Courtesy Jaeb@morgueFile free photos

Having just arrived home from a lovely driving visit interstate with family and friends I came across a refreshing recipe. It would be wonderful as an entree or for a gathering of friends and supper. Light, but I would say very moorish.

I would add a delicate sprig of fresh Dill as well for its wonderful scent and aroma.

My dream raised garden

Dill brings back memories of my dear mother when she still had her own garden and little herb patch. Whenever we visited Mum always chopped up some Dill and added it to her wonderful mixed salad and home made dressing….between us three girls there would almost be arguments over who got more of this delicious trademark salad

Here is this refreshing recipe of Salmon Rillettes

Alternatively you could experiment just with some smoked salmon and flake it instead of the fish stated in Downtownshift.
I seem to recall a friend of mine does this, or is it potted shrimp…..Keren if you are reading, is this how your mum makes her dip?

…and so I’ll sign off for now and maybe do a bit of unpacking. The painful part at the end of a trip…..but I have many wonderful memories which will spur me on:)

From country to city and back again, day by day.

Courtesy GaborfromHungary@morgueFile free photos

There is a saying ..Life is a journey.

With many a detour, hold ups, unpredictableness, joys, throw your hands up in the air situations along the way. Each one is a step.

Remembering those maybe tantrum hard days with children and then at day’s end as they lie sleeping peacefully in their beds you take a deep breath of thanks again.

Briefly reinvigorated for many tomorrows
One step and again another.

I wonder how many steps on this our path
A journey, our life
Never heading in a straight line.

Look closely at the photo on the top of this post. The photographer captured a brilliant moment!

Almost a choose your own adventure. So many stories. Along the board walk at a brisk walk or over the quaint bridge at a leisurely stroll. Maybe even a pause in the cool grass on the other side. Serenely meandering in the sailing boat down the canal but only going in one direction because the bridge is in the way. Or pick a speed boat out of the various sizes and styles to zip along the canal in either direction. Yet all starting off from the same place! An analogy of Life.

So this is our life’s journey. It can be boring or we can really observe what’s happening around us, partake or participate in the good things of life. Bear gracefully when burdens overload us.

That being said it is the small happenings which if we appreciate are as a gift. A priceless gift bestowing joy or a memory to be savoured.

Then again, have you ever seen the silvery trail of a snail in the morning after rain? It goes everywhere yet there is no snail to be seen.

Morning walk on Gannet Beach , N.S.W. Australia

Or a collection of sea shells and pebbles washed from who knows where deep in the ocean. Swirled from here to there. Tumbled around and deposited with that tide, to be moved on again by the next.

Courtesy spiroll@morgueFile free photos

Tumbled through life’s happenings and dramas yet many times unknowingly picked up and helped along the way. Our support network….may we remember to pay it forward.

That is our journey.

Joining in with Essentially Jess for IBOT
Modest Mom

Vibrant in your face red
Colour to cheer us on this dripping and grey Sydney day
Snap shots are from Adelaide on an even colder day

Beauty even amongst the everyday
Look
Observe
See
Inhale!

Joining in for Wordless Wednesday

Endless road.
Long dark ribbon straight ahead
Sweeping
to some lonesome level crossing.

A road trip with a purpose
A lonely drive
Being guided
by this Mallee Highway

Where do you go, this lonely car, so early in the morning
Driving on an endless quest to what, to where I know not.
Driving onwards and some more.

To sadness, to sorrow, to emergency
or to support and more
To be cheered, to share, to deliver
A new job?
Or what or where

And then

the heavy silence again
heard only in the country

These thoughts crossed my mind last night as I lay abed in this lonely farmhouse in the wee dark morning hours unable to return to sleep. Too many recent thoughts, impressions and emotions flitting through my mind.

I should have gotten up then to write, instead of scribbling in the car this morning, during OUR journey going from country to the city…

…and now with the traveller maybe long arrived at his destination and us arriving in the city for another day… I’m wishing for a homemade Florentine biscuit and a freshly brewed coffee to kick-start another day, again.

Thankful for this kindly gift of staying in the country with family.

ps…no photos today due to country broadband issues

Joining in with Essentially Jess for IBOT

Courtesy jdurham@morgueFilefree photos

Change…
“To make something different. You can cause something to change, or you can bring change upon yourself.”… Google Business Dictionary

Change
When change is as good as a holiday
Dust out those gorgeous china cups and use them more
Change enlightens the spirit

You are aching for a holiday, a change to the everyday dreary, where can we go, but have little funds, I need a break moment of madness.

Staycation…have you ever indulged?
Now isn’t that a good word, indulged. It makes it sound so much better than we went, or we did

Plan. Give thought. Try and make the main part of home really inviting and fresh with nothing but a little time and elbow grease….or do it later with everyone pitching in after a refreshing recharge out.

Stay based at home but…

Enjoy a myriad of little trips
Search out
Visit new places for
a snack
a coffee
a catchup
a picnic
a new communal meeting point with friends
Time and connection with loved one
Time and connection with children

So instead of a few hundred dollars just on accommodation for at best a couple of nights you have the pleasure to indulge many little occasions spread over time. You can spend nothing by bringing from home, or treating for this occasion. Again it doesn’t need to cost a heap. New surroundings, pleasant views all add to the special ambience….give it a little thought and do some homework or ask acquaintances.

Courtesy greyerbaby@morgueFile free photos

I was reminded of our staycation whilst looking for a particular photo. Well I didn’t find it as it’s on my phone and I have yet to be able to download them. But it gave me a germ of an idea for a topic:)

We did staycation last year because all the accommodation we looked at was just so unrealistic. I think of it as “the end of winter, need to lift the blues.” We had amazingly beautiful weather crowning OUR day.

Leaving home without breakfast we drove to somewhere and as I don’t know that part of Sydney hence no name. It was a beach….hubby just corrected me, it was somewhere in Collaroy. Here we enjoyed brunch right on the seashore with a slow coffee. We lingered and savoured the moment. A little walk was included.

Then onwards to Palm Beach enjoying the ocean road. I know that name as I love the area though we have hardly ever been there. We found a nice bench on the edge of the sand and got our respective books out to peruse, to watch the ocean perchance to snooze. Another walk to a park for more chatting , reading and hubby snoozing. A few steps found another lovely eatery for a very late afternoon snack which actually became our evening meal as we didn’t eat that night.

Thence home unfortunately through traffic but that’s part of going on a Friday….our day off.

One long spread out gorgeous, decadent indulgence which I would love to repeat and hope to. Kill the winter blues sounds a good idea I think and something to look forward too. But maybe with a bit of careful budgeting as hubby is the proud new owner of a Pension Concession Card….he’s worked hard and now counting down with just under two weeks to him retiring and new adventures on the horizon….Retirement being a journey and not a destination.

Do you have little indulgences?

It doesn’t take much, does it,to change a hopeless want into reality if we just think about it differently.

Joining in with Essentially Jess for IBOT

Photo by hotblack @morgueFile free photo

Anzac Day, a public holiday celebrated mainly in Australia and New Zealand to remember those who served and died in WW1 as depicted in our newspapers and Poppies used as a symbol of remembrance

For us it was a drive in the country from Bawley Point to Sydney early on Anzac morning…

Queen Anne’s Lace grasping onto the side of the rural road with its last flush of summer flowers in the icy breeze

Photo courtesy marykbaird@morgueFile free photos

Deserted shops on Anzac morning in Milton. A few cafés open, bursting at the seams and over flowing with their queue of hungry people or coffee addicts needing their morning wake up jolt

A chalk board sign “a yawn is a silent SCREAM for coffee”

Us deciding to continue driving through the rich dairy country with its brief ocean view and find brekky elsewhere to end our holiday

Cycle track winding through bush fire ravaged eucalyptus forest now sprouting an abundance of new growth…a hardy tree is our eucalyptus

Husband now wishing he’d been able to have his homemade gourmet meat pie earlier at a bakery as it’s a bit of a haul to the next proper town for breakfast….

Well, brekky was had at Maccas in Nowra ….fresh and hot…soft egg and bacon brekky mcmuffin and piping hot tea…who needs a gourmet cafe anyway ;). There’s always another time!

A small spot of trivia as we chatted….being Anzac Day here in Australia…this year is 100 years since WW 1

More scenes spotted on our drive…people enjoying the break from work and able to work on their autumn chores in the garden…so nice seeing a husband and wife team together setting out pot plants along the front picket fence for a bit of colour …

Names driven past that caught my imagination.
MJ Fox Plumber
Roger Roberts Creek
Foxground
Gerringong
Kiama Downs

After having spent a magic time weather and family wise it’s home to Sydney and rain happening on the last stretch but not at home!

Rain and Anzac or cold and Anzac go together typically at this time of year. But we were blessedly spoilt for our time at the beach.

I typed in the car as we travelled along and prettied up this article once home, having unpacked and loads of washing done with me having done two back to back trips.

…anyone for coffee?

Older memories of Anzac Day when our children were little in Adelaide, South Australia. It being that time when all short-sleeved t-shirts and tops were packed away and winter clothing prepared and thought about hastily as inevitably pants legs and sleeves were too short. So too with PJs and dressing gowns and slippers for little toes. Things were passed down, sewn or as a last resort purchased. Days before eBay, Target, Kmart or Big W. The sewing machine got going and knitting needles a clicking.

Do you have childhood memories of this transition Autumn to Winter time?

WHO…World Heath Organisation

A bit of trivia information for you today…

Google was my friend today taking me to Wikipedia, every man’s fount of knowledge and easy to understand. There I just learnt that on April 7 every year W.H.O. celebrates “world health day”. This commenced in 1950 being the year before I was born….and THAT makes me feel old!

Each year a different topic is discussed with Vector Borne Diseases being chosen for this year.

Vector-borne diseases” are infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that living creatures carry and pass on to other living creatures…..cited by the British Columbia Ministry of Health.

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/ehp_vector.html

What is a vector? Well a common one is the humble mosquito. Not very humble though as there a many varieties of mosquito in different parts of the world which cause a multitude of illnesses. I suppose the most commonly known one is Malaria which is the scourge of the tropic as also is Dengue fever….A friend of ours travelling in the Philippines contracted this and was very ill and still suffers at times some of its effects.

Another is the Varroa mite which attacks healthy bees and causes hive collapse due to weakened bees, with devastating effect. Google the word to find out more.

This attack on bees has the potential to have massive effects on food production. Little hard-working bees which we see every day in our gardens, amongst the herbs, on flowering trees, on our Australian native trees, the eucalyptus gum trees. All over the world. They are the backbone of our ecology, the food bowls…..besides providing that golden honey.

How can we encourage bees into our gardens? Plant flowering herbs or companion plants in amongst our established garden….
and watch that little bee next time. Pause a moment to observe it and give thanks….and in so doing we feed and refresh our inner being.

…..this short post was sparked when I was cleaning out my emails late last night. There was one advertising world health day, so I had to check it out, and as they say the rest is history.

Short and sweet today.

Breathe and observe.

Joining in with http://essentiallyjess.com/fish-chips-blogging-ibot/

I Blog On Tuesdays

By pippalou @morgueFile free photos. With thanks

Starry night in the country…and travelling in a fuel efficient car…..we took the small car!…Do you think before you travel?

Last night we had to do an unexpected trip down from Sydney to past Goulbourn and back again. We left after work driving into the evening sun and me being the first driver wished that I had my sunglasses for the glare.

We stopped briefly for a dinner of sorts and continued on with my husband now driving. It gave me the chance for a while till dusk, to look at the passing scene. The further we got from Sydney the less dense became the traffic…except for the trucks!

As darkness fell and the city lights faded I marvelled again at the beauty of the heavens through my side window. The brightness of the swathes of stars visible was wonderful. It took my mind far away from the smallness of man. We indeed are puny when set against the vastness of nature.

Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens.
Stars, the jewel of the night.
Ice cold twinkling stars of all sizes to light the traveller’s path with a crescent moon on its way down the heavens.

So completed a very brief visit to ageing friend in hospital and a return home before midnight.

By Irish_Eyes@morgueFile free photos. With thanks

We drove through a land which provides food for the many but a region also at times in drought…..Australia, a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains. Of contrasts. A land I would love to explore more one day. A blessed land.

I try to be thankful for what we have each day. It so puts things into perspective doesn’t it.

My night-time routine, or ritual, in the dim light is to pause on the landing and gaze out at the dark skies. It is an unconscious act. A calming act and I guess part of the winding down process for the day. Looking out at the shadows of trees near and far, the vast heavens, homes at rest and the always different dark skies. Recent skies were clear with some large twinkling, shivering and almost trembling stars.

I leave the stars and heaven’s dark orb beyond this small upstairs window to find the last light in another room.

A day is at rest. Peace and calm restored..for the most part.

Imagine the night-time view out of these windows looking over the Linden trees in Germany where my mother lived as a teenager. Those vast heavens in every direction.

Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany

And so ends another day….How do you find that moment of calm?

Till next time then.
Alexa

What of this day…

With our typical Sydney summer’s day of blue sky and cicadas shrilling away in the background, I pause for a moment to reflect on the last few happy but busy family days.

Some vibrant jewel coloured Gerbera flowers in a bouquet given by a little hand. Red and orange and yellow and cream…a luscious mix.

Stunning little smile with pearly teeth when a little boy sees that grandma is there in HIS house in the middle of the night as he stands in a dim hallway having wakened suddenly.

Same little boy desperately fighting sleep with his eyes opened oh so wide as he holds on to the awake moment, then stating so suddenly “sleep please” whence he is gently rolled and tucked into bed.

The quiet of night with all asleep as compared to the busy happenings of family and children.

Quiet absorbed play of a little one with a large plastic container full of water and two cups. Pour from one cup to the other…over a nearby leaf….onto toes….onto grass …into sandpit…Hand in water to make handprint on wood like grandma did….foot into water and footprint all with his own thinking…Drink water ….all this showing that we really don’t need much to keep us happy….think back to when a small thing was really appreciated. What was it?

…for me I think back to sharing a moment with family. Even though it was just brief meeting at Adelaide airport a year or so ago. As I was preparing to fly back home to Sydney from Adelaide airport, having with my girls and their little ones visited my mother. My sister flew in from Perth to visit our mother too. It was a planned overlap for mum to have a longer family time to enjoy. Yet us sisters, my girls and their babies only manage 30 minutes due to flight times and little children. A meet and greet and hug and laugh and kiss and tear up, as we all had to continue on our life’s journeys.

Back to the present…..Older children happily devouring a favourite home made meal pre prepared by mum of lasagne…”we always have seconds of lasagne …”

Large Backpack school bags ready packed for first day back to school. Food and drinks and books and caps. Big black school shoes ready to go, boot/ trunk of car filled with school bags and swimming gear for little one.

courtesy jeltovski at morgueFile free photos

Courtesy jeltovski at MorgueFile free photos

Everyone in car, little one likes grandma’s car seat, seat belts on and off we drive in the semi rural countryside…and so starts another school year for everyone here in Sydney….the precious summer holidays are over….more on that another time.

Family life is a busy one, and with a little one and older siblings it covers a whole range of needs.

Many lessons are there for us along life’s journey. To Find Patience, tolerance, kindness, to be a peacemaker, helper, prompter, learner, discoverer, mediator, and learner again.

No matter what age we are, young to old, these apply. In all avenues from work to play.

….So, soon it’s time for grandma to go back to her home…..a little voice says, “Grandma stay at my house? Grandma sleep in my house?….” Precious memories.

Now I’m back to my own life, a different world. Retirement boring? Never

A little catching up and reading…..words….words…
Frugal Fatigue…Blogosphere…Frugal is make your money work for you…and I like this one, thank you Heather…Time is wealth…..

All these are a world away from life of the last few days that I was privileged to share.

Courtesy hotblack at MorgueFile free photos

Tag words given for the above photo were woman, girl, reading, coffee, shop, leisure, relax, quiet, peace, alone. My addition would be joy in the aloneness to refresh the soul and to garner strength for the next need that arises.

…later I will continue on my little journey started the other day.

Have a good day all.

By Alexa

Photos as stated with thanks from http://www.morguefile.com