Shades of Wentworth

Saturday was forecast to be hot (33 degrees C) so we all bunkered down.  This was in stark contrast to the weekend before which was the liveliest weekend I've had for yonks.  Shanah and Archie were over from England via Adelaide, Miyeon was here from Korea, Matt was here from Singapore, Oki, Sarah, Oscar and Remi came up from Hobart and Liz came from Swansea.  Lovely.  So lovely, of course, that I immersed myself in pure pleasure and forgot to take any photos.  There are a couple of Archie and Shanah at the beach but I've got to work out how to get them off my work phone...  So here's some garden photos instead.

Finally I have lupins in the garden.  Chives and parsley in seed is also promising.

The Gold Bunny sent by Jill has produced one flower, nicely in time for our wedding anniversary.

Dahlias, not part of the original plan, are going gangbusters.

These guys are also not on the plan but very welcome.  They're hugging the container with the mint and horseradish.

I spent the hot, hot day (I think it actually got to 25 degrees) reading about the Compostela de Santiago pilgrimage with scallop shells very much on my mind, so this is an apt time to tell you that Wilma's father once owned our place and used scallop shells to condition the soil.  Consequently fragments of shells appear through the garden.

My friend Jean Green Bean has suggested I make a fertiliser from a bag of weeds steeped in water for a month.  Naturally I have obeyed and yesterday I unsteeped it.  The smell is amazingly awful so it should work well.  I was trying to capture the honeyeaters feeding on the succulent flowers in this photo but couldn't zoom in far enough.  You can however see my weed steeping device.  We haven't had a big need for the esky otherwise.
Another consequence of the heat which was Wentworth-like was the outbreak of country and western music in the caravan park, resonances of the CM Festival which itself used to resonate through Riverbank in October each year.

The caravan park has been pretty chokkers this long weekend - Hobart Regatta Day today. As the music indicated, they've been a pretty traditional crew.  The gap between vans was the conversation pit with a very cute and witchy pipe wood stove.  This was the scene a few weeks ago with a younger set in residence:

Modern camping

And here is the end of a magic and indulgent hot day.

Good thing

While you're on a good thing...

Cuppla photos of Orford just south of Triabunna.  One of my plans for 2015 is to explore the local area.  I've discovered beautiful places and lovely walks.

Back in Tribes now and walking along the marina extension.

 I believe this is a squid boat.  Imagine what it would look like at night.

 As well as a working fishing port, Triabunna is trying to reinvent itself as an artists' hub.

There is of course art to be seen everywhere.

 We saw this Frankenstein tree on the Wielangata  Road, a former forestry road.

 We were on our way to Dunalley, one of the towns badly damaged by fires in 2013.

Poor Sis nearly got blown away by an  intense storm that blew up while we were lunching at the Dunnalley pub.

recommencing transmisssion

Unbridled joy!!  The joy of Christmas and the joy of being back in touch.  Above is the outdoors Christmas tree decorated with baubles from the op shop.  $2 a packet - how clever is that.  The photo was taken well after Christmas and after a bit of a storm.

Here's the fabulous Wilma teaching me how to prepare cray fish in our kitchen.  I have never eaten so much and such good seafood as I did this Christmas.  Lunch at Liz' was amazing.  The best oysters I've ever  had, like leaping into a crashing wave, abalone, scallops and scallop pies, crayfish galore and we didn't even get to the sack of mussels.  Wilma also gave me those lovely lilies.  I've come to really like the pink walls of our living area.  They seem right with the sunsets and sunrises through the window.

Jake and Sarah came for Christmas tea.  Lovely Father Christmas had brought Sarah some sparklers and Rosie, presumably, had also left some Wentworth sparklers in our laundry for me to discover.

Jake and Sarah stayed a cuppla days.  We drove to Swansea for breakfast  one morning.

 And spent some time on Raspins Beach just down the road on another glorious day.

May the joy and glory of easy blogging continue.

Break in transmission

Sorry about the lack of blogging.  We've had the computer fixed and now it is extraordinarily slow, I can't download photos from my phone and can't upload photos to my blog.  So I may have to write you essays in the future.  Apart from the immense computer frustration, it has been a lovely Christmas holiday break - the longest time I've ever spent at home for years and years.  The weather has been perfect for me, very varied so always interesting and stimulating.  The garden is doing all the right things though much slower than I would like.  The eating has been luxurious.  Read a few books.  Done some local exploring.  Would love to show you some photos!  And last night I thoroughly enjoyed Sherlock on telly.  Sadly back to work tomorrow.

life in Tribes

Had to hurry home from work on Thursday to get to the school for Presentation 2014.

I am so pleased to be associated with this school via my maths tutoring.  It was a  great show not unlike the Olympics Opening Ceremony and possibly as long.  I left at 9.30pm because Steve was waiting so we could have dinner together.  Friday night was The Parade.  What fun!!!

I'd never seen so many people on the Vicary Street, the main drag.  I have some dissatisfactions with Triabunna and one of them is you never see people on the streets.  Except on Christmas Parade night.

Sis was a little miffed that Evie, the Ambulance Dog, got to participate.

From Vicary Street they followed the Esplanade and then re-emerged in our street.

And passed our house.

 Then back to Vicary Street and the paddock at the back of the pub for carols and concert.

Though Evie looked as though she'd be happy to stay at our place for a while.

Harvest

Friday evening Steve and I walked to the school (15 Melbourne Street) harvest festival.  Now this is how it should be done.  Usual Christmas things, lucky dips but also local produce, wines, fish and chips, mussels and oyster plates.  I had a glass of bubbly and oysters prepared 6 ways: won ton, sushi style, natural, mango salsa, salmon and sour cream, soy and ginger.  Fabulous.  The natural was like leaping into a big wave.

Back at 13 Melbourne Street we are in mushroom production.  Such lovely plump little numbers.  Enough for a good feed each day - in fact I must get some now while Steve is doing a sausage sizzle for lunch.  So, quickly, on our walk to fetch the paper yesterday, Sis and I grazed on delicious cherry plums - more cherry than plum, and samphire.  Well actually I feasted, Sis wasn't so keen.  On our second walk to the shop I discovered a fig tree with fruit...

A book and its body.

I have also just finished Nana, apparently one of Steve's Mum's favourites.  The print is tiny and it was a hard slog but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The book fell to pieces as I turned the pages - a bit like Nana.  This is a deliciously lurid cover.  The woman's face on the cover reminds me of Miss Pat - some of you may concur.  Not that I ever saw Pat with this hairstyle, though many, many others.