Another day in Paradise.

Another beautiful day here in Sunny Queensland. I am glad to be back at the farm. I have had a busy few days as I went down to the city for a couple of days. I arrived there late Wednesday to be ready for Thursday...the dreaded tooth pulling day !

It went pretty well really. I had stressed myself out all week in anticipation. Mama drove me down there and I was secretly panicking. In I went , by myself I might add. (Never admit you are terrified until afterwards !!!) I had been booked for a one hour appointment and wasn't quite sure why it would take one hour. I made the mistake of asking. Silly girl. The dentist informed me that if things went well it would only take about thirty minutes but he had allowed time in case the tooth broke down as he may have to cut into the gum or maybe even into the bone. They (the dentist and his assistant) laughed when I groaned...they thought I was joking!!!! By this time I was shaking so hard I felt ill. Shall I cry now or wait two minutes..... Thankfully it came out easily......I was elated...bringing me back down again the dear gentleman said he would take another x ray to make sure he had all of the pieces out. Oh no....Ah... another false alarm. Everything was OK. I was out of there so fast I think I forgot to say Thank you. Mama was surprised that I was so calm when I came out but after the build up...ha...I could afford to be. A quiet sit down at home and a couple of panadol and I was ready for the world again.

Mama and I picked up the Princess from school and took her to her swimming lesson. She has only had a couple and has more enthusiasm than style but it looks like she has got the hang of things. It was good fun to watch all the children at different levels of learning. It made me reflect on how we take our "talents" for granted. Every new skill that we take on is a challenge. After we have mastered them we quickly forget how difficult it seemed at the time. Be it the patchwork, quilting and applique, always being able to sew my own clothes or the cooking that seems like second nature me. Even the gardening which is still such a big learning curve for me. You forget the frustration of not knowing how to do something that others do with ease and then all of a sudden..the light goes on and yes, you can do it too. I think that is why I love to learn new things. Be it blogging or whatever. The next challenge that is bubbling up inside of me is Cheese making. I bought a book a couple of years ago and have read it a couple of times. Mmmm looks a bit hard to me. Then Gavin from The Greening of Gavin had a go. Hey. If Gavin can do it ...I can. Then Julie from Towards Sustainability is all set up to go. (Two of my favourite blogs). I realise that I learn best from watching things done rather than by reading it from a book so with that in mind my quest is to find someone close by who can teach me. There I have said it. Now is the time to bite the bullet. A new challenge. Oh how I love life :-) Sorry I got side tracked there. I apologise for the fact that I have no pretty pictures today. a) every photo I took of the little mermaid....with the delay for the flash...she was under water and who wants to see a picture of a pool full of water!!! b) I left my camera behind in Mamas handbag. Such is life.

Anyway....Here we are back up the farm and hasn't the weather been wonderful. Cold enough at night to be able to snuggle up in front of the fire or nestle down "for a long winters nap" in flannelet sheets with a soft fluffy doona on the top and bright and sunny during the day so that you can work hard outside without dissolving into a pool of sweat. How blessed are we?

The Gorgeous boy and I worked in the vegetable garden this morning. Planting seeds for more root crops and setting up a couple of huge pots of herbs as a back up in case our furry friends eat any more of the ones outside of the fenced area. I am not pointing any fingers but look below at how cheeky they are and how close to the "home paddock" they will come.

They jump the electric fence or shimmy underneath as do the wallabies and hares. My flower beds are fair game for them but not the veggies. Enough is enough. We have chest high dog fencing around there and plan to put deer fencing around the orchard before too long as they come in almost daily on a mission of destruction :-(

This afternoon was spent cooking up a vast pot of beef stew....comfort food weather. Enough for dinner tonight and plenty for the freezer. Everything I could find in the cupboards and garden. Carrots, onions, garlic. celery, sweet potato, pumpkin, tomatoes, cauliflower, beef, bacon and some blue peas. Gotta tell you...it was delicious. Mmmmmmm oh...there was a little chilli in there too ;-) While that was cooking I went and spent an hour or so mowing around the house on my ride on. Another productive day.

When I went down to visit The Great Dane last weekend he asked me to bring down some blue peas from Simply Good. I dutifully took him down a kilo and asked what they were being used for as I had never cooked them myself. He explained that they were used to cook "mushy peas". I remember that my Grandmother used to make mushy peas when I was a little girl. She was a "yorkshire" woman and a very basic cook (due to financial necessity) but the food that she did put on the table was always delicious. The memory of eating this dish evoked other lovely memories of my childhood so when I called in the shops to pick up a few groceries on Friday I bought a small bag of these peas. I will be doing a little experimental cookery with them over the next few weeks while the weather is still cool. I may even be a little indulgent and make some of Grandmas "splodge". Sponge cake filled with jam. Chopped up into small squares and stirred through hot custard. Oh Heaven. (At least that's what I thought fifty odd years ago!!! We'll see :-) My bed is calling me. Night all.