Help needed with breeds of chicks.

Been so busy and in my spare time instead of blogging I have been playing online scrabble, something new I saw on facebook recently. I have new chicks hatched. I bought fertile eggs , 12 light sussex and 12 barnevalders from one person and 18 bantam frizzles and 6 welsummers from another. (2 eggs were broken on arrival) Am pretty sure these are the light sussex chicks on the right(pale yellow fluffballs) What about the ones above? I believe so far I have 9 light sussex, 4 black frizzles and then there are 5 light gold chicks with little dark bits on them plus there are 6 multi coloured brown chicks. Any help appreciated please. I have not had any of these breeds before.

I incubated these at work (school) for students to learn about. I used my Brinsea auto which fits 24 eggs and ended up buying a hexbator which is manual. It was reasonably priced and seems to work well. I did come in one morning and found the lid off the auto incubator and the eggs were cold so the hatch rate has been poor from that one. On friday 6 chicks had hatched at work. By that evening I had 8 and Saturday morning saw 22!!

Will update more later on: including
dog attack /death of an alpaca
getting ready for the shows with alpacas
school excursion
daughter's travels (both girls)
Jas and Lily oh and scrapbooking..and vegie plantings

bye M x

Ponderings on Life

Finshed writing this and had no pics so here is one which is my desktop background at the moment. I regularly change them. This one was taken by a relative, either Roger or Sharon D when they visited from NSW last year. The alpacas were recently shorn and how was this, getting these ones all lined up. From left to right is our white stud male Iceman,)more affectionately known as Icey) Gustavo, a pet wether (Gussie), Titan , a guardian wether and Heraldo, grey stud male. Please note: if wishing to use pictures please ask for permssion first.


As I write this, I am yawning. I ask myself, why am I awake when I am on holidays and am not really a morning person? I actually enjoy it if I am up early and doing things with my animals when the weather is good , but I do find it hard to get up. Oh yes, I know why I am awake, because my other half has been SNORING HIS HEAD OFF! I have been awake listening to it, or more to the point, trying not to listen to it and after a couple hours, thought I may as well get up. Thankfully, it is not a regular occurrence.

Hopefully, I wont be feeling too tired as my friend Maree is coming round later and we are going to Richmond for a stroll and lunch. Ann, friend and work colleague will also be popping round later in the day for coffee. Let's do a quick run down of the week starting with eggs!

From Monday Sept 7 through to last Sunday Sept 13 the egg total was

28 eggs: from my 5 Isa brown girls and 2 white leghorns.

(Used to have more but they have gone on to chooky heaven and the same can be said for my silkies as well)

2 eggs: from 3 silkie girls (they haven't been laying much for awhile)

9 DUCK eggs: from my 2 Elizabeth ducks, Lizzie and Lucy!

The duck eggs has been exciting as this was the first week for eggs from them. They are a happy little recently acquired trio. On Tuesday Sept 8 I got the first duck egg, with another egg each for the following 2 days. Since then it has been 2 eggs each day. What good girls! I had never even tried duck eggs before! I made some biscuits with them. Jasmine, my grand daughter loved the biscuits and she has gotten to try duck eggs at a much younger age than I!

Friend Rose phoned and we shared our exciting news, my duck eggs and her spring buds on trees at her place! Simple things, you say but sometimes life is about appreciating the little things. Ha, my husband likes to joke about loving the simple things in life if I wear a red skirt similar to the one in the Special K ad on Television!!!

RIP for Patrick Swayze: Actor best know for Dirty Damcing and Ghost (Love both movies) who has passed awsy aged 57 from pancreatic cancer. he and his wife Lisa have been married for over 34 years which is impressive for celebrities.


Something unexpected happened this week. A long lost cousin of mine Elizabeth (formerly known as Deidree)contacted me on facebook. I only recently decided to include my maiden name for this exact purpose. Re the change of name, I have another cusin who did the same thing. Let's face it, we have our christian name all our lives, Someone gave it to us, but we own it. If we do not like something given to us, we may change or adjust it. Hence, changing to her middle name. I have another cousin whose given name was Mary. She changed it to her middle name of Christine.
Anyway, we got along just fine as kids and havent seen each other, losing contact when living in Sydney over 20 odd years ago. Elizabeth and her husband still live in Sydney. So we will pick up, where we left off :)


Had lunch on Monday with eldest daughter at The Metz in Sandy Bay. Easier when daughter works in town to pick her up and go somewhere not too far away. I had fish as per usual and she had a Thai beef salad. I don't eat meat , but 2 out of my 3 children do. I asked Laura from World in a pan for duck egg recipes. Thanks, if you are reading this Laura, though I only eat duck eggs, not ducks. I feel bad enough that I eat fish, but I do and I really enjoy it but have the guilt trip about eating a species. Sounds crazy I guess to people who don't understand it. As this was a Bon Voyage (she is off shortly overseas for 2 weeks) we both had afrogato for dessert, which normally we would not have. For those who do not know this is espresso coffee, ice cream and if you wish a shot of liqueur. I always have frangelico and she had kalua. Some places serve it together which I believe is the incorrect way. The Metz does it, as I like it, with each ingredient in an individual utensil. Then one can mix it or have it as you wish.

I have done some babysitting. Poor Lily had a cold but she still slept through the night and is such an easy baby. She recently turned one. We watched a kids movie on Saturday night with Jasmine and when she went to bed I read a book to her. The book had been given to my youngest girl on her 5th birthday. On grand final day this year, Sept 26th Krystal will be 25! Don't the years fly by! In the flea market ( $100 and under free ads in Monday's Mercury newspaper) this week I found a playpen and baby high chair quite cheaply. The playpen is in excellent condition whereas the high chair is basic but will do for our needs. We already have a folding cot so are prepared grandparents. Gosh, I have to say no one did that for us. My family lived in NSW, so miles away and his parents (Mother is still alive and father passed away around 15 years ago or so now) were not the babysitting kind. "We have raised ours already, why would we want to" was the comment I recall.I can understand it, if it is all the time. I often see grandparents being constantly used, forgetting that if they, the parents are tired, well how do the grandparents feel? In many cases the grandparents are much older than me. Each to their own, though it was hard for us with no support. Maybe, that is why things worked as we only had each other to rely on. When the kids were little we were in a babysitting club which worked well. Hours would be in credit or debit accoridng to how much sitting one had done or used. We had to use it if we both wanted to go to parent teach interviews together. In those days we certainly couldn't afford to go out much.

Anyway, we do not have the grandchildren that much and we are not used.


Decided to add in these pics, hey having Jas around means she and I can both play in the cubby house! In fact my daughter is very considerate and hates to ask. I have said , ask away. If I can, I will and if not , I will say so. Mind you since we moved to 'the farm' I am not as social as I used to be..too busy with work , alpacas and chickens!!! Then, we have our own babies, the dogs! Angus suffers separation anxiety. He and Kali were thrilled to go out for a car ride yesterday and help run some errands. We sold our car, an io pajero as we had bought a larger four wheel drive in order to tow. I will miss the little io as it was great to zip round town and had nothing wrong with it. banked the money, cancelled insurance, blah blah!

Speaking of insurance we are waiting for the hot house. We got a quote from a local chap for insurance rather than the mainland one the company had told us about. Try and support small local business when we can. The imsurance company are going to speak to them and see about ordering it for us. I do hope the next gale force winds don't blow this one down. It has also put me behind on my seedling raising. Lost most of what I had planted.

Must go..this is a bit dull with no pictures!!!
Ciao

Life and Ducks

****NEWSFLASH**** I now have Ducks!!!!


Today is one of those days where you count your blessings and wonder why life deals a raw hand to some. I went to the funeral this afternoon of a woman who has been battling ovarian cancer. I don't know her, only through what her son has said, as I am one of his high school teachers. He is a lovely boy, though very shy and often overwhelmed by class mates who are loud and boisterous. His primary school aged sister spoke at the funeral...seems like a beautiful family who should not have to suffer so. It certainly made me think about my own children and how blessed I am to see them grow up. I do hope this mum is in a place where she can watch over her family from above. I am sure she is. Life is so short, make the most of it.

I am on 2 weeks holiday, end of term 2. Unlike other Australian states Tassie still has 3 terms, whereas other states have four. I share an office with three colleagues, 2 were on flights to the mainland and another to the United States last Friday after work. Me, well I had drinks with some other work colleagues which isn't something I do very often. I may be able to rattle on here, and can be the life of a party, but there are times when I feel really uncomfortable in a group of people. Work(socially, not work relationships)tends to be one of those places, however on this occasion I enjoyed chatting and getting to know others better. It was a mad rush though afterwards to get home, feed animals and head out. Went to friends for a drink and nibbles and then off to Segretos, in North Hobart. Every time I have been there the meal has been good and I was not let down, In fact, it was just perfect, very enjoyable as was the company of good friends, Marion and Tony. Dessert was back at their place as Marion had made sticky date pudding,one of Tony's favourites for his birthday. Lovely way to start the holiday break!

I do have exciting news! I have ducks:) A couple of weekends ago I went to the rare breeds poultry show at the Hobart poultry shed at the showgrounds. The following day I went back for the auction. Wow, it was impressive! Very well supported, especially by mainland breeders and backyard enthusiasts.(for those who don't know:people who live in the island state of Tasmania refer to the rest of Australia as the mainland and people who live there as mainlanders). Great birds there but 3 Elizabeth ducks took my eye. Dr Harry had some great ducks in the auction but as I am new at ducks, they looked way too big for me to start with! The Elizabeth ducks are a trio of 2 ducklings and 1 drakling. They are quite pretty! My dear darling husband had told me not to come home with ducks(they make a mess etc etc) as I had been talking about them for awhile. Ha, once upon a time maybe but not now. I figure if ducks is something I want to try, then try I will and if I don't like it there are plenty of loving homes for them elsewhere. I also remind him he was the one who wanted land and so what can I say? Just call me Mrs McDonald!



I did bid on some chooks but the prices on some were more than I wanted to pay and I had set a limit, so just got my trio of ducks. I have named them Levi, Lizzie and Lucy. I am pleased to report that yesterday I got the first egg. Got another one today which is a better shaped egg! I need a better nesting area for them. I have asked Kim , using some existing structure ,to make a duck enclosure with pond. 30Th wedding anniversary is on the horizon and so he cant really refuse! He is quite the handyman. Keep posted for details on that when it happens.


We had high winds last week (Tuesday) and the result was my hothouse is no more and we lost several trees. Picture of intact structure was in April this year and then end of August shows what is left which Kim strapped to avoid any more flying debris. Once I got home from work I helped him dismantle and move what was left of the hothouse. The insurance company have been out to assess and I will update when I hear from them. I had only planted seeds in the last week or 2 prior to losing the hothouse. The seeds that were saved are in the shed and some of the lettuce are sprouting.




What else? well one afternoon we went for a walk round Lauderdale canal. Lauderdale is a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart. We took the dogs for a walk and saw ducks on the canal and really enjoyed the peace and serenity.


August saw cupcake day, a fundraising day for the RSPCA. I made some cupcakes (they really look better than the picture)! Made about five and a half dozen all up and I really enjoyed it. Didnt enjoy the cleaning up side though :(


Recently took Angus, our spoodle child to Dogs Business in Sandy Bay for grooming as he had gotten way out of control and looke dlike he had dreadlocks. See the before and after pictures. Mind you, the girl put ribbons in his ears but we took them out after this pic! Well, he didnt mind, but he is a boy! Also shown before grooming is Angus having a cuddle with Kali (terrier cross adopted from Dogs home.





Lily turned one in August. We had a family dinner at our place (Nana and Poppy) gee I am not even that old..but makes me feel old:)! Trouble was Lily had eaten a bit of this and a bit of that and then had a bottle and up it all came, like a torrent. Yes, you guessed it, of course it was all over Nana! She felt much better after that! (Lily is the younger of 2 girls..her mum is Melanie, my eldest)

Fathers Day on Sunday was at son Peter's place which was great cos we didnt have any cooking or cleaning to do! Well I took over an egg and potato salad and something for the bbq. Kathryn, my son's lovely partner of ten years (since they were 15) gave me yummy treats for the chooks! Our dogs came also so they could play with Chloe, Peter and kathryn's 'baby' who is a gorgeous purebred golden labrador. They also have Willow (white) and Giles (brown) cats who are brother and sister.

The night before we met with friends for a great meal and also talked about our upcoming 30th wedding anniversary party which some friends are helping to organise.
Younger daughter Krystal has made and organised all the party invites! Good news there as she has a new job and starts next week. She is nearly finished her business degree and has been working at an accountancy firm. She is now moving on to work for a large travel agency. She is off to Melbourne for training to start with and she is looking forward to the new challenge.

Yesterday Rog and Thel came over to talk more about the party as they are helping with organsing and cooking. When they arrrived I had just finished cleaning out the ducks pen and as it was wet and muddy I was dressed accordingly, not the best look :) Anyway we made plans and had a great afternoon. The party is going to be so much more than the wedding (5 people at a registry office, ahh will tell it another time,,,)
Ciao

Escaping into other worlds: JOY of BOOKS

Yesterday after I finished work we took the dogs for a walk in Bellerive, a beachside suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart. We parked the car at the beach and walked around the nearby streets. It was too cool and breezy to walk directly along the beach. I enjoyed it as much as the dogs, Angus and Kali. Unfortunately, with wet weather today the dogs missed out. I was in too much of a rush to get home and help Kim put the alpacas into sheds for the night. We rarely do that but as it has been wet of late with a sheep graziers alert and wind expected it is best to be safe than sorry. Alpacas can get chilled if they dont dry out as unlike sheep they do not have lanolin in their fleece.

I have just finished reading 2 very different books. Finally..got time toread orshould I say, made the time. I found Year of Wonders written by Geraldine Brooks fascinating. It was recommended to me by our school librarian. It isnt what I would normally read and it is quite some time since I read any historical fiction. I also do not tend to read books that make me feel sad. For instance I get distressed if I read stories of people or animals being mistreated or just very tragic events. When I read I put myself there as a bystander and I have such a good imagination I can envisage the scenes before me as the books unfolds. Believe me, I am there.

This book is set during the time of the plague in a village in England. Despite the bleakness there were rays of light and illumination at times. I also learnt a few things. It was obvious that a sennight was measuring of time but I had not heard of it. Turns out a sennight is the seven phases of the moon, so in essence one week. The term fell into disuse with the word week being easier to use. I didnt know that. I appreciate learning new things, even something so small. The more I learn , the more I realise how little I know. Where does it matter in the scheme of things...it just fascinates me. Do you know what a purl is and I am not referring to a style of knitting or a ewer or a brank? The same author has written another book I have read called Nine Parts of Desire which is about Islamic women. I bought that book and read it some tme ago but didnt click it was by the same author till today. Duh! Year of Wonders was borrowed but because I was fascinated by it I may need to consider buying it.

The other book I have recently read is Seven Seasons in Aurukun. I read an article on it in The Sunday Tasmanian (The Mercury newspaper) and so, as it took my fancy, bought the book. It is about teaching in a remote aborginal community in far north Queensland. As a teacher I thought it would be interesting to read. Nothing really surprised me in the book but I admire those who try to make a difference and despair at how much work still needs to be done. Alcohol seems to be such a problem and the issue of hungry dogs roaming the street keep poppping into my mind. The excursion into the bush was successful because kids love hands on practical opportunities. When I read that I felt so limited with what I can offer, especially for my Animal Studies classes, due to finances.

Actually, while I think of it another book I loved reading is called The Historian written by Elizabeth Kostova. One could call it an Historical thriller. Want to know mroe then read about it at Wikipedia but do not read too much if you are interested as it gives away the entire story! Same for Year of Wonders I so wish I could time travel, on the other hand, why on earth would I want to travel to a village beset with the plague.

Anyway, nice to have finally been able to escape into a book. TIme..time,...need more time...
Ciao

Where did July go?

Been spending too much time on work. Now reports are done and parent teacher interviews are over and this week it is exams for the senior students. Then there will be marking the exams and count down to a 2 week holiday break before the last term of the year. Then there is Facebook, which at times, I get on, read what friends/family are doing and play a word challenge game. So, sadly I have neglected my blog. I have just spent some time catching up on the blogs of others..

Now to mine: The pictures shown were taken on Saturday afternoon on my mobile phone in a suburb called Lindisfarne which is on the eastern shore of Hobart. The weather was balmy, well I was wearing jeans and boots but NO coat so it was balmy and I was happy! I suggested to my other half that a walk with the dogs would be in order. They get taken to different areas, though get excited if going in a direction they have gotten to know. We decided on walking around this area which we havent done with the dogs before. They were in heaven, all those new smells! I felt happy seeing the blossoms and look forward to spring being on its way. Winter with snow on the mountain is pretty and there are great fashions to wear ( I have some nice selections of boots and coats in particular) but I am NOT a winter girl. I prefer the warm sun on my skin, gives a spring to my step and a smile on my face. Walking past one house I spied 2 ducks, one of which was making a nice little nest in the sun. Across the road is Lindisfarne Bay which is where the ducks are usually!

After returning with the dogs eldest daughter dropped in with her 2 little ones for a short visit. Whilst Mel had a coffee , Jasmine was out playing in the cubby and Lily who is nearly one showed us how mobile she now is!

Saturday night we went out to dinner to Waxed, a nice restaurant in Gregory St, Sandy Bay. Caught up with some friends,..,at one stage we all had vans onsite at Swansea, on the East Coast of Tasmania. Things changed, as they do, but the memories I will always cherish of great times in Swansea with friends, some past, some still present and one special one who has passed away. Glad we went out, have been getting into the habit this winter of staying in and watching Rock Wizz on SBS and then Foyle's War on the ABC. Taped Foyle's war, still have that to watch.


What else since I last wrote
I flew over to the mainland and went to a PINK concert. She was amazing...would turn gay for her ;) She is quite an entertainer. I went to the concert with my sister Monika and her daughter Zoe.

Monika took me into her favourite vintage store. She had some great buys from there including a gorgeous black fake fur coat. There in the window on a mannequin was the most amazing cream coloured long coat. I dont have to tell you I bought it. I was told the lady who brought it in had been a dancer, was getting on in years etc and had brought in some really amazing one off pieces. Whether that is true or not I like it:) Monika and I felt like a million dollars sitting in our coats on the train travelling across the city! It doesnt sound like a big deal but it was for me, a really good experience. We did not grow up together, in fact we grew up on opposite sides of the world for the best part of our chilhood and young adulthood. Has only been in recent years we have bridged the gap. Anyway,I have since worn the coat when on duty at lunch time on the oval and after I assured students I would never wear animal fur one asked me was I a millionaire as I looked like one! I said the coat makes me feel good and I was imagining I was walking along the street in Paris instead of being at work! Last time I wore the coat was Saturday night out at dinner, as mentioned above. Best $150 ever spent! Whilst visiting Monika,I enjoyed seeing her portfolio of work. She is a talented artist and has sketched/painted some of my alpacas.

Speaking of Vintage stores I have also visited the one I frequent in South Hobart. Mary is thinking of changing the name of the store from Merrylands to Boho in Soho My eye was drawn to a mannequin dressed in a very bohemian style dress with short jacket over the top. I bought them and have been referred to as a gypsy girl when wearing the outift. I bring in the waist with a wide band. Will take a pic sometime.



Also took 2 alpacas we sold to a lovely family in Launceston. We sold katrine who is pregnant to Heraldo, our grey boy, and her female cria born earlier this year whom we named White Socks. We need to at least halve our herd. They travelled up well and have joined a family who have a few alpacas already as pets. The couple have six children aged from 17 to 5 and I know Katrine and White Socks will enjoy their life with them. The photos show them leaving in our alpaca trailer then after arrival in Launceston. After chatting with the new owners and waving goodbye to our babies, well theirs now, we went around the street and had lunch with friends, Ray and Yvonne. It was a pleasant afternoon and I enjoyed some of Ray's tales and checking out all the beautiful birds that Yvonne keeps, not to mention the lovely lunch.



These are pics of a recently built alpaca shelter. The alpaca in shot is known as Gus or Gussie though his official name is Morning Star Gustavo. Morning Star is the herd prefix of his breeders and they named him Gustavo. He is a wether and one of the first alpacas we bought. He is kept as a pet and is in with another wether and one of our male sires.

We went out for Kim's birthday which is a tradition with some friends of ours, though we were sorry to miss Maree's big birthday bash which was on the same night and must catch up with her soon. On the Sunday we had a lunch/afternoon tea at home with our kids and their partners.

Am now in the process of organising a big wedding anniversary bash in October. Sent Krystal (youngest daughter) the list on excel and she is going to write them up and get them out which is great, otherwise it might never happen. We were at her place yesterday as Kim did his usual dad thing and hung her new wooden blinds in their loungeroom. She and Luke were then off to choose a nice rug for their floor to set the room off which looks great after they have painted it.

Son Peter has been very ill. First it was a pneumothorax (spelling?) which caused a lot of chest pain for him. As it cleared he got a chest infection and this was followed by more pain and sore throat etc. He had two weeks sick leave then had to take a week of annual leave. Who wants to take annual leave and be so sick? Also had the worry of waiting for results on a lump in his neck but thankfully it was all gland related. At least the doctor was taking no chances. He is back at work this week but it will take some time for him to feel 100%.

Lost a black silky hen yesterday, she was getting old but had a happy life. I am about to go and check th eothr one that was in with her and make sure she is ok.
Ciao

I need more TIME

It has been awhile! Time flies by, events happen and I want to get on here and blog but then something else happens or as is the case at the moment, I have been too busy writing reports for work.

Last night I was at work proofreading class teacher reports so I didnt leave till around 5.15pm, along with friend and work colleague Chris. We had planned to go out for a bite to eat but as we arrived back at her place and her son was cooking, we stayed in for a meal. He is one great cook! He works at a restaurant called Segrettos in North Hobart. His food was excellent and I didnt have to pay for it! After a couple glasses of red Chris and I headed to the backspace theatre to support one of our fellow teachers (dance and drama) who is quite a theatrical expert. He has been involved with production and direction of several plays and shows. This one he directed was called The Christian Brothers. Whilst it was not really my cup of tea and brought back some memories which belong in the past, I appreciated the work and effort that had gone into it. Chris then came back to my place for coffee and more chat. A very pleasant evening indeed!

I had an interesting experience this morning. I went 'tracking'in the bush with an expert. We werent far from the city but I felt like I was in a different world. Birds called and they were identified for me, scats were seen and I was told from what animal they came from..it never ceases to amaze me how little I know and how much information we all can share with each other.

Last week I met Tony, introduced to me as TC by a couple of my grade ten Animal Study students. He met the Principal, had a chat with me..quite a long chat... and his knowledge of wildlife just blows me away. The downside, well there isnt one aside from the fact the man is a Collingwood supporter. I have several good friends..another chap also named Tony , John Y, Ralph, my son's girl Kathryn,..and they are all Collingwood supporters. For those who do not know AFL (Aussie Rules Football)is what I am talking about and my team Carlton are arch rivals of Collingwood!

I really enjoyed the trek. We found frogs but being in the depths of winter there were no snakes in sight. We found evidence of devils, echnidas, wallabies, possums and skinks. Trek went for about three hours and then Tony visited my place. I am going to organise an invitation only for students to visit. A group of girls are interested in learning how to halter train alpacas so they can do that, others can enjoy the opportunity to see a variety of animals, including wild rabbits, native hens, wallabies and eastern rosellas. Will also be doing an inventory of what can be found on the land at my place. Tony saw evidence of Bettongs in the bush section, which I was unaware of.

He is currently involved in setting up a Wildlife Centre and is offering 2 of my students a traineeship. These boys are passionate about it and their knowledge is quite good. One of them is not suited to mainstream schooling and has some issues, yet in my class he enjoys the subject and behaviour is not an issue. Maybe this is because I treat him, as I treat all people I meet, with respect. It is clearly returned and yet he continually fails to have success in some other classes. I have had difficulties with students also and sometimes no matter how hard one tries we cant all be successful. Two girls, a couple of years ago in their final week of high school came and said goodbye to me. They told me they liked me because I treated them like real people. My reply to them was "Well, you are real people." I have to say, it makes one think though, doesnt it? It is a tough job teaching and not everyone is suited to it. Like everyone else I am still learning, as we all do, every day. Then, there are some, who do not want to listen to others, to look at how it could be done a different way, because at the end of the day teaching is one heck of a role and we need to be open to learning too. Why? Teachers are the facilitators and it is our job to engage a student in wanting to learn. A good start is the proverb
A harsh word stirs up anger, a soft word turns away wrath. Encouragement, praise and above all, respect. We cant teach it, if we dont model it. Well, that's my opionion anyway.

Last weekend I had some friends over, good party, good fun. Down side: A friend leant on my dining table which is marble topped and the table snapped right across. Our insurance company would have covered it, if it was made from glass or wood but nope, you guessed it, NOT marble because of its natural flaws. So the table remains propped up with two stools and books holding up the broken end. It has also put pressure on the other end and that is cracking. It remains to be seen as to what can be done about it.

Weekend before I went out on the Saturday and did a spot of shopping and met up with my girls. Sunday we visited friends for afternoon tea and admired their part finished kitchen reno. I made date and lemon scones; recipe fromm master chef website.

Previous to that was placing the cubby house bought at an auction. it is adorable and Jasmine and I enjoyed playing in it.


Other news: Hot tub, only recently purchased has got a leak so the part is being replaced. I really miss not being able to de stress in it. They were supposed to ring about it yesterday, but of course that didnt happen. Hopefully, wont have to wait too long.

Krystal did very well in her uni exams and is about to hit the town to celebrate!

I won the footy tipping at work last week. Still waiting for my winnings, all of five bucks! I have won before and am second on the ladder at this stage.

Last week I went out for dinner with five other girls for a birthday.We have been meeting for birthdays for quite some time.Usually it is afternoon tea out but for a special birthday we go to a restaurant. Mind you, every birthday should be special! We all had kids at primary school in the same class. I might add I am the youngest in the group! Went to an Indian place which is not my favourite by any means. I dont eat a lot of spicy food but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the meal. I also enjoyed listening to Rae share her recent exploits on holiday to South America. She then informs me she ate alpaca and it was quite nice, a cross she said between beef and lamb. She also went to one place in Peru where one could enter a room full of guinea pigs and choose which one you would like to eat. All I could think about was the guinea pigs we have with my Animal Study classes and how much the kids love them. The mother Ruby had six babies. Three have gone to their homes with another one going on Tuesday. I am keeping Ruby and a little female guinea pig Jasmine named Lucy. We have one baby guinea pig to find a home for as well as the dad, named Jaffa.

Ciao

Cooking and Produce

Today I made the yummiest pumpkin soup ever! Click for the recipe I left out
the onion. I find in some dishes it doesn't pose a problem and in others I get an upset tummy and cant be too far away from the bathroom (yep, I know , too much information!!!) I wish I could work out how to know when I can use onion and when I cant in recipes. One assumes some ingredients will offset the acidity but these days I just avoid onion most of the time. The recipe is so simple and I have to say it was delicious due to the pumpkin used. I grew it in our garden so need I say more! I have several more pumpkins and my next recipe to try is Roasted Pumpkin and Spinach Risotto I also have spinach growing in my garden!

I am a fan of Master Chef and I believe it has revived an interest for me in cooking, actually for both of us. A blog I love has also revived interest in cooking for me..check out A World in a Pan which is well worth reading, recipes aside.


On Friday I spent a good part of the day with my younger daughter who is unwell. On the way home I rang Kim suggesting I pick up something at a favourite Italian pizza and pasta place (Napoletana in Bellerive) Hubby informed me as it had been pouring rain and he could not work outside he had been cooking. He had homemade chicken soup, curried scallop mornay (which Kim put into pie pastry bases but no lid,,using a piemaker) .and had also made some jam drop biscuits. Wow, how about that! This was just as well because friend Roger rang and suggested he and Thel might pop in for a drink and a bite to eat,,,they had some vegetarian quiche with them and some wine! Turned into a lovely evening all round.

On Sunday I popped round to visit younger daughter and see how she was and also had a coffee with my son and his partner before heading back home. While I was gone, Kim made a bench I had asked for to put in the green house using items we had. So great to be able to reuse and recycle! I was able to put some of my indoor plants that are looking a bit sad on it plus am growing some succulents which one can do from using their leaves.


On the opposite side I have planted mini broccoli and mini cauliflower: have never grown the mini variety before. I think they are looking pretty good! It is handy in the greenhouse to have one section to plant veggies etc and then use the rest for pots. Still learning as so new at all of this(any suggestions for what I can grow in the greenhouse would be most welcome.) Kim, of course, was the handyman who made the bed for me and erected the greenhouse. A previous post elsewhere talks about the greenhouse and why I bought it. Came from ebay and quite a lot cheaper than any other place. Kim did have to reinforce parts of it as we nearly lost some of the sheets when we had strong winds. He also added the door latch as the door used to come ajar due to wind. I didn't want to see wallabies getting in there or the chooks when they are free ranging and having a field day with my plants!

The outdoor veg garden has only got several varieties of lettuce and silverbeet/spinach growing in it at the moment. Look forward to spring when one can put in more veggies. Kim doesn't even eat spinach..I love it and so do my chooks!
Ciao