I looked up the TV guide this morning to see when the football was going to be televised and saw that channel one was televising the Stawell Gift today. It has always been held on Easter Monday and although I am not really into athletics because its close to my hometown this is one meet that I like to watch.
The heats are held in the lead up with the semi finals and finals on today, we watched while having lunch. Stawell was one of the gold rush towns and the Gift has been going for one hundred and thirty three years.
It is only running and events are held from 50 metres to 1600 metres, the gift itself is the highlight, think Melbourne Cup, as there are others events and distances but the main event is 120 metres. The semi winners were posting times of 12.21 to 12.42 sec, now that is fast! It is a professional race so the runners are handicapped and it is also run on grass/turf not a sealed surface.
Stawell, the township is in the western part of Victoria, a pretty town especially this time of the year with Autumn leaves starting to turn and fall, its on the main highway between Adelaide and Melbourne and besides being known as a gold rush town, it is famous for the Gift.
We used to watch it on TV when I was a kid so it brought back memories of sitting around the TV with family, I guess because it was "just over the border".
Monday, 21 April 2014
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Federation Cup (women's tennis)
A couple of weeks ago we both received an email asking us if we would like to volunteer as ushers at the Fed Cup. We were going to buy tickets and had not got around to it, thank goodness. We said yes and we were in!
We had to go in for an induction meeting and collect our uniform which consisted of a hat, T-shirt and our pass. Fed Cup lasts for two days and was the best of three out of a possible five, four singles and a doubles match.
Only twenty ushers were needed so we felt quite honoured to be asked and then selected. It was much more relaxed than the Brisbane International. I was put with another woman, who had only worked in Corporate services before,so I had to show her the ropes of being an usher, due to numbers there was only two on each door but it was pretty easy as there was no need to check tickets and patrons could sit where they wanted,so our job was really only to open and close the doors at the right time and make sure that people didn't move round while play was on.
Yesterday we started at 10am, with the doors opening at eleven, play starting at 12 noon. They played the two singles and both our girls didn't play that well and they lost their matches, but they were playing girls rated higher than them. It was a Semi finals against Germany.
Today, play was later starting and it took us over two hours to get there because of trail track work.We had to take a bus between Roma Street and South Brisbane. Sam played Kerber today and won the first set but went missing in the second set, losing it six nil, the third set was very good and it could have been anyones but Kerber won out in the end. That was the third and meant that Germany had won their way into the final.
Although it was a dead rubber, the doubles were played by Casey and Ashleigh, boy did they play well and ended up winning in a profession tie breaker. Some people left but many people stayed and watched the doubles which was good for all the girls.
Play finished around 5pm and then dinner was supplied for us, we were thinking sandwiches and maybe party pies. Prawns, oysters party pies, scones, fruit, boy what a feast! Best thing for me was our girl team, Sam, Ash and Casey came out and pinched some our food when passing by and I got to speak to all of them.
Arrived home at 8.30, legs are tired and so is the rest of the body but it was a good weekend.
We had to go in for an induction meeting and collect our uniform which consisted of a hat, T-shirt and our pass. Fed Cup lasts for two days and was the best of three out of a possible five, four singles and a doubles match.
Only twenty ushers were needed so we felt quite honoured to be asked and then selected. It was much more relaxed than the Brisbane International. I was put with another woman, who had only worked in Corporate services before,so I had to show her the ropes of being an usher, due to numbers there was only two on each door but it was pretty easy as there was no need to check tickets and patrons could sit where they wanted,so our job was really only to open and close the doors at the right time and make sure that people didn't move round while play was on.
Yesterday we started at 10am, with the doors opening at eleven, play starting at 12 noon. They played the two singles and both our girls didn't play that well and they lost their matches, but they were playing girls rated higher than them. It was a Semi finals against Germany.
Today, play was later starting and it took us over two hours to get there because of trail track work.We had to take a bus between Roma Street and South Brisbane. Sam played Kerber today and won the first set but went missing in the second set, losing it six nil, the third set was very good and it could have been anyones but Kerber won out in the end. That was the third and meant that Germany had won their way into the final.
Although it was a dead rubber, the doubles were played by Casey and Ashleigh, boy did they play well and ended up winning in a profession tie breaker. Some people left but many people stayed and watched the doubles which was good for all the girls.
Play finished around 5pm and then dinner was supplied for us, we were thinking sandwiches and maybe party pies. Prawns, oysters party pies, scones, fruit, boy what a feast! Best thing for me was our girl team, Sam, Ash and Casey came out and pinched some our food when passing by and I got to speak to all of them.
Arrived home at 8.30, legs are tired and so is the rest of the body but it was a good weekend.
Saturday, 19 April 2014
Soup
When the weather gets a little cooler, I think of soup. I asked Warren yesterday which soup would he like me to make and gave some options. Potato and leek, pumpkin or chicken and vege. He said chicken and corn sounded good. No, I cooked the corn that we had and I didn't have any tinned corn. These days I cant be bothered going to the shops for one item so it was a no go. He then said potato and leek as we hadn't had that in awhile.
Leek sounds good but I only had onion or spring onion so I diced a large one and four potatoes and put that and some homemade chicken stock into the crock pot with the last of the bacon. For years I couldn't use stock cubes or stock powder as it gave Warren headaches, due to his gluten allergy as we now know. Pretty excited to be able to make and use my own stock thanks to a forum that I belong to, no real recipe which I like but its chicken carcasses (I put in a bag in the freezer until I'm ready to make it and normally use two) and whatever vegetables and boil til the meat falls off the bones, cool and pour into ice cubes and bag up with frozen.
Three hours later the soup was cooked, I added a tin of carnation milk and wazzed it (Jamie Oliver's words) in the mixer to make it smooth, there was enough for three bowls.
As we were going to be out all day today and would be given lunch, a bowl of soup and a sandwich would be plenty for dinner. Two bowls in the freezer and one in the fridge.
I decided while the mixer and crock pot were out, i might as well make the pumpkin soup. Again no real recipe but I remember the first time I made pumpkin soup and so I make it similar. A big heap of pumpkin, a carrot, some more stock, a potato and a sweet potato, chilli sauce and tomato sauce and let cook til pumpkin soft. This resulted in another three bowls for the freezer. Running out of bowls so I didn't make the chicken soup, maybe I will make chicken and corn in a couple of weeks.
After a two hour train trip home tonight, it was so nice to just have to heat the soup, a chicken sandwich followed by a piece of watermelon, a quick easy and pretty cheap meal.
Leek sounds good but I only had onion or spring onion so I diced a large one and four potatoes and put that and some homemade chicken stock into the crock pot with the last of the bacon. For years I couldn't use stock cubes or stock powder as it gave Warren headaches, due to his gluten allergy as we now know. Pretty excited to be able to make and use my own stock thanks to a forum that I belong to, no real recipe which I like but its chicken carcasses (I put in a bag in the freezer until I'm ready to make it and normally use two) and whatever vegetables and boil til the meat falls off the bones, cool and pour into ice cubes and bag up with frozen.
Three hours later the soup was cooked, I added a tin of carnation milk and wazzed it (Jamie Oliver's words) in the mixer to make it smooth, there was enough for three bowls.
As we were going to be out all day today and would be given lunch, a bowl of soup and a sandwich would be plenty for dinner. Two bowls in the freezer and one in the fridge.
I decided while the mixer and crock pot were out, i might as well make the pumpkin soup. Again no real recipe but I remember the first time I made pumpkin soup and so I make it similar. A big heap of pumpkin, a carrot, some more stock, a potato and a sweet potato, chilli sauce and tomato sauce and let cook til pumpkin soft. This resulted in another three bowls for the freezer. Running out of bowls so I didn't make the chicken soup, maybe I will make chicken and corn in a couple of weeks.
After a two hour train trip home tonight, it was so nice to just have to heat the soup, a chicken sandwich followed by a piece of watermelon, a quick easy and pretty cheap meal.
Friday, 18 April 2014
Murphy's law
Just a little more, please, please, please I was thinking but no, of course not. Murphy's law comes into play. As I understand and was brought up to know Murphy's law was if something can go wrong or pear shaped it will.Gee thanks Murphy!Don't know who Murphy was but boy does he have a lot to answer for.
I was sewing in my sewing room and just needed that little bit more to finish and the cotton was getting very low. The material that I was working on was dark brown, browns are not my colours so goodness knows why I had bought it or what I intended to do with it. I have six large tubs of material that I have bought over several years and now that I am retired, finally it is the time to make it into something. I suspect that a pair of pants was the intended thought for this piece of material.
As this is not a colour that I usually use, it was hard to find sewing cotton to go with it but I did find a small reel that matched. I had sewn the whole thing and had the handles to put on. As they are top stitched, the cotton would be on show. NO! the last of the cotton went through the machine with only a couple of metres to go but I couldn't leave it like that. I must have about hundred reels of cotton but no more dark brown, off whites, caramel but no dark brown. I was not going to drive to Spotlight for a reel of cotton!
I had several reels of black and that was the best match so I finished the shopping bag that I was working on in black cotton. Then I made a second with black. I used some patchwork material to brighten it up.
I was sewing in my sewing room and just needed that little bit more to finish and the cotton was getting very low. The material that I was working on was dark brown, browns are not my colours so goodness knows why I had bought it or what I intended to do with it. I have six large tubs of material that I have bought over several years and now that I am retired, finally it is the time to make it into something. I suspect that a pair of pants was the intended thought for this piece of material.
As this is not a colour that I usually use, it was hard to find sewing cotton to go with it but I did find a small reel that matched. I had sewn the whole thing and had the handles to put on. As they are top stitched, the cotton would be on show. NO! the last of the cotton went through the machine with only a couple of metres to go but I couldn't leave it like that. I must have about hundred reels of cotton but no more dark brown, off whites, caramel but no dark brown. I was not going to drive to Spotlight for a reel of cotton!
I had several reels of black and that was the best match so I finished the shopping bag that I was working on in black cotton. Then I made a second with black. I used some patchwork material to brighten it up.
One has two small pockets on the inside for keys and a phone. I possibly have enough to make another smaller one but these two held all my shopping yesterday.
Thursday, 17 April 2014
Top Nosh Cafe
Last week I took my fourteen year old grandson to his dentist, my daughter told me to try the cafe next door after, as they do great iced coffee. We hadn't had lunch beforehand so in we went. It was like an Aladdin's cave! At first I thought I had walked into a dress shop instead as there were dresses and outfits hanging around the walls, there was jewellery and knicknaks placed around, very interesting.
We followed the pathway to a cash register, Jordan wanted coke and a bowl of chips with gravy, easy, I ordered the ice coffee with a scone. The place was packed, there were about eight tables and chairs (seating four) inside, three or four tables at the front and off to the side in a lane way were three low tables with lounge chairs, Jordan was able to get one on these.
After a few minutes, our orders arrived. My iced coffee was an ice cream soda glass filled with scoops of ice cream and a small pot of hot coffee on the side. The idea is to pour the hot coffee over the ice cream, oh my lordy, I had never had anything like it, it was delightful! The scone, jam and cream to go with it was pretty good too, I was glad that I had only ordered one. I did help Jordan with a few chips as he said that he couldn't eat them all, the gravy was good but not quite as good as the hospital gravy (that is our measuring stick for gravy)
On each lounge chair were big comfy cushions, some square and some smaller rectangle ones, these were done in patchwork patterned velvet, great look. I want to make some but I think it will be hard to source the material as I am pretty sure that they are antique.
I was telling Warren when I got home, he loves a decent coffee shop and said that we should visit Top Nosh Cafe in Apsley for a meal or afternoon tea one day. It so happened that we had a meeting in the city yesterday and would have to go past it, we left a little early so we could visit. He ordered carrot cake to go with his ice coffee and agreed that it is the best. Its not cheap, cost about $18 for two coffees and the cake but definitely worth it. We will go back for a meal sometime, meals were around $15-19, don't know if it is licensed or not as that doesn't bother us, best find in a long time.
Thank goodness that it is a fair drive from us, otherwise I could see us there often.
We followed the pathway to a cash register, Jordan wanted coke and a bowl of chips with gravy, easy, I ordered the ice coffee with a scone. The place was packed, there were about eight tables and chairs (seating four) inside, three or four tables at the front and off to the side in a lane way were three low tables with lounge chairs, Jordan was able to get one on these.
After a few minutes, our orders arrived. My iced coffee was an ice cream soda glass filled with scoops of ice cream and a small pot of hot coffee on the side. The idea is to pour the hot coffee over the ice cream, oh my lordy, I had never had anything like it, it was delightful! The scone, jam and cream to go with it was pretty good too, I was glad that I had only ordered one. I did help Jordan with a few chips as he said that he couldn't eat them all, the gravy was good but not quite as good as the hospital gravy (that is our measuring stick for gravy)
On each lounge chair were big comfy cushions, some square and some smaller rectangle ones, these were done in patchwork patterned velvet, great look. I want to make some but I think it will be hard to source the material as I am pretty sure that they are antique.
I was telling Warren when I got home, he loves a decent coffee shop and said that we should visit Top Nosh Cafe in Apsley for a meal or afternoon tea one day. It so happened that we had a meeting in the city yesterday and would have to go past it, we left a little early so we could visit. He ordered carrot cake to go with his ice coffee and agreed that it is the best. Its not cheap, cost about $18 for two coffees and the cake but definitely worth it. We will go back for a meal sometime, meals were around $15-19, don't know if it is licensed or not as that doesn't bother us, best find in a long time.
Thank goodness that it is a fair drive from us, otherwise I could see us there often.
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Crap Wrap
As I had the family here over the weekend, ten altogether for meals, it required bigger plates, so I reached further into the cupboard to draw out one of my platters. I always smile when I look at this, its certainly not anything that I would buy, the colours don't go with anything else that I have and it doesn't go in the dishwasher!
I do like it though and use it often when there is a crowd. A full loaf of bread made into sandwiches, a kilo of chicken wings etc will fit on it.
I heard about "Crap wrap" and thought it would be good for our Red Hat group as we like to keep the costs down as much as possible and so we adopted crap wrap for our birthday celebrations a couple of years ago.
Everyone takes a wrapped gift and exchanges it, the gift is not to be purchased, so it is something from home, an unwanted gift or something surplus.We had all gifts in one place and used a numbers system for people to elect their gift, they came to the front, picked one and unwrapped it so everyone could see what they had. Once everyone had their gift, we set a time limit of ten minutes to swap their gift with someone else's, the only rule was they couldn't swap back. So if A swapped theirs for B, B couldn't swap with A again but B could swap with C then C could swap with A etc etc. It was a lot of fun but in our group a couple almost came to blows over a small coin purse that two people wanted, hence the time limit.
I ended up with the above tray, which someone thought was ugly. It is true "One man's trash is another man's treasure"
I heard about "Crap wrap" and thought it would be good for our Red Hat group as we like to keep the costs down as much as possible and so we adopted crap wrap for our birthday celebrations a couple of years ago.
Everyone takes a wrapped gift and exchanges it, the gift is not to be purchased, so it is something from home, an unwanted gift or something surplus.We had all gifts in one place and used a numbers system for people to elect their gift, they came to the front, picked one and unwrapped it so everyone could see what they had. Once everyone had their gift, we set a time limit of ten minutes to swap their gift with someone else's, the only rule was they couldn't swap back. So if A swapped theirs for B, B couldn't swap with A again but B could swap with C then C could swap with A etc etc. It was a lot of fun but in our group a couple almost came to blows over a small coin purse that two people wanted, hence the time limit.
I ended up with the above tray, which someone thought was ugly. It is true "One man's trash is another man's treasure"
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Routines
I belong to a forum that is about savings called Simple savings, most are home makers and there is some chat regarding routines. I have always thought that I don't have a routine but just do what needs to be done.
Wrong! I have fallen into routines without realising it, not that I am complaining I'm just surprised. Take this morning, have a shower and get dressed and make breakfast. My cereal and bowl are on the bench. Warren is always up before me and gets his own breakfast, while he waits for the jug to boil, he unpacks the dishwasher and leaves the bowl that I use on the bench, he also leaves the cereal out for me.
I usually wash on Monday's but it was wet yesterday so I washed this morning, took the clothes to the laundry and start that before settling down to eat my breakfast. We chat about our day and I said that I need to vacuum, Warren offers to do it. My first thought was no, no, I'll do it quickly changed to yes please.
I tidied the kitchen, packed dishes into the dishwasher, wiped down the benches and stove, by then the washing was finished and ready to be hung out. A quick flick round bathroom, make the bed and yay, housework is done for the day.
I have come to realise that having a set pattern or routine does make things easier and quicker to get things done.
Except for making lunch and dinner, my time is my own, time to get stuck into my sewing room and reduce my stash, huh, that will take some doing.
Wrong! I have fallen into routines without realising it, not that I am complaining I'm just surprised. Take this morning, have a shower and get dressed and make breakfast. My cereal and bowl are on the bench. Warren is always up before me and gets his own breakfast, while he waits for the jug to boil, he unpacks the dishwasher and leaves the bowl that I use on the bench, he also leaves the cereal out for me.
I usually wash on Monday's but it was wet yesterday so I washed this morning, took the clothes to the laundry and start that before settling down to eat my breakfast. We chat about our day and I said that I need to vacuum, Warren offers to do it. My first thought was no, no, I'll do it quickly changed to yes please.
I tidied the kitchen, packed dishes into the dishwasher, wiped down the benches and stove, by then the washing was finished and ready to be hung out. A quick flick round bathroom, make the bed and yay, housework is done for the day.
I have come to realise that having a set pattern or routine does make things easier and quicker to get things done.
Except for making lunch and dinner, my time is my own, time to get stuck into my sewing room and reduce my stash, huh, that will take some doing.
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