Boxing Day.

I love Boxing Day. I love the wonderful feeling when you wake up, and realise that the Christmas chaos is a whole year away, that you can have a serious lie-in , wear your pyjamas all day, watch the Boxing Day Test on TV, and my absolute favourite . . . . eat left-overs. I have extended the post Christmas euphoria for as long as possible this year, and even though it's only the misses S and E wearing their PJ's all day, and I'm spending quite a lot of time up a ladder painting weather boards in 38 degree heat, I am watching the cricket to my heart's content and dishing up left-overs for every meal.
Since we had pescetarians over for Christmas lunch this year, we had left-over BBQ salmon with lemon and herbs amongst others. So on Boxing Day I made a sort-of nicoise salad with home grown butter beans and free-range eggs (thanks girls) and the absolutely delicious salmon flaked into it. Served with left-over brown rice salad and potato salad, in the garden, on the most perfect sunny 28 degree day, with Mr.B and the girls, I had all the ingredients for the most perfect relaxing day. I love Boxing Day.

 

Merry Christmas!

Today I received the most touching and beautiful Christmas card from Mr.B. Every year he forgets to buy one, panics, and on Christmas Eve commissions Miss S to make one. This year was no different, and now that the girls are older and more business savvy, he had to pay hard cash to get one. It turned out to be a team effort.  Miss S had the design inspiration, Miss E the nimble fingered scissor skills, and Mr. B himself added the sentiments. The design was circles cut out from pretty patterned papers, attached with string and hanging from the card like baubles. On the back of each bauble was written one of my favourite things. Nice cup of tea, Miss E tidying her room, Cuddles on the sofa, Save-a-Dog scheme website, Midsomer Murders, Walking the dog, Dinner at Hibari (local Japanese restaurant), Miss S singing, Blogging, Bed before 10pm, Sleeping, Chickens, More sleeping. Life in the fast lane. There is one circle left blank. I think I'll add 'family' as my last favourite thing.
Wishing everyone a day as delightful as mine. Merry Christmas!

The perfect combination of salad and dessert.

Last weekend, on a splendid sunny day, we were invited to a lunchtime BBQ at our next-door neighbour's place. It was lovely to catch up with them and their new baby boy, relaxing on a rug on  their lawn with a drink in hand, and admiring their tiny, but very productive veggie patch. A perfect day. They put on a veritable feast, including the most magnificent salad I've tasted for a good while.
A surprising and unlikely selection of ingredients, Mr. B proclaimed it the perfect combination of salad and dessert. Showcasing ripe, luscious mangoes, supported by a cast of spinach, mung bean shoots, crunchy water chestnuts, and crispy bacon, it was, as they say, a taste sensation.
Be brave. Give it a go. You won't regret it.

Salad:
1 Ripe mango, peeled and sliced
2 bunches English spinach, washed, dried and chopped into strips
(I couldn't get English spinach so I used baby spinach - but it wasn't as good)
150g bean shoots washed and dried
5oz tin water chestnuts rinsed well, patted dry and sliced
6 bacon rashers, chopped, fried until crisp and drained on paper towels

Dressing:
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup tomato ketchup
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, finely chopped

Gently combine all the salad ingredients, taking care not to mush up the mango. Mix all dressing ingredients together thoroughly. Dress the salad and toss carefully just before serving. Enough for a crowd. Serve with anything really - you don't need me to tell you what.

 

The last day of the first year of high school

Yesterday was the last day of the first year of high school for misses S and E. It's a milestone that's gone pretty much unnoticed by them, but not by me. It's not a huge milestone, not like last year's transition from primary to high school, and yet I feel strangely melancholy.
There have been so many new things this year. New school, new teachers, new subjects. New independence, new friends and new crazes.
The craze that swept their school this year, and drove me and Mr.B bonkers, is the cup song. What? Never heard of such a thing? I suspect it swept every high school in Australia, and may have been trending internationally - or whatever.
Last week I was in the audience at the student organised, created and produced End of Year Chorals competition. Each of the 4 houses performed a series of choreographed musical numbers based on a theme of their choosing. The compulsory whole house number in each performance was 'The Cup Song'.
It seems to have been the background music for this special stage in the girls' lives, and sums up what 13 year old girls are all about. The tune seems a little melancholy to me.
I present Miss S and Miss E performing 'The Cup Song' for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Cup Song, 'When I'm Gone' by Anna Kendrick from the movie 'Pitch Perfect'

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . . Or is it?

I have been living in Australia for 16 years, and I still cannot get used to Christmas in summer.  I saw a notice in our local paper for kids to join Santa at a pool party. It's not right. Snow capped fir trees and jolly, fat men in warm, red jackets have no place in 35 degree heat. Mentally I'm at the beach. The build up to Christmas does not register, and things turns to chaos as the realisation of impending festivities dawns on me around 20th December every year.
This year I'm determined to change the inevitable. I made those Christmas cards, and I had a plan for the porch. It was all going to happen, as if by Christmas magic, this week.
Last week I popped over to see my lovely friend, Mel, who owns MoppitandMore, a charming little shop the other side of Melbourne. It was partly to do my bit in the Shop Small campaign, and partly to spend the voucher I'd won in her Instagram 'What does Colour mean to you?' competition. OK, it was mainly the lure of a freebie, but what I chose with my voucher was the inspiration for a Christmas Porch Extravaganza! More of a festive spruce-up as it turned out, but it was an extravagant effort on my part.
Then, whilst I was humming with inspiration, and putting in place my cunning plan, Mr. B nearly spoiled everything. "Why is the tree not up yet?" he whined. "Nothing is Christmassy here. Surely it's not too much to expect you to up the ladder and get the decorations out of the attic." Whinge, gripe, moan, complain. Could I hold my nerve and keep the surprise a secret?
After a nerve wracking weekend of flippant excuses and feigned disinterest, I became a whirlwind of festive activity on Monday. At 8.30am, as Mr. B and his bike disappeared up the street, the drop sheets, step ladder and paint were hurled onto the porch in a frenzy of activity. In a bold (or rash) decision, I thought the weather boards could do with a fresh coat of paint. So the porch was transformed from grubby to dazzling white, Annie's kennel changed from sludge brown to smart charcoal, branches of magnolia were bedecked with baubles ('bebaubled'? If that's not a word it should be) and the finishing touch was the chirpy new doormat.
Misses S and E returned from school amidst the chaos, and made tea and helped paint the kennel and clear up. All was calm and all was bright by the time Mr. B got home, and you know what . . . It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Doormat by Down to the Woods from MoppitandMore; 'Bebaubled' branches; Festive porch (that doorframe could do with a lick of paint in the new year!)

Lunch

Do you eat lunch? I have to admit that I'm a serial lunch skipper. I just get so busy and involved in whatever I'm doing that lunchtime just goes by unnoticed. If I do consider my stomach rumblings then it's usually peanut butter on toast. Suddenly the girls are home and the rush is on. Homework, taekwondo, choir, dinner . . . . and the day is over.
Today is different. The sun is out, I'm not in a rush, and I noticed herbs looking enticing in the garden. They smelled good, fresh, summery.
Tomatoes on toast with herbs,3 ways, was on the menu. Delicious with a pinch of sea salt and a dribble of extra virgin olive oil, with home cured olives on the side. Beats peanut butter.


Oregano, basil and mint

 



A Spring Tan

Today I'm going to show you how I have learned to refresh my life with 'vintage' finds.
I was starting to feel that all my clothes were boring - that's always dangerous. Don't get me wrong, I have loads of fantastic clothes I've collected over years in the fashion industry, but there's no place for silk at the dog park, or heels at the supermarket. So I fossicked around in my wardrobe looking for inspiration, and pulled out a pair of funny little suede moccasins I bought cheaply online a few years ago. I'd forgotten all about them. A good start. They are tan, so I looked around for similar colours to coordinate. I came up with an unusual, tooled leather messenger bag I picked up a few years ago at The Salvation Army store - again, forgotten, hanging under a heap of jackets. Not bad. Sensing a theme, I included my beloved leather belt which I have worn every day since I discovered this treasure, around 6 years ago, at Portobello Market in London. I wore them all together and miss S said, "Hey Mum, your outfit looks great!" High praise indeed from a 13 year old. I became emboldened and stepped out of the house for the day. Just one more accessory to complete my new look. Tan and White cross breed, bought from Save-a-Dog Scheme about 17 months ago.

Tan suede moccasins, about $35 from Ozsale.com; Tan leather belt, 8 pounds from Portobello Market, London

Tan leather tooled bag, $40 from The Salvo's; Tan and white Staffy cross, $230 from Save-a-Dog Scheme; Old things feel new again - even me.

The Garden

The most miserable of Mondays greeted me on waking this morning - overcast, gloomy skies and the forecast of heavy rain and possible thunderstorms both in the morning and afternoon. That's just not reasonable. So I pulled on my parka, and Annie and I headed off for our daily visit to the dog park, thumbing our noses at the sky. Well, of course, right on cue the heavens opened as we pulled into the car park, and we huddled in the car until the heaviest downpour had passed. We emerged to discover all our chums, human and canine, young and old all braving the weather anyway. Melbourne dog walkers have no regard for weather forecasts.
So today I'll show you what a glorious weekend we had in the garden. Saturday was all sunshine and cheerfulness. I'll store it up for the week. Only rain for now.

'Rouge de Marmande' tomatoes just setting; Beetroot; Broad beans

Salad and seedlings

Mixed salad seedlings just sown last week; Mint by the back door.

The Fantastic Four

If scratching and digging, pecking and clucking, and of course, laying eggs, can be classed as super powers, then these girls are the Fantastic Four. Actually, laying eggs can be classed as a super power in my book - if there are no eggs in the fridge and I need one, I go out to the coop and have a look. Sometimes there's one there and sometimes not, but it's only a matter of waiting a while and then there's an egg - see, a super power.

 Meet Chickpea, Selma, Saffron, and Bocconcini, a motley assortment of chickens that have come to live with us over the last few years.
We became accidental chicken owners a little over 3 years ago when we found Selma and her partner in crime, Patty, wandering about at our local park. It was at the end of our lovely annual 'Spring into Gardening' festival. There are seedling giveaways (most important) for the local residents, Jack Russell races, face painting and bouncy castle for the kids, live music and gourmet food, professional advice on gardening, worm farms, compost and bee-keeping.  Everyone feels happy and a bit green and politically correct. As we left this paradise on earth, two big red chooks wandered out of the bushes near the gate. We gathered them up and took them back in to the petting farm who were just packing up. They claimed they did not belong to them, so the kind lady from the 'Save-a-Dog Scheme' stall bundled them into a cat carrier and told us to take them home. They came to live in the flower bed under our bedroom window, and we discovered how charming and hilarious chooks can be. We haven't looked back.
A few more have come and gone since that day - Patty( the original), Nutmeg and Cinnamon (ex-battery hens that lived a happy year or so with us), and Pepper (a Silkie bantam who came with Saffron).
These funny, feathered friends make me unexpectedly happy. Their gentle clucking and cooing is very grounding. They have opened my eyes.




Busy in the garden




Broody

Cut-out Christmas card - how I did it.

After yesterday's attempt at making home made Christmas cards, the cut out one worked out far better than expected and I wanted to make a few more. I saw the idea on Pinterest, but there were no instructions, so I made it up as I went along, and the result was quite gratifying I thought. I was impressed. As I worked out the best way to rationalise the process, I thought that others may like to have a go and join me in the warm glow of smug satisfaction. So here it is. Not really a proper tutorial - more of a short picture by picture account of how I did it.



 

I drew up the main shape and dimensions I wanted, then drew in diagonals to make the 'cut-out' points, then traced it onto the BACK of my chosen paper. Next I cut along the two sides of the triangle shapes with a craft knife, but only gently scored the horizontal base of each triangle to make the folds.



 

 

I added a simple stitched star at the top of the tree, then glued it onto a piece of card I had prepared earlier. Ta-da!



Sibling Rivalry - the hardest part is getting started.

 

A few days ago I got a call from my sister in the UK, who wanted to talk about Christmas. We chatted about who was getting what present for whom - what was the latest thing for 3 - 8 year olds - the difficult task of buying for brother's in-law - the last posting dates. You know how it goes. I complained about the dire choice of Christmas cards at the shops, and she agreed and told me how she always intends to make home made cards, and then panics and buys cards she doesn't like at the last minute and then sends them late anyway. I'm the same - we are sisters after all.

Then sibling rivalry reared it's ugly, but in the circumstances quite timely, head. I have had all my bits of paper and paint brushes, needles and thread, ideas on Pinterest and the like set up ready to go for weeks now. I AM going to make my own home made cards this year, and will not be out done by my sister. Ha, that will show her.

So thanks, George, for getting me off my backside, and making me do what I had intended all along, but somehow just couldn't get started.

I'm sure they will be late anyway, so don't hold your breath.

 

 

Today's Harvest

Freshly picked peas from the garden.



The first crop of crisp yellow beans.

I was so excited to finally get a crop of broad beans. I've probably picked these too young, but I couldn't wait.

Everything in the garden has exploded into life. After the heavy rain that seemed to fall for weeks, the sudden hot spell has caused an abundance. Spring vegetable risotto for dinner tonight! 

Post by The Urban Nest.