The beginings of the new table!

When we finished our major renovation just over a year ago, the plan was that Frans would build us a new LARGE dining room table. Well, it's taken a while for him to figure out which bits of wood he wanted to keep and which to chuck out. Believe me, that's a stressful descision for him to make! He hates waste. And he loathes throwing away anything. Especially good wood. So instead of the builders taking the old wooden beams and other bits away in a skip, Frans insisted the builders leave them in a big pile in the back yard. Mmmm... Well, I can happily say, the pile in the back yard is decreasing and the table construction has begun!

Frans has a fabulous 'boys' play area under the house. He even has a Clean Room where he can do things that can't get dusty. The problem is that Sara has taken over his clean space with not one, but THREE industrial sewing machines. None of which work! One of these days I think he will loose patience and put them on the nature strip!

This is a 'sort of' idea of what the table will be like. The non moveable section will be 2.7m long x 1.3m wide. Then there will be two loose leaves to add to each end when needed. So we can take this table from a comfortable 12 seater to a 16 seater. Great for dinner parties! I can't wait to give it a test run. I'll post the 'after' shots when Frans is done. Hopefully be next week??? Nah. Don't think so. Soon tho'!

Autumn garden

Aubergines, Eggplant, Brinjals.... call them what you like. We love them. The plants are lovely. The purple flowers sweet and pretty. I planted two varieties. The regular eggy oval shaped ones and also the finger variety. We've enjoyed a few delicious meals of Melanzane. Here's the recipe I followed loosely. http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/melanzane-alla-parmigiana-aubergine Gotta love Jamie Oliver! Stephen (Sara's Italian boyfriend) said mine was as good as his Mum's! Thanks Stephen. He knows the right thing to say!

Instead of frying the eggplant in oil, I sprayed the slices with spray and cook and baked them in the oven.

Lavender eggplant flower.

Yesterday's garden bounty. Green chillies, green capsicum, yellow chillies and a single eggplant finger. There are a bunch more eggplant fruits that will be ready in a week or so.

Capsicum (or peppers) are going crazy. They've taken over where the tomato glut left off.

Birds birds birds..... They're driving me nuts! They scratch around in the straw mulch and make a mess on the pathways. Not to mention they cover up newly planted seedlings that never get to see the light of day unless they're uncovered every day. AAAGGGHHH!!The bush with the red delicate flowers (top right of the pic) is a Pineapple sage bush. The leaves smell heavenly when you crush them. You can also see a couple of eggplant plants at the front of the garden bed. I love mixing vegies in with the flowers.

I have a semi solution to the bird mulch scattering problem! Toy snakes. They seem to be working. Problem is I need them everywhere! I have to move them every few days so the birds don't wise up to the fact that they're fake. But so far so good. In the areas where I've placed these rubber reptiles, there is no mulch destruction.

Next task in the garden is to get some bulbs in for Spring. I need to wait a few more weeks as it's still a little warm. I've bought the bulbs and popped them in the fridge while I wait. I'm going for a pink and purple look. In the mean time I've planted lots of Viola seedlings. Their pretty little purple and yellow faces will brighten up the pathways come Winter.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.....

Yep, the weather is changing and the chestnuts are making an appearance. This weekend we were lucky enough to share these little nuts with our Italian friends, Tina and Mario. There's an art to cooking them. Fire has to be just right, according to Mario! Before cooking the chestnuts, the tough outer shells have to be slit with a sharp knife. Bigger nuts need two slices. This stops the nuts from exploding or even worse, flying out of the pan and clopping someone on the head! Much discussion was had on the perfect size of chestnuts. The consensus was that medium sized nuts are best. Small ones tend to burn too quickly. Large ones don't cook to the centre. Chestnuts cooking in a pan that has had holes drilled in the bottom so the heat can get through and cook the nuts evenly.

This is the amazing contraption that Mario created. It's an old copper stand with a washing machine barrel on the top. Ingenius!


Tine doing her checking. Getting there!

And here's the finished little baby jumper I started a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it cute!

Amazing Crochet and Knitting

If you know me well, you'll know I'm obsessed with beautiful handbags! I've made a few in my time, knitted and fabric ones. I stumbled across Prudence Mapstone's amazing site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/prudencemapstone/sets/72157607981162610/ Her handbags are amazing. She creates amazing pieces. I want to know where she finds the time! She's amazingly prolific. I've selected a few pics that really inspire me to grab a few balls of yarn and start hooking!

Wearing a scarf like this would be such fun!

What's not to love about these two beautiful bags!

This is my favourite. It's those leopard print handles that do it for me!

R.I.P Lesley

Our lovely neighbour, Lesley passed away on Saturday. Sara adopted Geoff and Lesley a few years ago as surrogate grandparents. She visits Geoff regularly, and visited Lesley in the nursing home where she'd been for the past year. Lesley passed away peacefully on April 10, at her nursing home in Burwood. She was 88 years young. She missed her and Geoff's 66th wedding aniversary by 3 days. Geoff is going to miss his Darling terribly. We will miss her too.

Lesley was a florist when she was younger. She and Geoff had a florist shop in Malvern. She loved playing cards. And she loved the pokies. She also loved to sing old tunes she remembered from her youth. "She's got skinny legs" was one of her favourites. Lesley loved life. And she loved her Geoff.

Lesley Lillian Clarke. R.I.P.

Knitting Knitting

There's something special about getting news of a new baby coming into the family. So.... I've started knitting. Love knitting little things. Much quicker! So not knowing whether it's going to be a girl or boy, I've opted for bright unconventional colours. No wussy pastels for this baby! The little jumper below is made from beautiful baby wool that my friend Norma had left over from a project she did for one of her little grandkids. Thanks Norma! It's beautiful to knit with. But note to self.... 'concentrate when opening a tin of tomatoes. It's difficult knitting with a bandaide!'


The little green jersey and hat are not quite finished. I'll wait till I know if it's going to be a girl or boy before I finish it off. Bright pink buttons, embroidered flowers perhaps.....

I think next will be something more traditional. Ok, maybe something white. But still no pastels!

Happy Happy Easter

We spent a wonderful weekend in the country this Easter. Our friends, John and Norma live on a beautiful property near the Ottways in Victoria. We love going down to the farm a couple of times a year. It's a wonderful spot to recharge your batteries.

Early morning amongst the friendly bovine.

The newest addition to the family. Thomas. Named by the grandchildren. He's the cutest and most playful pup we've seen in a long time. Shoes and knitting are not safe if he's around!

This was desert on Easter Sunday. Ok, we didn't indulge much with Easter eggs. I think this desert made up for that fact. This is a date and chocolate torte that Norma just knocked up. She's a whizz in the kitchen.

Lunch on Easter Sunday. BBQ'd butterfly leg of lamb with roast vegies.

The view from our bedroom window. Aaahhh....

Creative juices

I thought I would share a few of the pieces I'm working on at the moment. Being mostly confined to being still, I've found that doing a few jewellery pieces keeps my brain active. Well, sort of. It's more meditative than an intellectual activity! Anyway, the necklaces are not quite complete. They need their toggle closures. What do you think? Would you pay money for something like this? Let me know.... I'm floating the idea of creating unique 'one off' pieces using semi precious stones, swarovski pearls and crystals, sterling silver and other interesting beads.

In these five pieces I've used freshwater pearls, moonstone, crystal, swarovski crystal, sterling silver and porcelain beads.

This necklace will have to be called 'Constellation' simply for it's lustre and shine. I've used a large 18mm moonstone bead as the feature. There are also Swarovski pearls, glass beads and smaller moonstone beads. I love this one!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE orange! My favourite colour. This is a free form brooch that I've formed using a large orange shell donut as the base. This piece will look glorious pinned onto my new knitted neck warmer. I'll post a pic of the two together later.

This brooch features a selection of moonstone beads, glass pearls and glass beads. I think I'll call this one Mercury.

Brooches are a wonderful statement on a denim jacket or a beautiful winter coat. Never leave a collar unadorned I say!

More pieces to follow...

Recuperating

I'm laying low for a few weeks. I've just had a major op and need to rest. I'm so lucky to have the most beautiful view from my bedroom window! I'm truly blessed with the love and care I've been shown by family and friends. Thank you everyone. You know who you are!

Smily face from Kim and Vic

Beautiful pink roses from my hubby!

I'll be celebrating with this bottle of champers from Richard just as soon as I don't need those little white tablets anymore!

Magnificent bouquet from Janelle and Graeme. Thanks guys!

And this lovely arrangement and chocolates from my Irreverant internet friends!

Vetkoek Night

My lovely Mum Marie is visiting us for a few days. She goes home to South Africa next week. Time goes so quickly when you want it to go slowly! Having her with us is a treat. She cooked us a delicious South African treat last night. Vetkoek and mince.

Vetkoek (pronounced FET-cook) is a traditional South African pastry. It is dough deep-fried in cooking oil and either filled with cooked mince or spread with jam or jam. It is thought to have its origins in Dutch oliebollen, which go back to the time of the migration period. It is similar in taste to Mexican Sopapillas. A common Afrikaans dish is vetkoek (pronounced fet-cook) literally meaning "fat cake." The word "koek" refers to the fact that this dish was used as a dessert as well as a meal. It is similarly shaped to a doughnut (jam filled, no hole) and is made from flour, salt and yeast. It is dough rolled into a ball then deep fried. It is commonly eaten with butter or filled with jam or a more savory filling. In a traditional South African braai, or barbecue, vetkoek may be served alongside boerewors, (South African sausage). Koeksisters are made from a similar, but sweeter, dough but are braided in long strips then coated in a sticky sweet syrup.
The Black township version of the vetkoek is called magwenya by the locals living in the Gauteng province of South Africa. In the South African townships vetkoek/magwenya are fast selling food items since they are popular, cheap, and easy to eat on the go.

Sara rolling and shaping out the dough.

The master at work. It's a tedious task standing in front of a hot pot cooking around 40 pieces of vetkoek.

The end result. Split the vetkoek. Fill with mince and a bit of grated cheese for added decadance!

Vue de Vanves Market - Paris

I LOOOVE markets! The trash and treasure kind. Well, any kind really. So I thought I'd share some of the wonderful markets I've been to on my travels. The first thing I do when I get to a new city is to find out from the locals where the best night market or trash and treasure market is. There are some markets that feel like my regular stomping ground. I have my favourite vendors. For instance in China, I visit the city of Yiwu on a regular basis. The night market there is very local. The best treat is to get your nails done for around $5. Then stock up on journal notebooks. You find the strangest things in the strangest places!

However, I digress. I want to share my favourite market with you first. One of the most exciting markets I've ever visited. It's in Paris. Way down at the bottom end of the city. Almost the last train stop! A bit of a mission to get to, but so worth it. It's at this market that I learned to drink expresso coffee. The bitter drop was a perfect foil for the crepe covered in lashings of chocolate spread!

Coffee and crepe!

The market entrance. Doesn't look like much, but it goes for a good km, tables lined up along each side of a tree lined street.

I loved the fact that you could purchase a chandelier at the market, then continue on browsing for the next bargain!

Picture frames galore. Pity they're too big to put in a suitcase!

I bought a pile of little baking tins from this stall. I gave some to my foodie friends as souvenir from Paris. Much nicer than a fridge magnet! Most of the tins have pretty beaten patterns on the bases that transfer to the baked pastry. I made the most delicious little marmalade tarts using these tins.

I was in heaven at this large stall. Vintage and new French linen. Tea towels, table cloths, sheets, pillow cases. However, they were not cheap.

Here I am fossicking in a box of antique lace. I gathered quite a large pile, only to return it when I found out the total cost. It was the equivalent of around $10 per meter. I think not..

There are more markets like this one in Paris, however, I was told by a number of locals that this one is by far the most interesting. So if you're visiting the City of Love and Lights, then don't miss this one!

Melbourne Markets

CAMBERWELL MARKET - Camberwell

There's nothing I love more than to wander around the Camberwell Market on a Sunday morning. Getting there early is the only way to experience it. Check out all the second hand dealers and then pop into one of the surrounding cafes for breakfast. The market is situated in the carpark in front of the Target and Safeway stores. It finishes around midday. If you go to the market in Winter, you may need your torch! It's still fairly dark around 7am. Don't forget to dress warmly!

The backdrop to the market. You could almost be in any European city. This is the only Basillica in Australia, the Basilica of our Lady of Victories. The Our Lady of the Victories building contains much of interest by way of stained glass, a powerful pipe organ originating from Ireland in the early 20th century, and a memorial plaque to Amy Castles - a singer of the calibre of Nellie Melba and considered the opposition to Melba.

Shabby Chic heaven! The best plan of attack when visiting the market is to have one or two items in mind to look for. You need a mission!

Sara and my Mum.

Race day is coming up again!

Sara doing a deal with a vendor for a groovy suede leather jacket. Line dancing anyone?

Isn't she beautiful? A little doll!

QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET

Shopping for vegies, meat and deli supplies doesn't get much better than the Vic Market in the city. It's open every day except Mondays and Wednesdays. So don't make the same mistake I've made and turn up mid week expecting to stock up your fridge! There are a number of halls selling fresh produce. Also a large hall selling all the yummy things like cold meats, olives, bread, terrines, butter etc. And then the meat/poultry/seafood hall.

This is one of the fresh produce halls.

Olives for Africa!

This is the deli section. Sara and my Dad.

My Dad comparing prices of meat to those in South Africa. The noise level in this section of the market is amazing. The butchers all shouting out their bargains at the tops of their voices. All at the same time!

Wonderful seafood.

No visit to the Vic market is complete without the obligatory Bratwurst with mustard, onion and cheese followed by a skinny latte. Well, we have to make a small concession the the fat consumption!