I Thought I Saw Ol' Man Winter

I thought I saw Ol' Man Winter arrive on the train last week. Just a glimpse of him, in amongst the people on the platform hurrying about their business. I thought I recognised his hat, pulled down tightly over his head with his scarf wrapped high up around his ears.

I thought I saw him carrying his big suitcases, packed with everything that winter brings - the rain, the wind, the cold, the nights that steal away the afternoons before you have time to notice.

But.... it seems I was mistaken. Day two of winter and he still hasn't arrived. His train is now two days late. I am sure it will be here any day soon and he will step onto the platform with one hand on his hat, his scarf blowing in the icy wind.

In anticipation of his arrival I have prepared the house with extra blankets, socks and jumpers and have dusted off my number one tool of defence.... the slow cooker.


...... and although it is only 3.07 in the afternoon, that damn smell drifting through the house is enough to make me rip the lid off and gorge myself on it now!!!!!

Who invented these damn things anyway.....................?

Re-Using Success.

I still have a lot of plastic in my cupboards.

I have been making a real effort to re-purpose a lot of it because I don't think there is any sense in just throwing it all into landfill. It defeats the purpose.

Slowly but surely I have been changing over some of the storage containers in my cooking cupboard, a cupboard I have above my main prep area so I can just reach up and grab everything I need.
The large glass jars are from buying coffee in bulk and the smaller jars are from local oysters. They have a plastic lid unfortunately, but I still like to re-use them.

I have labeled the jars very simply with a permanent texta.

I enjoy opening the cupboard and looking at all the cooking supplies. I can see at a glance what needs to be topped up, often from a bigger supply in the pantry. I especially enjoy decanting the farmer's market honey into my little pour bottle which makes it easier to manage and easier to pour out a little for a cup of tea or to add to a recipe. I also like having my spices in bigger containers because I use so much of them.

But most of all I love the fact that the containers are NUDE. There are no brand names, no bold colours and no in your face slogans. It makes me feel all 'Little House on the Prairie -ish' LOL or maybe even a bit 'Waltons-ish' - knowing I can send John Boy to the store for a pound of sugar any time soon!

- Gotta love a spoon full of madness each and every day.

Garden Update

JOY !

{CLICK} {CLICK} Hello .... Are You There ?

Gremlins have been in my system!

The first few times I had emails asking me to give 'permission' to read my blog, I thought they had me confused with somebody else!

Then more emails came...... then more...... then more.......

It seems I somehow defaulted to a 'permission only' blog that would default back, even though I would untick the box.

Anyway........ enough of all that boring tech stuff.

I am just popping my head in to say the following:

- hello

- no I haven't abandoned you

- thank you to all the concerned emailers. Sorry I can't answer each of you individually, but take this as a collective {hug}.

- and most importantly..............................

holy crap - check out those crows feet in that untouched photo. I could sit here for four hours and 'photoshop' them out, then again I could post the photo as is, for all the world to see and claim them as a trophy of a life well lived and know that they came about after chasing two beautiful boys around the place.

So.... if you can read this..... send me some lovin' via comment or email so I know that you can read me loud and clear.

What To Do On A Dreary Day ?

It was such a dreary, miserable raining grey day. I just had to search out some colour to brighten up my world.

So, when it's rainy and dreary - what do you do ? You jump in the car and drive up to the lighthouse and run around like mad people because it is so windy and cold and everyone is hyperactive and the wind somehow gives you permission to yell and scream and let out all the energy that builds up when a storm is approaching.

Don't you love this mural ?

As the rain eases and the sun breaks through you get back into the car and drive home like a 'normal' family and become 'normal' and refined and well behaved once again.

You drive back up the driveway and the neighbours will never know how crazy you all really are.

Friday Night = Pizza Night

We always whip up some yummy pizzas on Friday nights. It is much quicker than driving to town and picking them up or having them home delivered. Last time we had pizzas home delivered we were SO disappointed with them because we are TOTALLY spoiled after having home made ones for so long now.

The basic dough recipe is:

1 cup plain flour
1 cup of self raising flour
pinch of salt
rounded teaspoon of yeast
teaspoon of honey
1 cup of lukewarm water.

Because we try and make most of our meals low GI, I double this recipe and use a mix of wholemeal flours - so that's 1 cup of wholemeal plain flour, 1 cup of white plain flour then the same with the self raising flour.

There's nothing fancy to the method. I mix all the dry ingredients together before pouring in the water and roughly combining it with the other ingredients. Then I just let it sit for a while - sometimes ten minutes sometimes an hour - just depends on how side tracked I get! lol You can see when the yeast has done it's job because it roughly doubles in size.

I then plonk it onto a floured surface and tumble it around a little - I won't say kneed because there is not really a lot of effort involved. I cut it into three and roll them out to the size of the round pizza trays. I use olive oil on the trays and then hammer the bases with a fork to allow the heat to penetrate through when cooking.

Depending on how thick you like your pizzas you could make more or less. I make one thick pan style with just olive oil, herbs and tomato paste for son number one. Son number two and I share a thick base and then I make Hubbie's a thinner one.

Next we start chopping up the 'whatever' to go on the top. Last night I had king prawns, coriander, basil, chicken, pineapple and onion. Let me say ...... yum yum yum !!! ( Mine is the left hand side of the pizza on the right)

The pizza on the left is Hubbie's. He is a chili freak and he has various versions of homegrown chili, capsicum, olives, pineapple, onion, salami etc etc. His chili is so potent he has to have a separate chopping board, knife and other tools. I also make him put his on the bottom shelf of the oven so there is no contamination dropping onto my pizza!!

They take about 12 minutes to cook in a very hot oven.

We look forward to Friday nights. Some nice music, a glass of wine and the feeling of accomplishment when you sit down to these little beauties knowing that everyone has given a helping hand.

Our Grandparents Never Went to the Gym

Can you imagine trying to set up a gym or fitness centre in 1940. You would have to convince people that it was of benefit to them to come in and use the equipment.

I can imagine a farmer being told to get onto the treadmill so he can walk to get some exercise. He’d be saying – he get his exercise in the paddock thanks!

What about the gardener. She would be told to get on the weights machine, but she would argue that she gets enough of that pulling weeds and digging potatoes.

What about the woman told to jump on the bicycle to ride her way to fitness, she’d be saying that there was no point in doing that because she just rode four miles to get here on her own bicycle and still has the return journey ahead of her!

Yes, I agree with you that the 1940’s gymnasium would be a total flop!!

But, as a 2010 girl I have a gym membership. We have a community owned aquatic and leisure centre about half way between my house and town.

Sure, I could get my exercise walking in the paddocks, digging potatoes and riding my bicycle like they did in 1940, but there is one big difference. They never allowed do get themselves overweight in the first place.

Have you noticed when looking back at old photos and hearing people’s recollection that very few people were overweight ? I believe it is a combination of an active lifestyle and limited food variety and quantity.

Today we lead a more sedentary lifestyle and have an abundance of food all around us, and like any cow on a good pasture we are bound to add a few kilos each year until you hit middle age and ........... Last week I read that obesity is now the biggest health problem in Australia and is responsible for all kinds of preventable diseases and conditions.

If exercise was a pill it would be a wonder drug. It reduces stress, makes you feel very very happy, reduces blood pressure, corrects type 2 diabetes, makes for strong hearts, great skin, hair and nails. Who wouldn’t buy a box of that pill ?

So. Quite ironically I drive to the gym to get on the exercise equipment. One of the trainers told me I am close enough to ride my bike there and back, which I am… but if I rode my bike there, I wouldn’t have to go inside!!! ( That’s my logic …..and I am sticking to it for now!)

Is it worth the money ? I think so because I use it almost every day so the actual cost of each visit is less than a cup of coffee and I feel so damn good after a class. Today during a bodypump class with the music blaring I had a massive rush of endorphins and could barely stop myself from yelling out ‘damn…yeah!’ as I threw that weights bar over my head.

You can check out all about bodypump here.

A Day In The Life Of.....

A friend and reader of my blog gave me a very stern talking to the other day. She said I am not updating my blog enough. I explained to her that my excuse, um I mean reason, was that I have been so busy living the life that blogging about the life had not been taking such a priority.

I do understand where she coming from though. I am always looking forward to the next post of some of my favourite sites as well. I have enjoyed the new frequency with which Libby blogs and I love that she writes about her ups and her downs and makes the rest of us feel so normal !

So, just for my friend and blog reader ( you know who you are!) I will write a post detailing all the in and outs of a day in my life. Switch off now for those of you who may be totally bored with this, lol.

Saturday 10th April.

I got out of bed at 4.30am and snuck into my office for some quiet time. I read, updated my list of what I was going to do for the day, downloaded some photos and checked my menu plan and shopping list.

Once the sun was up I got ready and went for a walk down along the river bank and watched a lonely rower make a small but rhythmic wake along the water. When I got home I did some weights.



After a shower and some breakfast I made beds, vacuumed rooms, did all the washing and tidied the kitchen. My eldest son helped me vacuum.

Next I went to IGA supermarket for some groceries and came home and baked cup cakes.





After hanging out all the washing on the line ( it was a perfect drying day) I came inside and set a timer for 15 minutes then I put my feet up and had a little power nap to revive me because I had started so early in the morning.

Once the timer went off I sprung back into it again.

I finished doing a few jobs round the house, said goodbye to the boys who were going off to ride their scooters and organised myself ready to go to a scrapbooking workshop.

I had stopped going to workshops for a little while, but found that I didn't devote enough time to really keeping my albums up to date. I love to record our family story and write letters to the boys about photos I have taken of them.



Here's a photo from my youngest son's album. He was a scooter freak even way back then!
So after a couple of hours of chatting and cutting up pieces of coloured paper for therapy I headed home.

The place where the workshop is held is way over the other side of town. I always take the back road home because it is a dirt track through farming land and I dream of what it would be like to live out there.




It's about 5.30pm when I get home and I make some pasta for dinner while the boys play ball games in the front yard. I call them in for a bath and notice that their feet are so black they have to take to them with a scrubbing brush! School holidays always means no shoes and lots of play!



Hubbie and I sit down to some cheese and biscuits and a glass of wine and then we all have dinner.

The boys go to bed and read/ play. The youngest one camps in the eldest boy's room when it is a weekend or school holidays. On school nights he sleeps in his own room because they giggle and fool around and don't get much sleep otherwise!



We sit down to watch a DVD. At the moment we are watching ( and loving!) the BBC's series, Life on Mars. I fall asleep while I am getting a lovely foot massage. When the end credits roll I wake up and hop into bed. By this time it is about 9.30pm and I am asleep before my head hits the pillow, ready for another bright and early morning.

An Early Riser

I am an early riser. Sometimes it is ridiculously early. Sometimes I am rising when others are just blowing out the lamp for the evening.


I wake naturally. I haven’t had an alarm clock for years. Somehow, I seem to have a built in one.

It wasn’t always this way, in fact, I used to be the complete opposite. When I was at uni the first time they ran evening exams and my housemate and I became completely nocturnal for a period of time! Then.... there was the time I overslept for a maths exam and bolted out the door ( thank goodness I had fallen asleep fully dressed) and was then told that I had the imprint of the electric blanket wires in the side of my face!!!!


But, alas that was almost 20 years ago (gulp!) and somehow I survived the lack of sleep and somehow managed to get a degree or two and somehow pick up a husband and a couple of children on the way to here. ... somehow.....

In between all of that I have lived at both ends of each 24 hour period. I have stayed up very late and I have gotten up very early. For me, the rising early habit really works.


1) I function better, no really.... a LOT better when I have had great sleep. When I don’t get enough sleep I not only lack energy, but my brain fogs over.


2) Quiet, uninterrupted morning time. Whether you use this time for meditation, reading, blogging or just sitting.....the peace and still of the morning really centres you.


3) No rush: getting up early means having enough time to eat a proper breakfast, snuggle with the family, think through your day, get ahead with some housekeeping jobs to free up extra play time etc


4) Seeing the sunrise is a powerful moment. That clear reminder that today is a new day and that everything is fresh and ready to start again. ( contrast this with the buzz of an alarm clock and rush rush rush.....)

Do you want to become an early riser ?

Try these tips.

Go to bed earlier – read if you need to wind down.

Make slow and steady changes, try 15 minutes earlier every second day.

Do something ‘lovely’ with your new time so that getting up early becomes a treat not a punishment.

Read up on the health benefits of getting sufficient sleep

http://www.abc.net.au/health/minutes/stories/2009/04/06/2532293.htm


Are you an early riser ? If you are a night owl, would you say you are productive or have 'quality' time in the evenings ? Have you tried to become an early riser ?

"She rises whilst it is yet night and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens" - prov 31:15

This Home Made Life

I have really enjoyed the last few days. I have been busy baking, making and gardening up a storm.

Today I came to realise how 'normal' these things are for us now.

On Friday I made a huge batch of washing powder. As I was grating up the soap I watched "Harp in The South" on my laptop. This is a beautiful Australian story about a poor family living in Surrey Hills Sydney in the 1940s. As I was grating away I felt like Olivia Walton making butter on the front porch while Grandma knitted!

Friday night is pizza night and we do it so often now that we can slap together a batch of beautiful half plain/ half wholemeal with the toppings that each person wants before you can even find the number of your local delivery boy!

On Saturday we made fettuccine that was so damn yummy I had a dream about it and could have easily made some for breakfast on Sunday! Because we have our own eggs, this fresh and tasty pasta only cost us 27 cents to feed the four of us !!!

Sunday was of course the Sunday roast and the weekly apple pie to go with it.

I also managed to plant some garlic, lettuce, onions and carrots.

Soon I will make another batch of homemade soap and this time I would like to have a go at making a liquid hand soap.

I am loving this home made life.

Paper Crafting Distraction

I needed some major distraction on Saturday afternoon. So I paper crafted like a woman possessed!

My youngest son went for his first sleepover. He was so excited that he was finally old enough to be let out! He turns nine in May.

I was excited for him as well. He was acting super grown up and playing it really cool. As he marched out the front gate with barely time for a cuddle and for me to spit on a hankie and wipe his little face like the embarrassing mother that I am - he was off!!

I was........ lost..... reflective maybe ? Can't quite explain it, just a little .......... delicate perhaps.

So, what better way to distract oneself that cracking out some coloured paper, some good wine and some great music.
These are some of the cards I made. You can see more of them at my stamping site www.splendidstamping.com

Do you want to know something really funny (?).......

When my eldest son went to Sydney for the first time on a school excursion it was the day of the major dust storm that brought Sydney to it's knees. So, you could imagine how I felt when I packed the youngest boy off to one of our local beach suburbs and they announced the tsunami warning for that area ! LOL

Coloured paper....... red wine..... loud music........ {thank goodness for the distraction}

Indulgent Ironing

Have you heard about the latest craze ........? Indulgent ironing!!

Okay, so it may not be the latest craze, but as it's originator I am doing my damnest to turn the world around and spread the craze of indulgent ironing.

It is simple really, all you need is a great DVD, podcast, CD or radio program and all your ironing paraphernalia. Then, iron away.... mindlessly off in a meditative state.... enjoying your movie, music or lecture.

I am always on the lookout for good ironing material. Often I podcast episodes from ABC Radio National, or borrow DVD's from the town library ( at the moment I have Singing In The Rain). But.... my latest indulgence is to record episodes of 'I Dream of Jeannie' and 'Bewitched' and meditate away in the 1960s houses that are depicted in those shows.

Oh...... the luxury of it all............... a perfectly ironed hankie and some nostalgia.

Last week when I was out and about I was talking to a woman who brought up the fact that she detests ironing! I launched into a starry eyed lecture about how indulgent it truly was and how it is so lovely to have some relaxation time with your favourite show whilst making a perfect, crease free pillow case.....

..... she replied ' Good! I'll supply the DVD and you can do my ironing!'

Oh dear! There are clearly two groups of people in this world.......... the sane and the insane.

I will leave it to you to decide where I sit. lol

The Jam Stick

Can you see the 'jam stick' in this picture ? It has such a history.

My grandmother gave it to me a couple of years ago. The story is that when she was making jam on the farm one day a visitor noticed that the spoon she used was too short and she often burnt her hand.

The kind visitor went down the paddock got a piece of wood and crafted a new, longer handled jam stirrer and gave it to her. She used it for many many years.

Here I am, some sixty years later, using it again - bringing it back to life. I use it as a spatula in my mix master. I love the long handle.

I am not sure what type of wood it is, it is so weathered now - but still quite strong.

Not long ago, hubbie and I were fooling around in the kitchen comparing our favourite cooking items. His consists of an old frypan with no handle that he uses to make a perfect omelette ( so perfect in fact that he brings the pan, held in a tea towel, into my office to show me just how clever he is!), and an old scraper that he says he is going to pot rivet back together because 'they just don't make them like this anymore'.

Mine consists of the mix master ( an anniversary present about three years ago), an old spoon and the jam stick. You can read about the spoon here

All of our favourite cooking utensils were really old! I guess Hubbie is right ... they just don't make them like they used to!

You know what is really sad though....... when we were studying the jam stick the other day, Hubbie smelt it and said......

........ 'it smells like Nanna's kitchen '

. ...... and I smelt it ...............

.....and it does .............

Vintage Hankies

Looking at these handkerchiefs all freshly washed and crisply ironed I am reminded of their place throughout history.

There was a time when one would never leave the house without a freshly pressed hankie in one's pocket. A hankie was more than just a tissue, it was seen as an item of fashion and, particularly after the war, an extension of the self.

It is interesting to see the progression of beautiful vintage designs. Did you know that when dresses were somewhat plain and all one colour, a decorative hankie in a bright floral was thought to bring style and elegance ?

What about that hankie that was strategically dropped, only to be retried by an attractive suitor ?

What about the hankie that was handed to a teary lady which was lovingly hand embroidered with initials ?


I have accepted the mission of single handedly bringing the vintage hankie back into the world. LOL

You may remember that I am also on a mission to single handedly bring back the tea towel

http://avisionsplendid.blogspot.com/2008/02/tea-towel.html

and the air pot.

http://avisionsplendid.blogspot.com/2007/09/chaning-world-one-air-pot-at-time.html

Phew, this world changing stuff is hard work...... any takers for continuing the crusade of bringing back the hankie, the tea-towel and air pot ?

My Grandmother's Ways

It is now over six months since my Grandmother passed away. But it’s funny, I don’t feel that she is gone. I feel that she is still at her home in Bathurst, where she moved to when I was a baby.

I took this photo in about 2005. It captures the feeling of driving up the driveway after a long trip to finally arrive at ‘Nanna’s House’. Her house was an old coach stop in the gold rush days.

When I look at this picture I smell the corned meat cooking, the apple pies, the fire going in the lounge room. It is real.

There is so much of my grandmother’s ways that I try ( often without success!) to incorporate into my own life. It seems now, that I am not the only one. Since frugal has become the new black, more and more people are adopting the wisdom of the old fashioned ways and making changes in their lives.

The Global Financial Crisis combined with growing environmental awareness has meant that many people are embracing some of the lost arts of yesteryear. Cooking, sewing, gardening and entertaining are gradually becoming more mainstream as people embrace the joys of home.

I have witnessed what I call a ‘collective sigh of relief’ that frugality is now ‘trendy’. It is much easier to keep up with the Jones’ when they are being frugal that when they are constantly updating to bigger and better things.

I see a resurgence in the vegie garden, chooks in the suburban back yard and home cooking.

In my grandmother’s day these tasks were carried out because of necessity, whereas today we do many of these things by choice – we chase the joy. Where once, throwing a microwaved meal onto a plate in a rush was a hassle, now we spend hours in the kitchen with a glass of wine and an Italian opera to produce an artisan feast and it counts as ‘stress relief’.

Whether you work full time or are a stay at home parent, there are many ways to reconnect with the joys of home. Here are some of the things that have brought me joy throughout this journey.

Cooking from scratch – trying new recipes and flavours and venturing into what I once would have thought of as a waste of time – like bread and pasta making.

Growing Your Own – never underestimate the joy of collecting something that you have grown – even if it is a handful of basil or a sprig of parsley!

Finding or buying Used – whether it be a vintage table cloth or an old wooden spatula, used items are fabulous in quality and bring the essence of their previous life with them. ( I always cook better with my great grandmother’s spoon)

Mending and Making Do – there is a sense of satisfaction that comes from being able to mend something or find a way to re-use an item instead of racing out to buy a new one.

Slow Living – turning off the television gives opportunities for everything from family discussions to games nights and story telling.

Getting Ahead – time is a very valuable commodity and thinking about what is coming up in the weeks and months ahead and tackling some of it now brings tremendous peace. Running around at the last minute brings nothing but stress!

Cash Budget – this is one of the best things that we have ever done in terms of our financial management. It has helped us get out of debt, have holidays and taught our children how to save and use their pocket money wisely.

Have you embraced any old fashioned living principles ? Is it just me, or do you think that frugality has become ‘trendy’ ?

Easy Potato Bake

This would have to be the easiest dish to put together and compliment any meal. Tonight I have made a smaller serving as it is just the four of us for dinner. Other times I would use a large baking dish if we are having a bbq or have guests for dinner.

I use as many potatoes as I think will fill the bowl. I then add in a few sweet potato slices for some colour and a different flavour.

I mix together some milk, crushed garlic, a chicken stock cube and some Italian herbs until I have enough liquid ( I add water if necessary) to splash some around each layer as I am putting it all together.

I sprinkle the top with some mozzarella and a handful of Italian herbs and put it into the oven on 180 c for about 45 minutes. I poke it with a knife to make sure it is fully cooked.

I often cover it with foil and sit it aside until other dishes are ready, it seems to keep the warmth really well.

Oh, and I am really living this retro orange glass dish. I use it for everything - especially self saucing puddings! .............................yummo

Papercrafting With A Personal Touch

When I make a card I like to match it to the person receiving it. This card was made for my friend Liz, who we had a surprise party for on Saturday night.

It is elegant, classic and beautiful - just like her!

If you are into papercrafting goodness and want more details on how I made it, head on over to my other site www.splendidstamping.com

Post Vacation Blues

We arrived back from our annual holiday and for the first few days I had what I coined 'post vacation blues'. Normally I am really happy to go away, but very happy to return home again.
We use our annual holiday as a time for renewal. We make our plan for the upcoming year, talk about our focus and and areas of improvement we will launch into for the upcoming year.

We also totally relax.

I enjoyed watching 'Chocolat' ( must be about the fifth time I have seen it and still love it!)

I enjoyed having lazy breakfasts like this.

and of course there was lots and lots of this.......

I think I got a little too used to having someone come in and change the towels. I even joked about employing some person who I never actually meet who will come in like the tooth fairy and do things while I am not looking. lol

But.... thank goodness that feeling has passed and I am now ready to face the year.

We had family come and stay last week, so it was nice to be home and to enjoy spending time with people you love.

Now it's time to put my 2010 plans into action.