It’s Daphne Time

Our lovely daphne bush near our back door is in full bloom at the moment and the fragrance when you step outside is divine.

Yesterday, I picked just three blooms to pop in a little vase and initially I didn’t really smell it.  However, when I came inside after being out today the room was definitely daphne scented.  Who would think that just three little flowers could be so strong.  Mick said that it stinks, but he was joking.  He loves the daphne as well.  We have planted a smaller cultivar near our front door recently, so we hope it grows half was well as our first one.

Being daphne time means that it is also hellebore time.  

I do love these gentle colours that appear in late winter.

All our different violets are blooming away, along with the polyanthus.

We have several jonquils, but the daffodils are a little way off.  

We divided some very crowded old fashioned frilly daffodil bulbs in summer. Mick has been popping them in here, there and everywhere, yep even throughout the vege gardens.  I don’t think they are going to flower this year.  Hopefully they will be back to their usual selves next year.

The garden at the side of our shed was getting very overgrown, with some of the things we planted being lost as a result, so it was time to get in and tidy it up, ready for spring.

That looks a lot better.  The irrigation has been moved to the back and Mick will add some more micro jets at the front, once he gets to the shop.  I’m sure some of the things we dug out will come up again to fill the blank areas.  We have taken a hydrangea out of a pot and planted it here, where it should thrive.  The day after we did this a good friend gifted me a rose in memory of Mum, called “Mother’s Love”.  It has now been planted in this garden as well.

While Mick was digging things out, I was planting seedlings and runners into little pots for the church fete in the middle of October.  That should give them plenty of time to either settle in or die.  I hope they settle in.  I potted up 40 pots.  We have some other things in various garden beds that also need thinning, so there will be some more pots prepared soon.

It is currently raining gently, which is always good for things to get growing, coming into one of the nicest seasons of the year.

What Else We Have Been Up To Lately

Things have been fairly quiet on the home front, but with a couple of fun things too.

Firstly, as our little potted lemon tree has a nice crop of lemons for the first time this year, it was about time to actually use a few.   I had found a new recipe recently, so we thought it would be a good one to try out.

To say it was a success is an understatement.  It is luscious.  The recipe is Lemon Impossible Bars from the Taste website.  The top gets a little crunchy and then the base is so gorgeous and lemony.  The only thing was that the base is a little sticky to hold.  Not an issue if you use a cake fork, but I think I will try them again with a biscuit base, as per the usual slice biscuit base recipe.  I’ll report back.  

That same day I tried a second new to me recipe.  Now, this is such a simple one, but something I have never got around to making previously.  Garlic Prawns.  They ended up very garlicky, as the jar of minced garlic was nearly empty, but were rather yummy.

No other exciting cooking has taken place, but I do hope to try a few more new recipes in the next little while.

While we are on the subject of food, a friend and I attended High Tea, put on by the church ladies.  

Oh, they do a splendid job of it.  The afternoon is very popular, with over 100 people attending and all the food is made by the parishioners.  Definitely a must attend event.

We had another impromptu day travelling east on Sunday.

Once again the weather started to rain at Yetholme, this time staying wet until we reached the lower Blue Mountains.

The reason for our trip was to pick up a metalworking tool for Mick.  Now that he is retired he doesn’t have access to professional workshops, so this folder/roller/guillotine will be handy in his shed. He was very happy with his bargain purchase.

It was not quite as wet travelling home, but still drizzly over the highest part of the mountains.  We wanted to stop for some brunch, but weren’t able to find anywhere to park the little truck with the trailer on behind until we reached Blackheath.  That was fine, as we had a lovely meal at the Victory Theatre Cafe.  

On the stitching front, I haven’t done a great deal.  I’ve been to my two stitching mornings and worked on the corner to corner crochet rug.  I have reached the full width and now will work the long straight section.

As for the Chookshed Challenge, all I have done is to restitch the wording.  It looks much better in the finer thread, doesn’t it.  I have to ask Mick to get some tubs of fabric down for me and then do the pressing before I can go any further.  It will happen.  

The other projects are waiting patiently for their time to shine.  I’m just enjoying the crochet rug at the moment.

I’ll just finish with the lovely sunset this evening.  It is nice to see that the days are starting to get a wee bit longer.

We Had a Day Out

For once, we had nothing in the calendar today, other than the groceries and a few other bits and bobs around town.  So, what to do for the rest of the day?  Why not go for a drive.  But where to?  Why not head to Lithgow and visit my friend at her farmer’s markets stall.  That sounded like a good plan.

It was nearly 11 o’clock before we were on our way and decided to take the scenic route, via Portland. We only ever seem to get there on the weekend or in the late afternoon for the bonfire night.

The weather was lovely and sunny here for the first part of the morning,  but was gradually clouding over from the east.  That didn’t bode well for where we were headed.  By the time we reached Yetholme the wipers were on and it was looking rather miserable.  Yetholme is about 15kms east of Bathurst and where the easterly weather seems to usually finish.  Not to worry, we would still have a good day out.

To our surprise, and somewhat relief, the drizzle stopped and the sun even tried, in vain, to shine when we reached Portland.  We just went for a wander up and down the street, enjoying the murals that are painted on the shops.  There are a few nice old buildings.  

We popped into Vinnies, where I found a little Quilt Journal that may be handy.

There are a group of people that visit most years and add more reproduction old advertising art to the buildings.

From there, we headed into Lithgow to discover the farmer’s markets weren’t on today, despite all the advertising saying the first and third Thursday.  This month it was changed to the second and fourth.  Not to worry, there will be another time.  

Fortunately, the rain was still holding off. It was only 7 degrees C, but no wind, so not too bad, as we were rugged up. 

By now it was lunch time and we knew just the place to go on a cold and bleak day for a nice meal.  The Tin Shed.  

We weren’t disappointed.  The food was delicious and the wood fired heater was keeping the place nice and toasty warm.

After lunch, we just wandered up and down Main Street.  That always brings back many memories for me, as we used to go shopping there when visiting Grandma.  

The businesses are very different now, but most of the buildings are still there and I remember the old shops and what we bought there over the years.  The newspaper building is now an op shop.

There are two old picture theatres in Lithgow.  One has been empty for some time, but the Union Theatre is still functioning with a keen little movie club.  The building is rather lovely and I have never noticed the details on the top of the facade before.  I wonder what they mean?

We popped into a few op shops.  The ones in Lithgow are on the whole pretty good and the prices reasonable.

Yes, a few treasures came home with me.  Mainly vintage linens.  The Queensland souvenir tablecloth will come with us in the caravan when we head to Queensland next time.

I noticed this cute little rabbit, made from a recycled woollen blanket and didn’t initially buy it, but when walking back past the shop on the way to the car I had a change of heart and brought her home.  She is so sweet, and I’m sure someone would have originally paid way more than the $5 I paid.  I now have to think of a name for her and decide where she will live.

Mick is on the hunt for one particular novel to complete a series he is reading.  He could, of course, buy it on line, but it is much more fun to look for it on our travels.  There are two second hand book stores in Lithgow, but neither had it.  However,  the second one had one of the Elm Creek series that I was looking for, so I was rather happy with that.

Once we left Lithgow, we took another detour on the way home, this time via Oberon.  We didn’t even take the most usual route, but took a more minor road, which we haven’t traveled on for many years.  Looking east to the Blue Mountains, the weather was still looking rather murky.  I tried to take a photo looking down a valley, but missed and ended up with this photo of some gates.  I rather like it, although it was by accident.

At Oberon, we popped into another op shop, but it had nothing of interest and was rather expensive.  We did however, pop into one of the two butcher shops that has a good reputation.  What to buy?  Ooh!  Look at that….kidneys.  You don’t see them very often these days.  

Therefore, we bought some stewing steak and kidneys and had a delicious steak and kidney potato pie for tea.  (We took the lazy option, rather than waiting for the meat to cool and topping it with pastry.)  I don’t know how long it is since I last made it, I’m guessing about 25 years or so.

So that topped off a lovely, random day out.  We should do it more often.

Winter in Bathurst

For the last ten years Bathurst has hosted the “Bathurst Winter Festival”. It first came into being as a part of the city’s bicentenary celebrations in 2015.  Like so many others, our local council is struggling financially and sadly, the Winter Festival was one thing to get cut from the budget.

Fortunately, the Bathurst Community Club, where Mick’s bowling club play out of, decided that they would hold a substitute event over the two weeks of the July school holidays.  

The main draw card each year is the ice skating rink.  This was able to be placed on one of the bowling greens that is no longer suitable to play bowls on.

On the first and the last weekends of the event, there was the Brew and Bite evening that has become synonymous with the festival.  We popped down briefly on the first night.

Quite a few local businesses came on board with sponsorship to help run the event.  There were special days for kids and a fully accessible day.  The dodgem cars and carousel were also popular.

The future of the event is currently uncertain.  Council may run it again next year, or maybe the whole thing needs a rethink, as since Bathurst started their Winter Festival, many other locations have started up something similar, so it is not the draw card that it originally was.  A case of watch this space.

Now for some wintery photos.

To start with, we had a sunrise that absolutely glowed one morning.  I’m so please that I caught it before it faded.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so bright.

Then, on another morning, when we were out and about in the car, the frost was right up in the trees.  So pretty……and so very cold.  We were please to be snug in the car.

The last week or so has been cold, damp and bleak.  Real winter weather.  It is forecast to continue for a few more days, after which we hope to have a bit warmer weather, as we approach the start of spring, which will be here before we know it.