Spare Ribs

I love spare ribs and I saw some to buy a few weeks ago. Like usual I put them into the freezer and forgot about them. As I am trying to empty the freezer by using up the meat thats in there, I came across them. I also found a bottle of marinade that I had bought when I was last at Costco. That seemed a bit too liquidy so I added some plum sauce that had been at the back of the cupboard. Young in country NSW has the best plum sauce and I buy five or six bottles when we are passing through.

The ribs were in one big piece so I cut them into indiviual pieces to help the marinade get in and around them.

On a bed of caulifower rice and green beans, yummo! There was enough ribs for two meals, not bad for $8.

One down, one to go.

The ute was picked up tonight. Still nothing on the car but Warren put it on car sales tonight. The insurance is due on it next week but of course Murphy's law we will have to pay it.

Been an expensive week with the ute, two new tyres, road worthy and then a service this morning but thats whats expected when selling a vehicle.

As we knew that it was going we made sure we used it. Tuesday was a trip to the dump with green waste, Warren trimmed the big trees and other green stuff, the tray was full. Thursday we finally got to go kayaking, three kayaks will fix nicely but it was only our two.

Kayaking

Yesterday after the Anzac services, we thought we would go kayaking. Loaded them and set out. Opps, we could see the carpark, usually called The Bruce Highway. The traffic was stopped! We needed to go on the highway for a little way before heading to the coast. With the traffic, we made our way home again with the idea to go today.

Thankfully the roads were not busy today.

We paddled for awhile and then saw something jumping in the water, to our surprise, it was dolphins. They were working the passage, altogether we saw three pairs, they were about 40 metres apart, it was amazing.

Paddling back was harder than going out but we just kept paddling and got there in the end.

The only injury is I have a bruised thumb, dont know how but I assume it was the paddle.

Rogan Josh curry

I watched an early Jamie Oliver while on holidays and he made a curry and a dessert in under 30 minutes.

To my shame, I have never made a curry although I do like curries from Indian restaurants, rogan josh or kormer would be what I order.

I have the recipe books but like normal, I didnt read the recipe and didnt have a tin of chick peas so I used lentils instead. It would have to be one of the worst meals I have ever cooked. We did eat it so maybe it wasnt that bad.

I was convinced that it should have been alright so as I had only used about a third of the jar of rogan josh, I made ut again. Again no chick peas but I did not substitute.

The original was vegetatian but Jamie did say chicken or beef could be added.

Second time around was good, served with a dollop of sour cream on top. Yum, I will make it again just not with lentils.

Fed Cup

After a pretty hectic Saturday, I took the opportunity to watch the Fed Cup yesterday. Federation Cup is the womens equivalent of Davis Cup in tennis.

Australia has been out of the top tier for a few years but yesterday with good wins they are now back into it.

Twenty one year old Ash Barty played one of the Danes and ended up winning comfortably.  Then Dasha was on the court, she had been out of the team because of her form but with the weeks practise prior to and the fact that we were two up, she was given the chance to see what she could do. Well, she gave a very good account of herself and she said after that it was the best tennis she has played in several months.

The doubles was a dead rubber but they all played to win and the teenager of the team was given a go with Dasha and they won as well. I think we will see a lot more of Desaree (the teenager) in the next couple of years.

Letter Writing

That is almost a thing of the past but I had three letters to write when we got home. Actual pen to paper.

One was a quick one to a mutual geo cacher, she had designed our path tags and the deal is a few dollars for the design and two of the tags once they have been made.

The second was a quick post card to a friends daughter who no longer has grandparents. I was writing to her mother last year as part of ongoing program. With permission from her mum, I still write a letter or postcard to her daughter every month or so.

The third one was a lengthy letter to what is called "heart sisters". It is a program designed to get in contact with another person who maynot have too much contact with others. I write to someone and another person writes to me. I make a point to write to my "sister" once a month as required and each time I mark it on the calender so I dont forget. People belong to an online group with similar interests but the sender is anon.

I try to make it interesting and write about what we have been doing without giving clues as to who I am. Certainly makes one think more about what is being written. Small gifts can be sent and I usually send something besides a letter every second month. I had made a shopping bag which I sent this time as the state she lives in, is doing away completely with plastic shopping bags.

I look forward to recieving my letter every so often, my counterpart has a very good vegetable garden and it seems that they dont have to buy very much as they grow most of it.

One month!

Thats all until we start walking Hadrians wall! Got most of the info thru in the last couple of days. Company advertised that our luggage would be transferred between out accommodation each day, but in the fine print or more detail, they state that one piece of luggage weighing no more than 15 kgs will be taken. A second bag or more than 15 kgs and there will be an extra charge of £8 per day!

I will be making sure that my bag is under 15 kgs so that makes for careful packing.

Lucy and I went for a longish walk this morning. The walking company suggests 3 to 5 mile 3 or 4 times a week in the lead up to the walk. I think the shortest day thar we walk is 9 kilometres and the longest 19 kms, that may or may not be a bus trip on that day.

Country town murals

In Nanango today, we had to stop at an atm. The caravan park only took cash, .luckily Warren did just have enough on him. Tomorrow, I want to stop for morning tea, somewhere I have been to recently but Warren hasnt. I know he will enjoy their carrot cake. They also do not have eftpos so we had to get some cash.

I volunteered to walk back to it as I had seen the sign for the machine and up a side street, I saw this mural.

Cotton!

Driving past big yellow shrouded bales in the paddocks, I assumed they were hay.
While stopped in Moonie, i realised that they were actually cotton in the bales. I had forgotton that we were in cotton country.

This truck had two trailers on behind, each with six bales on board.

Blue and Rhinos dont seem to go together

But in the main street of Wellington, I found one!

Not sure why but there was a sign to suggest that one took a selfie with it and all the others that one might find. I could only think that the wildlife zoo at Dubbo was not far away so maybe it was something to do with that.

It was a cute looking rhino in perfect proportion.

A piece of history

We lived in Yass for several years and travelling home we took the road that turned north just before Yass. Geo caching when travelling gives a good excuse for stopping for a break so we had targetted one that was called John Gilbert. I was in front so got there first, then there was a call from Warren he would be a little late as he has blown a tyre.

I soldiered on, on my own and this is what I found.

This told the story of Johnny Gilbert,  he had been one of Ned Kelly's gang.
The steps led up to his grave.

John Gilbert was shot here

and buried where he was shot in 1845! Very quiet place fenced off when a pull off park and a sign announcing Gilberts grave. A piece of history that I wouldnt have known about had it not been for geo caching, yes, I found the cache too!

The New Wheels!

We had been watching this vehicle for awhile, it had everything that we wanted if we were going to go down to one car. It is so much like our other jeep which we now know what the problem was and how to combat it, unlike the mechanic in Darwin.

Anyway car was in Victoria but of course we were going there after Lake Macquarie. The plan was to go and look at it if it was still there. It was and we ended up buying it.

Spent the weekend driving around Melbourne as I had to drive it out of there. Its an auto and so nice to drive. I did insist on buying another gps as the roads are so different now in Melbourne from when we lived there plus we lived on the other side of Melbourne. No dramas to get out thanks to the gps but it did take about two and a half hours to get into the country driving.

The Vine Hotel

On our way home we stopped at Wangaratta and there was a pub 500 metres up the back road which has now been closed to cars. It has been become part of a walking track. We dont usually go to pubs for a meal but this was the second country pub that we used for a meal.

We were a little early for dinner so I went for a wander outside as there was a multi cache. Reading the signs about the early settlers and working out the coordinates filled in the time nicely. The cache itself was just the outside of the pub so a nice easy one to do.

Ver

Very old pub that had been burnt down twice and rebuilt. Meals were great and cheap. We both ordered a ham steak and pineapple with vegetables. It was $15! And a massive meal for that.

Wangaratta is an aboriginal word, wanga means long ne k and ratta means cormorant.  I didnt know they existed around that arra but they must have. The pub was out on its own and had been the place for everything, mail had been delivered and distributed from there. Fascinating some of the history that can be learnt along the way. 

Beach changing huts

I have seen them featured on calendars but never seen them in the flesh as it were. We drove to the beach and took a walk and then they appeared, all brightly

Coloured.

There were several in groups and I thought that was all but then there were more! Dont know how many but there was a lot!
I really liked this one

The beach looked awesome too

Winner!

We found when we were travelling around Australia that mainly the womens toilets were the furthest away from our site. Even in shopping centres the womens are at tge end of a corridor.

However, this time at Morriset where we stayed for a week, womens toilets and showers where closest to the van and currently here as well. Bonus!

Its the little things that matter, lol!

Com Games

Wow, thats what we are watching at the moment. Saw a little of the opening ceremony last night but would rather watch the sports.

Currently it is the tandem cycling with one sighted rider and one non sighted rider. I have not seen it before but it is amazing. Our team just broke the Commonwealth record, I wonder how long it will last.

Grabbed two caches today on the drive, first one was in a small town just off the freeway. We were going to get fuel as well as toilets and morning tea but it appears the town is dying and there was only one fuel pump in town and we werent able to get the caravan near it.

After a loo visit, it was a short walk to the post office and that was the name of tge cache. It was actually a post office box, no lock in the box and could put finger in lock hole and open, brilliant. Second one was at a rest stop and in a mistletoe tree, nice quick walk to stretch the legs.

Arrived in Melbourne just before 3 pm, we have stayed at this park before but we are in a different area, could be because we are staying for at least four nights. I had to get out a cardigan and the heater is going, probably wont have the fan on tonight. Welcome to Melbourne.

Disaster!

Well, we left Morriset yesterday morning at 7am. Didnt intend to go that earlier but we woke up and just got organised and it turned out that way. Pribabky lucky as it was just starting to rain as we left.

I thought we were missing Sydney but did get caught up in some traffic mainly trucks, got into the outside lane at ine poibt to discover that lane was turning to the right and we needed to go straight on. Warren put on his blinker and the truck behide let us in thank goodness. Soon we were on the motorway and continued south.

Dropped into our former area of residence to fibd the guy we were goinf to see was on holidays but Warren was able to give a colleague of his the stuff he wanted to leave. Probably good that he wasnt there as they would have been chatting for an hour or more. Continued on from where we thought we would stay. Pulled up in a nice park which has drive through suites and they are ensuite, cost an extra $10 but very nice to have own shower and toilet at doorstep of van.

Made a cup of coffee, went to fridge and it hit me with a smell! Oh no, a container with pickled red peppers had fallen over and spilled everywhere plus a container of soup had also fallen and lid was off but that was against the wall of fridge so not much if that was spilled. Used up all the paper towel to mop it up.

Rough roads coming in to Sydney was to blame I think. Warren went to get clean clothes out this morning and tells me that all his coat hangers are intact. I woukd have rather his shirts off hangers rather than the fridge mishap.

On we go today fir another four or five day stay.

Wildflowers

While out in the bush, we have come across some pretty little flowers. These seem to be out if tge normal to me as it is technically Autumn although the weather in most cases seems to still be summer.  Today is the first of April the second month of Autumn and it is 31 degrees!