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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Saturday, January 20, 2018

goings on

Last weekend I drove up to my parents place for a cup of tea and cake. This is something I try to do as often as I can now they are getting older. It was a good chance to take some photos around their little farm.

Let me introduce Geraldine...she is such a cutie but can be a bit mischievous at times.

My parents veggie garden. It is growing well under the shade my dad put up last year.

Leeks gone to seed.

 My dad coming up with ways to keep the birds from taking his fruit.

Gum tree bloom. 

The perfection of succulents.

Hollyhocks through the fence.


And here at home...

A huge apple cucumber I picked last week.

Meals prepped for hubby’s trips away.  Leftover roast chicken made into curry.

Trimmed the oregano again and picked two eggplants.

Oregano placed in the solar dryers.

Making a batch of Kombucha. This happens every five to seven days.

All bottled.

Fizz...

Endless chore of washing dishes. No dishwasher here.

My grandsons request for lemon slice.

He loves it.

Another vintage find.

 Ratatoulle using eggplants and zucchini from my garden.


Reviving my sourdough starter.

And a beautiful sky to finish.


Stay cool or warm, depending where you are.  We are going through a heatwave at the moment. Yesterday reached 46.8C (116F), and it is meant to be hot here for the next week.

What is going on in your neck of the woods?

Take care and I will see you soon,

xTania

30 comments:

  1. We're just coming out of a severe cold spell here. Shame we can't trade a little and even things out. ;-)

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    1. My daughter is travelling and she landed in Paris to 5C (41F). It has been a big shock going from hot weather to freezing.

      It is a shame we cant trade, but just reading about your cold spell makes me feel cooler.

      xTania

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  2. What beautiful photos, Tania. There's something quite lovely about the every day, isn't there? Been very hot here in Brisbane too although nothing like you are having. Thankfully, it is getting a bit cooler here.

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  3. Hello and welcome Diann,

    I am trying my best to have more and more simple days. I think they are important to my health and well being.

    This morning has brought a lovely cool breeze with it. This is so refreshing after all the hot days we have had. Still meant to be 37C though, which means it will be humid!

    xTania

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  4. We are above freezing during the day this weekend, feels nice. I like looking at your summer plants as I am so tired of cold. I am starting to think about what I will plant in the spring but it is a long way off.

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    1. Spring will be here before you know it and you will be able to put your plans into practice. I cant imagine living for the winter months in that freezing weather. Our winters are so mild compared to yours.

      Take care,

      xTania

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  5. I think I might be just a little bit in love with cheeky Miss Geraldine. I have been using my dehydrator for my thyme and oregano. It's just too humid to do this any other way. I was using old strawberries in my kombucha and really liked the end result. Since you mentioned it in a past post, I have been freezing the fruits as they are finished in the kombucha. I am going to make a batch of muffins with the fruit in them. You have reminded me I need to get my starter out of the fridge and give it a feed. Seems like we had a similar week. Enjoy the one coming up.

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    1. Oh yes miss Geraldine is a bit spoiled by my dad. He absolutely loves animals, he would have them inside if mum would let him lol!

      Lately I have been using a berry mix that was on special in woollies for my kumbucha. I bought a heap of them and put in the freezer. They come in little tubs in the fruit and veg section and get reduced down regularly, so this is when I grab all that is there. They make for a yummy kumbucha!

      Humid weather is definitely no good for drying Jane, glad you have a dehydrator to use.

      My sourdough wasn't working properly when I made bread, so a little google search told me I wasn't feeding it enough. So I have started again and may dry the rest of the batch for later.

      xTania

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  6. It’s hot here too. Not as hot a a few days ago but still very warm
    I can’t wait until the autumn. The summers are now way too hot for me
    Stay cool xx

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    1. I cant really complain because up until now the weather has been mild for summer, but now it is here with relentless constant hot! I think by the end of this week I will be yearning for Autumn also and my veggies will be dead!

      xTania

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  7. Tania, my Gertrude starter hasn't been happy lately either. I have made two lots of dough that didn't rise so am giving her one last chance before I toss her in the compost and revive the dried version. I haven't baked as much sourdough lately and even though I was still feeding her every 10 days or so she hasn't been her usual self. I had to do the same thing with my water kefir grains. Thankfully I had dried some when they were multiplying incredibly a while back. Hope it cools down for you soon.

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    1. I haven't been baking much lately either and I think that is where the problems start. I kept feeding my starter every so often, but the rising wasn't happening properly. So I researched it and they said it was a feeding problem, so I upped it to every day for a week and it seems to be working. I haven't baked a loaf with it yet, that wont happen until Tuesday or Wednesday. That will tell me if it is still okay :)

      As for the heat, it was meant to be cooler today, but it is 41C and humid here at 4.45pm! Not looking forward to the rest of the week. My plants are starting to suffer...

      xTania

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  8. Yummy looking curry! Your beloved is fortunate in his lunchtime. :) So much happening in your days. I'm also brewing kombucha and reviving Griffin, my sourdough starter. I like to make ham and cheese scrolls for my kids lunches. They just grab them from the freezer in the morning. Easy for them. Easy for me! School starts tomorrow.

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    1. Hi Chris,

      Sounds like your routines are about to return again with school going back. Another week to go in South Australia.

      I should make rolls from sourdough, that would make life easier for lunches around here. I will add that to my to do list.

      xTania

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  9. I so enjoyed reading your blog post, such a lot of different things and great photos. The sunset was superb. You are sweltering in extremely high temperatures and we are in ththe middle of winter here in the UK. It's been colder than in previous years, a couple of lots of snow, one which stuck around for ages and was so dangerous as everywhere was like a glacier. Yesterday was grey and dreary all day. I had intended to do a long walk but woke up to rain which then turned to wet snow. It didn't stick thankfully, but scuppered my walking plans.

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    1. Hello and welcome Linda.

      So glad to hear you enjoyed reading my post.

      The weather is topsy-turvy all over the globe by the sounds of it. We have another hot week ahead of us and I think most of my plants will turn their toes up.

      Thank you for dropping by,
      xTania

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  10. Beautiful photos, Tania. The shade your dad put up must be very helpful. Sometimes our plants fry in the summer heat. It's gorgeous right now here in Southern California. A perfect day for hiking...

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    1. Hiking sounds like a good thing to do Stephenie, especially if the weather is lovely. We will have to wait until it cools down here to hike. Our weather can be hot from September to April, so bring on Autumn!

      xTania

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  11. Dear Tania, This is all bliss to me! So lovely! I love your parents garden! I hope this week is less hot, but I know it will still be very warm! I need to get some of my oregano dried also! With love Annabel.xxx

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    1. Dear Annabel,

      This week is going to be very hot from Wednesday onward with temperatures in the mid 40's! Today we are getting some relief with a cool breeze, but it is so muggy.

      Removing the oregano from the stems today and putting into jars is on my list! Time consuming but so worth every minute :)

      xTania

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  12. I love your posts, full of your goings on...
    1. love that lemon slice and I'm making one for our visitors for Australia Day weekend.
    2. love that spoon rest, so cute and vintage!
    3. love that sourdough starter, bubbling away. Mine is as dead as a doornail! :(

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    1. Hi Joolz,

      I usually make lamingtons for Australia day, but may go with a pavlova this year only because we will be sweltering here. If I get time in the next day or two I might get it done before the real heat.

      Aww sorry to hear about your sourdough starter. Give me a yell if you want some dried starter, I have heaps.

      xTania

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  13. We're in the middle of a blizzard. The ground in your photos looks extremely dry, but your vegetables look fantastic. Good for you for spending time with your parents, I imagine that is a wonderful gift to them (and to yourself!).

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    1. Oh no Joy, take care and stay warm in the freezing conditions!

      Yes it is extremely dry and dusty here at the moment, but that is usual for this time of year. Sometimes we get the odd thunderstorm during summer to freshen things up a little. I love spending time with my parents, always have and always will, they are very dear to me.

      xTania

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  14. The solar herb dryers look great.

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    1. They are great Kathy. Hubby made the dryers and a rack to put them in and they work really well.

      xTania

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  15. Oh, boy ... 46.8C is hot! We are having a week in the low 30Cs and it feels hot enough at those temps.
    It is lovely that your parents are close by for you to vist and spend time with them. My mum was just here for a couple of weeks and I treasure that time as we see each other so rarely because we live so far apart. Geraldine looks quite the cutie in that photo too! Meg:)

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    1. We are going to have those temperatures again this week Meg. This time for a long period of days, we are going to melt...

      It is great to have my parents nearby once again. We spent many years with distance between us. Being farm folk they are loving their little piece of paradise.

      xTania

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