Weekend adventure

So yesterday morning my partner informed me he wanted to go back out to Gunn Point to go shooting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy shooting and Gunn Point, but we'd already gone out there the weekend before and the build up at the moment is at full swing. Its an hours drive on a dirt corrugated road, 35C with 80% humidity and not much breeze. So I passed and instead took Miss 4 and my dads wife out the Litchfield National Park for a swim. We called into my mates place who lives out at Rum Jungle and he came with us.

Car ride to LNP

My mate & Miss 4

Water was divine and cool. Miss 4 took off on an adventure of her own and we fixed up our dam again.


Dads wife & I

After we'd cooled down and had lunch we headed down the Adelaide River. Explored around the WWII underground bunkers and bushland at Snake Creek.


WWII bunker at Adelaide River

Miss 4 at Snake Creek


















Ended the evening at the Adelaide River pub where we had some dinner and drinks.

Dinner at Adelaide River pub

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Car ride to LNP
My mate
Dads wife & I
WWII bunker at Adelaide River
Miss 4 at Snake Creek
Dinner at Adelaide River pub

Miss 4 tantrum. December 6th

Miss 4 found the Christmas presents wrapped and hidden in my cupboard (obviously not very well hidden), and decided to open them all. So she was sent to her room and after 5 minutes I checked on her. This is my Miss 4 tantrum...

Miss 4 tantrum

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Miss 4 tantrum

Feeling French. Decmener 3rd

Miss 4 and I had a fantastic lunch in my air-conditioned bedroom. Feeling very French.


French lunch

After eating, we did some arts and crafts.

Arts & crafts with Miss 4

Made another poster.

Poster

And dinner.

Pepper steak

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Feeling French
Arts with Miss 4
Poster
Pepper steak



December 1st

Made up a bonsai given to me by my dad. Added moss with orchids, sourced from Howard Springs pine forest.


Bonsai

Made an easy but delicious salad for lunch.

Easy salad

Then went out for my daughters Year 6 graduation dinner. Was a very proud moment. She was awarded her certificate, her class sang 'Best day of my life' by American Authors and there was also a sideshow with baby pictures of the graduating class.

Graduation dinner

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Bonsai
Salad
Graduation dinner


Ginger beef with mushroom & kale

Ingredients
Marinade:
1/3 c. Soy sauce                         1/2 c. Vegetable stock
3 tbsp Rice wine vinegar           2 tbsp Corn flour
2 tsp Ginger, minced                 1/2 tsp Pepper

Stirfry:
500g Steak strips                       2 Garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp Olive oil                          300g Mushrooms, sliced
2 c. Kale, chopped                    2 Spring onions, sliced

Method:
Mix marinade ingredients. Put steak strips in a ziplock bag, add marinade, leave for at least 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a fry pan. Add meat (save marinade) and garlic, sauté until brown.
Remove steak, add mushrooms, kale and marinade. Cook until kale has wilted, sauce has thickened, mushroom is cooked.
Return meat to the pan, mix.
Serve with rice. Garnish with spring onion.

Ginger beef

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Eggs Benedict

I know I know, food picture 2 days in a row. Well that's all I've done worth putting on here. Plus they're delicious.

Eggs Benedict

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Eggs Benedict

Yet more food

Ok, I promise I'll come up with more than just food tomorrow. This isn't even the best picture for how delicious and easy it was to make.


Pesto chicken skewers with tomato & mushroom,
pumpkin & potato mash, steamed veggies

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Pesto chicken skewer


Baked Potato Oh My...

This is all I have to say about Monday, enjoy...

Step 1- Bake potato

Step 2- Prepare toppings

Step 3- End result...Eat

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Step 1
Step 2
Step 3

The weekend

So the weekend was fantastic, especially having my son. Saturday we did yard work so my garden is looking pretty smick and I'm ready for the rain. I'd forgotten how quickly the grass likes to grow with a little bit of nitrogen.


One completed corner of the fairy garden

Miss 4 rescued a Tata lizard from her pool



Miss 4 adventuring

Sunday we headed out to Litchfield National Park and spent the day swimming and picnicing at Florence Falls creek. With it being still early for the wet season there wasn't too much water and the fact that the little rock dam we've spent years building up was partially knocked down. But it was lovely to just relax and play.


Miss 4 enjoying the rockpools





My son swimming at Florence Falls creek



Boardwalk at Manton Dam rec. area

On the way home we called into Manton Dam recreation area. I've not been there since I was a child myself. The kids ran around and we sat and watched other families that had boats and tubes on the lake. The boardwalk and everything about the place made me want to just build a cabin and stay forever.

My son and I

Kids at the wall

The last stop was Manton Dam wall. It's a very interesting place (Manton Dam Information). We've been there a few times, at different times of year. Currently there isn't enough water to flow over the wall which is why we climbed down and had a look around.

Trio at Manton Dam wall





















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Fairy garden
Miss 4 and the Tata lizard
Miss 4 adventuring
My son at Florence Falls creek
Miss 4 swimming
Boardwalk
My son & I
Trio at the wall
Kids at the wall









Fairy Garden Madness

I've gone a little crazy over the fairy garden.
Friday night, we sat around the table on the veranda with a few cold drinks, as is usual at my house. But I got everyone involved in making fairy things. It was quite enjoyable with kids helping each other out and thinking up ideas.

Lamp post

Letterbox

Rock carving

Hanging baskets & stand

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Lamp post
Letterbox
Rock carving
Hanging baskets & stand



Eggs in ham baskets

Thursday consisted of me making eggs in ham baskets and peanut butter and banana smoothies for the girls breakfast.

Eggs in ham baskets

Peanut butter & banana smoothie




It was a fairly slack day, other than housework, I worked a little on the fairy garden extension. After coming home from work, the other half and I took little miss four to the park just down the corner from home. We later called into Dads place for an hour, inspecting the fish he'd caught that day. Didn't manage to score any of it though.

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Eggs in ham baskets
Peanut butter & banana smoothie

Cost of food, what a joke

Was a fairly good day today. Neither of my girls went to school though. Wearing me down with the 'but we'll help you do housework Mum'... Mmmhmmm.
Desperately needed to do grocery shopping, so up we went to the supermarket. After getting a trolley and walking in, my 4yr old spotted a pink/purple wheelbarrow, bucket, spade etc. kit. So I made a deal with her to be on her best behaviour and not ask for anything else (usually its anything between women's magazines with freebies, giant blocks of chocolate that supermarkets like displaying throughout the entire shop, big brand cereals that I never buy and anything else she knows I'll say no to.) I must admit I only had to threaten once to return the wheelbarrow kit. A couple behind us at the checkout got an earful about her fairy garden and the new kit which she proudly showed off. No shame my child.
So my groceries, which never includes anything too extravagant, came to $320. We are a family of 4 but what the... Take $15 off for the garden kit and still it's just ridiculous. I'm big on home cooked meals as you will soon see (both my Facebook and Instagram are filled with my food pictures, wont be long and this will be too). But I rarely buy red meat anymore because apparently the cows are fed gold leaf or something; $30 a kilo, really?! Lamb, well I remember as a kid we had that alot cause it was poor mans meat. Now, lambshanks are one of the most expensive. I dont know, chicken and seafood are big hits in my household, but who doesn't want a big fat juicy steak every now and then. Thats why I so enjoy going to Dads place for dinner, the steak king. Oh and dont get me started on the veggie section. Well ok. $8 a kilo for tomatoes, wishing my plants didn't die. It's currently mango season and we are overflowing with farms up here yet the supermarkets ship up southern mangoes then charge $5 each. Well thank goodness there's enough hanging over fences to pick eh. I guess I can bitch and complain all I like, but the prices are only going to keep increasing.

My prawn and avocado salad

On a better note, once we got home and I got the girls to help me put away the shopping, I made the most scrumptious lunch. Prawn and avocado salad. Oh my, it had the obvious, prawn and avocado, but I added red onion, tomatoes (yeah the $8 ones), couple coriander leaves, salt and pepper and a sqeeze of lime juice. Wish I'd bought more prawns to make it again tomorrow.
The day got even better when my other half came home from work with a ute load of cow shite. Now I know not too many girls would get excited over receiving a tonne of cow dung as a surprise present, but if you knew me, you'd know I was ecstatic and almost rolled in it. Ha ha, not really but you get the picture. All my plants, potted and in the garden beds will thrive from it, just add some nitrogen rich rain. Plus now I can finish off the fairy garden without having to buy more potting mix or compost. Tomorrow is going to be a good day, so I shall finish up here and go to bed. Fairy garden updates coming...


Huge pile of cow shite on my driveway

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Prawn and avocado salad
Huge pile of cow shit

Extending the fairy garden

So I feel slack already, missed a day writing and it was only my second day. Well I'm making up for it now...

Yesterday, being pleased at amassing my rocks for the fairy garden the day before, I had Bunnings on my mind. Potting mix, compost, miniature plants, river stones etc. After finishing my house work and picking up my daughter from pre-school at 11am, we headed up to my addiction that is Bunnings. $50+ later (and a minute silence for Remembrance Day) we headed home to start on my new favourite project.


Original fairy garden on the left, beginning the new on the right

I swear it was 32C and 100% humudity, but with my daughters help and enthusiasm we managed to shape our new garden, cover the lawn with junk mail and fill with potting mix and compost. We've collected a few knick-knacks, added a pot, marked out hills and houses and contemplated so much more. Its far from finished, but heres a picture anyway.

Gazing balls

Oh and as we sat back with cold drinks in hand (daughter with water and Jack Daniels and dry for moi) it started to pour with rain. Only lasted 10 minutes or so but it was lovely and cooled the place down.


Signpost

When my partner got home from work, and after he'd admired the new garden, we headed around to Dads place for dinner. Scotch fillet steak with mushroom and onion gravy, mash pumpkin and potato with boiled beans and carrot. Yum!! We watched 'Who wants to be a millionaire' with Eddy and David Attenborough's 'Life', good company and a few drinks, I couldn't have asked for a better day.

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Fairy Garden
Gazing balls
Sign post

What I do for rocks...

I thought I better get my afternoon down on paper, or so to speak, if I'm ever going to be good at this journal writing.

So...



Rain on Jenkins Road

The other half got home later than usual this afternoon, considering we'd made plans, I was not impressed. But anyway, we were on a mission, a mission to get me some more of a certain type of rock I'd previously used to border the fairy garden I've made for my 4yr old daughter. Simply because said 4yr old daughter has no obsession with the fairy garden I have built quite like the one I now have, and I have decided to extend. Mummy's side...Daughters side...
Well as soon as we got out of town a little bit the mood changed. To elation. It was pouring with rain on a back road. A welcome relief from the heat and humidity of the last couple months. (We are at the beginning of the wet season up here.)

We made our way out, past Noonamah, Acacia, Batchelor to Tortilla Flats. Except for the two lights we had to stop for (because of roadworks) it was a therapudic drive I have been in need of.

The drive

You wouldn't believe it, the old Stuart Highway (which runs alongside the new and has been out of use for 30 odd years) was full of machinery and more road workers. I almost cried. We'd driven almost 100kms and my secret stash of rocks were surrounded.
My ever thoughtful partner decided to take a dirt track on the opposite side so we could stop for a cigarette and about 40 feral pigs ran out from under a colvert beneath the road. There was about 15 baby ones and they were so cute, my daughter begged her daddy to catch one to take home. Which would never happen haha.

In the back of the ute

Anyway, its getting late and we decide to head home. There's a roadworks light, which is red, and my partner spots a very unused track heading into the bush. He takes it and low and behold theres the old highway. We snuck up it a bit to find the drain/colvert and where the bitumen has deteriorated is the rock fill... My rocks. Sneaky, sneaky we loaded up the ute and now there is a massive pile of rocks sitting on my front lawn. So happy.

So I better get to bed now. Will post pics of new rocks tomorrow :)

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My First Entry

This morning I managed to get both girls off to school without too much drama and in reasonable time. Now I sit here contemplating the ghastly mess that is my home, wishing someone else would tidy up for me and do the washing. I'm restraining myself from just sitting in the garden and making more fairy furniture.

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Fairy swing (for the fairy garden of course) I made yesterday

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