Blogging Milestone(s)

Ta Da........Today is the first Anniversary of my foray into the blogging world!  Co-incidentally it is also my 100th post!  Not sure how I quite managed that one -although I must admit I did sneak in a quick little blog about Matthew and Micky yesterday when I realised I was close to the magic 100.

When I first started this little blog last year I had no idea that it would be something that I would still be doing a year later.  My blog originally commenced its life as a "Travel Blog" -  a way of keeping Alan (and the rest of the family) updated on the trip Matthew and I made to New Zealand last year.   I remember sitting in our motel room at the end of each day churning out long, descriptive passages about the things we had done and the sights we had seen.  In a funny sort of way I imagined myself as a "foreign correspondent" sending back news reports about life in foreign and exotic lands!   When I think back now - probably a phone call would have been quicker.......   However there is something strangely satisfying about putting pen to paper and (for me) I have always been able to express myself much better with "written" rather than "spoken" words.

Blogging allows me to combine two of my most favourite things - "Journalling"  and "Corresponding".   I have always enjoyed the idea of journalling and over the years have commenced many a Diary - only to find that I manage to fill the first couple of days and then ..... nothing!  (I have SOO many yearly diaries with blank pages from the 5th January onwards....).  

Letters - how I LOVE receiving letters.  Years ago (pre email/pre Facebook/pre Twitter - well, the "olden days" actually!) I used to have a pen friend in the USA.   Every month a letter would arrive from my pen friend in its distinctive Air Mail envelope with its unique USA stamp and I would spend hours reading and re-reading every word.  For a kid growing up in Australia in the 60's the USA was a wildly romantic and exciting place and to receive a letter from someone in the USA - well, that was just the BEST!

Nowdays I can "journal" (and include pictures!) and receive "letters" from all over the world!   Not only that, in the past 12 months I have learnt SO MUCH about a whole range of things and been constantly inspired by the incredibly talented and creative bloggers who open their lives and share their talents on a daily basis.

So, here's a little bouquet to all the blogging friends I have made over the past 12 months and all the new blogging friends I hope to meet in the next.  

Clicking onto my blog each morning and finding that a comment has been left - it really makes my day.  Reading about the incredible things you all do - well,  it makes me feel so privileged to  be invited into your lives.    Thank you all so very much.

Home for the Holidays

Okay Mr Micky - so what do you think the best thing about the holidays has been?

The yummy left over pork bone that you got to share with Buffy?

The tearing up of all the Christmas paper on Christmas morning?

The extra walks to the river?

The endless number of  "rock" games you have been able to play?

Making friends with Kendall's friend Alan?

No.........?

Of course ....................  "Being able to sleep in with my best mate Matthew!"

Christmas Wrap Up!

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year.  We had a rather "different" Christmas Day here in the Valley.  

We awoke to the sounds of palm fronds crashing onto the roof and vertical rain pelting against the louvres.

And then........

"Cyclone Tasha" swept in from the Coral Sea

We lost power (electricity) for 2 days!

The mighty Mulgrave flooded leaving us no access to the outside world!

Ah yes, this was certainly going to be one of our more challenging Christmas Days.......

First things first - we needed to assess the situation and see what damage had occurred.   Fortunately for us Cyclone Tasha was only a Category 1 cyclone so the wind damage was minimal however the RAIN was torrential. 

So much so that our access bridge across the mighty Mulgrave was 9 metres over the railings!   Between these 2 clumps of trees is where our bridge usually sits.  

Somehow I don't think we will be making the Boxing Day Sales!

Resigned to the fact that we were not going to get out for a couple of days we headed back home (safe and sound high on the hill) for the opening of gifts and a bit of "creative" Christmas breakfast cooking.

This year we had Kendall's Irish boyfriend joining us for a typical Australian Christmas.  I'm sure it will be a Christmas he will never forget!  Here is the little Christmas stocking I made for him.  Note the cute little shamrocks I included  (just to make him feel at home!)



Here's Kendall's Country Angel stocking.  I couldn't resist including the cowboy boots.  Very Kendall-like!

Thank goodness for my Gasmate portable cooker!  It's amazing just what you can do when faced with the prospect of preparing a Christmas feast for 6 (with no electricity).   It reminded me in some ways of what Christmas must have been like for the pioneers - Christmas turkey cooked in a camp oven over an open fire.   How amazing is it that in the 21st Century we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature.

After countless games of "Celebrity Heads";  "Name that Tune";  and a clever little Christmas Quiz that Alan managed to whip together - we were well and truly over all our family bonding time and kept looking longingly at the fairy lights on the Christmas tree just hoping (once again) to see the twinkle and sparkle of those lights.  "When do you think the power will come back on?"  I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this question......

Eventually the power did come on and the river height dropped and my children (and their partners) hastily made their way back into civilisation (vowing NEVER to cross the mighty Mulgrave again if ever there was the likelihood of them being marooned together again under the one roof with no electricity!) 

Ah yes ......  Christmas 2010 - certainly one I will never forget.


PS - I did invite them back again for New Year's Eve for another family get-together.  Somehow it seems that they have ALL made other plans - funny thing about that?

My Wreath - Finished At Last!

I have FINALLY  put the finishing touches to my all natural Aussie Bush wreath!   It has been a long process. 

Thanks to the inspiring Sarah at Modern Country Style I embarked on this little task about 2 weeks ago. 

Sarah posted a fabulous tutorial on how to make a natural wreath (from scratch).  It has taken me this long to gather all the bits and pieces - but at last it is finally finished and I couldn't be happier.

In  many ways it is symbolic of not only the Festive Season but also of the journey I have been on this past year.   At the start of 2010 I set my sights at conquering this little mountain below.   It is known locally as "the Pyramid".    In (almost!) reaching the top I have not only proven that am capable of the stretching myself physically but also mentally, given my extreme fear of heights.  I have to pinch myself to believe I have actually achieved this feat.  Who knows what challenges I will set for myself in 2011?

So it seems fitting, that the leaves for my little Christmas Wreath have come from trees at the top of this mountain.   Matthew, Alan D (affectionately known as my Sherpa Guides!) and I made the climb on Tuesday and we gathered the leaves from these magnificent gum trees here.

Just to put things into real perspective - this is how far UP we were!

So, together with some sprigs of lavender (which I managed to find at the local markets last Sunday) and the beautiful red sprigs of flowers from my glorious Ixora - I have managed to put together a Tropical Natural Wreath.   It looks so pretty and festive on my front door and frames my two kookaburras perfectly!

Thank you so much Sarah for inspiring this project and for your encouragement and help.

Here it is Christmas Eve and it is absolutely pouring here in the Valley.   Most certainly we will be flooded in for Christmas as the mighty Mulgrave continues to rise.  However we are all safe and sound on our little hill. The  pantry and fridge is full.....the presents are all wrapped and  I have my family around me.  What more could I ask for!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Snooze Time

 

Whilst all around her,  people are rushing here and rushing there.   Putting  last minute touches to Christmas preparations;  seeking out stocking fillers;  finalising the Christmas grocery list.......

This is how Dolly P chooses to spend her day.

Oh.......to be a cat at Christmas time!

Jingle Bells

One of the true joys at Christmas time is the giving of gifts and coming up with interesting ways to wrap them. 

For many years, particularly when my kids were younger, it was all that I could do to grab (multiple) rolls of Christmas paper, arrange the presents the bedroom floor (making sure that the door was firmly locked just in case there were prying eyes around!) and quickly wrap and tape.  I actually became quite an expert at (lightning speed) Christmas present wrapping!  There certainly was no skill or finesse in how I went about
it.  My main aim was to get them wrapped as quickly as I could and then find a safe hiding spot!   I swear Adam, Matthew and Kendall had the noses of "blood hounds" at Christmas time. 

Now that my "assembly line" gift wrapping days are past, I love nothing better than deciding on a theme for my Christmas gift wrapping and then having the time to leisurely primp and preen my gifts.  This year I decided to go with "Jingle Bells" and together with Kendall's homemade "little" gingerbread men (in fact they were the biggest gingerbread men I have ever seen!) packaged them into cute little boxes to give to work colleagues.

The wrapping was dead easy.  I photocopied (A3) copies of  "Jingle Bells" sheet music which I downloaded from the internet.   Got some lovely lime green satin ribbon and then tied bows with clusters of bells.  They just looked so pretty.

Kendall has now officially become a "gingerbread man" expert.  They way she churned out those little (huge!) men - well, it was just like an assembly line.   (I can see that she too will become an expert in lightning speed gift wrapping when her turn eventually comes!)

They were delicious (and crunchy) and although she could only manage to get 7 "big boys" from each batch of mixture (due to the HUGE cutter she used) the recipe actually makes 20.  

Kendall's Gingerbread Men

Ingredients :

Melted butter, to grease
125g butter, at room temperature
100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
1 egg, separated
375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Plain flour, to dust
150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar, sifted
8-10 drops red liquid food colouring

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush 2 baking trays with melted butter to lightly grease.
2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy.
3. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined.
4. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda.
5. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
6. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
7. Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 
8. Cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Add red colouring to 1 bowl and stir until combined.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
9. Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a 9cm gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Repeat with any excess dough.
10. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool. Place prepared icing in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread men to decorate.

Allow 30 minutes resting time.

Can you guess who these two are? 

Of course - the one on the left is "me" and the one on the right is Alan (with moustache and all!)  Thank you Kendall - very creative.....

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Okay - so I know you said "Pleeeease don't blog about my birthday!" - but you know me.  Couldn't help myself and in any case I needed an excuse to show this great photo of you and Mickey!

I was going to write a little post about the 10 Things I Love About Matthew! - but at the risk of causing you incredible embarrassment - I will save that for another year. 

So I will keep this short and sweet - Happy Birthday Matthew.  Have a fabulous day!
lots of love from us all (including your best mate Micky)

Cinnamon and Heart Garland

As mentioned in my last post,  I have been totally inspired by all the wonderful Christmas decorations and ideas featured in the various blogs I follow.  There are just so many amazing and creative bloggers out there.  To peak inside their homes is just like looking into the pages of  "A Christmas Carol".  Beautiful fireplaces, baskets of pine cones, woollen earmuffs and mittens.....

Here in the Valley,  Christmas holidays are usually marked by soaring temperatures and (uncomfortably) high humidity.  The days are  spent trying to find a place to keep cool and air conditioners are working overtime.  The idea of sitting down to create beautiful Christmas crafts is not something I would usually be contemplating at this time of the year however I my Christmas decorating has risen to new heights, spurred on by this daily feast of inspiration. 

On such  blog friend who continues to inspire me is the super creative Sarah from Modern Country Style.
When I saw Sarah's  gorgeous Cinnamon and Heart Garland I just knew I had to have a go at making one myself.  Her tutorial was super easy and fun to follow however  I did have a couple of little hiccups along the way.

First up - I had to search high and low to find wooden cotton reels!  At one stage I was seriously thinking of substituting the cotton reels for some cute little miniature Christimasy pegs I found on my last trip to Brisbane but they would not have been nearly as effective.  After scouring every craft and haberdashery store in the neighbourhood I managed to find some (stacked away under a pile of old boxes right at the back of the shop).  There is obviously not a big market for wooden cotton reels in my part of the world.

Next up - the cinnamon sticks.   Now I don't know about the cinnamon sticks that Sarah used but these ones of mine were (seriously!) hard to get the darning needle through.   I know Sarah used a knitting needle.   I was actually contemplating attacking them with my cordless drill.  However I ended up persevering with the needle and after a bit of jiggling sideways and upways - managed to make the hole big enough.   Oh, here's another thing.......  My cinnamon sticks are completely smellless?    Not sure why - maybe cinnamon sticks lose their smell the heat.  I was anticipating the gorgeous smells of cinnamon wafting through the house,  but alas mine smell like....... well, dead sticks! 
Never mind - they look fabulous (and Christmasy)!


The fun part - stringing all the bits and pieces together!  I must admit, I had to have a couple of goes at this.  First time I tried - I threaded the string through the centre of the hearts (rather than towards the top).  This resulted in my hearts all swinging wildly and then ending up the pointing the wrong way!  So instead of the pointy bit of the heart facing down the pointy bit was facing up........  It did look rather strange.  "Is it supposed to look like that?"  Alan asked quizzically.   Umm........okay, maybe I should try re-stringing them......


Anyway,  success at last!    I absolutely love them (even if the cinnamon smells like dead sticks!) and think I might leave them up all year.

Thank you for your wonderful tutorial Sarah.  I obviously needed the "Dummies" guide but managed to get there in the end.  

All Lit Up!

These past few weeks I have been so inspired reading through all the wonderful Christmas decorating ideas from around the world.   I have particularly loved seeing how my blog friends in the Northern Hemisphere have totally embraced the spirit of Christmas and filled their homes with the most amazing decorations.  Beautiful vintage baubles;  sparkly trees;  cute stockings strung perfectly from holly swathed mantles;  advent calendars;  stunning wreaths.    It has  been so wonderful to experience just how generous they have been in not only sharing their ideas but also providing tutorials on how to re-create some of this magic. 

One such blog friend who constantly inspires me is the very talented Kat from Low Tide High Style.  Not only are Kat and her family the proud owners of three of THE most adorable puppies in the world - her blog is constantly filled with jaw droppingly gorgeous photographs of her beautiful home and the flora and fauna which surrounds it.

So, when I came to look for inspiration for my Christmas decorating this year -  I looked no further than Low Tide High Style!   I absolutely fell in love her window sill decoration that was featured in this post- it just looked like a magical fairyland with all those twinkly little lights.  

Now it's fair to say my thrift store glass lanterns do not hold a candle to Kat's magnificent Maison jars and I certainly do not have her knack of being able to stylize pine cones and starfish - but I am quietly pleased with my little interpretation of the LTHS Christmas window sill!    In fact, I am going to be sorry when Christmas is over and I have to pack it away.   I love standing here at my sparkly window sill looking out past the stripey veranda awning to the garden and valley below.   I could be anywhere in the world!


I would have loved to have included some REAL pine cones in my display but unfortunately pine trees seem to be in short supply here in tropical North Queensland - so I have had to substitute! 

But hey, that's the magic of Christmas isn't it?

Breakfast at Barrine

Headed up the hill this morning for early morning breakfast at the Lake Barrine teahouse.

Lake Barrine (and its sister lake - Lake Eacham) form part of the Crater Lakes National Park and were formed around 10,000 years ago when there was a shift in the earth's climate.   A Maar volcano was formed when hot molten rock came into contact with groundwater. This caused a build-up of steam, gasses and pressure which blasted the central core from the volcano. This massive explosion caused a crater which subsequently filled with rainwater - and  this is how the two lakes came into being.

Walking down the long flight of stairs from the carpark to the tea house - this is the view that greeted us.  Breakfast at Lake Barrine on a Sunday morning has become a bit of a family tradition.  How lucky are we that this little gem is so close to the Valley.

What a great way to start the day - sitting on the edge of the lake, enjoying our coffee and just taking in the magic of this special place.   That water just looks so inviting!

This pelican (and a couple of crazy ducks) provided the entertainment for the morning.  I love the way the pelican would scoop his huge bill under water and then come up with a huge feed of  fish.  The ducks just did what ducks do best - duck dive!  

Look at this cute sunbird's nest on the verandah.   Just look how intricately this has been constructed.  Sunbirds are just such incredible little engineers.

These beautiful little vases of roses were on every table. 

 They just took my

breath away!

And so did these!