Too Clever

Leave a comment

I have been meaning to write this post for ages but every time I think of it I am in the middle of serving dinner. You will understand why in a minute.

This is a jar lifter which I bought a few years ago. It is designed for lifting preserving jars out of a water bath or otherwise manipulating/moving hot jars. Who would have thought that it would have another use?

One of the challenges of the airfryer is extricating dishes of cooked food from the small space. Oven mitts are really not much use as they are too bulky. I often use these small dishes for making individual serves and they are perfect in the airfryer. I use them for making pot pies, individual baked desserts and mini quiches to name but a few.

So, back to the jar lifter. It is the perfect size to lift these small dishes from the airfryer. The lip on the edge of the dish means that it can be held securely to remove it.

I keep the jar lifter on the shelf in the pantry with the empty preserving jars and it is within easy reach of the airfryer on the bench opposite. Sometimes things just work perfectly and I actually smile to myself every time I use it to lift dishes of food from the airfryer.

It really is the simple things that make a difference.

It Takes Time

Leave a comment

I have been looking for a new pair of black ankle boots to replace a pair that I have had for 6 years. I love them and wear them almost constantly.

They look OK at a casual glance so I have continued to wear them.

However, a closer look reveals the true state of them so they are definitely not suitable for wet weather.

Every time I go into an op shop I scan all of the boots on offer but had not found what I was looking for. That all changed today when I found I picked this pair of Rilassare ankle boots for $15. It is not a brand I am familiar with but they are apparently a European brand, super soft leather and are a current style retailing for $230. They have some very slight wear on the soles but are otherwise perfect.

Patience does pay off.

I plan to take the old pair to a cobbler in Melbourne to see whether they are able to be repaired but if not, I can dispose of them knowing that they provided excellent service over a number of years.

Buying Basil

Leave a comment

Basil grows easily here during the summer and sometimes I am organised enough to make and freeze some pesto for use throughout the year.

However, I bought a large (800g) can of basil pesto a few weeks ago when I spotted it at Cheaper Buy Miles when were in Melbourne. There are several of these stores, predominantly in inner suburbs of Melbourne, where you can buy an amazing array of short-dated items.

Here is an image from their website.

You never know quite what you will find so it is quite an adventure. They often have a good selection of gluten-free and vegan foods, too.

Anyway, back to the basil pesto. I bought a 800g tin for $6 and based on the average price per 100g of basil pesto at Woolworths it is worth about $20!!

Of course, it can be quite daunting as to what to do with this kind of bulk quantity. I used some to make a creamy basil pesto and mushroom pasta dish for dinner the other night then I portioned the rest up in ice-cube trays and froze it.

I now have a bag of frozen cubes of basil pesto which will thaw quickly and easily for a multitude of uses.

Kitchen Upgrade

Leave a comment

Our home is only 4 years old and we have lived here for a little over 2 years. While it was in almost pristine condition when we bought it, there were a few things that we wanted to change.

One was to extend the pantry which we did and you can read about it here. The other change which we wanted to make to the kitchen was to replace the freestanding stove which included a gas cooktop with a built in oven and induction cooktop.

The original stove was 900mm wide which is really much too big for our needs and drew an enormous amount of power to heat it for GMan’s breadmaking adventures. Additionally, we were keen to eliminate the only gas appliance from the house for both environmental and health considerations. One of the complicating factors was the engineered stone benchtop which was going to need to be replaced and it is no longer in use in Australia. We chose to match the bench to the Laminex bench in the pantry and keep the engineered stone on the island bench.

This is what it looked like before.

Work in progress. The drawers were all removed and the kickboard made slightly narrower the compensate for the additional thickness of the benchtop or otherwise the splashback tiles would have been disrupted.

And in a matter of a week it was all done.

The cabinetmaker cleverly made 2 narrow cupboards on either side of the new oven which is 600mm wide. This means that the oven and cooktop remain centred under the exhaust fan. We are just awaiting the arrival and installation of the door handles but in the meantime you can see how useful they are going to be.

I no longer have to rifle through a jumble of baking trays in the bottom drawer.

The whole process went extremely smoothly in less than a week and I am very happy with the result. I am loving the instantaneous heat from the induction cooktop.

The Perfect Shirt

Leave a comment

Sometimes you don’t know what you need until you see it.

I found a Country Road shirt in an op shop in Warrnambool last week. It is organic French linen in one of my favourite shades and I was very happy to pay the $15 asking price as it is in pristine condition.

Now, all I need is some spring-like weather to be able to wear it. That is not going to happen for at least a couple of months yet.

Independence Day – A Reflection

2 Comments

I know that I am a couple of days late for American Independence Day which is celebrated on 4th July. 6 years ago I had my own version of Independence Day as 4th July 2019 marked my last working day in the office. Interestingly enough, it took me another 3 weeks before I was sufficiently organised to even write a blog post which combines a measure of relief and optimism. You can read it here.

A themed dinner with work colleagues.

Well, here I am 6 years later and still writing this blog – I have actually been writing it since March 2011. Life has had some ups and downs, some expected and others totally unforeseen. We managed a mere 6 months of retirement before our collective worlds were turned upside down with the arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020.

There was plenty of time for gardening.

There have been family events – milestone birthdays and weddings as well as several funerals. The death of my mother in early 2021 left an enormous void in my life and that of many others.

Farewell, Mum.

While Covid-19 did put a dent in our overseas travel plans for a few years we made up for that with road trips within Queensland and interstate once the tightest restrictions had eased. The addition of a new puppy in 2020 gave us plenty of distraction, too. We resumed travelling abroad in 2024 and have plenty of plans for later this year and beyond.

The household seems to revolve around Islay.

Our biggest post-retirement change was a move from Queensland to regional Victoria. Although we bought a home that was only a couple of years old there continue to be some modifications needed to make it completely to our liking.

We have settled into life in our small country town and life hums along in a regular rhythm of activities at home, volunteering, cultural events, visits from family and friends as well as travel near and far.

Enjoying a local Writers’ Festival.

Did I really know what to expect from retirement? Not really, but it is simply a matter of finding your own pace and space.

Family Time

2 Comments

In my last port I mentioned that we had visitors coming to stay. Our daughter and 2 granddaughters who live in Brisbane have been to visit for a week. They spent the first couple of nights in Melbourne where they went to see Beetlejuice and then took the train to Warrnambool where we met them and spent 3 days exploring the surrounding area, including the Great Ocean Road.

At the whale watching lookout at Logan’s Beach but no whales in sight.

Some stunning scenery along the Great Ocean Road.

Finally, we had 2 nights at home before a drive to Melbourne today to drop them at the airport for their return flight. I managed to take up 4 pairs of jeans for the girls as well as trim the younger one’s hair.

Yesterday we went to Bendigo where we went shopping for a 16th birthday gift for our younger granddaughter, had lunch at at Italian restaurant and then GMan, our daughter and I went to see the Frida Khalo exhibition at the Art Gallery. Although the granddaughters weren’t interested in seeing the exhibition we did manage a photo of them near the entrance. They had gelato and went to the gardens instead.

It has been a full and interesting week and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the family.

Back to reality tomorrow as I finish washing the extra bedlinen and rearranging the guest rooms. I am also hoping to do a bit more fence painting as the forecast is for fine weather and not too cold.

Conception to Completion

Leave a comment

We have guests coming to stay next week and as well as the dedicated guest room I needed to set up another bed. There is a fold-out sofa bed in the third bedroom so I have unfolded it and made it up in readiness.

After I had done the bed it occurred to me that there was no side table in that room. After a bit of thought I decided that I could create one fairly easily with things we have one hand.

First……….a spare plastic crate from the shed. No modification needed apart from turning it upside down.

The next step was to add a solid top. GMan found a piece of melamine that was leftover from the pantry renovation and cut it to size. It is heavy enough to stay in place without any additional fixing.

The next step was to find some suitable fabric in my stash to make a cover. I found a large piece of embroidered heavy satin which was originally one side of a thrifted doona cover and made a fitted cover.

The fitted cover in place.

The new side table in position and the room is ready for the guests.

The entire project took less than 2 hours to complete from the moment I first thought of the idea.

A New Bed

Leave a comment

In a post from last week I mentioned that I was searching for alternatives to the bed that we had in the spare room. You can read about it here.

I feel as though I have spent the past week buying and selling beds on Facebook Marketplace.

We thought we had found a suitable bed, however, it turned out to be too big for the room as it had quite chunky timber head and foot ends. I managed to sell the original bed quite quickly and thought I would need to make do with the one that was a bit of a squeeze as we have guests arriving on Sunday.

Luckily, I spotted the perfect bed not too far from home and we were able to collect it today.

The bed is assembled, remade and the room is back in order and I am really pleased with the outcome.

Now all I need to do is to sell the one which did not suit our space. It was definitely a ‘whoops’ moment but not the end of the world.

A Perfect Seat

Leave a comment

The universe, or at least Facebook Marketplace, delivered today. I had been looking for a small seat to go in our walk-in wardrobe. It would be a spot to sit to put on or take off shoes.

I found this one for $10 and only 15 minutes drive from home.

This is probably not essential during the summer months as I simply slip on a pair of sandals and go but it will be a game-changer during the cooler months when I seem to be forever putting on lace-up shoes or boots.

It was quite hilarious to discover that the family selling it actually had another which they used for exactly the same purpose. Great minds think alike!