and we are home alone – no family, no friends, no party, no overseas romantic getaway and no presents! –
But who cares? Look how gorgeous we were?
It’s our 40th anniversary!!!!
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Category Archives: Rants & raves and other fun things
First job done!
I have cleaned out my pantry and I am very proud of myself.
We had stocked up on a few items and the pantry was getting a bit full and very messy so I decided to do something about it. I am so glad I did because I had a few unpleasant surprises. I recently bought two cans of fish but during my clean out, I found we already had three. Damn it! I am so grumpy with myself. I hate doing that. It looks like we will be having salmon patties and salmon mornay soon. I also bought a few tins of sardines and there was one already there but, they are for the dogs, and will go quickly, so I am ok with that. And I found some out of date noodles. I will have to learn to practice what I preach 😦 . They may be a little too old to save. Continue reading
What to do?
I wanted to do something but I didn’t want to be joining the hordes buying up big.
I know that was very easy for me to say. I live on acreage and have a vegie patch. I have this year’s summer produce in jars or in the freezer or otherwise stashed away. I have a cupboard full of herbs and spices as I don’t buy ready-made spice mixes and sauces. I also have dried beans and peas and various flours in the coolroom and rice in the pantry. But this has nothing to do with being a prepper or hoarding. This is just who I am and how I wanted to live when I retired. I also know I am in the minority. I don’t wish to criticise any who feel the need to stock up. Nearly all of our population does not live as I do. They are busy, they have to work, they live in apartments, they have kids and extended family to look after and, of course, the majority do not choose to live like me. And … they are scared. Continue reading
My tomatoes turned black!
I have never seen this before so I had to show you. They looked like they were burnt black. It was bloody amazing.
As you would all expect, it is tomato time in Western Australian vegie gardens and my Roma tomatoes are doing the right thing and producing a decent amount. Continue reading
Nigel no friends
I have already introduced my two pups, Nigel and Sophie – what a whirlwind it has been since they arrived.
Both are exuberant, mad, wild, energetic, etc, but Nigel is on another level altogether.
Our family trip to Esperance
Hello, everyone. We have been to Esperance. We planned the trip with our friends, Gail and Deb, before we got the puppies. Forever an optimist, I thought it would be lovely for us and the pups to go for walks along the beach, to frolic in the water and to run with gay abandon along the squeaky white sand. What a naïve idiot I was. Well, I got the squeaky white sand part right. The pups ran amok with their friend, Henry, a miniature dachshund, but they had a great time. And the good news is: both are still alive 🙂 For Nigel, that is a miracle. They slept all the way home and have barely woken since. I really can’t wait for them to “settle” down 😦 .
A catch up, an introduction and some words of wisdom
Hello, everyone.
Well, hasn’t it been ages? At least a year, in fact. My annual WordPress subscription came up for renewal not so long ago and I paid it, just in case I decided to keep blogging. I have wanted to do a post for ages but I just haven’t got around to doing it.
Of course, I have excuses galore. Firstly, we did go to England for three months and, as you can all imagine, life was chaos for a while when we got back. Then, before we knew it, it was spring and we were working our butts off on the block and then … we got two puppies. If you are over 60, do not underestimate the amount of work two puppies can be. Ours are nearly six months old and life is only now returning to normal.
The story of brown skin, Russell and much more.
This story starts with a pre-Christmas get together with my old school friends. We have known each other since primary school days. On this day, we were having a chat and I was telling them about my Afghan cameleer theory for, you see, I have blotchy brown skin and I am always asked about my background. I was barely believed when I said, “I am English on my mum’s side and Irish/Scottish on my dad’s side.”
When we were in southern Spain, an American tourist asked me directions in Spanish. When we were in Biblos in Lebanon, locals from Beirut asked me directions in Arabic. When I was in India, I was asked more than once whether I was Indian. Maus and I used to frequent a Lebanese restaurant in Perth and the proprietor would mock me because I couldn’t speak Arabic. He tried to teach me a few words because” I should know my mother language”. He would not believe me when I told him I was not Lebanese. Continue reading
I bit off more than we could chew
The emphasis is on the “we” in the title.
It all started about a year or so ago when I watched this YouTube video. The video was uploaded by Soap Perfect. She made some gingham soap using a mould made out of Lego. You have just gotta watch it. She did cheat with her significantly photoshopped final pic, though 🙂 If you check out the video, you will note the difference! Continue reading
Our trip to far north Queensland
Hello, everyone.
We are back from our wee holiday and I am sad to say I am going to bore you all with some holiday shots. I have hundreds of photos but I will spare you. I know other people’s holiday shots are no where near as interesting to others as they are to those who took them. Continue reading
Passion Fruit Garden 