Tuesday 25 October 2016

Trying To Catch Up......

So much has happened over the past few months and so much of my life wasn't my own......the responsibility of looking after elderly parent's is often overwhelming and can become all consuming.  Things are slowly getting back to normal and I am starting to relax and get back into the swing of things.....the things that form the simple life that I want to lead....I'm getting the Spring garden planting going so next post will hopefully be a garden update. 
 
Over the last two months I tried my hand at making Kombucha....I purchased the mother scoby at the Warragul Farmers Market and followed the instructions and made Kombucha tea and produced a "son of scoby".  I passed the "mother" onto my daughter and then started a second bottle with "SOS".  Next time will try a second ferment process by adding fruit which will give the Kombucha a fizz. 
My homemade kombucha tea....mother scoby in the bag to give away... the gift that goes on giving.
After Dad's funeral my husband took me away to Lakes Entrance for the weekend. ..... It was a wonderful break...so relaxing.  .... The weather was ordinary but everything else was lovely.  Lots of delicious food and great cafe's.... Boat trip to Metung in the morning and AFL Grand final on Saturday afternoon and lovely market on the marina on Sunday morning.

Always a great surprise to see how cafe's serve up the green tea.....although milk was an odd accompaniment .
The boat trip to Metung was a real surprise...... it's a great spot and the pub had a fantastic outlook over the water and great food.  They also have a pet pelican in the yard who was incredibly tame.  .
 
This guy was so tame he walked right up to you...could have watched him all day.
 End of September saw us having our usual "monthly" luncheon with friends.  It was at our place this time and the theme was casual and bring a one pot dish to share....we had some fabulous food and Janine's chicken was absolutely amazing.

Dinner in our al-fresco with the gang....a great afternoon of delicious dining as always.
My man and I went shopping in Warragul to get goodies for the luncheon as we provided a starter (crumbed flat head fillets) and a cheese platter.  .......off to Stella's Pantry for some amazing cheeses and also stopped in at the Bean Scene to get some freshly ground coffee. ......  we stayed for morning tea and I ordered green tea (no surprise there as I don't drink coffee)...and it was served in the most amazing tea device......I love how serving tea has come back to being the pleasurable experience it once was....call me old fashioned but for me it's all in the presentation....although nothing beats a fine bone china cup .
 
Have to admit I had to be shown how to work this gadget ....but what a great idea.
 Most importantly .....this month my GBoy lost his first tooth.....so much excitement....the other kids at school told him you get $5 from the tooth fairy....Wow when did that happen ??

My gorgeous little guy...so excited because 4 more teeth are wobbly... !!
On the subject of teeth....the fluffy girls had a trip to the vet's for their injections and the vet advised they both needed their teeth cleaned....Daphne has been the first to go and have a clean....which turned into "13 teeth needing to be removed"....she is only 7 years old ....poor girl...thankfully dogs have 42 teeth so she still has some left... Maltese x are prone to tooth decay...Daisy is going next week...she is only 4 so fingers crossed not too much damage already done.
 
Daphne giving me a look....I already feel guilty !!.....she is still cute
...even though in front she has one tooth up top and two at the bottom

Saturday 8 October 2016

Time is a Healer...

It's been a few months since I have been on this space.  After an exacerbation of his illness and 4 weeks spent in the hospital, doctor's advised that Dad needed to go into a nursing home. .... He was very resistant and unhappy about the situation and along with dad it was extremely difficult for myself and the family, but we had no alternative due to the amount of care he required.  An eight week struggle ended on 22nd September and dad passed away  in hospital with mum and I holding his hand and my daughters with us.  I played Doris Day songs to him as she was his favourite......I hope we gave him the much needed comfort as he slipped away.....old age is not for the faint hearted ....... and my heartbreak is tinged with relief that dad's suffering is finally over and he is at peace.