need to check him regularly for ticks and that is nearly impossible while his coat is long.

That is another job ticked off my ‘to do’ list before we head off.

Time to Tackle ‘The List’

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Posted on July 10, 2012

With less than 6 weeks now until we head off on our trip it is time to really focus on what needs to be done. The only way I can confidently achieve what I want to do in a specified time-frame is to have a list.

For the past few days while I have been busy with Miss O and Izz, I keep thinking of things I need to do.

Here is the beginning of the list:

Buy travel pants
Book appointment to have our tax done
Arrange remote access to the business network
Buy enough cat and dog food for when we are away
Check and stock up on my medication
Complete first draft of information for the house-sitter and email it to her
Attend specialist appointment re my injured knee
Cancel another specialist appointment
Pack for trip to Melbourne next week – 3 days of work then 3 days of holiday
Stocktake of food in the freezer and plan meals to use up as much as possible before we leave
Finish quilt for Izz’s birthday
Write list of birthday/Christmas gift ideas for Miss O and Izz
Measure Miss O and Izz with a view to buying clothes while we are away

That will do far a start. I will update you as things are crossed off. I find it much easier to have a written list than to have ideas floating in and out of my head when I am least able to deal with them.