After a long summer that seemed it would never end, we finally have autumn in abundance.
The past week has seen the minimum temperatures drop to single digits and our maximums are only in 16-18C range. That is a drop of about 10C from a fortnight ago.
Casserole and vegetables was an enticing option for dinner. I made this in the slow-cooker a couple of days ago.
The feather doona is on the bed and the fresh blue/white cover has been swapped for a patterned plum-coloured one.
Exactly a year ago we were in the midst of managing with no power as a result of the wild weather which was the aftermath of Cyclone (Hurricane) Oswald.
When we finally regained power I wrote this post. More importantly, I wrote a follow-up assessment here.
It feels like groundhog day as it appears very likely that a cyclone will form off the north Queensland coast in the next 36 – 48 hours. There is no guarantee where a potential system will track but the Bureau of Meteorology predictions are currently showing it crossing the coast and causing widespread rain over much of the eastern and central parts of the state.
My second link is interesting to re-read as it shows that once the immediate threat was over we relaxed and did not pursue some of the things we identified. We have not bought a generator, nor organised the rainwater tank closer to the house. The small freezer is not currently in use but is downstairs and could be used if necessary, however, the better option would be the camp fridge (also stored downstairs) set to ‘Freeze’.
We have had a long weekend here and I have unwittingly done some useful preparation. All of the washing and almost all of the ironing is done. Meals are planned and some are prepared for the coming week. There is clean linen on the bed and in the bathroom. I plan to finish the ironing and vacuum the floors tomorrow evening. All of this means that I have most of the housework up to date and we do not need to worry about basics such as washing if we were to lose power for several days. We also have enough food and basic supplies to ensure that we do not need to go to the shops. All of the electronic equiment is fully charged and we have wind-up torches and radio. The car has a full tank of fuel. There is no need to panic but we are prepared simply because of how we live.
What preparations would you make in the event of the chance of severe weather?
Today has been an extraordinarily hot day. The forecast for Brisbane was 41C and even here it was tipped to reach 38C. It is now 5pm and it is 38C in my kitchen – no I have not had the oven on!
Because we live in a relatively temperate climate we do not have air-conditioning and our only means of cooling is a fan. It is a very efficient Dyson model which we have had running all day. Other than that, The Duke and I have been doing very little and conserving our energy. We have drunk copious amounts of chilled water and I have planned a cool, refreshing evening meal. I will post more about that tomorrow.
We have kept a close eye on the dog and cat who are both ‘seniors’ in animal terms. There is no doubt that the cat was quite good at finding the coolest spot in the house. At first, he was sprawled out on the slate hearth beside the fireplace. Later on, he decided that on top of the low bookcase in front of the louvres offered the best hope of some movement of air. However, he was panting and seemed a bit distressed so I decided to cool him off.
Although he was not too keen, Mr Kitty did not put up much of a fight as I think he realised that he actually felt better.
I then put him out on the verandah where he groomed himself and dried off quite rapidly.
I am about to have a cold shower before I finish doing the food preparation for our eveing meal. I think we will be eating outdoors in the hope of catching even a whiff of breeze.
My apologies to my North American readers who are suffering from the terrible winter storms. I hope you can stay safe and warm.
I have been somewhat tardy in responding to your thoughtful comments over the past 3 weeks. I have just gone back and replied or acknowledged all of them.
I read each and every one of your comments and am touched by the thought you put into them. They really add an extra dimension to the blog and I would like to sincerely thank you.
The past couple of days have been a whirlwind trip to Sydney with my Belle, Miss O and Izz but more about that another day.
It has been hot here today and tomorrow is expected to be in excess of 40C so our focus while be on keeping cool. I will be looking for some little jobs that I can do while staying as cool as possible. Some of you are struggling to keep warm at the moment so my thoughts are with everyone who is doing their best to continue to function despite extremes of heat and cold.
As you may have guessed from my lack of posts recently, I have been rather busy both physically and mentally. There is a lot going on at the moment and I had dropped the ball as far as menu planning went. We have still been eating meals – almost all cooked at home but I have been throwing them together without a lot of thought.
Today I decided that I needed to refocus and get organised. Here is the plan for the week
Sunday – Beef stroganoff with mashed sweet potato and green beans
Monday – Stuffed mushroom slice with coleslaw
Tuesday – Sausages and salad
Wednesday – Chicken and green bean stir-fry
Thursday – Nachos with refried beans and guacamole
Friday – Cheese omelette with bacon and avocado
Saturday – Rissoles and salad
We have green beans and avocadoes from the garden and the remaining fruit and vegetables that I need were bought this afternoon. By having a plan I make sure that I use the food on hand, wastage is reduced (hopefully to zero) and I can do some preparation the night before.
The other thing that I like to plan in advance is the clothes that I am going to wear. Here in south-east Queensland we are into some seriously warm weather with the maximum temperatures forecast for this week ranging from 26C up to 32C so my footwear each day will be my very comfortable strappy sandals with a small heel. Here are my planned clothes for the week.
Monday – white cotton drill 3/4 pants and blue/white striped collared shirt
Tuesday – sleeveless cotton dress – black with white spots
Wednesday – skirt – cream with black spots and black sleeveless t-shirt
Thursday – Pink/red/white floral, sleeveless dress
Friday – skirt – navy with white spots and white sleeveless t-shirt
It can still be cool in the mornings and also the office is air-conditioned so I will wear a red 3/4 sleeve cardigan with all of these outfits as required.
I will try to take and post a photo of my outfit each day.
What do you plan in advance?
The rain continues to pour down here with more flooding predicted. This is our third round in less than 4 weeks so I think the only ones enjoying the weather are the ducks. Extreme weather events make life a bit more challenging so we just manage the bare basics. The systems and organisation that I have in place make it reasonably easy to get by but there is no denying that I do long for a bit of fine weather.
In the meantime, I wanted to share something small with you. We do not have a toothbrush holder as a permanent fixture. At one stage we would put them on a shallow tray in the cupboard but I decided that it would be easier to have them accessible on the bench so I cast around for a suitable container. I wanted something stylish but did not see the need to rush out and buy one so I re-purposed this vase.
It is the right size and shape as well as being stable and quite heavy so is unlikely to be knocked over.
I was involved in an online discussion recently regarding how many vases people had and where they stored them. I found that I had 5, including this re-purposed one. None of them are stored as such.
This one which came from my mother is a piece which I love and it is the centrepiece on my dining table.
Two of the others live on the sideboard and are essentially decorative, although they can be used for holding flowers as required.
The final tiny vase which I was given for my 21st birthday is an ornament on my dressing table.
Do you have vases and how do you store them?
…….a week makes!!
We have had a very dry few months and some extremely hot weather .
In fact, last Friday night I was contemplating how The Duke and my brother-in-law would manage doing some fencing in the predicted hot weather last weekend. Tonight it is raining steadily and the rain is predicted to increase in intensity over the next 48 hours as the tropical low moves further south towards us. We have already received about 150mm (6 inches) of rain in just over 36 hours.
The second stage of the fence building may be delayed.
The humidity is off the scale, everything is wet to touch, I have washing on the airer indoors and we are running the dehumidifier in the bedroom. But……the life-giving rain is back to replenish the tanks and gardens and I am so happy.
This weekend might be an indoor one but I have plenty to do. I have more things to unpick for patchwork fabric. If I can get this done and the fabric sorted and put away ready for use I will be pleased.
Stay safe wherever you are and whatever the weather. I hope you have a relaxed weekend.
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.
Last night when we got home we discovered that another large limb had come off the poinciana tree. The tree is close to our boundary and this has fallen across the fence and into the neighbour’s ‘paddock’ near the front of their block. Undoubtedly, the wild weather of the past few days has contributed to this latest loss.
There have been at least 3 other occasions where sizeable branches have fallen from this tree and we had decided that it really needed to go and were planning to have it lopped later in the year. This latest incident has forced us to re-think our plans and move them forward so I have contacted a tree lopper. He is going to come next week to give us a quote.
As well as having the tree lopped, we also plan to get it mulched so that we can use this in our landscaping. We have decided that we can better utilise the mulch than making more firewood as we really have plenty and this type of tree does not burn well. I am hoping they will be able to grind the stump so that we can then decide what we will plant in this area.
I took these photos today. You can see that I am very thankful that no people or property were in close proximity.
My complete lack of blogging for about a week has probably left some of you wondering if I am OK. I am absolutely fine but have busy with other facets of my life.
Last weekend my mother spent the weekend with us. Whilst this is not unusual, we had a weekend full of activity although it was limited somewhat by the heavy rain (190mm or almost 8 inches) on Friday and Saturday. We managed to dodge the worst of the rain when we went to the local Agricultural Show. There was dairy cattle judging to see, poultry breeds to check out, gorgeous alpacas and one of my favourites – the wood-chopping events. We spent a lot of time viewing the various fine arts and crafts and also the produce section.
The washing doesn’t end just because it rains for a few days but it does become a more challenging task. Hanging it on an airer in front of the fire meant that I just put a few things in the dryers for a short time to finish them off.
I cooked and prepared food for meals on the weekend and also for future meals and snacks. Cooking from scratch really does give you an appreciation for the food you eat when you know the time and effort that has gone into the preparation. I made pastry (and a steak and kidney bean pie), Lemon Delicious, pasta (to freeze) , orange and poppyseed muffins and pumpkin scones. The Duke squeezed a bucketful of oranges from the tree and made bread.
There was plenty of time for relaxation, too. We played several games of Scrabble and learned lots of new words in the process.
Then it was back to work on Monday and for the last couple of days I have been staying with Belle and help to look after Miss O and Izz before and after daycare while Belle has done some extra work.
I will be home tomorrow and get back into blogging in earnest. Thank you for staying around – there will be some interesting posts and photos coming up.
What has your week been like?
organised castle 