Holiday projects

I love being home on holidays!  Last week I had a wonderful time pottering around  the house, having a bit of a spring clean  and completing a couple of projects which I have been itching to get started on for a while now.   I am never bored being at home!   I always have more projects on the go than hours in the day.  Today I decided to tackle a few jobs in the garden.  It was a perfect North Queensland day and after a morning of pruning and mulching decided to give my front porch a bit of a zhusing.

First off I decided to give this cute little birdshouse planter a bit of freshen up with a couple of coats of paint.  Unfortunately the bottom of it had wood rot so I found this old planter stand down in my shed and sat it on the top shelf.  It fitted perfectly.    All I need now are a couple of pots of cheery annuals to place inside.  Off to Bunnings tomorrow!

Look at those beautiful mountains in the distance and the varying shades of green everywhere.  I can't remember such a green September - thanks to some early Spring showers.

Bromeliads would have to be one of my all time favourite plants.  Yes, they are incredibly spikey however they are just so low maintenance, drought tolerant and just keep multiplying!   Look at the fantastic colour in this Neoregelia.   I am constantly amazed at Mother Nature.    The Cryptanthus beside it with its thin, crispy leaves was propogated from a cutting given to me by my grandmother nearly 20 years ago.  Yes, I come from a long line of gardeners!   My Nan was always in the garden and was still hand mowing her lawn well into her nineties.   She was such a tiny lady however she had such boundless energy.  My earliest memories of her wielding an oversize cane knife cutting down clumps of guinea grass to make way for a new garden bed!   Her garden was always a picture and it was not unusual for her to be in the garden from early in the morning till late at night.   Plants of all varieties and fabulous swathes of colour.   When I close my eyes, I can still see her tiny frame under a a huge straw hat pottering around in the garden. 

 

Strung some fairy lights, rearranged a couple of pots and a new cushion cover.   Perfect!  Another completed project.  My "to do" list is finally getting smaller.......

The sign says it all........

My Memory Cupboard

I have never been a big collector of ornaments or "knick knacks" as Mum used to call them.   Probably something to do with dust and clutter - I prefer a much more minimalist look.   My Mum however LOVED her "knick knacks" and her house was filled with all manner of ceramic cats and dogs, glass swans, pottery geese and porcelain figurines.    Most of them were purchased from the local $2 store or found on throw out tables at school Fetes.  Certainly nothing of any great value.   Over the years  her collection started to dwindle - a bit of a legacy of moving house a number of times and a couple of destructive cats!  I remember how she would gently gather up the shattered fragments of a beloved ornament and then spend hours gluing it back together again.  She used to buy tubes of Super Glue by the six pack!    One day Adam, Matthew and Kendall decided they were going to do something about Nanny's dwindling knick knack collection.  The local Show was being held and they decided to pool their pocket money and play the "laughing clowns" (those mechanical clown heads that move from side to side).  Every time they "lost" they got the chance to pick a "loser's prize" from the shelf - which just happened to be a cheap ornament of some description.   So every year around Show time they would proudly present Nanny with a whole new collection of ornaments and knick knacks.  How she loved each and every one of those "Made in China" treasures.   She used to say they were the best presents she ever received!   Years later she could still recall who gave her what.  They were her memories.

 

So this is my Memory cupboard.  I guess in some way it is a bit like my Mum's.   It is a collection of special photos and bits and pieces I have either collected (or been given) over the years.  Each item has a story and holds a special place in my heart.

Here is the cute Christmas bear Kendall painted for me when she was just 17.     The "I Love Picnics" pot was a gift from my friend Kelley Jean - such a talented folk artist.   The 2 little raffia candle holders with their delicate mother of pearl hearts were purchased in Paris at a huge Department store (for the life of me I can't remember the name of?) and the two glass candle stick holders are part of my glass candle stick collection.

Here's the teapot Alan bought me back from Japan when he performed with his Bush Band in Tokyo back in the late 90's (during my teapot collecting stage!).   I purchased "Nessy" in Inverness, Scotland in 2008 when Alan and I went there to see Matthew play cricket.  The pewter candle holder is from Ireland (I remember buying this on a freezing May morning  at a little souvenir shop while Kendall and I were waiting for the car ferry to cross the Shannon River in County Clare).

Oh look!  Matthew and Kendall in the "I LOVE Cows" frame.  Where have the years gone?  Oh, and here's the kookaburra Kendall gave me in memory of Mum - how I miss her still......

A couple more of my vintage cut glass candle stick holders.  Three crazy sheep from Ireland - not as sensible as my Scottish sheep!   A birds nest which has been constructed by some very clever sunbirds using clippings from Alan's hair (long story...) and one of my hand painted birdhouses (I LOVE my birdhouses).

Another fabulous Kendall painted pot - love those sunflowers!  A couple more vintage glass candle stick holders.  Adam and his guitar.  My beautiful country lady tea pot - thank you Mum!  Two gorgeous ceramic chickens (Kelley Jean knows me so well....) and Alan's bodrum drum stick - memories of Snake Gully Bush band come flooding back....

Dust collectors.......... maybe?

Wonderful memories ...... definitely!

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

What if you had a Party and No-one Came?

Cup cakes and scones - yum!

Today Kendall decided to have a tea party.  Fabulous excuse to bring out Nanny's beautiful bone china teaset;   make yummy cupcakes, fairy bread, scones with jam and cream;  and invite a few girl friends over for a Sunday afternoon "catch up".     It was also the perfect opportunity for her to give her little Granny flat a bit of a lick and polish!   Kendall has many wonderful qualities but domesticity is not one of them.   I get REALLY excited when she starts making plans to entertain - it's not the fact that she makes THE BEST cup cakes I have ever tasted - it's just that I know her Granny flat is going to be vacuumed and the sink cleared of the 3 weeks accumulation of dishes which never seem to make it past the drainer.  Not sure what it is about Gen Y.... somehow incidentals like have a tidy/organised living space is not a priority for them.   How many times have I heard - "Oh Mum - you're just OCD about cleaning!"  Ummm.......I don't think so.   I just like things to be tidy and hygenic clean.



Kendall and Mandy sharing tea

  First to arrive was Miss Mandy.   Kendall and Mandy have been friends since High School however for the past couple of years Mandy has been living and working in Brisbane whilst Kendall has been at Uni in Cairns.  It was lovely to see her again.   Whilst waiting for the other guests to arrive they decide to test out the bone china tea cups.


Oh good! - a photo of me not wearing sweaty exercise gear

 I decide to give them a test as well.  There's nothing like drinking tea from small bone china tea cups particularly if it's real leaf tea.  So much better than teabags!   The table looked amazing and the food scrumptious.   All we had to do was wait for the  guests to arrive. 



Look at those cup cakes!  The diet starts tomorrow.



So we waited...... and waited.......4 o'clock came and then 4.30 ...... where were they?    Three cups of tea later Kendall receives a call to say that there has been an car accident on the range road and that her guests have been caught up in traffic backlog.   Fortunately it doesn't appear that anyone has been injured however because there is only one access road to our place there is nothing else they can do but to just sit and wait.    So what do you do when you give a party and no-one comes?  

 Rope in some ring ins of course!



One lump or two?

 At last the road is cleared and Kendall's friends arrive.  Nothing like sharing a cup of tea (or five!) with good friends.  A perfect ending to the weekend.

For the Love of a Dog

I am writing this post today for the Love of Dogs.  Write a post - help a dog!

"He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.) When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself. He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant. His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever - in case I need him. And I expect I will - as I always have. He is just my dog."  --  Gene Hill


I can't remember a time when we did not have a dog.  Over the years we have shared our lives with so many wonderful doggy friends - each with their own personality and each uniquely different. Some have left such a lasting impression with us that they have risen to "legend" status within our family history.  Like the the irrespressible "Ralphy".  Ralph was Alan's dog - a border collie cross whose reputation on the building sites around Cairns in the late 70's was known far and wide.  He loved nothing better than a meat pie with the boys at lunch and a game of cricket at the end of the day!  He was such a character and when he finally passed away at the ripe old age of 17 years we didn't think it would be possible to find another dog to replace him.   But then we got Ben.  Benny - the most beautiful Golden Retriever - was given to us as a puppy when Adam was just 12 months old.  It didn't take long before he and Adam became inseperable.  They would spend hours fossicking around the garden, exploring nooks and crannies and bouncing on the trampoline together!  When Matthew and Kendall came along he took on the role of "minder" and was so protective of them all.  Summertime at the river was particularly stressful for him.  He absolutely hated them swimming and would sit on the river bank barking and barking until they got out of the water.  Benny lived for 15 years.  I still remember digging his grave under the white cedar trees in the bottom paddock.  How we cried that day.   We couldn't imagine our life without him.  Then along came gentle Jess.....  Right the beginning there was no question that Jess was Kendall's dog.   So devoted and loyal.  She used to lay waiting under the poinciana trees every day for Kendall to come home from school and as soon as she heard the school bus coming up the hill - would run as fast as she could to the corner to walk up the hill with her.  They had such fun together and shared so many adventures!  Again, it broke our hearts to say goodbye........
And now we have the 2 "Blue Heeler" scoundrels - Mickey and Buffy!  For 10 years they have been in our lives and for 10 years we have been at their "beck and call".  There is absolutely no doubt that they are the bosses around here.  Life certainly hasn't been dull.

Dogs have been such a HUGE part of our lives - so when I heard about the PAL Pedigree Adoption Program from Tia at "Cottage by the Sea"  I knew I just had to take part.

Did you know that each year, more than 4 million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations? In response, PEDIGREE® created The PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs.




This year the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a “Fan” or “Likes” The PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive onFacebook. So far, more than 1 million bowls have been donated!! The goal is for PEDIGREE® to be able to give a bowl of food to each and every one of the 4 million dogs in shelters and rescues by the end of the year.

The PEDIGREE® BlogPaws bloggers will host a Blog Hop from Thursday, September 16 through Sunday, September 19 to help raise awareness for the “Write a post, help a dog” effort. They will be hosting a blog hop where you can add the url (that's the direct link) to your Write A Post Help a Dog so that they are all in one place and we can see just how big of an impact we all can have in the lives of shelter dogs.

For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. So please set aside a few moments to write a post. AND, if you know bloggers in other categories that might be interested, please share this post with them and ask them to write a post as well!

Together, we can all make a difference!

Join the blog hop now
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Yummy Fritters

With Alan working away in Weipa this week, Kendall and I are taking advantage of the opportunity to try out some new Vegetarian recipes.  Alan is very much a meat and three vege man and with Kendall being a vegetarian I often find myself having to prepare 2 different meals in the evening to accomodate everyone's taste!   My kitchen always ends up looking like a battle ground - so many saucepans, frying pans, mixing bowls, utensils.  I am such a messy cook.  I dream of  "one pot" cooking but never seem to be able to master the art.  I stumbled across this little gem in the paper today.  It was titled : "Get your kids cooking vegies with this simple recipe".    It was delicious and so easy to make.  To quote Kendall - "It nourishes my soul to know that no animals have been slaughtered in the making of this meal...."  To which I replied - "It will nourish my soul if you do the washing up!!"...... 

Corn, Zucchini and Chickpea Fritters
400g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup reduced fat milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup self raising flour
1 large zucchini, grated
310 can corn kernels, drained, rinsed (or fresh sweet corn)
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
3 shallots, thinly sliced
olive oil cooking spray
Salad leaves and tomato chutney to serve

Process chickpeas until roughly chopped (I put them in the blender).  Whisk milk and eggs in a jug.  Place flour in a bowl.  Gradually add milk mixture to flour, whisking until smooth.  Stir in chickpeas, zucchini, corn, mint and shallots.
Spray a large frying pan with oil.  Heat over medium high heat.  Add 1/4 cup mixture to pan.  Spread slightly with a spatula.  Repeat to make 3 more fritters.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through.  Transfer to a plate.  Cover to keep warm.
Repeat with remaining mixture to make 12 fritters spraying pan with oil between batches if necessary.  Serve with salad and chutney.

Walkies!

"Take me for a walk.... please.... pleeeeaaaassseee.........!"     Am I a push over for a sad face or what?  Well after stating quite emphatically (after our last attempt to walk in a civilised manner around the neighbourhood) that I would NEVER take Mickey out in public again - I finally gave in.   Mickey would have to be THE worst dog we have ever owned!  He is SO disobedient..... SO determined....... SO naughty.......SO anti-social.    I just don't know where we went wrong?   However there is something SO endearing about his personality that we can never be mad at him for too long - such a character!  If he was able to talk (and sometimes he actually does!) I'm sure this would be his list of 10 MOST favourite things :
#1    Rocks!   He loves chasing rocks, especially the small pebble like ones Alan scims across the surface of the water when we take him down to the river;
#2    The River!   Particularly exploring  the banks of the mighty Mulgrave at dusk (when no-one else is around);
#3    Riding in Cars!   How he loves going for a ride in the car and WHAT a commotion he makes.  You can hear him coming for miles.   Pity help any unsuspecting motor bike riders/kids on push bikes/people mowing their lawns/elderly folk in wheelchairs - we happen to pass along the way;
#4    Walks around the neighbourhood!   Knows where every dog within a 2km radius lives and knows exactly how to push their buttons!; 
#5    Biting the waves at Bramston Beach - if only he didn't drink the sea water!!??
#6    Sleeping in on a Sunday morning;
#7    Soft serve ice cream in a cone;
#8    Air con!  
#9    Chasing bandicoots in the backyard;
#10  His best mate Matthew!  

Unwelcome Visitors!

Imagine my surprise to find this charming fellow (well, not this one exactly - but one like him  her) slithering down a palm tree and disappearing into the cavity beneath my bedroom air conditioning unit last night!   Ah - life in the tropics!  Never a dull moment.    I guess you have to expect close interactions with nature particularly when living in such close proximity to a tropical rainforest.   Anyway, once all the screaming had stopped (Alan and Kendall!) and we were satisfied that it wasn't going to attack us,  we stood there contemplating just HOW we were going to remove it from its cosey little hidey hole under the air conditioner.   Long stick with a hook......fishing line.....sacrificial rodent (not sure where we were going to get one of those?).........warm milk, um.....can't remember whose suggestion that was?.........  Lots of head scratching.   Next minute - imagine our surprise (again!) to find another one of these delightful creatures (obviously his/her friend) slithering down the same palm tree and disappearing into the same hole!   Unbelievable.  We now had two 3 metre brown tree snakes taking up residence in the walls of our house.  It seemed like some sort of "B" grade horror movie - "Invasion of the Brown Tree Snakes!  Well, what does anyone do when faced with this sort of situation?   Phone the local SNAKE Buster (of course!).  As luck would have it, John (our local snake expert) just lives down the bottom of the hill on a neighbouring property.
Phone call to John goes something like this :  "Hi John - we've got a bit of a problem up here.  Two brown tree snakes (we think?) have set up camp in the wall of the house under the air conditioning unit.  Any ideas about what we can do?  Yes... yes.... really....... Right, I see....  So there's nothing to worry about.... okay.  Thanks John."    So much for the SNAKE Buster!   John is obviously a man of few words however it would seem that they ARE in fact brown tree snakes and it is breeding season (joy o'rapture) and a female snake in season can attract anywhere up to 6 males - it just keeps getting better!
So, short of completely demolishing the wall - there is nothing we can do.   John says they are not venomous (comforting!) and that once they are finished doing whatever they are doing - they will move on.   Well, that's the theory anyway.    Far North Queensland - beautiful one day - perfect the next! 

Where did August go?

Welcome to the first day of Spring from tropical Far North Queensland!
I'm back again after a bit of a blogging break.  In the blink of an eye August has come and gone.  Not sure what happened?  It's not that I didn't do much - because I certainly seemed to be kept extremely busy.  It's not that I didn't go anywhere different or achieve any goals - because I did.  It's not that I wasn't inspired by all the wonderful things I've seen and read during the month - because I have.   I guess the reality is that I just haven't felt inclined to blog about it.  Very strange......  I wonder if any of my blogging friends have ever felt this way?  Anyway, hopefully this small transgression will soon pass and I will get back my blogging mojo.

So what has been happening in my corner of the world these past few weeks?
Well the most exciting piece of news is that my friend Julie and I made it to the half way mark on the Pyramid!  This was a huge milestone.  Not only is it an extremely physical climb (3 hr return trip)  but I also had to overcome my incredible fear of heights - which was a massive psychological achievement .  To reach the half way point (455 metres) was the highest I have EVER been (other than being in a plane!)   When we finally reached the half way mark - a massive boulder with 1/2 WAY scrawled across its face in faded white paint - it was as much as I could do to fall to my knees and kiss it (like the Blarney stone!)

Once I managed to anchor myself to a small sapling (literally!) I summoned up the courage to look around and take in the views - and WHAT amazing views they were! 

Gordonvale and the Mulgrave Mill

The first rays of morning sunlight

Looking south

Looking north

High 5's!

At this stage we haven't made plans to go any higher although who knows how we will feel in a couple of months time.  It certainly is a fantastic feeling of accomplishment to have reached such a massive milestone and better still - managed to burn off 1200 calories (according to my heart rate monitor!) - so that has to be good.

Aside from conquering mountains I have also been kept very busy with heaps of projects around the house.

Finally managed to finish the painting I was doing for my bedroom.  Am really happy with how it turned out and it adds a wonderful splash of colour to my all white palette.

Almost finished the transformation of this room.   Just waiting for my new quilt and trying to decide on a floor rug.  Oh yes, and I am just waiting for the September holidays to finally have a go at making the farmyard bench which I intend to place at the foot of the bed - chipppy white (with a touch of red) of course!  All in all I am really pleased with what I have achieved.  

Have spent the last two weekends repainting my front picket fence - all 50 metres of it!  Only 4 more panels to go.  Looks lovely and crisp against the green foliage backdrop.

Two weeks till September school holidays and I am already making my list of "things to do" -

#1 - Build farmyard bench

#2 - Paint verandah balustrading

#3 - Lay tiles on verandah

#4 - Finish painting walls in kitchen

#5 - Complete some more blocks on my Breast of Friends quilt

#6 - Mulch my front garden

#7 - Replenish the pebbles in my driveway and pathways

Whew!.........  I'm exhausted already