Helen's birthday weekend Friday 1 Sep - Sunday 3 September 2017

Helen thought she'd make a mini break of it, and went up on Thursday night.  I was a bit tired, and had work to do, so went up on Friday morning after tidying up/washing/housework - always takes longer than you think, so I didn't leave til around 11

Helen had made puff pastry pizzas for lunch.  They'd had their lunch already (she likes to eat very early, according to me), but Xavier had saved some of his lunch to eat with me outside under the tree.

Was a bit cool and windy - but reasonably sunny

After lunch we drove to Bald Hill - outside of Kingower, as both Terry and Nicole had told us about it, how it was like Melville's Caves, but without all the people, and you had a 360 degree view etc

Drove out past the Kingower School House, and kept going, following the signs.  Helen drove rather slowly, as was in her new car, and it has a relatively low under carriage.  Scraped a few times, so pulled over and stopped, and walked the rest of the way.

The plan was to have a picnic afternoon tea.  She'd bought a Swiss roll, and we'd also brought a thermos for tea.

Climbed up the hill, and found a spot to sit - with a fairly good view

But then we kept walking, as there was another hill ahead of that one - couldn't really see it from where we were initially.

Anyway, the 2nd hill was much better, and it did have the 360 degree view, and some lovely grass to sit on too.

Also by this stage the sun had triumphed, and there was lovely blue sky.  And the wind had died down.

Walked back to the car, (took about 1/2 hour), drove off carefully, and saw Damo and Nicole arriving at the School House.  Went in to say hello, and they showed Helen and the kids the school house, the surf club, and the vegie garden.  Nicole had said they had just dropped in to our place with a condolence note re Justin's dad.

Back home 5ish - and we went up to the veranda and had some biscuits and dips etc

The original plan had been to have the pizzas that I'd brought from Melbourne for dinner, but the kids were very keen to go to the pub, so Helen did rock/paper scissors with them, and they won.

Went to the pub, they had fish, and I had a lamb shank with mash - very nice.

Back home and put the kids to bed, and Helen and I watched Austin Powers - an oldie but a goodie, with a nice open fire upstairs.  Was rather cold in the house, so we definitely needed the fire.

An early night, so I watched another Monarch of the Glen in bed with my trusty hot water bottle

Saturday, and it was Helen's birthday.  We'd already been shopping for supplies the day before.  So she/we had croissants and freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast.   I gave her the tiger eye ball that we'd bought in Dubai, which she liked.

Was a rather cold and blustery day, went up to the Op Shop, across to the butcher, Denise's etc - and also lots of scootering around - which the kids enjoyed.  I also finally finished organising the dvds - hooray!

Went back up to Kingower to pay Arlene for the wine I'd bought before our trip, and to also get a case of cleanskins.  Dropped in on Terry on the way back, had a coffee and chat.

Back home for lunch which was Helen's favourite :- tuna, corn, mayo, spring onion sandwiches - outside again under the tree

Was still pretty cold, did a bit more scootering, but was drizzling, so not that pleasant.  Had wanted to scooter to Bridgewater, but we don't think that the bike path is up and running as yet.

So, went upstairs and watched the 2nd Austin Powers dvd - I half watched, as I was also reading the Age online.

The kids also played with a Huski puppy out the front, which they thought was very cute
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Given that it was the 1st Saturday of the month, we went up to Kingower at 6pm - for the regular monthly shindig.  Maile & David were the only ones there, sitting, waiting in their car, as it was cold!  The braziers were there, and filled with wood, but not lit, and no one had a match (actually I had matches, but was keeping mum on that, as I had got Helen a birthday cake and candles, sparklers etc and was going to bring it later later with a flourish)  I also discovered that I didn't have an operational cigarette lighter in my car.  No matter, Damo & Nicole came over soon enough, and soon had them lit.  Terry, Dermott & kids, Arlene & June came over soon after this.

So stood around the fires soaking in the warmth, chatting, having a drink, and munching on twisties (I'd bought a monster party pack).  Very convivial.  I brought out the cake, and gave the kids the sparklers, and we sang happy birthday.  No surprises, but Xavier was mucking around with burning sticks and the sparklers and ended up getting a little bit burnt on his finger.  Hopefully that should teach him not to play with fire.

I guess we left here after 8pm or so, and Helen drove back carefully.  Saw at least 5 dead kangaroos on the road, but luckily no live ones.

Helen put the kids to bed, and had an early night herself.  So I went to bed too, hot water bottle in tow, and more Monarch of the Glen.

Sunday was Father's Day - and I had a  sleep in.  Helen was keeping Xavier relatively quiet.  I got out of bed around 8.20, and went into the kitchen to find that Helen and Xavier were making Michaela and I breakfast in bed - which was very nice.  Michaela came and joined me, and Xavier was also keen to get in on the act

Jamie came and picked us up at 10am - as Helen is interested in buying some land around here.  He showed us 3 x properties - Wet Lane which was 20 acres - but a bit dull and flat, and then Kurting which was nice with views of Mt Koorong, and bush behind and a couple of horses on it - which galloped up very close to us - the 2nd photo is taken out the back window of Jamie's ute - and you can see the ute tray, and the horse just about on top of it

Lastly, there was another Kurting property which had creek access and also a little shed which could with a stretch be lived in - or at least Helen thought so.  No electricity, no water, drop box toilet etc.  And, none of these properties were zoned for building a house.  Jamie had been discussing this with the council for some time

Helen liked the last one best, and was keen to put in an offer well below the asking price, but within her comfort zone.  This last property had 70 acres, and could be used for share cropping cereals etc.  I suggested lavender and sunflowers to her later like Provence, and she liked this idea a  lot.  I also cautioned her, as I didn't want to see her putting all her eggs in one basket, particulalry if she wouldn't be able to build there.

However, that is all academic now, as the quasi offer was rejected, it was just too low.

So, back to the house, some more scooting, and more pizza lunch under the tree.  Also picked three jars worth of the small wild olives from the tree next to the house, as it's still loaded

Helen & kids left after lunch, and I tidied up a bit and then left also - so that I could make Justin a nice Father's day dinner - "Turducken burgers" from a recipe that I'd seen in the Age.  turned out pretty well - minced turkey meat, chopped up chicken thigh fillets and duck breast, and then a sour dough and bacon baked sauce.  Was pretty fiddly, if I did it again, I'd simplify it.

Siblings, sausages and salami 25 - 27 August 2017

Justin's Dad unfortunately died on Thursday morning, so everything was a little up in the air....

However, I had organised to go to Maile's on Friday weeks ago, to another "Old Ladie's movie afternoon, and this time I was prepared - brought my bottle of only cellar cold prosecco, and got there by 1pm.  Two Annes and a Ruth this time, and no photos

Sat around and chatted first (didn't say anything about Justin's dad, didn't want to darken the mood) Maile as always had put out a lovely cheese and biscuit platter

Maile had also promised that I would love the movie, as, or because it was French.  She remembered that I hadn't liked the 1st movie I saw. (the one with Viggo Mortenson in North Africa)

Anyway, the movie was the Belier Family, about a girl who lived with her deaf father, mother and brother in the French countryside.  At school she discovered that she had a lovely singing voice, and the antics went from there.  It was a comedy drama, and had some very funny and also heart felt moments.  Maile was right, I did love it

Stayed and chatted afterwards, had a coffee and cake, and left around 5pm - kangaroo time.  Did see one scampering away in front of me on the Bread and Butter track, but not too close, so all was good.

Went back home and organised the dvds some more, as I had brought up a couple of spindles of  dvds that I'd recorded from tv - ie lots of Grand Designs, BBC dramas etc.

Had some leftovers for dinner, got my hot water bottle and watched some more Monarch of the Glen in bed

Given Justin's dad, we had decided to invite the siblings to Inglewood so that we could work out what was happening/what Penny expected.  We were originally going to Terry's for lunch, but given our additional guests, we invited Terry to our place for lunch instead.

I made some bread and some hearty chicken soup, and my famous peanut chocolate tart for dessert.

I also thought that I would put out an antipasto selection to start.  Brought up our last salami from the cellar, put out home cured olives, my chilli choko chutney, and artichoke stalk pickles, and got some cheeses, chilli mussels, pizza shapes (for Justin) and some other bits and pieces.

Set the table nicely with tablecloth, silver ware etc.  Although the cutlery was all there, Justin (and maybe some of the others) didn't realise there was more to come, and so filled up on the antipasto, not leaving any room for the soup and fresh baked bread

However, Felicity and Claudia being very good guests did join me in having some soup.

I guess by this stage it was getting onto 3pm, and the plan had been to make salami and sausages after lunch at Terry's.  He left quite quickly to organise, and Justin, Claudia and I went a little later.  Alex, Sarah and Felicity elected to stay behind and mind the fire (Nin was in Sydney).  They also went for a walk around town, as Felicity hadn't been there before.

So, onto the sausage making.  I'd already been to the butchers and picked up my ordered meat and fat!   I think about 2 kg of pork for the salami, and the same of beef for the sausages.

We started with the sausages - first mincing the beef, then the fat, then mixing them together in the right quantities - adding wine, garlic, chilli, salt, pepper and other spices

Then we commenced our positions - Terry was threading on the skins, and making sure everything was going well in the filling department, I was on my old job of pushing down the meat plunger, and trying to make sure no air was getting in to make bubbles, and initially Justin and Claudia were playing the guitars. 

 

I then wanted a hand - so Claudia was on replenishment duty transferring the meat mixture from the bowl to the elevated Kenwood plate that I was working from to push down the sausage making "tube"

I had to press down very hard, as there was a lot of resistance, and it was quite tiring.  In fact, I got Justin to do it towards the end, so took some photos.

Given that I had bought a lot more meat this time than last time, it took a lot longer.  And Terry was also putting on a a film at the Church, so we couldn't stay too long.  We decided to call it a night after 5pm.  We'd done my lot of sausages, and some of Terry's also, so thought we'd do the salamis tomorrow.  Drove back to the house, and had soup and other leftovers for a very casual dinner.

And then upstairs for some music - with Alex guest starring on drums - with of course Claudia on lead vocals.  Was of course a fun night.  Claudia did a great rendition of Me and Bobby McGee,

People got up at different times on Sunday morning, just coffee and toast for breakfast.

This time Claudia, Felecity and I went to Terry's at 10am.  Justin remained behind to work on his dad's eulogy.  And Alex and Sarah were content to eat the salamis, but didn't want to see them made.

Got to Terry's and he made us one of his fab coffees and also fried up a couple of little sausages that he had made yesterday, cut them into small pieces then gave us toothpicks to try some. Delicious!!! Very tasty, no need for tomato sauce at all

And then onto the making.  I hadn't realised, but Terry had another batch of sausages to make, and then we started on the salamis - with Felicity on tying duty

By the end we had made 13 of our salamis and maybe half as much of Terry's salamis.  It really was a sausage factory!  I'd suggested to Terry that we also have a dolmade making day (I'd served some yesterday which I'd bought, but much easier to make if you have a ready supply of vine leaves which you would in Kingower), and also tomato sauce making day.

So, left before lunchtime, and went home and strung up the salamis in the cellar.  They look great.  Also took the 2kg? of beef sausages that we'd made, and divided them into portions to freeze for later eating

It was still quite a cold day, so off to the pub for lunch - roast of the day and vegies - very nice.  The others started heading off after this.  I did a little bit in the garden and watered my new plants - which were still looking ok - as I was worried about frost damage.

More furniture movement and dvds 17-19 August 2017

Had thought I'd drive up to Inglewood straight after work, on the Thursday night, but changed my mind, exercised, had some dinner, and then drove up around 8pm - that way I could just go to bed when I arrived, and watch an episode of Monarch of the Glen in warmth - with a hot water bottle.

Was a windy night, something was knocking outside my window, but I managed to fall asleep without too much difficulty

Had a bit of a sleep in on Friday - almost 8am! Read the Age on line for a little while, then ventured out into the cold diningroom and had some porridge and a coffee

  

And then took the furniture in from the car

Bedside tables for the bedroom on top of the kitchen (previously known as the Garden room and the study)

And also 3 (out of 5 chairs) that we bought for the manor table upstairs

Also organised the rest of the dvds including some recorded ones that I had made up.  Divided them into movies, tv series - drama/documentary - with most of the docos being house type programs ie Grand Designs, Country House Rescue, Restoration Man etc

Had a coffee and catch-up with Denise at the Empire, and ordered the meat and fat for the salami/sausage making next weekend - Jim spoke about the Bridgewater caravan park again - asked if Justin had a boat licence, said we could take out the party boat.  Back home for a quick lunch, and then my haircut with Michelle at 2pm - went a bit dark red this time

Finished up around 4pm ,and went to Sharps, as Steve had said that Bernie could cut glass (long shed louvres).  He was there, and saw me coming ie knew that I was there for glass cutting (Steve had told him earlier). He said he'd be glad to do it.  So I toddled off home, and got the 2 x long louvre windows and the right size one from the shed, and dropped them off

Home via the IGA and saw Noi on the way back - she gave me some nice fresh parsley and coriander.

Back upstairs for more dvd organising, and then Terry came by after 6pm - I'd called him earlier to see if he'd like dinner at the pub.

He came bearing gifts and a couple of jars of nice looking olives which he'd produced

Had a red, and some dips and crackers in the kitchen, and then off to the pub

Despite having made a booking with Dionne earlier (when I had a coffee with Denise), there was no reserved table.  There were plenty of empty tables though.  There was a new chef - advertised on the outside board, along with a new menu. new chef was there, new menu wasn't.

I had crumbed cutlets, and Terry had the steak - not bad

Barb was there with a large table - Grant, Francine, their grown up kids and others.  Her partner, (Grant's father) had just died the day before.  I offered my condolences.

Terry and I stayed chatting till well after everyone else in the dining room had left.  Said that he was thinking of moving from Kingower -- which very much suprised me.  Would still stay in the general vicinity ie Bendigo/Harcourt etc. I would be very sorry to see him leave, as over the years, we've become good friends

I guess we left around 10.30, (there were still a few people left in the bar) and walked back to the house.  Terry left for his place, and I watched another episode of Monarch of the Glen with my trusty hot water bottle.

Fell asleep before it ended though

Rained during the night, and was a bit grey and cold in the early morning

Did become sunny and nice later on, so I took a few photos of the early Spring blossoms - almonds and jonquils etc

The trees that I'd ordered from the Hub fruit tree drive (lemon, cumquat, mandarin, pecan, fuji apple, cherry and persimmon must have been dropped off by Kim (bless her cotton socks) - so I planted them, moved the rogue artichoke from the vegie garden path, and pulled out the 2 x rogue plum trees from the vegie garden to take back, and plant in Melbourne

Also did a bit of weeding/trimmimg

Picked up the glass from Sharps - no charge!  How nice was that, and walked past the newest shop which had been Catherine's from ages ago

Stuck my head in, and met Ben (and saw his son Charlie sanding down a chair).  Had quite a long chat, he's from Castlemaine, and had done a lot of renovation work in the past - might be able to help us with ours ie restumping.plastering etc

Then back home to fit the louvre windows, tidy up and then back to Melbourne to see Fraser go to his Year 12 formal..  As it was, the route to Melbourne from the Calder alternative was closed (and will be closed for 3 months), so I went via the Maldon detour.