mulberry

A friend left these on my desk at work a little while back.

I didn't know it but there was a mulberry tree just across the road. I ran outside to get more. There was something totally magical about plucking those ripe berries from the tree, having the vivid, juice run down my arms. I was back in childhood land, to red-stained faces and keeping silkworms.

I've been trying to feel more connected to nature in recent months. There is something about bare feet on grass, touching the leaves on my little rescued crab-apple tree, watering a gifted money plant.

Not many berries on the tree now, they've all fallen off, but the memories remain.

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a few degrees

In search of a few degrees extra warmth and some down time we recently headed up north to the Gold Coast for a few days. It was a funny trip.

The weather held out its end of the bargain and was sunny and mostly warm enough for t-shirts and shorts to both make an appearance. We also enjoyed some pretty great food and an apartment with a glorious view of the sky and the sea.

And then... we both got head colds, Kristian suffered a minor foot injury, I cricked my back and managed to fulfill one of my most feared experiences by spectacularly throwing up on a crowded bus coming back from Dreamworld. Not my finest hour let me tell you. I now know that multiple roller coaster rides (including the horror inducing kiddie-spinning-boat-thing that goes around and upside down) coupled with painkillers and egg salad sandwiches do not mix. Even writing that sentence is making me feel nauseous.

On the plus side there was plenty of relaxing and down time. We walked on the beautiful but also slightly apocalyptic looking beach up to Surfer's Paradise, got some quality vitamin D action and even caught up on some classic episodes of Cheers and Family Ties. Good times indeed.  Oh and we made some awesome food - burgers, epic breakfasts, bacon sandwiches, tacos, banana desserts. I also managed to fly through the 5 novellas of Wool, which were utterly mind-blowing.

Now begins holiday recovery mode. Roll on vegetables, vegetables and copious amounts of health.

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tuesday/friday

With the Anzac day holiday tomorrow there's definitely a bit of a weekend feeling in the air. We are thinking of having a little barbeque at home and making some Anzac biscuits and settling in to watch an old/new favourite TV show Work of Art. What are your plans? Anyone going to the dawn service or heading out to the pub to play two up?

In the meantime, on this slightly dreary Tuesday afternoon, here are a few peppy songs to get you in the mood for mid-week barbeques and baking...





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the island pt 3: food memories and the beauty of less

It's beginning to feel like a while ago now but whenever I look through the photos from our trip I feel myself momentarily transported back to the island.

One of the things I love most about going on holiday is that, whilst broadening your horizons, it also temporarily shrinks down your world, making you simplify and enjoy making do with less.  This is something I'm thinking a lot about at the moment as we are planning to move house in the next few months.

Some of my favourite memories from Lord Howe Island have to do with simple food, especially the meals we cobbled together from what we had bought that day from the local shop, or picked from the vegetable garden - the salads, barbeques and cheese plates we prepared for ourselves, enjoyed with many a glass of red or sparkling wine.

A salad we prepared most days, with rocket and everlasting lettuce from the veggie patch, tomatoes, walnuts, grapes and parmesan.

Cheeseplates to snack on whilst we played cards at night.

An impromptu pizza picnic with my family, overlooking the water.

Amusingly named and gut-bustingly good burgers from the local store.  Ned's was the fish burger, Future was Kristian's favourite - a burger featuring pretty much everything.

And then in a moment of unforgettable joy and simplicity we enjoyed the best meal of the trip - a spontaneous breakfast picnic at Lover's Bay overlooking the ocean, with vegemite toast, Lindt chocolate and grapes, a ring, a question and a resounding yes!

And then coffee and cake to celebrate.

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the island pt 2: wildlife

One of the most wonderful things about our trip for me was becoming so much more aware of my natural surroundings. I was like a child excitedly pointing out interesting plants and spotting baby terns sitting on tree branches as we cycled past each day on our way to the beach.

A few wildlife highlights:
- making friends with our Woodhen neighbours in the back garden of our apartment
- encountering a chilled out herd of cows on a forest walk to the other side of the island
- baby bird spotting
- dodging the intricate webs of the Golden Orb spiders
- encountering a reef shark on our second day as we swam in the shallows (I far too calmly insisted it was a Kingfish until Kristian spotted fins).
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the island pt 1

It's my first week back at work so naturally I'm thinking about our holiday to Lord Howe Island and wishing myself back there.

I used to visit Lord Howe with my family a lot when I was younger but I haven't been back in a few years and the best thing about it is that it's hardly changed. It's like a small country town from the 70s but surrounded by water and with the most beautiful forests, walks, beaches and wildlife you can imagine.

Lord Howe Island also has the most fantastic place names - Hell's Gates, Kim's Lookout, Valley of the Shadows, The End of the World, to name a few. We didn't make it to many of those spots, some are virtually inaccessible without a boat, but we did hit up Blinky Beach every day that we could and the weather permitted. A few months after my 18th birthday I got caught in a rip and nearly drowned at this beach and it still inspires my fearful respect but when the weather is right, hands down it's my favourite place to swim on Earth. Kristian became a massive fan too and over the week we caught enough waves there to ever so partially digest the amazing amounts of food and wine we consumed on the trip.

And the fish, oh the fish. From the moment we landed, I was licking my chops over that first hotly anticipated plate of Kingfish - grilled with lemon and potatoes on the side, accompanied by sparkling white wine. Our family friend Ron works as a chef at one of the restaurants and one night we headed up the hill at dusk to be treated to Kingfish and Oahu, fresh caught that day.

Walking home in the pitch dark to the sounds of Muttonbirds calling to each other in plaintive tones and seeing a million stars sparkling overhead was a pretty spectacular end to the year.

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scenes from the new year

Happy 2012 to you! Hope your New Year's Eve was matched in goodness by the days that followed!
The first thing Kristian and I did on New Year's Day was to play a game of hungover celebrity heads - highly recommended!

We've had some friends Matt and Hiroko staying with us over the last few days, which has made the celebrations that much more enjoyable for us. We have snacked and chatted, drunk a medley of hilarious drinks, interpretive danced along to Kylie, watched fireworks from a nearby park, hit up DJ's for song requests, eaten late night pies and welcomed the new year with cooked breakfasts, swings in parks, picnics and drinks at dusk.

Here's to many more of these good things in the year ahead.

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jacaranda

The flowers here are crazy beautiful at the moment, almost good enough to eat. With this recent rush of springy warmth, there has been an explosion of Jacaranda in the neighbouring streets near our place.  My walk to work has become a fresh, new delight and I have moments where I feel like I'm in another place entirely, full of new things to be discovered.

And speaking of discoveries, I've been very much enjoying:
- vicarious travel adventures up north
- Annie Leibovitz's photographic pilgrimages
- marvelling at these edible landscapes

Hope you're having a nice week so far.

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birthday weekend

I turn 31 today - good heavens! But I'm in good spirits because Kristian and I just came back from a weekend in the Blue Mountains - a weekend of views, relaxation and lots of delicious food and drink. We stayed in a little cottage right near Echo Point and the Three Sisters and were minutes away from the breathtaking views. Looking out over the valley we felt like we were standing on the edge of the known world. It was a clear day yesterday and we could see for ever.

Although we only stayed for two nights I somehow managed to pack enough food for a least a week so, whilst there was lots of amazing snacking, great meals what not, there was also a fair bit of lying on the couch with a full belly groaning. No complaints though, it was so nice to escape from the city for a few days, to read and play cards, to wander in the bush and generally loll about.

Some highlights: the flowerpot scones at The Wayzgoose Cafe in Leura, a surprisingly good coffee at the top of Scenic World, hearing Japanese schoolgirls screaming as they went down the Scenic Railway (I screamed internally), homemade kebabs at the Katoomba waterfalls for lunch, the miner's cottage in the bush, hearing the incredible vocal mimcry of the Lyrebird and Norman Lindsay's house (and cafe - where I had to have yet another round of scones!)  All in all a damn fine birthday weekend!

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