Day 344 in a Year of my Life

Adoring Husband and I had a nice little day trip to Gympie today.

We caught the train, because AH had to have dental surgery, and they wouldn't allow him to drive afterwards (those of you who know me, know that I have never learned to drive, so I am useless in these situations).

The Tilt Train is very comfortable and the trip is less than 90 mins.  There is a Rail bus that takes you to the city of Gympie from the station for free, so it was very easy.

While he was in surgery, I decided that retail therapy was in order.

Found an interesting old Ford to photograph (the 104 challenge list has 'Cars and bikes' at number 5, so this fits the bill nicely).

This was Adoring Husband before surgery ...

... not too shabby really (although he looks like an amputee here).

So we were home again by 3.30pm, thanks to Lady Lynn's champion husband, Happy Harry, who played the role of taxi service for us today.  So nice of him to help us out like that.

AH was impressed with this new dentist.  The level of care is excellent and the staff are friendly and accommodating and helpful.  It's worth the trip down there, just for the friendly service alone.

I would even consider using them .. and I have the worst odontophobia EVER!  The last time I attended the dentist was in 1995.  In the last 6 years, two of my top front teeth have become crooked and are protruding outwards, so much so, that I'm seriously considering dental work.

We will see.

So, today, I'm grateful for the wonderful service provided by the Gympie Family Dental staff and grateful that Adoring Husband survived unscathed.  All things considered, it was pretty good day out.

Nite all.

Day 343 in a Year of my Life

There are now 3 eggs in the nesting box that I can see.  They are partially buried in the wood shavings, so there could be more under there too.

SEB and OB don't seem to be getting along very well.

When SEB goes into the nesting box, OB sits on the perch at the opening and constantly whistles and chirps and squeals.  CONSTANTLY.  I've been over to the cage a couple of times and given him a lecture - he stops talking while I talk and then starts again as soon as I've finished.

It can become a bit annoying at times.

Since we still don't know if OB is a boy or a girl, who knows if the eggs will ever hatch?

From the reading that I've done, the eggs are still viable up to 10 days after laying them.  The incubation period is 18-20 days and both the male and female share the duties of sitting on the eggs so that each can feed.  They leave the nesting box to poop and pee!

Oh and apparently at about the 10 day mark, if they are fertile eggs, you can see veins begin to appear inside the egg shell.

So I guess it's a matter of 'wait and see'.

Meanwhile I found two Tawny Frogmouth nests today!

This one is only about 8 feet from the ground, so there should be some good shots coming when the chicks hatch!  I calculate around 1st or 2nd November as the hatch date, because he was first seen on the nest last Thursday, 3rd Oct .. he wasn't there the day before that.

The incubation period is 30 days.

The male sits on the nest all day and then they take turns at night while each of them feed.

I'm very excited!

Today is a public holiday and the last day of the school holidays.

It's almost like nature knows the kids have all gone home, because there are birds EVERYWHERE.

I found a Grass Parrot...

I found male and female Storm Birds (Koels) feeding in a palm tree.  This is the male...

... and the female ...

... and finally a 'Squadron' of pelicans at high tide on this beautiful morning.

There were others, but I'll save them for another day.

Today I am grateful for a wonderful morning of photography to renew my motivation.  It feels good.

Nite all.

Day 342 in a Year of My Life

I sit here with my laptop on my lap (exactly where it should be), in the lounge room in front of the big screen, watching the 2013 Rugby League Grand Final.

Sea Eagles V Roosters

Sea Eagles ... the team that everybody loves to hate.

Every code of football has a team that everybody loves to hate.

As I type this, Sea Eagles are leading 18 - 14, but there is still 20 minutes to go.  Roosters have just scored!!  18 - 18 with a conversion kick to come.

I'm barracking for the Roosters :D  BGWLBH doesn't follow football, but she supports the Roosters.

The score is now 20 - 18 to the Roosters.

Since I haven't been out with my camera for a couple of days, I went searching through my archives for some oldies that I might have missed.

I found a nice sunrise shot ...

Can you feel the serenity?

Adoring Husband played golf today.  So I had a lovely peaceful day at home.  I practised my new obsession - cooking.

I made a basil pesto to coat some pork cutlets for dinner tonight and then I made a creamy cauliflower sauce to cover the broccoli, carrot and pumpkin.  Then I made a delicious apple crumble  - gluten free, sugar free - for dessert.

It was a beautiful day.  Perfect temperature, beautiful breeze, bright sunshine and crisp, clean air.

Today, I'm grateful that Roosters have defeated Sea Eagles in the Grand Final 26 - 18.  Wahoo.

Nite all.

Day 341 in a Year of my Life

Number four on the list 'Light and Bokeh'

Number twelve on the list 'Negative Space'

Today I'm grateful for late sleep-ins and time spent in the sunshine on the garden swing with apple and cinnamon water .

Nite all.

Day 340 in a Year of my Life

Number two on the list for this month's challenge .. Old/Rustic/Broken

My options are fairly limited here in town, so this was the best that I could come up with.

I've been sitting here for an hour trying to think of something else to write, but I have been distracted by the end of one movie and the beginning of another, so I am signing off.

Today, I am grateful for slow cookers .. which tonight, provided a delicious meal of lamb shanks, potato, sweet potato, onion, tomato, carrot and mushrooms.  There's nothing nicer than coming home from a couple of hours at the club and having dinner already prepared and ready to serve!

Nite all.

Day 339 in a Year of my Life

The first thing on the challenge list was 1. Peace/Piece.

That's the first one out of the way.

SEB (the cockatiel) has laid an egg in the nesting box.

She spent about 6 hours in the nesting box yesterday, probably longer, but today, she came out and left the egg unattended.  She hasn't been back in the box and nor has OB (the other cockatiel).

I might have the egg for breakfast tomorrow morning.  Come on!  I'm kidding!  Just testing to see that you're paying attention!

Today, I caught some crows in our veggie garden.  They've been picking at our tomatoes!

Tonight, for dinner, I used quite a bit of produce from our garden ... asparagus, tomatoes, parsley, mint, celery leaf and chillies.

I cooked tuna steaks, and served them on a bed of chilli salsa.  I made the salsa with tomato, red capsicum, cucumber, onion, asparagus, avocado, crumbled feta cheese, chilli, mint, celery leaf, basil and parsley.  For the dressing, I used lemon juice, coconut oil, balsamic vinegar and raw honey.

Adoring Husband had the leftover salsa after he finished dinner.  I know that's a good sign.

Today, I'm grateful that another storm passed without incident.  It looked spectacular!

Nite all.

Day 338 in a Year of my Life

I think I've decided on this photo for number 6 on the challenge list that I showed you yesterday.  It's for 'macro'.

Macro photography is taking extremely close-up images of subjects. The technically correct definition would be to take an image at a 1:1 ratio but, in general usage, the term has come to mean any close-up photography.

I am waiting to upload the photo, because my anal brain is telling me to upload them in the order that the list states.  I can't believe I need to do that.  Once upon a time I wouldn't have cared, but strangely, as I get older, these things matter to me.  Who'da thunk??

Maybe some of Adoring Husband's traits are wearing off on me!

It rained during the night.

At around 2.30am AH had to get up and close the bedroom windows because the rain was blowing in and landing on his face.

I didn't hear a thing!  Apparently, we got 10ml of rain, which we definitely needed, and we could do with some more.

I've ordered my next organic FROG box (organic fruit n veg) to be delivered next Thursday (they pause operations over the school holidays).

I also ordered some extra goodies, like coconut oil, coconut water, maca powder and some extra vegetables, including 'KALE'.

I don't know about you, but I've never tasted kale!

It is one of the super vegetables as far as nutritional value ...

Some of Kale’s Many Benefits

Kale is rich in iron, vitamins K, A, C, and minerals manganese and copper. It’s also high in fibre, low in calories, and has no fat. There are several things that make it a healthy food, like other healthy foods. But those things that elevate it to super-food level are not your average vitamins and minerals.

The antioxidant concentration in kale is truly remarkable. It is particularly rich in carotenoids and flavonoids. Lutein and beta-carotene are two carotenoids that work to protect the body from oxidative stress while also boosting eye health and preserving vision – both are found in kale. As a result, kale may reduce the risk of eye problems like macular degeneration and other health problems related to cellular stress like hardening of the arteries and COPD. In addition, kaempferol, a flavonoid, and quercetin are both tied to cancer-prevention, and like the other carotenoids, kale has plenty of them.

Another powerful substance in kale that has been shown to help activate the detoxification enzymes within the liver is known as sulforaphane. This compound is produced when you chew or chop the vegetable.

So, what can kale actually do for you? Given the power of the numerous beneficial compounds within the vegetable, it is likely that kale can provide:
Protection against cancer
Improved digestion
Boosted immune function
Vision health
Heart health
Anti-inflammatory benefits
General detox
Reduced cholesterol

So, over the years, I've heard people talk about kale, but I've never noticed it in the supermarkets, and I can't say that I ever noticed it in the farmer's markets or organic markets that we once frequented.  

I must check to see if it can be grown easily in this sub tropical climate of ours. 

I'm looking forward to trying it.  I can add it to my juices and smoothies, and also to salads.  It's best eaten raw because cooking it can remove some of it's nutritional potency.  Steaming it, on occasion, is ok. 

I'm looking forward to trying it.

Today, I'm grateful for quiet time to catch up on some photography tutorials and photoshop lessons.  Time flies when you're having fun!

Nite all.

Day 337 in a Year of my Life

My 104 photography group in facebook decided they wanted a new list of challenge photos for the month of October.

So here is the list ...

1. Peace/Piece
2. Rustic/Old/Broken
3. Creative Blur
4. Light & Bokeh
5. Bikes and Cars
6. Macro
7. Clouds
8. Spring
9. Obsession
10. A random stranger - speak to him/her and attach their story
11. Faces
12. Negative Space
13. Rivers/Lakes/Oceans

Each of the 'regular' contributors offered a suggestion, so everyone is involved and I'm even offering a prize to the person who 1. completes the list and 2. is judged as having the best photos.

I might get Adoring Husband to judge it or maybe I will form a panel of judges!  Not sure yet.

I'm quite keen to get started on this.  I hope the others feel equally keen.

Today I'm grateful to have a new photography challenge to obsess over ... I think I have number 9 covered :)

Nite all.

Day 336 in a Year of my Life

I have no photos to share today ... I'm all photoed out after spending last week putting together the Photo5 submissions and two flickr submissions.

I spent today watching Creativelive tutorials on photography.  Thoroughly enjoyable, very relaxing and incredibly informative.

So I think it might be time to share some facebook quotes.  No funny ones today.

Today I'm grateful to have been able to finish the Canon Photo5 submissions within the required time frame PLUS two flickr challenge photos and THEN spend a day learning a little more about my craft without guilt or interruption.

Nite all.

Day 335 in a Year of my Life

I went to bed at 'stupid' o'clock this morning and I set my alarm for another 'stupid' o'clock so that I could get the sunrise ...

Not very spectacular, but it was a beautiful morning and worth being up to watch the sun rise.

I spent a good part of the day trying to get a decent photo for the final Photo5 brief.  Still not 100% happy with the final outcome, but I'm OVER it, so I submitted this one tonight, for the 'Shadows or Stencil' brief ...

That's about it for my day.  Very quiet.  Very relaxing.  Very enjoyable.

Today, I'm grateful that the black, thunderous storms skirted their way past us this evening and all we got out of it was some rolling thunder for a little while.

Nite all.

Day 334 in a Year of my Life

What a great night we had tonight!

We caught the Burrum River Quest over to Walker's Point, where the Woodgate Bowls Club buses picked all 20 of us up and drove us to the Bowls Club.

We relaxed and chatted over a drink.  A couple of us played the pokies for half an hour and then we all ordered dinner, which was served promptly by friendly, happy staff.

The food was delicious.

We discovered one of our group was celebrating a birthday, so we all sang 'Happy Birthday'. 

A couple of drinks later, we were sitting near the dance floor and a rock and roll band was playing.  The members of the band, all elderly, were having a rocking good time.  We knew most of the songs, so sang along and a couple, all dressed in their dancing garb, got up and let loose on the dance floor.

Some of our group also got up for a dance.  As usual 'Nutbush' was the most popular dance song!

At 8.45pm the buses drove us all back to the boat ramp, where we met Burrum River Quest again, which took us back home.

There was a good old fashioned singalong on the boat and some belly laughs were had by many.

It took a bit longer to get home because the tide was out, so we had to manoeuvre between sandbanks and moored yachts, in the dark.

Who knew that we had such pretty lights lining the shores of our river??  (Excuse the quality of photo - taken on a moving boat and without a tripod)

We made it back safe n sound and were home before 10pm.

A thoroughly enjoyable night and I'd love to do it again!

Despite the weather forecast being for possible storms and strong winds, the weather was calm and perfect.  Not a cloud in the sky on the way home and the water was like glass.  We couldn't have asked for a better night to be on the water.

So a good time was had by all!

Today, I'm grateful for opportunities to do something new and different, with good friends and new friends.

Nite all.

Day 333 in a Year of my Life

No photos from today.  I did take some, but I haven't looked at them yet.

The highlight of my day was having a nap on the garden swing this afternoon.  It was very pleasant until a massive gust of wind almost blew the garden swing AND I over the fence!  That was most definitely a heart starter!

I made some gluten free, refined sugar free and lactose free chocolate brownies.  Delicious, but very very rich.  Adoring Husband only had one and didn't ask for more, so I take it that they weren't to his liking.  All the more for me!

I had a great night at the club with the girls tonight.  No luck on the pokies though.  At least last week's win paid for my Christmas getaway with the girls in November.

Today I'm grateful to be living on the coast, away from the stifling heat that is making Spring almost unbearable for inland and central Queensland.  We complain about the constant wind, but the wind is keeping our temperatures down.  40C and higher inland.  Ugh!

Nite all.

Day 332 in a Year of my Life

Well ... with 5 days to go til the closing date of the photo competition, I got two of the photos done today!  Woot!  Woot!

The 'Jelly' brief (Jellyfish) ...

The 'Cartoon Eyes' brief (Death by Blending) ...

So that's three down and two to go.

Best Cousin in the World left today.  It was a brief, but very nice visit.  Now she gets to spend a night with my little sis, 'Squirt'.

We didn't even get a photo of each other this time!  For photographers, we are not very good at recording memories of our lives!

An interesting little development with SEB and OB (the cockatiels)!  SEB spent quite some time in the nesting box today and created a little nest inside with the shredded paper that Adoring Husband put there.

OB spent the entire time sitting on the perch right outside the little entrance to the nesting box and didn't even move to eat during that time.

Something interesting could happen any time now!

I'll keep you posted!

Today, I'm grateful that the 56km per hour winds have finally dropped back to 30km per hour!  I'm a bit OVER the wind.

Nite all.

Day 331 in a Year of my Life

I feel a bit tired tonight.

Best Cousin in the World and I have had a day cycling, photographing, shopping, eating and sleeping (well, she slept and I cooked).

A couple of photos from this morning.

Today I'm grateful to have two guinea pigs (Adoring Husband and Best Cousin in the World) on whom to test my cooking experiments.

Nite all.

Day 330 in a Year of my Life

How is this for cuteness??

She is so special.

That's all I wanted to share tonight ... she deserves a post all of her own.

Today I'm grateful that Vegan Chickie and Chicklet share so many little snippets of their lives from afar.

Nite all

Day 329 in a Year of my Life

Adoring Husband and I have a favourite lamb and rice dish that I cook about once a month.

It's a recipe handed down to me from my last partner believe it or not!  Personally, I think he cooked it better than I ever could, but I keep trying.

Every time I cook it, it turns out different to the last time.

He used to call it Mongolian Lamb, however, there is nothing 'mongolian' about it.

It's layers of browned lamb barbecue chops, tinned tomatoes, leeks and rice, all covered with stock and then cooked in the oven for 2 hours.  Really simple, and really tasty.

I've got a pot of it in the oven right now ... but I've tried something different this time.

When I cleaned out the fridge earlier today, there were some old vegetables that I knew wouldn't last much longer and I didn't think I'd use them in the next couple of days, so I threw them all in a saucepan with some filtered water, some herbs from the garden and some himalayan salt and cracked pepper and made some vegetable stock.

I had a small amount of home made chicken stock left in the freezer, so I added that when it was finished and used the whole lot as my stock for the lamb dish (I usually use two containers of bought liquid chicken stock + the juice from the tinned tomatoes).

The other change I made, was using fresh tomatoes.

Everybody has an abundance of tomatoes in their gardens at the moment, and because ours aren't quite ripe yet, our friends have been sharing theirs with us.

All types.  Egg, cherry, grape, ox heart, beef steak, gross lisse, mini roma etc etc.

So I chopped a good lot of them up into big chunks and I also threw a good lot of them in the blender and pureed them.

I didn't add anything to them, because when I tasted them, the flavour was so delicious and strong, I didn't think they needed anything else.

I used all of this as the tomato base for my lamb dish (I usually use 3 tins of whole tomatoes and one tin of diced tomatoes).

I won't finalise this post until after dinner tonight so that I can tell you if it was a success or not.

While I've been creative in the kitchen, Adoring Husband has been creative in the shed.

He made this to house our often-used shoes in the garage.

and he made this nesting box for OB and SEB.

One of them laid an egg last week and we found it smashed on the cage floor.

It is Spring, so I guess the birds and the bees get restless at this time of year!

Anyway, the only thing that this has confirmed, is that one of them is a female!  We figure, if the other is a male, perhaps we should accommodate the possibility of little OBs and SEBs in the future.

So it's been a very creative day for both of us.  This was our lunch ...

Today I'm grateful to live in this very lucky country.  I feel so lucky to have been born here and that I've never had to suffer the injustices, the cruelty, the torture, the poverty, the starvation, the violence, the fear, the sickness,  the trauma of war or any of the hardships that so many others in so many countries have endured.  Australians have so much to be grateful for and we should never take this lifestyle for granted.

Nite all.

PS Dinner had so much more flavour than usual - Adoring Husband had two helpings!

Day 328 in a Year of my Life

Well, we had our first storm of the season this afternoon and we survived intact.

Very heavy rain and then hail coating the ground and then the wind picked up, giving Adoring Husband and I a bit of a heart starter.

No doubt, our level of panic, will decrease with each storm.  Fear is a terrible thing.

I was somewhat distracted mid storm though.

I thought it was a good opportunity to get some good hail shots with the camera, but as I pressed the button, the battery went dead.

I got my spare battery out of the bag, but discovered quickly, that it was also flat because I'd forgotten to charge it last week, when I removed it from the camera.

So I got the battery out of my old camera ... but yes, you guessed it, it was also flat!!

Adoring Husband came to the rescue with a battery out of his camera, but alas the storm was almost over and the hail had almost melted, so my shots are less than spectacular.

At least the battery dilemma took our minds off our fear ever so briefly!

Today, I'm grateful for the smell of fresh rain on the grass and I'm sure that our vegetable garden is grateful for the well needed rain that fell this afternoon.  The hail didn't damage any of our produce - thank goodness.

Nite all.

Day 327 in a Year of my Life

This is my entry for the 'flour' brief in the photo competition.

It was quite chilly this morning when I pedalled down to the bakery at 4.30am!

Adoring Husband drove the car slowly behind me, all the way, just to make sure I arrived safe n sound, then he went off to work.

I spent about 45 minutes at the bakery weaving in and out between the two bakers as they hurried through their work.  They have their work practises down to a fine art and are totally in sync with each other, knowing exactly what to do and when to do it without uttering a word.

Impressive!

There was a good morning of photography awaiting me at the river.

A beautiful sunrise.

A fish carcass on the beach attracted the birdlife.

I was very happy with my morning .. a nice reward for having to be up at 'stupid' o'clock!

So I'm pretty happy with the day so far.

Now I'm off to figure out what to make for dinner tonight .. hopefully a culinary work of art worthy of bragging about in a future post!

Today I am grateful, that both Adoring Husband and I, get to sleep all night and not have to wake to an early alarm.

Nite all.  

Day 326 in a Year of my Life

OMG

I am so tired!

I stayed awake until 2am so that I could go to the local bakery and get photos of 'flour' for the Photo competition.

Adoring Husband set his alarm so that he could drive me.

I did offer to ride my trike, but he was insistent.  Apparently, even our town isn't safe enough at that time of the night, for his liking.

So he drove me there and sat in the car while I spent about 30 minutes taking photos.

We were home in time for me to be in bed by 3am, but it took a while for me to fall asleep and then I was awake at 7am.

For the first half of the day, I felt totally hung over!

I remember the days when I could stay awake all night and still function very well the next day.

I tried a magic green smoothie and some of my new home made muesli, which helped a little, but it was lunch time before I began to feel normal again.

I need to get a good sleep tonight, because I'm going back there tomorrow morning at 4.30am.

Last night, they were making bread, so there was lots of dough, but not much flour.

Apparently, when they make pastry tomorrow, there will be lots of flour and moving machinery, so I'll have another go.

It's just across the road from the beach, so I'll try for a sunrise afterwards

Anyway, today I'm grateful to be living in a small town where everybody knows each other and are willing to help in any way for my photography challenges.  The same baker that has my photos hanging on his shop walls.  It's so nice.

Nite all.

Day 325 in a Year of my Life

Since I changed my eating habits a month ago, I have 5 favourite 'go-to' foods, that I use in most meals (not all at once of course!).

1. Home made chicken stock - I keep containers of it in the freezer.  It's great for quick soups, boiling rice in, adding to gravies and sauces and any of your favourite meat dishes like spaghetti bolognese sauce.  Much healthier and more full of goodness than the pre-packaged, watery, salty stocks that you buy in the shops.
2. Feta Cheese, which I add to salads, mashes, sauces, vegetables, pizzas, quinoa etc.  Adds so much extra flavour and a little bit goes a long way.  One of the healthiest cheeses you can eat.
3. Coconut Oil.  As an ingredient for cakes, chocolates and desserts.  Excellent for frying foods, for skin care and adding to smoothies.  I also add it to my muesli mix (recipe in this post).
4. Nuts.  All nuts (raw and you can roast them yourself).  They are full of protein, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fatty acids.  They have a long shelf life.  They lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol.  Add them to anything for extra flavour or extra crunch.  Excellent for making sauces and creams, in place of dairy.  They are also a healthy and satisfying snack.  
5. Pure Maple Syrup (NOT maple flavoured syrup).  One of the healthiest replacements for refined sugar, full of manganese, zinc and antioxidants.  It supports reproductive health and Zinc is excellent for keeping your prostate healthy.  Maple Syrup can be used in tea and coffee, smoothies, marinades, over desserts and fruit salads.  I used it in my muesli mix today too.

I have a good supply of those 5 products in my pantry/fridge/freezer and I use them every single day knowing that they are improving the health of my body with vitamins, minerals, nutrients and other such goodness.

I've been wanting to make a nice gluten free, sugar free muesli for ages, so today, I started to do some research and looked for some recipes online.

After about 30 minutes, I couldn't find anything that I liked, and they all contained dried fruits (not a fan .. although the dehydrated fruits that I've made myself have so much more flavour and I may just incorporate them).

So I decided to experiment with all the nuts and seeds that I have stored in my pantry at the moment.

I can't give you any precise measurements, because I just threw in whatever I thought looked good!

Nutty Muesli Mix

Ingredients

• A lot of raw skinless almonds (approx one and half cups)
• 100g mix of pepitas, sunflower seeds and pine nuts
• A good swig of sesame seeds
• A good dollop of tahini
• Approx 1 cup of quinoa puffs
• A good handful of flaxseed
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• Less than 1/4 cup of coconut sugar
• A swig of maple syrup
• Maybe 1/2 cup of coconut oil
• Filtered water - maybe half a cup?

Throw it all in the food processor and mix it til it's all mixed up and the nuts are a 'bit' chopped up.  Lay it out roughly on some baking paper on an oven tray and put it in the oven at 200C for about 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on it because there is a point where it will start to burn .. you want it a bit golden.
When it comes out of the oven, separate it all (I used my favourite kitchen utensil - a paint scraper) til it's a crumbly, crunchy mixture.  Wait til it cools completely before putting it in an airtight container.

It is everything I hoped it would be and more!  I am going to eat it with natural yoghurt and fresh fruit for breakfast.

Tomorrow, I'll share my chicken stock method.

I can't wait to pick up our organic box of fruit and veg this afternoon - to see what lovely surprises are in there to challenge my cooking skills and get those creative juices flowing!

I have one more photo to share with you for the 'jelly' brief in the Canon Photo5 comp.

So far, after some friendly advice, this is the one that I'm using for the brief.

Today, I'm grateful for FROG.  The fruit and veg box was amazing.  We got lettuce, baby spinach, potatoes, pumpkin, broccoli, onions, bananas, apples, celery, oranges, avocado, carrots, tomatoes and mushrooms.  So happy!

Nite all.

Day 324 in a Year of my Life

It was still windy here today, but not near as bad as yesterday.

Apparently the wind will increase again tomorrow.

On the news last night, they predicted 30 storms over the coming season, three of them significant.

Doesn't that warm the cockles of your heart?  I think not.

This morning, I rose early, hoping to get a nice sunrise and experiment with the light and my jelly for the Photo5 contest.

The sunrise was a non-event and the jelly was washed into the ocean after my second photo!!

I still have another idea to try with Adoring Husband tomorrow.  I might nab him early tomorrow morning and see what we can come up with.

Full moon tomorrow afternoon.  If only I could find an interesting location to make the most of it!

A nice photo of a lovely local lady.

I've got the dehydrator working today.  Banana, strawberry, apple and tomato all on their way to dried deliciousness.

Today I'm grateful to see our garden abundant with tomatoes, all beginning to ripen.  I can't wait to make my own sun dried tomatoes with all kinds of different flavours.

Nite all.

Day 323 in a Year of my Life

O-M-G the wind!

All day, the winds have been gusting up to 59km hour.

We couldn't even sit at the Seat of Knowledge this morning because the wind was just too strong and too uncomfortable.  We said our 'good mornings' and then headed home.

Even though I have my nervous moments when the wind is like this during the day, it is much worse  for me at night.

Because the tornado hit us under the cover of darkness back in January, and we were in bed at the time, so that's when the memories come flooding back to make my heart pound.

Lying there listening to the heavy rain on the roof, or hearing the wind gusting, puts me on edge and I know that Adoring Husband feels the same.

During heavy storms over southern Queensland yesterday and last night, there was a suspected tornado near the Darling Downs.  Luckily, it didn't hit a heavily populated area and only damaged one person's property (not their home).

That news story certainly grabbed our attention.

I spent a bit of time in the kitchen again today.

My first little adventure was to make coconut rough chocolates.  Delicious, but rich!  I felt uncomfortable after eating 2 in one sitting .. they are about the size of a small cookie.

After that, for dinner tonight, I made a Smoked Cod and Sweet Potato Pie.  My own invention.

For the white sauce I used a savoury cashew cream and got the recipe for that here.

I had some leftover broccoli in the fridge (about half a head), so I cut the florets leaving most of the stems behind.  I also chopped 4 shallots and used about a 1/4 cup of frozen peas (I wouldn't usually use frozen vegetables, but I'm using up what's in the freezer).

I gently fried these in butter and then added it to the cashew cream.

I poached the smoked cod in full cream milk and butter and then flaked it and added it to the cashew cream mixture.  Stir it all through evenly and pour into a casserole dish.

I boiled and mashed 2 sweet potatoes and 1 normal potato with a dob of butter and then added a big dollop of sour cream to the mix.

I completely covered the smoked cod mixture with the mash and then put it in a very hot oven for 20 minutes, or until the mash started to brown a little.

I think next time I'd like to make some sort of crunchy crumble to put on top of the mash, for some added texture.  I tried to make croutons with gluten free bread, but that didn't work at all.

Adoring Husband didn't make any comment about the meal (I think he was secretly disappointed, expecting the usual smoked cod with white sauce), however, he ate it all, so he can't have hated it.

We both had some coconut rough later in the evening and AH wants to use the same recipe to make peanut clusters ... a much healthier option than the sugar laden peanut clusters that he buys from the shops, which are also full of other strange ingredients.

Today, I'm grateful to have a strong roof over our head.

Nite all.

Day 322 in a Year of my Life

So, yesterday, when I said "I'm grateful for random photography tutorials that trigger possible GREAT ideas for photo competitions", the idea that I had in my head didn't actually work out successfully.  In fact my attempts were pretty dull.

My list of 'fails' appears to be getting longer.

I have two more ideas that I want to try tomorrow.  After that ... who knows?

Adoring Husband and I had to go into The Bay today, to pick up a prize that he had won in a raffle.

Of all the prizes in all the raffles in all the world, why did we win this one????

Not really our cup of tea at all, and it certainly doesn't suit the decor in our home.

I think we will re-gift to another charity organisation so that she can be raffled off again and hopefully go to a home where she will be loved.

Since we had to be in town anyway, we decided to go to the movies.  We saw "Elysium" starring Matt Damon and Jody Foster.  It was quite violent and a bit graphic in parts, but aside from that (just keep reminding yourself that it's not real), I really enjoyed it.

I was never a big fan of Matt Damon, but having seen a few of his interviews, he seems like a nice, down to earth family man and I've recently warmed to him.  I've always been a big Jody Foster fan.

Our dehydrator arrived today, so this week, I hope to start dehydrating!

We had a nice baked dinner tonight and then I got to savour the last of the avocado/chocolate mousse.  Sooooo good!

Today, I'm grateful for the season of Spring, and finding a new Tawny Frogmouth nest to watch and wondering if the strange actions and sounds coming from SEB the cockatiel, is his attempt to court OB the cockatiel.  We may need to obtain a nesting box for the cage!

Nite all.

Day 321 in a Year of my Life

We have what we think is a failed attempt at making feta cheese.

However, we will wait a few more hours before we make a final decision.

*insert sad face here*

The weekend has been filled with football finals games.  The National Rugby League football finals are upon us and there were four games this weekend.

My team didn't quite make it this year, but Adoring Husband's team did, and they won yesterday, thanks to a refereeing error of major proportions.  Controversy abounds.

Next week, in the preliminary finals, they have to play the team that beat them in their only 2 grand final appearances (many, many years ago), so it will be a psychological battle to overcome, as well as a physical one.

Needless to say, Adoring Husband can't wipe the smile off his face ... and football hasn't given him a lot to smile about in recent years, what with State of Origin and his team losing (to my team) 8 years in a row (just had to mention that one and rub a little salt in) and this team not winning a game in the first round of finals since 2008.

His team suffered injuries yesterday, so we're hoping that they aren't too bad and that they don't lose major players for such an important game.

On a happier note, I made a delicious chocolate mousse this afternoon, out of avocado, coconut milk & oil, cocoa, maple syrup, vanilla extract and cream.

I ate some for dinner!

I really wasn't feeling hungry after a very delicious garden salad and potato salad lunch, and I knew if I ate dinner, I wouldn't have room for dessert ... so I had JUST dessert.  Haha!  I had my just desserts!  Pffft.

Here's one of my practise shots for the 'Jelly' brief in the Photo5 competition.  I'm only showing it because I haven't got any other photos prepared for this post.

See, I have lots of 'fails'.

Today I'm grateful for random photography tutorials on facebook that trigger possible GREAT ideas for photo competitions.  Watch this space tomorrow :)

Nite all.