Happy New Year

My family headed out today to celebrate the last day of the year.

Our destination was Old Parliament House Gardens to enjoy peace and serenity, 

blossom and green, a picnic lunch on the lawn.

There we found some favourite flowers

including the above Ringlet Rose which Ess has claimed her favourite this year.

This pretty little Violet

(they will forever remind me of my newest niece now)

We enjoyed a picnic lunch under the trees

 and watched the girls play a few games together

while we tried to keep our baby from rummaging through the picnic basket and esky too dangerously.

My finds include this gorgeous bell flower which I'd love to know more about, perhaps to even grow it in my garden.  Do tell me if you can identify it!

And this delicate single petal rose 'Dainty Bess'.  It is held fondly in the bosom of my memories as my mother grew it in our family home, perhaps it's still there, I must ask her.

I recall it as a favourite of hers.

I couldn't quite understand why as a child.

I saw many more beautiful flowers.

I saw so very many of these decorating our home.

Yet Mum loved it's delicate beauty...

and now, of course, I see exactly what she means.

It's curious that my Ess has already found beauty in a similar rose, 

Ringlet Rose.

As a friend of mine said to me earlier this evening:

"Hope 2012 is full of good things and peaceful hearts, 

lots of love and belly laughs"

Happy New Year.

"Mummy" Day

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

We celebrated Mother's Day here yesterday so I cordially extend best wishes to you my lovely readers who are mothers yourselves.

I consider myself very fortunate that yesterday was special for me for numerous reasons, too plentiful to mention here.

Gifts from my treasures

Our day commenced with sunshine beautifully streaming into our bedroom after a sleep-in afforded us by two little girls who had been unwell. Yes, sadly my family had had a tummy bug all last week and the girls were still recovering from it. Indeed my Generous Gentleman was still unwell and I was not anticipating that much could be celebrated on the day as we were likely to need to have a toilet close to hand.

He was however, very brave and very generous and was keen to venture out. So we headed to the foreshores of the beach so the girls could ride and we could walk, and at least I could enjoy some food, cake and coffee at our favourite spots in Semaphore - Cafe Froot and Sarah's Sisters Sustainability Cafe.

Earlier in the week, Ess had become aware that Mother's Day was around the corner so in her free time she banished me from her room with a sign saying "No Mummy In" displayed carefully on her door at poignant moments. I was delighted to see the results of her independent creative time with me at the centre of her thoughts - a book for me, made by my fellow book-lover and all on her very own. I wasn't even asked to provide supplies.

Her favourite stickers were included, along with sweet little notes inserted through out.

There were many drawings of her favourite fairy friends. Here is Lily the Rainforest Fairy with Rachel and Kirsty, hovering over a rainforest canopy.

The book finishes with Ess imploring me to "Have Fun!" as she farewells me.

We did share a lovely day together despite the difficulties and not all expectations being filled. Why is it that for one day of the year we Mums expect our children to ask us nicely each time they want something, to maintain polite manners, to not have to negotiate? We accept the challenges every other day. My girls are still very little and are only just beginning to show independence in showing their love for me for this special day. They still have their little people needs and will provide me with challenges no matter what day it is.

Expecting less is one key to ensuring that you enjoy more.

Busy Christmasy Days Here

Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. ~Mary Ellen Chase

We have had some busy days here lately, which is to be expected with Christmas approaching and the completion of our school year. Also my Mum has been staying with us the last fortnight and I have been spending time with her rather than you, my dear readers. I am sure you will forgive me.

We enjoyed a little early Christmas present opening with her before she left to fly home. After all, Christmas is all about giving and I wanted to give her the opportunity to see the smiles on faces of little ones as they discovered the beautiful things she had given them.

There's a big smile on my face also after all the lovely comments you gave me in response to viewing My Shopping List Cover. They were entirely unexpected. Thankyou!

Now my work table is busier than it was as I have been inspired by one of your ideas. Come back here in a day or two and I'll have something special just for you. It has been a while since I have had a giveaway and what better time than now - the season of Advent.

I am From

Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee

Calls back the lovely April of her prime.
~William Shakespeare

Today is my mother's birthday.  She is away visiting her sister who is also celebrating her birthday today.  My aunty is 80 years old, she is 13 years my mother's elder.  Knowing they are celebrating getting older makes me reflect and think about where I am headed and where I am from. 

I recently read this post of Kellie's on Don't Look Now!  I thought it was lovely that she was from a similar place to me but never thought I'd write my own poem.  Then, at times unsuspecting, the poem sprouted and before I knew it my poetic juices were flowing and I had my own history penned.   So if you think you cannot, you will not, I encourage you to let go and see what might flow.  It is actually quite cathartic.  If you do write your own "I'm From" poem please let me know so I can join you in learning more about where you're from.  If you follow the links from Kellie's poem you will find the original from whence it came.

So here's a sneak peak of some of me.

I’m From

I’m from tireless pioneers, hard-working farmers and long dusty trails. From blacksoil plains, deceptive mirages and vast, tree-studded horizons.  From small country town, regional farming community and “townie vs cockie” the former is me!  From Mehi River, Gwydir River, where rivers meet. 

I’m from maternal ancestors trekking across seas, across lands; from England to South Australia, into northern New South Wales, up to central Queensland.  From sheep grazing, wheat farming then cotton as well. Corrugated iron sheds, blue-topped cotton modules, and seasonal “snowy” cotton lined roads.  From worshipping in a country church built by relatives of friends.

I’m from aesthetic beauty: flowers in the garden, arranged in vases, floral shows as well.  From cakes carefully decorated by my mother’s own hand, from embroidery, crochet, sewing, handmade.  Fixing loose threads on my clothing, “not the good scissors!”, stashes of fabric, buttons, binding and ribbons.  Always dressing well to go out.  From Sylvia’s fabrics, pattern hunting and fabric matching.

Paternally from Denmark to Australia, right into Queensland, freezing to heat.  From food production, apple orchards, vegetable growing and home baking.

From awkwardness, confusion; leadership and faith.  From silliness and laughter with my treasured brother and sister.   From independence and competence, achievement and success.

From “hugs and kisses”, “hugs and kisses” among siblings at the end of car journeys, upon arrival at our holiday destination, the “Uh-oh better go to bed” and “I wear my sunglasses at night, to keep my panties on tight” fun play with siblings.

Photo found at  www.Redbubble.com

I’m from the bright yellow daffodil, pretty pink poppy and rich red rose, the calm Carbeen tree, breezy Belah and the beloved, guarded unique Leopard Tree.

From the smoking besa block incinerator in the backyard, the besa block “barby”, begrudged family trips to the dump.

From oranges, mandarins and almonds in the garden, lawns always watered through hot summer months.

From home-sewn school uniform and Dad-knitted navy cardigan, from tights keeping legs warm from pesky, shivery Jack Frost on our front lawn

From Sunday roast dinners and baked beans on toast, salad plate lunches, toast fingers with soup.  From Potatoes La Jolla, Herbed Chicken pieces from “promite, not vegemite” or “vegemite not promite” sandwiches in lunchboxes.

Piano lessons during lunchtime, then through swimming lessons in high school. Piano duets in my best friend’s Mum’s bedroom on weekend retreats from boarding school.  Boarding school challenges, fun and successes.  Singing and singing, and singing some more, “Yes, Jesus loves me”, Christmas carols and rhymes.  Renaissance polyphonies, madrigals, and contemporary and sacred choral works.

I'm from sharing my music, from teaching tiny littlies, imparting my intuition and knowledge to the families I meet.  From meeting my beloved and sharing in our union, from bearing two treasured, precious daughters who now ofttimes lead me in my journey.

And now I am me, here today, returned to the start, growing veges and living down south in South Australia from whence my ancestors came, living and loving creatively, following my Creator.

Farm photos courtesy of my brother and sister-in-law. 

My Hot Summer Garden

The garlic chives are budding...

The capsicum are starting to fruit again after they were setback by our recent heatwaves.  I can only hope that the heat due at the end of this week (up to 40degC again for a few days) will not sizzle the new flowers and potential budding fruit.

I do not know how this petunia thrives.  It was bought by my Mum when little Eee was born nearly 18 months ago and just keeps coming back.  Such a beautiful bright pink, the photo just doesn't do it justice.

and just look at all these rosebuds....Wow!  Adelaide is definitely the city for roses.  They just can't seem to go wrong.  If you are living here and you don't have one, I strongly recommend you plant one.  This is a rare case of masses of beauty from very little care.

How we have this is really beyond me as our water restrictions are very limited.  I can water with the watering can or bucket, and try to each couple of days, but I have other duties with two littleuns which I must prioritise.  I can water with the hose on Sunday and Wednesday at times when I am usually asleep or preparing meals and bathing the girls. So that doesn't happen regularly either.  Some reports say we have had 1mm of rain this year, yet apart from a few drips I remember on this day, I cannot recall a time when this might have been, perhaps it was down south.  The rainfall for February was supposed to be 20% above average.  The average is 10mm I believe, so we have about 5 days for 12mm of rain to fall.  Possible, I guess, but with a forecasted heatwave I cannot see that happening.

So I wait for Autumn without holding my breath.  Autumn is a lovely time - so cool, so refreshing, so colourful.  I find myself being very creative in Autumn usually so I look forward to this season.

My little giveaway is still open so if you haven't commented yet, please do so on the post below.

Tweet and Toot announce my 100th post and a little giveaway to celebrate

One photo out of focus is a mistake, ten photo out of focus are an experimentation, one hundred photo out of focus are a style.  ~Author Unknown

Tweet and Toot, inspired by Jikke and Lila, are here to announce that Cee has finally written 100 posts.  It has taken a while but I think I have finally got some blogging mojo this year.  I'm not sure whether I'm at the 'experimentation' or 'style' stage with my photos but at least now I'm in the running for 'style' with posting :)

Little Tweet has found a home on Ess' school bag and she proudly carries him to school each day.  She did not appreciate me removing him in the morning so I could take a photo for this post during daylight hours. 

Little Toot has not yet found a home. So to celebrate 100 posts and to express my gratitude to family, friends and new blogging mates, as well as to give my desire to increase my generosity a boost, we are having a little giveaway.  We hope that soon Little Toot will find a home at your place.  Or maybe you have an appreciative little family member who'd enjoy him.

The two of them will hate to be parted but that's OK.  Toot's new owner will be most caring I am certain.  I have met some lovely lovely people in the blogosphere.

As an addition, I will also giveaway a recipe of mine.  Yes I know you can see them here and copy and paste and print or whatever but I want you to have something real and tangible of me and my place.  In this case, my handwriting.   So I will contact you and we'll negotiate a recipe you'd like to have which I'll handwrite for you and post off with Little Toot.  My handwriting is quite stylish I think and a little more sophisticated than my five year old daughter's.

I value handwriting very highly and am sorry that we don't use it as much these days.  There are so many things we can do with our handwriting to add a special touch.   I remember a tea party held by a friend of mine (who'll read this) who had written the names of all that she had baked and displayed the tags beautifully on the table with her wares.  I remember feeling lost when the handwritten labels on my father's client's files were all replaced with typed ones (unbeknown to him). I would find files by the sight of the handwriting rather than reading the label.  That soon changed.   These days you can also have your own handwriting made into a font to use on the computer.  That's a bit construed I think but at least it reinforces the value of handwriting.  Maybe one day there will be a font named Pea Cee.  I just need to get a scanner to complete that task on my list.

And my recipe book!  I have a few, but my fondest one I started when I was just 10 years old.  Wrapped in Mr Men contact ;), it contains recipes I've written over the years.  It also has recipes that were written by my Mum, my Dad, my Aunty and my best friend from school.  My sister-in-law recently wrote in one for her Tagine.  I remember each one by the individual's handwriting.  Seeing the handwriting reminds me of that person, the times we shared together, enjoying a delicious meal together.  Do you  have a similar recipe book?  Or is your recipe collection like my newer books - display folders showing printouts from the computer and pullouts from magazines?  Each has its own merit, yet there is something extra special about a handwritten collection built up over the years, do you agree?

So to be eligible for this little giveaway, I urge you to leave a comment (about anything at all). I know I have a lot of readers there who are not commenting so now is your chance.  I'd love to meet you and get to know you and I really am very lovely... at least I don't bite - usually!

In a short while, when enough of you have commented, I will randomly choose someone to win and advise you who that is, in another post soon.

Christmas Mini Black Forest Gateux

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.  ~Washington Irving

The verdict on the little pieces of chocolate wonder referred to previously is of course that they are superb!

If you haven't yet tried this recipe issued by Australian Women's Weekly, I highly recommend you give them a go.

The recipe I have linked to above doesn't seem to be quite the same as the one I made - just a few differences - like having to weigh the eggs to get other measurements - oh my!  So if, like me, you do not buy Australian Women's Weekly then give your Mum a call because she probably does for some reason (no offense Mum).  Mum very kindly read the recipe from their Christmas issue out to me over the phone so I could make these delightful little morsels to delight my family.

Christmas Baking

Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving,

a time of good cheer, home. ~ W.J. Ronald Tucker 

We have been enjoying some Christmas baking of late.  The Christmas Cake commenced with some delicious dried fruit left to soak in some Sherry.

We then decided to make some lovely home made Brown Sugar Spritz Cookies from my Mum's old favourite Christmas recipe.  Mum used to pipe them out into lovely shapes each Christmas and they were all devoured way too quickly.  Ess and I decided to make some Christmasy star shapes for her teachers.

Surprisingly enough, all of them did make it from the resting tray into the packages we designed for them.

Ess decided she would use her lovely little flower girl basket to carry them around in at Kindy as she delivered them to the teachers. She did look so very sweet carrying out this task (comments proud Mum).

After the cookies were baked it was time for the Christmas Cake to take over the oven.  They take so long to bake don't they.  Three hours of a very warm kitchen heated by the oven which can no longer be used for other cooking.  Just as well I had tea prepared to be cooked on the stove top as it was still baking as we dined.  Poor Generous Gentleman, he came home to a house full of wonderful aromas only to be told he had to wait till Christmas (or at least later) until we cut the cake after it had cooked and cooled.  He did have a bikky though. 

The recipe I use is Possibly the World's Best Christmas Cake ever.  I have used it every Christmas since I found it.  You simply start by soaking the fruit in sherry overnight, add to that a creamed mix of butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs.  Once that is mixed well we add the piece de resistance - melted chocolate (dark and fairtrade of course) combined with apricot nectar and apricot jam.  Here Ess is pouring in the chocolate and just waiting for the bowl to be ready to lick. Yes we all had a turn at licking this bowl.  The mix was poured into a cake tin lined with lots of baking paper and wrapped in brown paper to prevent burning and cooked for almost three hours.

Here is it! with most left to be revealed.  Of course the "proof will be in the pudding".

Eee is One!

Little birthday girl, soft against your cheek,

eyes so big and bright, nose you love to tweak.
Livcly little one, sweet as any flower,

dearer by the day, cuter by the hour!

Written on the card received from Granny.

Today is Eee’s first birthday.

It seems not so long since she arrived.

We celebrated it in so many special ways with gifts and extra special hugs, kisses and games. Although we were sad that Daddy is still away, we were delighted that Granny is still here.

Ess and I enjoyed decorating her special birthday cake.



We had some very welcome help from Dulcie the Baking Talent Fairy.

We all enjoyed the pretty cake for afternoon tea after little Eee had explored removing all the petals from her stem of these beautiful flowers – stocks and sweet pea! Sadly not from my garden but from Adelaide Central Markets.


Soon my garden will be in bloom however. I’ll let you know more about that later.

For my precious little one.

Happy Birthday!

Before the Plastics Revolution

And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: "Look at this Godawful mess." ~Art Buchwald, 1970

Sometimes, when I pull the gladwrap from the roll to cover some food to store in my fridge, I reflect and think “Why am I using this? It is only adding to landfill. Is it really necessary? Do I need such convenience? What alternative do I have? What did they do before we had this option anyway?” My plastic containers which I use to store food were not available years ago. So I am curious about what happened and how people lived then. Not to say that it was all better then, but so we can remember what it was like to live simply before we all got caught up in the consumerism of today’s instant, convenient society. I like to reflect, gain ideas from memories and combine that with my current knowledge of a satisfying way to live.

As Mum is visiting I’ve asked her to remember all she can about what life was like before the ‘Plastics Revolution’.

She remembers the early 1950s when bowl covers came in to cover your containers with food stored in them. Do you recall these? A station-hand’s wife thought they were baby showercaps! An apt description I think. You simply washed and reused them on your china bowls and plates until they wore out and you replaced them at the local department store. “They were such a great innovation because they were just so handy” she reflects. Did anyone consider then whether they were healthy enough, sealing tightly enough, adding to landfill eventually?

Prior to the use of these covers perhaps a plate was put on top of another to cover food. The food was not thrown out. Leftovers were kept to be eaten on another occasion or consumed by the farm animals. Food was not in abundance as it is today and certainly access to a store to buy food was 17 miles away via a dirt road inaccessible after rain.

Waxed and greaseproof paper was used to line cake tins etc. as there were no plastic containers to store your baking. This prevented moisture from the cake coming into contact with the metal and causing it to rust. Paper was also used to wrap sandwiches which were taken ‘up the paddock’ for lunch.

As the convenience of foil and glad wrap came to the fore these papers were removed from common use. You didn’t have to wash gladwrap, you simply threw it away! Using gladwrap meant that you could always find the right shape to cover your container, you weren’t limited by the size of the “baby shower caps” you had available in the drawer. There would always be enough gladwrap to cover anything you needed to – so long as you had maintained your supply.

Food products, such as flour and sugar, were stored at home in large metal canisters and tins or glass jars in the pantry. Stoneware was also used to store some food such as salt. A number of food products were bought in tins and jars and they were reused around the home for food or other storage. The seal on some tins was simply not as good as gladwrap etc. and so the food didn’t remain as fresh. Neither could tins be used in the frig for storage as they would rust, so gladwrap was a convenient substitute, as were plastic containers. Flour started coming in plastic bags after the cloth bags. After being thoroughly washed these were also used for storage when needed. They were used to cover sliced bread as it was placed on the table to serve for a meal. There was a lot of recycling and reusing happening. Bags and containers etc. were disposed of when they wore out.

The advent of plastics has very much changed the method of rubbish disposal. Previously goods came in cloth bags which you often washed and reused for storage or paper which was burnt in an incinerator or to light the wood stove or the open log fire. Now often these things are unthinkable or even illegal. Fortunately we have the choice to recycle paper, some plastics and other containers but not gladwrap and foil! We are dumping an enormous amount of rubbish into the oceans which is killing wildlife. Is that justified?

Regarding food scraps, Mum reflects, “we had a metal bucket made from a fuel can which hung on the awning of the meat house. Vege scraps were carried from the kitchen to the can on a bowl or plate for the chooks to pick at. Meat bones were given to the dog.” I have usually put my scraps in plastic bags, in the bin and then to the main bin. I want to compost them long term for our future garden. However, in the meantime I am changing my habits and reusing our junk mail to carry my scraps to the bin. I am reducing my use of plastic bags when buying fruit and veg by putting items of one price in one bag to weigh and also using cloth bags as much as possible. The girls in our fruit stall think this is fabulous.

Today Mum uses all these types of packaging – apart from the “baby shower caps” which really have gone out of fashion and are simply not readily available are they? I have learnt my habits from Mum and it is only now that I think further about living sustainably that I challenge myself about what to store food in. I very much enjoyed reading this post on Alternatives to Plastic Wrap. Here you can read the results of some research of an environmental scientist now working towards sustainability with her family.

I think at this stage I’d like to store as much as possible in the containers I have in my cupboards whether glass or plastic so as not to add to landfill or experience any chemical leaching from plastic gladwrap onto my food. I’d also like to look more into the use of cellophane for food storage. You can buy food grade cellophane bags on ebay. I have also just purchased some Pyrex dishes with plastic storage lids which I am finding fantastic because Pyrex can be used to bake in and then I can simply place the lid on to store leftover food for next time. Just be careful not to change the temperature of Pyrex too rapidly – it smashes. I learnt this from experience the other week! Storing cooked food in the frig is also a feature of the fabulous waterless Nutrimax pots I use to cook most things in.

How do you reuse and recycle? Do you have gladwrap and foil in your pantry? What alternatives do you have? Do you store in plastic containers?