The Big Time

Yesterday, big excitement in Orford.  The stage was set, and the piano shone golden.

The man himself arrived and Cheryl, Kath and I, who happened to be passing as he alighted from his car, each got hugs and kisses.

TBH I'd never heard of the man and jazz piano is not my thing but I like to support whatever comes to town, and Steve was genuinely enthusiastic.  Unfortunately, Steve was in too much back pain to attend so I went solo and sat next to Liz (obviously not sister Elizabeth) whose husband also was too ill to attend.  To my astonishment the hall was packed.  Kirk only played for an hour (which was enough from my perspective) but the audience seemed thrilled.  He is a very likeable man but, to me, his music is about impeccable technique and self-indulgence as the player takes the music to wherever he feels like.  It was a bit like Spics and Specks where you have to identify the number being played on only the sketchiest clues.  I need a bit more hum along melody.  Pleb.

'What!', I hear you exclaim, 'Bruce Springstein was there too?'  No no no no no, this is Steve getting dried fruit and nuts for his tea,  I, however, had some of the spanokopita I had made, with home grown tomatoes and a bubbly.  Note Gold Bunny.

Starting Over

You may recall the John and Yoko song from the Double Fantasy album (dim dark history).  I always liked it and it seemed to describe my relationship with Steve prior to the stroke.  The song keeps earworming me now that I have come to the Z of the alphabet posting - nothing left (and curiously Jools Oh contacted me today for the first time in months). I have toyed with the idea of future posts about people who have influenced me.  I got excited when I was working with the Zampatti idea and realised I could work backwards through designers:  Zampatti, Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, etc.  Perhaps I could just work the alphabet backwards.  Numbers, perhaps?  Or maybe there'll be no theme.  I'm still thinking.
The Floosie terrified me with her My New Garden blog post .  I couldn't imagine starting a garden from scratch.

This book fell into my hands at PUBS and, though I have my garden mapped in my mind and it is approaching reality, I found this book quite thought provoking.

And then I got this book recently from Rosa Norte in Spain.  I had seen it when the original first came out but, mostly having had largish gardens, hadn't really thought it necessary.  This second edition has miraculously arrived at just the right moment because I had decided to start the vegie garden all over again, and now I have a guide.  I intend to build up the soil quality over winter, and then keep the productive garden beds small but intensively cropped.

Yesterday was both the 20th anniversary of the stroke and our 19th wedding anniversary.  When Steve came over to Triabunna in 2014 to check out the housing situation and the likelihood of us enjoying living here, he rang me excitedly one evening to report that there was a  fish van on the waterfront and people were sitting at tables drinking wine and eating fish and chips.  'You'll love it here', he said, and he was right.  So yesterday we had fish and chips from The Fish Van for our anniversary dinner.

Z is for Zero

I couldn't quite get Z.  I had just about decided on Zampatti and Zucchini when I noticed that I'm currently surrounded by zeros.   The first clue came when I realised I had started this blog on Australia Day 2010.  So a 10 year anniversary on Sunday. Tomorrow (21/1/20) will be 20 years since Steve had the stroke - what he called his own Millennium Bug.

And then there's this book I'm ploughing on with while reading other books in between.  It is a fascinating book and I'm learning a lot but I can't sympathise, or empathise, with someone who just needs to buy Shakespeare First Folios regardless of cost.  I think the title is a little misleading.  I was expecting a detective type hunt to find a First Folio.  But no, once he had one, he had to have more, ie obsessive hunt for Shakespeare's First Folios.  I guess you can get addicted to anything, but I'm not addicted to this book and have to read it in instalments.

So to take a break from all those 000000s, Jill PD and I went to Stapleton Beach today looking for the perfect rocks for a new project I have in mind.

There are many to chose from,

though a hovering Maria Island proves a distraction

and a certain dog would rather be chasing sticks through the water.

I was rather taken with this petrified flop-eared rabbit.

This sort of venture is what the Crocs are all about.

And here are the chosen ones.  Not exactly what I was looking for but potential, potential - for nothing will come of nothing.

Y is for Yes, Yule Yearning and Yum

Yes!!!  We've had some rain.  Not much but better than nothing.  It was also very cold, so a perfect day for gardening.  It's also Listless Thursday so, with no promises to keep, I realised I felt like mince pies,

and whipped some up, as I do...

It's also the time of the year when O Henry has surplus peaches and nectarines on his trees.  All in all a super yummy lunch.

I didn't get a lot done in the garden but did continue my archeaological dig beside the white shed.  FF please note the Gold Bunny is having a second flush. I threw wood ash at the pear tree hoping it would stick to the wet leaves and kill the pear slug.  And we are slowly repairing and resurrecting The Red Market Umbrella.  We sat on the ground and repaired the rips in the cover the other day - felt like fishermen repairing a net.  Steve cunningly mended 3 of the spokes and today took the base for welding.  It may rise to its fleeting former glory again.
In an impulse of great concern to Steve and Jill, I have embarked on my second cooking adventure for the year - making flatbreads from the Maggie Beer book.  Fingers crossed again.  I used to make bread rolls and savarin many years ago.  Yonks, in fact.  Perhaps I'll get into yeast baking again.  It always seem miraculous to me.

X is for X it off the list, and X your fingers

You may recall that I set out to read the Sue Grafton alphabet series in order from A to Z.

Well, I've done it.  Not Z, of course, because Sue Grafton died before she published Z is for ???  Naturally I'm hoping the same doesn't happen to me but I am nearly at the end of my alphabet blogs, and it is only recently that it has become a challenge.

I got this pile of books for $5 at PUBS the other day.  Poldark books 1 - 6 (somewhat historic looking) at 10c each.  Unfortunately 2 is missing - Demelza!!!  Those of you good at maths will notice that the total comes to $9

but that is the beauty of being a PUBS volunteer.

This curious photo is highly amusing to me.  Friends of Triabunna Reserves (the FoTRs) arranged to have a Just because we're Friends drink at the Spring Bay Hotel (the Springy) last Friday.  We had to wait for Bruce who works on Maria Island and would be catching the ferry to arrive at 5.30pm.  We were dutifully waiting at the Marina, wishing we had brought streamers and practising welcoming songs, when Bruce came up behind us and announced he'd caught an earlier ferry and had been waiting at the pub.  So here's us trudging over to the Springy.  But a fairly raucous time ensued.

XXXX

W is for Words fail me

For the past few days I haven't been able to get past wildlife, wildfire, weather, wind, war, wankers.
But don't worry, X is on the way.

V is for Vagaries

It was going to be V is for Verity but I can't now remember why!  I know 'truth's beauty, beauty truth' was going to be mentioned but in what context? And it's not for Verity in Poldark.  So, here's a vagabond wandering through the last few days.

I finished my Advent Calendar from H Bells a few days after Christmas.  I'd kept the largest packet to last, and there was the delicious golden bear.

If you are loathe to discard your golden bear wrappers, I have discovered they fit quite nicely over an upside down bubbly cork.

Last Monday I was rostered on to PUBS from 0930 to 1500 which actually went quite quickly despite being the hottest day - 42C - I can ever remember in Tasmania.  There is no airconditioning but the building is solid brick so it was slow to warm up.  By 3pm I just wanted to be home in airconditioned comfort and escaping to Paris with this book.  All went to plan for a few minutes, and then I got a call from Steve:  he had a flat tyre.  Fortunately he was not far away and all he wanted me to do was get Jill as she was not proving very helpful.  Also very fortunate was that he could remember how to change a tyre AND there was air in the spare.  I think I would fail on both counts.  Anyway, I spent the rest of the day, and a little of the next, in Paris.  Fabulous.

Thursday, Madam Cyn and I went to lunch in Bellerive.  We both had linguine with prawns and blue cheese.  This is not a flavour combination I had thought about but it certainly worked.  All this was very exciting for me, not just for being back in Bellerive but also for seeing Mr and Madam Cyn's new place.  It is very similar to the house she had before she left Tasmania over 20 years ago.  There are views to the river and Tasman Bridge (not very obvious in the photo), and she finally has a piano again.

Steve and I decided we wanted a red market umbrella for Christmas.  We ordered online and were told every effort would be made to deliver it before Christmas.  We were sceptical but, lo and behold,  upon returning from spending Christmas Eve at Georgia's, there was a note in the letterbox saying they had attempted to deliver it.  Hmmmmmph.

It arrived yesterday and, just to show there is a Dog, Georgia was with us.  It proved to be large enough to cover an entire market, absolutely dwarfing our table setting for six.

Fathoming out how to erect it proved challenging

and we eventually decided that threading the pole through the glass table was not a good idea.  I picked up a metal base after taking Georgia back to Hobart.

Today we finally got it all sorted

and it looks just as I had imagined through the lavender.

Except a wind gust has blown it over and it's broken!!