Merry Christmas 2011

I can relax now. My Christmas preparations are finished so I can stop whinging about it all now and enjoy. I don’t have to go near the shops this week and only have to go into town for my final Tai Chi class for the year and probably pick up milk, though now I think about it we are going into town on Saturday but we are just playing squash and not going near the shops as it would be crazy.

We had our Tai Chi lunch on Thursday and while not everyone turned up and it was a bit hot, we had a good time. How could you not enjoy lunch, especially with friends? It is a nice spot at the boat club and the ocean makes a lovely view and of course deciding which boat we would live on and what we would do on it.

I have made some mango sauce last week and so we have enough sauces and such to last us a while. Just need to label them now before I forget :)

The garden is a bit wild again and so I am getting that organised as a lot of things won’t grow over the wet season but am planting what will. So I have put in more gigantic cucumber, snake beans, rocket and okra, though I am not sure if this will grow but I am giving it a go as I have space. We have plans to improve the garden next year, it will be larger, easier to manage and produce more, it’s a theory anyway.

I went to get sweet potato from the garden yesterday and they are all gone, bandicoots have tunnelled all under the garden and eaten them, I found one half eaten. Obviously I need a better plan for this patch.

I planted out some paw paws and hope they survive the transplant, we actually have a few popping up in strange places.

This week I have recovered the benches on the front veranda. The old covers have faded and had who knows what spilt on them, so time to be redone. I did this 18months to nearly two years ago but being outside does take its toll. I think they look very bright and fresh.

My partner in crime and life had some money from his birthday and bought two coffee plants which have put in pots on the veranda. They will hang out with the lime, lemon and orange trees which are already there. I like having pots on the veranda and will continue looking for edible trees that are suitable for pots to go across the front.

We have had some much needed rain this week, of course not enough but enough to make the grass instantly shoot up. It has also been nice to not have to water the garden every day, you can never water as well as some rain.

Here is my partner in crime and life doing what he does every day come rain, hail or shine, spending time with the chooks. For wild chooks, there are a few who have more front than Myers (it is called greed), though there are some who dart in and out to get some bread and others who won’t come close.

So wishing everyone an amazing and safe Christmas (in case I don’t post again this week), wishing everyone the spirit of Christmas and make sure you pace yourself with your eating and drinking (you will feel so much better for it) and drink lots of water :P

Merry Christmas

Tomato Sauce

Well, the Christmas thing is in full swing, can’t avoid it till about February when the “After Christmas” sales are over. Actually, I suppose you could but you would have to drop out of society for a while and for most of us we have to live in the world despite wanting to be a hermit.

So onward we go into Christmas. Our number one and only son has managed to keep himself occupied so far, but it has only been a week. Only 7 weeks left. His school report was OK when it arrived yesterday in the mail, though of course his best subjects were the ones that actually interest him, computers, art and robotics/tech (woodwork), boy subjects.

I haven’t grown many tomatoes this year just cherry tomatoes so the other day I bought a box of tomatoes for $5 for making sauce. It is the yummiest tomato sauce ever and it is difficult to go back to the bland store bought sauce. I have made four batches all up, requiring 2kg for each batch and there is some left over for eating.

We use the sauce not just for on meat but on homemade pizza, and savoury scrolls and in any cooking at all really, we can go through quite a lot. I have also given some away to my friends which I love to be able to do.

It really is the best season here as all the fruit is on. There are mangoes and lychees everywhere and well, don’t’ really need more than mangoes and lychees, what more can I say.

ON OTHER MATTERS

I read the news every morning to catch up with what is going on here in Australia and around the world and this morning was the news that yet another factory will close down. It is a wheel manufacturing plant in Adelaide for Harley Davidson and 212 people will lose their jobs in 18months. There have been other closures recently as well, so some more people will be having a more serious Christmas.

However, there is this article at Survival Mom titled 15 Ways to Celebrate Good Times in Hard Times which reminds us that it isn’t only about gift giving but experiences and rituals. Our number one and only son has always loved birthday cakes (can’t not have one) and the Christmas decorations (which he seems to want to put up earlier and earlier every year).

Art Finds Kate always has lovely art work and this is a very sweet piece. My own artist friend Kate gave me a sketch book and pencils for Christmas and I will be making good use of them these holidays as well as doing some paintings (not sure if I will be game to post pictures of my work as I am not that good though I do enjoy it). I need to practice as I have said I would come to their art group next year, not sure I am game for that either so might hide in the corner. One of my mottos is to always try the things you fear as it is usually not that bad and you will probably have a good time plus it saves lost opportunities. Just took notice of the title of Art Finds Kate's post :)