Dad's Here

Dad arrived yesterday (yah!) and on the way home from the train station we stopped for lunch.

We sat under the old camphor laurel trees of Bellingen enjoying our food (I had pasta, dad had curry). The day was one of those perfect autumn days - sunshine but not to much heat, a caressing breeze but not a wind. Just lovely :-)

And after lunch, and a little walk through the town we stopped at the bakery for coffee and dessert. I was still full from lunch so I didn't partake but Dad's profitterole was just so divine it was worth a photo :-)

Nu aux Oranges (Nude with Oranges)

To be honest I was heading to something else when I stumbled across this lithograph from 1954 by Matisse. How simple, how delicate, how passionate, how divine! Definitely my choice of the day :-)

Sleep, Oh To Sleep ...

Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.

William Blake

One Laptop Per Child

I have found an incredible project - One Laptop per Child.

It is project set up by Nick Negroponte (from MIT's Media Lab) and the aim is to give one laptop to every child on the planet. Yes they are internet connected. Yes they use free open source software. Yes the kids can fix them. No you don't need electricity to run them. Yes they have a language specific keyboard! Yes they are Microsoft compatible! And all of this for $100! BTW the internet connection costs 10 cents per month!

Okay they are a bit more than that ($175) just at the moment, but $100 was always the aim so they are well on their way. And $175 for a laptop still isn't expensive. And you know how the price of technology drops :-)

A transcript of the interview Professor Negroponte can be found here.

BTW, you can buy one and the Project will arrange to give it to a child in a country that can't afford to buy them :-) More info here :-)

Nostaligic Saturday

Cooking has always been a part of me.

I remember the first time I saw tortellini. Auntie Julie had made them for some sort of family function at Grandmas - I was about 7 or 8 from memory so this was late 70's and such food was very exotic. I subtly asked someone what they were and I was told "arseholes" - actually that can't be right because my family didn't use that word but never let the truth get in the way of a good story. All in all, I didn't eat arseholes that day - and it took me a few years to figure out what they really were (doh! - never missed out on tortellini since lol).

Grandma was the biscuit and slice queen. Again my memory says there was always 8 - 15 different things to choose from - but we were only EVER allowed 2 so you needed to make your choice very carefully - did you go for a favorite (custard creams with passionfruit icing or lemon marshmallow slice) or did you go for something different. I know I made a mistake one day in taking the chocolate slice with pink icing and coconut - only to discover it was date slice - yuk yuk spit spit ... sigh ... no refund on my two choices :-) There is a life lesson in there somewhere.

And there is my cousin Stuart and I who could (after much practice) make a cheesecake (Auntie Wendy's recipe) from scratch in 8 minutes. We used to do this prior to watching Murder One when I was staying with them a while back.

Any wonder I ended up a foodie?

Read, Think.,Do

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, everyday, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.

Christopher Morley

Today's Meme

I got this from Kylie who got it from Welshcakes :-)

Where is your mobile phone? Loounge

Your significant other? Huh?

Your hair? Curly

Your mother? Nadezda

Your father? Visiting

Your favourite thing? Books

Your dream last night? Funny

Your favourite drink? Soup

Your dream/goal? Freedom

The room you’re in? Bedroom

Your ex? Deceased

Your fear? Unloved

Where do you want to be in six years? Happy

Where were you last night? Bed

What you’re not? Skinny

Muffins? No

One of your wish list items? Teddy

Where you grew up? Harvey

The last thing you did? Blogged

What are you wearing? Pyjamas

Your TV? Off

Your pets? Non-existent

Your computer? Lifeline

Your life? Swinging

Your mood? Bubbly

Missing someone? Yes

Your car? Dirty

Something you’re not wearing? Bikini

Favourite Store? Ebay

Your summer? Hot

Like someone? Friends

Your favourite colour? Purple

When is the last time you laughed? Now

Last time you cried? Saturday

Cut Finger

I am very proud that in all my years of cooking, and the occasional cut (slash and rip), I have never bled into the food.

Tonight I have kept my record intact. No, the picture isn't a shot if my finger - it is a bit worse than that. I am thinking a stitch wouldn't go astray but then I have always believed (with my vast medical knowledge) that if it only worth one stitch, then don't bother.

My cut, which was really a stab that hit the bone - and yes I felt that, is at the base of the finger near the knuckle - hence the hitting of the bone. And yes I deserve it, I was doing a stupid thing with my knife - trying to cut the serrations so I could open my bottle of balsamic vinegar (again serves me right for buying outside my 100 mile range).

The good thing is that there is no nerve damage, but typing is not a good thing at the moment (it's bleeding again). The other good things are that I have cleaned up the blood trail across the carpet and furniture (to the tissue box) and that I can use my home-made deodorant - sitting right there - as an antiseptic spray... And yes my knife was sharp so it is a lovely clean cut :-)

Another wild night with Mountaingirl I tell ya ....

Starting Something

The journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step.

Lao Tzu

Friday Feast 190

Appetizer

When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?

Absolutely - one should never waste the opportunity for a smile :-)

Soup

Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?

Sigh ... it's carpet throughout except for the bath and laundry which are tiles and the kitchen which is vinyl - oh how I long for the floorboards underneath but its a rental ... so off to the vacuum I go

Salad

Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.

"Perfectly preposterous piffle!" pouted Penelope.

Main Course

Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?

Yes but it is a real non-issue with them so I don't have a lot to contribute here

Dessert

Name 2 blue things.

My lapis rings and the beautiful cloudless sky that we are enjoying today

Photo Challenge - Angle

Booking Through Thursday

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

I have a number of writing books and various dictionaries in my library. My "but" is that they are in my library in Western Australia and I haven't been able to bring the over here yet (yes I know the story is getting old). So I have 4 online dictionaries I consult most days as well as using online services for grammar and punctuation. I also take books from the library on those exact subjects. I love 'em :-)

Palm on the Mountain

Home

His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking, best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.

JRR Tolkien

Cycad on the Mountain

New Beginnings

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely...

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wonderful Wednesday

It was time to spend some time with the lovelies in the kitchen again. Have I mentioned how much I love cooking group lol.

Well today we headed west again - yes we cooked Indian. Okay I know we have done it before but apparently that was so long ago it was worth the re-visit (and none of our lovelies were around).

Anyway, this time the menu consisted of:

Beef Vindaloo
Chicken Tikka
Mixed Vegetable Curry
Cauliflower and Potato Curry
Spiced Green Peas (Ghoogni)
Potatoes and Carrots (Aloo Gajjar)
Chickpea Fritters
Cucumber Raita
Dhaal
Chapatis (homemade of course)

A veritable feast to behold I can tell you!

Now I have to admit that I have virtually no confidence that anyone actually *really* followed their recipe - going to have to go through that next week but anyway - things were eaten, complimentary comments were made to the respective cooks and we got through it in one piece. Can I really ask any more ha ha ha?

I will have all the recipes on Yummy Tucker tomorrow :-)

One of Those Moments

Had you ever had one of those moments (or conversations) that are so wonderful, so special, so funny that you just want to tell everyone but, in your heart of hearts, you know "you just had to be there" and as such it won't survive the translation?

I have one of them that I am burning to share but I have two choices: 1) I can share knowing it will fall flat (you just had to be there); or, 2) just keep it to myself and enjoy it for all its worth.

Sigh ... you just had to be there :-)

Image from Not A Long Shot- PhotoBlog

Photo Challenge Update

Hope you are feeling snap happy because here come your upcoming Friday Photo Challenge Themes!

This Friday ( 9 May): Angle
Friday 16 May: Number
Friday 23 May: Taste

So come one, come all and I will see your happy snaps on, or about Friday :-)

There's Water In Them Thar Hills

Pooh Bear Tuesday

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.

Winnie the Pooh

Saucy Sauces

I am redoing all of my cook books for work - as well as creating some new bits and pieces. I took requests last week - marinades was a big one as was dressings and sauces. Okay there are three individual books to be written here but I figure about 20 separate recipes for each section will give them enough to go on - and I can always expand in future volumes.

As well as providing recipes, I am also trying to pass on information about the hows and why's of each heading. I found a great rundown on taste.com.au on marinades so that has been included (fully acknowledged of course).

Last night I was writing a page on mother sauces. Actually I am listing Escoffier's version of mother sauces as my list. Our lovelies aren't French chef's, or cooks in the French style, so the original five is a bit redundant for them. And besides, you can't really go past Escoffier as a font of wisdom :-)

I know a few of the lovelies won't really care (as I know quite a few adults in the same situation) but there are one or two that will get fired up with the knowledge of the concept (yes real foodies in the making!).

Long live foodies old and new :-)

No Brussel Spouts

Nairbe and I are going to open a restaurant in the next few years and there is lots of fabulous conversations happening regularly about menu options.

We have agreed that although we may be cooking on some shared nights, and some different nights, all menus are to be approved by both of us.

On Sunday, and yes it was inevitable, but brussel sprouts came up. Now I know I have my quirks, and many of them I put down (read "blame") on having to eating brussel sprouts as a child.

As soon as I moved out of home I vowed and declared that a brussel sprout would NEVER even darken my doorstep, let alone I would ever have to eat one again.

Now I have oft declared my love and admiration for Brother G and apparently he has a to-die-for way of cooking the nasty beasties. Not even my feelings for him will sway me!

Even Nairbe mentioned some ways that, in principle, would be ok for cooking those despicable oxygen-thieves. I conceded that he could serve them on the nights I wasn't working. But no, he insisted that we both had to approve the menu (thinking that somehow I would relent) but that gave me my out.

AS GOD AND THE BLOG-WORLD AS MY WITNESS, I WILL NEVER EAT A BRUSSEL SPROUT AGAIN. If nothing else it is childish rebelliousness against the world - and I can live with that.

But if we are both tasting the menu, the restaurant will not serve them, will not have them and that is that. And the fact that they are on my blog (my now poor, brussel sprout contaminated blog) is proof of my public stand on the issue. I am putting my foot down (and if need be will throw a 2 year old's tantrum and stamp it repeatedly) - no brussel sprouts will pass my lips ... ever!

You can all stop laughing at me now.

Sometimes Love ... Is Just Too Much

Wilkie (the bear) has been loved a bit too much. It happens with every bed-bear eventually. I haven't posted his actual photo because he is a bit shame at his appearance.

Now I really only had one bear before John and I became bearants (no, not parents, bearants) to our hoarde. And some we got just as love-bears and some were bed-bears.

Well I have loved all of the bed-bears to the point of ... well I can't love them anymore. Wilkie has had a sore throat for for past couple of years and despite repeated surgeries to repair the damage, it hasn't helped. Now other bits need surgery.

Now at 37 I don't think I am old enough to sleep without a bear yet but getting new bears was always a family thing we did with months, if not years of consultation. And we always planned that Gareth would be out last.

So now I need to go on a bear search by myself - not sure how long it will take. I did think about asking a special friend (and I have a few of them) to buy me one but no, this is my journey and something I must do alone. The search for the perfect bed-bear is on (before Wilkie falls apart completely) and I just hope the blended family works as well as the existing one does :-)

Lovely Surprise

I have just been looking for a specific photo for next Saturday's Nostalgic post when I came across this photo! The woman is Auntie Doss (or Dorothy Pederick to be more exact!).

Okay, I have just googled her and more stuff has come up - she wrote a book for one "A History of the Australia Federation of Methodist Women"! I knew there was a book written about her "Sister on Patrol" detailing her time as a missionary nurse in Papua New Guinea - she was there for 30 odd years from memory but I didn't realize she had also written one!

And speaking of 'memory' I have a million from Auntie Doss. For a start Doss was Grandpa's only sister. She was often away when I was little - must have been when she was in PNG. When she returned she lived in what I assumed to be the family home right in the middle of town but as the family were farmers, I now wonder if the home was one that her parents bought when they moved off the farm.

Anyway, she made lovely cups of tea and grew huge sunflowers in the backyard.

Auntie Doss was a passionate Christian all her life and you couldn't fault her walk in faith. She loved and cared for everyone. Never spoke a bad word. Even at 80+ she was looking after the 'oldies' of town and inviting the homeless or the lonely to her place for Christmas. She was our very own living and breathing Mother Theresa.

She passed a year or two ago - had dementia so in some ways she passed long ago - it was just her body still here. Her way of dealing with it was to say "I am a bit short up top - have I already asked you this?".

What a collection of delightful, tinkling (yes that is the word that comes to mind - like little bells or a wind chime) memories of an incredible lady!

What a delightful surprise :-)

Junior Netball

I played netball as a child but I don't remember learning to play. I know we went to training once a week but that was to hone skills more than to actually learn them.

I know I played airplanes one game - I was GK and my partner was obviously GS but our team always had the ball so it never came down our end and we had to amuse ourselves somehow lol! And when I played basketball I did try and shoot at the opponents goal (but that is another story completely). And I was competent but never going to be a sports star at either game but that is digressing.

I mention this because yesterday I saw Nairbe's girls play beginner netball. The girls had been asking me to come and watch ever since they started playing (3 games ago) but yesterday it worked out and I was there.

It was delightful to watch 14 young girls play a game where most of them had absolutely no idea. Many passes went straight to the opposition. There was the inevitable flinch and the shutting of eyes by some when the ball came their way. There were the persistent reminders as to what direction they were playing in.

It was a blast for us watching and the girls had incredible fun. The umpiring was very generous - and was periodically accompanied by the game stopping and a specific rule being explained. Both coaches and the occasional mom were allowed to run with their teams - gently encouraging the holding up of arms, shuffling girls back to their spots ... well all' round coaching actually. The crowd cheered loudly no matter who did something good, or when any goal was scored - none of the nasty-parent-on-the-sideline at this game.

Dare I saw it was just plain fun - with a little learning thrown in :-)

Real Riches

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.

Oscar Wilde

Art: "Soul or System" by chad eric

Feelings Check

I can finally name my feelings from mom and dad separating - abandoned. Now logic tells me that is far from the case but that is hardly the point - this is a feeling.

Ironically it was triggered when Naribe's beautiful and wonderful dad walked me to my car today. All of that breathing in and out on the mountain must have allowed me to feel safe enough for the feelings to surface :-)

Mind you by the time I got home an hour later I was in tears because there seemed to be so many times I was 'abandoned' - even John had abandoned me by dying! Nothing like opening the emotional floodgates and losing perspective lol.

Anyway, I have put on my CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) hat and begun to do a little research and self-evaluation. This feeling is very strong and actually goes back a very, very long way for me. Not sure what initially started it (and it doesn't matter) but I realize that it has driven so many decisions I have made in my life - and to some degree it still is!

So now I am working through re-framing memories and I am feeling better already. I think a few more sessions on myself and I might even have it licked :-)

Hugs

The best place of all is inside your hug.

Anonymous

Art: Image by Rick Egan

Roadside Magic

Mountaingirl on the Mountain

I went to the Mountain yesterday. I love the Mountain. Apart from glorious views and lots of trees and birds and stuff, there is a very special family I am honored to call friends.

I got there early and went and played with the camera. I won't bore you with all 124 photos today (sigh I hear you say) but I was rather impressed with some of the shots I took. Still playing with the camera and working out all of the tricks :-)

I made Creamy Chicken Soup and Tomato Soup for dinner - served with crispy on the outside/fluffy on the inside Turkish bread. Yum yum yum.

I was mobbed with hugs and kisses from the moment I walked in the door until I left this morning. Nairbe and I sat up until late debating life and just plain talking.

I slept in "my" room (in a pod off the main house) all warm and snuggly with the sounds of the forest rocking me to sleep. I awoke to the twins coming in to give me morning snuggles.

Everyone needs a place like the mountain to go to. Somewhere where the world doesn't intrude but you can be you (and all that means) and still be loved. You can give and receive in equal proportion. Okay this visit was planned days ago but given my news this week, it was even more important that I went. I had the best time :-)

Treehouse Magic

At some point when I was little Dad built me (well... us) a tree house in one of the apricot trees (we had a little orchard of apricots - and a much bigger orchard of oranges but that is another story). In reality it was a flat platform but, when it wasn't a ship or a fort, it looked, to me, like the one in the picture.

The hours spent up there were incredible. It started out being a place of adventure when I was a pirate, or the Swiss Family Robinson or a knight or whatever other games I could dream up. As I got older I took the study books and the radio up there and worked, or dreamed the dreamy teenage dreams that dreamy teenagers dream.

Not only did the lack of walls provide me with the opportunity to dream bigger, but it also allowed access to the branches that supported the treehouse. So you could languidly lie out looking at the blossom, or, if you had been playing for a while, crawl out to pick sun-warm apricots to refresh the body and spirit.

My idea of heaven :-)

Friday Feast 189

Appetizer

What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?

SeaLab 2020 and Kimba the White Lion

Soup

Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it?

Okay first response is you have GOT to be kidding but, if I "pretend" as directed I would get a hermit crab and name it Rastus

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

5 - much less if I can't wear pants or have to wear makeup.

Main Course

What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?

I usually listen to Radio National - a magazine style show (books, philosophy, history, politics) for lefties but if I was ever to break the trend, it would be Meat Loaf or Classical.

Dessert

When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it?

I got a clock as a bonus present when I bought a book. It is still in the box in a drawer in my bedroom :-)

Maya Time

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.

Maya Angelou

Art: 'Autumn Song' by Jose Ventura

Photo Challenge - Light

Lost Keys

I have lost my house keys.

It was either last Sunday or Monday. I don't always lock the house so I haven't been overly worried about it but I decided that today was the day to find them.... and I can't.

I reason that they must be in the house - or else I would have been locked out. Hmm, I probably shouldn't let it unsettle me - they have a reasonably big keyring - and there is about 8 in the set so they should be easy to spot .... just no idea where.

Booking Through Thursday

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do?? And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember….

First option: buy the papers
Second option: buy a book - not a trashy one, maybe a book on politics or philosophy or a cook book or all three

Booking Through Thursday

Photo Challenge

Your weekly admin update is here (the crowd goes wild with excitement and anticipation lol).

This Friday (2 May): Light
Friday 9 May: Angle
Friday 16 May: Number

And please don't forget to come and Mr Linky yourself on my Friday post (or let me know you have posted so I can Mr Linky you) - we don't want to miss out on oohs and aahs for anyone :-)

BTW - Thanks to Abbey for this great run of themes! We have a few months of these suggestions to do but the offer is still out there - if want to suggest a theme let me know and I will add it to the list :-)

Painting of the Day - Mulberry Tree

I love art but admit to a very limited knowledge - like this painting. I spotted it as a van Gogh as soon as I saw it (well I guessed it was anyway) but I had never seen it before! Most artists have a repertoire of 'favorites' that are familiar to most of us - think Monet's garden series, or Renoir's painting of the girl at the bar - but this one had slipped by me completely. I absolutely love it! The vibrancy is what got me in first, and then van Gogh's incredible brushwork and then ... I am sure there are lots of technical responses that should be made but suffice to say that, well, I am just in love with it!

Belonging

Being with you is like walking on a very clear morning -- definitely the sensation of belonging there.

Art: "Child On the Beach" by Mel Williams