I don't want to jinx it, but I think Spring has Sprung

I'm very excited and a little wary at the same time.  I mean, it's not yet officially the start of spring but the trees are telling me (and have been telling me for the past two weeks at least) that it's time.  But has it really?  Or is winter just tricking me?

Leaves have been bursting out of buds all over the place.  

Apricot Tree

Persimmon Tree

As have the flowers.  

Avocado tree about to bloom

Apricot blossom

Jasmine flowers

And the apricot tree now has little bitty fruits.  Note to self: hurry up and get that bird net up - there was a lorikeet hanging from one of those branches the other day eating everything in sight!

The mulberry tree is also covered with little mulberries.  Must net this one too.

I love this time of year so very very much I can hardly sit still for the love of it.

I even went out yesterday and planted some bean seeds.  And today I'm going to transplant the zucchini seedlings growing on my window-sill.

Game of me I know.

Expect a frost sometime in the next few days.

28 days

They say it takes 28 days for an action or a behaviour to become a habit.  

I'm gonna give it a go.

I'm challenging myself to create a whole heap of new habits by replacing the ones that need replacing.  Namely the eating of crap food, the lack of exercise and the favouring wine over water.  The winter coat that has joined last year's winter coat has me a little worried. It snuck up on me and given I can't afford a new wardrobe (and the thought of trying on clothes with the ugly lights and fat mirrors in the fitting rooms is not something my mental health can deal with right now), it is now time to take decisive action.

Technically I have chosen the first of September as the start of my 28 day new-habit-creation but unofficially I have started today.  You know, because Monday is the start of the week and my anal-obsessive tendencies see me struggle with the concept of starting something - anything - on a Thursday even if it is the first of the month.  Tough gig.  Also, with a couple of practice days up my sleeve, I won't feel so bad on Wednesday morning if I were to hit the snooze button instead of turning the alarm off - unlike how I would feel if I did it on Thursday, say.  Kind of a warm-up practice go before the real thing starts.

So today I did well. I was up and about early for the exercising, I ate very well today (as opposed to the not so well eating of yesterday) and....well, I didn't do so well with the water thing today.  I left my water bottle at home - it's a stainless steel bottle that I fill with rain water from our tank.  I struggle to drink bottled water at the best of times (it tastes so plastic, not to mention the major attacks of the guilts I get when I actually pay for water in a bottle) and drinking tap (town) water around these parts is akin to drinking the water in the public pool.  I can't do it.  So right now I am knocking back water like it's going out of fashion.

The end-goal I'm hoping for at the end of the 28 day challenge is to feel fitter, more toned and less wobbly, and to feel better about myself which I always seem to do when I lay off the chocolates and lollies and actually get active.  With the weather warming up by the day (YAY!!!!!) soon it will be singlet and shorts weather and there is no way I'm wearing either given the tuckshop arm scenario I have happening at the moment and as for the tautness of the shorts across my rear end - well, I'm not ready to go there!

So here goes - 28 days it is....eat better, move more, drink more water.  Easy right?

Sticky Tape Pudding

Last night my sister, BIL, niece and nephew came over for dinner.  Always a good night when they come over even if it is loud and boisterous. In fact, the louder and more boisterous the better!

Early yesterday the order for Chicken and Cashew Nut came in so it, along with Sweet and Sour Chicken and steamed rice, was on the menu.

Family dinners at our house are never complete without the addition of a dessert course to the menu.  Most times the choice of main meal in our family is determined around the dessert selection, so seriously do we take sweets!  And don't even get me started on the dilemmas posed by the overconsumption of pre-dinner nibbles impacting on one's ability to fit dessert in comfortably!  

Needless to say, dessert was served last night!  Something of a first for me - I've eaten it before (my BIL does a melt-in-the-mouth version!) but never actually cooked it myself before last night - let me just say that I will definitely be cooking this little number again!

My beautiful niece, after being told what was for dessert, questioned my ability to cook it.  'Aunty Shelley can't cook that.  It'll taste disgusting', she said with screwed up face to really convey her distaste.

'No it won't.  It's delicious.  You've had it before and you liked it a lot.' reasoned her mum.

'Sticky tape pudding?  I've never eaten that.  Aunty Shelley can't cook sticky tape pudding.'

'You have eaten it before and you liked it a lot.  Dad has made it before too and you liked it then.  You'll like it tonight as well.'

'But you can't eat sticky tape.  It's bad for you.  You can't eat it.'

It went on like this for a while I'm told before the light when on.

'Sticky date pudding you crazy! Not sticky tape!'

I, too, question my ability to cook sticky tape pudding!  And I agree, that would taste disgusting!  Sticky date pudding on the other hand, delicious and definitely within my capabilities!

In My Kitchen: August 2011

Inspired by Celia and her 'In My Kitchen' posts - head on over to Fig Jam & Lime Cordial and join the fun....

In My Kitchen.....

......is a new acquired second-hand benchtop oven.  Not very exciting you say?  Well, my real oven joined my cooktop a couple of weeks ago in being a purely cosmetic kitchen appliance.  Now, I can expand my meal repertoire to include things that can be baked and roasted and grilled.....the possibilities are endless!!!!!

In My Kitchen....

......are tomato and zucchini seedlings sticking their heads up to be counted.  There are also some capsicums and pumpkins slowly emerging as well in the mini-greenhouse I have happening on the windowsill.  I planted these out about 10 days ago in anticipation of spring.  It's nearly here and nearly warm enough for these little babies to make their way into the garden.  I'm extra pleased with the tomatoes - they came from seeds saved from my tomato glut last year and are showing that they have adapted well to the climate in my garden.  I couldn't tell you if they are romas or cherries but either way, they'll be welcomed with gusto!

In My Kitchen.....

.......are a whole heap of lemons given to me by a friend (in exchange for the masses of jams, pickles and relishes I have been hoisting on her these last few months!).  They came from the tree in her son's backyard and have now been packed in salt and lemon juice and join the brandied cumquats for some quiet time in the cupboard!

In My Kitchen.......

.......are the peels of the lemons from my morning cold-&-flu-preventative (nothing fancy, just juice of lemon diluted with some hot water then sculled real quick!) working their magic in a jar of vinegar to turn into a citrus cleaner for me to use around the house.  I love looking at this jar when the sun is shining through it.  Truly, it looks good enough to eat (though I wouldn't!).

In My Kitchen.....

.......are some mixed sprouts left to soak overnight before their eruption into yummy editions to my sandwich and my stir-fry.

In My Kitchen....

......is the first day of my latest attempt to create a sourdough starter.  Here's hoping this one doesn't go the way of the last few.....I would really like a success here, sourdough starter gods!!!

and finally....


In My Kitchen....

......are my girls offerings today.  Clearly one girl has had enough!  (the middle egg is normal size!).


Thanks Celia for the opportunity to share a glimpse of the most popular room in my house!

A Modern Day Love Story: Part 3

(read Part 1 here and Part 2 here)....

Photo: Photobucket - jujubeejmw

........So the boy and the girl caught the cab to the boys favourite cafe on the road near the racecourse near where both the boy and the girl worked.

And the dinner went well.  Very well.  Better than the girl could ever have imagined when imagining her Plan for the evening.  The boy and girl talked and laughed and joked well into the night.  Well into the night.  And the boy and the girl discovered that they really had a lot in common and that they really did like each other quite a lot after all.

[cue romantic music and camera pan to moon above - oooohhh-waahhhh-oooohhhh].

After much talking and laughing and joking, eventually the girl had to make the move to go home because she had a very early start for work the next that day and since it was 1am she really should be getting a wriggle on.  The boy, not wanting to end the evening, suggested he cook the girl dinner the next that night after the girl finished work.....

[scene fade - scroll credits]

Two years later the boy and the girl got married on a farm in the bush.  The girl wore an exact copy of a dress she had found a picture of when she was sixteen and dreaming of getting married.  The boy wore a suit.

Ten years later the boy and the girl are still going strong - some would say stronger than ever.  They still laugh and joke and talk all the time.  The boy and the girl say they love life together and couldn't ever live without the other.  And the girl now knows that the boy doesn't like crowds and tends to stop talking and laughing and joking when in them but that doesn't mean he doesn't like the girl.  Which is good.  Very good.  Happy Ever After Good.

And all because once upon a time a bakery girl worked up the courage to ask a service station boy out to see some fireworks....

***************************************


Happy 10 years LOML! xxx

A Modern Day Love Story: Part 2

(read Part 1 here).

Photo: photobucket - MrHenryVanity

.......So the girl drew in a deep breath and walked towards the boy in his new business.

The boy was very surprised to see the girl.  He wasn't expecting her.  He was happy to see her it was true, but he wasn't expecting her.  After 30 minutes of small talk and chit-chat the boy asked the girl what she wanted and why she was there (very tactful the boy isn't).

It was time.  


The girl enacted the second part of the Plan (the first being to actually start it).


The girl asked him out.  On a date.  That night.  To the fireworks in the city.  Very, very brave of her.

The boy said yes.  Lucky.  The girl relaxed a whole lot.  Her Plan was going as planned.  

*************************

Later that night the boy and girl met up at the boys apartment and walked to the ferry terminal to catch the CityCat into the city to see the fireworks.  It was a lovely night for it.  As coolish as a temperate winter can be, but with a hint of spring in the air.


Midway through the evening, the girl was having a great time - talking and laughing and joking with the boy.  And the boy looked like he was having a great time too - talking and laughing and joking with the girl.  But then it changed.  He changed.  The boy stopped talking and laughing and joking with the girl.  He started walking really fast so the girl had to almost run to catch up with him (while trying to regulate her breath so not to give away how totally unfit she was).  The boy started answering the girl in almost-grunts.  The boy started smoking one cigarette after another with hardly a pause in between.

The girl was distraught.  Dismayed.  Disheartened.  It had all been going so well, so to Plan.


And now it wasn't.

The girl stealled (new word right there) her heart and and hardened her resolve and made a new Plan right then and there.  A Plan to enjoy the fireworks anyway and to talk and laugh and joke like nothing was wrong because.....because she liked fireworks and wouldn't have seen them otherwise and because crying in public is really not cool and because....well, just because.  


And then the fireworks were over.  And so it seemed was the evening.


The girls expectations by this point were completely non-existent and all she was hoping to do was to not cry until she was in her car driving home and then she could bawl like there was no tomorrow because she had so been looking forward to a successful outcome (ie snagging the boy) to her original Plan but now it was all over and the Plan had failed.  The only consolation the girl could see was that as she hadn't told anyone about the Plan, no one would ever know how dismally it had failed.  Silver lining and all.


So the boy and the girl left the fireworks.  The boy was still acting weird and standoff-ish and not responding to the girls incessant talking and joking and laughing (by this point it had an edge of hysteria to it) on the walk back into the city where they were going to split a cab back to her car.  Inside the girls mind, her internal monologue repeated over and over - what's going on?  what have I done wrong?  Have I done anything wrong?  I don't think I've done anything wrong but what else could explain the boys sudden change in behaviour?  

In the taxi the boy changed again.  (All this changing was throwing the girls emotions all over the spectrum).  This time he changed back to the boy she knew, the boy she had started the evening with.  The funny, easy-going, relaxed boy she had been flirting with for a  gazillion years over a chicken, cheese, tomato, onion and pepper take-away sandwich.  'Hooray!  Hip-hip-hooray!' went the girl's heart.

Then the boy suggested they stop off for a late-late dinner at a cafe he knew close to where the girl had parked her car because, 'you know, we didn't actually get to eat anything at the fireworks after all and you know, maybe you're hungry because you know, I am'*.  'Hip-hip-hooray! Whoopty-doo-dah! YAAAAYYYYYY' went the girl's heart.

...to be continued.....




* note:  the boy doesn't actually speak like this - the author may be exaggerating a little!

A Modern Day Love Story: Part 1

Photo: photobucket - FindStuff2

Once upon a time there was a girl who worked in a bakery selling bread and cakes and pies and making sandwiches and salad rolls.  She also happened to like eating said bread and cakes and pies and sandwiches but truly, that is another story.

Once upon a time there was also a boy who worked at a service station pumping fuel, checking tyres and oil and water and cleaning windscreens.  He didn't happen to like pumping fuel, checking tyres and oil and water and cleaning windscreens but again, that is another story.

This is the story.....

Every day, for many years, the boy would come into the girl's bakery at roughly the same time (11:30am) and the girl would make him a take-away sandwich for his lunch (chicken, cheese, tomato, onion, pepper no salt, cut into quarters).  This went on every day for years.  Years I'm telling you.  No variation to that sandwich apart from occasionally ham instead of chicken.  That's it. 

Anyhoo, one day the boy told the girl (while she was making his lunch - chicken, cheese, tomato, onion, pepper no salt) that he was leaving to start his own business and he wouldn't be coming into the bakery anymore to get his take-away sandwich.  

The girl was distraught (though she was way too cool to show it).  Years (years!!) of flirting and flashing her eyelashes in the hopes that he would take her hints and ask her out and here he was telling her he was leaving?!?!.   Leaving?!?!?! The girl didn't think so...

So she did something about it.  She made a Plan.  A Plan that involved doing something she would never have done otherwise (the girl really was a shy, retiring type when it came to boys) but took the bull by the horns she did and she did something.

The very next day (she wasn't giving herself the opportunity to back out of her newly-made Plan) she hopped in her little silver car and drove the necessary 45 minutes to the boy's new business.  As this was something very out of character for the girl, she of course told no one of her Plan.  If no one knew the Plan, no one would know the outcome should it fail.  Pessimistic thinking perhaps, or realistic....  

Unfortunately for the girl, she was in the wrong lane as she came closer to his business so she had to drive on by and do a u-turn on a busy road to get back.  Then, when she was just about there, she saw the boy outside his new business and freaked out and kept driving.  Finally, on the third trip by his new business, she pulled her little silver car over, spoke calmly and rationally to herself (not really but the language she used should not be recorded in print!), and after a few deep breaths got out of the car and walked towards the boy.....

To be continued.....

Memorium

Tomorrow it will 12 months since my dad died.

Time has gone so quickly, it's hard to believe it's already been a year.  A tough year to be sure, but it can only get easier from here.

Today I went to a memorial service at his house where a small group of family and friends joined with his widow to plant a tree and erect a plaque in his memory.  

It was a lovely service.  A bit teary at times which was to be expected but lovely none-the-less.

And it was a beautiful spot chosen as well.  Looking over the house, protecting it, guarding it, watching over it and it's occupants.  

The plaque named the site The Serenity Garden.  Dad would like that - he was a big fan of The Castle and loved its catchline, 'how's the serenity?'

RIP Dad.  I miss you.

Patience is a virtue

that I seem to be lacking.


Don't you hate it when you burn your tongue on that first mouthful.  Goddammit.  Now it's all gonna taste like crap.


At least it's not hot potato sticking to the roof of my mouth.  Now that one burns!


How old do I have to be to be old enough to know better?

SiMPly superb

The LOML has left.  He left this morning on a jet-plane.  I don't know when he'll be back again.  Well, actually, that is a lie.  I do know when he'll be back - next Tuesday morning.  But that's not how the song goes!

About now he would be waiting in KL airport, filling in a couple of hours before boarding his connecting flight to Bangkok.  He'll spend the next 5 days there buying up stock for our shop for Christmas (don't kid yourself, it really isn't that far away now) and sending it back.

To save me the major physical, mental and emotional upheaval that results from a stupidly early-morning start topped off by a stupidly long round trip which would have left me beat for the whole time he's away (as happened last week for his over-nighter to Melbourne), we last night stayed at the casino on the Gold Coast.  Nice.

We caught up with our lovely friends Mr & Mrs W for dinner and a few drinks (well, the boys had drinks - Mrs W is preggers with their first child and I wasn't in the mood - shock, horror! - we just watched the boys drink) and, because we were at the casino, a few bets and pokie spins.  I think it's the law that when you are at the casino you have to have at least one bet.  That's what the LOML tells me anyway!!

So after dinner (I had fish and chips - very nice, if small) the LOML hit the tables.  I left him to his own devices and found a quiet corner with Mrs W for a good old chin-wag.  


A couple of hours later this is what the LOML had been up to......

Quite profitable by any standard!  Thanks Jupiters Casino!  You rock!!!

My cut of the profits (because, you know, I'm part of the partnership and staying at the casino was my idea after all) went towards the purchase of this little gem this afternoon.....

14 mega pixels.  As opposed to the measly 5 in my old camera.  

I'm iMPloding with excitement!  (terrible, Muriel, just terrible!).

Now, everybody say 'cheese'.....

Hide and Find

To finish up a great Sunday (after the festival) we had a good old fashioned Aussie BBQ at our house for all the family.

Of course, when the time came to fire up the BBQ, it rained.  

How typical.

Anyway, we weren't about to let something as trivial as a bit of rain stop our dinner so we merely progressed inside and lit the fire to keep us warm while we ate!

It was a great evening with the family - lots of laughing and plenty of jokes and ribbing which is usual at our gatherings.  Kids ran riot, dogs were underfoot and the noise level at times was deafening.

When it was all said and done, everything washed up and dried, toys tidied and put away, and tired nieces and nephews packed into cars and driven home, this is what I found arranged on my dusty shelves.....

this cowboy's rifle has seen better days!

Go Nicko you little champ!  You brighten my day little man!

Festival day

Yesterday the LOML and I went to the annual Languages and Cultures Festival held in the park in the middle of town.

I didn't realise how diverse the population of this region is - people from over 120 countries live here and more than 100 different languages are spoken.   I'm blown away!  I knew we had a lot of different cultures in our town but I didn't know it was that many - fantastic!  

I am acutely aware that some of our townsfolk don't like this diversity for one reason or another and show their dislike through both subtle and blatant forms of racism (unfortunately the LOML deals with this on a daily basis - for some reason these people seem to have the view that different equals bad) but they are the ones missing out.  The festival yesterday showed that.

It was a glorious day - the sun was out, the wind was gentle and the mood was just right for a festival!  There was dancing and singing and food and performances and displays and food and stalls and workshops and more food....!  I'm telling ya, I could have eaten my way around most of the world right there if only my stomach had more room!

I can't really pick my favourite part of the day - it was all great - though the Sudanese lunch we had was divine (couldn't tell you what it was but it was very yummmm!!!) and the smiles and laughter of the Saudi students were contagious!

I can't wait til the festival next year!

On My Mind: Not long now....!

Spring is coming!  Spring is coming!  Spring is coming!!!!

I am so excited (can't you tell?!).  Last year, the year of wet, spring didn't really eventuate.  Oh, I saw the sun a couple of days from September to December but it wasn't enough to really be classified as 'spring'.  It also wasn't nearly enough to boost my mood and make me shake the winter malaise.  And it certainly wasn't enough for me to consider trying to dry the sheets on the clothesline outside.

This year is shaping up to be better, normal almost - no, make that better than normal!  The weather started warming a couple of weeks ago and I started shedding layers - would you believe one day I even wore open toed shoes?  I know right!  Bare feet in July, it was almost unthinkable!  

And the trees are also shedding their layers.  Well, actually I don't know if that's the right description but they are bursting their buds and sending out leaves and flowers and buds and generally announcing to the world that they are not far from open and trading and ready for action!  It's glorious to see.

Right now is Ekka wind time.  That time of year, every year, when the Brisbane show signals the arrival of some bitterly cold westerly winds that remind us all that August still is a winter month, thank you very much, there'll be no jumper-less action on my watch!  

I find it amazing that the winds know when to start up - right on Ekka time - sometimes before, rarely after, but right on queue they whip up.  Regardless if Ekka starts on the 10th or the 17th of the month, that is the day the winds come.  Freaky.  So all the planned show stopping outfits of pretty summer dresses and short shorts have to be ditched in favour of jeans, boots, jackets and scarves (unless you are 16 in which case it is cool to be cold - necessary sacrifice for fashion and all!).

So welcome Ekka winds.  Knock yourself out, blow yourself silly.  Go crazy with it all.  This year I welcome you with open (and very rugged up) arms because your arrival signals your end and your end means spring is here and that is only ever a good thing!

Linking in with Down To Earth's Friday photo feature 'On My Mind'.....check it out and join in yourself!

Super C Day

Thursdays are Super C days.  

The one day of the week, every week, when I get to look after my newest (well, 7 months new) nephew while my SIL is at work.

I love Super C days.

Exhausting as they are (I don't have and am not having kids - hats off to you mums!) I look forward to them.  Watching him grow and change and learn new things each week is such a privilege and a blessing and I am so grateful to my SIL for letting me be a part of Super Cs little life.

Likewise I am incredibly grateful to my sister for letting the LOML and I be part of her kids' lives - we need our kid fix at least once a week to settle us down and remind us what is important.

I'm sure my sister and SIL don't fully understand my gratitude - for them any time we have their offspring is a chore-achieving-godsend for them I'm sure! - but grateful I am.  Getting to watch little minds learn new things, seeing teeth fall out and faces change, and getting to share the excitement of Christmas and birthdays and school awards, all without the burdens (burdens of love no less) of lack of sleep, projectile vomit, backchatting and red-cordial-induced-bouncing-off-walls spells Win-Win for me!

Buzzzzzziiiiiiinnnnnngggggg!

The time is 7:26am.

OMG imagine the buzz
if I'd had 2 full-sugar Vs!!!!

I have been awake (up and about) since 2:30am.

In that time I have consumed two sugar-free Vs and two pieces of toast with syrup, and driven 300km.

I give it two more hours before I crash and burn in a completely un-pretty way.

Sugar high (well actually, sugar-free-high), you have worked, and are still working, your magic just fine and dandy!!!  Thank you for keeping me alert on my drive home.

****

This morning the LOML had to be at the airport at 5am for a flight to Melbourne.  So it was a 3 hour round trip to drop him at the Brisbane airport and come home again.  He's away for only the one night, down and back for a big gift fair (wholesale delights for retailers around the country) and a look/see around Melbourne's Lebanese area (he's on the hunt for an Agileh - can't wait to pick up one when we're in Lebanon again next year - must have one NOW!).  Meanwhile, I'm holding the fort at this end (not today though - Miss K will work today for me at the shop).  

It was a great drive - no traffic on the road at all, not even any trucks which was surprising (maybe we were too early even for them).  Coming back through the city at 5:30am though was a different story.  I can't believe how quickly it built up and cars were lined up and travelling slowly through all the hot spots.  I mean, we did live there only 4 years ago so in my head I know what it's like but how quickly we forget.  Made me glad I was going the other way.

I was also reminded this morning of how beautiful the world is just before the sun comes up.  All mist and fog and soft light.  Made me wish I was a passenger with a camera in my hand just so I could share it with the world.

Once upon a time it was usual for me to be awake and functioning at this time of day.  But then I met the LOML, the biggest night owl ever, and changed my hours of operation.  These days bed time is somewhere between 11pm-1am (a really early night is classified as 10pm) and the alarm doesn't go off before 7:30am.  

We get quite a bit of ribbing from our friend Mr Paddy for that fact - our late starts.  A number of times he has rung at 6:30am and given us stick for not being up.  He somehow doesn't seem to realise that the opposite is true also - when he is heading for the sheets at 8:30pm, we are just getting started.  I wonder what he would say to a 10pm phone call....!

But anyway, today day shall be long and I daresay I shall accomplish a lot, what with all this ENERGY ripping through my system.  I think I might start with the washing, then the floors, then the garden, and then I might make a start on painting the house.....!!!!!

Hope your day is as buzzing as mine!!!!

Hip to be square

When I was thirteen, that bitch called puberty slapped me on the butt and said 'grow'.  

I'm a hippy girl.  I have been cursed blessed with hips that are just right for child-bearing (according to every woman I met as an adolescent).  Should children be on the cards, that would be wonderful news but as they are not....wasted on me.  If I did have kids though and childbirth was anything less than a dream, well, me and puberty would be having some serious words!

I make regular repeated and desperate attempts to decrease the size of my MAXIMUS-gluteous through vigorous exercise and strict control of the sugar consumption but I have to tell you, I appear to be losing the battle.  Weight has a funny way of going on to my hips and butt first, but coming off my waist/boobs/top half first.  Nothing funny about that.

So while the good news is that the exercise I've been doing lately (struggling out of bed on these cold winter mornings) is seeing me tone up and lose a few kilos, the bad news is that the jeans are still stretched taut (t---a----u----t) while the stretchy jumper is looking good.  Bastard.  

I mustn't give up though cos I will win in the end.   Surely I will?

In the meantime, I'll be the woman standing behind the counter/furniture/fernery wearing black bottoms with a bright cardi to draw your attention upwards Nigella style.....most likely I will also have big hair, you know, to balance it all out.  Cos that's what you do.