Shepherd's Way

It's official!  We are now the owners of our 2nd beautiful farm in South Australia!  I'm still home packing boxes and organising things, but everyone else managed to be there for some part of the day to acknowledge the occasion!

I have said my farewell's at work.  I had an amazing day and and carried a very 'stiff upper lip' to get me through the day.  The girls turned on the most incredible afternoon tea for me, the tables stretching across the tea room!  I was so very impressed with the creations and was blown away by the effort of all involved!!  Delish!!!  For more details on the day and other funny photos, please apply to me personally (for limited eyes only, nothing dodgy, but not for public viewing)

I will 'be back' sometime in July to work a little, but it won't be the same.  Leaving our home for the first time in 13 years is exciting but also very sad in a way.  This was the home I came to when I moved here to be with my 'boyfriend' in 1999!  We've done a lot and lived a lot under this roof and in this town.  My 'boyfriend' turned out to be an incredibly gorgeous husband, and we found some wonderful people at work and serving the community who we are proud to call our dear friends.

We hope everyone will come and visit us!  Remember, we are not really far away and we will see you all as we pass back and forth between Warrnambool and Shepherd's Way.

XXX

Friends

Last night Scott and I went to the Hotel Warrnambool for a farewell drinks/dinner evening.  We were spoilt with a lovely turnout of some of our amazing workmates and friends!  I have been in Warrnambool for 13 years now, and working in the operating theatres for 10!  It is the hardest thing right now, to see the friends I work with and know that very soon, they will no longer be around my daily life.  That's not to say I won't hear from them or visit, but, it's not going to be the same, and I will miss them all terribly.  It has been an honour and a privilege to be a part of such a dynamic, passionate and professional team, and who I am lucky enough to call my dear friends. SES friends, hard working farm staff, Surgeons, Anaesthetists, office staff, orderlies, CSSD, cleaners, and nurses all!!  Everyone has a special place in my heart and have profoundly effected my very happy life.........

Keep in touch dear people......

On a happier note! Here's my 'Jumbleberry' jam! Seriously delish!!

The Final Countdown

Thanks to my friend Barry for providing me with many giggles and cringes this morning at work!  he posted on facebook, 4 videos including the original version of 'The Final Countdown' by Europe!

The funniest was the 'Kazookeylele - Ukulele' version of the final countdown, and the cringeworthy one was the 'worst cover ever' of the final countdown!  The orchestral & cello version was rather good though!  I recommend looking them up on YouTube, particularly if you are an 80's era child like me and remember the band Europe!!  Priceless!!

So, it really is the final countdown for Scott and I!  I have 4 more shifts left at work before I go on 4 months of long service leave!  One and a half weeks before the big trucks come to take us away! Lots still to do and many friends to catch up with in the little time left!

The house is a minefield of boxes, and each day I pack a little thing or two more that I think we can live without for a couple of weeks.

Last night Scott and I loaded the chook cage and a big load of garage/shed contents.  Today he dropped them off at Shepherd's way and went to a Bull sale!  One big item moved!  That chook cage is really heavy!

Last Sunday I went to watch a couple of the Whale Boat races on the Hopkins river.  It was a really hot day but a beautiful fresh breeze under the marquee, cheering on our SES boat (Including Bernie Northeast) and Matt Northeast who was rowing for his Rotary team!  Both boats did really well! Here's Edward enjoying the day!

the SES crew in front of the Proudfoots Boathouse

Some of the fruit from my garden is ripening as we speak, such as these beautiful pears!  The pear tree was heavily pruned last year, and I did not hope to get fruit, but a little handful have popped up!  Hopefully we'll get to eat them before we leave!  The crabapple in the front yard will not be ripe, so I may come back and pick them. They make fabulous jelly to go with cheese & biscuits!  The Ballerina apple tree in the back yard is laden, so that will be another job for this weekend.  Might have another go at apple sauce! Mmmmm!

Scott and I had our last day at SES when we attended the first meeting of the year in February.  We are tremendously sorry to have to leave a great team and years of amazing experiences behind us in Warrnambool.  We will drop in whenever we are in Warrnambool on a Tuesday training night!  Thank you to all who wished us well, it was an honour to serve with you all!  Best wishes to Giorgio who is taking over from Scott as our new Controller!

Charlie seems unfazed so far with all the preparations. He is enjoying the supreme pleasure of so many fun boxes about!!

Little does he know that he is about to embark on a three hour car journey (horror!) and totally new territory to conquer with local snakes into the bargain!

Passing the packet cake mix section (I know....shudder!) my eye couldn't go past these Salted Caramel Macarons by Adriano Zumbo!  So, naturally, I gave in to my stomach and I had a go at making these last week.  They were DELISH!!!!!  Next week, passionfruit macaroons!! Drool!

It's a good thing that I'm off work for a while, as my amazing MBT shoes are dying! You can put your hand right through the sole where the spongy rubber used to be and the back strap is wearing out and has to be tapped up with 'sleek' tape to stop it scraping my heels!  They have served me so well for probably over 5 years at least! Like hopping into slippers each day at work! My legs have never been tired after a longgggggg day in theatre!  Fabulous shoes!!

To try to ease the packing of food a little, I am trying to only prepare meals that use up as many freezer/pantry items as possible, and tonight I made 'Jumbleberry Jam'!!  Using 1kg raspberries, 300g of cranberries and 500g of blueberries!  Absolutely to die for!!! There is something so satisfying about making and eating homemade jam!!!

off to bed now to gather my energy so I can continue with the packing another day!!

February

Time is ticking away now!  What seemed ages away is now upon us and the serious packing begins!

In between packing I have been working and plodding around trying to make some sense of organisation to the packing, but I am intrinsically, an unorganised person, taking tangents everytime I embark on one job.  Started today in the living room packing vases and sideboard items, then ran out of packing paper, so switched to the kitchen, got some un-essential items packed and washed up others, which then led me to strip the bed (cat vomited on it last night), and headed off to the laundrette to wash the duvet, loads of washing at home and a pause for a chocolate paddle pop and some computer time.

Catching up with my favourite blogs, my friend and constant inspiration Luciandjoe, Ali Edwards, and a new one twoandsix.  Just wish I could knit! 

I have also done my One Little Word page for February.  A 'vision' board!  Loads of fun! Took me back to high school, but usually had a pop star involved!

It was our 11th wedding anniversary on Saturday (02/02/02)!  Scott requested delicious red velvet cupcakes for the day and we went out to dinner.  Happy Anniversary Honey! XXX

Meanwhile, more work continues on the house.  Scott has ripped up and re-set the front path and is just trimming the corner brick pieces to finish it.

Shirley brought me a large bag of home grown tomatoes and so I made my favourite relish!  Delish!  Had a lovely (but brief!) visit from Angus and Josie and Angus happily helped me dispose of a jar for his larder.

And on with the packing...........

Hunters

For a few weeks now, a fox has been hanging around the Ledgard farmhouse.  Rusty & Tippy were let out of their pen for the night and caught it!  They were very proud!  The chickens are safe! Huzzah!!

Shirley has been very busy making the most of her terrific apricot tree!  We have both made bottles and bottles of jam, and Shirley has stewed, dehydrated and made fruit leathers out of the rest!  The tree hasn't given up it's whole summer load yet! Delish!

This week I have been packing more boxes and removing 'stuff', as well as working. Not too much exciting 'goings on' except for the Southern Right Quilt Show on Saturday morning!  A beautiful display of the talents from this region!  Met the ladies that run the Mt Gambier quilting shop, 'Creatively Sewn', and the Penola shop 'Habit Patch'.  Lovely ladies!  I hope I can make time to get to some classes with them!

Lots to do, lots I want to do, and never enough time!

Phew!

Hello my fabulous friends and family!

I hope everyone remains safe and secure from the fires that continue to torment our sunny country?!  Mum & dad had a close shave near Yass, bags packed and valuables stashed ready for a rapid departure!  Luckily twas not needed and they, cats and valuables remain intact.....my first 'Phew' of the week!

Second 'phew', goes out to my friends in Alice, who have been suffering a temp no lower than 40deg EVERY day!!  Must be some sort of record?!  More incentive to come and visit the Mexicans in Victoria!!!

Scott is tasting a bit of the 'warmer' climes up in Queensland as we speak!  Today he felt the bite of a 47deg day!  He's visiting our friend Rudelle at the station she works at for 10 days, near Clermont ! I'd love to be with them and see what station life is like!  It's nice though, to make sure Rudelle is happy and in a good situation at Narrien Station!  She's blossoming so far, and she speaks very highly of the family running it.  I'm looking forward to hearing all Scott's news!  Scott deserves a 'Phew' for today too!

I hope you haven't just eaten?  My next 'Phew' was my succumbing to gastro on Friday.......:(
Not pretty, not good......really not fun!!  I haven't felt so unwell since Bush was in the top job!
Enough said about that!!

This week, when I wasn't lolling about my bed racked with nausea, I have been watching the entire series of 'Miranda'.  LOVE her bonkers brain!  I can really relate to her (although I'm nowhere near so clumsy, or tall!), but she cracks me up!  I listened to her talking book on my last drive to Canberra and laughed all the way!  Just my cup of tea!!!!

I'm making more of an effort to read at night (instead of mindless computer mucking about), and am reading 'The Beckoning West' by Eleanor Smith, the story of H.S. Trotman and the Canning Stock Route.  Lent by the Lovely Jo & Mel who were our fabulicious companions on the Canning Stock Route trip through the WA Great Sandy Desert last year! I will return it darlings!!  Nearly done!

One more 'phew' could be allocated to myself for all the cleaning out and sorting and packing I've done!
 Some of my craft room

The January pages of my 'One Little Word' project

 Some photos from around Fala Park Farm on Sunday:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Phew!  Shirley works hard on her garden! Stunning!

A final 'Phew' to my dad, love you xxx

Goodnight all!

Hot Hot Hot!!

What a scorcher today!! I'm not sure how hot it got to in Warrnambool, but 40 deg seems about average at least!  Poor Sally was getting 45 in Adelaide!  Luckily, I was at work in air-conditioned bliss all day!

Not really a day to get stuck into any packing or strenuous activity, so couch-bound we be!!  I have however, mustered a little strength to play with some photos and do a little 'blog'.

The photo above is beetroot I grew in the last couple of months.  All now pickled and preserved! Yum!!  Sadly, that is the last of my vege garden for Macland Drive. When the weather is a little cooler, I'll cover the sinking beds with my compost and mulch and leave them to the weather and future tenants!  They may find a nice crop of potatoes spring up!

I'll now have to wait till we get settled into Shepherd's Way, and we'll get a new garden up and running!!

This year I have started a couple of 'memory-keeping', scrapbooking projects.  This photo is from an online class called One Little Word by my favourite designer, Ali Edwards  I've picked a word for the year which we then base a monthly project on.  It's a bit more contemplative than some projects, but a little reflection amidst all the craziness of this year will be a valuable thing.  I don't stop often enough and appreciate some of the subtler values in life, or make an effort to change some of my behaviours to make the most of this life! Enough said.  You'll see how it progresses throughout the year!

Also returning is Project Life, by Becky Higgins.  I first did this big project in 2009.  I took a photo a day (well, almost!) ALL year, and simply slipped the photos into a page protector from Becky's kit and added a little journalling to go with the photos.  End result was a great document of a snapshot year in my life!  This year I'll be a little less strict with myself and a little more 'artistic'.  My One Little Word is 'create', so I'm creating projects and memories with these two projects!  I'll try to post the finished pages as I go.  I love losing myself in the 'cutting & pasting' as Bernie would put it!  Very therapeutic!

Back to packing boxes I go!  The removalist is booked!  It's starting to feel official!!!

Happy New Year

So here we are!!!  Welcome to 2013!!

Today the sun is shining and life feels pretty lazy after a busy weekend!  There are many things I could be doing, but so far all I've done is eat a late brunch (lemon and sugar crepes with smashed strawberries), bring in a load of washing and watch Ali Edwards photoshop tips on her blog!  Can't get motivated today.  Thrilling start to the year!

My craft room is looking super neat though!  Aside from this blog, my projects this year will include Becky Higgins Project Life, and Ali Edwards One Little Word. There will be attempts to pursue other crafts in-between as well.

So what's happening this week?  Not much really!  Working and maybe a little bit of packing and sorting!

There is lots to look forward to in the coming year, many challenges to face and lots to sort out!  Hopefully it will also be a fun ride as Scott & I embark on a new future together in South Australia!

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, safe and fun year!

See you all soon!