Killiecrankie Farm

all in the family

2012-01-07T16:53:00.000+11:00

well she's done it ! My little sister after working for years at someones else's cafe or restaurant has opened her own today sees Sam kick off into the world of self employment and emerging from the kitchen to meet the people who eat her food rather then just stuck behind a stove all the family have been on hand to launch her

new art exhibit

2012-01-06T17:00:00.002+11:00

West Tamar Arts Group have a new venue for their photography, glassware, print and sculpture Ilk Cafe at Rosevears now hosts a perpetual exhibit of small artworks from a variety of local artisans including Cheryl Sampson - printmaker and photographer Robert Baldkalk - sculptor Robyn Cochrane - fine art glass jewellery Bettina Hockey - handmade feltwork jewellery Christine Hannan

now you see it . . .

2012-01-04T21:48:00.001+11:00

hey wasn't there a poly tunnel there ? with Four Season Herbs undertaking their own sea change to the big island we can only say "lucky you" to all those in the Coffs Harbour district who will now be getting a pretty amazing range of herbs on their back step Its typical that you get to know someone and they shove off to the mainland Tara has been an amazing mentor /

Killiecrankie Washclothes

2011-12-27T22:08:00.001+11:00

A very simple project to whip-up as a gift or for home. Recommended yarn: pure cotton in 8ply (yarn used here Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton in denim and snow. Hook Size: 4mm Pattern: in UK/AUS standard terminology Row 1: chain 41 Row 2: single crochet into second chain from end, single crochet to end (40) Row 3*: ch 2, treble to end (40) Row 4*: ch 1, single crochet to end (40) Row 5 - 32:

failing word

2011-12-14T16:44:00.001+11:00

just when you think that things are sailing along technology fails you ! not only did my PC decide to go through a messy mid-life crisis my Internet provider decided that their Tasmanian clients could got to the bottom of the queue for access intermittent access and no Internet for two weeks ! nasty

woodland creatures

2011-11-30T17:31:00.001+11:00

down in the woodland of Christmas Trees small creatures play bandicoots, wallabies, tasmanian devils frogs, burrowing crays and birds not all the trees will be harvested this year a couple of special ones have tenants ! dainty gold finches (though not native) reside in one their eggs hatching two days ago dusky wood swallows have also hatched

sheepish

2011-11-23T07:05:00.001+11:00

for many of us "sea changers" this is one of our favourite magazines and its so often featuring a Tasmanian artisan, farmer or chef our magazines are dog eared and marked with little stickers to pinpoint ideas and wish lists but now we have a real "Keeper" I can safely say we are so very chuffed to be featured in this christmas edition and join our fellow

tickled pink

2011-11-22T07:50:00.001+11:00

i wish i didn't have a satellite internet connection its soooo slooooowwwwww i nearly missed finding out about a feature of my crochet in tickle the imagination's christmas edition but i got fairly distracted with all of the tutorials they provide but up at about page91 i found US ! yes tickled pink !

capping it off

2011-11-21T16:13:00.001+11:00

adding to our christmas crackers are these little quick craft fixes order soda pop caps (from here) or save a few from christmas cheer whack a bit of glue in the base and add a chunky magnet (from here) supplies wrong side of magnets (dot) TrICKS remember magnets do have a front and back, test before you glue ! use a good glue let glue set for a couple of days before

little gifts

2011-11-20T11:37:00.001+11:00

always on the look out for little somethings handmade to put in parcels and for the stash of birthday gifts i just found this over at ravelry

high tea for green thumbs

2011-11-12T08:54:00.001+11:00

so green thumbs it looks like this is our weekend! If you have seen advertising for the numerous plant sales on this weekend and are a bit struck on where to go may I most biased-ly recommend staying in town and heading over to St Albies Hall on Margaret Street (Launceston) Launceston Horticultural Society Rose, Iris and Rhododendron Show Floral Art, Society

Summer Cut Flowers

2011-11-05T20:14:00.002+11:00

I'm blogging from the nursery today - over here

markets, markets every where

2011-11-03T09:58:00.000+11:00

Owl and Friends November seems to be THE month for markets up north there is at least three handmade markets for any given weekend we really are spoilt for choice High Tea Vintage this weekend aside from the craft fair at Deloraine The New Exeter Markets is on Monday the 7th for the long weekend lots of parking free entry 20 minutes from Launceston 9am - 1pm

money for nothing

2011-10-31T16:57:00.001+11:00

now i would count myself of fairly scam / hoax savvy but i fell for this one hook line but not sinker i was on the scout for small business grants seed funding for development and training good ol' google came up with all the right answers presenting to you what i thought were government employed brokers of their grants programmes (type "small business grants" into the search

The Garden Voyeur: laburnum arbors

2011-10-29T18:53:00.000+11:00

I can remember seeing pictures of Monet's garden in Giverny with a wonderful golden Laburnum tree dripping with yellow flowers its a relatively easy plant to grow and trains with very little support to produce an arbor dripping with golden blossoms the laburnums have rather flexible stems making it easy to train into arches and it respond well to pruning ot keep its form if you

garden blogging today

2011-10-22T08:26:00.002+11:00

garden blogging today over here we have markets coming up !

crackers about christmas

2011-10-20T10:32:00.003+11:00

from here this year we are making our own christmas crackers i'm sick of the tripe you get and throw away from the commercial ones so we are doing something a bit more special this year ! the kids will make these up for the christmas lunch table filled with; handmade knick nacks home made truffles and decorated newspaper crowns instructions can be found here and you can get

out of focus

2011-10-14T13:26:00.002+11:00

running amoke about the farm i've had very little chance to see the fine detail of anything that isn't a Christmas Tree all business and no play bugloss blue out in the sunshine today you can see the firm mark of Spring about the garden gooseberry blossoms gooseberries are in blossom currants have set fruit and the mushrooms just keep on coming (thats about 12kgs

back to the drawing board

2011-10-06T13:36:00.002+11:00

nice roof on the neighbours place - otherwise ok I'm just out of the paddock frantic to tie things up for the Christmas Trees by end of October and so I had a simple idea, a tick off the "TO DO LIST" i could manage with the kids home . . . . . . . a few snapshots to show how big the trees were this year So again you have to appreciate how many shots a professional

mothers of boys

2011-10-04T08:24:00.003+11:00

helping mum with a fresh sponge cake helping mum by adding 1/4 litre of washing fluid to the front loader

keeping track

2011-09-26T14:53:00.002+10:00

with so many plants and cultivars now on our growing list at the nursery its started to be pretty important to keep track of all the plants on quieter days when I have little hands helping, labels are being written in the sunshine in the garden permanent ones to stay at the farm and wooden biodegradable ones that leave with the plants those little

what women want . . .

2011-09-21T16:24:00.002+10:00

I said honey . . . "Can I have a butter knife?" "Mmmm, why ?" "Yours is too heavy . . . " Note: how to floor ones husband with an unusual birthday wish list

lovely show

2011-09-20T12:07:00.000+10:00

on the wish list what a grand time I had at the flower show on the weekend I finally yes FINALLY found myself being a horticulturist again and not just "Muuuum" selling plants, giving growing tips and not sort of sitting behind a table crocheting because it was sooooo quite at the market to need a hobby and wondering if I'd chosen a career path or an elaborate and

Deviot Basket Markets

2011-09-19T19:51:00.000+10:00

Spring Flower Show This Weekend

2011-09-16T08:35:00.000+10:00

Pincushion Flower "Samantha's Pink" We are off to Show again ! Back to the wonderful St Albies with the promise of High Tea and spending my profits on plants from other growers ! Launceston Horticultural Society Spring Show Daffodils and Camellia Show, Floral Art, Plants Sales and High Tea $2 entry Saturday 17th September 10 - 5pm Sunday

Arm River Outing

2011-09-15T21:32:00.001+10:00

Beside the Arm River Just before my family decided to go viral on me we had a wander in the crisp Spring weather up to the Arm River (yes there have been darker forces at work in our house) Silver Wattles This area is behind Lake Rowallan on the loop road towards Cradle Mountain just between the Central Plateau and Swift Creek Conservation Areas the tracks we took were

bgurk !!!

2011-09-01T10:57:00.004+10:00

well we are now chook breeders eight little balls of fluff have emerged from beneath Xena Warrior Chicken is she a good mother oh yes ! is she protective OH YES ! (I have the scratches to prove it) now lets hope they turn out more hens then roosters I see we will have to harden ourselves to the coq au vin school of chicken care

Branching Out: An artist in the tree

2011-08-31T09:22:00.000+10:00

"Majestic Gums" the family tree continues to be enhanced by the wonderful amount of information on the Internet that other family tree hunters contribute one of the branches of Mum's is an old settlement family who took up in the Camden in the 1830's My Great Grand-Uncle was Herbert Clarke Simpson (1879 - 1966) and he was a renowned watercolourist of the time working

nurtured by nature

2011-08-30T11:59:00.001+10:00

its pretty normal at the christmas tree farm for mother nature to give us a bit of a flogging drought flood wind plagues of rabbits but I'm not quite sure what to catergorise a herd of wombats hen house excavations they have of course the destructive capacity of a sherman tank digging craters also know as burrows beneath the trees the chookshed and the polytunnel

Nosy-parker: Habitat Nursery

2011-08-29T14:53:00.004+10:00

fungi on the creek walk we made a dash out to Liffey on Saturday to get stakes for the Christmas Trees we get our stakes normally for re-vegetation tree guards but these ones are for our dozy trees to get them up from their lay down wonder if I can place an order with TOH for one of these ? while our stakes were loaded we had our usual wander around Sally &

the garden voyeur: laid hedges

2011-08-27T19:57:00.000+10:00

okay can't help myself i have been spying on other people's yards again (well an empty paddock to be honest) this time out the back of Westbury now this is something I've never come across in Australia before I've seen them across Britain and Europe they are laid hedges take an old decrepit and overgrown hedge add one very skilled traditional crafts person and viola !

mushie

2011-08-25T16:07:00.000+10:00

i am pretty happyabout my recent batch of mushroom compost so far it has yielded 2.5 kg of mushroomsin a week that means this batch of compost has paid for itselfand half of the next load already i think i might save a bag under the pinesthis weather is perfect for a bit of fungi growth ! the rest is destined for under my strawberries, blueberriesand rhubarbs to keep the weeds down a bit and

eggs in abundance

2011-08-22T11:31:00.002+10:00

over winter there has been pretty stodgy baking because of the lack of eggstoo many buttery biscuits and rubbery muffinswhere I used olive oil instead of eggs I refuse to buy eggs at the shopsprefering to get local free range if they are aboutbut even those have been thin on the ground now with the hen house back into full productionthe abundance of eggs is being put to good usein coconut

coconut macaroons. . . . . .

2011-08-22T11:20:00.010+10:00

two eggs whites (at room temperature)1/2 cup of caster sugar 2 tablespoons of cornflour1/4 teaspoon of almond essencezested and diced rind of a medium lemon 1 1/2 cups of desiccated coconut pre-heat oven at fan forced 125oC (130oC non-fan forced)place eggs whites in a clean and dry mixer bowlblend at high speed until whites become fluffy and peakwith mixer still at warp speedslowly add caster

. . . . and mayonnaise

2011-08-22T11:15:00.001+10:00

MAYONNAISEwith the left over egg yolks and zested lemoni usually make a quick mayonnaise blend two egg yolks at medium speed in the mixervery, very slowly pour in one cup of second press olive oil(i find first press olive oil too strong a flavour for mayonnaise)add the juice of the squeeze lemon (about two tablespoons) a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (not powdered mustard !) and a tablespoon of

crates of space

2011-08-20T10:48:00.001+10:00

I had seen in a recent English Garden magazinea nursery that had used apple crates for theirraised nursery stock beds I thought I'll have some of those !and the apple islehas an abundance of these wooden boxesbut you do need to dig a bit to find someonewho will part with themand they range in price from $20 - $70 depends onwho you ask luckily a local orchard said yesand the manager was so good

Happy Weekend !

2011-08-19T16:56:00.002+10:00

hazelnuts

2011-08-16T13:54:00.000+10:00

lovely catkins my search for a batch of reasonably priced hazelnutsis over Friday i came home with a dozenone year old hazelnutsfrom local growers Tamar Valley Hazelnuts(I even had a guided farm tour) Saturday was spent furiously digging holesto plant three different cultivarsto gain the requisite cross-pollination then tree guarding the twigs from the rabbits that arecutting everything off

chromosomes and vacuums

2011-08-11T09:31:00.000+10:00

he said: "This vacuum is useless, we should have bought the turbo (insert expensive brand name here)"she said: "Have you emptied the bag"(muttering cost of new bearings on car VS vacuum purchase) he said: "Hmmm . . . . . no . . . . it's full" clutter bang shake he said: "Nope its still useless"She said: "Give it to me" an hour laterone pair of kids spring loaded chopsticksa forkand a bent

chicken conundrum

2011-08-07T14:44:00.000+10:00

while nursing the great unwashed massthat is my family for the last fortnight(whooping cough, gastro, bronchitis, gastro, man-flu)one of our little hens slipped quietly onto brood the signs were therea deep depression in the nesting boxsoft little feathers increasing around the edges we assume she is on the real dealas our gentleman rooster has been most attentiveand she has been his primary

birthday makes

2011-07-31T11:52:00.000+10:00

another run on birthdays at the momentso Lucy at Attic24 has come to the fore againwith her handy and quickflower tutorial i whipped a half dozen up on Friday eveningadding hair clips to the back and buttons on the front my variation is that i only used dc's in the petals which creates the even petal edges rather then peaks for brights I've used an 8ply wool and a 4mm hook heaven help me when

country mornings

2011-07-26T19:30:00.001+10:00

take one dailywith coffee

off the wagon . . .briefly

2011-07-25T17:25:00.000+10:00

boys with toys okay so i think a fortnight is a pretty long timeto buckle down and get some work done(and have some late nights watching the La Tour) don't get me wrongi'm going to have to put my head down again this weekjust coming up for air and some bloggie inspiration ! its been garden make-over these last two weeksactually its more like"hey lets get rid of the moat"which has surrounded

bloggie holiday

2011-07-04T19:11:00.000+10:00

hello everyone !I'm off on a little bloggie holidaymy plate runeth over with 100+1 things that must get done

in the garden: here in windy hollow

2011-07-02T13:07:00.000+10:00

healthy banksia with a rumour thatwe will have our country road sealed next yeari am anticipating that we will havesome of our farm acquisitions to be turned into bitumen but the new road will mean we loose our major windbreakon the western side of the farmso we are furiously planting nativesto get the new windbreaks established centre of the farm windbreaks i know its no problem for usthat

farm gate: Montague Orchard at Legana

2011-07-01T12:35:00.003+10:00

local apples I really like to buy straight from the growerand in Tasmania we are very blessedwith so many orchards and market gardenersso each week I hope to sharea local grower with youand if you have some suggestions for your areaplease share them ! Montague Orchard farm gate apples and pears5kg mixed apples $52kg bag of apples $5 brown Bosch pears 2kg for $5 Open large map

country drives

2011-06-29T20:02:00.008+10:00

Bowerbank Mill at Deloraine i have taken up my old hobby of country drivesnot long ones just around the districtwe live in a very pretty areaand I'm looking for some inspirationfor my watercolours classand for my garden a local landscapers front garden at Westbury - I'll have some of that ! Wee Hermann falls asleep on the way after spreading muffin through the back seat for morning tea

the good life: one for the pot

2011-06-26T17:19:00.000+10:00

damning evidence ! i am a most heartless creaturei do not see bunnies as cute fuzzy little crittersi see them as destructive landscape corroding fiends put aside the damage the are wrecking on my gardenbut since owning the farm i have seen themeat 30% of my pasturesfrolic happily beneath my Christmas Treesbefore cutting them off three inches above the groundleaving bare sticksof them

in the garden: getting ready for Spring

2011-06-25T09:18:00.000+10:00

winter carrots the garden is all but bare noweverything is dormantafter a few good frosts and heavy rains carrots are about the only thing leftand off course some herbs like chervil and parsleybeing a horticulturist i am a terrible gardenertoo many projects to get one thing rightlike an important vegie patch with winter crops ! chervil does well in winter it seems a little weird to be

bloggie gathering

2011-06-23T09:39:00.000+10:00

bgurk ! from Sweet Birdy Love on Tuesday we had a lovely bloggie gatheringin the workshop at resurektSweet Birdy Love was on holidays to the little islandand Suburban Jubilee had gottenmyself and Chris Artist togetherfor a cuppa and Tanya's brilliant date slice one for all the rug rats ! its not quite like meeting strangersgetting bloggers face to facewe sort of know each other a littleand

the good life: I am the Reticulator !

2011-06-18T12:19:00.001+10:00

after being seriously disappointed in the plumbingat our place last year (and the year before that)more accurately to saythe fact that water is transported by VERY long hosesto the far reaches of the garden rather then by permanent pipesI paid a whole months wages to have it amelioratedand it wouldn't have been so bad but it was to be my last pay packet but I never had the water get any further

the good life: fruiting shrubs and trees

2011-06-17T19:00:00.001+10:00

globe artichokes this winterbefore the crush of the christmas tree seasongets on-top of my gardenI'm getting stuck-in to not only vegie patch to be more productivebut also my flower gardensand orchard "Brigitta" blueberries a few more blueberries are first on the list"Brigitta" does the best at our placeand I've only found three of those so far at local nurseries I'm giving a couple of

Felting Workshops

2011-06-15T05:04:00.000+10:00

TWO FELTING WORKSHOPSBy Bettina Hockey in the Deviot Hall ‘Felting with a resist – make your ownbag, pouch, book cover or egg cosy’Sunday 31 July 2011, 10am – 4pm ‘Felted jewellery – design your own necklace and earrings out of felted beads’Sunday 28 August 2011, 10am – 4pm Workshop details Felting with a resistWe start with a hands-on introduction on how to make your own felt pouch for

soap box: land of milk and honey

2011-06-13T09:46:00.000+10:00

since when did Australian grown and made foodsbecome a luxury item ? i went to buy some frozen peasthere were eight different brandsonly one was Australian grownit was dearer then all other imported peasbut i persistedand we may each have a tablespoon lessof peas for tea each meal is there a problem here ?are we not one of the most well resourced continents in the world ? why in the world

schneien !

2011-06-11T19:02:00.000+10:00

picnc area by pumphouse bay (lake arthur) its a little cold up in the mountains !

making stamps

2011-06-10T10:55:00.002+10:00

another little school holiday projectfor a rainy dayit runs the risk of serious knife injuriesif you aren't carefulbut only to the parent ! the ideas book from herewith a bulk pack of erasers fromthat store where you will throw everything out fromand a pack of fat kids textasinstead of an ink padfor loads of colour variations

wee-lly wonderful

2011-06-09T12:25:00.002+10:00

i haven't much skill in the doll making departmentbut these still went down wellpatterns and design from here some prints charming fabric remnantsa little bit of scallop edged crochet lace with a button claspbits of left-over feltand some recycled buttons

the good life: saucy quark

2011-06-06T08:19:00.003+10:00

sauced quark so technically i guess my idea for an infused quark fell-overinstead rushing about for our lunch datei made a sauce for the quark Honey & Fig Sauce1/2 juice from half a large lemon3 tablespoons of honeya finely slithered figleaves from a small sprig of fresh rosemary put all ingredients in a generous sized bowlplace in microwaveheat through in 30 second spurts for two minutesallow

the good life: quark ! quark !

2011-06-04T22:29:00.003+10:00

cheese clothed quark having a chef in the family is quite a handy thingwhen ever i try a new cooking venture i have someone to turn toin those moments of uncertainty in the kitchen this week i said to my sister"It can't be that easy !"She gave me one of THOSE looksand said that soft cheese was an over mystified food "Huh?" Well its very easy and cheap to make, but they sell it as a luxury

All Business: Deviot Hall Markets

2011-05-28T08:41:00.003+10:00

time to think of your Spring flowers we are off to the marketsDeviot Hall this timeonSunday 29th May9am - 3pmcome along and see usand grab a coffee, cake or some jamsfrom all the wonderful stall holders just remember its winter dormancythe best time to get perennialsestablished for Spring frost hardy - guaranteed !

turning to the darkside

2011-05-27T16:11:00.000+10:00

its finally happenedi've turned to the darksideall because of maria and katesblogs about milo

autumn frosts

2011-05-26T18:21:00.001+10:00

. . . . and thats another thing !

2011-05-25T16:34:00.000+10:00

I'm in the middle of what my neighbour callsa "Nana" cleannot Spring cleaningas come Spring I'll be out amoungst the trees pruningor in the vegie patch planting so this "Nana" cleaninvolves window washingand not just washing but sills and edges and groutand i can tell you i'm not sure what ranks a windowin an Australian Standard Scheme certainly no woman was on the committeethat defined the

crochet: newspaper boys

2011-05-22T13:33:00.000+10:00

since giving away handmades at the markets(only a recent thing I might add)I've been gently industrious making hats, mittens and hair bandsfor the kids and friendsand a few special consignments its lovely to do a custom makemy eldest girls teacherfell in love with the newspaper boy hatthat Miss da Vinci wears about so between us we devised this lovely colour schemefor her little girl after

the good life: no place for vegetarians

2011-05-21T20:34:00.002+10:00

retail value of those three cows as meat is about $10,500 suburban jubilee is on the mark when she says buy your meat bulk the cost of meat is very high even if you aren't just buying prime cuts or some of that fancy hormone free beef once upon a time many town families had a share in a producer animal be it a suburban pig a few ducks or chooks for the pot or a cow on an Uncles farm it was

Home Away from Home - For Sale

2011-05-20T15:19:00.000+10:00

Jayco Camper for Sale Our little family has outgrown our holiday home on wheels !We need a bit more room, and something to take us off roadon bigger adventures.So our trusty little camper is up for sale. * * * * * * 1981 Jayco Finch "pop top" camper for sale$6500 * * * * * *Recently renovated and includes:rechargeable battery cells solar panel hook-up and monitor replumbed rewired and

Are you a cycling statistic ?

2011-05-19T12:14:00.001+10:00

InvitationYou are invited to participate in a research study to determine the cycling habits of regular cyclists and the risks and costs of cycling accidents in Tasmania.The research is being conducted by Professor Andrew Palmer and Ms Peta Hitchens from the Department of Health Economics at the Menzies Research Institute, Tasmania. Please note that if you are under 18 years old, it is a

aggrevation

2011-05-18T14:23:00.003+10:00

flat pack sins forgive me for i have flat packed it was either this or someone was going to get hurtbecausei swearif i pick upone more pile of dumped clean foldedwashing off the floorthis weekheads will roll do you suppose the new federal budgetfor mental health funds extendsto preventative methods of depression managementin the form of an Ikea voucher ? whats even worse is that i actually

family tree: a new find

2011-05-17T21:19:00.001+10:00

Distinguished Conduct Medal like many i am a bit hooked on the old family treemum and i have been researching the family for about 20 years today mum came across some informationon one of our more challenging branches of the family she found a reference to my Great Grand Fatherand its strange that we learn so muchabout our recent ancestorsfrom stories of conflictit turns out my Great Grand

smelly bird !

2011-05-16T15:14:00.001+10:00

here is a new twist one of my favourite easy projectthese little birds are made using a pattern from spoolthey even have a how to make tutorial so gather your dried scented herbsand lets stuff 'em ! lavender, balm Gilead and artemisia I used herbs from the Summers harvest includinglavender, balm Gilead and artemisiaall known for their moth deterring capabilitiesbecause these birds are

industrial biscotti

2011-05-15T17:48:00.001+10:00

old style kitchen appliances when i was a kidmum had this biscuit makershe had been shown them byan Italian friendwho used them all the timeto make those little butter "kiss" biscuitsyou have with coffee the biscuit maker disappeared at some stagein between moves and us kids leaving homebut now i have one for my ravenous lot they are so quick and easy to useyou can make 100 biscuits from the

biscotti - jam drops

2011-05-15T17:42:00.007+10:00

raspberry jam drops my basic recipe: Pre-heat oven at 175oC (fan forced) 250gm butter (soft)250gm caster sugar500gm of self raising flour1/4 cup milk3 egg yolks2 tablespoons of custard powder mix the butter and sugar together until creamedmix through egg yolks and milkmix through dry ingredients Chuck portions into your biscotti press or roll into small dough balls press onto a greased/lined

soap box: hormones

2011-05-11T11:44:00.000+10:00

hormone free, free range, organic beef so I've had about a week in bed with a coldtoo much time pondering my navelthe result? its soapbox time ! my butcher snorted at meall I'd asked him was"what's the deal about hormone free beef?"he said"All Tasmanian Beef is hormone free"so i asked,"what's all this advertising about then ?""its just that" he says so on closer examination i found that

Yo ! Eddie !

2011-05-03T11:42:00.001+10:00

heeeeers Eddie ! with April being a whirlwindi didn't have the chance to introduce you all to Eddie Eddie has moved to our housethanks to Jules over ata Little Woolly Eddie was a bloggy give-awayand was handmade by Juleswho is a more then proficient crochetergiven she is making her own patterns upwithin a year of learning how to crochetpretty amazing isn't it ! wise owl he is so cleverly

that was april

2011-05-02T15:07:00.000+10:00

entrant in the camellia category wellthat was April camping tripsgarage salesmarketsEasterand the hort society showI'm glad its Mayalready the pace has slowed a slow Saturday attendance - Craft Fairs and Mural Festivals for competition now my week-end . . . . it was the Autumn Flower Showsurrounded by beautiful flowerstempted by rhubarb syrupgorged on high teas drawn into botanical

get ye to a flower show !

2011-04-28T07:54:00.001+10:00

Rosenkuppel Oregano with "Gertrude Jekyll" Roses so I've been a busytoo busy in my books it must be a sign of my nervousnessa desperation to have everything just so Pink Pincushion this weekend sees my first real gigas a horticulturist amidst a horticultural showmy first ever grown up plant stallno handmade goodies to hide behindor a stall buddy to share the anxiousness of selling your

Not Just another Public Holiday

2011-04-25T08:23:00.000+10:00

all these men have passed away nowgrandfathers and great uncles but they belonged to a single generation of our familiesits not that long ago . . .

clarence point markets

2011-04-21T09:39:00.001+10:00

clarence point marketsgood friday9 - 3pm hope you can make it to the marketsits always a great event as itjoins in with the Three Peaks Race hosted by Point of Women it is well attended by local artisans loads of food from Watsons Fine Foods (i can highly recommend the feta and spinach pies !) the Rotary BBQ of course new seasons hazelnuts from Hazelcreek at Exeter wines from Waterton Hall

Deviot MASSIVE Garage Sale

2011-04-15T15:18:00.000+10:00

Deviot (on the West Tamar) is having a massive suburb garage sale.So gather your coins, trailer or a basket and head up the river for a bit of retail therapy! Here is just a sample of what you'll find32 Deviot Road - Artisan Gallery: Bric-a-brac, pottery seconds, a few white elephants, household and workshop goods 68 Deviot Road: VW car,

farm: oh rain ? goodie !

2011-04-13T10:12:00.000+10:00

honestly you can see the attractionto move to the city the last two days we had 90mm of rainwith a nights worth of 85km/hr winds and my poor old Christmas treestook a flogging again its those south east windstrees in Tassie are naturally less supported on that sidethey grow knowing prevailing winds are westerlyand are subsequently weaker on the SE side we decided to keep a heap of reject

the good life: romance ?

2011-04-12T16:29:00.004+10:00

some people call it an opportunity for romancewhen a black-out occursi'm often surprised that Tasmania's population isn't higherthe amount of romance being proportionate to the high number of black-outsthe roaring 40's cause(roaring 40's is the colloquial name for the high winds we get here) last night our farm was hit by a doozie of a stormfor our house the idea of a black-out is a bit of a

the good life: value for money ?

2011-04-10T05:00:00.000+10:00

its one of those argumentsis it worth the effort ? if you look at it aside from the health valuesdrying your own apples is a pretty cost effective exercise say you have an apple tree - $15 (initial purchase)you have 4sq metres of land - $0.0078 (per annum rates)you have a water tank so watering is freeyou feed the tree with chook manure from your hen house(or manure from your cattle)they are

the good life: all dried up

2011-04-09T19:47:00.003+10:00

last of the apple harvest i'm not very good at keeping the harvestif it can't be frozen directlyi tend not do a very good jobof dealing with a fruit or vegie glut but at the moment the freezer is exceedingly fulland there is no room for pods of stewed fruitor tubs of soup, pasta sauce and stock so i am trying for the first time dried applesas we harvested the last of our applesand have far too

little loopy

2011-04-06T11:48:00.005+10:00

i'm just a little burnt out on making berets for the upcoming marketsdon't get me wrong about the volume i've producedits just my attention span has always been a little short so a little inspiration from crocheter emma lamband some idea tweaks from jules a little friend arrived in the post (at back) - more on him later ! and came up with this garland for the girls roomusing Theresa's flower

cockles and mussels

2011-04-05T11:35:00.002+10:00

time with dad wallaby tracks the blue shack at cockle creek just a few more pics of our camping trip

far south

2011-04-04T10:00:00.006+10:00

near park entrance for us "northerners" a trip to the far south is a fair driveon the scale of things (like living on the big island) its not really that long a trip five hours gets you from the top of our island to the southern most road accessible spot to a little place called cockle creek when we go camping its a low key affairbasic and away from the crowdsits why we DON'T go during school

busy at work

2011-04-03T16:18:00.000+10:00

my office this week

on the straight and narrow

2011-03-21T09:45:00.000+11:00

stash sorting like many crafts people i have an abundance of UFOsit doesn't help that i also desire to do handmade for salefor both my markets stalls and for my wonderful stockist Rowena at Oatlands Handmade Rowena has been a blessingtaking my rather poor sales history on-line at Etsy & MadeItshe has turned my efforts to get my handmade out thereinto realityshe really does work so hard for me

the good life: cutting the cheese

2011-03-16T21:09:00.001+11:00

curds and whey something i thought i'd never bother withmaking my own cheeseit really is so very cheap to buyunless of course you have access to fresh milk (preferably free) but i was lured by a 30 minute mozzarellawith an option of ricottaand i was won my sister (the chef) said that ricotta was misleadingly a high end cheesewhen its simplicity should make it a cheap cheeseso in choosing a "

the good life: keeping the plate full

2011-03-10T22:40:00.004+11:00

feeding our hoard of bottomless childrenis always going to be a challengeactive kids require good fueland lots of it and with more and more processed food containingmore and more goop home cooking is becomingmore and more important following are a couple of my stalwart recipes

the good life: fruit jellys

2011-03-10T22:30:00.001+11:00

first on my hit list is jellywhen No.1 child started eating solidsi thought jellyand then discovered bought jelly is really mostly sugarso i decide to make my own no added sugar variation frozen blackberries to 150mL of boiling wateradd 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of gelatin (or vegatarian substitute)(the more gelatin the firmer the jelly) stir until dissolvedadd pure fruit juice to make 500mL of

the good life: cheese and vegemite scrolls

2011-03-10T22:25:00.002+11:00

ready for the oven next is a crowd pleaser but please excuse the less then inspiring photos (it was late !) cheese and Vegemite scrolls(i can hear marmite fans cringing) coffee shop versions costs about $2.70 each these ones will come in at about $0.30 each to your bread maker (or by hand)add 310mL luke warm water1 teaspoon of salt1 tablespoon of olive oil1 tablespoon of sugar4 cups of plain

très fatigué

2011-03-06T16:48:00.000+11:00

mist on the waters and Ben Lomond on the horizon a magnificent week-end in the Blessington Valleyour race was based at Elverton Pastoralwith views across the rich farmlands to Ben Lomond at 11am Saturday morning it was two degreesfrost still lay in the shadows the sunshine quickly burnt the Autumn chill away and 140 mountain bikers took on the new race course first event at this new venue

autumn beret

2011-03-02T13:13:00.001+11:00

another finished handmade this one for "the middle child"it joins in with the march monthly makeat the felt fairy this is the columbia bereta super easy patterni adjusted the size simply by dropping the hook size to 4.00mmit fits my girls, so between 5 - 8 yrs i used an 8ply moda vera pure wool in vermillion some of it was left in my stash, but i needed an extra skein to finishits on special

sago and blackberry pudding

2011-03-01T20:56:00.003+11:00

tastes better then it looks ! we were bought up on tapioca we called it fish eyes or frog egg puddingmy dad is the king of tapioca pudding plain, coconut or orange flavouredhe now cooks it to demand for the next generationtapioca is often confused with sago they come from two completely different plants despite this, as an ingredient they are interchangeable tapioca is a very old fashioned

Clarence Point Workshops

2011-02-27T21:21:00.000+11:00

Point of Women Inc. Invites you to the following workshops at the Clarence Point Hall Basket

worst in show

2011-02-27T16:10:00.001+11:00

stoked - a second place ! so witness here a good dose of sour grapes i know i should be grown up enough to take it on the chinbut i have some serious doubts when three people enter a categoryand only first and second are placed only three entries in the basket arrangement (mine is the yellow at back) now my husband did mention that the rules did say that a third didn't have to be awardedbut

best in show ?

2011-02-25T20:33:00.001+11:00

eew a bit hard with the photoshopping ! i've come over all country woman againtoday i spent getting flowers ready for the 100th Exeter Rural Show however i'm in a bit of a funk with my flowers at the momentand only managed five out of nine arrangements that i was supposed to prepareit just wasn't happening with the blooms but i did manage to enter the above "arrangement" its supposed to be a

the good life: clean

2011-02-24T23:38:00.000+11:00

a sure sign of a healthy environment is frogsour farm hosts at least four frogs that i can identifyour windows at night are scattered with brown tree frogs (above)taking advantage of the house lights attracting bugsthe bats and owls do too if the strange window thuds are anything to go byits one of the reasons we don't use sprays for spiders on our windows in the dam and woodlands, even my

our thoughts are over the ditch

2011-02-22T22:39:00.001+11:00

take care our south island mates ! s & f m & s j & d