Sleepy Sunday

A couple of Sleepy's came to visit

otherwise known as a Shingleback lizard, this one having some lunch

this one I am carrying to a safer spot so the dog will stop barking

off you go



I have these left to pick right at the top of the tree, still trying to figure out how to get them.

give the tree a shake!

Sunday blessings to you all.

Tania

Saturday

Temperature of 38 degrees celcuis, 100.4 Fahrenheit.

The dirt is back, this is taken out back.

Another

Saltlake and dust, the first fenceline is the border of our block.


Because of the heat and wind we have erected the shade over the vegie patch.


Some geraniums in flower this morning.

This was a large egg (probably a double yolker) we collected from our brood yesterday.

Going to watch the AFL grand final between Geelong and Hawthorn now.

GO HAWKS!!!

Have a great day everybody.

Tania

Little Gecko and The Pies

A gecko that hubby found in the woodpile today! We have hundreds of these little fellows living around here, they are really quiet and mostly come out at night.

Once again I have taken the photo too close!

At last I have cut, seeded, stewed and made some wild peach (quandong)pie.

This is the amount that I cut.

After stewing

WILD PEACH PIE

Wild peaches need a fair amount of sugar and should be cooked slowly for best flavour.
Simmer peaches slowly with sugar to taste and lemon juice. Use a short crust pastry base. (I used a scone dough)

Line pie dish and add cooked peaches. Use more dough for the top, brush with some egg/milk and sprinkle with sugar or cover with a mixture of 2 beaten eggs, sugar and coconut. (this makes a crumbly type topping, also nice)

Bake in moderate oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.



Cut a slice and serve with icecream and or cream. Yum!!


Has similar flavour to rhubarb.







More wild peach recipes.

WILD PEACH AND MELON JAM

2lbs wild peaches

juice of 2 lemons

3 1/2 pts water

4 lbs pie melon

6 lb sugar

1 heaped tspn salt

Remove stones from wild peaches. Cut melon into small pieces after removing seeds. Put fruit and other ingredients into preserving pan and let stand overnight. Next morning boil gently for 3 to 4 hours or until a little jellies when put to cool in saucer. Bottle and seal.

WILD PEACH CHUTNEY

6lbs peaches

2 lbs apples

5 lbs sugar

1 dspn salt

4 medium onions

garlic to taste

1/2 tspn each of ground ginger, cloves, cayenne pepper and peppercorns

about 1 gallon vinegar

Simmer 2 to 3 hours.

Use 3/4 amount vinegar and 1/4 water for a mild flavour.

Put into jars.

Recipe keeps well if kept hidden!

RECIPE FOR A HOME

1/2 cup FRIENDSHIP and 1 cup of THOUGHTFULNESS

Cream together with a pinch of powdered TENDERNESS

Very lightly beat in a bowl of LOYALTY with 1 cup of FAITH, one of HOPE and one of CHARITY.

Be sure to add a spoonful of GAIETY that sings,

And a dash of ability to laugh at LITTLE THINGS.

Moisten with sudden tears of heartfelt SYMPATHY.

Bake in a GOOD NATURED pan and serve REPEATEDLY.

"Kind words are like dripping honey, sweetness on the tongue and health for the body"

Prov 16:24

Have a good evening,

Tania

Arid Land in which we live

arid Definition
arid (ar′id, er′-)
adjective
lacking enough water for things to grow; dry and barren
not interesting; lifeless; dull

This dictionary meaning is spot on in it's desciption of where we live.

The yearly average rainfall for this district is only 220mm.

Today I was busy getting the vegie garden up and growing. We bought some seedlings and moo poo and have put them in the vegie garden. I purchased some strawberries which will be grown in pots, butternut pumpkin (although I am not sure if it is the right season for them), some apple cucumbers, green capsicum, silverbeet and tomorrow I hope to get some zucchini.

Last year we didn't have great success so hopefully this year is better. We have rainwater in storage so this is what I will use on the garden.

This is the tomato plot, I have planted seven self-seeded tomatoes and if they all take off I will be busy making sauce and relish. Since planting these this morning I have added some basil seedlings between the tomato plants. I have been told this helps to keep bugs at bay, so we will have to wait and see. I have put lucerne hay leftovers from my daughter's horses on top for mulch.

One of the tomato plants.

At last the wild peaches (quandongs) are ready. I have been picking them over the past few days and am hoping to get enough for at least one pie. I shall get busy cutting these up tomorrow.

This is our first crop we have picked off our home grown trees, these take about 5 years before they fruit from seed.

The seed looks like this. We throw these back into the yard near a host plant and wait for them to rot and grow. There are plenty of young seedlings scattered all over our property. They tend to shoot after a good rain.




This is how I cut them up and remove the seed. They can be dried or stewed, and can also be made into jam and chutney.

The weather was 24 degrees Celcuis today with glorious sunshine. Tomorrow is expected to be 27. Wonder if there will be more wind?

Sending you all my best wishes,

Tania

The Five Secrets of Life

A nice message to share with all my friends.

Go here for some inspiration.

Be back later for another post.

Tania

Automatic vs twin tub

How many people still use a twin tub washing machine? I have gone back to my old favourite because my daughters automatic front loader had seen better days. I had my front loader that is only three years old that I gave to her and went to my parents and picked up my twin tub that had been in storage. I bought the front loader when I was busy with Family Day Care children and time was short.

I have found that automatic machines do not clean as well as twin tubs. Since having mine back in use I find my washing is cleaner and brighter. I use homemade washing liquid that Rhonda Jean uses, plus add a little Jasol lemon cleaner (pictured top) to the water and the clothes smell devine when they are dry. Although only one and a half star rating I find I use less water than an automatic, because I use the one lot of washing water for most of the washing, occasionally I need to change the water but not too often. It also saves time as my washing is all done in an hour depending on how much there is. Admittedly there is only three of us at home now. One front loader cycle took nearly 2 hours so it took me all day to do my washing.

I have started replacing my plastic bowls with glass ones especially when putting leftovers in the fridge. I got this nice little glass set from one of the cheap shops in town and I am going to make some covers for them rather than use clingwrap.

Another dirty windy day today, tried to get a photo of the dirt heading my way. The shade cloth in the picture is where my vegie garden is. No vegies planted yet, although I have dug some plots all ready to go.


We have been told we might get some rain with the wind, lets hope they are right.







Hope you are enjoying better weather than we are.






Tania

Toxins in Plastic

I have just been looking up some information on toxic plastic and found this factsheet. I thought there would be people out there that need to know about the toxic stuff (don't know what else to call it) that is in some plastics. See Here:

In the recycle sign on anything plastic there is a number. The numbers to avoid are 3, 6, and 7.
7 is found in some babies bottles so please check. Upon going through all my plastic stuff I found that Cottees cordial is no 3!

I first heard about this on Sunrise and the news.

Maybe you could share this with other people.

Going back now to finish checking what is in my cupboards.


Tania

Blossoms

After the terrible weather again yesterday, I am surprised there is any blossoms left on this tree. The wind was so strong it filled our house with red dirt that I need to clean up today. This still happened with every window and door closed, the dirt still found it's way in. Still no rain unfortuneatly. At least it's a better day today which allows me to go outside to sweep up before the next lot of wind. You can see how dry the ground is, these will need a water soon.

Beautiful blossums.

I have done some patchwork but I can't claim this as one of my own. I have a friend who is an obsessive quilter and so I bought my quilts from her. An Australian theme is used on this one.

Left over Tuna Patties from last night's dinner. I have fond memories of my grandmother serving tuna/fish patties at times when we would visit her as children. I was thinking of her while making these ones, funny how simple things bring back memories.



Tuna Patties with Lemon Dill Sauce

425gms can tuna, drained
45gms butter
1 medium carrot, grated
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup milk
2 potatoes
1 1/2 cups packaged dry breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk, extra
flour, extra
30gms butter, extra
2 tablepoons oil


Lemon Dill Sauce

2 teaspoons cornflour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill,
or 1 teaspoon dried dill leaf tips


Patties:
*Peel potatoes and cook in boiling water until just soft. Drain, mash until smooth.
*Melt butter in a saucepan, add onion and carrot, and saute on low heat for 5 mins.
*Add flour, mustard, salt and pepper and stir until smooth.
*Gradually add milk, stirring all the time. Stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat.
*Add tuna and mashed potatoes. Allow to cool (this makes it easier to shape into patties)
*Shape mixture into 12 patties.
*Coat each patty with extra flour, dip in combined beaten egg and milk, and coat with breadcrumbs.
*Heat extra butter and oil in a large pan. Cook patties until well browned on both sides and heated through.
*Drain on absorbent paper.

Sauce:
*In a pan, blend cornflour with a little of the milk. Add dill, lemon juice, garlic and the remainder of the milk.
*Stir constantly over low heat until mixture boils and thickens.
*Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream, then reheat without boiling.
*Pour over hot tuna patties.




Have a great day.


Tania

Sunny Sunday

A quiet Sunday spent with a pleasant drive to the local foreshore.

Baxter Ranges in the background. This is near where the Baxter detention centre was located.

Yesterday was a filthy, dirty, dusty day with a temperature of 29 degrees and strong gusty winds. The big sail in this picture came adrift in the strong winds.

Today was a lot better to spend outside, as the cool change has arrived.

Dogs enjoying a swim. They were retrieving tennis balls that their owners were throwing for them.

Small beach where the local Aquatics Centre frequent

View from a once busy wharf




One of the shops... Big W



Some cocky's (Pink Galah) enjoying the sunshine



From the bridge over the gulf, this foreshore has been recently revamped and looks a lot better













And the front beach where the locals gather on long hot summer days

This lilac has sprung into bloom and is making a lovely bright ground cover

(don't know why this photo went sideways)

Getting closer now. These quandongs (wild peaches) are ripening quickly now the weather is warming up

This collection of pipes belong to my mother-in-law. She wanted them mounted on a board so she can display them at a function coming up next weekend. Hubby did a great job don't you think?

Hope your Sunday has been an enjoyable one.

Tania

Where were you?

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?



Our thoughts and prayers are with those families who lost dear love ones 11/9/2001.



To listen to Alan Jackson singing "where were you?" go here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvj6zdWLUuk

Home In The Making

This book was published in 1967 and I picked it up at a garage sale some years back.

The front cover is a bit tatty and the inside has been used with writing and script underlined on most pages. Someone obviously has used the instruction to live by at one time.

List of Contents

The colour pages within...

Some information about appliances...

I have included this snippet from the last page. I thought it was interesting in the last paragraph how it says;

"In a world where advertising puts more and more stress on the material things in the world, the trend is for things to be thought more important than people, but this will never make for true happiness. It is only when the people are put before the things in it that a house becomes the place a family is proud to call its home."

Happy housekeeping.

Tania