and looking forward to a clean slate filled with promise.
Happy New Year to you all.
Thanks for making the kootoyoo year a great one & for making me want to try harder.
To my lovely mates who've been spanked with the 2009 cactus (& I know there were many of you)...
The best way out is always through.
Robert Frost
You've made it! May 2010 be filled with good stuff. xxx
Everything is just so super slow & snoozy.
I can't seem to wake up. Wondering if it's just a lovely end to a full on year or if maybe it's lack of iron...
The Date made capiroska are certainly a contributing factor.
PS: Thanks lovely folk for offering encouraging words on the little rejig in this space. xxx
Image source
for a Kootoyoo Slide Night. I hope you'll all come along.
I'm stringing up an old sheet in the good room & lighting a fire. There will be fondue & a cask of Mozelle - you can even smoke your Alpine ciggies in the house!
I've only been to a couple of Slide Nights in my life (both when I was very young) but I remember them well. Even the boring bits are fun when shared with a good friend & a laugh!
I love holidays. The kids break up from school today - yay hooray! Looking forward to a couple of relaxed and lovely weeks. We've made a few plans & we are really going to enjoy this break.
That means things will be a bit quiet on the blog front ... I'll be sharing holiday slides each day though. I won't be talking much but that doesn't mean you all can't share a giggle & a glass of wine.
You are welcome to bring a plate of classic 70s fare, some slides of your own & a beanbag.
...oooh I think I'll have chicken liver pate as well! 41
Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.
Yesterday was wet all day & today is shaping up the same way. It's a good day to stay indoors & make soup.
This soup is dead easy & really yummy too.
Slow Roasted Tomato Soup
15 (about) large ripe tomatoes cut in half
1 head of garlic - separated into cloves (leave skin on)
2 brown onions - sliced
slurp of olive oil
1 tsp brown sugar
1 litre stock
Preheat oven to about 150 C.
Place chopped tomatoes, onion & cloves of garlic in a good sized oven tray.
Mix olive oil & brown sugar in a small bowl. Pour over vegies & toss to coat.
Whack the tray of vegies in the oven for about 1 & a half - 2 hours.
Once cooked, remove the garlic cloves.
Process in batches squeezing the soft roasted garlic from a few cloves & adding it to each batch before processing.
Place pureed tomato into a saucepan & add stock.
Heat & serve with South Cape crumbled feta, fresh basil, cracked pepper & crusty bread.
It's been a productive week on my desk this week.
There is more stuff off the desk than on it which I'm pretty excited about because it has given me the chance to begin my Matryoshka.
I'm approaching this project with a bit more care than usual. I'm not sure why - maybe it's the size of the dolls. There has been a lot of planning, thinking, and now sampling. I think I'm almost there.
Joining On my desk...? It's lovely to have you - let me know so I can stop in and say Hi.
Super cute hankies that have been Op Shopped.
Hankies freak me out now, but when I was a kid I loved them. I had days of the week hankies and any outfit was complete with a freshly pressed and folded hankie in your pocket.
When I had sleepovers at Non's I was allowed to use her iron & ironing board which she would adjust to my height. It was my job to iron hankies, tea towels & pillow cases (perhaps that's where the pillow case love came from).
Best of all I was allowed to watch commercial TV at the same time!
Jessie Jamieson on yet another adventure. Her travels have taken her to Lakes Entrance in Eastern Victoria.
This image shows the Entrance to the sea.
How exciting Jessie's life was. I can't even imagine what a big deal it would have been to go on a holiday to Lakes Entrance in the 1920s. I've found it challenging enough to get down to Lonsdale for a couple of days!
I've mentioned before that things are very slow down at Lonsdale. If I owe you a visit - I'll stop in when I'm back in town. I'm not patient enough for dial up...perhaps a bit of Jessie's influence would do me some good.
Edit: Bricolagelife has pondered about Jessie's camera. Now I NEED to know what sort of camera it was. Anyone know how to find out?
are best of all.
It's been a lovely day. I've enjoyed a nice coffee, done a bit of Op Shopping, a little bit of work & spent quite a bit of time on the couch...a rare treat.
I had an armful of goodies at Ocean Grove today. In town I would have paid about $25 & today I spent only $8. One of my finds was "Successful Dressmaking". It is the most beautiful book. Just look how ace these illustrations are.
til it's over.
We have been so lucky on our little break this year! We haven't had one bad day & have just spent a glorious afternoon at the foot of the lighthouse in the rockpools. The small girl gave me a sand bath which was really quite enjoyable.
But...I MUST work at remaining on holiday until the break is actually finished! I've tried really hard this year not to think about the packing up & going home until it was time to go.
I failed! Today, I've made all sorts of plans & began packing, cleaning & tidying. Packing me is notoriously ugly. I don't think I was too bad today but the date still had a dig at me.
I wonder why I do it? It's the same during the week too. I go really hard to get to Wednesday in good shape & then the rest of the week just runs away from me.
I've had a great time but I'm really looking forward to being home & to getting around to say hello to some lovely folk who've been stopping in to have a virtual cocktail with me on holiday.
Today I was given this pack of Japanese Fabric scraps.
My mother in law gave it to me to say thanks for rigging up a DIY grey water system at her beach house. The washing machine now flows out onto the native garden and the bath has a garden hose syphon.
This little gift in the middle of a craft-dry couple of weeks was a lovely surprise & so thoughtful. Gifts given for no reason are the very best kind don't you think?
It's a good life.
with a twist.
I made roasted strawberry & caramelised mango pavs as well as a few other yummy things. Of course I didn't photograph the finished product but these are the freshly cooked fruits.
Today was Mum's real 60th birthday. We had a lunch today with the family & some very old family friends.
It was a bit of a challenge cooking in the beach house kitchen which only has a micro/convection combo oven & very limited resources but I made do.
we have ever spent.
It's an ice crusher purchased from Go Low. This little baby crushes ice perfectly for all our favourite drinks.
Enjoying lots of icy drinks tonight with the family which will be lovely. Looking forward to 2008 with anticipation. So stinking, ferally hot today & I'm hoping the icy drinks improve my grumbly mood.
I hope that your farewell to 2007 is cool(ish).
in my shoes.
This morning I put my camera in my camel back before I headed out. The sky wasn't anything too remarkable but there were some beautiful scenes.
Lighthouse before dawn
Another reason to get up early
Sunrise over Point Nepean
Bandaids for the sand dunes
The camel back rubbed my neck & made me hot. It also made me remember one of the reasons I am not doing the trail walker in 2008.
better with age?
I know all about fine wine & friendships, but I've really been considering this question lately.
Not normally one to appreciate the views, flora & fauna I have found myself breathless at the beauty of my surroundings often recently. I'm pretty sure this isn't caused by low iron levels but a genuine appreciation of my life, the people in it & my world.
I used to roll my eyes at my parents when they stopped to appreciate the view or some other natural beauty. Is it true that we will one day become our parents?
Today I was lucky enough to witness the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen in my life. The cloud formation above the Lonsdale lighthouse was a flaming orange & a small pool of crystal clear blue sky appeared to be a mirage in an endless desert.
Sadly, running with an Olympus isn't really very easy but I'm pretty committed & I'm going to have a crack at it tomorrow morning.
Just a little aside: Due to the super slow & very relaxed nature of dial up I can't comment on your blogs or send emails but I thank you all for stopping by & look forward to catching up properly when I'm better connected.
mojito! I hate mojito but my date tonight (& forever) loves them.
Finally tracked down some mint in Queenscliff, I brewed the sugar syrup today & we are all set.
I made a double batch of sugar syrup...I wonder what girly drink I could make with that? Ah yes, the slushie. I'm going to the strawberry farm tomorrow!!!
performed on Ikea "poang" cushion. Presented with deep gash along spine. Discharged with 20 stitches.
on the beach this morning belonged to this little guy & my Asics.
There is something really exciting about being up when no-one else is & "breaking in" the sand for a busy day.
Things are going to be pretty quiet in this little corner as we slow down. Dial up does my head in.