Our Grandson Sam came to visit us for a few days and we have really enjoyed having him here. Alan and Sam have worked in the Kitchen Garden, planted seeds, transplanted herbs, been across the road on the tractor, been cane toad busting at night and generally had fun. This morning Sam even had a go at some painting. We will be sorry to see him go :(
Alan bought this white outdoor setting many years ago during the 1960’s. We have taken it with us on all of our moves since we got married and Alan has painted it several times. With our house now on the market we had decided to `Garage Sale’ it until I read the latest edition of `Home Beautiful’. There I saw a feature about a super trendy home in Notting Hill in London – owned and decorated by a super trendy young Interior Designer – and there in pride of place on her back terrace was one of these settings :) So now we have decided to keep it – it certainly is very nice to sit here now and eat Brekkie in Winter or Dinner on a Summer evening, and watch the birds playing in their bath under our Arch of climbing Honeysuckle and Jasmine. I am sure we will find the perfect spot for it in our next home too.
I had to take a photo of these gorgeous `Graffiti Eggplants’. They look wonderful and don’t need any special treatment before cooking. Tonight they will be part of a Ratatouille which I plan to cook in my Le Creuset Cast Iron Casserole. My secret ingredient in this is Woosie Sauce but low salt Soy is good too.
Rain Rain and more Rain !!!! We are right in the middle of a Monsoon and it has been raining heavily non stop for hours. I took this photo of Alan this morning on his way back from collecting eggs and feeding our Chooks. They are out of the rain in their house but are very depressed as are the horses. There is flooding everywhere but luckily although our Dam is overflowing, all the water that lands on our property drains well away. I have read 3 books since Monday but thanks to my Treadmill I haven’t missed my exercise :)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
Thames Sacred River by Peter Ackroyd; The Olive Route by Carol Drinkwater: The Landscape of Love by Sally Bauman; Second Honeymoon by Joanna Trollope;The Secret Diary of a Grumpy Old Woman by Judith Holder; in praise of slow - how a world wide movement is challenging the cult of speed by Carl Honore; Not Quite Ripe by Debra Byrne; Night Time is my time by Mary Higgins Clark; The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt; Living the Good Life by Linda Cockburn; The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton; A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle;
