Phew. Long time.

I really suck arse at this consistency thing. I've never been great at it - diaries always commenced enthusiastically but petered off, study was the best thing ever in the earlier part of the semester and clearly blogs fall into the same category. At least I am consistent in my inconsistency. But anyhoo, it's a stormy Sydney night (after the hottest day, oh, ever), I've had the day off so all my chores have been done (except the ones I hate) so I thought I'd pull up a pew and say howdy. So, howdy.

It's been a fun, em, few months! The annual girls' holiday to Phillip Island for the MotoGP came through with the goods in October. I thought about putting some photos up, but I look too terribly bogan in all of them. Of course that is the charm of the weekend however back in civilisation, well, you know. Suffice to say it's always a blast, and that I'll be back next year.

Other fun things have included this night:



Tim and I went to an opening at the Botanic Gardens one early Spring evening. Free wine! Free canapes! Hideous crafty craft! We did, surprisingly, find some lovely handblown glasses - a cross between vases and glasses really. The artist saw us coming and said they were ideal for gin and tonics...well she sold us, and they sure are. Large gin and tonics. Hurrah!

It's spring time so there have been a world of berries which I have been unable to resist - I bashed up these strawberry and mulberry tarts for an afternoon tea recently. I think they were made with a light lemon cream base. They were pretty good. I am currently on a detox, though, so everything other than fish and greens seems pretty good.



And look! Some more sideways flowers! My specialty.



These snapdragons harboured a colony of caterpillars. They stayed hidden for about a week, but during a dinner party (Tim's old housemates. Very drunk. Possibly partial cause of detox) we noticed the odd caterpillar here and there. They were quite cute. And then we saw about five more. And ten more after that. And then it seemed the entire bunch was a crawling mass of caterpillars, so I removed them outside (far from my window boxes). But they are pretty though, huh? And sideways.

And finally, for some reason I have taken photos of green pasta. We made David Tanis' Green Lasagne with Greens. It was heavenly - really light and freshly flavoured. The lasagne sheets here are made with pureed spinach mixed through the dough, and the lasagne itself has a mix of a whole range of greens. I suspect I had vague plans to snap the entire progress but the chances are strong my good friend Wine got in the way of that plan. Again, detox.



So. Other than sounding like a roaring alcoholic, not loads of other news. Christmas and the Silly Season are looming, summer is hitting down on Sydney and we've just bought new pushbikes to make the most of it all. Hurrah!

Wollemi National Park Annualversary Hike

To celebrate our anniversary, Tim and I decided to take a few days off and hit the great outdoors. We decided on a three day hike through the Wollemi National Park, starting at Newnes and going to Annie Rowan Creek, with two nights camping along the way.

We headed up on Friday night to stay at Newnes, which was a former mining township but now exists of one pub which is in the process of being done up, and some holiday cabins. Oh, and some spectacular scenery. We stayed at the Newnes Holiday Cabins which are the only option other than camping - but what an option. All sustainable, eco-friendly and boasting solar panels and a help-yourself vegetable garden, the cabins are set in a valley and wrapped by wattle which happened to be flowering during our visit. I almost didn't want to start the hike.



But start we did, the following frosty morning. We'd secured topographic maps and looked up all the track notes we could find and were planning on leaving Newnes and walking 13k to Rocky Creek to camp for the night. On advice from the proprieter, we decided to add an extra 5k to camp at the national park ranger's campsite further into the park. We'd then do a day trip to Annie Rowan Creek before heading back.

The first day of walking was lovely. The track left Newnes and crossed a river into the national park. The first 3k or so took us up to historic ruins - this area used to be a shale mine, and there was extensive and overgrown ruins, the likes of which you rarely see in Australia. We passed old chimneys, retaining walls, and a series of coke ovens which blistered out of the side of a hill. The track then went on to Rocky Creek - a relatively easy up and downish walk. We stopped next to the Wolgan river for morning tea and continued the walk on to Rocky Creek for lunch. This was a little more difficult - had to cross the river and I, ahem, slipped in. But the sun was shining, my shoes dried while we ate, and then went on our merry way (to find only a few metres down the track a second river crossing - but shoes came off for this one!).

A guide book I'd read had recommended doing the walk in August as that was when the wattle is in bloom. It was and it was glorious. Walking through grey green valleys with cliffs looming on either side, the entire canopy was haloed with the beautiful blossom. My eyes couldn't have been happier to see it.



The walk to the national park campsite was also easy, although Tim and I had both invested in new hiking packs (and hadn't been hiking in a million years) so we were feeling a little sore and sorry. One more river crossing and there was the camp - complete with a sink and a chopping board in an otherwise remote and isolated area.



We had a lovely evening - setting up camp, cooking (chorizo pasta) and drinking (whorts. Whisky and port mixed together. Trust me, better than it sounds).

The next morning we packed a day pack and headed off along the track to find Annie Rowan Creek. After about 1k the track petered out as we hit a rocky outlook. We skirted around the river bed and climbed up it...and from there, my memory tends to be a little blank. All I can say is there was no proper track (we since learned that there isn't one as such - it is more or a scramble and see sort of thing) and we got somewhat lost. Tim did really well orienteering - he had the map and is experienced however I got a little freaked out in the absence of street signs! We scrambled over rocks, rushed through glades where we could, saw lots of animal tracks but never managed to find Annie Rowan Creek. By Tim's estimates it was another 30 mins or so ahead - but I'd had enough and we agreed to turn back. At which stage we promptly got lost. It wasn't a lost forever sort of lost - the track was between two mountains and next to a river, however finding our way back across the rocks was very difficult. We are now both nettle-stun and bramble-scratched and I am not prepared to disclose whether there were or were not tears.



Either way, the sun it was a shining and we made our way with much relief to our camp for lunch. We then packed up and walked back to Rocky Creek - my favourite part of the trip. The walk (after our lostness) was simple, there was a warm breeze, the wattle smelled like honey and the light dappled down. Can confirm that there were no tears during this section. We were wise to the double creek trick and took our shoes off for the walk over. The first crossing was fine - all sandy banks - but the second enlightened us as to why the creek is called rocky. Ouch ouch bloody ouch. On the plus side the water was so cold that feet were somewhat numb...actually, no plus side, it bloody killed.

We set up in a covered glade by the river and enjoyed the evening. Tim had snuck in an extra bottle of wine, which we enjoyed with an indian meal. Some little bits of rain started falling, which made us batten down the hatches, but it never actually took off. That night was surprisingly hot - I was ROASTING in the tent (which for me is the most unusual thing, I'd freeze in a sauna). We could hear the wind blowing above and the river running next to us, and it was just lovely. I was convinced the rain was going to come and that we would have to walk out in the middle of the night (cos of course the river was going to rise and kill us) so I was pleasantly surprised that we managed to stay put and dry the whole night.

We walked out the next morning - we'd forgotten that there was as much uphill as there was. Not bad uphill, just continuous for the first section of the walk. But like the rest of it, beautiful glades with wattle and the gentle trickle of the river to keep you company. Dreamy.



(Incidentally - the Blue Mountains police stations loan out Personal Locater Beacons. We borrowed one Just In Case. Didn't need it but was wonderful to have the peace of mind it brought).

Possibly one of the nicest things about this walk - not another soul along the way. From the moment we left Newnes until we returned, there was nobody. No bloody Annie Rowan, noone. Tops.

Mega Egg Carbonara

Tripping around the Fox Studio markets a few weeks ago we went to buy some eggs. Sitting next to the Usual Size Eggs was the Mother of All Eggs. Well, maybe not the mother, as an emu egg would be bigger. But it was still a Big Egg. A Big Goose Egg.


Note: I do not have lady hands. I have large man hands so please remember this when judging the size of the egg.

We bought it, having been convinced by the stall lady that they were just starting and we would be back for more, guaranteed. She recommended cooking it in place of four usual eggs, and said it was quite rich and made a great carbonara sauce. So the next night, that's what we made.



No photos of the actual pasta, but it was heavenly. Slight scary having to virtually saw open the goose egg, and separating the yolk and white was equally weird. But once done, it made a delicious, rich and creamy sauce over homemade pasta with smoky bacon. We yummed it up. With Mega Appetites.

The Great Nuriootpa Fiasco

As recently mentioned, Tim and I have bought my grandparent's house in the town of Nuriootpa, in the beautiful Barossa Valley. We settled in May, and decided prior to getting tenants we'd head over, do a bit of work around the place and help my grandparents move out the last of their things.

We decided to drive there, so got to spend a (rather late and boozy) night in Wagga at my sister's new place. We then hit the ten hour drive across south western NSW, across Victoria and to the Barossa. A huge storm hit for the last few hours and it was some rather scary travelling. For cry babies like me, anyway.

We'd heard from the real estate agent who will be managing the property that a bit of work was needed. We weren't sure what this meant and didn't want to make any plans prior to seeing it, so the night of the arrival was also inspection night. In the middle of the night, with tired travel eyes, it was hard to know what to think. Lots of the rooms had bad walls (never actually finished, in one case) and due to the type of board they were made of, looked a lot like one would imagine scary asbestos to look like. As it happens, the internal walls weren't asbestos - that's just the entire outside.

So come daylight, we got working. Three rooms, three sandbacks, re-plaster and fill, paint and in one room, stain the floors.





It may look like Tim did all the work, but I would like to point out that the staining he appears to be doing is token only. I did that room. Stain is all over my iPhone as proof.

We worked super mega hard (not just physically - the trauma of my grandparents moving out for the first time ever is a whole other story). After the fifth day we looked around and were happy - the rooms looked fresh and not dicey and with a good clean we thought it'd be AOK. So much so we took ourselves out to a local winery for dinner and got liquored. Well and truly, soused, liqoured.

The next morning the real estate agent turned up and through the blaze of our hangovers inspected the house. She was very happy with the inside but then, calmly, advised us to paint the outside because although not dangerous, it 'looked too much like asbestos'. Sigh. We tossed it up and (through my gritted teeth and only a few tantrums) decided to paint the outside.

In deference to my grandparents, I asked my grandfather what colour he thought we should paint it. 'Asbestos colour' was the gruff reply. Sigh.





Man oh man. We got the front of the house done that afternoon, and had no choice but to finish it the next day as we had to drive all the way back to Sydney for work on Monday. It got done although I don't think I have ever been so sore or tired. The quality of the outside job was also, ahem, slightly dubious. Especially by the last side. Sadly exhaustion and time poverty had turned us into shonky landlords.

Anyhoo, it was a week of ups and downs. Mainly downs. Downs and pain. But it is done; and the great news is we got a tenant in a few weeks later. My grandparents wasted no time in dropping in to pick up 'something they forgot' (they are the sweetest looking people in the world - for years I had no idea how wily they are!) and it turns out he is a relative. Insert yet another sigh.

The Annual Pumpkin Festival

Leaving Our Nation's Capital, we headed back towards Sydney and passed a small town, Collector. A small town with a big event - the annual pumpkin festival. Driving into the tiny town, cars lined the road and people were flocking towards what I could only assume was the Pumpkin Fun (or a horrific train wreck). Locals had made pumpkin men and pumpkin posters and pumpkin signs - there was pumpkin celebration aplenty!



Excitedly, we wondered what things there could possibly be. Biggest pumpkin, pumpkin scones and pies, pumpkin carving were all ideas we wagered on. All that and more! My favourite was probably the 'make a scarecrow with a pumpkin head' competition. There were about a dozen men stuck on sticks in various states of dress and expression, stretching down the side of a field (a field that had the obligatory vintage car show, baby farm animals and metal work displays).

The main hall held the pumpkin competition - and the winner of largest
pumpkin:


Not to mention the weirdest looking pumpkin:



And the smallest edible pumpkin:



It seemed that Gary Poile and only about 3 other people submitted any entries to any of the comps. I noticed Gary had also busted out the pumpkin pie and scone entry as well as several other pumpkin entries. Go Gaz. I guess Collector doesn't have a huge population to draw entrants from. But huge thumbs up to the efforts of the few that did!

Capital Take 2

We then trekked on to Parliament House for more snaps. I would have included them in the last post however for some reason my computer hates multiple snaps. Perhaps I should take heed.






Tim and I. Even my shadow looks champagne thirsty.

Following all this hard work, we headed out for breaky with J and GSquared. They had found a wee cafe in Belconnen that served a two course champagne breakfast and rightly thought I may be interested. J and I both ordered it - eggs benedict with a chocolate and strawberry crepe and dreamy bubbles. Dreamy bubbles that made me very snoozy all the way home.

Our Nation's Capital

This weekend we had a short sojourn to Canberra. It was my brother's 30th and also my sister would be in town. She'd given my The Best Job Ever a fortnight ago - a wad of cash, a list and basically let me go nuts furnishing her new house! So I shopped, I crammed the car full of homeware goodies, and we headed to Canberra to have some fun.

Our 'one show only' night in town was fun - cold, but fun. The following morning Tim wanted to get up early to get some snaps prior to breakfast so I went along too to get used to the new camera.

The trees this time of year are spectacular and it was a cold, crisp and sunny morning.


Old Parliament House, from across the lake.


A bridge. I was attempting Art.


A cycle rack, and more attempted Art.


This was the underside of one of the buildings. I think Canberra council may have been attempting Art.


Ah pretty trees!

Next stop was new Parliament House...